bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nucleoporin 85 interacts with influenza A virus PB1 and PB2 to promote its replication by facilitating nuclear import of ribonucleoprotein
Authors: Ling Yue-Huan , Wang Hao , Han Mei-Qing , Wang Di , Hu Yi-Xiang , Zhou Kun , Li Yan
Published: August 2022

Transcription and replication of the influenza A virus (IAV) genome take place in the nucleus of infected cells, which rely on host factors to aid viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) to cross the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and complete the bidirectional nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. Here, we showed that nucleoporin 85 (NUP85), a component of NPC, interacted with RNP subunits polymerase basic 1 (PB1) and polymerase basic 2 (PB2) in an RNA-dependent manner during IAV infection. Knockdown of NUP85 delayed the nuclear import of vRNP, PB1 and PB2, inhibiting polymerase activity and ultimately suppressing viral replication. Further analysis revealed that NUP85 assisted the binding of PB1 to nuclear transport factor Ran-binding protein 5 (RanBP5) and the binding of PB2 to nuclear transport factor importin α1 and importin α7. We also found that NUP85 expression was downregulated upon IAV infection. Together, our study demonstrated that NUP85 positively regulated IAV infection by interacting with viral PB1 and PB2, which may provide new insight into the process of vRNP nuclear import and a novel target for effective antivirals.
Metagenomic study of the gut microbiota associated with cow milk consumption in Chinese peri-/postmenopausal women
Authors: Tian Bo , Yao Jia-Heng , Lin Xu , Lv Wan-Qiang , Jiang Lin-Dong , Wang Zhuo-Qi , Shen Jie , Xiao Hong-Mei , Xu Hanli , Xu Lu-Lu , Cheng Xiyu , Shen Hui , Qiu Chuan , Luo Zhe , Zhao Lan-Juan , Yan Qiong , Deng Hong-Wen , Zhang Li-Shu
Published: August 2022

Cow milk consumption (CMC) and alterations of gut bacterial composition are proposed to be closely related to human health and disease. Our research aims to investigate the changes in human gut microbial composition in Chinese peri-/postmenopausal women with different CMC habits. A total of 517 subjects were recruited and questionnaires about their CMC status were collected; 394 subjects were included in the final analyses. Fecal samples were used for studying gut bacterial composition. All the subjects were divided into a control group (n = 248) and a CMC group (n = 146) according to their CMC status. Non-parametric tests and LEfSe at different taxonomic levels were used to reveal differentially abundant taxa and functional categories across different CMC groups. Relative abundance (RA) of one phylum (p_Actinobacteria), three genera (g_Bifidobacterium, g_Anaerostipes, and g_Bacteroides), and 28 species diversified significantly across groups. Specifically, taxa g_Anaerostipes (p < 0.01), g_Bacteroides (p < 0.05), s_Anaerostipes_hadrus (p < 0.01), and s_Bifidobacterium_pseudocatenulatum (p < 0.01) were positively correlated with CMC levels, but p_Actinobacteria (p < 0.01) and g_Bifidobacterium (p < 0.01) were negatively associated with CMC levels. KEGG module analysis revealed 48 gut microbiome functional modules significantly (p < 0.05) associated with CMC, including Vibrio cholerae pathogenicity signature, cholera toxins (p = 9.52e-04), and cephamycin C biosynthesis module (p = 0.0057), among others. In conclusion, CMC was associated with changes in gut microbiome patterns including beta diversity and richness of some gut microbiota. The alterations of certain bacteria including g_Anaerostipes and s_Bifidobacterium_pseudocatenulatum in the CMC group should be important for human health. This study further supports the biological value of habitual cow milk consumption.
Entner-Doudoroff pathway in Synechocystis PCC 6803: Proposed regulatory roles and enzyme multifunctionalities
Authors: Bachhar Anushree , Jablonsky Jiri
Published: August 2022

The Entner-Doudoroff pathway (ED-P) was established in 2016 as the fourth glycolytic pathway in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. ED-P consists of two reactions, the first catalyzed by 6-phosphogluconate dehydratase (EDD), the second by keto3-deoxygluconate-6-phosphate aldolase/4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate aldolase (EDA). ED-P was previously concluded to be a widespread (∼92%) pathway among cyanobacteria, but current bioinformatic analysis estimated the occurrence of ED-P to be either scarce (∼1%) or uncommon (∼47%), depending if dihydroxy-acid dehydratase (ilvD) also functions as EDD (currently assumed). Thus, the biochemical characterization of ilvD is a task pending to resolve this uncertainty. Next, we have provided new insights into several single and double glycolytic mutants based on kinetic model of central carbon metabolism of Synechocystis. The model predicted that silencing 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (gnd) could be coupled with ∼90% down-regulation of G6P-dehydrogenase, also limiting the metabolic flux via ED-P. Furthermore, our metabolic flux estimation implied that growth impairment linked to silenced EDA under mixotrophic conditions is not caused by diminished carbon flux via ED-P but rather by a missing mechanism related to the role of EDA in metabolism. We proposed two possible, mutually non-exclusive explanations: (i) Δeda leads to disrupted carbon catabolite repression, regulated by 2-keto3-deoxygluconate-6-phosphate (ED-P intermediate), and (ii) EDA catalyzes the interconversion between glyoxylate and 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate + pyruvate in the proximity of TCA cycle, possibly effecting the levels of 2-oxoglutarate under Δeda. We have also proposed a new pathway from EDA toward proline, which could explain the proline accumulation under Δeda. In addition, the presented in silico method provides an alternative to 13C metabolic flux analysis for marginal metabolic pathways around/below the threshold of ultrasensitive LC-MS. Finally, our in silico analysis provided alternative explanations for the role of ED-P in Synechocystis while identifying some severe uncertainties.
Dynamic recognition of naloxone, morphine and endomorphin1 in the same pocket of µ-opioid receptors
Authors: Zhang Xin , Sun Meng-Yang , Zhang Xue , Guo Chang-Run , Lei Yun-Tao , Wang Wen-Hui , Fan Ying-Zhe , Cao Peng , Li Chang-Zhu , Wang Rui , Li Xing-Hua , Yu Ye , Yang Xiao-Na
Published: August 2022

Morphine, the most widely used analgesic, relieves severe pain by activating the μ-opioid receptor (MOR), whereas naloxone, with only slight structural changes compared to morphine, exhibits inhibitory effect, and is used to treat opioid abuse. The mechanism by which the MOR distinguishes between the two is unclear. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on a 1-μs time scale and metadynamics-enhanced conformational sampling are used here to determine the different interactions of these two ligands with MOR: morphine adjusted its pose by continuously flipping deeper into the pocket, whereas naloxone failed to penetrate deeper because its allyl group conflicts with several residues of MOR. The endogenous peptide ligand endomorphin-1 (EM-1) underwent almost no significant conformational changes during the MD simulations. To validate these processes, we employed GIRK4S143T, a MOR-activated Gβγ-protein effector, in combination with mutagenesis and electrophysiological recordings. We verified the role of some key residues in the dynamic recognition of naloxone and morphine and identified the key residue I322, which leads to differential recognition of morphine and naloxone while assisting EM-1 in activating MOR. Reducing the side chain size of I322 (MORI322A) transformed naloxone from an inhibitor directly into an agonist of MOR, and I322A also significantly attenuated the potency of MOR on EM-1, confirming that binding deep in the pocket is critical for the agonistic effect of MOR. This finding reveals a dynamic mechanism for the response of MOR to different ligands and provides a basis for the discovery of new ligands for MOR at the atomic level.
MMASleepNet: A multimodal attention network based on electrophysiological signals for automatic sleep staging
Authors: Yubo Zheng , Yingying Luo , Bing Zou , Lin Zhang , Lei Li
Published: August 2022

Pandemic-related sleep disorders affect human physical and mental health. The artificial intelligence (AI) based sleep staging with multimodal electrophysiological signals help people diagnose and treat sleep disorders. However, the existing AI-based methods could not capture more discriminative modalities and adaptively correlate these multimodal features. This paper introduces a multimodal attention network (MMASleepNet) to efficiently extract, perceive and fuse multimodal features of electrophysiological signals. The MMASleepNet has a multi-branch feature extraction (MBFE) module followed by an attention-based feature fusing (AFF) module. In the MBFE module, branches are designed to extract multimodal signals' temporal and spectral features. Each branch has two-stream convolutional networks with a unique kernel to perceive features of different time scales. The AFF module contains a modal-wise squeeze and excitation (SE) block to adjust the weights of modalities with more discriminative features and a Transformer encoder (TE) to generate attention matrices and extract the inter-dependencies among multimodal features. Our MMASleepNet outperforms state-of-the-art models in terms of different evaluation matrices on the datasets of Sleep-EDF and ISRUC-Sleep. The implementation code is available at: https://github.com/buptantEEG/MMASleepNet/.
Low fat diet versus low carbohydrate diet for management of non-alcohol fatty liver disease: A systematic review
Authors: Varkaneh Hamed Kord , Poursoleiman Faezeh , Al Masri Mohammad Khaldoun , Alras Kamar Allayl , Shayah Yamen , Masmoum Mohd Diya , Alangari Fulwah Abdulaziz , Alras Abd Alfatah , Rinaldi Giulia , Day Andrew S. , Hekmatdoost Azita , Abu-Zaid Ahmed , Kutbi Emad
Published: August 2022

Although there is a consensus on beneficial effects of a low calorie diet in management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the optimal composition of diet has not yet been elucidated. The aim of this review is to summarize the results of current randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of low fat diet (LFD) vs. low carbohydrate diet (LCD) on NAFLD. This is a systematic review of all the available data reported in published clinical trials up to February 2022. The methodological quality of eligible studies was assessed, and data were presented aiming specific standard measurements. A total of 15 clinical trial studies were included in this systematic review. There is an overall lack of consensus on which dietary intervention is the most beneficial for NAFLD patients. There is also an overall lack of consensus on the definition of the different restrictive diets and the percentage of macronutrient restriction recommended. It seems that low calorie diets, regardless of their fat and carbohydrate composition, are efficient for liver enzyme reduction. Both LCD and LFD have similar effects on liver enzymes change; however, this improvement tends to be more marked in LFD. All calorie restrictive dietary interventions are beneficial for reducing weight, liver fat content and liver enzymes in individuals with NAFLD. Low fat diets seem to be markedly successful in reducing transaminase levels. Further research is needed to explore diet intensity, duration and long-term outcome.
CASC11 and PVT1 spliced transcripts play an oncogenic role in colorectal carcinogenesis
Authors: Zamani Mina , Foroughmand Ali-Mohammad , Hajjari Mohammad-Reza , Bakhshinejad Babak , Johnson Rory , Galehdari Hamid
Published: August 2022

Cancer is fundamentally a genetic disorder that alters cellular information flow toward aberrant growth. The coding part accounts for less than 2% of the human genome, and it has become apparent that aberrations within the noncoding genome drive important cancer phenotypes. The numerous carcinogenesis-related genomic variations in the 8q24 region include single nucleotide variations (SNVs), copy number variations (CNVs), and viral integrations occur in the neighboring areas of the MYC locus. It seems that MYC is not the only target of these alterations. The MYC-proximal mutations may act via regulatory noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). In this study, gene expression analyses indicated that the expression of some PVT1 spliced linear transcripts, CircPVT1, CASC11, and MYC is increased in colorectal cancer (CRC). Moreover, the expression of these genes is associated with some clinicopathological characteristics of CRC. Also, in vitro studies in CRC cell lines demonstrated that CASC11 is mostly detected in the nucleus, and different transcripts of PVT1 have different preferences for nuclear and cytoplasmic parts. Furthermore, perturbation of PVT1 expression and concomitant perturbation in PVT1 and CASC11 expression caused MYC overexpression. It seems that transcription of MYC is under regulatory control at the transcriptional level, i.e., initiation and elongation of transcription by its neighboring genes. Altogether, the current data provide evidence for the notion that these noncoding transcripts can significantly participate in the MYC regulation network and in the carcinogenesis of colorectal cells.
The effect of risk factors on cognition in adult cochlear implant candidates with severe to profound hearing loss
Authors: Calvino Miryam , Sánchez-Cuadrado Isabel , Gavilán Javier , Lassaletta Luis
Published: August 2022

Hearing loss has been identified as a major modifiable risk factors for dementia. Adult candidates for cochlear implantation (CI) represent a population at risk of hearing loss-associated cognitive decline. This study investigated the effect of demographics, habits, and medical and psychological risk factors on cognition within such a cohort. Data from 34 consecutive adults with post-lingual deafness scheduled for CI were analyzed. Pure tone audiometry (PTA4) and Speech Discrimination Score (SDS) were recorded. The Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status for Hearing impaired individuals (RBANS-H) was used to measure cognition. Demographics (sex, age, years of education), habits (smoking, alcohol intake, physical inactivity), and medical factors (hypertension, diabetes, traumatic brain injury) were evaluated. Depression was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and social inhibition with the Type D questionnaire (DS14). All participants (mean age 62 ± 15 years) suffered from severe to profound hearing loss (PTA4:129 ± 60 dB; SDS:14 ± 24%). The mean RBANS-H total score was 83 ± 16. Participants reported a mean of years of formal education of 12 ± 5 years. The prevalence of habits and medical risk factors was: physical inactivity (29%), body mass index >30 (28%), traumatic brain injury (25%), hypertension (24%), heavy alcohol consumption (13%), smoking (13%), and diabetes (0%). Regarding psychological factors, the mean scores of social inhibition and depression were 10 ± 6 and 6 ± 5, respectively. The number of years of education was significantly correlated with the RBANS-H total score (p < 0.001), and with the domains “Immediate memory” (p = 0.003), “Visuospatial/constructional” (p < 0.001), and “Attention” (p < 0.001). The mean RBANS-H total score in participants who had university studies or higher level (12/34) was 97 ± 9, with the remaining participants reporting a mean score of 75 ± 15. Men performed better in the “Visuospatial/constructional” (p = 0.008). Physical inactivity was associated with lower scores in the “Delayed memory” (p = 0.031); hypertension correlated with lower RBANS-H total scores (p = 0.025) and “Attention” (p = 0.006). Depression and social inhibition were negatively correlated with RBANS-H total score and with the “Immediate memory,” “Visuospatial/constructional,” and “Attention” (all p < 0.05). In adults with late-onset deafness scheduled to CI, educational level has a significant effect. Additionally, sex, physical inactivity, hypertension, and psychological traits of social inhibition and depression may also influence cognitive status. Long-term studies with more participants would enable us better understand the effects different risk factors on cognitive status.
Retrospective assessment of metabolic syndrome components in early adult life on vegetarian dietary status
Authors: Pandya Rachita , Abdelaal Rashed , Chen Joe W. , Masood Shabana , Talib Zohray , Atamna Hani , Yakub Mohsin , Hassan Sherif S.
Published: August 2022

Background

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) encompasses several clinical presentations that include truncal obesity and insulin resistance at its core. MetS afflicts 23% of the adult US population, increasing their risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Many studies have indicated the importance of a vegetarian diet in improving overall health and more specifically MetS components. Unfortunately, these findings have been inconsistent and cannot be extended to examine effects on MetS incidence in the younger adult population.

Objective

This study aimed to conduct a retrospective analysis of a vegetarian vs. non-vegetarian dietary status in young adults (age 18–24) based on MetS components in later adulthood (age 20–30). This study focuses on elucidating any relationship between a vegetarian diet and MetS components of central obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Methods: Waves 3 and 4 data were acquired from AddHealth. One-to-one propensity score matched vegetarians to non-vegetarians in a cohort of 535 women and 159 men. Logistical regression assessed the relationship between vegetarian status and MetS components, including truncal obesity (cm), hypertension (normal, pre-HT, HT1, and HT2), and hyperlipidemia (high and low). Results MetS components from ages 20 to 30 are not associated with vegetarian dietary status. Truncal obesity [N = 694; M = 92.82 cm; OR 0.999; p = 0.893; 95% CI (0.980, 1.017)]; hypertension [N = 694; OR 0.949; p = 0.638; 95% CI (0.764, 1.179)]; hyperlipidemia [N = 694; OR 0.840; p = 0.581; 95% CI (0.453, 1.559)].

Conclusion

Current study results were consistent with previous findings suggesting that consumption of a vegetarian diet cannot be directly linked to MetS outcomes. However, further investigation should be completed as MetS is a risk factor for several chronic diseases.
How Engineers Use Evolution to Invent Things
Authors: Walton Sean P. , Evans Ben , Smith Ben , Vincalek Jakub
Published: August 2022

You may have heard of evolution in terms of plants and animals, but did you know that this natural process can also be used by engineers to invent things? Animals and plants have evolved in amazing ways to survive in their environments. Biologists have been investigating how evolution works for a long time. Mathematicians and computer scientists have worked alongside biologists to create computer programs that can evolve designs, to help engineers invent things. These are called evolutionary optimization algorithms, and they can be used to evolve faster airplanes, stronger bridges, or even better video games. In this article, we will explain how these algorithms work and what their strong and weak points are.
Design and Test of a Riding Pontoon Hydraulic Lotus Root Digging Machine
Authors: Tu Ming , Lin Yitao , Cao Tao , Zhang Xiang , Jiao Jun , Zhou Yong , Zhang Guozhong
Published: August 2022

In order to solve the problem of high labor intensity of a traditional pontoon lotus root machine with manual pushing operation, a riding pontoon digging lotus root machine was proposed in this paper. The working principle of the digging machine was introduced, the key components were designed, and the buoyancy of the pontoon was calculated and analyzed. The performance of the digging machine was tested in a lotus root pond, the lotus root digging rate was 76%, and hydraulic flushing generated by the digging machine can disperse the soil within 30 cm under water. In addition, the best flushing effect was achieved when the number of working nozzles was controlled to three. Finally, according to the test results, the optimization measures of the hydraulic lotus root digging machine were proposed, and the CFD-DEM coupled simulation model was used to simulate and analyze the soil disturbance effect of hydraulic flushing upward from the bottom of the lotus root. The results showed the relationship between nozzle diameter, angle and hydraulic flushing depth. When the nozzle angle was fixed, the soil disturbance effect decreased with increasing flushing depth and increased with decreasing nozzle diameter. When the nozzle depth was fixed, both the diameter and the angle had a significant effect on the soil disturbance effect. When the nozzle diameter was fixed, the interaction of angle and depth had no significant effect on the soil disturbance effect.
Screening of 258 Pesticide Residues in Silage Using Modified QuEChERS with Liquid- and Gas Chromatography-Quadrupole/Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Xie Yujie , Wu Xingqiang , Song Yanling , Sun Yini , Tong Kaixuan , Yu Xiaoxuan , Fan Chunlin , Chen Hui
Published: August 2022

A method for the simultaneous screening of 258 pesticide residues in silage using modified QuEChERS combined with liquid chromatography (LC)- and gas chromatography (GC)- quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (Q-Orbitrap/MS) has been developed. After hydration, the silage was homogenized with a 1% acetic acid–acetonitrile solution, and the extract was purified using C18, PSA, and anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Finally, the sample was detected using LC/GC-Q-Orbitrap/MS, and quantified using an external standard method. The results showed that 258 pesticides had an excellent linear relationship in the range of 0.1–50 μg L−1, and that the coefficients of determination (R2) were more than 0.99. The screening detection limit (SDL) of silage was in the range of 0.5–50 μg kg−1, and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) was in the range of 1–50 μg kg−1. The accuracy and precision of the method were verified at the spiked levels of 1-, 2- and 10-times LOQ, and the recovery of 258 pesticides was in the range of 66.5–119.8%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 20% (n = 6). This method was simple, rapid, and reliable, and could be applied to screen and quantify multi-pesticide residues in silage.
The Positive Effects of Humic/Fulvic Acid Fertilizers on the Quality of Lemon Fruits
Authors: He Xiaoying , Zhang Hanqi , Li Jinxue , Yang Fan , Dai Weifeng , Xiang Cheng , Zhang Mi
Published: August 2022

Humic acid (HA) is a kind of organic substance that has shown good effects in regard to promoting crop growth. In the current study, the influences of three kinds of fertilizers mainly containing humic/fulvic acids, including water-soluble fertilizer containing humic acid (WHA), fulvic acid potassium (FAP), and fulvic acid distillate (FAD), on the qualities of ‘Eureka’ lemon fruits were investigated systematically at their different harvest times. As demonstrated by the results, the indexes used to assess the quality of lemon fruit showed that all lemons treated with those three humic/fulvic acid fertilizers at different harvest times improved in quality. Notably, the single fruit weight, edible rate, and juice yield of lemon fruit in the WHA- and FAP-treated groups, as well as the contents of vitamin C, total acid, total sugar, and total soluble solid, were higher than those in the blank control (CK) group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the contents of total flavonoids and phenols in the peels, pulps, and seeds of lemons in humic/fulvic acid fertilizer–treated groups were all higher than those in the CK group at the three harvest times (p < 0.05). This result indicated that humic/fulvic acid fertilizers produced positive effects on the quality of lemon fruits and could be used in lemon planting to improve the quality and added value of lemons.
Exploring the Genetic Diversity of Carrot Genotypes through Phenotypically and Genetically Detailed Germplasm Collection
Authors: Singh Davinder , Dhillon Tarsem Singh , Javed Talha , Singh Rajinder , Dobaria Jalpa , Dhankhar Surender Kumar , Kianersi Farzad , Ali Baber , Poczai Peter , Kumar Uttam
Published: August 2022

Germplasm evaluation, classification, characterization, and preservation are the initial requirements for any crop genetic improvement programs meant to promote economically important traits. Mean performance and range of different expressible traits through ANOVA showed highly significant differences within the various genotypes and helped to evaluate several promising carrot genotypes. The multivariate analysis method was used in this study, which was helpful in resolving different phenotypic and genotypic parameters/measurements of big collections into easy interpretable dimensions.The research work was carried out with eighty-one genotypes to evaluate genetic diversity in a germplasm collection through multivariate analysis.The divergence analysis grouped all eighty-one genotypes into ten clusters and cluster VI was found to be the biggest, comprised of 30 genotypes, followed by IV, which was comprised of 16 genotypes. Cluster X exhibited a high mean value for root weight and anthocyanin content; cluster III showed high value for days to 1st root harvest and root girth, and cluster V for dry matter content, total sugar content, and carotene content; respectively. The maximum distance between clusters was recorded among II and X cluster (43,678.5) follow by I and X (43,199.7), and it indicated that genotypes from these far away clusters could be used efficiently in breeding programs to obtain superior hybrids. Total sugar content (36.14%) contributed most to genetic divergence, followed by anthocyanin content (35.74%). Out of four principal components, PC1 largely contributed towards total variation, followed by PC2. The partial variances (%) from the first to fourth PC-axes were 36.77, 25.50, 12.67, and 10.17, respectively. Genotypes like PC-161, PC-173, PAU-J-15, PC-103, and PC-43 were considered superior with respect to marketable yield and its associated traits such as root length and root weight, and hence can be released directly as a variety.
Comparative Study of Oxygen- and Carbon-Related Defects in Electron Irradiated Cz–Si Doped with Isovalent Impurities
Authors: Londos Charalampos A. , Chroneos Alexander , Sgourou Efstratia N. , Panagiotidis Ioannis , Angeletos Theoharis , Potsidi Marianna S.
Published: August 2022

Crystalline silicon (Si) is the key material of the semiconductor industry, with significant applications for electronic and microelectronic devices. The properties of Si are affected by impurities and defects introduced into the material either during growth and/or material processing. Oxygen (O) and carbon (C) are the main impurities incorporated into the crystal lattice during growth via the Czochralski method. Both impurities are electrically neutral, however, implantations/irradiations of Si lead to the formation of a variety of oxygen-related and carbon-related defects which introduce deep levels in the forbidden gap, inducing generally detrimental effects. Therefore, to control Si behavior for certain applications, it is important to have an understanding of the properties and fundamental processes related with the presence of these defects. To improve Si, isovalent doping during growth must be employed. Isovalent doping is an important defect-engineering strategy, particularly for radiation defects in Si. In the present review, we mainly focus on the impact of isovalent doping on the properties and behavior of oxygen-related and carbon-related defects in electron-irradiated Si. Recent experimental results from infrared spectroscopy (IR) measurements coupled with theoretical studies involving density functional theory (DFT) calculations, are discussed. Conclusions are reached regarding the role of isovalent doping (carbon, (C), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), and lead (Pb)) on the suppression of detrimental effects introduced into Si from technologically harmful radiation clusters induced in the course of material processing.
Advanced-Technological UAVs-Based Enhanced Reconstruction of Edges for Building Models
Authors: Li Luping , Chen Jian , Su Xing , Nawaz Ahsan
Published: August 2022

Accurate building models are widely used in the construction industry in the digital era. UAV cameras combined with image-based reconstruction provide a low-cost technology for building modeling. Most existing reconstruction methods operate on point clouds, while massive points reduce computational efficiency, and the accumulated error of point position often distorts building edges. This paper introduces an innovative 3D reconstruction method, Edge3D, that recovers building edges in the form of 3D lines. It employs geometry constraints and progressive screening technology to improve the robustness and precision of line segment matching. An innovative bundle adjustment strategy based on endpoints is designed to reduce the global reprojection error. Edges were tested on challenging real-world image sets, and matching precisions of 96% and 94% were achieved on the two image sets, respectively, with good reconstruction results. The proposed approach reconstructs building edges using a small number of lines instead of massive points, which contributes to the rapid reconstruction of building contour construction and obtaining accurate models, serving as an important foundation for the promotion of construction advancement.
New Therapeutic Approaches to and Mechanisms of Ginsenoside Rg1 against Neurological Diseases
Authors: Sun Yang , Yang Yantao , Liu Shasha , Yang Songwei , Chen Chen , Lin Meiyu , Zeng Qi , Long Junpeng , Yao Jiao , Yi Fan , Meng Lei , Ai Qidi , Chen Naihong
Published: August 2022

Neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Huntington’s disease (HD), stroke, cerebral infarction, ischemia-reperfusion injury, depression and, stress, have high incidence and morbidity and often lead to disability. However, there is no particularly effective medication against them. Therefore, finding drugs with a suitable efficacy, low toxicity and manageable effects to improve the quality of life of patients is an urgent problem. Ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) is the main active component of ginseng and has a variety of pharmacological effects. In this review, we focused on the therapeutic potential of Rg1 for improving neurological diseases. We introduce the mechanisms of Ginsenoside Rg1 in neurological diseases, including apoptosis, neuroinflammation, the microRNA (miRNA) family, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, oxidative stress, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and learning and memory of Rg1 in neurological diseases. In addition, Rg1 can also improve neurological diseases through the interaction of different signal pathways. The purpose of this review is to explore more in-depth ideas for the clinical treatment of neurological diseases (including PD, AD, HD, stroke, cerebral infarction, ischemia–reperfusion injury, depression, and stress). Therefore, Rg1 is expected to become a new therapeutic method for the clinical treatment of neurological diseases.
Direct Electrolytic Splitting of Seawater: Significance and Challenges
Authors: Liu Dong , Wang Zhenbo
Published: August 2022

The rapid development of the world economy and human society has accelerated the consumption of fossil fuels and presents a series of critical problems, such as environmental pollution, energy shortages and global warming [...]
Comparison of Metabolites and Gut Microbes between Patients with Ulcerative Colitis and Healthy Individuals for an Integrative Medicine Approach to Ulcerative Colitis—A Pilot Observational Clinical Study (STROBE Compliant)
Authors: Kim Cheol-Hyun , Lee Young-Ung , Kim Kwang-Ho , Kang Sunny , Kang Geon-Hui , Chu Hongmin , Lee Sangkwan
Published: August 2022

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an intractable disease associated with high morbidity and healthcare costs. Metabolites and gut microbes are areas of interest for mainstream and complementary and alternative medicine. We, therefore, aimed to contribute to the discovery of an integrative medicine for UC by comparing and analyzing gut microbes and metabolites in patients with UC and in healthy individuals. This was an observational case-control study. Blood and stool samples were collected from the participants, and metabolite and gut microbial studies were performed. Among metabolites, formate, glycolate, trimethylamine, valine, and pyruvate levels were significantly different between the two groups. Among gut microbes, the abundance of Bacteroidetes at the phylum level; Bacteroidia at the class level; Bacteroidales and Actinomycetales at the order level; Prevotellaceae, Acidaminococcaceae, and Leptotrichiaceae at the family level; and Prevotella, Roseburia, Paraprevotella, Phascolarctobacterium, Ruminococcus, Coprococcus, Clostridium_XIVB, Atopobium, and Leptotrichia at the genus level was also significantly different. Most of the metabolites and gut microbes significantly different between the two groups were involved in energy metabolism and inflammatory processes, respectively. The results of this study could be helpful for the identification of targets for integrative medicine approaches for UC.
Differential Expression of microRNAs in Hypertrophied Myocardium and Their Relationship to Late Gadolinium Enhancement, Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Remodeling in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Zhang Chen , Zhang Hongbo , Zhao Lei , Wei Zhipeng , Lai Yongqiang , Ma Xiaohai
Published: August 2022

Background: Differential expression has been found in a variety of circulating miRNAs in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, study on myocardial miRNAs is limited and a lot of miRNAs were not studied in previous studies. Methods: Twenty-one HCM patients and four patients who died from non-cardiovascular diseases were prospectively recruited for our study. A total of 26 myocardial tissues were collected, which were stored in liquid nitrogen immediately for miRNA detection using the Agilent Human miRNA Microarray Kit. All HCM patients underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) examination before surgery and cvi42 software was used to analyze cardiac function and myocardial fibrosis. Results: Compared with the control group, the expression of 22 miRNAs was found to be significantly increased in the HCM group, while 46 miRNAs were found to be significantly decreased in the HCM group. The expression levels of hsa-miR-3960 and hsa-miR-652-3p were significantly correlated with left ventricular mass index (r = 0.449 and 0.474, respectively). Meanwhile, Hsa-miR-642a-3p expression was positively correlated to the quantification of late gadolinium enhancement (r = 0.467). Conclusions: Our study found that 68 myocardial miRNAs were significantly increased or decreased in the HCM group. Myocardial miRNA levels could be used as potential biomarkers for LV hypertrophy, fibrosis and remodeling.
Arteriovenous Hemodialysis Access Stenosis Diagnosed by Duplex Doppler Ultrasonography: A Review
Authors: Malik Jan , de Bont Cora , Valerianova Anna , Krupickova Zdislava , Novakova Ludmila
Published: August 2022

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is currently the hemodialysis access with the longest life expectations for the patients. However, even the AVF is at risk for many complications, especially the development of stenosis. The latter can not only lead to inadequate hemodialysis but also lead to AVF thrombosis. Duplex Doppler ultrasonography is a very precise method, in the hands of experienced professionals, for the diagnosis of AVF complications. In this review, we summarize the ultrasound diagnostic criteria of significant stenoses and their indication for procedural therapy.
Local School Desegregation Practices in Sweden
Authors: Osman Ali , Lund Stefan
Published: August 2022

The focus of this paper is to examine the desegregation of hyper-segregated schools in Sweden. In this paper, our focus is on the practice(s) of desegregation in four Swedish municipalities. This study is based on interviews with municipal school politicians, school headmasters, and municipal school officials. Theoretically, the study departs from the theory of steering. This study shows that the municipalities use a strong belief in the peer effect to legitimise their decisions to desegregate hyper-segregated schools. Their decisions ignore a substantial research body that could lead to the development of different types of pedagogies that are relevant for these types of schools.
Small Object Detection Method Based on Weighted Feature Fusion and CSMA Attention Module
Authors: Peng Chao , Zhu Meng , Ren Honge , Emam Mahmoud
Published: August 2022

Small object detection is one of the challenging tasks in computer vision. Most of the existing small object detection models cannot fully extract the characteristics of small objects within an image, due to the small coverage area, low resolution and unclear detailed information of small objects in the image; hence, the effect of these models is not ideal. To solve this problem, a simple and efficient reinforce feature pyramid network R-FPN is proposed for the YOLOv5 algorithm. The learnable weight is introduced to show the importance of different input features, make full use of the useful information of different feature layers and strengthen the extraction of small object features. At the same time, a channel space mixed attention CSMA module is proposed to extract the detailed information of small objects combined with spaces and channels, suppress other useless information and further improve the accuracy of small object detection. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves the average accuracy AP, AP50 and AR100 of the original algorithm by 2.11%, 2.86% and 1.94%, respectively, and the detection effect is better than the existing small object detection algorithms, which proves the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A Multi-Domain Embedding Framework for Robust Reversible Data Hiding Scheme in Encrypted Videos
Authors: Chen Pei , Zhang Zhuo , Lei Yang , Niu Ke , Yang Xiaoyuan
Published: August 2022

For easier cloud management, reversible data hiding is performed in an encrypted domain to embed label information. However, the existing schemes are not robust and may cause the loss of label information during transmission. Enhancing robustness while maintaining reversibility in data hiding is a challenge. In this paper, a multi-domain embedding framework in encrypted videos is proposed to achieve both robustness and reversibility. In the framework, the multi-domain characteristic of encrypted video is fully used. The element for robust embedding is encrypted through Logistic chaotic scrambling, which is marked as element-I. To further improve robustness, the label information will be encoded with the Bose–Chaudhuri–Hocquenghem code. Then, the label information will be robustly embedded into element-I by modulating the amplitude of element-I, in which the auxiliary information is generated for lossless recovery of the element-I. The element for reversible embedding is marked as element-II, the sign of which will be encrypted by stream cipher. The auxiliary information will be reversibly embedded into element-Ⅱ through traditional histogram shifting. To verity the feasibility of the framework, an anti-recompression RDH-EV based on the framework is proposed. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the current representative ones in terms of robustness, while achieving reversibility. In the proposed scheme, video encryption and data hiding are commutative and the original video bitstream can be recovered fully. These demonstrate the feasibility of the multi-domain embedding framework in encrypted videos.
A Method for Detecting Anomalies in an Electromagnetic Environment Situation Using a Dual-Branch Prediction Network
Authors: Hu Weilin , Wang Lunwen , Peng Chuang
Published: August 2022

Electromagnetic environment situation anomaly detection is a prerequisite for electromagnetic threat level assessment, and its research is of great practical value. However, because of the complexity of the electromagnetic environment, electromagnetic environment situation anomaly detection is not efficient. Therefore, we propose a dual-branch prediction network-based electromagnetic environment situation anomaly detection method to predict the future and achieve anomaly detection by fusing different development characteristics of electromagnetic environment situations learned by other branches. We extract the electromagnetic environment situation state and trend features using the manual feature extraction module and mine the electromagnetic environment situation in-depth data distribution features using ConvLSTM, improve the dynamic time regularization model according to the physical characteristics of electromagnetic space, and then provide the anomaly detection method. We experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in electromagnetic environment situation prediction and anomaly detection accuracy.
A Chlorophyll Biomass Time-Series for the Distributed Biological Observatory in the Context of Seasonal Sea Ice Declines in the Pacific Arctic Region
Authors: Cooper Lee W. , Grebmeier Jacqueline M.
Published: August 2022

Declines in seasonal sea ice in polar regions have stimulated projections of how primary production has shifted in response to greater light penetration over a longer open water season. Despite the limitations of remotely sensed observations in an often cloudy environment, remote sensing data provide strong indications that surface chlorophyll biomass has increased (since 2000) as sea ice has declined in the Pacific Arctic region. We present here shipboard measurements of chlorophyll-a that have been made annually in July since 2000 from the Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) stations in the Bering Strait region. This time series as well as shipboard observations made in other months since the late 1980s implicate complexities that intrude on a simple expectation that, as open water periods increase, the production and biomass of phytoplankton will increase predictably. These shipboard observations indicate that there have not been sharp increases in chlorophyll-a, for either maxima observed in the water column or integrated over the whole water column, at the DBO stations over a time-series extending for as long as 20 years coinciding with seasonal sea ice declines. On the other hand, biomass may be increasing in other months: we provide a shipboard confirmation of a fall bloom in October as wind mixing introduced nutrients back into the upper water column. The productive DBO stations may be at a high enough production already that additional enhancements in chlorophyll-a biomass should not be expected, but our time-series record does not exclude the possibility that additional enhanced production may be present in other areas outside the DBO station grid. These findings may also reflect limitations imposed by nutrient cycling and water column structure. The increasing freshwater component of waters flowing through the Bering Strait is likely associated with increased stratification that limits the potential change in biological production associated with decreases in seasonal sea ice persistence.
Choroidal Vascularity Index in Central and Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion
Authors: Loiudice Pasquale , Covello Giuseppe , Figus Michele , Posarelli Chiara , Sartini Maria Sole , Casini Giamberto
Published: August 2022

(1) Background: we aimed to evaluate choroidal vascularity change in eyes with central and branch retinal vein occlusion (RVO). (2) Methods: in this retrospective cross-sectional study, we reviewed the records of 47 patients with recent-onset, naïve, unilateral retinal vein occlusion. Enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography scans were binarized using the ImageJ software; luminal area (LA) and total choroidal area (TCA) were measured. The choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was calculated as the proportion of LA to TCA. Depending on the pattern of macular oedema, eyes were classified as having no macular oedema (nME), cystoid macular oedema (CME), cystoid macular oedema with serous retinal detachment (mixed). (3) Results: CVI, TCA and LA were greater in eyes with RVO than in fellow, unaffected eyes. No difference was found between central and branch RVO except for central macular thickness (CMT). When compared with controls, eyes with CME presented a significant increase in subfoveal choroidal thickness, CMT, TCA, LA and CVI; eyes with mixed macular oedema had greater CMT and CVI than contralateral eyes; no significant differences in any of the considered parameters were observed in eyes with nME. (4) Conclusions: The results suggest that RVO alters the vascularity of the choroid that varies according to the type of macular oedema.
What’s New in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathies
Authors: Çimen Tolga , Saguner Ardan M.
Published: August 2022

Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a hereditary cardiomyopathy often presenting with sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young athletic individuals [...]
The Role of the Precuneus in Human Spatial Updating in a Real Environment Setting—A cTBS Study
Authors: Dordevic Milos , Hoelzer Sonja , Russo Augusta , García Alanis José C. , Müller Notger G.
Published: August 2022

As we move through an environment, we update positions of our body relative to other objects, even when some objects temporarily or permanently leave our field of view—this ability is termed egocentric spatial updating and plays an important role in everyday life. Still, our knowledge about its representation in the brain is still scarce, with previous studies using virtual movements in virtual environments or patients with brain lesions suggesting that the precuneus might play an important role. However, whether this assumption is also true when healthy humans move in real environments where full body-based cues are available in addition to the visual cues typically used in many VR studies is unclear. Therefore, in this study we investigated the role of the precuneus in egocentric spatial updating in a real environment setting in 20 healthy young participants who underwent two conditions in a cross-over design: (a) stimulation, achieved through applying continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) to inhibit the precuneus and (b) sham condition (activated coil turned upside down). In both conditions, participants had to walk back with blindfolded eyes to objects they had previously memorized while walking with open eyes. Simplified trials (without spatial updating) were used as control condition, to make sure the participants were not affected by factors such as walking blindfolded, vestibular or working memory deficits. A significant interaction was found, with participants performing better in the sham condition compared to real stimulation, showing smaller errors both in distance and angle. The results of our study reveal evidence of an important role of the precuneus in a real-environment egocentric spatial updating; studies on larger samples are necessary to confirm and further investigate this finding.
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Authors: Roque-Borda Cesar Augusto , Pavan Fernando Rogério , Meneguin Andréía Bagliotti
Published: August 2022

Biotechnology and pharmacy have shown efficient results when combined to generate innovative technological products [...]