bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exosomes as Crucial Players in Pathogenesis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Authors: Fei Yue , Liu Qi , Peng Na , Yang Guocan , Shen Ziwei , Hong Pan , Wang Shengjun , Rui Ke , Cui Dawei
Published: July 2022

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease that affects multiple systems. Its clinical manifestation varies across patients, from skin mucosa to multiorgan damage to severe central nervous system involvement. The exosome has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, including SLE. We review the recent knowledge of exosomes, including their biology, functions, mechanism, and standardized extraction and purification methods in SLE, to highlight potential therapeutic targets for SLE.
Mechanisms of Qing-Gan Li-Shui Formulation in Ameliorating Primary Open Angle Glaucoma: An Analysis Based on Network Pharmacology
Authors: Mu Lin , Dong Zhiguo , Zhang Yinjian
Published: July 2022

Objective. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of Qing-Gan Li-Shui formulation (QGLSF) in treating primary open glaucoma (POAG) by network pharmacology and in vitro experiments. Methods. The active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) of GLQSF (prepared with Prunella vulgaris, Kudzu root, Plantago asiatica, and Lycium barbarum) were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and Yet Another Traditional Chinese Medicine database (YATCM). The targets of POAG were screened out with GeneCards, OMIM, PharmGKB, Therapeutic Target Database (TTD), and DrugBank databases. The Venny platform was used to summarize the core targets. Topological analysis was performed using Cytoscape3.8.0. A protein-protein interaction network was plotted by STRING online. The key targets were subjected to GO and KEGG enrichment analyses. Finally, the effects of APIs were verified by a model of chloride hexahydrate (CoCl2)-induced retinal ganglion cells-5 (RGC-5). Results. The main APIs were selected as quercetin (Que) by network pharmacology. Nine clusters of QGLSF targets were obtained by the PPI network analysis, including AKT-1, TP53, and JUN. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that these targets were mainly involved in the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway. By in vitro experiments, Que promoted cell proliferation. The secretion of AKT-1, TP53, JUN, AGE, and RAGE in the cell culture supernatant decreased, as shown by ELISA. The mRNA levels of AKT-1, TP53, JUN, and RAGE decreased, as shown by RT-PCR. QGLSF may employ the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway to counter POAG. Conclusion. This study preliminarily elucidates the efficacy and mechanism of QGLSF in the treatment of POAG.
The Application of the Data Mining Method Based on Ensemble Learning to the Research on Early Warning of Financial Crisis in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Authors: Guo Jie , Wang Wenyan
Published: July 2022

In the big data environment, the factors affecting the operation of small- and medium-sized enterprises are becoming more and more complex. In order to more accurately measure the financial crisis of small- and medium-sized enterprises, from the perspective of multisource information fusion, based on the traditional financial data reflecting the private information of enterprises, the public information data for measuring the macroeconomic and market environment are integrated and analyzed. Considering the multidimensional heterogeneity of multisource information data, BPNN, SVM, KNN, LOG, and MDA are introduced to build models, and ensemble learning is used to integrate the results of different early warning models to reduce the risk of inconsistent results from different models. The empirical results show that the early warning model integrating multisource information can improve the early warning accuracy. The research results show that the financial crisis early warning of small- and medium-sized enterprises should not only pay attention to financial indicators but also pay attention to the impact of corporate governance, industry, and the overall economic environment of the country; the accuracy of the model in this paper is significantly higher than that of the other models in terms of the accuracy of financial crisis early warning. It shows that the model in this paper can better predict the real financial status of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Statistics and Analysis of Effective Data on Online Teaching of College English Audiovisual Teaching
Authors: Wang Kerong
Published: July 2022

Since the end of 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak has partly changed the way people live and the way schools across the country teach. In order to solve the impact of the new coronavirus pneumonia pandemic on the opening of universities and classroom teaching, it is particularly important to study how universities implement and ensure the development of online foreign language teaching. This article aims to study the effectiveness of online teaching of college English audiovisual listening. We actively carry out teaching activities such as online teaching and online learning of English audiovisual teaching and perform statistical analysis of progress and the quality of college English teaching in online teaching. This article aims to combine these two paradigms, collect data and conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis, and analyze the accuracy of effective data in English audiovisual online teaching. This survey uses two survey methods: questionnaire survey and structured interview. In order to understand the interviewee’s feelings and obtain more detailed feedback information, interviews about learning strategies were organized. The conclusion is that under the background of the “COVID-19 pandemic,” college English courses based on various online learning platforms (such as MOOC) are very valuable learning experiences for students. In order to adapt the online learning, students need to use appropriate learning strategies. This kind of learning experience also provides valuable opportunities for students, enabling them to develop their independent learning abilities and review their learning achievements. College English course teaching based on multiple online learning platforms such as MOOC provides inspiration and experience for future college English teaching. Teachers become instructors for students to master and use learning strategies. Only teachers and students work together to ensure the quality of online teaching.
lncRNA NBAT1 Inhibits Cell Metastasis and Promotes Apoptosis in Endometrial Cancer by Sponging miR-21-5p to Regulate PTEN
Authors: Tian Chunhua , Su Jing , Ma Zhao , Wu Yang , Ma Hongyun
Published: July 2022

Objective. Long noncoding RNA neuroblastoma-associated transcript 1 (NBAT1) is implicated in the progression of various cancers. Nevertheless, its biological function in endometrial cancer (EC) remains unknown. Methods. The levels of NBAT1, miR-21-5p, and PTEN in EC cells and EC tissues were examined by RT-qPCR. Western blot was carried out to assess the protein expression of PTEN. The dual-luciferase reporter assay was conducted to explore the interactions among NBAT1, miR-21-5p, and PTEN. The effect of NBAT1 on EC proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis was evaluated by CCK-8, transwell assays, wound healing, and flow cytometry. miR-21-5p mimics or NBAT1+miR-21-5p were transfected into HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells to investigate whether NBAT1 regulated EC tumorigenesis via sponging miR-21-5p. Results. NBAT1 is downregulated, and miR-21-5p is upregulated in EC cells and tumor tissues. Overexpression of NBAT1 inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of EC cells and facilitated apoptosis. NBAT1 directly binds and negatively regulates miR-21-5p in EC. miR-21-5p mimics reverses the effect of lncRNA NBAT1 overexpression on the proliferation and migration of EC cells. PTEN is a downstream gene of miR-21-5p. lncRNA NBTA1 elevates PTEN expression via sponging miR-21-5p. Conclusions. lncRNA NBAT1 acts as a tumor suppressor in EC via regulating PTEN through sponging miR-21-5p.
Application Value of the Diagnosis during Early Carcinoma of Upper Digestive Tract Based on Optical Enhanced Endoscopic Technique
Authors: Song Yinghao , Qu Yulei , Li Lu , Xing Mengxuan , Jia Baohui , Ma Yingjie , Zhang Yong
Published: July 2022

Objective. The diagnostic value of optical enhanced endoscopy in early cancer of upper digestive tract was studied by comparing the disease accuracy, tumor type, invasion, and various surgical indicators between the two groups. Methods. 188 patients with early upper gastrointestinal cancer treated in our hospital from January 2020 to February 2021 were selected as the research objects. The patients were randomly divided into the observation group and control group with 94 cases in each group. Results. The accuracy of early detection of early carcinoma of upper digestive tract in the observation group was 94.68% and that in the control group was 76.60%. The accuracy of the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group, with statistical significance (

P
<
0.05

). In the observation group, 36 cases of early gastric cancer, 28 cases of early esophageal cancer, and 30 cases of early colorectal cancer were detected; 25 cases of early gastric cancer, 19 cases of early esophageal cancer, and 28 cases of early colorectal cancer were detected; 26 cases of early carcinoma of upper digestive tract infiltration were detected; and 68 cases were not detected, and the detection rate was 27.66%, which was higher than 9.57% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (

P
<
0.05

). After different methods of treatment, no death occurred in all patients. Except for the operation time, the surgical indexes of the observation group were better than the control group, the difference was statistically significant (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. Optical enhanced endoscopic technique had obvious effect in the diagnosis of patients with early cancer of upper digestive tract, it was helpful to improve the clinical detection rate of early carcinoma of upper digestive tract and had certain diagnostic ability for the invasion depth of early cancer of high upper gastrointestinal tract, which was conducive to the detection of clinical invasion lesions and had high clinical promotion and application value.
DD-Net: A Dual Detector Network for Multilevel Object Detection in Remote-Sensing Images
Authors: Zhang Dongdong , Wang Chunping , Fu Qiang
Published: July 2022

With the recent development of deep convolutional neural network (CNN), remote sensing for ship detection methods has achieved enormous progress. However, current methods focus on the whole ships and fail on the component’s detection of a ship. To detect ships from remote-sensing images in a more refined way, we employ the inherent relationship between ships and their critical parts to establish a multilevel structure and propose a novel framework to improve the performance in identifying the multilevel objects. Our framework, named the dual detector network (DD-Net), consists of two carefully designed detectors, one for ships (the ship detector) and the other for their critical parts (the critical part detector), for detecting the critical parts in a coarse-to-fine manner. The ship detector offers detection results of the ship, based on which the critical part detector detects small critical parts inside each ship region. The framework is trained in an end-to-end way by optimizing the multitask loss. Due to the lack of publicly available datasets for critical part detection, we build a new dataset named RS-Ship with 1015 remote-sensing images and 2856 annotations. Experiments on the HRSC2016 dataset and the RS-Ship dataset show that our method performs well in the detection of ships and critical parts.
Research on Perceptual Integrity of Distributed Digital Media Based on AWTC-TT Algorithm Optimization
Authors: Zhang Xiaobo , Shen Rongrong
Published: July 2022

Digital media can spread data and information. Its wide use not only enriches people’s work and life but also brings high efficiency and convenience. However, due to different devices, different data quality, network stability, and other reasons, data quality is usually difficult to guarantee, so it is necessary to evaluate its perceptual integrity. In this paper, the group intelligence sensing technology in the sensor field and AWTC-TT optimization algorithm integrating blockchain technology are proposed to collect users’ sensing data and build a model to discuss the complete performance. The experimental results show that (1) for the AWTC-TT algorithm, the processing time of 200 data tasks is less than 60 s; moreover, after optimization, the performance is efficient, which can effectively reduce the running time of data processing, and the performance loss is only 4%. (2) The perceptual quality of data was evaluated, the gain value of the first 0.4 is above 0.3, and the interference of abnormal data on integrity was explored. (3) The test results of the four integrality indexes of the model are good and the quality is stable. (4) The income value of CS2 is 5.8, and the income of distribution with the highest quality is the highest. Finally, the model constructed in this paper is mature, the experimental data and results are good, and the data perception integrity is discussed. The use of various fusion technologies can provide a reference for more subsequent research and application and lay a solid foundation.
Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Carcinoma with Bevacizumab in First-Line and beyond First Progression: The KORALLE Non-Interventional Cohort Study
Authors: Arnold Dirk , Eggers Egbert , Uhlig Jens , Reichert Dietmar , Becker Lars , Thiebach Lars
Published: July 2022

Introduction: The non-interventional study (NIS) KORALLE evaluated the effectiveness and safety of bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma (mCRC) treated with bevacizumab in combination with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy in the first-line setting and beyond first progression in routine clinical practice. Methods: This prospective, multicenter NIS observed adult patients with mCRC who started first-line bevacizumab therapy. The planned maximum duration of observation per patient was 21 months. The primary effectiveness variable was progression-free survival in the first-line therapy setting (PFS-1). Secondary effectiveness variables included PFS after first progression as well as overall survival and overall response rate. All analyses were carried out descriptively for the full analysis population set (FAS). Effectiveness analyses were also assessed for predefined subgroups based on therapy goals. Results: Between December 2012 and July 2016, 2,429 eligible patients were observed at 314 sites in Germany. In the first-line setting in the FAS, the median PFS-1 was 10.3 months (95% CI: 9.9; 10.8), the median overall survival was 16.9 months (95% CI: 16.3; 17.5), and the overall response rate (ORR-1) was 44.2% (95% CI: 41.6%; 46.8%). Effectiveness results of all subgroups were similar to the FAS. Overall, 80.9% of patients experienced any adverse events, 36.6% of patients experienced serious adverse events, and 8.8% of patients experienced fatal adverse events. Conclusion: The NIS KORALLE provided broad real-world evidence on effectiveness and safety of bevacizumab. Despite different treatment intentions, the combination of bevacizumab plus fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy was similarly effective in all subgroups in routine clinical practice. The safety information reported in this study is consistent with the known safety profile of bevacizumab.
Die Interferon-Achse – autoinflammatorische Erkrankungen mit Kollagenose-Aspekten
Authors: Aringer Martin
Published: July 2022

Objective: Autoinflammatory type I interferonopathies, chronic atypical neutrophilic dermatosis with lipodystrophy and elevated temperature/proteasome-associated autoinflammatory syndrome (CANDLE/PRAAS), stimulator of interferon genes (STING)-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI), and Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) are rare and clinically complex immunodysregulatory diseases. With emerging knowledge of genetic causes and targeted treatments, a Task Force was charged with the development of “points to consider” to improve diagnosis, treatment, and long-term monitoring of patients with these rare diseases. Methods: Members of a Task Force consisting of rheumatologists, neurologists, an immunologist, geneticists, patient advocates, and an allied health care professional formulated research questions for a systematic literature review. Then, based on literature, Delphi questionnaires, and consensus methodology, “points to consider” to guide patient management were developed. Results: The Task Force devised consensus and evidence-based guidance of 4 overarching principles and 17 points to consider regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term monitoring of patients with the autoinflammatory interferonopathies, CANDLE/PRAAS, SAVI, and AGS. Conclusion: These points to consider represent state-of-the-art knowledge to guide diagnostic evaluation, treatment, and management of patients with CANDLE/PRAAS, SAVI, and AGS and aim to standardize and improve care, quality of life, and disease outcomes.
Histamine Produced by Gram-Negative Bacteria Impairs Neutrophil’s Antimicrobial Response by Engaging the Histamine 2 Receptor
Authors: Dib Karim , El Banna Amal , Radulescu Clara , Lopez Campos Guillermo , Sheehan Gerard , Kavanagh Kevin
Published: July 2022

We found that histamine (10−9 M) did not have any effect on the in vitro capture of Escherichia coli by neutrophils but accelerated its intracellular killing. In contrast, histamine (10−6 M) delayed the capture of Escherichia coli by neutrophils and reduced the amounts of pHrodo zymosan particles inside acidic mature phagosomes. Histamine acted through the H4R and the H2R, which are coupled to the Src family tyrosine kinases or the cAMP/protein kinase A pathway, respectively. The protein kinase A inhibitor H-89 abrogated the delay in bacterial capture induced by histamine (10−6 M) and the Src family tyrosine kinase inhibitor PP2 blocked histamine (10−9 M) induced acceleration of bacterial intracellular killing and tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins. To investigate the role of histamine in pathogenicity, we designed an Acinetobacter baumannii strain deficient in histamine production (hdc::TOPO). Galleria mellonella larvae inoculated with the wild-type Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 17978 strain (1.1 × 105 CFU) died rapidly (100% death within 40 h) but not when inoculated with the Acinetobacter baumannii hdc::TOPO mutant (10% mortality). The concentration of histamine rose in the larval haemolymph upon inoculation of the wild type but not the Acinetobacter baumannii hdc::TOPO mutant, such concentration of histamine blocks the ability of hemocytes from Galleria mellonella to capture Candida albicans in vitro. Thus, bacteria-producing histamine, by maintaining high levels of histamine, may impair neutrophil phagocytosis by hijacking the H2R.
Autoinflammation und pustulöse Psoriasis
Authors: Sticherling Michael
Published: July 2022

Pustular psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by erythematous plaques with sterile pustules. It includes the distinct clinical entities generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), acrodermatitis continua of Hallopeau (ACH) and palmoplantar pustular psoriasis (PPPP). Recently clarified pathomechanisms of pustular psoriasis indicate that hyperactivation of the skin innate immunity, including of the IL-1/IL-36 axis, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of pustular psoriasis. Autoinflammatory keratinization disease (AiKD) is the umbrella clinical entity for inflammatory keratinization disorders with genetic autoinflammatory pathomechanisms, and pustular psoriasis is a representative AiKD. To date, mutations/variants in five genes-IL36RN, CARD14, AP1S3, MPO and SERPINA3-have been reported to be genetic causative or predisposing factors for pustular psoriasis. The pathogenic mechanisms induced by the mutations/variants in these genes are all closely related to the excessive activation of skin innate immunity and autoinflammation. A number of biologics (e.g., tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, IL-17/IL-17 receptor inhibitors and IL-23 inhibitors) and granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis are used to treat pustular psoriasis. Recently, based on novel information on the pathomechanisms of pustular psoriasis, which are mainly associated with autoinflammation, inhibitors of several pathogenic pathways, including of the IL-1, IL-36, IL-8 and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor signaling pathways, have been studied as emerging treatments.
Incidence of Preclinical Heart Failure in a Community Population
Authors: Young Kathleen A. , Scott Christopher G. , Rodeheffer Richard J. , Chen Horng H.
Published: July 2022

Background

A high prevalence of preclinical heart failure (HF) (Stages A and B) has previously been shown. The aim of this study was to explore factors associated with the incidence of preclinical HF in a community population.

Methods and Results

Retrospective review of 393 healthy community individuals aged ≥45 years from the Olmsted County Heart Function Study that returned for 2 visits, 4 years apart. At visit 2, individuals that remained normal were compared with those that developed preclinical HF. By the second visit, 191 (49%) developed preclinical HF (12.1 cases per 100 person‐years of follow‐up); 65 (34%) Stage A and 126 (66%) Stage B. Those that developed preclinical HF (n=191) were older (
P
=0.004), had a higher body mass index (
P
<0.001), and increased left ventricular mass index (
P
=0.006). When evaluated separately, increased body mass index was seen with development of Stage A (
P
<0.001) or Stage B (
P
=0.009). Echocardiographic markers of diastolic function were statistically different in those that developed Stage A [higher E/e’ (
P
<0.001), lower e’ (
P
<0.001)] and Stage B [higher left atrial volume index (
P
<0.001), higher E/e’ (
P
<0.001), lower e’ (
P
<0.001)]. NT‐proBNP (N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide) was higher at visit 2 in those that developed Stage A or B (
P
<0.001 for both). Hypertension (57%), obesity (34%), and hyperlipidemia (25%) were common in the development of Stage A. Of patients who developed Stage B, 71% (n=84) had moderate or severe diastolic dysfunction.

Conclusions

There is a high incidence of preclinical HF in a community population. Development of Stage A was driven by hypertension and obesity, while preclinical diastolic dysfunction was seen commonly in those that developed Stage B.
Stagnation Detection with Randomized Local Search*
Authors: Rajabi Amirhossein , Witt Carsten
Published: July 2022

Recently a mechanism called stagnation detection was proposed that automatically adjusts the mutation rate of evolutionary algorithms when they encounter local optima. The so-called SD-(1+1) EA introduced by Rajabi and Witt (2022) adds stagnation detection to the classical (1+1) EA with standard bit mutation. This algorithm flips each bit independently with some mutation rate, and stagnation detection raises the rate when the algorithm is likely to have encountered a local optimum. In this article, we investigate stagnation detection in the context of the k-bit flip operator of randomized local search that flips k bits chosen uniformly at random and let stagnation detection adjust the parameter k. We obtain improved runtime results compared with the SD-(1+1) EA amounting to a speedup of at least (1-o(1))2πm, where m is the so-called gap size, that is, the distance to the next improvement. Moreover, we propose additional schemes that prevent infinite optimization times even if the algorithm misses a working choice of k due to unlucky events. Finally, we present an example where standard bit mutation still outperforms the k-bit flip operator with stagnation detection.
Public Servants’ Perception on Discipline Management and Justice in Tanzania Public Service
Authors: Mosha Ambiliasia Peniel , Bakari Mohamed , Munisi Kelvin
Published: July 2022

This paper assesses public servants’ perception on how justice is dispensed by disciplinary authorities in Tanzania’s public service. The attributes assessed were; adherence to legislations and disciplinary procedures, progressive discipline, employees’ involvement in disciplinary proceedings, parity between punishments given to offenses committed and power struggle among disciplinary authorities. Bureaucratic theory informed the study by showing how management prerogative in formulating and enforcing the rules shapes public service discipline management. Attribution theory showed how employees form justice perceptions. Data was collected through survey using questionnaires administered to case study respondents and through interview conducted to the key informants using interview guides. The findings reveal that, defiance of legislations and actors’ incompetence cause irregularities such as unreasoned decision, inappropriate application of formal and informal proceedings and power abuse which hamper justice. The paper calls for competent adherence to the legislations and procedures for justice to prevail in discipline management.
Between Academia and Activism: Revisiting the History of Social Democracy at the Time of the Second International
Authors: Poy Lucas
Published: July 2022

The last fifteen years witnessed a remarkable revitalization in the field of Second International historiography. This renewed literature put forward different approaches and perspectives, as the interest for the history of social democracy draws on academic as well as political considerations. Whereas an important trend of this revitalization came from studies that focused on social and cultural aspects, this review explores two recent volumes published by North American authors that propose a different, and explicitly political, approach towards the history of social democracy in the years of the Second International.
An updated review of the genus Strigivenifera Hering, 1937 (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea: Chrysopolomidae) with the description of a new species
Authors: TABERER TABITHA R.
Published: July 2022

Following on from a recent revision by Kurshakov & Zolotuhin (2013), the genus Strigivenifera Hering, 1937 is reviewed based on recently-collected material held at the African Natural History Research Trust. Investigation of genital morphology and newly-generated barcodes suggested that the diagnoses provided for the species in the previous revision were not entirely reliable for all taxa and as a result, a surplus of names exist in respect to valid species. The following taxonomic changes are implemented: S. livingstonei Kurshakov & Zolotuhin, 2013 syn. n. and S. cruisa Kurshakov & Zolotuhin, 2013 syn. n. are synonymised with S. albidiscalis (Hampson, 1910), S. ocellaris Kurshakov & Zolotuhin, 2013 syn. n. is synonymised with S. eborea Kurshakov & Zolotuhin, 2013 and S. tatooifera Kurshakov & Zolotuhin, 2013 syn. n. is synonymised with S. bartschi Kurshakov & Zolotuhin, 2013. A new species previously confused with S. ocellaris is described from the Western Area Peninsula in Sierra Leone: S. smithi sp. n. The intraspecific variability of the species together with appropriate diagnostic characters for identification are discussed and illustrated and an updated list of the valid species of the genus is provided.
Colorimetric Aptasensor Based on Fe3O4–Cu2+ Nanozyme with Intrinsic Peroxidase-Like Activity in the Detection of Breast Cancer Exosomes
Authors: Long Jian , Wang Fang , Zha Guohua , Che Kaijun , Luo Jingfang , Deng Zhiqiang
Published: July 2022

Because breast cancer cells such as MCF-7, exhibit vital and developmental signs by exosome secretion, diagnosing them in the blood can provide a good index of the presence of breast cancer. However, accurate and inexpensive detection of exosomes in clinical practice faces challenges.
Therefore, in the presents study, an aptasensor based on CD63 aptameriron oxide-copper ion nanozymes (Fe3O4–Cu2+–NZs) was designed with the ability of the CD63 aptamer to interact with the exosome and the release of the Fe3O4–Cu2+–NZs
for peroxidase-like activity on the tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). After fabrication of CD63 aptamer-Fe3O4–Cu2+–NZs based on hydrothermal method, their physicochemical properties were investigated with the SEM, TEM, DLS, Zeta, XRD and magnetization.
To investigate the interaction of CD63 aptamer-Fe3O4–Cu2+–NZs with exosomes, the required exosomes were extracted from cultured MCF-7 cells. The performance of CD63 aptamer-Fe3O4–Cu2+–NZs on TMB degradation
in the presence and absence of exosomes was investigated through UV-vis adsorption and ocular observations based on colour changes on laboratory and real samples. The results show that the absence of exosomes significantly inhibited the peroxidase-like activity of CD63 aptamer-Fe3O4–Cu2+–NZs
due to the aptamer coating. Under optimal conditions, the designed CD63 aptamer-Fe3O4–Cu2+–NZs is capable of detecting exosomes in the range of 1.4 × 104–5.6 × 105 particles/μL with a detection limit
of 5.91 × 103 particles/μL. Also, this method showed a satisfactory outcome in detection of cancer cells in real samples. Overall, this colorimetric aptasensor can be used to diagnose breast cancer cells based on a simple and inexpensive approach.
Hypoxia-Responsive Molecular Probe Lighted up by Peptide Self-Assembly for Cancer Cell Imaging
Authors: Ai Sifan , Dong Wenhao , Li Jie , Yang Zhimou
Published: July 2022

Hypoxia is a characteristic feature of most solid tumors, which promotes the proliferation, metastasis, and invasion of tumors and stimulates the resistance of cancer treatments, leading to the serious consequences of tumor recurrence. The exploration of hypoxia detection technology will aid tumor diagnosis and treatment. Fluorescence imaging technology is an accurate and efficient hypoxia detection technology. It has attracted significant research interest, but designing novel fluorescence probes, especially stimuli-responsive probes with high sensitivity and low toxicity is still challenging. In this work, we report a hypoxia-responsive molecular bioprobe lighted up by peptide self-assembly, which contains aggregationinduced emission (AIE) fluorescent molecule TPE, hypoxia-responsive azo group (–N═N–), the self-assembling peptide GFFY, and targeting ligand RGD. The resulting peptide derivative TPE-GFFY-N═N-EERGD forms supramolecular nanofibers but emit weak fluorescence because the azobenzene moiety can effectively quench the fluorescence of the TPE dye. However, the fluorescence-quenched nanofibers could be lighted up dramatically when the azo group is reduced. More importantly, this “turn-on” supramolecular fluorescence bioprobe enables effective detecting tumor hypoxia due to the overexpressed azoreductase in the tumor microenvironment. This work affords a paradigm of designing environmentsensitive fluorescent molecular probes for tumor hypoxia imaging.
Inhibiting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Variants: Targeting the Spike and Envelope Proteins Using Nanomaterial Like Peptides
Authors: Nahhas Alaa F. , Nahhas Alrayan F. , Alshaikh Abdulrahman A. , Webster Thomas J.
Published: July 2022

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused significant death, economic crisis, and the world to almost completely shut down. This present study focused on targeting the novel SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein, which has
not been frequently mutating, and the S protein with a much larger peptide capable of inhibiting virus-mammalian cell attraction. In doing so, molecular dynamics software was used here to model six peptides including: NapFFTLUFLTUTE, NapFFSLAFLTATE, NapFFSLUFLSUTE, NapFFTLAFLTATE, NapFFSLUFLSUSE,
and NapFFMLUFLMUME. Results showed that two of these completely hydrophobic peptides (NapFFTLUFLTUTE and NapFFMLUFLMUME) had a strong ability to bind to the virus, preventing its binding to a mammalian cell membrane, entering the cell, and replicating by covering many cell attachment sites
on SARS-CoV-2. Further cell modeling results demonstrated the low toxicity and suitable pharmacokinetic properties of both peptides making them ideal for additional in vitro and in vivo investigation. In this manner, these two peptides should be further explored for a wide range
of present and future COVID-19 therapeutic and prophylactic applications.
A New Gold Nanoparticles and Paclitaxel Co-Delivery System for Enhanced Anti-Cancer Effect Through Chemo-Photothermal Combination
Authors: Zhan Honglei , Song Wenjing , Gu Mingyang , Zhao He , Liu Yujia , Liu Bingnan , Wang Jihui
Published: July 2022

Limited chemotherapeutic efficiency, drug resistance and side effect are primary obstacles for cancer treatment. The development of co-delivery system with synergistic treatment modes should be a promising strategy. Here, we fabricated a multi-functionalized nanocarrier with a combination
of chemotherapeutic agent and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which could integrate chemo-photothermal therapy and improve entire anti-cancer index. Particularly, Paclitaxel nanocrystals (PTX NC) were first fabricated as a platform, on surface of which AuNPs were decorated and polydopamine (PDA)
layer act as capping, stabilizing and hydrophilic agents for PTX NC, providing a bridge connecting AuNPs to PTX. These AuNPs decorated PTX NC exhibited good physico-chemical properties like optimal sizes, stability and photothermal efficiency. Compared to other PTX formulations, they displayed
considerably improved biocompatibility, selectivity, intracellular uptake, cytotoxicity, apoptosis induction activity and P-glycoprotein (Pgp) inhibitory capability, owing to a synergistic/ cooperative effect from AuNPs, PTX and NIR treatment, photothermal-triggered drug release and nano-scaled
structure. Mitochondria-mediated signaling pathway is underlying mechanism for cytotoxic and apoptotic effect from AuNPs decorated PTX NC, in terms of Mitochondria damage, a loss of Mitochondrial membrane potential, intensified oxidative stress, DNA breakage, Caspase 3 activation, up-regulated
expression in pro-apoptotic genes like p53, Caspase 3 and Bax and down-regulated level in anti-apoptotic gene like Bcl-2.
Targeted Anti-Hepatocellular Carcinoma Research of Targeted Peptides Combined with Drug-Loaded Cell-Derived Microparticles
Authors: Ximei Xu , Yiqun Luo , Zhikun Zhang , Yueli Nie , Xiuli Liu , Wei Shi , Tao Wu , Pan Wu , Xiyu Liu , Yong Huang , Yongxiang Zhao , Lu Gan , Liping Zhong , Qiaoying Chen , Jian He
Published: July 2022

To conduct an anti-tumor research by using targeted drug-loaded cell-derived microparticles to target the tumor microenvironment and enhance NK cell killing function. In this experiment, we obtained HepG2 tumor cell-derived microparticles by physical extrusion, high speed centrifugation
and filtration, modified the hepatocellular carcinoma targeting peptide SP94 on the surface of microparticles and encapsulated the TGF-β inhibitor SB505124. Finally we validated and analyzed whether the new drug delivery system can target to tumor site and enhance the anti-tumor
function of NK cells. This type of novel targeted cell-derived microparticles drug delivery system will provide a novel idea for tumor immunotherapy.
Cyclovirobuxine D Brain-Targeted Liposomes Improve Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury via Anti-Oxidant Stress and Activating Autophagy
Authors: Yang Fang , Ren Lingzhi , Liu Tuo , Lu Xiangyi , Liu Chang , Yu Yang , Chen Zhilian , Long Yongling
Published: July 2022

One of the main issues faced by nervous system diseases is that drugs are difficult to enter the brain. The previous study suggested that Cyclovirobuxine D (CVBD) encapsulated in Angiopep-conjugated Polysorbate 80-Coated Liposomes showed a better brain targeting by intranasal administration.
Therefore, this study concentrated on the protection and mechanism of CVBD brain-targeted liposomes in treating CIRI. Middle cerebral artery occlusion-reperfusion induced CIRI model rats to explore the protective effect of CVBD brain-targeted liposome on CIRI. Moreover, the protective effect
of CVBD liposomes on OGD/R-injured HT22 cells was examined by cell fusion degree, cell proliferation curve and cell viability. OGD/R-injured HT22 cell was infected by mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus. The autophagosome and autophagy flow were observed by laser confocal microscopy, and autophagy-related
protein expressions were analyzed by Western blot. The classic autophagy inhibitor, chloroquine, was used to explore the autophagy-regulatedmechanism of CVBD brain-targeted liposomes in treating CIRI. CVBD liposomes increased cell viability and decreased ROS level, improved oxidative stress
protein expressions and activated autophagy in vitro. Furthermore, CVBD liposomes reversed the decrease of cell viability, increase of ROS level, and reduction of protein expressions associated with anti-oxidative stress and autophagy induced by chloroquine. Collectively, CVBD liposomes
inhibited CIRI via regulating oxidative stress and enhancing autophagy level in vivo and in vitro.
Nanocapsule-Based Reactive Nano-Fragrances with Slow-Release and Antibacterial Performances for Applications of Commodities
Authors: Wang Wenli , Qiu Xinyu , Dong Qiushi , Wang Jingwen , Hao Qiulian , Liu Guiying , Li Yan , Zhang Xin
Published: July 2022

Fragrances are widely used in everyday life. However, too fast volatilization rates and poor adhesion on substrates limit their applications. In this study, reactive nano-fragrance based on cyanuric chloride (CYC)-modified chitosan (CSCYC) were prepared by a solvent evaporation method.
First, CS-CYC was synthesized. Subsequently, CS and CS-CYC were utilized to prepare nano-fragrances. The results demonstrated that adding CS and CS-CYC could significantly improve the fragrance encapsulation efficiency and reduce the release rate of phenylethanol. phenylethanol Moreover, the
adhesion of nano-capsules on commodities was improved with CS by forming hydrogen bonds. CYC on the surface of the nanocapsules further enhanced the conglutination of nano-fragrances on commodities by a condensation reaction with wallpaper. Additionally, the addition of both CS and CS-CYC
imparted antibacterial activity for the nano-fragrances against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with excellent biosafety. Therefore, the reactive nano-fragrances with antimicrobial activity and slow-release properties could provide a comfortable and healthy living environment, making
them have vast application potential.
Correction of Overestimation in Observed Land Surface Temperatures Based on Machine Learning Models
Authors: Liu Fa , Wang Xunming , Sun Fubao , Wang Hong , Wu Lifeng , Zhang Xuanze , Liu Wenbin , Che Huizheng
Published: July 2022

Land surface temperature (LST) is an essential variable for high-temperature prediction, drought monitoring, climate, and ecological environment research. Several recent studies reported that LST observations in China warmed much faster than surface air temperature (SAT), especially after 2002. Here we found that the abrupt change in daily LST was mainly due to the overestimation of LST values from the automatic recording thermometer under snow cover conditions. These inhomogeneity issues in LST data could result in wrong conclusions without appropriate correction. To address these issues, we proposed three machine learning models—multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS), random forest (RF), and a novel simple tree-based method named extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost)—for accurate prediction of daily LST using conventional meteorological data. Daily air temperature (maximum, minimum, mean), sunshine duration, precipitation, wind speed, relative humidity, daily solar radiation, and diurnal temperature range of 2185 stations over 1971–2002 from four regions of China were used to train and test the models. The results showed that the machine learning models, particularly XGBoost, outperformed other models in estimating daily LST. Based on LST data corrected by the XGBoost model, the dramatic increase in LST disappeared. The long-term trend for the new LST was estimated to be 0.32° ± 0.03°C decade−1 over 1971–2019, which is close to the trend in SAT (0.30° ± 0.03°C decade−1). This study corrected the inhomogeneities of daily LST in China, indicating the strong potential of machine learning models for improving estimation of LST and other surface climatic factors.
Accounting for the Effect of Noise in Satellite Soil Moisture Data on Estimates of Land–Atmosphere Coupling Using Information Theoretical Metrics
Authors: Abdolghafoorian Abedeh , Dirmeyer Paul A.
Published: July 2022

Land states can affect the atmosphere through their control of surface turbulent fluxes and the subsequent impact of those fluxes on boundary layer properties. Information theoretic (IT) metrics are ideal to study the strength and type of coupling between surface soil moisture (SM) and land surface heat fluxes (HFs) because they are nonparametric and thus appropriate for the analysis of highly complex Earth systems containing nonlinear cause-and-effect interactions that may have nonnormal distributions. Specifically, a methodology for the estimation of IT metrics from noisy time series is proposed, accounting for random errors in satellite-based SM data. Performance of the proposed method is demonstrated through synthetic tests. Efficacy of the method is greatest for estimates of entropy and mutual information involving SM; improvements to estimates of transfer entropy are significant but less stark. A global depiction of the information flow between SM and HFs is then constructed from observationally based gridded data. This is used as independent verification for two configurations of the ECMWF modeling system: unconstrained open-loop (retrospective forecasts) and constrained by data assimilation (ERA5). Compared to studies that only investigate the linear SM–HF relationships, extended regions of significant terrestrial coupling are found over the globe, as IT metrics enable detection of nonlinear dependencies. The magnitude and spatial variability of coupling strength and type from models show discrepancies with those from observations, highlighting the potential to improve SM and HF covariability within models. Although ERA5 did not perform better than the unconstrained model in very dry climates, its performance is generally superior to that of the unconstrained model across metrics.
Investigating the Impact of Weather Conditions and Time of Day on Traffic Flow Characteristics
Authors: Romanowska Aleksandra , Budzyński Marcin
Published: July 2022

Adverse weather such as rain, snow, and fog may significantly reduce visibility or change adhesion properties and, as a consequence, affect drivers’ sense of safety, driving comfort, and their reaction to a changing driving environment (i.e., lower speed and increased headways). The changed behavior of individual drivers affects both traffic flow characteristics, that is, average speed and headways, and parameters related to highway performance such as free-flow speed and capacity. Thus, understanding the impact may be important in the context of predicting and assessing traffic conditions on planned or existing road facilities. The paper discusses the effects of adverse weather conditions and time of day on traffic flow characteristics and the parameters related to highway performance. Using real traffic and weather data from a Polish expressway, the paper aims to identify factors related to weather and time of day that significantly influence traffic flow parameters and traffic conditions and to analyze and quantify this impact. The results of the study may help to develop coefficients of weather-related adjustment factors that will make it possible to estimate, for example, average speed of vehicles in the nighttime or in conditions of rain or limited visibility. The results of the study may contribute to a new Polish method for capacity estimation and traffic conditions assessment for uninterrupted traffic facilities.
Selfish or Substituting Spirituality? Clarifying the Relationship between Spiritual Practice and Political Engagement
Authors: Kucinskas Jaime , Stewart Evan
Published: July 2022

Churches have long been sites of local charity work as well as national political movements. What happens when people engage in more individualistic forms of spirituality, like mindfulness meditation or yoga, rather than participate in religious communities? Might the rise of individualized forms of spirituality lead to a decline in political engagement? Or, among people averse to religion, might spiritual practice operate as a substitute, and potentially contribute to political engagement? Drawing on burgeoning theory of religion and spirituality as socially-situated boundary objects, we use data from the 2020 National Religion and Spirituality Survey to examine the relationship between self-reported spiritual and religious practices and political engagement. First, we investigate whether study participants distinguish spiritual and religious practice as distinct concepts through factor analysis. Next, we use those results to examine the association between these practices and reports of political behavior. We find a consistent, positive relationship between spiritual practice and political engagement of comparable magnitude to that of religious practices. Notably, during an era of heightened political polarization around religious engagement, political progressives, respondents of color, and members of the LGBT community are more likely to report spiritual rather than religious practices. This points us to a theory of spiritual practice as a substitute for religious engagement among groups alienated from religious institutions, with the former capable of fostering similar proclivities for political action as the latter. Our results suggest critiques of a “selfish” spirituality have been overblown.
Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Infective Endocarditis: A Survey of Practice Among Pediatric Cardiology Providers
Authors: Horsley Whitney , Srinivasan Shardha , Hokanson John S.
Published: July 2022

The 2007 American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines limited antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) for infective endocarditis (IE) to fewer patients with predisposing cardiac conditions (PCC). We surveyed the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery (AAP SOCCS) on their recommendations for AP for a number of PCC and procedures. We report on those 173 respondents who follow the 2007 AHA guidelines. AP rates for high-risk PCCs clearly meeting AHA criteria ranged from 70.5-89.8%. Conversely, for PCCs which did not meet AHA criteria, prescribing rates varied from <1% to 29.5%. PCC for which AP indication was unclear per guidelines, AP rates similarly varied from 9.9-39.8%. Similar variability is noted in AP for various procedures in setting of high-risk PCC. There is variability in AP prescribing practices among pediatric cardiologists based on both underlying PCC and noncardiac procedures in the setting of underlying cardiac disease.
On the Importance of Coefficient Alpha for Measurement Research: Loading Equality Is Not Necessary for Alpha’s Utility as a Scale Reliability Index
Authors: Raykov Tenko , Anthony James C. , Menold Natalja
Published: July 2022

The population relationship between coefficient alpha and scale reliability is studied in the widely used setting of unidimensional multicomponent measuring instruments. It is demonstrated that for any set of component loadings on the common factor, regardless of the extent of their inequality, the discrepancy between alpha and reliability can be arbitrarily small in any considered population and hence practically ignorable. In addition, the set of parameter values where this discrepancy is negligible is shown to possess the same dimensionality as that of the underlying model parameter space. The article contributes to the measurement and related literature by pointing out that (a) approximate or strict loading identity is not a necessary condition for the utility of alpha as a trustworthy index of scale reliability, and (b) coefficient alpha can be a dependable reliability measure with any extent of inequality in the component loadings.