bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MOTEMO-OUTDOOR: Ensuring learning and health safety during the COVID-19 pandemic through outdoor and online environments in higher education
Authors: Mateo-Canedo Corel , Crespo Neus , Cladellas Ramon , Méndez-Ulrich Jorge Luis , Sanz Antoni
Published: July 2022

The restriction measures posed notable challenges for formal teaching-learning processes in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic since they had to be adapted to guarantee health security. An active learning programme applied to three environments (indoor, outdoor, and online) was tested on 273 undergraduate university students in an a within-subjects experimental study. Each student was assigned to two indoor and two outdoor seminars, and a subsample (n = 30) also participated in online seminars due to the university's lockdown protocols. The learning experience and learning conditions were evaluated through six dimensions: learning, evaluative impact, hedonic experience, technical conditions, environmental conditions, and health safety. The results suggested that outdoor was more effective than indoor in the learning experience, with greater differences in hedonic experience, but indoor scored better than outdoor in the learning conditions, with a greater difference the environmental conditions. No differences were found between online and face-to-face environments in the learning experience, despite online had better scores in the learning conditions. It is concluded that this adaptation through active methodologies to both outdoor and online contexts allows overcoming technical, environmental, and teaching limitations and improves health safety, guaranteeing the learning experience, and thus providing with flexibility the teaching-learning processes.
Ecological importance of rare phytoplankton species revealed by their high contribution to unsaturated fatty acids in tropical waters
Authors: Tang Quehui , You Jiangtao , Qian Song S. , Jeppesen Erik , Han Boping
Published: July 2022

There is increasing evidence that rare species play an important role in trophic interactions, but how rare species with low biomass disproportionately function in these processes remains unclear. Phytoplankton is placed at the base of lentic and marine food webs and is characterised by a few dominant species and many rare species. While the dominant species contribute most to the primary production, they are often low-quality food for primary consumers. The rare species may instead provide the essential biochemical nutrients for consumers, especially in eutrophic waters. We hypothesised that the biomasses of rare phytoplankton species significantly determine the concentrations of particulate PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids), directly linking them to the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. We applied redundancy analysis and Lasso regression models to identify the species whose population dynamics explain the variations of particulate fatty acids concentrations in tropical reservoirs and lakes. The model predicted that the dominant phytoplankton species determined the concentration of saturated particulate fatty acids and that rare phytoplankton species were the main determinant for PUFAs. In particular, the biomass of the rare species Scenedesmus obliquus was a key variable explaining the variations of ALA (α-linolenic acid), LIN (α-linoleic acid), GLA (γ-linolenic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) concentrations in the studied waterbodies. We conclude that the population dynamics of rare phytoplankton species can define the food quality associated with PUFAs for consumers and thus play a critical role in the trophic transfer in the food webs of tropical waterbodies.
Prognostic and immunological value of Chromobox family genes in Pan-Cancer
Authors: XU Hongmiao , HE Yingchun , ZOU Fang , ZOU Pan , ZHOU Fangliang , WANG Xianwen , SHI Hongjian , HE Lan
Published: July 2022

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the expression and prognostic significance of chromobox (CBX) family genes in pan cancer and to associate their roles with immune subtypes, tumor microenvironment and drug sensitivity. Methods: TCGA +GTEX method was used to analyze five members of the CBX2/4/6/7/8, Using 11,093 samples from 33 tumor types in TCGA database，to multidimensional analysis of five members of the CBX family, CBX2, CBX4, CBX6, CBX7, CBX8.including the differential expression of the CBX family in pan cancer, as well as the correlation between immune subtypes, tumor purity and stemness.Finally, the correlation data of CellMiner database was used to analyze the relationship between CBXs and drug sensitivity. Then, GO plot was performed, and GSEA analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis were generated. CellMiner database was used to analyze the correlation and mechanism of CBX family genes with drug sensitivity. Results: CBX 2/4/8 were highly expressed in pan-cancers. The expression level of CBX6 was heterogeneous among different tumor types, while that of CBX7 was low. The results show that CBX2, CBX4, and CBX8 are highly expressed in pan-cancer,and CBX6 is heterogeneous among different tumor types, while CBX7 is lowly expressed in almost tumor types.The expression of CBXs was correlated with the overall survival of patients, but the correlation direction depended on the cancer type. CBXs were significantly correlated with immune infiltration subtypes (P< 0.001). The expression of CBX2/CBX7s had differences in stromal cell score and RNAss stemness score. High expression of CBX82 was correlated with the high purity of most types of cancers, while CBX7 was contrary to this pattern. Rich analysis indicated that CBXs may affect the occurrence and progression of tumors by regulating RNA splicing and transcription coactivator activity. The core genes of hsa-mir-181a and EGR1 were identified in the established mRNA-TF-miRNA WGCNA network. Finally, our study revealed that CBX2 gene may be associated with sensitivity to Acrichine, Curcumin, Nelarabine, Ixabepilone, Ifosfamide, tfdu and Tamoxifen.The high expression of CBX7 was positively correlated with the drug resistance of cells to Aminoflavone, AFP464 and Lificguat.Conclusion: The CBX family showed different expression in different tumor types. CBX2 acted as an oncogene and might be overexpressed in a variety of human cancers, and CBX7 acted as a tumor suppressor gene and might become a promising therapeutic target. This study revealed multiple expression patterns of CBXs in pan cancer, providing new insights for cancer treatment, but further laboratory validation is needed.
Effect of AI-assisted software on inter- and intra-observer variability for preschool children X-ray bone age assessment
Authors: Zhao Kai , Ma Shuai , Sun Zhaonan , Liu Xiang , Zhu Ying , Xu Yufeng , Wang Xiaoying
Published: July 2022

Background
With the rapid development of deep learning algorithms and the rapid improvement of computer hardware in the past few years, AI-assisted diagnosis software for bone age has achieved good diagnostic performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of AI-assisted software on residents’ inter-observer agreement and intra-observer reproducibility for preschool children X-ray bone age assessment.
Methods
This prospective study was approved by Institutional Ethics Committee. Six board-certified residents interpreted 56 bone age radiographs ranging from 3 to 6 years with structured reporting by modified TW3 method. The images were interpreted on two separate occasions, once with and once without the assistant of AI. After a washout period of 4 weeks, the radiographs were reevaluated by each resident in the same way. The average bone age results of three experts were the reference bone age. Both TW3-RUS and TW3-Carpal were evaluated. The root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute difference (MAD) and bone age accuracy within 0.5 years & 1 year were used as metrics of accuracy. Inter-observer agreement and intra-observer reproducibility were evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICCs).
Results
With the assistance of bone age AI software, the accuracy of residents’ results improved significantly. For Inter-observer agreement comparison, The ICC results with AI assistance among 6 residents were higher than results without AI assistance on the two separate occasions. For intra-observer reproducibility comparison, the ICC results with AI assistance were higher than results without AI assistance between the 1st reading and 2nd reading for each resident.
Conclusions
For preschool children X-ray bone age assessment, besides improving diagnostic accuracy, bone age AI-assisted software can also increase inter-observer agreement and intra-observer reproducibility. AI-assisted software can be an effective diagnostic tool for residents in actual clinical settings.
Developing an implementation fidelity checklist for a vocational rehabilitation intervention
Authors: Powers Katie , Clarke Sara , Phillips Julie , Holmes Jain A , Cripps Rachel , Craven Kristelle , Farrin Amanda , Nair Roshan das , Radford Kathryn A
Published: July 2022

Background: Despite growing numbers of studies reporting the efficacy of complex interventions and their implementation, many studies fail to report information on implementation fidelity or describe how fidelity measures used within the study were developed. This study aimed to develop a fidelity checklist for measuring implementation fidelity of an early, stroke-specialist vocational rehabilitation intervention (ESSVR) in the RETAKE trial.Methods: To develop the fidelity measure, previous checklists were reviewed to inform assessment structure, core intervention components were extracted from intervention descriptions into a checklist, which was ratified by eight experts in fidelity measurement and complex interventions. Guidance notes were generated to assist checklist completion. To test the measure, two researchers independently applied the checklist to fifteen stroke survivor intervention case notes using retrospective observational case review. The scoring was assessed for interrater reliability.Results: A fidelity checklist containing 21 core components and 6 desirable components across 4 stages of intervention delivery was developed with corresponding guidance notes. Interrater reliability of each checklist item ranged from moderate to perfect (Cohen’s kappa 0.69-1).Conclusions: The resulting checklist to assess implementation fidelity is fit for assessing delivery of vocational rehabilitation for stroke survivors using retrospective observational case review. The checklist proved its utility as a measure of fidelity and may be used to inform the design of future implementation strategies.Trial Registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN12464275. Registered on 13th March 2018.
The predictive value of urinary Progesterone metabolite PdG testing in pregnancy outcomes
Authors: Koudele Alexandra , Levy Gary , Eyvazzadeh Aimee , Park John , Klein Joshua , BECKLEY AMY
Published: July 2022

Background: Progesterone is essential for establishing and maintaining a pregnancy. However, premature atresia of the corpus luteum (CL) or sub-optimal progesterone secretion after ovulation may result in the decreased ability to establish or maintain a pregnancy. The current limitations of serum hormone testing fail to give a complete picture of progesterone production across the luteal phase required for pregnancy.Methods: Pregnanediol-3a-glucuronide (PdG) is a progesterone metabolite that can be detected via non-invasive, self-administered urinary test strips and can be used to monitor progesterone production. PdG test strips were used by 185 women and taken multiple times during the luteal phase. Results were analysed by Fisher’s exact test.Results: Of the 185 enrolled women, 172 had complete cycles. Of the 172 women who demonstrated complete cycles, 54 (31.4%) women reported pregnancies. Thirty-five (64.8%) of these pregnancies resulted from a PdG positive cycle with a miscarriage rate of 14.3% (5/35). Nineteen pregnancies (35.2%) resulted from PdG negative cycles with a miscarriage rate of 89.5% (17/19). The association of a negative or positive cycle with pregnancy outcome was significant (two-sided p=0.0001). Positive PdG cycles are associated with increased pregnancy rates and lower odds of a first-trimester pregnancy loss.Conclusions: A consideration for luteal phase support with progesterone or ovulation induction in women with negative PdG cycles can be of benefit to increase pregnancy rates. Furthermore, the use of LH and PdG testing prior to conception can be used as a screening tool to potentially identify women who are at risk of subfertility and at a higher risk of first-trimester pregnancy loss related to low progesterone.Trial registration: NCT05033366. Registered 02 September 2021, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05033366
Correlation between microvessel maturity and ISUP grade assessed using contrast-enhanced transrectal ultrasonography in prostate cancer
Authors: Gao Yong , Zeng Xuerong , Liao Xinhong
Published: July 2022

Objectives: In prostate cancer (PCa), microvessel maturity may be useful in distinguishing cancers with aggressive potential. In this study, we aimed to assess the correlation among the contrast enhancement patterns and peak intensity (PI) values of quantitative parameters, microvessel density (MVD), microvessel maturity, and International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grades in biopsy specimens from PCa patients.Methods: The study population included PCa patients who underwent targeted and systematic biopsy, without radiation or chemohormonal therapy prior to biopsy. Contrast-enhanced transrectal ultrasonography (CE-TRUS) was performed in all patients before biopsy. Contrast enhancement patterns and PI values of quantitative parameters were observed. Tumor tissue samples were immunostained for CD31 expression. MVD, microvessel maturity, and ISUP grades were determined in the prostate biopsy specimens. Results: Based on the contrast enhancement patterns of prostate lesions, 16 patients were assigned to a low-enhancement group and 45 to a high-enhancement group. The number of mature vessels, MVD, mature vessel index, and ISUP grades were all higher in the high-enhancement group than in the low-enhancement group (all P<0.05). The immature vessel index was lower in the high-enhancement group than in the low-enhancement group (P<0.05). The PI value was positively correlated with the number of mature vessels (r=0.372). Conclusions: In conclusion, enhancement patterns on CE-TRUS were found to reflect microvessel maturity in PCa. Although the PI value was positively correlated with the number of mature vessels, the correlation was weak. Thus, the PI value is not likely a good indicator of PCa prognosis or characteristics.
Analysis of rainfall dynamics in the three main cities of northern Cameroon
Authors: Yaouba Bassirou , Dieudonné Bitondo
Published: July 2022

The northern zone of Cameroon, which depends mainly on agriculture, is considered one of the most vulnerable regions in the country to climate change. Few studies based on field data have examined the changes in climatic conditions that affect agriculture. This research focuses on fluctuations in precipitation that determine dry and wet seasons. From 1973 to 2020, data were collected from weather stations located in three major cities in northern Cameroon: Ngaoundere, Garoua and Maroua. Data were tested for homogeneity using the Pettitt and Buishand tests. Trends were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test, Sen's slope estimator and the regression line, while drought severity was assessed using the standardized rainfall index method. These data homogeneity tests were performed using two statistical tools, SPSS and XLSTA software. According to the Pettitt’s test, rainfall increased by 29.6% in Ngaoundere from 1997 to 2020, compared to the previous years of 1973–1996; in Garoua, rainfall increased by 36.2% from 1988 to 2020, compared to the previous years of 1973–1987. However, from 1973 to 2020, the average rainfall in Maroua remained stable around 716.5 mm, with a decreasing trend according to the Mann-Kendall test. In conclusion, this study shows that rainfall has increased significantly in the cities of Ngaoundere and Garoua, making these areas favorable for seasonal and market gardening. However, in Maroua, caution is advised, as rainfall is reportedly decreasing in this locality, increasing the risk of food insecurity. A credible climate warning system must be implemented on a large scale to guide farmers.
Polythiophene Imprinted CeO2 Fluorescent probe for Lead Detection in Water
Authors: Ali Abdu Hussen
Published: July 2022

The development of real-time, highly sensitive and selective, simple technique for detection of toxic Pb 2+ in water was challenged. However, in this study a highly efficient fluorescent probe based on polythiophene imprinted CeO 2 nanocomposite for selective detection of Pb 2+ ion was developed by polymerization method. The developed fluorescent probe was characterized by using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier- Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Upon binding to the imprinted binding sites PT/CeO 2 the Pb 2+ interacts with the molecular orbital and their fluorescence is quenched via reverse photoinduced electron transfer which result the qualitative and quantitative detection. The factor affecting the detection system such as pH and concentration are optimized. Additionally, the PT/CeO 2 fluorescent sensor exhibits highly sensitive with stern Volmer quenching (KSV) value of 6.39 x 10 3 M -1 . The practical application of the sensor also tested by spiked with different concentration of Pb 2+ ion solutions on tab water samples. The result indicates a good linear relation between F O /F and the spiked concentrations with coefficient of regression R 2 = 0.99 (n= 3) and also confirms that the found values is agreed well with the spiked amount. The obtained amounts of lead metal ion concentrations in tap water were 15.39 μM which exceeded the allowable limit as stated by WHO .
Evaluation of antioxidative response of diatoms grown on emerging steroidal contaminants
Authors: Singh Pankaj Kumar , Bhatacharjya Raya , Lakshmi Jaya , Thakur Indu Shekhar , Tiwari Archana
Published: July 2022

With increasing anthropic activities, a myriad of typical contaminants from industries, hospitals, and municipal discharges have been found which fail to be categorized under regulatory standards and are hence considered contaminants of ‘emerging concern’. Since these pollutants are not removed effectively even by the conventional treatment system, they tend to inflict potential threats to both humans as well as aquatic life. However, microalgae-mediated remediation strategies have recently gained worldwide importance owing to their role in carbon fixation, low operational cost, and production of high-value products. In this study, centric diatom Chaetoceros gracilis was exposed to different concentrations of estradiol (E2) induced synthetic media ranging from 0 to 2 mg L− 1, and its impact on the antioxidative system of the algae was investigated. The results indicate that the nutrient stress caused an elevation in the antioxidative response of the diatom triggering the release of radical scavenging enzymes like catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD). Maximum specific activity (U mg − 1 of protein) of CAT and APX was noted in the diatom culture supplemented with 0.5 mg L− 1. However, peroxidation of lipid membranes was more intense in the setups with greater oxidative stress that the ones with higher E2 concentrations. Thus, the study reveals the scope of diatoms as potential indicators of environmental stress even under the varying concentration of a single contaminant (E2).
Kinematic analysis of nanocomposite optical absorption of Ag/Ag2O prepared by a green method
Authors: Shahriari Esmaeil , Raeisi Morteza
Published: July 2022

In this report, silver and silver oxide nanocomposites are synthesized using a green method at different concentrations of silver nitrate. In this method, coelomic yellow liquid extracted from earthworms has been used as a silver nitrate reduction. The crystal structure of the obtained nanoparticles was analyzed by X-ray diffraction pattern and Rietveld method. The results show that with increasing the concentration of silver nitrate, the size and strain of silver oxide nanoparticles remained unchanged, but the size of silver nanoparticles increased and strain decreased. SEM images show uniform particle distribution, high density, and spherical geometric shape. By measuring and fitting the UV spectra of the nanocomposites, the weight percentage and the absorption peak of each component were determined. Accordingly, with increasing the concentration of silver nitrate, the absorption peak for silver nanoparticles is shifted to the higher wavelengths and for silver oxide nanoparticles is almost constant. Also, the weight percentage of silver oxide remains almost constant, and increases for silver nanoparticles. In the framework of a simple kinematic model, it is shown that its origin can be related to the different reactions speed of conversion of silver nitrate to silver and silver oxide.
Antibiotic treatment in end stage cancer patients, its advantages and disadvantages
Authors: Tahmasebi Mamak , Hosamirudsari Hadiseh , Familrashtian Shirin , Parash Masoud , Salehi Mohammadreza , Abbaszadeh Mahsa
Published: July 2022

Aim: In this study our aim was to elucidate whether advanced cancer patients benefit from antibiotic treatment in the last days of life in addition to reviewing the relevant costs and effects.Materials and methods: We reviewed medical records from 100 end-stage cancer patients that treated with antibiotics during the hospitalization in Imam Khomeini hospital. Patient's medical records were analyzed retrospectively for cause and periodicity of infections, fever, increase in acute phase proteins, cultures, type and cost of antibiotic. Results: Microorganisms were found in only 29 patients (29%) and the most microorganism among the patients was E.coli (6%). About 78% of the patients had clinical symptoms. The highest dose of antibiotics was related to Ceftriaxone (40.2%) and in the second place was Metronidazole (34.7%) and the lowest dose was related to Levofloxacin, Gentamycine and Colistine (1.4%). Fifty-one patients (71%) did not have any side effects due to antibiotics. The most common side effect of antibiotics among patients was skin rash (12.5%). The average estimated cost for antibiotic use was 7935540 Rials (24.4 dollars).Conclusion: Regardless of not prescribing antibiotics or the type of antibiotics used, it was ineffective in treating advanced cancer patients. The cost of using antibiotics during hospitalization is very high, and physicians should consider the risk of developing resistant hospital strains. Antibiotic side effects also occur in patients, causing more harm to the patient at the end of life.
New histopathological evaluation method for eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders using Giemsa and direct fast scarlet stains
Authors: Ikeda Mina , Arakawa Satoshi , Kobayashi Takashi , Inada Ken-ichi , Kiriyama Yuka , Sakuma Takahiko , Imaeda Yoshihiro , Ishihara Takuma , Miyoshi Hironao , Yamamoto Satoshi , Tachino Haruhiko , Kato Hiroyuki , Asano Yukio , Horiguchi Akihiko , Katano Yoshiaki
Published: July 2022

Background: The definitive diagnosis of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID) relies on gastrointestinal endoscopy and histopathology, especially for the determination of the total number of infiltrating eosinophils per high-power field. The objective of this study was to clarify the difference in eosinophil counts by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Giemsa, and direct fast scarlet (DFS) staining using pathological tissue from patients with EGID. Methods: This retrospective study included 28 patients with eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE) and 10 with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) between January 2016 and June 2019. The judges included three pathologists and one clinical laboratory technician; we also included an outsider, who was not a judge, to set a specific site and set a site for measuring the eosinophil count using H&E, Giemsa, and DFS staining at the same site. The data were analyzed using a linear mixed-effect model. In addition, the difference in color value for each staining method was analyzed using the color value of the Commission International de l’Eclairage (CIE) luminance-a-b model (L a*b*). A certain color difference (ΔE) was obtained from the L a*b* value of the eosinophilic granules, with the difference from the other L a*b* values (ΔL, Δa, Δb), and the total color difference was calculated by ΔE.Results: Compared with the H&E stain, the Giemsa and DFS stains had higher counts, with DFS having the highest count (β = 35.151, 95%CI: 27.220 - 43.083, p < 0.001). There was a difference among all the raters (p < 0.001); however, the closer they were to being an expert, the smaller was the difference in the mean values for Giemsa and DFS stains. Additionally, the ΔE of the DFS stain was higher than that of the Giemsa stain in the plasma cells, erythrocytes, and stroma.Conclusions: The number of counted eosinophils was higher with Giemsa and DFS staining than with H&E staining. Eosinophil counting is reliable for any staining method and, although there were differences between the raters, relying on experts and expert assistants can reduce these differences. Therefore, the use of Giemsa and DFS staining with H&E staining may be useful for counting eosinophil.
Nonlinear Moving Horizon Predictive Control of Vine-Like Soft Growing Robots
Authors: El-Hussieny Haitham , Sherif Heba , Zaky Ahmed B.
Published: July 2022

Mimicking the biological growth exhibited by plants, growing robots have shown superb performance in exploring tight and distant environments due to their lengths that can extend up to several tens of meters. However, controlling the position of the growing robot's tip could be challenging due to the lack of an adequate method for precisely measuring the robot's Cartesian position in working environments. Meanwhile, owing to the irreversible addition of materials in growing robots, classical control techniques would fail to obtain feasible control actions considering the process constraints. This paper proposes two optimization-based techniques. Namely, a Moving Horizon Estimation (MHE) combined with a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) scheme to achieve the robot's performance. The MHE estimates the robot's entire state, including its unknown Cartesian position, based on the available robot's configuration measurements. The proposed NMPC ensures the robot's performance in point stabilization, trajectory tracking, and obstacle avoidance while considering the process constraints by relying on the estimated state. The nonlinear kinematics model of a vine-like robot, one of the newly introduced plant-inspired growing robots, is incorporated in numerical simulations, and satisfying results are obtained in terms of significantly reduced computation times and tracking error.
The pressure field as a methodology for fluid management and red cell preservation during cardiac surgery
Authors: Woodford Stephen F , Butlin Mark , Wei Bai , Chao Wei , Avolio Alberto
Published: July 2022

Purpose:
Anemia and red cell transfusion contribute to morbidity and mortality of surgery. The concept of patient blood management to mitigate preoperative anemia, optimize coagulation, conserve red cells intraoperatively and accept lower post-operative transfusion thresholds has recently gained widespread acceptance across a range of surgical disciplines. Fluid administration is likely to contribute significantly to perioperative anemia and red-cell transfusion requirements, yet a robust basis for managing fluid administration in this context has not been articulated. There is an urgent need for this.
Methods:
We developed ‘the pressure field method’ as a novel approach to guiding the administration of fluid and drugs to optimize tissue perfusion. The pressure field method was used for the intraoperative management of 67 patients undergoing semi-elective cardiac surgery. We retrospectively compared intraoperative anemia and transfusion requirements in this cohort with a conventional group of 413 patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Results:
In the pressure field group, no patients required transfusion whereas in the conventional group, 16% required transfusion during bypass with an average of 2.4 units of packed red cells (P < 0.0001). The average decrease in hemoglobin in the pressure field group was only 13 g/L, whereas in the conventional group it was 52 g/L (P < 0.0001). 80% of the pressure field group received no intravenous fluid during cardiac surgery, and the average intraoperative fluid load was 160 mL.
Conclusion:
The pressure field method appears to significantly reduce transfusion requirements due to decreased intraoperative fluid loading.
General transcription factor TAF4 antagonizes epigenetic silencing by Polycomb to maintain intestine stem cell functions
Authors: Säisä-Borreill Susanna , Davidson Guillaume , Kleiber Thomas , Thevenot Andréa , Martin Elisabeth , Mondot Stanislas , Blottière Hervé , Helleux Alexandra , Mengus Gabrielle , Plateroti Michela , Duluc Isbaelle , Davidson Irwin , Freund Jean-Noel
Published: July 2022

Taf4 (TATA-box binding protein-associated factor 4) is a subunit of the general transcription factor TFIID, a component of the RNA polymerase II pre-initiation complex that interacts with tissue-specific transcription factors to regulate gene expression. Properly regulated gene expression is particularly important in the intestinal epithelium that is constantly renewed from stem cells. We investigated the role of Taf4 in murine intestinal epithelium using tissue-specific inactivation. Taf4 inactivation during embryogenesis compromised gut morphogenesis and the emergence of adult-type stem cells, ultimately leading to death. In adults, Taf4 loss perturbed the stem cell compartment and the associated Paneth cells in the stem cell niche, epithelial turnover and differentiation of mature cells, thus exacerbating the response to inflammatory challenge and potentiating Apc-driven tumorigenesis. In addition, Taf4 inactivation ex vivo in organoids prevented budding formation and maintenance. Combining immunohistology with bulk RNA-seq, ATAC-seq and single-cell RNA-seq, showed that Taf4 loss caused broad chromatin remodeling, and a strong reduction in the numbers of stem and progenitor cells with a concomitant increase in an undifferentiated cell population that displayed high activity of the Ezh2 and Suz12 components of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). In line with this observation, treatment of Taf4-mutant organoids with a specific Ezh2 inhibitor restored buddings, cell proliferation and the stem/progenitor compartment. Our results reveal the critical role of Taf4 in intestinal development and homeostasis and a novel mechanism by which Taf4 acts to maintain the stem/progenitor compartment by counteracting PRC2 repression of the stem cell gene expression program.
Voxel-Based and Surface-Based Morphometry Study of the Early Stage of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning-Induced Parkinsonism
Authors: Wang Tianhong , Zhang Yanli , Xu Junxia , Lei Junqiang , Guo Shunlin
Published: July 2022

Grey matter (GM) volume changes in carbon monoxide poisoning (COP)-induced parkinsonism have been investigated in previous studies. However, a combined analysis of GM and white matter (WM) volume, cortical thickness, and shape is lacking. Eighteen COP-induced parkinsonism patients and 22 matched healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this study. All MRI scans were performed within 3 months after COP and analysed with a combination of voxel- and surface-based morphometry (VBM and SBM) analyses. Relationships between structural changes and clinical scores were detected with partial correlation analysis. VBM analysis showed reduced GM volumes in the bilateral frontal and temporal lobes, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala, striatum, thalamus, and cerebellum (FDR-corrected P < 0.001) and a trend towards WM atrophy in the anterior cerebral and medial mesencephalon but swelling in the posterior cerebral and motor cortical areas (uncorrected P < 0.001) in the patients. SBM analysis showed widespread cortical thinning that extended beyond the frontotemporal regions and involved the occipitoparietal areas and regional shallow sulcal depth in the left supramarginal gyrus in the patients (FWE-corrected P < 0.05). The severity of motor disorders was correlated with GM atrophy in the medial orbital superior frontal gyrus (SFG), ACC, caudate, thalamus, and caudal middle frontal gyrus, while nonmotor disorders were correlated with atrophy in the SFG, ACC, thalamus, amygdala, and cerebellum crus I (all P < 0.05). Early-stage COP-induced parkinsonism is characterised by widespread GM atrophy. A combination of VBM and SBM analyses contributes to revealing its imaging pathological feature.
APSN: Adversarial Pseudo-Siamese Network for Fake News Stance Detection
Authors: Zhou Zhibo , Yang Yang , Huang Feiran , Li Zhou Jun
Published: July 2022

Fake news is a longstanding issue that has existed on the social network, whose negative impact has been increasingly recognized since the 2016 US presidential election. During the election, numerous fake news about the candidates distributes vastly in the online social networks. Identifying inauthentic news quickly is an essential purpose for this research to enhance the trustworthiness of news in online social networks, which will be the task studied in this paper. The fake news stance detection can contribute to detect a startling amount of fake news, which aims at evaluating the relevance between the headline and text bodies. There exists a significant difference between news article headline and text body, since headlines with several key phrases are usually much shorter than the text bodies. Such an information imbalance challenge may cause serious problems for the stance detection task. What’s more, news article data in online social networks is usually exposed to various types of noise and can be contaminated, which poses more challenges for the stance detection task. In this paper, we propose a novel fake news stance detection model, namely Adversarial PseudoSiamese Network model (APSN), to solve these challenges. With coupled input components with imbalanced parameters, APSN can learn and compute feature vectors and similarity score of news article headlines and text bodies simultaneously. In addition, by adopting adversarial setting, besides the regular training set, a set of noisy training instances will be generated and fed to APSN in the learning process, which can significantly enhance the robustness of the model. Extensive experiments have been done on real-world fake news dataset, and the experimental results reveal that the presented model exceeds compared suspicious information detection models with significant advantages.
Influence of extraction and pretreatment conditions on the yield, solubility, and quality of rice bran oil extracted with CO2-expanded hexane
Authors: Mathias Mathayo Gervas , Okajima Idzumi , Ito Kaichi , Aoki Yusuke , Kong Chang Yi , Sako Takeshi
Published: July 2022

Efficient, low-cost methods are required to produce impurity-free bio-oils with minimal nutrients depletion. This study investigated the effect of extraction and pretreatment conditions on the quality of rice bran oil extracted with CO2-expanded hexane. The extraction conditions considered were temperature (20–30°C), CO2 mole fraction (0.76–0.94), and pressure (4.2–7.0 MPa). The effectiveness of rice bran hot air drying at 80–100°C for 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 h for lipase inactivation was also studied. The rice bran oil yield and the content of free fatty acids did not depend significantly on the extraction temperature or pressure. The oil solubility increased significantly (p < 0.05) with every 5°C increment while decreasing significantly at pressures below 5.0 MPa. The optimum extraction conditions for phosphorus-free rice bran oil (phosphorus concentrations of 9.8, 9.1, and 6.2 ppm) were CO2 mole fraction of 0.82 at 5.1 MPa and 20°C, CO2 mole fraction of 0.87 at 5.0 MPa and 25°C, and CO2 mole fraction of 0.92 at 5.1 MPa and 30°C, respectively. The most effective pretreatment conditions for rice bran before storage for 10 weeks were 100°C for 1 h. In addition, the phosphorus concentration of rice bran oil extracted with CO2-expanded hexane at a CO2 mole fraction of 0.88, 5.1 MPa, and 25°C was ≤ 7.00 ppm, regardless of the pretreatment conditions. Therefore, CO2-expanded hexane extraction can be potentially used to produce impurity-free rice bran oil from both treated and untreated rice bran without refining.
Individual and combined effects of microplastics and oxytetracycline on cherry radish
Authors: Cui Min , Yu Songguo , Yu Yufei , Chen Xuehai , Li Jia
Published: July 2022

Croplands have become a hotspot for antibiotic and microplastic (MP) pollution. However, little is known regarding their combined effects on crops. In this study, the individual and combined effects of oxytetracycline (OTC) and three MPs (i.e., polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), and polyvinylchloride (PVC)) on cherry radish were investigated using pot experiments. Individually, OTC (50 mg kg− 1), PA (2%, w/w), and PP (2%, w/w) induced negligible effects on cherry radish biomass and the root/shoot ratio. However, PVC (2%, w/w) significantly inhibited cherry radish growth; that is, its shoot and root fresh weight decreased by 46.2% and 81.1%, respectively. Compared to the control, the leaf number decreased significantly after exposure to individual MPs. In the combined exposure groups, OTC alleviated the adverse effects of PVC on the cherry radish leaf number and shoot fresh weight. This was linked to that OTC increased the content of photosynthetic pigments in cherry radish leaves. Superoxide dismutase activity in cherry radish roots was inhibited to different extents in all treatment groups except for the PA and PVC treatments. Meanwhile, malondialdehyde (MDA) content in cherry radish roots increased in all treatment groups compared to that in the control. This suggested that both OTC and MPs caused oxidative damage to cherry radish root cells, therefore inhibiting cherry radish root growth. However, the presence of OTC nonsignificantly changed the effects of MPs on cherry radish roots. Irrespective of OTC presence, MPs induced a reduction in the root/shoot ratio of cherry radish, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of MPs on cherry radish roots was stronger than that on shoots. These findings contributed to the evaluation of the phytotoxicity of antibiotics and MPs in soil-vegetable systems.
Fine Structure of the Defense System of Synanceia verrucosa from, the Red Sea Egypt.
Authors: Abdelrheem Ali
Published: July 2022

The stonefish has an advanced poisonous gland that has a lumen and medulla consisting of connective tissue types. All authors have studied the poisonous gland of stonefish and they give attention to two types of cells only careless transmission semithin. In the present study, we give attention to the whole structures of this gland by an accurate examination of Electron Micrographs in all gland areas. Also, some authors give attention to secretions only and do not give any attention to the complete structure of the poisonous defense system of an animal. In the present study, the sections were taken in different areas as the front gland, and mid, surround the spine for covering all areas to discover any new structure. This study revealed that the stonefish poisonous gland Synanceia verrucosa in the Red Sea has four types of cells called T.A, T.B, T.C, and T.D appear as (first evidence) in semithin only.
Relationship between atherogenic index of plasma and non-dipping circadian pattern in hypertensive patients
Authors: KARAYİĞİT ORHAN , DOLU ABDULLAH , ÇELİK MUHAMMET , ÖZKAN CAN , DEMİRTAŞ BEKİR
Published: July 2022

Hypertension is considered as a major cause for the presence of cardiovascular diseases. Many researches have pointed that atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), which indicates plasma atherogenicity, can severely result in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular morbidity, atherosclerosis and high risk of blockage in the coronary arteries. Within this context, we tried to evaluate the correlation between non-dipping circadian pattern and AIP. We enrolled 1030 hypertensive clients in total as part of the target population, who are separated into two different groups considering the circadian blood pressure (BP) pattern taken from dipper and non-dipper groups subsequent to twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). We calculated the values of AIP using the log-transformation of the triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio. The AIP observed in the non-dipper group was remarkably higher than those of the dipper group (p < 0.001). After measuring the patients’ 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, we determined that AIP had a positive correlation with nighttime systolic BP (r = 0.090, p = 0.004) and nighttime diastolic BP (r = 0.073, p = 0.019). As for the analysis based on the multivariate logistic regression, high AIP as well as age were detected to be predictor variables of non-dipping pattern. AIP can independently predict the presence of non-dipping circadien pattern in clients with hypertension, which may be a simple and easily calculable marker for judging variability in ambulatory blood pressure.
Bibliometric study of obtaining furfural and hydroxymethyl furfural from sugarcane bagasse
Authors: Murillo Sandra Peña , Nevárez Eddie Zambrano , Durango Eduardo Arango
Published: July 2022

This electronic document is a bibliometric observational study describing the production of furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural from sugarcane bagasse during 2015-2021 and was used as the primary measure, with the magazine, year of publication, first/last author, workplace, and autonomous community as the direct measures. Subsequently, articles were classified according to their content or research area. The impact factor was obtained from the Scopus and VoS Viewer bibliometric analysis. The results are presented in various figures. Through the search criteria used, 639 documents were retrieved in the 2015-2021 six-year term, excluding 307 because they did not correspond to affiliation with centers or institutions directly related to papers related to furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural. A total of 49 documents were selected, and an increase in interest in studying these compounds was verified in the research and the journals in which they were published. Most studies have been published in universities or research centers, and differences were observed in the volume of international and national scientific production, making it necessary to increase these investigations in Colombia.
Impact of oral statin therapy on clinical outcomes in patients with cT1 breast cancer
Authors: Takada Koji , Kashiwagi Shinichiro , Iimori Nozomi , Kouhashi Rika , Yabumoto Akimichi , Goto Wataru , Asano Yuka , Tauchi Yukie , Morisaki Tamami , Ogisawa Kana , Shibutani Masatsune , Tanaka Hiroaki , Maeda Kiyoshi
Published: July 2022

Purpose: A meta-analysis examining the relationship between statin use and breast cancer reported that the inhibitory effect of statins on breast cancer may be more pronounced in early-stage cases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of hyperlipidemia treatment at the time of breast cancer diagnosis and to examine its correlation with metastasis to axillary lymph nodes among patients with so-called cT1 breast cancer whose primary lesion was 2 cm or less and was pathologically evaluated by sentinel lymph node biopsy or axillary lymph node dissection. We also investigated the effects of hyperlipidemic drugs on the prognosis of patients with early-stage breast cancer.Methods: After excluding cases that did not meet the criteria, we analyzed data from 719 patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer, with a primary lesion of 2 cm or less identified by preoperative imaging, and who underwent surgery without preoperative chemotherapy.Results: Regarding hyperlipidemia drugs, no correlation was found between statin use and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.226), although a correlation was found between lipophilic statin use and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.042). Also, the disease-free survival periods were prolonged following treatment of hyperlipidemia (p = 0.047, hazard ratio: 0.399) and statin administration (p = 0.028, hazard ratio: 0.328).Conclusion: In cT1 breast cancer, the results suggest that oral statin therapy may contribute to favorable outcomes.
Correlation between COVID-19 severity and previous exposure of patients to Borrelia spp.
Authors: Szewczyk-Dabrowska Alina , Budziar Wiktoria , Harhala Marek , Baniecki Krzysztof , Pikies Aleksandra , Jedruchniewicz Natalia , Kazmierczak Zuzanna , Gembara Katarzyna , Klimek Tomasz , Witkiewicz Wojciech , Nahorecki Artur , Barczyk Kamil , Klak Marlena , Grata-Borkowska Urszula , Dabrowska Krystyna
Published: July 2022

Predictors for the risk of severe COVID-19 are crucial for patient care and control of the disease. Other infectious diseases as potential comorbidities in SARS-CoV-2 infection are still poorly understood. Here we identify association between the course of COVID-19 and Lyme disease (borreliosis), caused by Borrelia burgdorferi transmitted to humans by ticks. Exposure to Borrelia was identified by multi-antigenic (19 antigens) serological testing of patients: severe COVID-19 (hospitalized), asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 (home treated or not aware of being infected), and not infected with SARS-CoV-2. Increased levels of Borrelia-specific IgGs strongly correlated with COVID-19 severity and risk of hospitalization. This suggests that a history of tick bites and related infections may contribute to the risks in COVID-19. Though mechanisms of this link is not clear yet, screening for antibodies targeting Borrelia may help accurately assess the odds of hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, supporting efforts for efficient control of COVID-19.
A FCM-based image de-noising with spatial statistics pilot study
Authors: Chen Tzong-Jer
Published: July 2022

Image de-noising is an important scheme to make the image visually prominent and obtain enough useful information. To obtain reliable results, many applications had developed for effective noise suppression and received good image quality. This report assumed a residual image consisted of noises with edges produced by subtracting the original and a low-pass filter smoothed image. The Moran statistics was then using to measure the variation of spatial information in residual images and then as a feature data input to FCM. Three clusters pre-assumed for FCM in this work: they are heavy, medium and less noisy areas. The rates of each position partially belongs to each cluster were determined by a FCM membership function. Each pixel in noisy image assumed in de-noising processing that which is a linear combination of product of three de-noised images with membership function in the same position. Average filters with different windows and a Gaussian filter priori applied to this noisy image to make three de-noised versions. The results showed that this scheme worked better than the non-adaptive smoothing. This scheme‘s performance is evaluated and compared to the Bilateral filter and NLM using PSNR and SSIM. The developed scheme is a pilot study on this area. Further future studies needed on the optimized number of clusters and smoother versions used in linear combination.