bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genomic landscape of the emerging XDR Salmonella Typhi for mining druggable targets clpP, hisH, folP and gpmI and screening of novel TCM inhibitors, molecular docking and simulation analyses
Authors: Afzal Muneeba , Hassan Syed Shah , Sohail Saman , Camps Ihosvany , Khan Yasmin , Basharat Zarrin , Karim Asad , Aurongzeb Muhammad , Irfan Muhammad , Salman Muhammad , Morel Carlos M.
Published: November 2022

Typhoid fever is transmitted by ingestion of polluted water, contaminated food, and stool of typhoid-infected individuals, mostly in developing countries with poor hygienic environments. To find novel therapeutic targets and inhibitors, We employed a subtractive genomics strategy towards Salmonella Typhi and the complete genomes of eight strains were primarily subjected to the EDGAR tool to predict the core genome (n = 3207). Human non-homology (n = 2450) was followed by essential genes identification (n = 37). The STRING database predicted maximum protein-protein interactions, followed by cellular localization. The virulent/immunogenic ability of predicted genes were checked to differentiate drug and vaccine targets. Furthermore, the 3D models of the identified putative proteins encoded by the respective genes were constructed and subjected to druggability analyses where only “highly druggable” proteins were selected for molecular docking and simulation analyses. The putative targets ATP-dependent CLP protease proteolytic subunit, Imidazole glycerol phosphate synthase hisH, 7,8-dihydropteroate synthase folP and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate-independent phosphoglycerate mutase gpmI were screened against a drug-like library (n = 12000) and top hits were selected based on H-bonds, RMSD and energy scores. Finally, the ADMET properties for novel inhibitors ZINC19340748, ZINC09319798, ZINC00494142, ZINC32918650 were optimized followed by binding free energy (MM/PBSA) calculation for ligand-receptor complexes. The findings of this work are expected to aid in expediting the identification of novel protein targets and inhibitors in combating typhoid Salmonellosis, in addition to the already existing therapies.
Correction factors for commissioning and patient specific quality assurance of stereotactic fields in a Monte Carlo based treatment planning system
Authors: Goodall Simon , Rowshanfarzad Pejman , Ebert Martin A
Published: November 2022

Validation of small field dosimetry is crucial for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Accurate and considered measurement of linear accelerator dose must be compared to precise and accurate calculation by the treatment planning system (TPS). Monte Carlo calculated distributions contain statistical noise, reducing the reliance that should be given to single voxel doses. The average dose to small volume of interest (VOI) can minimise the influence of noise, but for small fields introduces significant volume averaging. Similar challenges present during measurement of composite dose from clinical plans when a small volume ionisation chamber is used. This study derived correction factors for VOI averaged TPS doses calculated for small fields, allowing correction to an isocentre dose following account for statistical noise. These factors were used to determine an optimal VOI to represent small volume ionisation chambers during patient specific quality assurance (PSQA). A retrospective comparison of 82 SRS and 28 SBRT PSQA measurements to TPS calculated doses from varying VOI was completed to evaluate the determined volumes. Small field commissioning correction factors of under 5% were obtained for fields sizes of 8 mm and larger. Optimal spherical VOI with radius between 1.5mm to 1.8mm and 2.5 mm to 2.9 mm were determined for IBA cc01 and cc04 ionisation chambers respectively. Review of PSQA confirmed an optimal agreement between cc01 measured doses and a volume of 1.5 mm while cc04 measured doses showed no variation with VOI.
Identification of Potential Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Using Bioinformatics Analysis
Authors: luo an , xu henglang , xie mingjun , hu ke , jiang yiping , hu jia
Published: November 2022

Background
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common malignant tumor of the intestine, and its incidence and mortality rate are at the forefront. Early diagnosis and intervention of CRC is of great significance. however, there is a lack of precise diagnostic biomarkers. We aim to explore potential biomarkers for CRC and provide a new treatment idea for CRC.
Methods
We first identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in 26 colorectal tumor tissue samples and 26 matched non-tumor tissue samples in the GSE25070 dataset. We then performed Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs using the Database for Annotation Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). We further constructed protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of DEGs using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database and screened 10 hub genes using Cytoscape software. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of hub genes was done by the WEB-based GEne SeT AnaLysis Toolkit (WebGestalt). Finally, we analyzed the expression levels and survival of hub genes using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database.
Results
We obtained 756 DEGS (254 upregulated genes and 502 downregulated genes) from the GSE25070 dataset, and DEGs were mainly enriched in inflammatory response, neutrophil chemotaxis, and cytokine-cytokine receptor. Ten hub genes were identified, including five upregulated genes (VEGFA, IL1B, MMP9, CXCL8, and CCND1) and five downregulated genes (MAPK3, ADH1A, SLC26A3, ADH1C, and UGT1A8). Five upregulated genes were highly expressed in CRC patients, and IL1B and CXCL8 genes were significantly associated with overall survival in colorectal cancer patients, and high expression of IL1B and CXCL8 had a greater survival advantage.
Conclusion
IL1B and CXCL8 are potential biomarkers for CRC.
The role of miR-488-3p on suppressing colorectal cancer by Codonopsis Bulleyana Forest ex Diels in mice
Authors: Liu Lily , Luan Yunpeng
Published: November 2022

(Background) Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a frequently occurring cancer. We aimed to evaluate the roles and possible mechanism of microRNAs (miRs) and Codonopis bulleynana Forest ex Diels (cbFeD) in the development of mice CRC.
(Methods) The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) in CRC mice and their response to cbFeD were analyzed using global miRNA expression profiling, and then the role of cbFeD on CRC was through regulating the expression of miRNA in mice was identified in MC38 cell lines that was incubated with cbFeD and over-expressed with miRNA mimics.
(Results) Results showed that 54 DEMs were found in CRC mice, and they enriched in the processes of cancer development and apoptosis. Among them, miR-488-3p was significantly increased and decreased following exposure to cbFeD. In cbFeD incubated MC38 cells, the expression of miR-488-3p was significantly decreased, and its target gene PTEN (phosphate and tension homology deleted on chromsome ten) was increased markedly. After over-expressing miR-488-3p mimics in MC38 cells, PTEN was decreased by 20% while a 3-fold increased when exposed to cbFeD for 48h. And it was also found that cbFeD could significantly suppress cell proliferation activity and promote apoptosis in MC38 cells, and it could play the above effects following over-expressed miR-488-3p mimics.
(Conclusions) Overall, our results here suggested that there may be a negative correlation between miR-488-3p and PTEN, and targeting PTEN by miR-488-3p may be a mechanism by which cbFeD suppresseed the CRC in mice.
A normalized differential sequence feature encoding method based on amino acid sequences
Authors: Zhao Xiaoman , Wang Xue , Jin Zhou , Wang Rujing
Published: November 2022

Background
Protein interactions is the foundation of all metabolic activities of cells, such as apoptosis, immune response and metabolic pathway. In order to optimize the performance of protein interaction prediction, a coding method based on normalized difference sequence characteristics (NDSF) of amino acid sequences is proposed.
Methods
By using the positional relationships between amino acids in the sequences and the correlation characteristics between sequence pairs, NDSF is jointly encoded. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and local linear embedding (LLE) dimensionality reduction methods, the coded 174-dimensional human protein sequence vector is extracted by using sequence features. This study compares the classification performance of four ensemble learning methods (AdaBoost, Extra trees, LightGBM, XGBoost) applied to PCA and LLE features, and uses cross-validation and grid search methods to find the best combination of parameters.
Results
The accuracy of NDSF is generally higher than that of MOS coding method, and the loss and coding time can be greatly reduced. The bar chart of feature extraction shows that the classification accuracy is significantly higher when using the linear dimensionality reduction method PCA than the nonlinear dimensionality reduction method LLE. After classification with XGBoost, the model accuracy reaches 99.2%, which is the best performance among all models.
Conclusions
NDSF combined with PCA and XGBoost may be an effective strategy for classifying different human protein interactions.
A Novel Hybrid PSO- and GS-based Hyperparameter Optimization Algorithm for Support Vector Regression
Authors: Acikkar Mustafa , Altunkol Yunus
Published: November 2022

Hyperparameter optimization is vital in improving the prediction accuracy of Support Vector Regression (SVR), as in all machine learning algorithms. This study introduces a new hybrid optimization algorithm, namely PSOGS, which consolidates two strong and widely used algorithms, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Grid Search (GS). This hybrid algorithm was experimented on five benchmark datasets. The speed and the prediction accuracy of PSOGS-optimized SVR models (PSOGS-SVR) were compared to those of its constituent algorithms (PSO and GS) and another hybrid optimization algorithm (PSOGSA) that combines PSO and Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA). The prediction accuracies were evaluated and compared in terms of root mean square error and mean absolute percentage error. For the sake of reliability, the results of the experiments were obtained by performing 10-fold cross-validation on 30 runs. The results showed that PSOGS-SVR yields prediction accuracy comparable to GS-SVR, performs much faster than GS-SVR, and provides better results with less execution time than PSO-SVR. Besides, PSOGS-SVR presents more effective results than PSOGSA-SVR in terms of both prediction accuracy and execution time. As a result, this study proved that PSOGS is a fast, stable, efficient, and reliable algorithm for optimizing hyperparameters of SVR.
A ketogenic diet can mitigate SARS-CoV-2 induced systemic reprogramming and inflammation
Authors: Palermo Amelia , Li Shen , Hoeve Johanna ten , Chellappa Akshay , Morris Alexandra , Dillon Barbara , Ma Feiyang , Wang Yijie , Cao Edward , Shabane Byourak , Acin-Perez Rebeca , Petcherski Anton , Lusis Aldons , Hazen Stanley , Shirihai Orian , Pellegrini Matteo , Arumugaswami Vaithilingaraja , Graeber Thomas , Deb Arjun
Published: November 2022

The ketogenic diet (KD) has demonstrated benefits in numerous clinical studies and animal models of disease in modulating the immune response and promoting a systemic anti-inflammatory state. Here we investigate the effects of a KD on systemic toxicity in mice following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our data indicate that under KD, SARS-CoV-2 reduces weight loss with overall improved animal survival. Muted multi-organ transcriptional reprogramming and metabolism rewiring suggest that a KD initiates and mitigates systemic changes induced by the virus. We observed reduced metalloproteases and increased inflammatory homeostatic protein transcription in the heart, with decreased serum pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., TNF-α, IL-15, IL-22, G-CSF, M-CSF, MCP-1), metabolic markers of inflammation (i.e., kynurenine/tryptophane ratio), and inflammatory prostaglandins, indicative of reduced systemic inflammation in animals infected under a KD. Taken together, these data suggest that a KD can alter the transcriptional and metabolic response in animals following SARS-CoV-2 infection with improved mice health, reduced inflammation, and restored amino acid, nucleotide, lipid, and energy currency metabolism.
SVM-based Classification of Multi-temporal Sentinel-2 Imagery of Dense urban Land Cover
Authors: Khurana Yash , Soni Pramod Kumar , Bhatt Devershi Pallavi
Published: November 2022

The technological breakthrough and the availability of multispectral remote sensing data have given rise to an ambitious challenge for the classification of the multispectral images accurately to support administrative bodies in decision-making. In this paper, the multi-temporal medium resolution Sentinel-2 imagery of the densely populated urban area of Delhi-NCR is classified using SVM into five different land cover classes, namely water bodies, barren land, vegetative region, road network, and residential areas. Further, the effect of different kernel functions of SVM on land cover classification performance is contrasted and the radial basis function (RBF) leads to the best results. The experimental results are compared with the maximum likelihood classification (MLC) method on different evaluation metrics. The SVM with RBF kernel shows promising improvements in the overall accuracy by 10 percent relative to the polynomial kernel and by 3 percent compared to MLC. The analysis of multitemporal spectral imagery of the study area reflects the increase in a built-up area (road network, Buildings), water bodies, and decrement in the area of barren land and vegetation.
Velocity-based approach to resistance training: the reproducibility and sensitivity of commercially available velocity monitoring technologies
Authors: Jukic Ivan , King Andrew , Sousa Colby A. , Prnjak Katarina , McGuigan Michael R.
Published: November 2022

This study examined the reproducibility of GymAware, PUSH2 and Vmaxpro velocity monitoring devices during resistance training (RT). The sensitivity of these devices to detect the smallest changes in velocity that correspond to true changes in RT performance was also investigated. Fifty-one resistance-trained people performed an incremental loading (1RM) test, and two repetitions to failure (RTF) tests with different loads, 72 hours apart. During all repetitions, mean velocity (MV) and peak velocity (PV) were simultaneously recorded by two devices of each brand. Overall, GymAware was the most reliable and sensitive device for detecting the smallest changes in RT performance, regardless of the velocity metric used. Vmaxpro can be considered as an equivalent, cheaper alternative to GymAware for RT monitoring and prescription, but only if the MV metric is used. Caution should be exercised when using PUSH2 in practice due to their comparatively higher, unacceptable measurement error and generally low sensitivity to detect changes in RT performance. Collectively, these findings support the use of MV and PV from GymAware and MV from Vmaxpro devices for RT monitoring and prescription due to their low magnitudes of error; thus, allowing for sensible detection of meaningful changes in neuromuscular status and functional performance during RT.
A New Hybrid Metaheuristic Algorithm for Energy-Aware Data Replication Based on IoT Applications
Authors: Khalifa Hamiden Abd El-Wahed , Alharbi Samaher , awad Ahmed
Published: November 2022

The Internet of Things allows us to connect different devices and objects, generate a large volume of huge data, process it, and store it on cloud computing. Recently, cloud computing has become necessary in using pay-for-use spaces to save time and cost. Used data replication in traditional cloud computing leads to excessive use of resources and devices, performance burdens, increased loads, excessive energy consumption, advanced user waiting, and improved response time. This paper proposes the use of multi-objective optimization (MOO) in combination with harris hawks optimization (HHO) and IoT-based salp swarm algorithm (SSA) in cloud computing. The new method called Multi-objective optimization Harris Hawks Optimization with Salp Swarm Algorithm (MOHHOSSA) is based on a set of objectives and integrating two critical technologies, HHO and SSA, to identify and place data replication across nodes using the least path between nodes in cloud computing. The proposed algorithm improves energy consumption (EC), carbon dioxide emission rate (CDER), and means service time (MST). The laboratory results proved the superiority of the proposed algorithm MOHHOSSA over other algorithms in terms of energy, load balancing, Mean service time, and the least expensive path between nodes in the proposed system.
Factors Associated with Decision Making about Family Planning Use by Refugee and Host Population in Adjumani District, West Nile, Uganda; A Cross Sectional Study
Authors: ACHOLA ROSELLINE , Atuyambe Lynn , Nabiwemba Elizabeth , Makumbi Freddrick , Garimoi Christopher Orach
Published: November 2022

Introduction
Uganda currently hosts an estimated 1.5 million refugees. The majority, (60.5%, n = 964,960) come from South Sudan. This study investigated factors associated with decision making for Family Planning (FP) use among host and refugee populations in Adjumani district, Uganda.
Methods
This was a comparative cross sectional study conducted in three refugee settlements of Pagirinya, Nyumazi and Mirieyi, and the surrounding host communities in Adjumani district. A total of 1,307 respondents, comprising 661 refugees and 646 host household heads were randomly selected and interviewed using multi stage cluster sampling. Quantitative data were collected using structured questionnaires with Open Data Kit (ODK). Data were analyzed using STATA V.14 C. Multivariable logistic regression was carried out to establish the factors associated with decision making to use family planning.
Results
The study found that modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) was 28.6% and 28.4% amongst host and refugees respectively. The factors significantly associated with decision to use FP amongst host population included religion, Anglicans were 6.2 times more likely to use FP compared to Catholics, AOR = 6.21, 95% CI [1.11-34.57]. Respondents who made joint decisions were nearly three times more likely to use modern FP methods compared to those who made personal decision, AOR = 2.69, 95% CI [0.89-138.39].
Similarly, amongst refugees, Anglicans were more likely to use modern family planning methods compared to Catholic refugees; AOR= 5, 95% CI [4.75-13.23] and AOR= 7.05 95% CI [2.8-44.88] respectively; respondents who attained tertiary education. AOR = 2.17 95% CI [0.11-43.08] and those who made joint decision; AOR 6.43 95% CI [1.78-16.08] were more likely to use modern FP methods.
The key barriers to decision making regarding modern FP use by the host, included harassment of women who did not consult their significant others (AOR = 0.07, 95% CI [0.01-0.79] and separation/divorce (AOR = 0.03, 95% CI [0.00-0.35]. Whereas amongst the refugees, main reasons for not using FP included not wanting to use FP” [45.8%], wanting to become pregnant [6.8%], and fear of side effects [5.8%].
Conclusions
Use of modern family planning is low amongst both refugee and host populations in Adjumani district. The main factors associated with decision to use FP amongst both refugee and host populations include religion, level of education and husband’s approval. Main reasons for not using modern FP methods include fear of side effects and not wanting to use FP by both host and refugees respectively. There is need to sensitize both communities about the benefits of FP and promote male involvement including couple counseling at community level.
Association between oral health and swallowing function
Authors: YAMANO TAKAFUMI , NISHI KENSUKE , OMORI FUMITAKA , WADA KAORI , YAMAGUCHI MASAHIRO , NAITO TORU
Published: November 2022

Objective
Oral care is effective for preventing pneumonia, but objective evaluation of its effect on swallowing is lacking. Oral assessment scores, such as the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT), are used to evaluate the oral environment to monitor oral care.
Methods
We investigated the relationship between OHAT score and swallowing function in 24 patients aged 64–97 years.
Results
The OHAT score did not correlate with the video endoscopy (VE) or video fluorography (VF) scores. Furthermore, the OHAT score was not significantly different between the multiple- and no- or single-pneumonia episode groups. The group with multiple episodes of pneumonia had lower VE and VF scores than those with no or a single episode of pneumonia (p < 0.01).
Conclusions
Oral assessment, VE, and VF scores are necessary to evaluate swallowing in patients with suspected dysphagia. In addition, recurrent pneumonia among patients with a good oral environment has multiple contributing factors, including subclinical aspiration, pharyngeal clearance, and delayed activation of the gag reflex.
Behavioral outcome measures in preclinical rodent models for postoperative pain: A protocol for a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis
Authors: Segelcke Daniel , Burgt Max van der , Pradier Bruno , Rosenberger Daniela , Macháček Philipp André , Jolmes Johanna , Vollert Jan , Pogatzki-Zahn Esther
Published: November 2022

Background
Understanding the (patho-) physiology of pain after surgery is incomplete; this hampers the effective treatment and leads to long-term consequences, including complications, chronification of pain, and potential drug misuse. Evidence-based research is essential to discover novel therapeutic options. Rodent models for postoperative pain have been developed to widen the knowledge about mechanisms and improve translation. These models cause evoked and non-evoked pain-related behaviors with specific duration, intensity, and timing expressions but with differences between studies. Reasons are heterogeneously performed (and/or reported) behavioral assays making it challenging to compare results across studies. Furthermore, indices about the influencing role of animal-related factors like age, sex, or the experimental setting are given. However, most of them were not systematically investigated, e.g., for pain-related behavior in rodent models of postoperative pain. Therefore, this review will systematically examine pain-related behaviour in different postoperative models in rodents. Acquisition of publication and experimental level characteristics will identify possible confounding and multilevel bias factors on results.
Methods
Four databases will be screened, and results will be compared for duplicates by automated and manual screening. Publication and experimental level characteristics will be extracted to (1) determine methodological aspects and use frequency of postoperative pain models and pain-related behavioral outcomes, (2) generate model-dependent behavior profiles, and (3) identify and critically evaluate confounder and bias factors on outcome measures and results.
Discussion
Findings from this study are necessary to inform researchers and improve future studies in design, performance, analysis, and ethical and translational aspects.
Systematic review registration:
Submitted to PROSPERO
Paediatric subarachnoid haemorrhage and severe vasospasm secondary to traumatic pseudoaneurysm of a fenestrated vertebral artery: A case report and review of the literature
Authors: Kameda-Smith Michelle Masayo , James Gregory , Rennie Adam , Robertson Fergus , Silva Dulanka
Published: November 2022

Paediatric intracranial aneurysms are rare entities accounting for less than 5% of all age intracranial aneurysms. Traumatic aneurysms are more common in children and have an association with anatomical variations such as arterial fenestrations. Here we present a case of a child initially presenting with traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage who returned to baseline and was discharged home only to return within 2 weeks with diffuse subarachnoid and intraventricular re-haemorrhage. A dissecting aneurysm of a duplicated (fenestrated) V4 vertebral artery segment was identified as a rare cause of rebleeding. We describe a course complicated by severe vasospasm delaying aneurysm detection and treatment. Dissecting aneurysms in children should be considered in all cases of delayed post-traumatic cranial rebleeding, particularly where there is anomalous arterial anatomy.
Resonant Laser Ionization and Mass Separation of 225Ac
Authors: Johnson Jake David , Heines Michael , Bruchertseifer Frank , Chevallay Eric , Cocolios Thomas Elias , Dockx Kristof , Duchemin Charlotte , Heinitz Stephan , Heinke Reinhard , Hurier Sophie , Lambert Laura , Leenders Benji , Skliarova Hanna , Stora Thierry , Wojtaczka Wiktoria
Published: November 2022

225Ac is a radio-isotope that can be linked to biological vector molecules to treat certain distributed cancers using targeted alpha therapy. However, developing 225Ac-labelled radiopharmaceuticals remains a challenge due to the supply shortage of pure 225Ac itself. Several techniques to obtain pure 225Ac are being investigated, amongst which is the high-energy proton spallation of thorium or uranium combined with resonant laser ionization and mass separation. As a proof-of-principle, we perform laser ionization and mass separation on two samples of 225Ac, each with a known activity, in different chemical environments. We report overall operational collection efficiencies of 10.1(2)% and 9.9(8)% for the cases in which the 225Ac was deposited on a rhenium surface and a ThO2 mimic target matrix respectively. The bottleneck of the technique was the laser ionization efficiency, which was deduced to be 15.1(6)%.
Specific thresholds for emerging cardiometabolic risk markers of elevated carotid intima – media thickness (CIMT) in uncontrolled hypertensive patients in a hospital setting in Kinshasa, DR Congo
Authors: TONGO Stéphane YANDA , LONGO-MBENZA Benjamin , Michel LELO TSHIKWELA , MALENGELE Héritier MAWALALA , WOLA Antoine TSHIMPI , RISASI Jean Robert MAKULO , LUSUNSI Christian KISOKA , MONKONDJIMOBE Etienne
Published: November 2022

Objective:
To identify independent determinants of selected emerging cardiometabolic risk factors of increased carotid intima – media thickness (CIMT) in uncontrolled hypertensive patients in a hospital setting in Kinshasa.
Material and method:
A cross-sectional study was performed between September 2018 and January 2021 in hypertensive patients admitted to Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa (CUK), Centre Hospitalier Mère et Enfant Monkole (CHME) and Hôpital Biamba Marie Mutombo (HBMM) to measure CIMT on ultra sonography.
Some cardiometabolic and atherogenic markers were evaluated by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) and logistical regression.
Results:
280 hypertensive patients were examined with 72.9% uncontrolled hypertension.
The CMIT threshold >0.8 mm associated with uncontrolled hypertension was significantly and independently predictive of subclinical atherosclerosis.
Conclusion:
The present study identified independent determinants of increased CIMT in globally uncontrolled hypertensive patients in a hospital setting in Kinshasa, DR Congo.
Thus, the optimal and specific thresholds for subclinical atherosclerosis were: urinary albumin/creatinine ratio, TyG Index, BMI and LVMI in the direction of health promotion and atherosclerosis prevalence in the management of hypertensive patients in the hospital setting of Kinshasa, DR Congo.
Effects of fertilization and understory removal on aboveground and belowground carbon stocks in wet and dry moorlands in southwestern France
Authors: Bon Lucie , Augusto Laurent , Gaudry Jonathan , Bakker Mark R. , Lambrot Catherine , Milin Sylvie , Trichet Pierre , Fanin Nicolas
Published: November 2022

Forests provide essential ecosystem services such as wood production and soil carbon storage, which can be influenced by forest management. Fertilization and understory removal (UR) are common practices set up in managed forests to reduce tree mortality and relieve trees from their main limitations, but their effects on belowground functioning and soil carbon storage are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of fertilization, UR and their interaction on the carbon stored in the ecosystem and soil enzyme activities in two different moorlands in southwestern France (dry and wet moorlands) planted with maritime pines (Pinus pinaster Ait.). Our results showed that fertilization had a positive effect on tree biomass in the wet moorland, but did not affect soil organic carbon stocks. In contrast, UR had a positive influence on tree biomass in both sites, whereas it had a strong negative effect on soil organic carbon stocks in the dry moorland only. Furthermore, we found that carbon-related enzyme activities were not affected by fertilization, but decreased with UR in the dry moorland. When looking at the carbon pools, we found that fertilization increased total carbon stocks in the wet moorland due to an increase in aboveground biomass. In contrast, UR did not affect total carbon stocks in the dry moorland due to compensatory effects with an increase of carbon stored in the aboveground biomass coupled to a decrease of carbon stored in the soil. These results highlight the importance of adapting forest practices depending on the environmental context.
Oridonin attenuates the progression of atherosclerosis by inhibiting NLRP3 and activating Nrf2 in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice
Authors: Wang Lei , Zhao Xiaoqi , Ding Jiawen , Liu Yutong , Liu Han , Zheng Lei , Zhao Hongting , Sun Zichen , Li Kuanyu , Cai Jing , Qiao Tong
Published: November 2022

Oridonin, a well-known traditional Chinese herbal medicinal product isolated from Isodon rubescens (Hemsl.) H.Hara, has many potential properties, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. However, there is no evidence whether oridonin have a protective effect on atherosclerosis. This study focused on the effects of oridonin on oxidative stress and inflammation generated from atherosclerosis. The therapeutic effect on atherosclerosis was evaluated by intraperitoneal injection of oridonin in a high-fat fed ApoE−/− mouse model. We isolated mouse peritoneal macrophages and detected the effect of oridonin on oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced lipid deposition. Oil red O staining, Masson's staining, Dihydroethidium (DHE) fluorescence staining, Immunohistochemical staining, western blotting analysis, immunofluorescence, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real-time PCR were used to evaluate the effect on atherosclerosis and explore the mechanisms. Oridonin treatment significantly alleviated the progression of atherosclerosis, reduced macrophage infiltration and stabilized plaques. Oridonin could significantly inhibit inflammation associated with NLRP3 activation. Oridonin significantly reduced oxidative stress by blocking Nrf2 ubiquitination and degradation. We also found that oridonin could prevent the formation of foam cells by increasing lipid efflux protein and reducing lipid uptake protein in macrophages. Oridonin has a protective effect on atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− mice, which may be related to the inhibition of NLRP3 and the stabilization of Nrf2. Therefore, oridonin may be a potential therapeutic agent for atherosclerosis.
Down regulation of Cathepsin W is associated with poor prognosis in Pancreatic cancer
Authors: Khojasteh-Leylakoohi Fatemeh , Mohit Reza , Khalili-Tanha Nima , Asadnia Alireza , Khazaei Majid , Pourali Ghazaleh , Yousefli Zahra , Khalili-Tanha Ghazaleh , Maftooh Mina , Nassiri Mohammadreza , Hassanian Seyed Mahdi , Ghayour-Mobarhan Majid , Ferns Gordon A , Shahidsales Soodabeh , Giovannetti Elisa , Nazari Elham , Avan Amir
Published: November 2022

Background:Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is associated with a very poor prognosis. Therefore, there has been a focus on the identification of new biomarkers for the early diagnosis of PDAC and prediction of patient survival. Genome-wide RNA and microRNA sequencing were used using bioinformatics and Machine Learning approaches to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) followed by validation in additional cohort of PDAC patients.Methods:genome RNA sequencing and clinical data from pancreatic cancer patients were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas Database (TCGA) to identify DEGs. We used Kaplan-Meier analysis of survival curves was used to assess prognostic biomarkers. Ensemble learning, Random Forest, (RF), Max Voting, Adaboost, Gradient boosting machines (GBM) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) techniques were used and Gradient boosting machines (GBM) were selected with 100 % accuracy for analysis. Moreover, protein-protein interaction (PPI), molecular pathways, concomitant expression of DEGs, and correlations between DEGs and clinical data were analyzed. We have evaluated candidate genes, miRNAs and a combination of these obtained from machine learning algorithms and survival analysis.Results:Machine learning results showed 23 genes with negative regulation, 5 genes with positive regulation, 7 microRNAs with negative regulation and 20 microRNAs with positive regulation in PDAC. Key genesBMF,FRMD4A,ADAP2,PPP1R17, andCACNG3had the highest coefficient in the advanced stages of disease. In addition, the survival analysis results showed decreased expression ofhsa.miR.642a,hsa.mir.363,CD22,BTNL9andCTSWand overexpression ofhsa.miR.153.1,hsa.miR.539,hsa.miR.412reduced survival rate.CTSWwas identified as a novel genetic marker and this was validated using RT-PCR.Conclusion:Machine learning algorithms may be used to Identify key dysregulated genes/miRNAs involved in pathogenesis of the diseases can be used for detection of patients in earlier stages. Our data also demonstrated the prognostic and diagnostic value ofCTSWin PDAC.
Preparation of solid acid of sulfated binary metal oxides via solid-liquid interface reaction
Authors: Matsuhashi Hiromi , Onoki Reiko , Yoshida Kana , Nishiyama Yuuki
Published: November 2022

Solid acid catalysts composed of sulfated binary metal oxides, SO42–/TiO2–ZrO2, SO42–/Fe2O3–Al2O3, SO42–/ZrO2–Al2O3, and SO42–/Al2O3–ZrO2 were prepared via a solid-liquid interface reaction of the corresponding hydrated metal sulfates with a metal alkoxide. Sulfated SnO2–TiO2 was prepared via the interface reaction of tin(IV) oxyhydroxide containing nonstoichiometric water molecules with titanium alkoxide. The sulfated binary oxides exhibited greater activity than proton-type zeolites and sulfated zirconia for acid-catalyzed ethanol dehydration. The activation temperatures that provided the highest activity were the same or higher than those for sulfated simple metal oxides. The Al2O3 included in the prepared binary oxides was amorphous even when the heat treatment was conducted at higher temperatures. An increase in thermal stability was observed for anatase–phase TiO2 and tetragonal-phase ZrO2. A well-mixed solid solution was formed by the reaction of Ti(OCH(CH3)2)4 with SnO(OH)2 containing nonstoichiometric water molecules. The SO42–/SnO2–TiO2 showed extremely higher activity in the tested catalysts.
Source Investigations, Quality Indexing of Vegetable Farmland and Human Health Risk Implications
Authors: Alam M. Nur E , Hosen M. Mozammal , Ullah A. K. M. Atique , Maksud M. A. , Khan S. R. , Lutfa L. N. , Choudhury T. R. , Quraishi Shamshad B.
Published: November 2022

Climate changes effects, food security and self-sufficiency targets in densely populated countries like Bangladesh forced excessive human activities on vegetable farmland, and heavy metal contamination may result. An analysis of three toxic heavy metals, such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr), was conducted to determine their source and associated health risks in vegetables, taking into account source pathways, fertilizers/pesticides and soil, using 12 sampling points at two different locations in two different Flam-Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (F-AAS) and Graphite Furnace-AAS (GF-AAS) modes. In soil and fertilizers/pesticides, the mean concentration of heavy metals declined in the same order of Cr > Pb > Cd. For vegetables, the mean concentration decreased in the order of Pb > Cr > Cd with some extra quantity of Pb compared with an allowable limit of World Health Organization (WHO) predicting industrial and fertilizer usage impact on location B. For both locations, the quality indexing of soil projected low levels of contamination with insignificant ecological risks. The toxic metal transfer to vegetables followed the order Cd > Pb > Cr, the same for both locations but higher at location B. However, the toxic metals uptake through vegetables was much less than maximum tolerable daily intake. The human health risks arising from harmful metals exposure at both locations were ineffective (< 1) in evaluating non-carcinogenic risk patterns through target hazard quotient (THQ), total THQ and hazard index (HI). Again considering probable carcinogenic risk patterns, vegetable consumption with studied exposure levels of toxic metals will be significant (between 1.0E-04 to 1.0E-04). Overall, location B is a little bit more vulnerable than A by considering the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic model and related intervention and protective measures are needed to be taken.
Non-binary gender statistic of employees in Australian universities
Authors: boretti alberto
Published: November 2022

Here we analyze the data of reference Australian higher education institutions in the state of Victoria to understand the differences between genders in their workforce and the society. It is found that the previous unbalance in favor of assigned males at birth persisting in their original definition, classified as males, has been turned into an unbalance in favor of assigned females at birth persisting in their original definition, classified as females. The 2SLGBTQIA + community, summarily classified as Self-described, is still largely underrepresented. The number of Self-described Executives is not even reported by two of the four universities, and it is reported as zero by the other two. One university has an empty field for the number of Self-Described total staff same as the year before. The average of the total number of Self-Described staff to the total number of staff of the three universities with an entry is only 0.31%.
Third-order Optical Nonlinearity Investigations of axially linked hyperbranched lanthanum phthalocyanine-boron nitride nanosheets
Authors: Li Wei , Yang Jiansong , Zhang Xiaofang , Xu Rui
Published: November 2022

Developing nonlinear optical materials with wide wavelength range for optical confinement is of wide application prospects and immense scientific interest. In the present work, a novel nanohybrid materials (HLaPc-BNNSs) was designed through axially covalent connected boron nitride (BN) to phthalocyanine. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of HLaPc-BNNSs in organic solvents and polymer matrix were investigated separately. The HLaPc-BNNSs nanohybrid exhibits a wide limiting range and its nonlinear optical properties show a significant improvement in the near-infrared region. In addition, the solid film samples exhibit better uniformity and excellent nonlinear optical response compared to the solution samples. The nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) of the HLaPc-BNNSs/PPSU films is as high as 1800 (cm/GW), which is almost 200 times higher than that of the 532 nm solution absorption coefficient. Possible mechanisms of optical confinement were explored by various methods, including UV-vis absorption, fluorescence, and Z-scan. It is demonstrated that the synergistic effect of two-photon absorption with reverse saturable absorption and charge transfer between BNNSs and HLaPc are important factors in determining its nonlinear optical response and optical limiting performances. Therefore, the preparation of axially connected hyperbranched phthalocyanines and two-dimensional nanomaterials is a new strategy for the design and development of high-efficiency optical limiting functional nano-hybrid materials.
Sophomoric sex ed: Sexism through definition in collegiate sexuality education textbooks
Authors: Willeford Chloe Kearin , Etgen Caroline J. , Jordan Carly N.
Published: November 2022

The majority of adolescents in the United States receive formal sexuality and sexual health education, making it important that information presented therein is accurate and unbiased. Sexual education presents a pattern of describing men as active and sexually driven and women as passive victims of men’s sexual urges. Our research found that this pattern manifests in sexual health textbooks, when female anatomy is described only in terms of male anatomy. We read and analyzed anatomy chapters in ten of the most common sexual education textbooks used in American high schools and colleges to determine how bodies of each sex were defined and found a statistically significant correlation with a large effect size between the sex of anatomy and the incidence of description of that anatomy from the perspective of another sex. This analysis shows that sexual health textbooks continue to depict women as sexual tools for men, contributing to the sexism in American society. Sexism has negative psychological effects on women from an early age. Our research highlights the frequency with which women receive sexist messages in education, compounding these negative psychological effects.
Endometriosis and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes, controversies debates
Authors: Shahmoradi Fatemeh , Haghighi Ladan , Noori Marziyeh , Derakhshan Roya , Hashemi Neda , rokhgireh samaneh
Published: November 2022

The association between endometriosis and outcome of pregnancy is one of the interesting topics. Patients' pain is alleviated with pregnancy, but it seems that endometriosis causes adverse outcomes in pregnancy. The main accused is systemic chronic inflammation caused by higher level of cytokines, growth factors and angiogenic factors. In this retrospective cohort study, the case group included 125 women with endometriosis who referred to Hazrat-e- Rasool hospital in 2015–2019, and the control group included 125 women without endometriosis who went to the hospital for delivery in 2015–2019. Data on pregnancy, delivery and newborns of the endometriosis and control group was extracted from the hospital information system and the questionnaires were completed. The average age of patients was 32.74 ± 4.10 and 31.7 ± 5.53 years in endometriosis and control group respectively. In terms of pregnancy complications, placenta previa, placenta accreta, placenta abruption pre-eclampsia, GDM and postpartum hemorrhage remarkably increase in the endometriosis group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). In bowel endometriosis SGA was significantly higher than patients without bowel endometriosi. (P < 0.05). Conservative or surgical treatment of rectal endometriosis had no significant effect on pregnancy outcome (P > 0.05). As well as the presence of adenomyosis made pregnancy outcomes significantly unfavorable compared to people without adenomyosis. (P < 0.05). NICU admission rate was notably higher in infants of endometriosis group compared to controls (40.7% vs. 24.8%, P-value 0.009). Infant mortality rate had no significant difference in both groups (P = 0.12). Our findings showed that endometriosis and adenomyosis are related to bad obstetric consequences.
A mixed Harris hawks optimization algorithm based on the pinhole imaging strategy for solving numerical optimization problems
Authors: Zeng Liang , Li Yanyan , Zhang Hao , Li Ming , Wang Shanshan
Published: November 2022

To address the shortcomings of the Harris Hawks Optimization (HHO) algorithm in solving complex high-dimensional optimization problems with a slow convergence speed, low accuracy, and the high likelihood to fall into local optimum, a Mixed Harris Hawks Optimization (MHHO) algorithm based on the pinhole imaging strategy is proposed. Firstly, the pinhole imaging strategy is used to enable the Harris' hawks to approach the optimal solution faster and accelerate convergence. Secondly, the spiral parameter is introduced into the exploration phase to help the searching paths of the Harris' hawks more diverse, and improve the global search ability of the algorithm. Finally, the greedy strategy of the aquila optimization algorithm and the position update strategy of the ower pollination optimization algorithm are embedded in the exploitation stage to make the algorithm jump out of local optimum effectively. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed MHHO algorithm,it is compared with the classical HHO algorithm and 16 other state-of-the-art algorithms, and extensively tested on 23 well-known benchmark functions, the IEEE CEC2017 test set, and three complex constrained engineering optimization problems. The test results show that MHHO outperforms the classical HHO algorithm and other 16 algorithms,and has a faster convergence speed and higher convergence accuracy.
Prevalence and correlates of alcohol use and alcohol use disorder among undergraduate students in Johannesburg, South Africa: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Chen Cassandra , Mpinganjira Mafuno G , Motilal Asha , Matukane Sandile , Letsoalo Relebohile , McKee Tyler , Ntombela Zakithi , Mbulaheni Limuwani , Hargovan Taveer , Francis Joel M
Published: November 2022

Background: Alcohol use and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are a significant public health problem globally. Young people, including university students, are among the most affected populations. We conducted the study to determine the prevalence and correlates of alcohol use and AUD among undergraduate students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using an anonymous, self-administered online survey in REDCap. The survey questionnaire consisted of socio demographic, and alcohol use questions using the AUD identification screening tool (AUDIT-C). We performed descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression to determine factors associated with alcohol use and AUD. The p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The response rate was 15.7%, most participants were female (69.6%), in their 3rd and 4th year of study; and the largest racial representation was from those identifying as White (38.1%). The prevalence of reported ever use of alcohol was 79.1%, and among the ever users; 70.2% reported alcohol use in the last 12-months, 37.1% reported alcohol use in the last 30 days. The prevalence of AUD was 54.8% among ever drinkers. Factors significantly associated with reported current alcohol use were family members alcohol use as follows: siblings (aOR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.02-3.15) and parents (aOR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.39–4.80), white race (aOR = 5.70, 95% CI: 3.12–10.41), and high exposure to alcohol in the media (aOR = 3.31, 95% CI: 1.07–10.24). Whereas those associated with AUD were: Indian/Asian race (aOR = 2.82, 95% CI: 1.09-7.31), White race (aOR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.14-4.04), and most of the time (aOR = 3.42, 95% CI: 1.29-9.04) and high (aOR = 3.31, 95% CI: 1.07-10.24) exposure to alcohol through media.
Conclusion: The reported alcohol use and AUD were common amongst undergraduate students at Wits university. There is an urgent need to design, pilot and adapt targeted interventions for this population group.