bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
First Report of Rhizoctonia solani Associated with Black Scurf of Potato Tubers in Lesotho
Authors: Mothibeli Khotsofalang , Lekota Moleboheng , Liphoto Mpho , Morojele Motlatsi E. , Muzhinji Norman
Published: May 2023

Rhizoctonia solani is considered a destructive and widely distributed soil borne pathogenic fungus causing black scurf on potato tubers globally.  Morphological, microscopic characteristics and virulence studies were done on ten R. solani isolates isolated from four districts of Maseru, Thaba-tseka (Mantsónyane), Quthing and Berea representing three agro-ecological zones; the mountains, lowlands and Senqu river valley.  The characteristics include colony colour, hyphal orientation, number of nuclei, and presence of constrictions were studied after five days while colony growth was observed over 24 hour intervals. Variations were observed on all cultural and morphological characters studied in different geographical areas. Among the thirty isolates studied, thirteen of them had pale brown colonies in colour, while eleven had colonies with cream colour, and only 6 isolates had pale to brown coloured colonies. Isolate RB2A  had a number of differentiating features such as faster mycelium growth rate of 4 cm at 24 hours, compared to other isolate with 2 cm between 24 hours and 72 hours which progressed to medium (5cm) after 72 hours and then faster after 96 hours. Mycelium growth rate was observed to be independent of the sample collection site (Figure 4; Table 2). The highest nuclei number of 12 was observed with RM3B isolate, while the lowest number of four was observed with RM1A isolate. A pot experiment to evaluate the virulance strenghth of collected isolates was also conducted under greenhouse conditions, with three cultivars commonly grown in Lesotho, inoculated with the isolates collected from different geographical areas were tested. Isolates showed differences in aggressiveness among and within different potato cultivars grown. All the isolates collected were aggressive in causing black scurf of potatoes with percentage disease incidence ranging from 22 to 51 in Fandango, 70 to 92 in Panamera and 4 to 51 in Savannah. However, different cultivars responded diferently to infection by the isolates. Panamera was the most susceptible cultivar with the highest disease incidence of 83% and disease severity index of 85%. This is the first report of R. solani causing black scurf on potatoes  in Lesotho. Information of Rhizoctonia solani’s prevelence is crucial in the development of effective and timely potato diseases control strategies and growers can make informed cultivar choices  for management of Rhizoctonia solani
UJI ORGANOLEPTIK DAN KIMIA IKAN PARI (Dasyatis sp.) ASAP YANG DIASAP MENGGUNAKAN PELEPAH SAWIT DAN TONGKOL JAGUNG
Authors: Rahmawati Siti , Haslianti Haslianti , Huli La Ode
Published: May 2023

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui nilai organoleptik dan kandungan kimia ikan pari (Dasyatis sp.) asap yang diasap menggunakan pelepah sawit dan tongkol jagung. Penelitian ini menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) non faktorial dengan menggunakan tiga perlakuan penggunaan bahan pengasap pelepah sawit 3 kg (R1), tongkol jagung 3 kg (R2), dan kombinasi pelepah sawit dan tongkol jagung 3 kg (R3) masing-masing tiga kali ulangan. Data hasil pengujian dianalisis menggunakan ANOVA (Analysis of Varian), apabila berpengaruh nyata maka dilanjutkan dengan uji DMRT (Duncan Multiple Range Test) pada taraf kepercayaan 95% (α=0,05). Berdasarkan hasil uji organoleptik pada parameter bau, rasa dan tekstur berpengaruh nyata terhadap penggunaan bahan pengasap yang berbeda, sedangkan untuk tekstur tidak berpengaruh nyata. Nilai bau tertinggi terdapat pada R1 yaitu (8.4), nilai rasa tertinggi terdapat pada R1 yaitu (7.8), nilai tekstur tertinggi terdapat pada R3 yaitu (7.7) dan nilai kenampakan tertinggi terdapat pada R1 yaitu (7.8). Nilai organoleptik ketiga perlakuan telah memenuhi standar SNI (2013). Nilai kandungan kimia ikan pari asap pada penggunaan bahan pengasap yang berbeda berpengaruh nyata terhadap parameter air, abu, lemak, protein dan karbohidrat. Nilai kandungan kimia ikan pari asap yaitu kadar air 61.19 - 64.70%, abu 2.97 - 2.32%, lemak 1.96 - 2.96%, protein 27.07 - 24.80% dan karbohidrat 9.51 - 6.79%.Kata Kunci: Ikan Pari Asap, Organoleptik , Kandungan Kimia
ISOLASI DAN IDENTIFIKASI BAKTERI KITINOLITIK DARI LIMBAH CAIR PEMBEKUAN UDANG
Authors: Handika Demas Bayu , Handayani Tety Desrita , Guspratiwi Reny
Published: May 2023

Limbah cair industri pembekuan udang merupakan salah satu sumber mikroorganisme pendegradasi kitin yang potensial. Tulisan ini melaporkan pencarian sumber enzim kitinolitik dari limbah industri perikanan. Tujuan dari riset ini adalah mengisolasi bakteri kitinolitik dari instalasi pengolahan limbah cair pembekuan udang dan mengidentifikasi bakteri terbaik penghasil kitinase. Skrining isolat bakteri dilakukan dengan mengevaluasi indeks kitinolitik (IK) pada medium kitin agar (koloidal kitin 2%). Terdapat 5 bakteri dengan indeks kitinolitik terbesar pada medium agar, yakni AR 17 dengan nilai IK 2,59 diikuti isolat bakteri AR 15; AR 18; AR 16 dan IL 08 secara berturut turut dengan nilai IK 2,55; 2,43; 2,32 dan 2,17. Lima isolat ini kemudian diukur nilai aktivitas kitinolitik pada medium kitin cair yang diperkaya koloidal kitin 1% pada suhu 30ºC. Berdasarkan pengujian didapatkan hasil bahwa Isolat AR 18 memiliki aktivitas enzim kitinolitik terbesar. Hasil identifikasi bakteri yang dilakukan secara biokimia menunjukkan bahwa isolat AR18 memiliki kemiripan 83,33% dengan Corynebacterium striatumKata Kunci: bakteri kitinolitik, isolasi, identifikasi, kitinase, Limbah cair pembekuan udang
PENGARUH PENGGUNAN BAHAN PENGASAP YANG BERBEDA TERHADAP NILAI ORGANOLEPTIK DAN PAH (POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON) IKAN SIDAT (Anguilla sp.) ASAP
Authors: Yunika Erma , Isamu Kobajashi Togo , Suwarjoyowirayatno Suwarjoyowirayatno
Published: May 2023

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan tempurung kelapa, sabut kelapa dan kombinasi sabut kelapa dan tempurung kelapa terhadap nilai organoleptik, proksimat, dan PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon) belut asap. Parameter yang diuji adalah organoleptik (kadar air, kadar lemak, kadar protein, kadar abu) dan PAH. Penelitian ini menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) yang terdiri dari tiga perlakuan pengasapan (pengasapan tempurung kelapa, pengasapan sabut kelapa, dan kombinasi keduanya), masing-masing perlakuan dilakukan dengan 3 ulangan. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis menggunakan ANOVA, hasil analisis menunjukkan pengaruh yang signifikan maka dilakukan DMRT dengan tingkat kepercayaan 95% (α = 0,05). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan pengasapan tempurung kelapa, sabut kelapa dan kombinasi keduanya berpengaruh nyata terhadap parameter bau, kenampakan, rasa, sedangkan parameter tekstur tidak berpengaruh nyata. Analisis organoleptik perlakuan terbaik pada P1 dengan nilai bau 7,1; penampilan 6,2; rasa 7,4; dan tekstur 5.9. Uji proksimat nilai kadar protein tertinggi ditunjukkan pada perlakuan P3 (kombinasi sabut kelapa dan tempurung kelapa) 19,72% sedangkan untuk hasil tertinggi seperti kadar lemak 17,74%, kadar air 36,68 dan kadar abu 4,26% pada perlakuan P1 ( tempurung kelapa). Kandungan senyawa PAH pada smokedeel yaitu Nephthalene, Acenaphthene, Phenanthrene, Pyrene, Benzo(α)antracene tidak terdeteksi sedangkan kandungan Benzo(α)Pyrene dengan nilai (P1) 9,45 ppm, (P2) 9,40 ppm dan (P3) 9,59 ppm.Kata Kunci: Ikan sidat, PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon), pengasapan, sabut kelapa, tempurung kelapa
ELSAH (electronic smart patch system for wireless monitoring of molecular biomarkers for healthcare and wellbeing): definition of possible use cases
Authors: Brinkmann Christian , Bloch Wilhelm , Mutinati Giorgio C.
Published: May 2023

The ELSAH (electronic smart patch system for wireless monitoring of molecular biomarkers for healthcare and wellbeing) project has received funding from EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement no. 825549). Its aim is to develop a wearable smart patch-based microneedle sensor system that can simultaneously measure several biomarkers in users’ dermal interstitial fluid. This system could have several use cases based on continuous glucose and lactate monitoring: early detection of (pre-) diabetes mellitus, increasing physical performance through optimal carbohydrate intake, achieving a healthier lifestyle through behavioral changes based on the interpretation of glucose data, performance diagnostics (lactate threshold test), control of optimal training intensities corresponding with certain lactate levels, or warning of diseases/health threats, such as the metabolic syndrome or sepsis associated with increased lactate levels. The ELSAH patch system has a high potential of increasing health and wellbeing in users.
Factors that determine a university community’s satisfaction levels with public transit services
Authors: Arif Khan Muhammad , Patel Ronik Ketankumar , Pamidimukkala Apurva , Kermanshachi Sharareh , Rosenberger Jay Michael , Hladik Greg , Foss Ann
Published: May 2023

Introduction: Universities and other educational institutions across the United States collaborate with service providers to afford their students, faculty, and staff transit services, such as dedicated buses, on-demand ridesharing, and public transportation. The university community relies on these services, especially in rural and low-density areas without fixed-route transit services. The literature on this topic has a wealth of detailed material about the travel and usage patterns of public transit systems, but it has little information about users’ satisfaction with the transit services provided by universities.

Method: This study focuses on filling this gap by using descriptive statistics and ordered logistic regression to determine how satisfied users are with university transit services and what factors are associated with their level of satisfaction. Four public transit services available to the University of Texas at Arlington community served as our case studies.

Results and Discussion: The results revealed that most users are satisfied with the services overall. Riders were highly satisfied with service attributes like ease of boarding, cleanliness, customer service, and vehicle speed of the four services. On the other hand, they were least satisfied with service availability and wait times of these services. The findings from this study may be used to provide the UTA community with better mobility and accessibility options and to evaluate the levels of satisfaction with similar services offered to other university communities.
A cross-sectional study identifying disparities in serum metabolic profiles among hypertensive patients with ISH, IDH and SDH subtypes
Authors: Shen Yang , Wang Pan , Yang Xinchun , Chen Mulei , Dong Ying , Li Jing
Published: May 2023

Background

It has been well acknowledged that disordered intestinal microflora and their fermented products play crucial role during the development of hypertension (HTN). Aberrant profiles of fecal bacteria have been documented in subjects with isolated systolic HTN (ISH) and isolated diastolic HTN (IDH) previously. Nevertheless, evidence regarding the association of metabolic products in the bloodstream with ISH, IDH and combined systolic and diastolic HTN (SDH) remains scarce.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional study and conducted untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis on serum samples of 119 participants, including 13 subjects with normotension (SBP < 120/DBP < 80 mm Hg), 11 individuals with ISH (SBP ≥ 130/DBP < 80 mm Hg), 27 patients with IDH (SBP < 130/DBP ≥ 80 mm Hg), and 68 SDH patients (SBP ≥ 130, DBP ≥ 80 mm Hg).

Results

Here, the results showed clearly separated clusters in PLS-DA and OPLS-DA score plots for patients suffering from ISH, IDH and SDH when compared with normotension controls. The ISH group was characterized by elevated levels of 3,5-tetradecadien carnitine and notable reduction of maleic acid. While IDH patients were enriched with metabolites in L-lactic acid and depleted in citric acid. Stearoylcarnitine was identified to be specifically enriched in SDH group. The differentially abundant metabolites between ISH and controls were involved in tyrosine metabolism pathways, and in biosynthesis of phenylalanine for those between SDH and controls. Potential linkages between the gut microbial and serum metabolic signatures were detected within ISH, IDH and SDH groups. Furthermore, we found the association of discriminatory metabolites with the characteristics of patients.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate disparate blood metabolomics signatures across ISH, IDH and SDH, with differentially enriched metabolites and potential functional pathways identified, reveal the underlying microbiome and metabolome network in HTN subtypes, and provide potential targets for disease classification and therapeutic strategy in clinical practice.
Examining ethno-racial attitudes of the public in Twitter discourses related to the United States Supreme Court Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling: A machine learning approach
Authors: Ujah Otobo I. , Olaore Pelumi , Nnorom Onome C. , Ogbu Chukwuemeka E. , Kirby Russell S.
Published: May 2023

Background

The decision of the US Supreme Court to repeal Roe vs. Wade sparked significant media attention. Although primarily related to abortion, opinions are divided about how this decision would impact disparities, especially for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. We used advanced natural language processing (NLP) techniques to examine ethno-racial contents in Twitter discourses related to the overturn of Roe vs. Wade.

Methods

We screened approximately 3 million tweets posted to Roe vs. Wade discussions and identified unique tweets in English-language that had mentions related to race, ethnicity, and racism posted between June 24 and July 10, 2022. We performed lexicon-based sentiment analysis to identify sentiment polarity and the emotions expressed in the Twitter discourse and conducted structural topic modeling to identify and examine latent themes.

Results

Of the tweets retrieved, 0.7% (n = 23,044) had mentions related to race, ethnicity, and racism. The overall sentiment polarity was negative (mean = −0.41, SD = 1.48). Approximately 60.0% (n = 12,092) expressed negative sentiments, while 39.0% (n = 81,45) expressed positive sentiments, and 3.0% (n = 619) expressed neutral sentiments. There were 20 latent themes which emerged from the topic model. The predominant topics in the discourses were related to “racial resentment” (topic 2, 11.3%), “human rights” (topic 2, 7.9%), and “socioeconomic disadvantage” (topic 16, 7.4%).

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates wide ranging ethno-racial concerns following the reversal of Roe and supports the need for active surveillance of racial and ethnic disparities in abortion access in the post-Roe era.
Safety and efficacy of tislelizumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone as neoadjuvant treatment for patients with locally advanced gastric cancer: real-world experience with a consecutive patient cohort
Authors: Jiang Qi , Liu Weizhen , Zeng Xiangyu , Zhang Chenggang , Du Yuqiang , Zeng Liwu , Yin Yuping , Fan Jun , Yang Ming , Tao Kaixiong , Zhang Peng
Published: May 2023

Objectives

Immunotherapy plus chemotherapy has recently been applied in the neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC), while its superiority over neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) alone remains to be explored. This study explored the safety and efficacy of NACT plus tislelizumab in patients with LAGC.

Methods

The data on patients with LAGC who received NACT combined with radical gastrectomy and NACT plus tislelizumab followed by radical gastrectomy was retrospectively collected. Clinicopathological characteristics of the two groups were compared.

Results

A total of 119 and 50 patients with gastric cancer treated with NACT and NACT plus tislelizumab, respectively, were enrolled. No significant difference was found between the baseline data of the two groups. The operative time (210.5 ± 70.4 min vs. 237.6 ± 68.4 min, P=0.732), intraoperative blood loss (157.8 ± 75.9 ml vs. 149.1 ± 92.5 ml, P=0.609), and number of dissected lymph nodes (24.7 ± 9.3 vs. 28.1 ± 10.3, P=0.195) was not statistically different between the two groups. In comparison to the NACT plus tislelizumab group, the R0 resection rate (100% vs. 89.9%, P=0.019) and pathologic complete response rate (26.0% vs. 3.4%, P<0.001) were significantly lower in the NACT group. The postoperative complication rates were 24.4% and 26.0% in the NACT and NACT plus tislelizumab groups with no significant difference (P=0.823). In subgroup analysis, tumor regression grade (TRG) (TRG 3: 72.3% vs. 23.5%, P<0.001) and ypN stage (stages 2–3: 46.8% vs. 5.9%, P=0.003) in the NACT group were significantly higher compared with the NACT plus tislelizumab group in esophagogastric junction carcinoma.

Conclusion

Compared with the S-1 and oxaliplatin (SOX) or 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) NACT regimen, NACT plus tislelizumab significantly improved the efficacy and R0 resection rate of LAGC without increasing the incidence of perioperative complications, particularly in esophagogastric junction carcinoma.
Detection of specific RBD+ IgG+ memory B cells by flow cytometry in healthcare workers and patients with inborn errors of immunity after BNT162b2 m RNA COVID-19 vaccination
Authors: del Pino Molina Lucía , Bravo Gallego Luz Yadira , Nozal Pilar , Soto-Serrano Yolanda , Martínez-Feito Ana , Reche-Yebra Keren , González-Torbay Andrea , Cuesta-Martín de la Cámara Ricardo , Gianelli Carla , Cámara Carmen , González-García J. , González-Muñoz Miguel , Rodríguez-Pena Rebeca , López Granados Eduardo
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are a heterogeneous group of diseases caused by intrinsic defects of the immune system. Estimating the immune competence of immunocompromised patients for an infection risk assessment or after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination constituted a challenge.

Methods

The aim of this study was to determine the humoral responses of patients with IEI through a comprehensive analysis of specific receptor-binding domain-positive (RBD+) IgG+ memory B cells (MBCs) by flow cytometry, together with routine S-specific IgG antibodies and QuantiFERON SARS-CoV-2 (T-cell response), before the vaccine and 3 weeks after a second dose.

Results and discussion

We first analyzed the percentage of specific RBD+ IgG+ MBCs in healthy healthcare workers. Within the control group, there was an increase in the percentage of specific IgG+ RBD+ MBCs 21 days after the second dose, which was consistent with S-specific IgG antibodies.Thirty-one patients with IEI were included for the pre- and post-vaccination study; IgG+ RBD+ MBCs were not evaluated in 6 patients due to an absence of B cells in peripheral blood. We detected various patterns among the patients with IEI with circulating B cells (25, 81%): an adequate humoral response was observed in 12/25, consider by the detection of positive S-specific IgG antibodies and the presence of specific IgG+ RBD+ MBCs, presenting a positive T-cell response; in 4/25, very low S-specific IgG antibody counts correlated with undetectable events in the IgG+ RBD+ MBC compartment but with positive cellular response. Despite the presence of S-specific IgG antibodies, we were unable to detect a relevant percentage of IgG+ RBD+ MBCs in 5/25; however, all presented positive T-cell response. Lastly, we observed a profound failure of B and T-cell response in 3 (10%) patients with IEI, with no assessment of S-specific IgG antibodies, IgG+ RBD+ MBCs, and negative cellular response. The identification of specific IgG+ RBD+ MBCs by flow cytometry provides information on different humoral immune response outcomes in patients with IEI and aids the assessment of immune competence status after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2), together with S-specific IgG antibodies and T-cell responses.
Activated P2X receptors can up-regulate the expressions of inflammation-related genes via NF-κB pathway in spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus)
Authors: Sun Zhaosheng , Gao Qian , Wei Youchuan , Zhou Zhigang , Chen Yuxi , Xu Chong , Gao Jiaqi , Liu Danjie
Published: May 2023

P2X receptors, including seven subtypes, i.e., P2X1-7, are the ligand-gated ion channels activated by the extracellular ATP playing the critical roles in inflammation and immune response. Even though the immune functions of P2X receptors have been characterized extensively in mammals, their functions in fish remain largely unknown. In this study, four P2X receptor homologues were characterized in spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus), which were named LmP2X2, LmP2X4, LmP2X5, and LmP2X7. Their tissue distributions and expression patterns were then investigated by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Furthermore, their functions in regulating the expressions of inflammation-associated genes and possible signaling pathway were examined by qPCR and luciferase assay. The results showed that they share similar topological structures, conserved genomic organization, and gene synteny with their counterparts in other species previously investigated. And the four P2X receptors were expressed constitutively in the tested tissues. In addition, the expression of each of the four receptor genes was significantly induced by stimulation of Edwardsiella tarda and/or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) in vivo. Also, in primary head kidney leukocytes of spotted sea bass, LmP2X2 and LmP2X5 were induced by using PAMPs and/or ATP. Notably, the expressions of CCL2, IL-8, and TNF-α recognized as the pro-inflammatory cytokines, and of the four apoptosis-related genes, i.e., caspase3, caspase6, caspase7, and P53, were differentially upregulated in the HEK 293T cells with over-expressed LmP2X2 and/or LmP2X7 following ATP stimulation. Also, the over-expression of LmP2X4 can upregulate the expressions of IL-8, caspase6, caspase7, and P53, and LmP2X5 upregulates of IL-8, TNF-α, caspase7, and P53. Then in the present study it was demonstrated that the activation of any one of the four receptors significantly upregulated the activity of NF-κB promoter, suggesting that the activated LmP2Xs may regulate the expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines via the NF-κB pathway. Taken together, the four P2X receptors were identified firstly from fish species in Perciformes, and they participate in innate immune response of spotted sea bass possibly by regulating the expressions of the inflammation-related genes. Our study provides the new evidences for the P2X receptors’ involvement in fish immunity.
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis – Advances in pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment
Authors: Fijolek Justyna , Radzikowska Elzbieta
Published: May 2023

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare disease characterized by eosinophil-rich granulomatous inflammation and necrotizing vasculitis, pre-dominantly affecting small-to-medium-sized vessels. It is categorized as a primary antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAVs) but also shares features of hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES); therefore, both vessel inflammation and eosinophilic infiltration are suggested to cause organ damage. This dual nature of the disease causes variable clinical presentation. As a result, careful differentiation from mimicking conditions is needed, especially from HES, given the overlapping clinical, radiologic, and histologic features, and biomarker profile. EGPA also remains a diagnostic challenge, in part because of asthma, which may pre-dominate for years, and often requires chronic corticosteroids (CS), which can mask other disease features. The pathogenesis is still not fully understood, however, the interaction between eosinophils and lymphocytes B and T seems to play an important role. Furthermore, the role of ANCA is not clear, and only up to 40% of patients are ANCA-positive. Moreover, two ANCA-dependent clinically and genetically distinct subgroups have been identified. However, a gold standard test for establishing a diagnosis is not available. In practice, the disease is mainly diagnosed based on the clinical symptoms and results of non-invasive tests. The unmet needs include uniform diagnostic criteria and biomarkers to help distinguish EGPA from HESs. Despite its rarity, notable progress has been made in understanding the disease and in its management. A better understanding of the pathophysiology has provided new insights into the pathogenesis and therapeutic targets, which are reflected in novel biological agents. However, there remains an ongoing reliance on corticosteroid therapy. Therefore, there is a significant need for more effective and better-tolerated steroid-sparing treatment schemes.
Unraveling complex relationships between COVID-19 risk factors using machine learning based models for predicting mortality of hospitalized patients and identification of high-risk group: a large retrospective study
Authors: Banoei Mohammad Mehdi , Rafiepoor Haniyeh , Zendehdel Kazem , Seyyedsalehi Monireh Sadat , Nahvijou Azin , Allameh Farshad , Amanpour Saeid
Published: May 2023

Background

At the end of 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the hospital burden of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-Cov-2 and became the most significant health challenge for nations worldwide. The severity and high mortality of COVID-19 have been correlated with various demographic characteristics and clinical manifestations. Prediction of mortality rate, identification of risk factors, and classification of patients played a crucial role in managing COVID-19 patients. Our purpose was to develop machine learning (ML)-based models for the prediction of mortality and severity among patients with COVID-19. Identifying the most important predictors and unraveling their relationships by classification of patients to the low-, moderate- and high-risk groups might guide prioritizing treatment decisions and a better understanding of interactions between factors. A detailed evaluation of patient data is believed to be important since COVID-19 resurgence is underway in many countries.

Results

The findings of this study revealed that the ML-based statistically inspired modification of the partial least square (SIMPLS) method could predict the in-hospital mortality among COVID-19 patients. The prediction model was developed using 19 predictors including clinical variables, comorbidities, and blood markers with moderate predictability (Q2 = 0.24) to separate survivors and non-survivors. Oxygen saturation level, loss of consciousness, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) were the top mortality predictors. Correlation analysis showed different correlation patterns among predictors for each non-survivor and survivor cohort separately. The main prediction model was verified using other ML-based analyses with a high area under the curve (AUC) (0.81−0.93) and specificity (0.94−0.99). The obtained data revealed that the mortality prediction model can be different for males and females with diverse predictors. Patients were classified into four clusters of mortality risk and identified the patients at the highest risk of mortality, which accentuated the most significant predictors correlating with mortality.

Conclusion

An ML model for predicting mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients was developed considering the interactions between factors that may reduce the complexity of clinical decision-making processes. The most predictive factors related to patient mortality were identified by assessing and classifying patients into different groups based on their sex and mortality risk (low-, moderate-, and high-risk groups).
DRSN4mCPred: accurately predicting sites of DNA N4-methylcytosine using deep residual shrinkage network for diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer in the precision medicine era
Authors: Yu Xia , Ren Jia , Cui Yani , Zeng Rao , Long Haixia , Ma Cuihua
Published: May 2023

Introduction

The DNA N4-methylcytosine (4mC) site levels of those suffering from digestive system cancers were higher, and the pathogenesis of digestive system cancers may also be related to the changes in DNA 4mC levels. Identifying DNA 4mC sites is a very important step in studying the analysis of biological function and cancer prediction. Extracting accurate features from DNA sequences is the key to establishing a prediction model of effective DNA 4mC sites. This study sought to develop a new predictive model, DRSN4mCPred, which aimed to improve the performance of the predicting DNA 4mC sites.

Methods

The model adopted multi-scale channel attention to extract features and used attention feature fusion (AFF) to fuse features. In order to capture features information more accurately and effectively, this model utilized Deep Residual Shrinkage Network with Channel-Wise thresholds (DRSN-CW) to eliminate noise-related features and achieve a more precise feature representation, thereby, distinguishing the sites in DNA with 4mC and non-4mC. Additionally, the predictive model incorporated an inverted residual block, a Multi-scale Channel Attention Module (MS-CAM), a Bi-directional Long Short Term Memory Network (Bi-LSTM), AFF, and DRSN-CW.

Results and Discussion

The results indicated the predictive model DRSN4mCPred had extremely good performance in predicting the DNA 4mC sites across different species. This paper will potentially provide support for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer based on artificial intelligence in the precise medical era.
The transcription factor Ste12-like increases the mycelial abiotic stress tolerance and regulates the fruiting body development of Flammulina filiformis
Authors: Lyu Xiaomeng , Wang Qingji , Liu Ao , Liu Fang , Meng Li , Wang Panmeng , Zhang Yan , Wang Li , Li Zhuang , Wang Wei
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Flammulina filiformis is one of the most commercially important edible fungi worldwide, with its nutritional value and medicinal properties. It becomes a good model species to study the tolerance of abiotic stress during mycelia growth in edible mushroom cultivation. Transcription factor Ste12 has been reported to be involved in the regulation of stress tolerance and sexual reproduction in fungi.

Methods

In this study, identification and phylogenetic analysis of ste12-like was performed by bioinformatics methods. Four ste12-like overexpression transformants of F. filiformis were constructed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation.

Results and Discussion

Phylogenetic analysis showed that Ste12-like contained conserved amino acid sequences. All the overexpression transformants were more tolerant to salt stress, cold stress and oxidative stress than wild-type strains. In the fruiting experiment, the number of fruiting bodies of overexpression transformants increased compared with wild-type strains, but the growth rate of stipes slowed down. It suggested that gene ste12-like was involved in the regulation of abiotic stress tolerance and fruiting body development in F. filiformis.
Time as a supervisor: temporal regularity and auditory object learning
Authors: DiTullio Ronald W. , Parthiban Chetan , Piasini Eugenio , Chaudhari Pratik , Balasubramanian Vijay , Cohen Yale E.
Published: May 2023

Sensory systems appear to learn to transform incoming sensory information into perceptual representations, or “objects,” that can inform and guide behavior with minimal explicit supervision. Here, we propose that the auditory system can achieve this goal by using time as a supervisor, i.e., by learning features of a stimulus that are temporally regular. We will show that this procedure generates a feature space sufficient to support fundamental computations of auditory perception. In detail, we consider the problem of discriminating between instances of a prototypical class of natural auditory objects, i.e., rhesus macaque vocalizations. We test discrimination in two ethologically relevant tasks: discrimination in a cluttered acoustic background and generalization to discriminate between novel exemplars. We show that an algorithm that learns these temporally regular features affords better or equivalent discrimination and generalization than conventional feature-selection algorithms, i.e., principal component analysis and independent component analysis. Our findings suggest that the slow temporal features of auditory stimuli may be sufficient for parsing auditory scenes and that the auditory brain could utilize these slowly changing temporal features.
Molecular genetic features and clinical manifestations in Chinese familial cerebral cavernous malformation: from a novel KRIT1/CCM1 mutation (c.1119dupT) to an overall view
Authors: Chen Yanming , Dong Xuchen , Wang Ye , Lv Haijun , Chen Nan , Wang Zhongyong , Chen Si , Chen Ping , Xiao Sheng , Zhao Jizong , Dong Jun
Published: May 2023

Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) are common vascular anomaly diseases in the central nervous system associated with seizures, cerebral microbleeds, or asymptomatic mostly. CCMs can be classified as sporadic or familial, with familial cerebral cavernous malformations (fCCMs) being the autosomal dominant manner with incomplete penetrance. Germline mutations of KRIT1, CCM2, and PDCD10 are associated with the pathogenesis of fCCMs. Till now, little is known about the fCCMs mutation spectrum in the Han Chinese population. In this study, we enrolled a large, aggregated family, 11/26 of the family members were diagnosed with CCMs by pathological or neuroradiological examination, with a high percentage (5/9) of focal spinal cord involvement. Genomic DNA sequencing verified a novel duplication mutation (c.1119dupT, p.L374Sfs*9) in exon 9 of the Krev interaction trapped 1 (KRIT1) gene. The mutation causes a frameshift and is predicted to generate a truncated KRIT1/CCM1 protein of 381 amino acids. All our findings confirm that c.1119dupT mutation of KRIT1 is associated with fCCMs, which enriched the CCM genes’ mutational spectrum in the Chinese population and will be beneficial for deep insight into the pathogenesis of Chinese fCCMs. Additionally, with a retrospective study, we analyzed the molecular genetic features of Chinese fCCMs, most of the Chinese fCCMs variants are in the KRIT1 gene, and all these variants result in the functional deletion or insufficiency of the C-terminal FERM domain of the KRIT1 protein.
Evaluation and clinical implications of interactions between compound Danshen dropping pill and warfarin associated with the epoxide hydrolase gene
Authors: Chen Xixi , Zuo Xurui , Zhao Yingqiang , Huang Yuhong , Lv Chunxiao
Published: May 2023

Introduction: In clinical practice, warfarin is often combined with Compound Danshen dripping pill (CDDP) for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, warfarin has a narrow therapeutic index, wide interindividual variability (genetic and non-genetic factors), and is susceptible to drug-drug interactions. Our previous study indicated that CDDP might interact with warfarin in individuals with the epoxide hydrolase gene (EPHX1; single-nucleotide polymorphism: rs2292566) A/A subtype. We sought to clarify the interaction between CDDP and warfarin associated with EPHX1 in a comprehensive and accurate manner.

Methods: Here, EPHX1 A and EPHX1 G cell lines were established. Expression of microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH), vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR), and vitamin K-dependent clotting factors (FII, FVII, FIX, FX) was measured by western blotting upon incubation with CDDP and warfarin. mEH activity was evaluated by measuring the transformation of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids into dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids. Then, healthy volunteers (HVs) with the EPHX1 A/A genotype were recruited and administered warfarin and CDDP to investigate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin.

Results: CDDP combined with warfarin could decrease expression of mEH and VKOR, and increase protein expression of FII, FVII, FIX, and FX, in EPHX1 A cells. CDDP could slightly influence the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of warfarin in HVs with the EPHX1 A/A genotype.

Discussion: Rational combination of CDDP and warfarin was safe with no risk of bleeding, but the therapeutic management is also needed. The clinical study is posted in the China Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR190002434).
Review on melanosis coli and anthraquinone-containing traditional Chinese herbs that cause melanosis coli
Authors: Zhang Ruiyuan , Huang Cai , Wu Fan , Fang Ke , Jiang Shujun , Zhao Yan , Chen Guang , Dong Ruolan
Published: May 2023

Backgrounds: The incidence of melanosis coli (MC) has gradually increased annually, attracting significant attention and efforts into this field. A potential risk for MC is the long-term use of anthraquinone laxatives in patients with constipation. Most traditional cathartic drugs are made from herbs containing anthraquinone compounds. This review aims to provide guidance for the application of traditional Chinese herbs containing anthraquinones for physicians and researchers.

Materials and methods: We reviewed risk factors and pathogenesis of MC, and natural anthraquinones isolated from TCM herbs. We searched Pubmed and CNKI databases for literature related to MC with keywords such as“traditional Chinese medicine”, “Chinese herbs”, “anthraquinones”, and “melanosis coli”. The literature is current to January 2023 when the searches were last completed. After the literature retrieval, the TCM herbs containing anthraquinones (including component identification and anthraquinone content determination) applied in clinical were selected. According to the collected evidence, we provide a list of herbs containing anthraquinones that could cause MC.

Results: We identified 20 herbs belonging to 7 families represented by Polygonaceae, Fabaceae, Rhamnaceae, and Rubiaceae, which may play a role in the pathogenesis of MC. Among these, the herbs most commonly used include Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizome), Heshouwu (Radix Polygoni Multiflori), Huzhang (Rhizoma Polygoni Cuspidati), Juemingzi (Semen Cassiae), Luhui (Aloe) and Qiancao (Rubiae Radix et Rhizoma).

Conclusion: Due to a lack of awareness of the chemical composition of TCM herbs, many patients with constipation and even some TCM physicians take cathartic herbal remedies containing abundant anthraquinones to relieve defecation disturbances, resulting in long-term dependence on these herbs, which is potentially associated with most cases of MC. When such treatments are prescribed, TCM physicians should avoid long-term use in large doses to reduce their harm on colonic health. Individuals who take healthcare products containing these herbs should also be under the supervision of a doctor.
Horizon scan of DNA-based methods for quality control and monitoring of herbal preparations
Authors: Raclariu-Manolică Ancuța Cristina , Mauvisseau Quentin , de Boer Hugo J.
Published: May 2023

Herbal medicines and preparations are widely used in healthcare systems globally, but concerns remain about their quality and safety. New herbal products are constantly being introduced to the market under varying regulatory frameworks, with no global consensus on their definition or characterization. These biologically active mixtures are sold through complex globalized value chains, which create concerns around contamination and profit-driven adulteration. Industry, academia, and regulatory bodies must collaborate to develop innovative strategies for the identification and authentication of botanicals and their preparations to ensure quality control. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) has significantly improved our understanding of the total species diversity within DNA mixtures. The standard concept of DNA barcoding has evolved over the last two decades to encompass genomic data more broadly. Recent research in DNA metabarcoding has focused on developing methods for quantifying herbal product ingredients, yielding meaningful results in a regulatory framework. Techniques, such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), DNA barcode-based Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (BAR-RPA), DNA barcoding coupled with High-Resolution Melting (Bar-HRM), and microfluidics-based methods, offer more affordable tests for the detection of target species. While target capture sequencing and genome skimming are considerably increasing the species identification resolution in challenging plant clades, ddPCR enables the quantification of DNA in samples and could be used to detect intended and unwanted ingredients in herbal medicines. Here, we explore the latest advances in emerging DNA-based technologies and the opportunities they provide as taxa detection tools for evaluating the safety and quality of dietary supplements and herbal medicines.
Surface electromyographic (sEMG) activity of the suprahyoid and sternocleidomastoid muscles in pitch and loudness control
Authors: Wang Feifan , Yiu Edwin M.-L.
Published: May 2023

Purpose: This study set out to determine the contributions of the suprahyoid and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles in changing pitch and loudness during phonation among vocally healthy populations.

Method: Thirty-nine participants were first recruited, and twenty-nine of them who passed the screening test (Voice Handicap Index [VHI]-10 score ≤11, auditory-perceptual voice rating score ≤2) were finally selected (mean age = 28.2 years). All participants were measured for their surface electromyographic (sEMG) activity collected from the bilateral suprahyoid and SCM muscles when producing the vowel /a/, /i/, and /u/ in natural (baseline) and at different pitch (+3, +6, -3, -6 semitones) and loudness (+5, +10, −5 dB) levels. Linear mixed-effects models were performed to determine the influencing factors on the root-mean-square percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (RMS %MVC) value of the sEMG signals.

Results: Compared with the baseline, a significant decrease of RMS %MVC was found in the suprahyoid muscles during overall phonations of lower pitches (−3 and −6 semitones) and loudness (−5 dB). However, no significant change was detected when producing speech at higher pitch (+3 and +6 semitones) and loudness (+5 and +10 dB) levels. Among the three vowels, /i/ demonstrated significantly higher RMS %MVC than those of /a/ and /u/. The SCM muscles, however, did not show any significant change in the RMS %MVC values among different vowels in relation to the pitch and loudness changes. When the muscles were compared across the two sides, significantly higher RMS %MVC was found in the right side of the suprahyoid (in pitch and loudness control) and SCM (in pitch control) when compared to the left side.

Conclusions: The suprahyoid muscle activities were significantly decreased when producing lower pitches and intensities compared to the natural baselines. The production of sustained /i/ required significantly more suprahyoid muscle activities than those of /a/ and /u/. The SCM muscles did not show much sEMG activity in any of the pitch and loudness levels, which could be used potentially as the calibration or normalization of peri-laryngeal sEMG measurement. The findings also showed a tendency for bilateral asymmetry in the use of suprahyoid and SCM muscles.
How does digital infrastructure affect residents' healthcare expenditures? Evidence from Chinese microdata
Authors: Han Huichao , Hai Chenxi , Wu Tianqi , Zhou Nianchi
Published: May 2023

Healthcare expenditure is only one of the heavy burdens that families face in developing countries. Current research mainly focuses on analyzing the effects of financial policy. There is a lack of studies that examine the understanding and assessment of the impact of digital infrastructure on this issue. In this study, we used the Broadband China policy as a quasi-natural experiment to explore the impact of digital infrastructure on residents' healthcare expenditures in China. Using the differences-in-differences (DID) model and micro-survey data, we found that digital infrastructure has a positive impact on reducing the burden of healthcare expenditure in China. Our findings indicate that residents in cities can save up to 18.8% on healthcare expenses following large-scale digital infrastructure construction. Through mechanism analysis, we found that digital infrastructure reduces residents' healthcare expenditures by improving both commercial insurance availability and the healthcare efficiency of residents. In addition, the effects of digital infrastructure on reducing healthcare expenditure are more pronounced among middle-aged individuals, those with low levels of education, and those with low incomes, which indicates this digital construction wave helps bridge the social gap between the poor and the rich. This study provides compelling evidence of the positive impact of digital society construction on social health and wellbeing.
SCINOBO: a novel system classifying scholarly communication in a dynamically constructed hierarchical Field-of-Science taxonomy
Authors: Kotitsas Sotiris , Pappas Dimitris , Manola Natalia , Papageorgiou Haris
Published: May 2023

Classifying scientific publications according to Field-of-Science taxonomies is of crucial importance, powering a wealth of relevant applications including Search Engines, Tools for Scientific Literature, Recommendation Systems, and Science Monitoring. Furthermore, it allows funders, publishers, scholars, companies, and other stakeholders to organize scientific literature more effectively, calculate impact indicators along Science Impact pathways and identify emerging topics that can also facilitate Science, Technology, and Innovation policy-making. As a result, existing classification schemes for scientific publications underpin a large area of research evaluation with several classification schemes currently in use. However, many existing schemes are domain-specific, comprised of few levels of granularity, and require continuous manual work, making it hard to follow the rapidly evolving landscape of science as new research topics emerge. Based on our previous work of scinobo, which incorporates metadata and graph-based publication bibliometric information to assign Field-of-Science fields to scientific publications, we propose a novel hybrid approach by further employing Neural Topic Modeling and Community Detection techniques to dynamically construct a Field-of-Science taxonomy used as the backbone in automatic publication-level Field-of-Science classifiers. Our proposed Field-of-Science taxonomy is based on the OECD fields of research and development (FORD) classification, developed in the framework of the Frascati Manual containing knowledge domains in broad (first level(L1), one-digit) and narrower (second level(L2), two-digit) levels. We create a 3-level hierarchical taxonomy by manually linking Field-of-Science fields of the sciencemetrix Journal classification to the OECD/FORD level-2 fields. To facilitate a more fine-grained analysis, we extend the aforementioned Field-of-Science taxonomy to level-4 and level-5 fields by employing a pipeline of AI techniques. We evaluate the coherence and the coverage of the Field-of-Science fields for the two additional levels based on synthesis scientific publications in two case studies, in the knowledge domains of Energy and Artificial Intelligence. Our results showcase that the proposed automatically generated Field-of-Science taxonomy captures the dynamics of the two research areas encompassing the underlying structure and the emerging scientific developments.