bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of parathyroid hormone and vitamin D supplementation on stroke among patients receiving peritoneal dialysis
Authors: You Xiaohan , Zhou Ying , Zhang Jianna , Zhou Qiongxiu , Shi Yanling , Su Zhen , Chen Chaoshen , Shao Rongrong , Zhang Ji
Published: March 2020

Background : Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients have a high incidence of stroke and commonly have increased parathyroid hormone levels and vitamin D insufficiency. We seek to investigate the incidence of stroke and the role of parathyroid hormone and vitamin D supplementation in stroke risk among CAPD patients. Methods: This study employed a retrospective design. We enrolled a Chinese cohort of 980 CAPD patients who were routinely followed in our department. The demographic and clinical data were recorded at the time of initial CAPD and during follow-up. The included patients were separated into non-stroke and stroke groups. The effects of parathyroid hormone and vitamin D supplementation on stroke in CAPD patients was evaluated. The primary endpoint is defined as the first occurrence of stroke, and composite endpoint events are defined as death or switch to hemodialysis during follow-up. Results: A total of 757 eligible CAPD patients with a mean follow-up time of 54.7 (standard deviation, 33) months were included in the study. The median incidence of stroke among our CAPD patients was 18.9 (interquartile range, 15.7 - 22.1) per 1000 person-years. A significant nonlinear correlation between baseline iPTH and hazard of stroke (p-value of linear association = 0.2 and nonlinear association = 0.002) was observed in our univariate Cox regression analysis, and low baseline iPTH levels (≤150 pg/ml) were associated with an increased cumulative hazard of stroke. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated a significant interaction effect between age and iPTH after adjusting for other confounders. Vitamin D supplementation during follow-up was a predictive factor for stroke in our cohort. Conclusions: CAPD patients suffered a high risk of stroke, and lower iPTH levels were significantly correlated with an increased risk of stroke. Nevertheless, vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of stroke in these patients.
Outcome of intravitreal bevacizumab injection without pre and postoperative antibiotics
Authors: Shrestha Ruchi , Karki Pratap , Joshi Sagun Narayan
Published: March 2020

Backgound Intravitreal injections are the most common treatment modality for several retinal pathologies. Despite endophthalmitis being the most feared complication, antibioprophylaxis remains controversial in intravitreal injections.Methods This was a retrospective study done for a period of 2 years from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2018 in BPKLCOS among patients receiving intravitreal bevacizumab. The intravitreal injection was given by a single surgeon. It included 503 eyes which received intravitreal bevacizumab over a period of 2 years without pre and postoperative antibiotics.Results Out of 503 eyes studied over a period of 2 years without antibiotic prophylaxis the rate of endophthalmitis was 0.0019% which is very low compared to the other studies with rate of endophthalmitis between 0.019-0.09%.Conclusion The risk of endophthalmitis was low even without pre/post-operative antibiotics. Intravitreal injection can be given safely without pre-operative and post-operative antibiotics. Trial Registration not applicable as it is a retrospective study.
Study on the Relationship of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and Intact Parathyroid Hormone in Chinese Young Adults
Authors: Hu Yichun , Li Siran , Liu Zhen , Yang Lichen , Yang Xiaoguang
Published: March 2020

Background : Vitamin D plays an important role in bone health and other diseases, however, there is no consensus over the optimal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration. Many studies defined a level of serum 25(OH)D at which serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels decreased and reached a plateau might be the optimal status for vitamin D sufficiency. This study was performed to study the relationship between 25(OH)D concentration and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) concentration in the Chinese non-clinical young population aged 18-44y. Methods : The serum samples of young adults aged 18-44 years old were selected from the established serum bank of Chinese Chronic Diseases and Nutrition Survey (CCDNS, 2015-2018). The serum 25(OH)D concentration was determined by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer, and the iPTH was determined by electronic chemiluminescence method. The relationship of 25(OH)D and iPTH were analyzed by partial correlation analysis, and the threshold of 25(OH)D was analyzed by locally weighted scatter plot smoothing method after adjusting the iPTH by age, season of blood draw, BMI, waist, sex and latitude. Results : 623 serum samples (293 male, 330 female) of 25(OH)D concentration and iPTH concentration were analyzed. Significant higher 25(OH)D concentration was found in male than female. And the samples from the southern China had higher 25(OH)D concentration than those from the northern China. Samples from autumn had higher 25(OH)D concentration than those from spring and winter. The inversely relationship between 25(OH)D concentration and iPTH concentration was observed when the 25(OH)D was below 17.6 ng/mL for both sexes. The threshold for male was 16.2 ng/mL and it was 25.6 ng/mL for female. Conclusions : The threshold and the relationship between 25(OH)D and iPTH differs by sex among Chinese young adults aged 18-44y. Further study is needed to evaluate the sex-specific ranges of optimal vitamin D. Trial registration : Not applicable.
β-glucan attenuates cognitive impairment via the gut-brain axis in diet-induced obese mice
Authors: Shi Hongli , Yu Yinghua , New Qianqian Li , Lin Danhong , Zheng Peng , Zhang Peng , Hu Minmin , Pan Wei , Yang Xiaoying , Hu Tao , Tang Renxian , Zhou Feng , Zheng Kuiyang , Huang Xu-Feng
Published: March 2020

Background: “Western” style dietary patterns are characterised by a high proportion of highly processed foods rich in fat and low in fibre. This diet-pattern is associated with myriad metabolic dysfunctions including neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment. β-glucan, the major soluble fibre in oat and barley grains, are fermented in the lower gastrointestinal tract, potentially impacting the microbial ecosystem and thus may improve elements of the gut-brain axis. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of β-glucan on the microbiota-gut-brain axis and cognitive function in an obese mouse model induced by a high-fat and fibre deficient diet (HFFD).
Results: After chronic supplementation for 15 weeks, β-glucan prevented HFFD diet-induced cognitive impairment assessed behaviourally by object location and nesting building tests. In the hippocampus, β-glucan countered the HFFD-induced microglia activation and its engulfment of synaptic puncta, and up-regulation of proinflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) mRNA expression. Also in the hippocampus, β-glucan significantly promoted PTP1B-IRS-pAKT-pGSK3β-pTau signalling for synaptogenesis; improved the synaptic ultrastructure examined by transmission electron microscopy and increased both pre- and post-synaptic protein levels compared to the HFFD-treated group. In the colon, β-glucan reversed HFFD-induced gut barrier dysfunction: increased the thickness of colonic mucus (Alcian blue and mucin-2 glycoprotein immunofluorescence staining); increased the levels of tight junction proteins occludin and zonula occludens-1; and attenuated bacterial endotoxin translocation. The HFFD diet resulted in widespread microbiota dysbiosis, effects abrogated by chronic β-glucan supplementation, with the β-glucan effects on bacteroidetes and its lower taxa particularly striking. Importantly, acute study of β-glucan supplementation for 7 days demonstrated pronounced, rapid differentiating microbiota changes before the cognitive improvement, suggesting the possible causality of gut microbiota profile on cognition. In support, broad-spectrum antibiotic intervention to severely deplete gut microbiota colonisation, eliminated β-glucan’s effects on improving cognition, highlighting the role of gut microbiota to mediate cognitive behavior.
Conclusion: This study provides the first evidence that β-glucan improves indices of cognition and brain function with major beneficial effects all along the gut microbiota-brain axis. Our data suggest that elevating consumption of β-glucan-rich foods is an easily implementable nutritional strategy to alleviate detrimental features of gut-brain dysregulation and prevent neurodegenerative diseases associated with Westernized dietary patterns.
Assessing the efficacy of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in the wheat pathogen Parastagonspora nodorum
Authors: Khan Haseena , McDonald Megan C , Willams Simon J , Solomon Peter
Published: March 2020

Background: The genome-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 has revolutionized gene manipulation by providing an efficient method to generate targeted mutations. This technique deploys the Cas9 endonuclease and a guide RNA (sgRNA) which interact to form a Cas9-sgRNA complex that initiates gene editing through the introduction of double stranded DNA breaks. We tested the efficacy of the CRISPR/Cas9 approach as a means of facilitating a variety of reverse genetic approaches in the wheat pathogenic fungus Parastagonospora nodorum. Results: Parastagonospora nodorum protoplasts were transformed with the Cas9 protein and sgRNA in the form of a preassembled ribonuclear protein (RNP) complex targeting the Tox3 effector gene. Subsequent screening of the P. nodorum transformants revealed 100% editing of those mutants screened. We further tested the efficacy of RNP complex when co-transformed with a Tox3-Homology Directed Repair cassette harbouring 1 kb of homologous flanking DNA. Subsequent screening of resulting transformants demonstrated homologous recombination efficiencies exceeding 70%. A further transformation with a Tox3-Homology Directed Repair cassette harbouring a selectable marker with 50 bp micro-homology flanks was also achieved with 25% homologous recombination efficiency. The success of these homology directed repair approaches demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9 is amenable to other in vivo DNA manipulation approaches such as the insertion of DNA and generating point mutations. Conclusion: These data highlight the significant potential that CRISPR/Cas9 has in expediting transgene-free gene knockouts in Parastagonospora nodorum and also in facilitating other gene manipulation approaches. Access to these tools will significantly decrease the time required to assess the requirement of gene for disease and to undertake functional studies to determine its role.
Identification of biomarkers and pathways associated with immune infiltration and prognosis in melanoma patients
Authors: Huang Biao , Han Wei , Sheng Zu-Feng , Shen Guo-Liang
Published: March 2020

Background Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is one of the most malignancy and aggressive cancers, causing about 72% of deaths in skin carcinoma. Although extensive study has explored the mechanism of recurrence and metastasis, the tumorigenesis of melanoma remains unclear. Exploring the tumorigenesis mechanism may help to identify prognostic biomarkers that could serve to guide cancer therapy . Methods We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between patients with primary melanoma and normal skin in three data sets including GSE46517, GSE15605, GSE114445. Functional annotation including KEGG pathway and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis was performed by DAVID. Subsequently, protein ‐ protein interaction network of DEGs was developed and the most significant module was constructed as hub genes for further study. ClueGO was used to investigate significant pathways in hub genes. The Kaplan–Meier method was performed to assess prognostic genes. ROC curves were used to describe diagnosis value of hub genes. Then, genes expression and clinical characteristics were validated by TCGA profiles. In addition, we explored the correlation between prognostic genes and immune cell infiltration. Results A total of 308 DEGs and 12 hub genes were identified. GO enrichment results demonstrated a correlation between DEGs and the immune response, inflammatory response and transcriptional control. Hallmark pathways of hub genes including interleukin-10 signaling, chemokine receptors bind chemokine signaling ， peptide ligand-binding receptors. Survival analysis and ROC curves suggested that CCL4, CCL5, NMU, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL13 were independent prognostic factors (except GAL). Furthermore, prognostic genes were highly expressed in tumor tissue and related to pathological stages and Breslow depth. In addition, the expressions of CCL4, CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL13 were positively correlated with six immune cell infiltration (B-cell, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, macrophages, Neutrophils, Dendritic cells) and 28 types of TILs such as activated CD8 T cells, regulatory T cells, natural killer T cells while NMU and GAL were negatively correlated with it. Conclusion In summary, this study identified significant hub genes and pathways closely associated with immune infiltrations and prognosis in SKCM patients, which might help us evaluate underlying carcinogenesis progress from skin to melanoma.
WITHDRAWN: A Double Blind Randomized Clinical Trail: Comparing Lactobacillus plantarum 299v with Placebo in treating irritable bowel syndrome patients
Authors: haq Moeen-ul- , Ullah Fazl , Hassan Muhammad Kamran , Babar Ahmad Nawaz , Ullah Anwar
Published: March 2020

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disease of intestinal mobility. IBS present with variable clinical symptoms making the treatment difficult. IBS is quiet prevalent around the globe with different frequency. Differences in frequency and gender is due to diet habit. It is less frequent where diary product and vegetable are frequently consumed as compared to those who consumed meat. Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (L. plantarum 299v) is the most widely studied strain in the IBS patients. It is resistant to the actions of intestinal acids and bile, colonizes the human colonic mucosa and is non-pathogenic in nature. The efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v L is different in different study. The present study was designed to find the efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v in comparison to placebo in randomized control trial.
Effects of perioperative enhanced recovery after surgery pathway management versus traditional management on the clinical outcomes of laparoscopic-assisted radical resection of distal gastric cancer: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Tian Yulong , Cao Shougen , Li Leping , He Qingsi , Xia Lijian , Jiang Lixin , Ding Yinlu , Wang Xinjian , Wang Hao , Mao Weizheng , Hui Xizeng , Shi Yiran , Zhang Huanhu , Chu Xianqun , Zhou Yanbing , Kehlet Henrik
Published: March 2020

Background: The incidence of gastric cancer in East Asia is much higher than the international average. Therefore, improving the prognosis of patients and establishing effective clinical pathways are important topics for the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer. At present, the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway is widely used in the field of gastric surgery. Many randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies have proven that the ERAS regimen can improve the short-term clinical outcomes of gastric cancer patients. However, a prospective study on the effect of the ERAS pathway on the prognosis of gastric cancer patients has not yet been reported. This trial aims to confirm whether the ERAS pathway can improve the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients undergoing laparoscopic-assisted radical resection for distal gastric cancer. Methods/design: This study is a prospective, multicentre, randomized controlled trial. This experiment will include randomly divided groups, the experimental group and the control group, according to a 1:1 ratio. The perioperative period of the experimental group will be managed according to the ERAS pathway, and that of the control group will be managed according to the traditional management mode. An estimated 400 patients will be enrolled. The main endpoint for comparison is the 3-year OS and DFS between the two groups. Discussion: The results of this RCT should clarify whether the ERAS pathway is superior to traditional treatment on inflammatory indexes, short-term clinical outcome and survival for laparoscopic-assisted radical resection of distal gastric cancer. It is hoped that our data will provide evidence that the ERAS pathway improves survival in patients with gastric cancer.
Existence of Hepatitis B Virus Surface Protein Mutations and Other Variants: Demand for Hepatitis B Infection Control in Cambodia
Authors: Ko Ko , Takahashi Kazuaki , Nagashima Shintaro , Yamamoto Chikako , Vichit Ork , Sugiyama Aya , Akita Tomoyuki , Ohisa Masayuki , Chuon Channarena , Hoss Shafiqul Md , Mao Bunsoth , Tanaka Junko
Published: March 2020

Aims : This study aimed to detect Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome sequences and their variants as of nationwide scale using dried blood spot (DBS) samples and to provide up-to-date reference data for infection control and surveillance in Cambodia.
Method: Among 2,518 children age 5-7 years and their 2,023 mothers participated in 2017 Cambodia nationwide sero-survey on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence using multistage random sampling strategy, 95 mothers and 13 children positive to HBsAg were included in this study. HBV DNA was extracted from DBS, then performed polymerase chain reaction. HBV genotypes and potential variants were examined by partial and full length genomic analysis.
Results : HBsAg positive rate was 4.7% (95/2023) in mothers and 0.52% (13/2518) in their children. Genotype C (80.49%) was abundantly found throughout the whole Cambodia whilst genotype B (19.51%) was exclusively found in regions bordering Vietnam. S gene mutants of HBV were found in 24.29% of mothers and 16.67% of children with HBV DNA positive sera. Full-length genome analysis revealed the homology of 99.62-100% in each mother-child pair. Genotype B was clarified to recombinant genotype B4/C2 and B2/C2. Double (48.39%) and combination mutation (32.26%) were observed in core promoter region of HBV C1 strains.
Conclusion : This study showed the capable of DBS for large-scale molecular epidemiological study of HBV in resource limited countries. Full-genome sequences yield the better understanding of sub-genotypes, their variants and the degree of homology between strains isolated from mother-child pairs calls for effective strategies on prevention, control and surveillance of mother-to-child HBV transmission in Cambodia.
Identifying contexts and mechanisms in multiple behavior change interventions affecting smoking cessation success: A rapid realist review
Authors: Minian Nadia , Corrin Tricia , Lingam Mathangee , deRuiter Wayne K , Rodak Terri , Taylor Valerie H. , Manson Heather , Dragonetti Rosa , Zawertailo Laurie , Melamed Osnat C. , Hahn Margaret , Selby Peter
Published: March 2020

Background: Smoking continues to be a leading cause of preventable chronic disease-related morbidity and mortality, excess healthcare expenditure, and lost work productivity. Tobacco users are disproportionately more likely to be engaging in other modifiable risk behaviours such as excess alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and poor diet. While hundreds of interventions addressing the clustering of smoking and other modifiable risk behaviours have been conducted worldwide, there is insufficient information available about the context and mechanisms in these interventions that promote successful smoking cessation. The aim of this rapid realist review was to identify possible contexts and mechanisms used in multiple health behaviour change interventions (targeting tobacco and two or more additional risk behaviours) that are associated with improving smoking cessation outcome.Methods: This realist review method incorporated the following steps: (1) clarifying the scope, (2) searching for relevant evidence, (3) relevance confirmation, data extraction, and quality assessment, (4) data analysis and synthesis.Results: Of the 20,423 articles screened, 138 articles were included in this realist review. Following Michie et al.’s behavior change model (the COM-B model), capability, opportunity, and motivation were used to identify the mechanisms of behaviour change. Universally, increasing opportunities (i.e. factors that lie outside the individual that prompt the behaviour or make it possible) for participants to engage in healthy behaviours was associated with smoking cessation success. However, increasing participant’s capability or motivation to make a behaviour change was only successful within certain contexts. Conclusion: In order to address multiple health behaviours and assist individuals in quitting smoking, public health promotion interventions need to shift away from ‘individualistic epidemiology’ and invest resources into modifying factors that are external from the individual (i.e. creating a supportive environment).Study registration: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42017064430
Clinical Characteristics of Patients with 2019 Coronavirus disease in a non-Wuhan area of Hubei Province, China: a retrospective study
Authors: Zhao Xin-Ying , Xu Xuan-Xuan , Yin Hai-Sen , Hu Qin-Ming , Xiong Tao , Tang Yuan-Yan , Yang Ai-Ying , Yu Bao-Ping , Huang Zhi-Ping
Published: March 2020

Background: Since December, 2019, the 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from Wuhan, China, has caused worldwide outbreak with more than 200,000 people infected and thousands of deaths. The clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients in non-Wuhan areas of Hubei province have not been described.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics and treatment progress of 91 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Jingzhou Central Hospital.

Results: Of the 91 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, 30 (33.0%) cases were severe and two (2.2%) patients died. The severe patients tended to be older (50.5 vs 42.0, P=0.049), and have more chronic disease (40% vs 14.75%, P=0.009), compared to mild group. Only 73.6% of the patients were quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) positive on their first tests, while typical chest computed tomographic (CT) images were obtained for each patient. The most common complaints were cough (75, 82.4%), fever (59, 64.8%), fatigue (35, 38.5%), and diarrhea (14, 15.4%). Non-respiratory injur y was identified by elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase (18, 19.8%), creatinine (5, 5.5%) and creatine kinase (14, 15.4%) in laboratory tests. In sum, 28 (30.8%) cases suffered non-respiratory injury, including 50% of the critically ill patients and 21.3% of the mild patients.

Conclusions: Overall, the mortality rate of patients in Jingzhou is lower than that of Wuhan. Importantly, we discovered liver, kidney, digestive tract and heart injury in COVID-19 cases besides respiratory problems. Combining Chest CT images with qPCR of throat swab samples would improve the accuracy of COVID-19 diagnose.
Woman in The Vulnerability and Disaster Risk of Merapi Eruption in Indonesia
Authors: Hastuti Hastuti , Widodo Edi , Giyarsih Sri Rum , Wicaksono Pramaditya
Published: March 2020

This study was aimed to depict the characteristics of women's vulnerability, as well as to study and analyze their efforts to reduce the disaster risk of Merapi eruption in the South Merapi Slope, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Special Territory. The data collection was conducted through interviews on the demographic characteristics of the women, with qualitative data consisting of the social and economic condition in the area under study, including the women’s demographic characteristics, vulnerability, and risk. The qualitative data were used to complement the quantitative data obtained in the first data collection stage. Thus, the research data analysis was based on the quantitative and qualitative data. The results showed that women were vulnerable in terms of their financial security, particularly due to their lack of bank saving, protection in the place of business, land, and residence. Their social vulnerability was shown by how most of the women and elderly people in the households of the area under study required protection when disaster occurred. The vulnerability in organizations was due to the lack of organizations to care for the women. Most women also experienced environmental vulnerability.
A multiobjective DEA model to assess the eco-efficiency of major cereal crops production within the carbon and nitrogen footprint in China
Authors: chen zhongdu , xu chunchun , ji long , fang fuping
Published: March 2020

Agricultural production systems are facing the challenges of increasing food production while reducing environmental cost, particularly in China. Understanding the eco-efficiency of the staple food crop production contributes to sustainable agriculture. In this study, the eco-efficiency of rice, wheat and maize production within the carbon (C) footprints (CF) and nitrogen (N) footprint (NF) at a province scale based on 555 farm survey data from China was measured in which a combination of life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used. The results showed that the CF for the rice, wheat and maize was 0.87±0.32, 0.30± 0.11, and 0.24 ± 0.06 kg CO 2 -eq kg −1 year −1 at yield-scale, respectively. In addition, the NF was 17.11±7.73, 14.26±5.73, and 6.83±1.83 gN-eq kg −1 year −1 at yield-scale for the rice, wheat and maize, respectively. Synthetic N fertilizer applications and CH 4 emissions dominated the CF of crop production, while NH 3 volatilization was the main contributors to the NF in the grain crop production process. Based on DEA-based sustainability performance assessment results, the eco-efficiency of major cereal crops production were all found to be inefficient (eco-efficiency <1). An increase in yields had only limited effects on improvement in eco-efficiency of rice, wheat and corn production because the yield increase potential rates were very small (0.1~3.4%), and there were no significant differences in increase potentials of yields between provinces. From a perspective of environmental impact reduction potential rates, GWP (22.7~25.1%) was more important for the environmental mitigation target than Nr (10.9~17.9%) in rice production, but the opposite scenario appears in wheat and corn production. Improving crop management practices by reducing N fertilizer use and adopting water-saving irrigation technology could be strategic options to mitigate climate change and eutrophication and improve the eco-efficiency of the staple food crop production in Chinese agriculture.
Arabidopsis V-ATPase d2 subunit plays a role in plant responses to oxidative stress
Authors: Feng Shuang , Peng Yun , Liu Enhui , Ma Hongping , Qiao Kun , Zhou Aimin , Liu Shenkui , Bu Yuanyuan
Published: March 2020

Background: Vacuolar-type H + -ATPase (V-ATPase) is a multisubunit proton pump located on the endomembranes, which plays an important role in plant growth. The Arabidopsis V-ATPase d subunit consists of two isoforms, AtVHA-d1 and AtVHA-d2. Results: In this study, the function of the AtVHA-d2 gene was investigated. Histochemical analysis revealed that the AtVHA-d1 and AtVHA-d2 genes were generally and highly overlapping expressed in multiple tissues at different developmental stages of Arabidopsis. Subcellular localization showed that AtVHA-d2 was mainly localized to the vacuole. The AtVHA-d2 expression was significantly induced by oxidative stress. Furthermore, the phenotypic analysis showed that the atvha-d2 mutant was sensitive to oxidative stress. The non-invasive micro-test measurement demonstrated that the net H + influx in the atvha-d2 roots was weaker than that of the wild type under normal conditions. However, oxidative stress resulted in the H + efflux in atvha-d2 roots, which was significantly different from the wild type. RNA-seq combined with qPCR analysis showed that the expression of several members of the plasma membrane H + -ATPase gene ( AtAHA ) family in atvha-d2 were significant different from wild type under normal and oxidative stress. Conclusion: Overall, our results indicate that AtVHA-d2 plays a role in Arabidopsis in response to oxidative stress by affecting H + flux and AtAHA gene expression.
Early life Exposure to Triclosan Impacted Thyroid Follicular Structure and Decreased Thyroid Hormone Levels in Zebrafish
Authors: Tang Ning , Fan Pianpian , Yu Xiaogang , Wang Xu , Wang Weiye , Ouyang Fengxiu
Published: March 2020

Background: Triclosan (TCS) is an antimicrobial chemical widely used in personal care products. Most of TCS is discharged into aquatic ecosystem after usage. While TCS has potential thyroid-disrupting effect, it is unknown whether early exposure to TCS affects thyroid grand and thyroid hormone levels. We used zebrafish model to examine this topic.Methods: The fertilized zebrafish eggs were exposed to TCS. We inspected hatching and mortality of larvae. The total triiodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine (TT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4) levels were measured at 7, 14 and 120 days post fertilization (dpf). Thyroid histopathological analysis was conducted at 120 dpf of zebrafish.Results: The hatching rate of embryos decreased from 95.8% in control group to 18.3% in TCS highest exposure in 3 days. In 900 ng/mL TCS exposure all larvae died within one day. With increasing concentration of TCS exposure, TT3 and FT3 level decreased after 14 days. FT4 decreased, and the height and nuclear area of thyroid follicular cell increased with TCS exposure after 120 days.Conclusions: High TCS exposure decreased the hatching rate of zebrafish embryos, and also decreased thyroid hormone levels owing to structural change of thyroid follicles. Our study raised the concern that TCS exposure in early life may profoundly affect neurodevelopment.
Income differences in screening, incidence, postoperative complications, and mortality of thyroid cancer in South Korea: a national population-based time trend study
Authors: Kang Hee-Yeon , Kim Ikhan , Kim Yeon-Yong , Bahk Jinwook , Khang Young-Ho
Published: March 2020

Introduction: The incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has increased rapidly over the past few decades in Korea. This study investigated whether the TC epidemic has been driven by overdiagnosis.Methods: We calculated the TC screening rate from mid-2008 through mid-2014, and the incidence, postoperative complications, and mortality rates of TC between 2006 and 2015, using data from the Korea Community Health Survey, the National Health Insurance Database, and the cause-of-death data of Statistics Korea. Trends in age-standardized rates of all indicators were examined, along with income gaps therein. Analyses were conducted for lung cancer and stroke as negative control outcomes.Results: The incidence rate of TC increased from 46.6 per 100,000 to 115.0 per 100,000 between 2006 and 2012, and then decreased to 63.5 per 100,000 in 2015. Despite these remarkable changes in incidence, mortality did not fluctuate during the same period. High income was associated with high rates of screening, incidence, and postoperative complications, while low income showed an association with a high mortality rate. Analyses using negative control outcomes showed that high income was associated with low rates of both incidence and mortality, which contrasted with the patterns of TC. The recent decreases in TC incidence and postoperative complications, which reflect societal concerns about the overdiagnosis of TC, were more pronounced in high-income individuals than in low-income individuals. sConclusions: The time trends in income gaps in screening, incidence, postoperative complications, and mortality of TC, as well as negative control outcomes, provided corroborating evidence of TC overdiagnosis in Korea.
Zebrafish xenograft model of human lung cancer for studying the function of LINC00152 in cell proliferation and invasion
Authors: Shen Wenyi , Pu Juan , Sun Jing , Tan Bing , Wang Wei , Wang Lili , Cheng Jianmeng , Zuo Yangsong
Published: March 2020

Background: Numerous studies show that long non-coding RNAs take important roles in human cancer progression. Although zebrafish xenograft become a novel in vivo model for human cancer research recently, whether it can be used for studying the function of lncRNAs remains unknown.Methods: In vitro studies validated the roles of LINC00152 in the proliferation and invasion of lung cancer cells. In vivo studies by using zebrafish xenograft also confirmed these roles of LINC00152. In vivo confocal imaging was also used to evaluate the function of LINC00152 in cell proliferation and migration more accurately. Pharmacology experiments were further performed to study the potential tumor treatment of LINC00152 downregulation combined with EGFR inhibitor in cultured cells and zebrafish xenograft.Results: Silencing of LINC00152 suppressed cell proliferation and invasion in SPCA1 and A549 lung cancer cell lines in vitro . In zebrafish xenograft model, knockdown of LINC00152 reduced the proliferation and migration of lung cancer cells by two imaging methods at different magnification. Moreover, knocking-down LINC00152 enhanced the inhibition effect of afatinib for lung cancer progression in cultured cells and zebrafish xenograft model.Conclusion: Our study reveals the oncogenic roles and potential tumor treatment target of LINC00152 in lung cancer cells by zebrafish xenograft models, suggesting that this model could be used for the functional and application study of human lncRNA in tumor biology.* Wenyi Shen and Juan Pu contributed equally to this work.
Studies of internal stress induced by solidification of menthol melt as temporary consolidant in archaeological excavations using resistance strain gauge method
Authors: Chen Xiuxiu , Xu Yang , Chen Ming , Huang Xiao , Luo Hongjie , Song Yicheng
Published: March 2020

Volatile organic solids, such as cyclododecane or menthol, have been employed as temporary reinforcement material during archaeological excavations. They are usually applied as melts and reinforcement is achieved once the melts solidify. Such solidification process can induce internal stress on the artifacts, which can be a big concern, especially to those very precious and fragile ones. However, information about such stress is still extremely limited at present. This paper proposes an experimental method based on resistance strain gauge technique to monitor the deformation induced by solidification of menthol melt. Bending tests are performed on very thin glass slides. The solidification process of menthol melt is well characterized by the development of mechanical strains. Then, menthol melts are applied to three kinds of simulated samples, i.e. glass, sandstone and rice paper, to investigate the mechanical response of preserved bodies upon solidification. It is found that menthol melt will generate certain amount expansion or contraction of the objects upon solidification. The stresses induced, evaluated according to obtained strains, are generally quite small, indicating that application of menthol as reinforcement material is safe in mechanics for cultural relics.
Development and validation of a cancer stem cell-related signature for prognostic prediction in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Authors: Feng Zengyu , Shi Minmin , Li Kexian , Jiang Lingxi , Chen Hao , Peng Chenghong
Published: March 2020

Background Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are crucial to malignant behavior and poor prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). In recent years, CSC biology has been widely studied, but practical prognostic signatures based on CSC-related genes have not been established and reported in PDAC. Methods This signature was developed and validated in seven independent PDAC datasets. MTAB-6134 cohort was used as training set, while one Chinese local cohort and five other public cohorts were used for external validation. CSC-related genes with credible prognostic roles were selected to form the signature, and its predictive performance was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and calibration curves. Correlation analysis was employed to clarify the potential biological characteristics. Results A robust signature comprising DCBLD2, GSDMD, PMAIP1, and PLOD2 was developed. It could classify patients into high-risk and low-risk groups, and high risk patients had significantly shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) compared with low risk patients. Calibration curves and Cox regression analysis demonstrated the powerful predictive performance. ROC curves showed an improved survival prediction provided by this model. Functional analysis revealed positive association between risk score and CSC marker. These results had cross-dataset compatibility. Conclusions We established a novel four-gene signature based on CSC-related genes which could serve as a powerful prognostic tool in PDAC. Impact This signature can offer potential help for further improving current TNM staging system, and providing data for the development of novel personalized therapeutic strategies in the future.
Public Awareness And Knowledge Of Factors Associated With Myopia In Kisumu County, Western Kenya
Authors: Muma Shadrack , Obonyo Stephen
Published: March 2020

Background: Myopia is a global public health priority. Many modifiable and non modifiable risk factors have been shown to influence the development of myopia, but these factors are not adequately known by the general public. This study assessed public awareness of the factors that are associated with myopia among the general population in Kisumu County, Kenya. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020 using an Internet-based questionnaire. We collected basic socio demographic characteristics and investigated participants’ knowledge of risk and protective factors that are associated with myopia. The primary outcome measures were the proportions of participants who identified each option as a risk factor. Logistic regression analysis was performed to compare levels of the knowledge of factors that are associated with myopia across populations with different demographic characteristics. Results: Data from a total of 3,000 respondents were analyzed. The percentages of participants who accurately identified myopia risk factors were the following: 84.24% for genetics, 65.07% for reading and close up work, 56.68% for environmental conditions, 48.74% for visual stress, and 42.66% for diabetes. The percentages of participants who accurately identified myopia corrections were as follows: 90.00% for corrective lenses, 84.69% for corneal refractive surgery and 80.92% for refractive surgery. The majority of Kisumu residents correctly recognized the role of lifestyle factors in the development of myopia but not genetic factors. Levels of knowledge of the factors that are associated with myopia were significantly distinct across populations with different characteristics. The following socio demographic characteristics were associated with more comprehensive knowledge of myopia risk and corrective measures: women, young age, high education levels, white- collar jobs, and history of myopia in a family. Conclusions: Public awareness and knowledge of risk and corrective measures for myopia in Kisumu is still insufficient. More efforts are needed to publicize information about myopia to reduce risk and prevent myopia
Validation of a nomogram to predict survival in patients with ESCC based on examined lymph nodes
Authors: Liao Peng , Cao Li , Chen Hang , Pang Shui-Zi
Published: March 2020

Background: Current the number of examined LNs are controversial in predicting the survival of ESCC. We aimed to develop an alternative LN-classification-based nomogram to individualize ESCC prognosis.Methods: Using the data of patients diagnosed with ESCC from SEER database between 2004 and 2015, we determined the cut-off values for the number of LNs examined via the K-adaptive partitioning (KAPS) algorithm. A nomogram predicting the survival of ESCC was performed, internally and externally validated, and evaluated by calibration plot, C-index, and decision curve analysis, and compared to the 7th TNM stage.Results: Totally, we included 3629 patients with detailed information. The optimal cut-off for examined LN number was 8. The C-index for the nomogram was higher than the 7th TNM staging (internal: 0.708; 95%CI, 0.678-0.753 vs 0.601; 95%CI, 0.573-0.656, P<0.001; external: 0.687; 95%CI, 0.601-0.734 vs 0.605; 95%CI, 0.563-0.659, P<0.001). Additionally, the nomogram showed good agreement between internal and external validation. DCA analysis showed no matter in the internal cohort or external cohort, the nomogram showed a greater benefit across the period of follow-up compared to 7th TNM stage.Conclusion: We found examining LNs that was more than 8 benefited for prognosis of patients. Based on these, a nomogram with greater benefit for predicting survival of EC patients than TNM staging was constructed.
Motor injury is caused by TBK1 deficiency in the myeloid cell and rescued by PEI-manose-TBK1
Authors: Duan Weisong , Yi Le , Tian Yunyun , Huang Huai-peng , Li Zhongyao , Bi Yue , Guo Moran , Li Yuanyuan , Liu Yakun , Ma Yanqin , Song Xueqin , Liu Yaling , Li Chunyan
Published: March 2020

Background: TBK1 haploinsufficiency has been shown to cause both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD); however, the mechanism is unclear. Methods: A myeloid Tbk1 knockout mice (Tbk1-LKO mice) was established. Motor functional and pathological analyses were also performed. The p-TBK1 was tested by flow cytometry in the ALS animal model and patients. The inflammatory proteins and mRNA was analyzed by Western blot and RT-PCR.Results: We found that the latency to fall in seven-month-old Tbk1-LKO mice was significantly reduced on evaluation on two consecutive days. Overall, 25.6% of Tbk1-LKO mice presented paralysis symptoms and signs along with a loosened myelin sheath and axon degeneration at 14-16 months of age. Furthermore, Tbk1 deficiency in myeloid cells induced inflammatory cell infiltration and dysbacteriosis in the digestive tract. Additionally, p-Tbk1 content was reduced by 29.5% and 14.8% in monocytes of definite ALS and probable ALS patients and decreased by 27.6% and 45.5% in the monocytes and microglia of ALS animals, respectively. PEI-mannose-TBK1 or PEI-mannose-SaCas9-sgRNA for deleting mutant SOD1 in macrophages significantly delayed disease onset and prolonged survival in the ALS mouse model. Conclusions: These data suggest that inflammatory monocyte and macrophage infiltration and impaired innate immune defense are contributing factors to ALS and FTD.
Expression and functionality study of 9 Toll-like receptors in drug-naïve non-affective first episode psychosis individuals: a 3-month study
Authors: Juncal-Ruiz Maria , Riesco-Davila Laura , Ramirez-Bonilla Mariluz , Foz Victor Ortiz-Garcia de la , Vazquez-Bourgon Javier , Ayesa-Arriola Rosa , Setien-Suero Esther , Leza Juan Carlos , Lopez-Hoyos Marcos , Crespo-Facorro Benedicto
Published: March 2020

Background: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a pivotal component of the innate immune system, which are expressed by various subsets of immune cell types, included central nervous system. There are few publications that have studied TLR expression and/or functionality in psychosis, of which most of them have been based on chronic schizophrenia individuals.Objectives: To compare the expression and functionality of 9TLRs in three peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (monocytes, B cells and T cells) within a sample of 33 drug-naïve FEP individuals and 26 healthy volunteers, at baseline and after 3-month of antipsychotic treatment.Methods: The expression of TLR1-9 was assessed by ﬂow cytometry. For the assessment of the TLR functionality (measured as intracellular production of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α following TLR stimulation), cells collected in sodium heparin tubes were polyclonally stimulated for 18h with different agonists for human TLR1–9.Results: Patients showed a lower expression of TLR5 and TLR8 on the three PBMCs at baseline and after 3-month of treatment regarding healthy volunteers (all ps <0.01). We also found less production of some intracellular pro-inflammatory cytokines (especially TNF-α) after TLR stimulation in patients at both baseline and following the medication (all ps <0.01). We have not found differences in the intra-subject analyses after 3-month of treatment.Conclusions: Drug-naive patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders show lower expression of specific TLR receptors as well as lower intracellular concentrations of some pro-inflammatory cytokines after TLR stimulation. These findings may be a consequence of an excessive cell stimulation via exogenous ligands (such as pathogens) and/or endogenous ligands (such as autoimmunity) in such a way that PBMCs could be exhausted to be activated in the in vitro analyses.
Modeling and simultaneous management of electric vehicle penetration and demand response to improve distribution network performance
Authors: Bakhshinejad Alireza , Tavakoli Abdolreza , Moghadam Maziar Mirhosseini
Published: March 2020

Background: The usage of electric vehicles is daily increasing. It is predicted that the penetration of electric vehicles in the electrical network will grow steadily during the next few years. This growth of penetration causes major challenges for power system users, especially the distribution network. Firstly, increasing load consumption, especially during peak hours, and secondly, increasing the cost of developing a network to provide load, along with the operation moved away from the optimum point, are the major challenges of the penetration of electric vehicles. The aim of this study is to propose a solution not only to resolve these challenges but also to make an opportunity to improve the network parameters. Methods: The charging and discharging strategy along with two price-based and voltage-based load management programs are proposed to manage the penetration of electric vehicles for economic and technical purposes. The proposed plan is implemented by GAMS and MATLAB software on the distribution network. Results: The test network used in this study is the 37 buses low voltage network. The voltage of this network is 400V and its power reference is 100kVA. The upstream nominal capacity is 800 kVA. The allowed voltage range is also 0.9 pu to 1.05 pu. The network loads are indoor and equipped with electric vehicle parking. Conclusions: The results showed that by properly managing the penetration of electric vehicles along with responsive loads, not only were the network parameters not compromised and the penetration of all the vehicles was managed without the need for network development, but also by applying the proposed strategy, the network parameters were improved.