bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A feasibility randomised controlled trial with an embedded qualitative evaluation of perinatal emotional skills groups for women with borderline personality disorder: Protocol for the EASE study
Authors: Moran Paul , Bick Debra , Biddle Lucy , Borries Belina , Kandiyali Rebecca , Rigby Janice , Seume Penny , Sadhnani Vaneeta , Smith Nadine , Swales Michaela
Published: July 2022

BackgroundBorderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder characterised by emotional instability, impaired interpersonal functioning and an increased risk of suicide. There is no clear evidence about how best to help women with BPD during the perinatal period. Perinatal Emotional Skills Groups (ESGs) consist of twelve group sessions, focussing on core skills in emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance and mindfulness and how these skills can best be utilised during the perinatal period. Prior observational research has shown that perinatal ESGs may help women with BPD. We set out to test the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial to investigate the clinical effectiveness of perinatal ESGs.MethodsA two-arm, parallel-group, feasibility randomized controlled trial of Perinatal ESGs in addition to Treatment as Usual (TAU) versus TAU for women aged over 18 years, who are likely to have a diagnosis of BPD and are either pregnant or are within 12 months of having a live birth. We will exclude women who have a co-existing organic, psychotic mental disorder or substance use dependence syndrome; those with cognitive or language difficulties that would preclude them from consenting or participating in study procedures; those judged to pose an acute risk to their baby and those requiring admission to a mother and baby unit. After consenting to participation and completing screening assessments, eligible individuals will be randomly allocated, on a 1:1 ratio, to either ESGs + TAU or to TAU. Randomization will be stratified according to recruitment centre.Feasibility outcomes will be the proportion of participants: (1) consenting; (2) completing baseline measures and randomised; (3) completing the intervention and (4) completing follow-up assessments. All study participants will complete a battery of self-report measures at 2- and 4-months post randomisation. A nested qualitative study will examine participants’ and therapists’ experiences of the trial and the intervention. DiscussionEvidence is lacking about how to help women with BPD during the perinatal period. Perinatal ESGs are a promising intervention and if they prove to be an effective adjunct to usual care, a large population of vulnerable women and their children could experience substantial health gains. Trial registrationISRCTN80470632
Differences in gut microbiota and its metabolic function among different fasting plasma glucose groups in Mongolian population of China
Authors: Liu Yanchao , Wang Mingxiao , Li Wuyun-tana , Gao Yumin , Li Hailing , Cao Ning , Hao Wenli , Zhao Lingyan
Published: July 2022

Background Many studies reported the association between gut microbiota and type 2 diabetes(T2D)，but it is still unclear which bacterial genus plays a key role and how the metabolic function of gut microbiota changes in the occurrence and development of T2D. Besides, there is insufficient evidence on the association between gut microbiota and T2D in Mongolian population. This study identified the main bacterial genus influencing the occurrence and development of T2D in Mongolian population, and analyzed the changes of metabolic function of gut microbiota. The association between dietary factors and the relative abundance of main bacterial genus or its metabolic function was also studied.Methods Dietary surveys and gut microbiota analyses were performed on 24 Mongolian volunteers that were divided into T2D (6 cases), PRET2D ( 6 cases) and Control group (12 cases) according to the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) values. The relative abundance and metabolic function of gut microbiota from fecal samples of the volunteers were measured by metagenomic analysis. Correlation analysis was used to evaluate the association between dietary factors, and the relative abundance of the main bacterial genus or its metabolic function.Results This study found that the relative abundance of gut microbiota and its metabolic function differed significantly across groups, and clostridium genus may be one of the key bacterial genus affecting the occurrence and development of T2D. First, the relative abundance of clostridium genus was significantly different among the three groups. Second, PRET2D or T2D group had a higher relative abundance of metabolic enzymes of most of the gut microbiota than Control group. Third, there was a strong correlation between the relative abundance of clostridium genus and that of many metabolic enzymes, which may be produced by the clostridium genus. Last, carotene intake was negatively correlated with the relative abundance of clostridium genus but positively correlated with tagaturonate reductase of clostridium genus, which catalyzed interconversions of pentose and glucuronate.Conclusions The clostridium genus of gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of T2D, and it can be a potential biomarker for T2D in Mongolian population. Meanwhile, the metabolic function of gut microbiota has changed during the early stage of T2D, and the changes of the metabolic function of carbohydrate, amino acid, lipid or energy of clostridium genus may play a critical role. In addition, the carotene intake may affect the reproduction and metabolic function of clostridium genus.
The Associations between Exposure to PM2.5 Air Pollution and Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease in Yantai, China
Authors: Chen Haotian , Zhao Yang , Wang Maobo , Wang Guangcheng , Liu Junyan , Liu Haiyun , Yang Baoshun , Shan Haifeng , Wang Luyang , Shi Yukun , Li Hongyu , Han Chunlei
Published: July 2022

Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated that atmospheric particulate matter, especially PM2.5, is closely related to cardiovascular disease. But few studies investigated the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and cardiovascular diseases incidence. Therefore, this study aims to examine the short-term effects of PM2.5 on the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Daily air pollutant concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO and O3 and meteorological data were collected. Daily counts of cardiovascular diseases incidence were obtained from the Disease Control and Prevention Center of Yantai city from 1 January, 2014 to 31 December, 2019. Combination of Poisson-distribution generalized linear model (GLM) and distributed lag linear model (DLM) were used to examine the association between a daily variation of PM2.5 and cardiovascular disease incidence, and calculate the relative risk (RR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) of the cardiovascular disease incidence lag effects(lag0-10 day(s)) after adjusting for the effects of temperature and relative humidity and controlling long-term trends and day of week effects. Stratified analysis was performed to examine whether associations varied across age, sex and disease subgroups. Every 10 µg/m3 increase of PM2.5 was associated with 0.147% (95%CI: 0.008-0.286) increase of cardiovascular disease incidence, and the largest effect on cardiovascular disease incidence was found at a lag of 2 days for PM2.5. The stratified analysis showed higher effects risk in females, residents (aged 60-75 years) and acute myocardial infarction group (p-value for difference < 0.05). This study indicates that short-term exposure to PM2.5 may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease incidence and highlight the necessity for a higher air quality standard in Yantai, China. Environment protective measures and efforts to reduce exposure to PM2.5 should be strengthened, especially for the female and the elderly population.
Analysis of C9orf72 repeat expansions in Georgian patients with ALS
Authors: Kekenadze Mariam , Rocca Clarissa , Kaiyrzhanov Rauan , Nagy Sara , Kvirkvelia Nana , Vashadze Shorena , Kvaratskhelia Eka , Beridze Maia , Houlden Henry
Published: July 2022

BACKGROUNDAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects the upper and lower motor neurons. Several genetic risk factors have been identified in the past decade with a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene being the most significant. However, the presence of c9orf72 repeat expansion has not been examined in the Transcaucasian region, therefore we aimed to analyze its frequency in Georgian patients with ALS.MethodsWe included 47 self-reported Georgian patients with ALS from different parts of the country, fulfilling the Gold Coast criteria. To investigate the presence of an expanded GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat in the non-coding region of the C9orf72 gene, we performed Repeat-Primed PCR. Results45 sporadic and 2 familial ALS cases were identified. Patients were aged 26 to 84 years with a mean age of 58.3 years at disease onset. Bulbar onset was observed in 21.3%, upper limb onset in 38.3%, and lower limb onset in 40.4% of the patients. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) fulfilling the Strong criteria was diagnosed in 6 patients (12.7%). C9orf72 repeat expansion could not be detected in any of the cases using RP-PCR. ConclusionsOur results indicate that c9orf72 hexanucleotide expansion does not belong to the genetic risk factors of ALS in Georgian patients. Further genetic studies in a bigger study population are needed to reveal the genetic causes of ALS in the Transcaucasian population. As part of this research, Whole Exome Sequencing testing will be performed for identifying other gene mutations that might contribute to developing ALS in those patients.
Realization of Tunable Plasticity in Porous Synaptic Memristors for Neuromorphic Computing
Authors: Huang Anping , Gao Qin , Huang Jiangshun , Ji Yuhang , Gao Juan , Wang Mei , Xiao Zhisong , Zhu Ying , Chu Paul
Published: July 2022

Brain-inspired neuromorphic computing is a promising way to implement artificial intelligence to overcome the issues of independent information processing and storage. An artificial synaptic device with tunable plasticity can perform learning and memorization by adjusting the weight of the synapse. In this work, a synaptic memristor composed of porous silicon oxide (PSiOx) incorporated with MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) is fabricated and excitatory paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), post-tetanic potentiation (PTP), learning-forgetting behavior, and spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) are demonstrated. The short/long-term plasticity (SLTP) in biological synapses reveal the possibility of tunable synaptic plasticity with self-regulating functions under a series of excitation frequency between 200 μs and 10 ms. An artificial neural network (ANN) is designed theoretically according to the SLTP characteristic curves of the synapses and the recognition rate is observed to increase from 54.2% to 91.8% by simply adjusting the input frequency. The image recognition accuracy is improved by 6% in the presence of 20% noise at an input frequency of 1 ms. The excellent results and novel strategy reveal an important step for image recognition in next-generation neuromorphic computing systems.
Isolated Rh atoms in dehydrogenation catalysis
Authors: Wittkämper Haiko , Hock Rainer , Weißer Matthias , Dallmann Johannes , Vogel Carola , Raman Narayanan , Tacardi Nicola , Haumann Marco , Wasserscheid Peter , Hsieh Tzung-En , Maisel Sven , Moritz Michael , Wichmann Christoph , Frisch Johannes , Gorgoi Mihaela , Wilks Regan G. , Bär Marcus , Wu Mingjian , Spiecker Erdmann , Görling Andreas , Unruh Tobias , Steinrück Hans-Peter , Papp Christian
Published: July 2022

Isolated active sites have great potential to be highly efficient and stable in heterogeneous catalysis, while enabling low costs due to the low transition metal content. Herein, we present results on the synthesis, first catalytic trials, and characterization of the Ga9Rh2 phase and the hitherto not-studied Ga3Rh phase. We used XRD and TEM for structural characterization, and with XPS, EDX we accessed the chemical composition and electronic structure of the intermetallic compounds. In combination with catalytic tests of these phases in the challenging propane dehydrogenation and by DFT calculations, we obtain a comprehensive picture of these novel catalyst materials. Their specific crystallographic structure leads to isolated Rhodium sites, which is proposed to be the decisive factor for the excellent catalytic properties of the systems.
Biomimetic Cultivation of Atrial Tissue Slices: a Novel Platform for In-Vitro Atrial Arrhythmia Studies
Authors: Amesz Jorik H. , Groot Natasja M.S. , Langmuur Sanne J.J. , Rooij Manuela M.M.M. , Tiggeloven Vera P.C. , Bogers Ad J. J. C. , Taverne Yannick J.H.J.
Published: July 2022

Living myocardial slices (LMS) are beating sections of intact human myocardium that maintain 3D microarchitecture and multicellularity, thereby overcoming most limitations of conventional myocardial cell cultures. We introduce a novel method to produce LMS from human atria and apply pacing modalities to bridge the gap between in-vitro and in-vivo atrial arrhythmia studies. Human atrial biopsies from 14 patients undergoing cardiac surgery were dissected to tissue blocks of ~ 1 cm2 and cut to 300 µm thin LMS with a precision-cutting vibratome. LMS were placed in a biomimetic culture chamber, filled with standard cell culture medium, under diastolic preload (1 mN) and continuous electrical stimulation (1000 ms cycle length (CL)), resulting in 60 beating LMS. Atrial LMS refractory period was determined at 192 ± 26 ms. Fixed rate pacing with a CL of 333 ms was applied as atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT) model. This novel state-of-the-art platform for AT research can be used to investigate arrhythmia mechanisms and test novel therapies.
Restoration of functional PAX3 transcriptional factor enhanced neuronal differentiation in PAX3b isoform depleted neuroblastoma cells
Authors: Muralidharan Narenkumar , Murugan Abinayaselvi , Raj Prabhuraj Andiperumal , Jothi Mathivanan
Published: July 2022

Reexpressed PAX3 transcription factor frequently found in neuroblastoma is believed to be responsible for their differentiation defects however the underlying mechanism remains unexplored. Here, we have analyzed how PAX3 is involved in neuroblastoma cell differentiation. Specifically, we have analyzed PAX3 expression, its functional status and its correlation with the neuronal marker expression in SH-SY5Y and its parental SK-N-SH cells. We have found that SH-SY5Y cells which expressed more PAX3 showed increased expression of neuronal marker genes (TUBB, MAP2, NEFL, NEUROG2, SYP) than the SK-N-SH cells with low levels of PAX3. The reported PAX3 targets (MET, TGFA and NCAM1) expression is also more in SH-SY5Y than in SK-N-SH cells which indicated PAX3 function. Retinoic acid treatment is unable to induce neuronal differentiation in cells (SK-N-SH) with low PAX3 level/activity. Moreover, ectopic expression of PAX3 in SK-N-SH cells neither induces neuronal marker genes nor its target genes. PAX3 isoform expression analysis revealed the expression of PAX3b isoform that contains only paired domain in SK-N-SH cells whereas in SH-SY5Y cells we could also observe PAX3c isoform that contains all functional domains. Further, PAX3b depletion in SK-N-SH cells is not induced by PAX3 target genes and the cells remain poorly differentiated. Interestingly, ectopic PAX3 expression enhanced neuronal outgrowth along with neuronal marker gene induction in PAX3b-depleted SK-N-SH cells. Collectively, these results showed that the PAX3b isoform may be responsible for the differentiation defect observed in SK-N-SH cells and restoration of functional PAX3 in the absence of PAX3b can induce neurogenesis in these cells.
Taxonomic description and complete genome of Pseudomonas silvicola sp. nov., a candidate biocontrol agent isolated from Cunninghamia laceolata
Authors: Tian Longyan , Zhang Yanfeng , Yang Hua , Zhao Qian , Lian Tao , Qiu Hualong , Zhang Chunhua , Qin Changsheng , Xu Jinzhu
Published: July 2022

We have previously shown the rod-shaped gram-negative T1-3-2T endophytic bacterial strain isolated from the cone of Cunninghamia laceolata to exhibit growth-promoting activity as well as antifungal activity against a range of phytopathogens. To more fully explore the taxonomic position of this strain, 16S rRNA sequences therefrom were used to conduct a phylogenetic analysis, which was then separately repeated using four concatenated partial genes (16S rDNA-gyrB-rpoB-rpoD) and whole-genome data. The results of this analysis revealed strain T1-3-2T to share a high degree of similarity with Pseudomonas eucalypticola, and to be distinct from any known Pseudomonas species. The GC content of the T1-3-2T genome was 61.65%, and the difference between T1-3-2T and P. eucalypticola are larger than 1. The average nucleotide identity blast (ANIb), average nucleotide identity MUMmer (ANIm), and DNA-DNA hybridization (DDH) values for T1-3-2T were below the thresholds necessary for species delineation when compared with the closest known related species P. eucalypticola. Morphological, physiological, and biochemical characterization further supported the identity of the T1-3-2T strain a novel Pseudomonas species for which the name Pseudomonas silvicola is proposed. Genomic analyses revealed strain T1-3-2T to contain three circular DNA contigs, including a 7,613,303 bp chromosome and two plasmids (952,764 bp and 84,880 bp). Bioinformatics analyses further offered potential insight into the molecular mechanisms whereby this endophyte can promote plant growth and control disease, revealing encoded genes related to antibiotic and secondary metabolite production, the uptake and biosynthesis of siderophores, and pyoverdine biosynthesis. These genomic data offer a valuable foundation for future efforts to apply the T1-3-2T strain in research contexts.
POSS nanofillers reinforced thermoplastic starch composite films with high mechanical, thermal and antimicrobial activities for food packaging
Authors: Venkatesan Raja , Santhamoorthy Madhappan , Ramkumar Vanaraj , Parveen Asrafali Shakila , Kim Seong-Cheol
Published: July 2022

The development of food packaging materials with the required mechanical strength, barrier and antimicrobial activity is still a major challenge. In this study, a simple, environmentally friendly nanocomposite made of corn-starch (CS) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) (0 to 5wt.%) was made using the solution casting method. To increase their structural and thermal stability, POSS was added to CS. Nanocomposites have superior mechanical properties to the neat film. To match the tensile strength, theoretical predictions were applied. Tensile strength increased with POSS loading, rising to 28.1 MPa (CS + 5wt.% POSS) from 7.8 MPa (neat CS). By giving penetrant molecules a winding route, POSS boosted the barrier properties of CS/POSS composites. Furthermore, CS/POSS composites reduced the rates of oxygen and water vapour transmission by 50.0 cc/m2/day and 48.1 g/m2/day, respectively. Composites containing 5 wt.% POSS film showed an increased antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive (S. aureus) and Gram-negative (E. coli) food-borne pathogenic bacteria. In conclusion, the CS composite with 5 wt.% POSS showed potential as a material to replace synthetic plastics that are not biodegradable in packaging, particularly food sachets. The results imply that CS/POSS composites might be a promising antimicrobial food packaging material.
Confusion Assessment Method Accurately Screens for Hepatic Encephalopathy and Predicts Short-term Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with Cirrhosis
Authors: Desai Archita P. , Gandhi Devika , Xu Chenjia , Ghabril Marwan , Nephew Lauren , Patidar Kavish R. , Campbell Noll L. , Chalasani Naga , Boustani Malaz , Orman Eric S.
Published: July 2022

Background: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE), a subtype of delirium, is common in cirrhosis and associated with poor outcomes. Yet, objective bedside screening tools for HE are lacking. Objective: We examined the relationship between an established screening tool for delirium, Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) and established HE diagnostic tools as well as outcomes. Methods: Prospectively enrolled adults with cirrhosis who completed the CAM-ICU from 6/2014-6/2018 were followed for 90 days. Blinded provider-assigned West Haven Criteria (WHC) and other measures of cognitive function were collected. Logistic regression was used to test associations between CAM-ICU status and outcomes. Mortality prediction by CAM-ICU status was assessed using Area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics curves (AUROC).Results: Of 469 participants, 11% were CAM-ICU(+), 55% were male and 94% were White. Most patients were Childs-Pugh class C (59%). CAM-ICU had excellent agreement with WHC (Kappa=0.79). CAM-ICU(+) participants had similar demographic features to those CAM-ICU(-), but had higher MELD (25 vs. 19, p<0.0001), were more often admitted to the ICU (28% vs. 7%, p<0.0001), and were more likely to be admitted for HE and infection. CAM-ICU(+) participants had higher mortality (inpatient:37% vs. 3%, 30-day:51% vs. 11%, 90-day:63% vs. 23%, p<0.001). CAM-ICU status predicted mortality with AUROC of 0.85, 0.82 and 0.77 for inpatient, 30-day and 90-day mortality, respectively.Conclusions: CAM-ICU has excellent agreement with WHC and identifies a hospitalized cirrhosis cohort with high short-term mortality. Unlike WHC, CAM-ICU can be administered by any team member making it an ideal tool to identify HE.
Organically Surface Engineered Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Control the Release of Quercetin by pH Stimuli
Authors: Saputra Ozi Adi , Lestari Windy Ayu , Kurniasyah Viardi , Lestari Witri Wahyu , Sugiura Takashi , Mukti Rino Rakhmata , Martien Ronny , Wibowo Fajar Rakhman
Published: July 2022

Controlling the premature release of hydrophobic drugs like quercetin over physiological conditions remains a challenge that motivates the development of smart and responsive drug carriers in recent years. This present work designed and engineered the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) by a functional compound having both amines (as a positively charged group) and carboxylic (negatively charged group), namely 4-((2-aminoethyl)amino)-4-oxobut-2-enoic acid (AmEA) prepared via simple mechanochemistry approach. The physical, textural, and morphological of MSN and MSN-AmEA were characterized by TGA, N2 adsorption-desorption, PSA-zeta, SEM, and TEM. The impact of surface modification toward textural and morphological features caused a significant decrease of BET surface area from 1038.53 m2 g− 1 (MSN) to 858.41 m2 g− 1 (MSN-AmEA). Nevertheless, the colloidal stability of MSN-AmEA is greatly improved showing by high zeta-potential especially at pH 4 compared to MSN. the effective loading capacity of MSN-AmEA was better than MSN, about 118% in comparison. Also, in contrast to MSN, MSN-AmEA prevent quercetin release at pH 7 while it is easier release at pH 4, thanks to the presence of the functional groups that has pose sensitive interaction hence it may fully control the quercetin release, as elaborated by the DFT study. Therefore, the controlled release of quercetin over MSN-AmEA verified its capability of acting as a smart drug delivery system.
Establishment of metastasis-related prognostic models for colon cancer and bioinformatics analysis of the benefits of aspirin chemoprophylaxis
Authors: Li Jing , Shen Cheng , Jiang Xiaohui , Cui Xiaopeng , Wu Zhijun , Liu Yushan , Yang Yanguang , Zhang Siming , Huang Tianyi , Shen Aiguo
Published: July 2022

Background: Invasion and metastasis are the main factors affecting the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer. Therefore, it is urgent to explore the key metastasis genes and potential regulatory mechanisms that affect the prognosis of colorectal cancer, and provide new prognostic markers or therapeutic targets for colorectal cancer.Methods: Firstly, we obtained differentially expressed metastasis-related genes in cancer and normal tissues. By constructing WGCNA from differentially expressed genes, the modules most associated with colon cancer were identified. Univariate and lasso-cox regression analyses were used to identify key prognostic genes for the most relevant modules and to establish a risk score model. Nomogram model was constructed to predict OS of colon cancer patients by risk score. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were performed to study the pathways and functions of these module genes. Iregulon plugin in cytoscape was used to explore the transcription factors of module genes. Finally, aspirin interacting genes were obtained through the Comparative Toxicology Genomics Database, and the clinical significance of aspirin regulation on these genes was clarified.Results: 2062 metastasis-related genes were involved in the construction of WGCNA, blue and yellow modules were significantly correlated with colon cancer. Analysis of GO and KEGG pathways of these two modules showed that the function of differential genes is closely related to many important processes in tumor genesis and metastasis. We used the blue module gene to build a risk score model that predicted overall survival (OS). In addition, nomogram combining risk score with age, stage, and M-stage were developed to better predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival. Transcription factor analysis showed that E2F family were the key regulator of blue module, while NFκB1 and STAT3 were the key transcription factors of yellow module. Finally, we identified that patients of colon cancer whose NOX4, CXCL8, CXCL5, GDF15, and MMP13 genes were continuously upregulated may not be suitable for aspirin chemoprophylaxis.Conclusions: We developed and validated a predictive model of metastasis genes. Patients with colon cancer whose NOX4, CXCL8, CXCL5, GDF15, and MMP13 genes are upregulated may not be ideal candidates for aspirin chemoprophylaxis.
Spectrum and frequency of food allergy in Kyiv`s adult citizens with allergic rhinitis: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Tsaryk Vladyslav , Neverovskyi Artem , Kurchenko Andrii
Published: July 2022

Background: Food allergy affects 1-3% of adults worldwide. More than 160 foods can cause allergic reactions. Food allergy may preceed and stimulate allergic rhinitis. Aim of the study was to assess the spectrum and frequency of sensitization to food allergens in patients with established allergic rhinitis from Kyiv, Ukraine.Methods. The investigation was conducted as a cross-sectional study. 175 Kyiv adult patients with allergic rhinitis were enrolled to the trial. Sensitization to allergens and their components was determined by skin prick tests and in vitro detection of allergen specific IgE by ELISA in serum of the blood – multicomponent Allergy Explorer2- ALEX2 test.Results. It was shown, that sensitization to following inhalant allergens was predominant: to timothy grass – in 50,3%, to ragweed - in 48,6%, to birch – in 44%, to wormwood – in 24%, to Alternaria alternatus mold – in 15,4% of patients. 131 (74,9%) participants have co-sensitization to at least one food allergen. Sensitization to following food allergens was predominant: to hazelnut – in 27,5%, to apple – in 26,3%, to peanut – in 21,7%, to celery – in 14,3%, to soy – in 13,1%, to fish carp – in 11,4%, to kiwi – in 9,1%, to crab – in 9,1%, to codfish – in 8,6%, to oyster – in 8,6%, to peach – in 8%, to lobster – in 8%, to carrot – in 7,4%, to anisakis – in 6,3%, to prawn – in 6,3%, to tiger prawn – in 5,7%, to beef – in 5,1%. It was found that the frequency of sensitization to cross-reactive proteins PR-10 was 20,5% (95% CI; 9,7%-33,9%) in patients with allergic rhinitis without food co-sensitization comparing to 51,1% (95% CI; 42,5%-59,7%) in participants with both allergic rhinitis and food co-sensitization, p<0,001; to nsLTP was 2,3% (95% CI; 0-8,9%) and 19,8% (95% CI; 13,4-27,2%), respectively, p=0,011.Conclussion. In Kyiv adult population with allergic rhinitis approximately three quarters of patients have food co-sensitization, that may be the reason of exacerbations of allergic rhinitis after consuming vegetables, fruits and nuts due to cross-reactivity with inhalant allergens, that should be considered when manage such patients.
Level of Satisfaction on Abortion Service and Associated Factors Among Client Who Received Service in Public Health Facility of Mojo Town, Ethiopia
Authors: Oda Tola , Sento Midekso , Negera Atoma
Published: July 2022

Introduction: patient satisfaction is an important and commonly used indicator for measuring the quality in health care as it affects clinical outcomes, patient retention, and medical malpractice claims. In Ethiopia problems related to abortion were neglected and access to quality abortion care was very limited. Similarly, information related to abortion care service particularly clients’ satisfaction is limited in the study area. The aim of this study was to determine level of satisfaction on abortion service and associated factors among clients who received the service at public health facility of Mojo town. Methods: facility based cross-sectional study design was employed on 255 women who come for abortion service in public health facilities of Mojo town. Data was coded and entered in to Epi info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the associated factors. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: the study showed that 56.5% of the clients were satisfied with abortion care service. Educational level college and above (AOR: 0.27; 95% CI: (0.74, 0.95), employee occupation (AOR: 1.86; 95%CI: (1.41, 2.93), medical abortion as type of uterine evacuation (AOR: 3.93; 95% CI: (1.75, 8.83) and natural method of family planning users (AOR: 0.36; 95% CI: (0.08, 0.60) were factors associated with abortion care service. Conclusion: the overall satisfaction towards abortion care service was considerably lower. Healthcare provider and management should act on activities that increase client satisfaction.
Data Fault Detection Using Minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance in Combination with Support Vector
Authors: priya indira , S Muthurajkumar , S Sheeba Daisy
Published: July 2022

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) refers to a network of devices that can communicate the informa- tion gathered from a monitored field through wireless links. WSNs measures environmental conditions like temperature, sound, pollution levels, humidity, wind, etc. WSN’s data fault detection is a challenging problem due to presence of sensors in unpredictable areas. The data fault detection has to be precise and accurate, so that it can be used for weather prediction, disease prediction etc. In recent years, Machine Learning plays a vital role in accurate fault Detection. To make the detection process accurate it is mandatory to reduce the number of input features to the Support Vector Machine (SVM). Minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance (MRMR) which is an efficient feature selection algorithm is proposed in this work. The feature set is used to train the Support Vector Machine (SVM) to detect data faults. The data fault detection accuracy is calculated which shows the accuracy of 92.9% for smaller test data and accuracy of 97.2% for larger test data.
Synthesis and structure characterization of N-[5-cyano-4-(morpholin-4-yl)-6-phenylpyrimidin-2-yl]benzenesulfonamide
Authors: Mohamed-Ezzat Reham A. , Azzam Rasha , Kariuki Benson. M.
Published: July 2022

Sulfonamides are a class of compounds with a wide range of biological activities. The synthesis of a novel sulfapyrimidine derivative is reported in this article. The approach to the synthesis of the compound is based on reacting N-(6-Chloro-5-cyano-4-p-tolylpyrimidin-2-yl) benzenesulfonamide and morpholine to afford N-[5-cyano-4-(morpholin-4-yl)-6-phenylpyrimidin-2-yl]benzenesulfonamide. The title compound incorporates three pharmacophores, namely the (i) pyrimidine, (ii) morpholine, and (iii) benzenesulfonamide moieties. Each of these groups possesses a characteristic set of chemical reactivity and biological activities. The newly synthesized compound is anticipated to possess significantly enhanced pharmacological features. The structure of the compound was confirmed by spectroscopic and single crystal x-ray diffraction techniques.
Virulence of Beauveria sp. and Metarhizium sp. fungi towards Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)
Authors: Apirajkamol Nonthakorn (Beatrice) , Hogarty Timothy Michael , Mainali Bishwo , Taylor Phillip Warren , Walsh Thomas Kieran , Tay Wee Tek
Published: July 2022

Since 2016, the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda, J.E. Smith) has spread from the Americas to invade many regions of the world, including Australia in early 2020. The development of effective pest management strategies for S. frugiperda is a high priority for crop protection. In the invasive range, the degree to which endemic biological control agents can constrain S. frugiperda remains sparsely investigated. This study examines 11 isolates of fungi including six Beauveria isolates and five Metarhizium isolates from Oceania for their potential as S. frugiperda biocontrol. Two Beauveria isolates (B-0571, B-1311) exhibited high virulence toward S. frugiperda caterpillars and adults. The overall mortalities over seven days in 3rd and 6th instar caterpillars and moths (respectively) for B-0571 was 82.81±5.75, 61.46±6.83, and 93.75±3.61, and for B-1311 was 73.72±2.51, 71.88±5.41, and 97.92±2.08%. The majority of deaths in the caterpillars occurred within the first 24 hours (3rd instar control 0.74±0.33%, B-0571 73.96±7.85 and B-1311 62.08±3.67%; 6th instar control 0%, B-0571 66.67±11.02% and B-1311 62.5±9.55%). Infection from both isolates fully prevented reproduction in surviving S. frugiperda females. The two isolates, however, cause a significantly lower mortality in a native noctuidae species: Helicoverpa armigera (3rd instar B-0571 44.79±4.54% and B-1311 19.80±7.51%). The discovery of two fungal isolates with high virulence to S. frugiperda caterpillars and adults opens new avenues for the development of biological control tools for this invasive moth pest. Such tools may also provide additional options for control of native pest lepidoptera, and reduce selection pressure for resistance to Bt and synthetic insecticides.
Reduction of emotional eating with a mindfulness-based group training:
a randomized controlled experience-sampling study
Authors: Macht Michael
Published: July 2022

Purpose
Emotional eating, i.e., a habitual pattern to eat in order to cope with negative emotions, is associated with increased intake of sweet and fatty foods, overweight and binge eating. We investigated whether a mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioural group training can reduce this eating pattern in everyday life.
Methods
Female emotional eaters attended 7 weekly training sessions (intervention: n = 18) or received written information on healthy eating (control: n = 32). The characteristics of their eating behaviour and emotion regulation were obtained with standardized questionnaires and experience sampling in randomly selected situations of everyday life before and during training as well as 2 weeks and 3 months thereafter.
Results
The training reduced emotional and external eating, improved skills to regulate emotions and to enjoy food. The changes in emotional eating were demonstrated both by questionnaires and experience sampling in situations of everyday life. Three months after training, emotional and external eating were still reduced.
Conclusion
Results confirm previous evidence that mindfulness-based, cognitive-behavioural techniques can be an effective tool to reduce emotional eating in the sub-clinical population. Future studies may investigate the use of this training for prevention and treatment of eating disorders and obesity.
Level of evidence:
Level I, randomized controlled trial
Carbon stock of Agoro Agu Central Forest Reserve, in Lamwo District, Northern Uganda
Authors: Birungi Vicent , Workeneh-Dejene Sintayehu , Mbogga Michael S , Dumas-Johansen Marc
Published: July 2022

Uganda has since not undertaken carbon stock inventories for these conservation areas, especially with dry Afromontane forests like Agoro-agu central forest reserve (CFR). This study was carried out to estimate carbon stock of Agoro-agu CFR, for its potential in climate change mitigation. A stratified sampling design was used, where 65 sample plots were established. Nested, fixed area circular sample plots with sub-plots of varying radii for tree height, diameter measurements and soil sampling. The mean total carbon stock of Agoro-agu CFR was estimated at 606.7 mg ha-1, for which 409, 72, 124 and 0.24 mg ha-1 was stored as above ground carbon, below ground carbon, soil organic carbon and carbon in litter herbs and grass respectively. The study illustrates the carbon sequestration potential of the forest for any results-based payment projects for climate change mitigation, which calls for multi-stakeholders’ collaboration from direct resource users to national level to enhance forest conservation and reduce forest degradation.
A NLOS Identification Algorithm of UWB Signal via Temporal Convolutional Neural Network and Attention Mechanism
Authors: Wang Haowen , Tan Yifan , Li Peiqin
Published: July 2022

The accurate identification of Non-line of Sight (NLOS) propagation is an important premise to ensure the positioning accuracy in UWB indoor positioning system. In this paper, a network which takes the channel impulse response (CIR) as the input and combines the temporal convolutional network (TCN) and attention mechanism is proposed to identify the NLOS propagation. Based on the framework, particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to select the key parameters of the network to achieve higher accuracy and faster process speed. Experiments on the open source dataset show that the identification accuracy of the network reaches 89.80%, which is better than the existing mainstream long short-term memory neural network. The proposed network is further improved by using six extra characteristics and its validation accuracy can reach 91.08% with a relatively high convergence rate. Also, the accuracy and computational amount of the network can be balanced by adjustment of CIR length according to the needs in practical application, indicating that the network has a good application prospect.
Curcumin reversed cigarette smoke extract-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of human bladder cancer cell UMUC3 through suppression of ERK1/2 pathway
Authors: Sun Xin , Zhang Tao , Tang Liang , Min Jie , Yu Dexin
Published: July 2022

Cigarette smoke (CS) is a main risk factor for bladder cancer (BC). The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), termed as an embryonic program, participates in the development process of CS-associated BC. Over the last decade, the effects and mechanisms of curcumin on CS-related BC have been extensively investigated. However, it's still elusive if MAPK pathways participate in curcumin-associated protective effect against CS-related promotive role in BC. In this study, our results showed that the exposure of BC cells UMUC3 to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) induced morphology variation, reinforced migratory and invasive abilities, decreased epithelium biomarker expression and increased mesenchyme biomarker expression. Meanwhile, CSE administration led to the stimulation of extracellular regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and activator protein 1 (AP-1) proteins, without validly activating the Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 or ERK5 pathway. Moreover, CSE-elicited EMT and ERK1/2/AP-1 stimulation were completely diminished by U0126, a pharmacological inhibitor targeting ERK1/2. Furthermore, the co-treatment with low concentrations of curcumin significantly abolished CSE-elicited EMT in UMUC3 cells, and the ERK1/2/AP-1 pathway was implicated in the suppressive effect. In summary, these data indicated the modulatory effects of ERK1/2 on CSE-elicited urocystic EMT in vitro and the chemoprevention efficacy of curcumin.
Factors Influencing Homeowners' Decision to Purchase Flood Insurance in Flood-prone Areas of Imo State, Nigeria
Authors: Onyike Joachim Abiahu , Onuoha Iheanyi , Gerald-Ugwu Gladys
Published: July 2022

Severe floods have become an annual experience in Imo State inflicting losses of lives and property on the population. The most affected areas are Oguta, Ohaji/Egbema and Owerri. This situation notwithstanding, most homeowners in these areas have not taken advantage of flood insurance facility. This study attempts to identify the factors affecting homeowners' flood insurance purchase decisions in Oguta, Ohaji/Egbema and Owerri, and to apply discriminant analysis technique on those factors to determine whether or not there are significant differences in perception between those willing to purchase flood insurance and those not willing. The study equally seeks to determine the variables that best account for the differences in perception between the two groups. Tests using Wilks’ lambda, eigenvalues, canonical correlation, functions at group centroids, and classification accuracy were applied on identified sets of relevant determinants. The study found that those willing to purchase flood insurance were more concerned with the mitigation of flood catastrophe, apparently because they are worst hit by the floods, while those who were not willing were more indifferent as they appear to be less certain and aware of flood insurance. However, the variables with the most predictive power in accounting for the differences in perception and have the highest impact were found to be within the measures of behavioral, attitudinal and emotional determinants. The study therefore concludes that the likelihood of purchasing flood insurance in the study areas depends greatly on information availability, consumers’ insurance literacy and level of trust on the integrity of insurance companies.
Dormant senescence-prone cells (DSPC): a lifetime memory about systemic genotoxic stress
Authors: Leonova Katerina , Gitlin Ilya , Gleiberman Anatoli , Toshkov Ilia , Trageser Nicholas , Issaeva Natalia , Antoch Marina , Gudkov Andrei
Published: July 2022

Systemic genotoxic stress is expected to generate senescent cells and accelerate aging. Surprisingly, mice subjected to lethal dose of total body irradiation and rescued by bone marrow transplantation (TBIBMT) showed neither gain of aging-related frailty nor increase in senescence markers. Mesenchymal cells in various tissues of TBIBMT mice do not undergo senescence and stay dormant with unrepaired DNA breaks during the entire life of the animal and activate senescence program only after they are forced into cell divisions ex vivo or in vivo. Accumulation of such dormant senescence-prone cells (DSPC) has no physiological effects under normal life conditions but is associated with impaired wound healing, decelerated tumor growth due to inefficient scaring and stroma formation and rapid increase in frailty and death after placement on a high-fat diet suggesting the involvement of DSPC accumulation in obesity-induced health decline in cancer survivors following genotoxic treatments.
Mechanical properties, degree of sclerotisation and elemental composition of the gastric mill in the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Decapoda, Crustacea)
Authors: Krings Wencke , Brütt Jan-Ole , Gorb Stanislav N.
Published: July 2022

The gastric mill of Decapoda is a unique feature consisting of interacting teeth, stabilizing ossicles, and particle sorting setae. As this organ is involved in the mechanical fragmentation of the food, it serves as interface between organism and environment. There is an ongoing debate to which extend structures are shaped due to phylogeny or to ecology. As material properties complement morphology and hold information about functionality and trophic preferences, we here aim at providing a basis for more intensely comparative research on material composition and properties of gastric mill components. Data on the micro-structure, documented via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), on the elemental composition, determined by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX, EDS), on the heterogeneities in material properties, visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and on the mechanical properties hardness and elasticity (i.e., Young’s modulus), tested by nanoindentation technique, of gastric mill components from the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkia is here presented. The elemental composition of gastric mill components was studied previously in other taxa, but the mechanical properties were never tested before. As epicuticle and exocuticle could be analyzed individually, due to rather large thickness of the epicuticle, material property gradients, with values decreasing from the interacting surface towards interior, could be determined. Finally, we were able to relate the mechanical property data and the autofluorescence signals with the elemental composition and the degree of tanning.
Graphene Biointerface for Cardiac Arrhythmia Diagnosis and Treatment
Authors: Lin Zexu , Kireev Dmitry , Liu Ning , Gupta Shubham , LaPiano Jessica , Obaid Sofian , Chen Zhiyuan , Akinwande Deji , Efimov Igor
Published: July 2022

Heart rhythm disorders, known as arrhythmias, cause significant morbidity and are one of the leading causes of mortality. Cardiac arrhythmias are primarily treated by implantable devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators, or by ablation therapy guided by electroanatomical mapping. Pharmacological treatments are mostly ineffective. Both implantable and ablation therapies require sophisticated biointerfaces for electrophysiological measurements of electrograms and delivery of therapeutic stimulation or ablation energy. In this work, we report for the first time on graphene biointerface for in vivo cardiac electrophysiology. Leveraging sub-micrometer thick tissue-conformable graphene arrays, we demonstrate sensing and stimulation of the open mammalian heart both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we demonstrate graphene pacemaker treatment of a pharmacologically-induced arrhythmia, AV block. The arrays show effective electrochemical properties, namely interface impedance down to 40 Ohm×cm2, charge storage capacity up to 63.7 mC/cm2, and charge injection capacity up to 704 µC/cm2. Transparency of the graphene structures allows for simultaneous optical mapping of cardiac action potentials and calcium transients while performing electrical measurements and stimulation. Our report presents evidence of the significant potential of graphene biointerfaces for the future clinical device- and catheter-based cardiac arrhythmias therapies.
Knockdown of circHomer1 in the orbitofrontal cortex results in differential encoding of salient stimuli
Authors: Zimmerman Amber , Weick Jason , Papageorgiou Grigorios , Mellios Nikolaos , Brigman Jonathan
Published: July 2022

Identifying genetic factors that influence electrophysiological signatures associated with disordered behavior will reveal mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction relevant to disease. Homer1 is a reproducible gene candidate for synaptic and cognitive function. Alternative splicing produces activity-dependent isoforms including the circular RNA, circHomer1. While dysregulation of circHomer1 expression has been identified across multiple psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders and is associated with impaired cognitive flexibility, it is unknown whether circHomer1 can induce electrophysiological signatures relevant to cognitive dysfunction in these disorders. Using in vivo microarray recordings within the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of awake, behaving mice during a translational touchscreen task, we demonstrate that reduction of circHomer1 within the OFC induces robust changes in multiunit firing rate and local field potential (LFP) coordination and power to salient stimuli. Further, these electrophysiological changes are associated with transcriptional downregulation of glutamatergic signaling effectors and behavioral alterations leading to impaired cognitive flexibility.