bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Citrate Effect on the Swelling Behaviour and Stability of Casein Microparticles
Authors: Asaduzzaman Md , Pütz Thomas , Gebhardt Ronald
Published: April 2022

Casein microparticles obtained from casein micelles by volume exclusion of added pectin and subsequent film drying remain stable in the acidic and neutral pH range, but swell strongly in the basic range. Calcium significantly determines the stability and water-binding behavior of phosphorylated caseins and the aggregates and gels formed from them. For a future effective and controlled use as a carrier for bioactive substances, e.g. via the gastrointestinal tract, we therefore investigated how the addition of the calcium chelating agent citrate affects the swelling and stability of the microparticles. Concentrations of 2 mM and more citrate cause a stronger swelling of the microparticles at pH 8 and by means of 4 mM and more the second characteristic swelling step can also be investigated within the observation time of 120 minutes, since it starts earlier. All swelling kinetics can be simulated using seven parameters of a dynamic model, which reproduces the individual swelling steps via volume inflows and outflows into a reservoir. While the rate coefficient for swelling step 1 increases linearly with the citrate concentration, no such dependence could be found for swelling step 2. The more citrate is used, the faster the microparticles decompose in turbidity experiments after the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate, which can be related to a weakening of the hydrophobic interactions.
Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Infiltration Wetting Front of Ring-shaped Root Emitters
Authors: Zhang Jun , Li Lin
Published: April 2022

Ring-shaped root emitter is a new type of emitter applicable to the roots of fruit trees in arid areas. To study the characteristics of infiltration wetting front changes of ring-shaped root emitters, nine scenarios were designed using the orthogonal test method, including four factors (i.e., irrigation ring radius, burial depth, number of orifices and irrigation water amount) and their three levels. The infiltration process of these nine scenarios was simulated using HYDRUS-3D software. The results show that the interference infiltration time exhibited a good power function relationship with the irrigation ring radius, number of orifices and burial depth; the wetting fronts before the interference infiltration were all in the shape of a rotating ellipsoid centered on the infiltration point and can be expressed by the equations of the upper and lower semi-elliptic curves relative to the infiltration point. With the increase of time, the wetting fronts were centered at the infiltration point and infiltrated in all directions. The transport rate decreased with time. The power function relationship between the wetting fronts and the influencing factors after the interference infiltration in different directions was established, and the coefficient of determination was above 0.888. The wetting front shape after infiltration stabilization can be regarded as a rotating body formed by the vertical wetting front plane around the z-axis. The Wetted soil volume of deep percolation, surface and suitable infiltration scenarios was rugby-shaped, apple-shaped with a flattened top and complete apple-shaped, respectively. The research results can provide a reference for selecting root emitter parameters and layout as well as developing a root irrigation system.
Hyperaccumulation of lead using Agrostis tenuis
Authors: Anguilano Lorna , Onwukwe Uchechukwu , Dekhli Aghis , Venditti Susanna , Aryani Danny , Reynolds Alan
Published: April 2022

In recent years the quest for a circular economy approach and the upcycling of secondary raw materials have been pushed in the global political agenda. Increased interest has been taken by the recovery of materials from sludges, brines, contaminated waters and other media, such as “mining” of waste. Contaminated soils have an interesting role in this process, and various methodologies have been developed using chemical, bacteriological and pyrometallurgical cleaning procedures. However, these procedures all involve the movement of high volume of materials and the disruption of the industrial landscape; furthermore, they often require the use of hazardous solvents and high energy processes. This work proposes to identify less impactful methods aimed at the recovery of metals from mining areas while preserving the landscape and avoiding environmental impacts such as the increase of CO2 for transport and increase hazard through use of solvents, this takes particular importance in areas of industrial heritage status. In particular, this work focuses on the use of Agrostis tenuis, an autochthonous species in mining areas of the UK, as a “mining tool” for the removal of lead. The selection of both the hyperaccumulator and the metal in this study are derived from the evaluation of the most common contamination in mining areas and the widespread prevalence of this hyperaccumulator and its resilience in highly contaminated abandoned mines. Aside from its presence within the mining areas, making it an autochthonous plant, Agrostis tenuis is selected for its visual morphology. Being a short grass, Agrostis does not change the visual appearance of the mining sites, most of which in the UK have a historic landscape status.
Identification of key molecules for castration resistance prostate cancer by bioinformatic analysis
Authors: Hu Jieping , Yu Yue , Liu Wei , Xi Haibo
Published: April 2022

Objectives
Castration resistance prostate cancer (CRPC) is a complex tumor associated with highly mortality. To discover key molecular in CRPC, we dissected the data of CRPC based on arrays by bioinformatic analysis.
Methods
The gene expression profiling datasets of prostate cancer were analyzed online. The Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID, https://david.ncifcrf.gov/) was used to perform Gene Ontology (GO) functional and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses. Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) in Cytoscape software (Cytoscape_v3.6.1) was applied to screen hub genes. Gene expression data were obtained from ONCOMINE website (https://www.oncomine.org/). The gene expression and survival data were download and analyzed.
Results
4 datasets (GSE104935, GSE120005, GSE78201, and GSE21887) were included for analysis. The 15 overlap up regulated genes and 27 overlap down regulated genes were identified and analyzed by DAVID. 11 proteins corresponding to genes (ELOVL6, ABCA1, FOXO3, and TNRC6B; ALDH1A3, OSBPL8, ACSL3, SLC45A3, KLK2, FKBP5, and PMEPA1) were identified to be key genes. Gene expression suggested OSBPL8, PMEPA1 and SLC45A3 were different expressed in CRPC patients, these genes were also associated with survival.
Conclusions
OSBPL8, PMEPA1 and SLC45A3 were involved with CRPC. Their functions needed more detailed research to reveal.
Positive Selection Drives the Rapid Fixation of Dephosphorylation in IRF9
Authors: Chen Jianhai , He Xuefei , Jakovlić Ivan
Published: April 2022

The arms race between humans and pathogens drives the evolution of the human genome. Here, based on the HPO (Human Phenotype Ontology) annotation, we focused on human genes related to recurrent infections of virus, (RVI), bacterial (RBI) and recurrent fungal infections (RFI) to understand positive selection on pathogen-responsive genes. Interestingly, cross-species positive selection analyses revealed that the proportion of unique genes under positive selection was higher for RVI (78.57%) than for RFI (57.14%) and RBI (58.68%). Based on results of the branch-site test, we further focused on the amino acid site Val129 of IRF9, which has a significant signal of positive selection based on multiple evidence. Interestingly, this novel and derived amino acid (V) has been rapidly fixed before the "out-of-Africa" event ~ 500,000 years ago from the ancestral state S, which is conserved among 88.5% of mammalian lineages. Phosphorylation analysis revealed that the conserved ancestral S may serve as the phosphorylation site of IRF9. Further analyses suggested that the rapid dephosphorylation of IRF9 via the change of S to V may have conferred potential molecular adaptations by boosting and extending the immune activity of IRF9. This study provides an interesting mode in which strong positive Darwinian selection drives the rapid fixation of a hominin specific amino acid leading to molecular adaptation for immune response.
Analysis on the relationship between Effort- Reward imbalance and job satisfaction among family doctors in China: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Chen Jinhua , Wang Yijun , Du Wen , Liu Shuyi , Xiao Zhu , Wu Yuelei
Published: April 2022

Background: Family doctor contract services was launched in Sichuan province in 2016. The focus was mainly on developing primary health care services but paying less attention to the work stress and job satisfaction of in-service family doctors. Objective: This study aims to explore the influencing factors of job satisfaction, and the relation between work stress indicators and job satisfaction among family physicians. Methods: An analytical online cross-sectional survey was performed among 1,105 family doctors from 23 districts and counties in Chengdu. Self-administered questionnaire was completed. Sociodemographic factors, work stress measured by Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI)scale, and job satisfaction assessed by the short Chinese version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) were collected in this study. A statistical analysis and hierarchical linear regression analysis were performed to explore the influencing factors and the correlations among related variables. Results: The overall mean MSQ score was 52.01±13.23. Analysis of doctor satisfaction indicated that age, education, job rank, type of institution, years of working and monthly income were statistically significant (P<0.05). There were negative correlation coefficients between general job satisfaction and effort/reward ratio (ERR) (r=-0.130, P<0.001) and overcommitment (r=-0.615, P<0.001). Conclusion: The level of job satisfaction among family doctors was considerable low. Age, education, job rank, type of institution, years of working and monthly income were influencing factors of job satisfaction. ERI and overcommitment had a negative correlation with general job satisfaction.
Long-Term Clinical Outcomes of Oral Antidiabetic Drugs as Fixed-Dose Combinations: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Cho Sang-Jun , Oh In-Sun , Jeong Han Eol , Cho Young Min , Hwangbo Yul , Yu Oriana Hoi Yun , Shin Ju-Young
Published: April 2022

Objectives: Patients with type 2 diabetes often require more than one medication for glycemic control. Although single pill fixed-dose combinations (FDC) might improve adherence, its impact on clinical outcomes remains unclear. We compared treatment patterns and clinical outcomes of FDC and two-pill combination (TPC) therapies using real-world data.Methods: We conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study using South Korea’s healthcare database (2002–2015). We identified two cohorts of incident patients with type 2 diabetes who initiated FDC or TPC therapy within 4 months of their first prescription for metformin or sulfonylurea. We examined persistence and adherence patterns and the clinical outcome of a composite endpoint of death or hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or stroke and compared the differences in treatment patterns and clinical outcomes using Cox models.Results: Of 5,143 and 10,974 patients who initiated FDC and TPC therapy, respectively, we identified 5,143 patient pairs after propensity score matching. The FDC group exhibited greater median time to treatment discontinuation (163 versus 146 days), and proportion of days covered (PDC) at 12 months (mean 0.60 versus 0.57, P < 0.0001) and at 24 months (0.53 versus 0.51, P=0.014) than the TPC group. The FDC group, compared with the TPC group, had reduced risks of the composite clinical outcome (hazard ratio 0.74, 95% confidence intervals 0.57–0.95) and hospitalization for stroke (0.68, 0.49–0.94).Conclusion: FDC therapy may provide favorable cardiovascular benefits, especially reducing the risk of hospitalization for stroke, and have better medication adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes.
Aspirin attenuates morphine antinociceptive tolerance in rats with diabetic neuropathy by inhibiting apoptosis in the dorsal root ganglia
Authors: Ozdemir Ercan , Avcı Onur , Inan Zeynep Deniz Sahin , Taskiran Ahmet Sevki , Gunes Handan , Gursoy Sinan
Published: April 2022

Morphine is a drug used in chronic pain such as diabetic neuropathy, but the development of tolerance to its antinociceptive effect is an important clinical problem. Recently, it has been stated that morphine-induced neuronal apoptosis can stimulate morphine tolerance. Our aim in this study was to investigate the effects of aspirin on morphine-induced neuronal apoptosis and analgesic tolerance in rats with diabetic neuropathy. After morphine tolerance induction, the antinociceptive effects of aspirin (50 mg/kg) and morphine (5 mg/kg) were evaluated by thermal pain tests at 15 or 30 minute intervals. Streptozotocin (STZ, 65 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally to induce diabetic neuropathy. To evaluate apoptosis in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) tissue, ELISA kits were used to measure caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 levels. Apoptotic cells were detected histologically by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method. Study results indicate that prior administration of aspirin to diabetic rats significantly increased the antinociceptive efficacy of morphine compared to morphine alone. Thermal pain tests showed that aspirin significantly reduced morphine tolerance in rats with diabetic neuropathy. Biochemical analysis revealed that aspirin significantly decreased the levels of pro-apoptotic proteins, caspase-3 and Bax, while increasing the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 in DRG neurons. Semiquantitative scoring demonstrated that aspirin provided a significant reduction in apoptotic cell counts in diabetic rats. In conclusion, these data suggested that aspirin attenuated morphine antinociceptive tolerance through anti-apoptotic activity in diabetic rat DRG neurons. Further studies are needed to elucidate these effects of aspirin on morphine tolerance.
Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection: analysis of 35,000 subjects and overview of systematic reviews
Authors: Pecoraro Valentina , Pirotti Tommaso , Trenti Tommaso
Published: April 2022

Background: Reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 is a rare but possible event. We evaluated the prevalence of reinfections in the Province of Modena and performed an overview of systematic reviews to summarize the current knowledge.Methods: We applied big data analysis and retrospectively analysed the results of oro- or naso-pharyngeal swab results tested for molecular research of viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 between 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021 at a single center. We selected individuals with a samples sequence of positive, negative and then positive results. Between first and second positive result we considered a time interval of 90 days to be sure of a reinfection.We also performed a search for and evaluation of systematic reviews reporting SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rates. Main information was collected and the methodological quality of each review was assessed, according to A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR). Results: Initial positive results were revealed in more than 35,000 (20%) subjects; most (28%) were aged 30-49 years old. Reinfection was reported in 1,258 (3.5%); most (33%) were aged 30-49 years old. Reinfection rates according to vaccinated or non-vaccinated subjects were 0.6% vs 1.1% (p<0.0001). Nine systematic reviews were identified and confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rate is a rare event. AMSTAR revealed very low-moderate levels of quality among selected systematic reviews. Conclusions: There is a real, albeit rare risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. Big data analysis enabled accurate estimates of the reinfection rates. Nevertheless, a standardized approach to identify and report reinfection cases should be developed.
A Message Passing framework with Multiple data integration for miRNA-Disease association prediction
Authors: Dong Thi Ngan , Schrader Johanna , Mücke Stefanie , Khosla Megha
Published: April 2022

Micro RNA or miRNA is a highly conserved class of non-coding RNA that plays an important role in many diseases. Identifying miRNA-disease associations can pave the way for better clinical diagnosis and finding potential drug targets. We propose a biologically-motivated data-driven approach for the miRNA-disease association prediction, which overcomes the data scarcity problem by exploiting information from multiple data sources. The key idea is to enrich the existing miRNA/disease-protein-coding gene (PCG) associations via a Message Passing framework, followed by the use of disease ontology information for further feature filtering. The enriched and filtered PCG associations are then used to construct the interconnected miRNA-PCG-disease network to train a structural deep network embedding (SDNE) model. Finally, the pre-trained embedding and the biologically relevant features from the miRNA family and disease semantic similarity are concatenated to form the pair input representation to a Random Forest classifier whose task is to predict the miRNA-disease association probability. We present large-scale comparative experiments, ablation, and case studies to showcase our approach’s superiority. Besides, we make the model prediction results for 1,618 miRNAs and 3,679 diseases, along with all related information publicly available at http://software.mpm.leibniz-ai-lab.de/index.html to foster assessments and future adoption.
Facile and mild preparation of brookite TiO2 nanoparticles with small sizes
Authors: Xu Jinlei , Yang Jingsi , Lu Hanhan , Mei Wenlong , Peng Tingxin
Published: April 2022

In this study, we used hydrothermal treatment with different metal cation as additive to prepare small size brookite TiO2 with large surface area. The obtained brookite nanoparticles is provided with both high crystal phase purity and smaller uniform particle size (∼10 nm). The small size brookite TiO2 as photoanode material of DSSCs retains the advantages of higher open-circuit voltage, and improvement of higher short-circuit current density by larger specific surface areas. It has best photoelectric conversion efficiency reached 6.48%, which is comparable to commercial P25. This research therefore provides a facile and mild synthetic method of small size brookite nanoparticles as excellent photoanode materials.
Biological difference between L858R and exon 19 deletion contributes to recurrence-free survival of resected non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Masago Katsuhiro , Kuroda Hiroaki , Fujita Shiro , Sasaki Eiichi , Takahashi Yusuke , Shinohara Shuuichi , Matsushita Hirokazu
Published: April 2022

Background:The differences in biological characteristics among different genotypes of classical EGFR mutations have not been clarified. This study aims to clarify the clinical and biological differences between L858R and 19 deletion in NSCLC. Patients and Methods:We analyzed a cohort of 170 consecutive cases of surgically resected NSCLC harboring EGFR driver mutations (L858R or 19 deletion) in which curative resection was performed in Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Nagoya, Japan from January 2006 to February 2013 and in which recurrence subsequently developed. We also subjected 61 surgically resected NSCLC specimens harboring EGFR driver mutations (L858R or 19 deletion) to an RNA sequencing analysis.Results:In patients with stage I and II disease, the median time to recurrence did not differ to a statistically significant extent between the types of EGFR mutations; however, among those with stage III disease, the median time to recurrence in patients with the L858R genotype tended to be shorter in comparison to those with 19 deletion (log-rank test, P = 0.071). In comparison to 19 deletion tumors, L858R tumors had higher cytological malignancy (e.g., mitotic ability) and showed stronger immunogenicity.Conclusions:L858R and 19 deletion tumors are likely to have a slight difference in the time to recurrence. They suggest that even in EGFR driver tumors, which are treated as the same disease category, the biological characteristics of the tumors are different, which may leave room for innovations in postoperative treatment and treatment at recurrence.
The effect of community-based intervention packages on common metabolic risk factors for non-communicable diseases: a field trial study
Authors: Asadi-Aliabadi Mehran , Karimi Seyed M , Mirbaha-Hashemi Fariba , Tehrani-Banihashemi Arash , Janani Leila , Babaee Ebrahim , Nojomi Marzieh , Moradi-Lakeh Maziar
Published: April 2022

Background: Non-communicable diseases can be controlled and managed by reducing their associated metabolic risk factors. In this study, a set of intervention packages were designed to reduce the prevalence of three common metabolic risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and obesity and overweight) in the community by motivating non-physician health workers. Methods: A field trial study was conducted in 4 districts of Iran. Thirty-two community health centers were randomly selected in the districts. A survey of 30 to 70-year-old participants in each community health center was conducted to measure baseline metabolic risk factors. The intervention packages focused on improving hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and overweight. The interventions included goal-setting, evidence-based education, operational planning, and incentive payments for non-physician health workers. A second survey to measure the final metabolic risk factors was performed after one year. The difference-in-difference method was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention packages.Results: The average age of participants in both surveys was 49 years, and the sex ratio did not change. In percentage of surveyed individuals with a college education was greater in non-intervention centers. The interventions had statistically significant effects only on decreasing the prevalence of overweight and obesity. The package with all the interventions except pay-for-performance decreased the odds of overweight and obesity to 0.57 (95% CI: 0.34, 0.95). Conclusion: Involving non-physician health workers and having action plans based on the health needs of the covered population, as well as holding training courses, and introducing new prevention and control strategies, can decrease obesity and overweight in the community. However, longer trials are needed to observe the effects on hypertension and hyperlipidemia.Trial Registration: This trial was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20081205001488N2) on 3 June 2018 (https://en.irct.ir/trial/774).
Correlations for Untargeted GC×GC-HRTOF-MS Metabolomics of Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Giovanni Nicolas , Meuwis Marie-Alice , Louis Edouard , Focant Jean-François
Published: April 2022

Introduction Modern comprehensive instrumentations provide an unprecedented coverage of complex matrices in the form of high-dimensional, information rich data sets. Objective In addition to the usual biomarker research that focuses on the detection of the studied condition, we aimed to define a proper strategy to conduct a correlation analysis on an untargeted colorectal cancer case study with a data set of 102 variables corresponding to metabolites obtained from serum samples analyzed with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-HRTOF-MS). Indeed, the strength of association existing between the metabolites contains potentially valuable information about the molecular mechanisms involved and the underlying metabolic network associated to a global perturbation, at no additional analytical effort. Methods Following Anscombe’s quartet, we took particular attention to four main aspects. First, the presence of non-linear relationships through the comparison of parametric and non-parametric correlation coefficients: Pearson’s r, Spearman’s rho, Kendall’s tau and Goodman-Kruskal’s gamma. Second, the visual control of the detected associations through scatterplots and their associated regressions and angles. Third, the effect and handling of atypical samples and values. Fourth, the role of the precision of the data on the attribution of the ranks through the presence of ties. Results Kendall’s tau was found the method of choice for the data set at hand. Its application highlighted 17 correlations significantly altered in the active state of colorectal cancer (CRC) in comparison to matched healthy controls (HC), from which 10 were specific to this state in comparison to the remission one (R-CRC) investigated on distinct patients. 15 metabolites involved in the correlations of interest, on the 25 unique ones obtained, were annotated (Metabolomics Standards Initiative level 2) Conclusions The metabolites highlighted could be used to better understand the pathology and the systematic investigation of the methodological aspects allows to implement correlation analysis to various fields and many specific cases.
Laboratory animal anesthesia classification (LAAC)
Authors: Ahmadi-Noorbakhsh Siavash
Published: April 2022

Anesthesia and analgesia (AA) are major components of animal research. However, various studies have shown an undesirable quality of AA reporting and use in research proposals and even high impact articles. Part of the problem may be related to a lack of special training in animal anesthesia among researchers. This causes an absence of a common language for AA among researchers, grant reviewers, ethics committees, animal welfare bodies, and journal reviewers. Herein, I present a laboratory animal anesthesia classification (LAAC) system that facilitates identification and grouping of various procedures requiring AA. The LAAC classes are developed according to the distress level and type of tissue injury caused by each procedure. Thereby, procedures causing similar types of pain or distress are grouped together and a certain AA approach could be applied to each group. LAAC classifies procedures into 12 classes and three categories with neuropathic pain being a separate component that could be added to each of the classes. Category A comprises LAAC1 to LAAC4 and requires no anesthesia. Category B is comprised of LAAC5 to LAAC8 and mainly includes non-surgical procedures. Category C includes surgical procedures classified under LAAC9 to LAAC12. Generally, a higher class of LAAC requires more potent AA regimen. In conclusion, LAAC provides a common language among various research bodies. A certain LAAC class conveys information regarding the nature of the same-group procedures and required intraoperative and postoperative AA for those procedures. LAAC also enables comparison of various procedures according to their nature and AA requirements.
Protective effect of isoflurane preconditioning on neurological function in rats with HIE
Authors: Wang Yi-Bo , Chen Ting-Bao , Huang-Fu Li-Ren , Zhou Hong-Su , Xiao Qiu-Xia , Fang Xu , Xiong Liu-Lin , Wang Ting-Hua
Published: April 2022

Objective
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is an important cause of neonatal death and disability, which can lead to long-term neurological and motor dysfunction. At present, the treatment mainly focuses on the symptomatic treatment in the acute phase and rehabilitation after injury, but the effect is not satisfactory, and more effective methods are urgently needed. Due to the widespread use of inhalation anesthetics in surgery, it has been found that isoflurane (ISO) preconditioning may have a positive effect on neuroprotection. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ISO preconditioning on neurological function and behavior in HIE rats.
Methods
Neonatal rats were used to create hypoxic-ischemic (HI) model by ligating the right common carotid artery at 7 days and then in a hypoxia chamber. The effects of anesthetic drugs on neurological function after one hour of ISO preconditioning were assessed after modeling by Morris water maze(MWM), Y-maze, and rotarod tests at one month. Thereafter, samples were taken at 1 and 42 days for Nissl staining and Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining to observe neuronal number and histomorphology changes. The relationship of behaviour and morphology tests were measured.
Results
Ischemia and hypoxia could induce neuronal injury, neurological dysfunction and severe long-term motor function injury. Histological staining and behavioural evaluations were performed to elucidate the pathological changes and neurobehavioural variation after ISO treatment. We found ISO administration significantly reduced the infarct volume of brain tissues and improved the autonomous activities of neonatal rats, ISO preconditioning significantly reduced neuronal apoptosis induced by HI, reduced cerebral infarction volume, improved histopathological damage of nerve cells, improved long-term cognitive function, and attenuated HI-induced Nissl total cells to reduce and reduce long-term spatial memory impairment caused by hypoxia-ischemia during the maturation of injured brain.
Conclusion
ISO preconditioning can protect the brain injury and promote the recovery of neurological function in neonatal rats with HIE, which may be through inhibiting the neuronal cell death in the cortex and hippocampus after HI.
Peripheral blood markers predictive of outcome in Upper gastrointestinal cancers treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors
Authors: Wang Peiwei , Feng Jia , Jin Yao , Xu Zexi , Cui Xue , Chen Xinyi , Wei Jiayan , Wang Jinsong , Weng Yiming , Peng Min
Published: April 2022

PurposeIn view of the fact that peripheral blood parameters have been reported as predictors of immunotherapy to various cancers, this study aimed to determine the predictors of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) therapy in patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers from peripheral blood parameters.MethodsThe respective data of 93 patients with upper gastrointestinal tumor who received ICIs combination therapy were included in this study. The peripheral blood indexes of interest were neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and fibrinogen/albumin ratio (FAR). Survival probabilities of progression-free survival (PFS) was estimated using Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank tests and the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. Receiver-operating characteristic curve was used to determine a cutoff value for parameters and area under the curve.ResultsThe median PFS of all upper gastrointestinal cancers patients was 7.33 months. Baseline LDH0<194.5,NLR0<4.39,PLR0<218.7 and FAR0<0.13 were associated with longer PFS(13.4 VS 4.9 months; p < 0.001,10.8 VS 4.2 months; p<0.001,10.8 VS 6.7 months; p<0.05,8.4 VS 5.0 months; p<0.05,respectively).The 6 weeks after treatment value, LDH1<264.5,PLR1<117.2 were associated with longer PFS(7.5 VS 2.7 months; p < 0.05, 12.0 VS 6.2 months; p<0.05, respectively). The first disease progression value,LDH2<216.5 was associated with longer PFS(9.5 VS 4.2 months; p < 0.05). The NLR1 / NLR0 < 1.75 was associated with significant prolongation of PFS (7.5 VS 4.9 months, P <0.05).ConclusionsOur research illustrated that baseline LDH0,NLR0,PLR0,FAR0 and LDH1,LDH2,PLR1 at post-treatment are independent predictors for PFS in upper gastrointestinal tumor patients treated with ICIs.
WITHDRAWN: Transcriptome analysis reveals hepatotoxicity in zebrafish induced by cyhalofop-butyl
Authors: Liu Tingting , Zhou Tao , Yang Yang
Published: April 2022

Cyhalofop-butyl is a highly effective aryloxyphenoxypropionate herbicide and widely used for weed control in paddy fields. With the increasing residue of herbicides, it poses a threat to the survival of aquatic organisms. Here, we evaluated the effect of cyhalofop-butyl on zebrafish to explore its potential hepatotoxic mechanism. The results showed that cyhalofop-butyl (0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 mg/L) induced hepatocyte degeneration, vacuolation and necrosis of larvae after embryonic exposure for 4 days and caused liver atrophy after exposure for 5 days. Meanwhile, the activities of enzymes related to liver function named alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) were significantly increased by 0.2 mg/L cyhalofop-butyl and higher. And the contents of triglyceride (TG) involved in lipid metabolism was significantly decreased by 0.4 mg/L cyhalofop-buty. The effects of cyhalofop-butyl on zebrafish larvae were further demonstrated by GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG pathway analysis. Cyhalofop-butyl (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 mg/L) altered the expression of 116, 154, 397 genes in liver，these genes are mainly enriched in metabolism (such as lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism), immune system (Toll-like receptor signaling pathway) and endocrine system (PPAR signaling pathway). Furthermore, the expression of key genes related to liver development combined with RNA-Seq results, indicated that cyhalofop-butyl might damage the liver development of zebrafish larvae and cause metabolic disorders. To sum up, our research results reveal the physiological and molecular responses of zebrafish liver to cyhalofop-butyl and provide new insights for further studying the mechanism of cyhalofop-butyl toxicity to aquatic organisms.
Mapping out the dots - Could trivial myocarditis emerge as a life-threatening ventricular electrical storm? A case report
Authors: Mushtaque Raja , Naseeb Khalid , Mushtaque Rabia , Baloch Shahbano , Khatti Shahazad , Idrees Muhammad
Published: April 2022

Ventricular tachycardia storm is a term used when there are three or more episodes of sustained ventricular tachycardia within 24 hours, each requiring termination by an intervention such as pharmacological cardioversion, anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP), or defibrillation. Broadly classifying, this type of arrhythmia can be due to ischemic heart disease or non-ischemic heart disease. A patient may present with a complaint of shortness of breath, palpitations, chest heaviness, syncope or even it can cause sudden cardiac death. In our case report, the patient had ventricular electrical storm activity and his initial electrocardiogram depicts the source of origin of arrhythmia from the left ventricular outflow tract and septal area. The cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) was carried out later and showed the foci of hyperenhancement in the epicardium and mid-myocardium of the left ventricle on delayed enhancement sequence suggesting localized scar and relative thinning with trabeculation. These findings more likely pointed toward previous unnoticed subclinical myocarditis that led to fibrosis and ultimately caused life-threatening electrical instability in the left ventricle.
A novel method for increasing the wind turbine power by installing an optimized curved flange and a vortex generator on the shroud and investigation of entropy generation for shroud internal flow
Authors: Niknahad Ali , Khoshnevis Amir
Published: April 2022

In urban areas, the quality of the passing wind is low and it is not able to create the necessary force for the proper rotation of wind turbines. In the present study, a wind turbine is located in a shroud equipped with a straight vertical flange. The curvature of this vertical flange is constantly changed to create different curves. By using this procedure, a flange with an optimal curve that is able to create the highest mean velocity of air passing through the shroud will be obtained. Then, a circular vortex generator was installed on the body of the shroud, which can increase the airflow velocity through the shroud. The results have been confirmed by studies of turbulence kinetic energy behind the turbine shroud. Using the results of the three- dimensional simulation, important parameters of the turbine including power factor for different cases have been studied. To investigate the effect of using these innovations on the dissipation of flow energy, a study has been performed on the generated entropy of the flow passing through the shroud. The results show that the use of these tools has little effect on increasing entropy and therefore energy dissipation does not change significantly.
Critical evaluation of production – import – export of lentils in India: an issue of food security
Authors: Pramanik Sourish , Bhattacharya Debottam , Kundu Anindita , Debangshi Udit , Munshi Chayan
Published: April 2022

Pulses has the ability of withstanding extreme weather conditions, requires less water, has the capability of atmospheric nitrogen fixation, and is an affordable eminent replacement of animal proteins, especially for the economically weaker population. For a country like India, promising only around 47.9 g/capita/person/day of pulses of recommended 80 g/capita/person/day by National Institute of Nutrition (2011), the protein on the plate is not sufficient for sure. India, standing second in worldwide lentil production, in 2017-18 had the highest production of lentils between 2010-11 to 2019-20. Our analysis strongly depicts that in the decade (2010-11 to 2019-20) the production, import and export relation is not synchronised which robustly indicates that lentil cultivation, which seems to be in fair state, should be undoubtedly handled effectively to avoid threat in pulse circulation in India and globally. Also, before reaching any unprecedented agricultural hazard and to achieve total food security of lentils, it is obvious to look into the parameters which directly or indirectly affect lentil production and distribution throughout the country. Thus, we predict that efficacy of policy making of lentil security will have beneficial implementations on the economically deprived population in the rural India.
Dietary fibers boost gut microbiota-produced B vitamin pool and alter host immune landscape
Authors: Parrish Amy , Grant Erica , Boudaud Marie , Hunewald Oliver , Hirayama Akiyoshi , Ollert Markus , Fukuda Shinji , Desai Mahesh
Published: April 2022

Dietary fibers can alter microbial metabolic output in support of healthy immune function, however, the impact of distinct fiber sources and immunomodulatory effects beyond short-chain fatty acid production are underexplored. In an effort to discern the effects of diverse fibers on host immunity, we employed five distinct rodent diets with varying fiber content and source in specific-pathogen-free, gnotobiotic (containing a 14-member synthetic human gut microbiota), and germ-free mice. Broad-scale metabolomic analysis of cecal contents showed a reduction in microbiota-produced B vitamins during fiber deprivation. Fiber deprivation shifted the ratio of transcripts corresponding to bacterial enzymes involved in B vitamin synthesis versus downstream utilization, resulting in a net reduction of host-available B vitamins. Broad immunophenotyping identified that the local gut effector immune populations and activated T cells accumulate in a microbiota-dependent manner. Supplementation with the prebiotic inulin recovered the availability of microbial-produced B vitamin and restored immune homeostasis. Our findings highlight the biotechnological potential of defined fiber polysaccharides to boost microbiota-derived B vitamin availability to the host and regulate local innate and adaptive immune populations, which may have critical implications for immune homeostasis in a variety of diseases.
Manifold Factors Influencing College Pupils’ Laptop Purchases in Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur and Ariylur Districts –tamilnadu, India
Authors: Arokiaraj K. A.
Published: April 2022

A laptop, also known as notebook, is a portable personnel computer which aids one to utilize in different milieu. Needless to mention that laptop with internet connection would bring the macrocosm simply into one’s earning capacity. In today’s fast-moving world, it has become the definite need of the hour rather than luxury. The part played by laptop among students is more vital in academic usage as well as in day today life. Scrutinizing the buying behaviors of the students is very significant for computer manufacturing companies to focus on roaring sales on one hand and for prospective students to purchase a satisfied laptop on the other hand. To determine the buying behavior of the pupils, the various factors such as deciding person to purchase the laptop, references, the role of media, price, daily usage timings, duration taken to purchase the laptop, preferred brand, value added features and post purchase services are scrutinized in this study. In substance, buying behaviors refer to the buying behaviors of purchasers starting from desire to final purchase, who may be bifurcated as customers and consumers. The fore more is anyone who makes regular purchases from a company or a store, whereas the latter is one who makes purchase impulsively. Here, the pupils studied are simply considered as consumers for most of them have made single as well as durable purchase of laptops.
The oxidation Stress, mitochondrial-pathway Apoptosis and the antagonism effects of chrysophanol in SH-SY5Y Cells via DTPP induced photodynamic therapy
Authors: Zheng Liqing , Wang Zhao , Li Ze , Liu Jianhua , Shen Lixia
Published: April 2022

To investigate the susceptibility of SH-SY5Y cells to DTPP-based photodynamic therapy(PDT) and the interaction with chrysophanol. Cells were treated with increasing concentrations of DTPP between 2.5 to 20 μg·mL-1 and the DTPP -induced killing effects in tumor cells was quantified determined. PDT photocytotoxicity was measured by exposing the cells to a 630-nm irradiation for 1.2–9.6 J/cm2. The photodynamic stress was assessed by superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, and total antioxidative capacity assays. The apoptosis pathway of SH-SY5Y cells after PDT was studied by JC-1 and caspase-9/Caspase-3 determination. The cell apoptosis cells stained with Annexin-V-FITC and propidium iodide were detected through flow cytometry. In the PDT process, a dose-dependent killing effect of DTPP concentrations and irradiation doses were found. The viability of SH-SY5Y cells treated with 10 μg·mL-1 DTPP rapidly decreased to 55%. Cells apoptosis is mediated by a mitochondrial -pathway with a total apoptosis rate of 33.8% with 10 μg·mL-1 of DTPP after illumination at 2.4 J/cm2. Thus, our results demonstrated that an oxidation stress was produced by ROS in PDT and a non-reversible cells oxidative damage appeared via cells modulating the oxidative stress balance during the PDT response. Chr had an inhibitor effect on the capture of ROS and the destruction of cell membrane induced by PDT. In conclusion, neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y cells were susceptible to DTPP-PDT, resulting in a mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. DTPP is a potential type I photosensitizers to revitalize photodynamic oncotherapy in SH-SY5Y cells. There is an antagonism effect of chrysophanol on PDT in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.
The effects of a three-day cycling race on the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and heart rate variability in amateur cyclists
Authors: Swart Anton , Constantinou Demitri
Published: April 2022

Aims
Increased endurance exercise at high intensities may cause an acute reduction in cardiac function, causing a physiological cascade that releases cardiac biomarkers. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a physiological measurement used to evaluate the autonomic nervous system (ANS) state. This study set out to determine the changes in the ANS by participating in a three-day cycling event using HRV as an outcome measure.
Methods
Sixteen healthy participants, participated in a three-day cycling event underwent five-minute resting electrocardiography (ECG) recordings in a supine position. In addition, heart rate variability measurements were recorded two days before the race (baseline testing), after each race day, and at 24 hours post-event (recovery).
Results
Time-domain and frequency domain measures showed significant changes from baseline HRV parameters after each race day (p ≤ 0.05). These changes reflected an increase in sympathetic activity and parasympathetic withdrawal each day after the event. In addition, our data revealed that the mean heart rate (HR) and R-R variability variables did not return to baseline values after 24 hours of recovery, reflecting ANS dysfunction, and that changes persisted for at least 24 hours post-event.
Conclusion
Our study demonstrated that competing in an cycling event led to diminished vagal activity and decreased HRV throughout the event, which persisted for at least 24 hours post-event. This physiological stress causes a disturbance in homeostasis and an increase in ANS dysfunction. This dysfunction has implications for further research, including dysrhythmia risk and monitoring of athletes in advising participation and returning to strenuous activity post-endurance events.
Homogeneity test of stratified AC_1's: asymptotic and exact methods
Authors: Xu Mingrui , Li Zhiming , Mou Keyi
Published: April 2022

Background: As a widely adopted coefficient, Cohen's $\kappa$ is highly affected by marginal probabilities and population composition to measure the degree of agreement. Gwet's $AC_1$ overcomes these limitations and becomes a stable index with the better statistic properties. Stratified analysis is an effective approach to adjust the bias caused by subject covariance in practice. Homogeneity score and goodness-of-fit tests for $AC_1$ have been developed in $K$ independent strata. However, these two tests poorly performed because of the conservative type I error rates (TIEs) in relatively small sample sizes. Exact methods can improve the effectiveness of tests in small samples, and the relevant literature is less. This article proposes several asymptotic and exact methods for homogeneity test of stratified $AC_1$'s under large and small sample sizes.
Methods: Three asymptotic test statistics are derived for large sample sizes, including likelihood ratio, score and wald-type tests. Based on these statistics, three exact E, M and E+M approaches are proposed at small sample scenarios. Numerical studies are conducted to verify the effectiveness of aforementioned methods. Two examples are given to illustrate their performance.
Results: In large sample scenarios, the TIEs of likelihood ratio and score tests are close to the given nominal level. Likelihood ratio test becomes} more robust as the stratum number increases. Aiming at small sample scenarios, E approach under likelihood ratio and score statistics have better performance for any stratum number.
Conclusions: The likelihood ratio statistic is recommended for the homogeneity test of stratified $AC_1$'s in large sample sizes. Exact methods can effectively improve the conservative performance of TIEs in small sample sizes, in which E approach under likelihood ratio and score statistics are more robust.