bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A quantitative method for determination of colistin E2 methane sulphonate sodium (CMS E2) in human plasma by 15N-labeled colistin E2
Authors: Feng Jun , Xu Hongjiang , Zhang Jinhua , Lu Jianguang , Wenjie Zhao , Yanan Li
Published: May 2023

The single-component colistin E2, with superior antibacterial activity and lower toxicity, was being developed as the latest generation of polymyxin drugs. However, colistin E2 has not been tested quantitatively in biological matrices. In this study, based on the quantitative detection of CMS and colistin by Zhao et al., 15N-labeled colistin E2 was used as an internal standard (IS) for a more accurate quantitative detection of CMS E2 in human plasma. A rapid ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) assay method was developed for determination of CMS E2 and colistin E2 in human plasma. After pretreatment of plasma samples by 96-well SPE Supra-Clean Weak Cation Exchange (WCX) plate, the formed colistin E2 was detected and quantified by UHPLC–MS/MS system. All plasma lots were found to be free of interferences with the analyte. The matrix has no effect on the quantitation of the analyte. No significant effect of the carryover was observed. The dilution integrity was demonstrated in plasma samples without the loss of accuracy and precision. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.0300 mg/L for colistin E2 in plasma with accuracy (relative error, 5.1 ~ 12.7%) and precision (relative standard deviation, -5.7 ~ 9.3%). Stability of CMS E2 and colistin E2 was demonstrated in biological samples before and during sample treatment, and in the extract. Furthermore, this method was successfully applied to the analysis of plasma samples obtained from Chinese healthy volunteers receiving a CMS E2 dose of 5 mg/kg. In conclusion, the detection method was characterized by speed and high accuracy, which laid a solid foundation for the subsequent development of CMS E2 drug.
The NLRP3 activation-related signature predict the diagnosis and indicate immune characteristics in endometriosis
Authors: Nong Weihua , Wei Huimei , Dou Sheng , He Liqiao , Li Tianlong , Lin Luping , Wei Bixiao , Zhang Shun , Huo Peng , Dong Mingyou
Published: May 2023

Endometriosis (EMS) is a common gynecological disease leading to chronic pelvic pain and infertility in women of reproductive age, but its underlying pathogenic genes and effective treatment are still unclear. To date, abnormal expression of NLRP3 activation-related genes has been identified in EMS patients and mouse models. Therefore, this study sought to identify the key genes that could affect the diagnosis and treatment of EMS. The GSE7307 dataset was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, including 18 EMS samples and 23 control samples. 14 differential genes related to NLRP3 activation and EMS were obtained from the endometrial samples of GSE7307 by differential analysis. GO and KEGG analysis showed that these genes were mainly involved in the production and regulation of the cytokine IL-1β, and the NOD-like receptor signaling pathway. Random Forest (RF) and support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) algorithms were used to select four diagnostic markers related to NLRP3 activation (NLRP3, IL-1β, LY96 and PDIA3) to construct the EMS diagnostic model. The four diagnostic markers were verified using western blotting and validated in the GSE7305 and GSE23339 datasets. The AUC values showed that the model had a good diagnostic performance. In addition, the infiltration of immune cells in the samples and the correlation between different immune factors and diagnostic markers were further discussed. These results suggest that four diagnostic markers may also play an important role in the immunity of EMS. Finally, 10 drugs targeting to four diagnostic markers were retrieved from the DrugBank database, of which niclosamide proved useful for treating EMS. Overall, we identified four key diagnostic genes for EMS. In addition, large-scale and multicenter prospective cohort studies are necessary to confirm whether these four genes also have valid diagnostic value in blood samples from EMS patients.
Beyond 5 GHz excitation of a ZnO-based high-overtone bulk acoustic resonator on SiC substrate
Authors: Panda Padmalochan , Chatterjee Soumyadip , Tallur Siddharth , Laha Apurba
Published: May 2023

This work reports on the fabrication and characterization of an Au/ZnO/Pt-based high-overtone bulk acoustic resonator (HBAR) on SiC substrates. We evaluate its microwave characteristics comparing with Si substrates for micro-electromechanical applications. Dielectric magnetron sputtering and an electron beam evaporator are employed to develop highly c-axis-oriented ZnO films and metal electrodes. The crystal structure and surface morphology of post-growth layers are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. HBAR on SiC substrate results in multiple longitudinal bulk acoustic wave resonances up to 7 GHz, with the strongest excited resonances emerging at 5.25 GHz. The value of f.Q (Resonance frequency. Quality factor) parameter obtained using a novel Q approach method for HBAR on SiC substrate is 4.1 × 10 13 Hz, which to the best of our knowledge, is the highest among all reported values for specified ZnO-based devices.
Four new triterpene saponins from Cephalaria speciosa and their potent cytotoxic and immunomodulatory activities
Authors: Oztunc Ozan , Okkali Gaye Sumer , Zeinali Sevda , Nalbantsoy Ayse , Sarikahya Nazli Boke
Published: May 2023

Four new triterpene saponins, namely speciosides A-D (1–4) along with six known saponins were isolated from the n-butanol extract of Cephalaria speciosa. In addition to these, three new prosapogenins (1a-3a) were obtained after alkaline hydrolysis. Elucidation of the structures of the isolated compounds was carried out by 1D, 2D NMR, HR-ESI/MS and GC-MS analyses. Cytotoxic activity was investigated on A549, CCD34-Lu, MDA-MB-231, PC-3, U-87MG, HeLa, HepG-2 cells by MTT method. Additionally, the immunomodulatory effect of compounds was evaluated for macrophage polarization with/without inactivated IBV D274 antigen treatment on THP-1 cells originated macrophage cells in terms of M1 or M2. According to the cytotoxicity results, compound 1 and prosapogenin 2a exhibit significant cytotoxicity than doxorubicin by comparison. The results demonstrated that saponin molecules treated THP-1 originated macrophages were induced M1 and/or M2 polarization. Additionally, macrophage cells treated with/without IBV D274 antigen contained saponin compounds were triggered significantly M2 polarization relative to M1. Notably, monodesmosidic saponins (1 and 2a-4a) in comparison with bisdesmocidic ones (2–4) demonstrated the most effect on M2 polarization. In conclusion, the results showed that all the isolated new saponins and their prosapogenins have immunomodulatory potential on macrophage cells increasing immune response without significant cytotoxic effect on THP-1 originated macrophages.
Assessment of genetic parameters for diversified traits in periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus L.) through diallel analysis
Authors: RAVIKUMAR BOLAGAM , Dhatt K K , Jhanji Shalini
Published: May 2023

Knowledge on complexion and level of genetic variability exist in the genotype as well the association among the different characters being indispensable for improvement in various traits. The present investigation was carried out to estimate the nature and level of genetic variability among six different inbred lines of periwinkle such as Vi-15-1, Vi-13-2, Vi-16, Vi-15-2, Vi-29 and Vi-14-3 as well as their thirty crosses combinations for ornamental characters. The highly significant variations between genotypes indicate the presence of variability in the investigated traits. The range was 5.35 to 34.41 in phenotypic coefficient of variations and 3.96 to 34.02 in genotypic coefficient of variations among the parental lines. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variations among cross combinations recorded for plant spread, branches/plant and number of seeds/follicle. Moderate to high heritability together with highper centof genetic advance was recorded for plant height, spread, primary branches per plant, internode length, follicle length and seeds/follicle among the parents. Among the cross combinations plant height, plant spread, branches/plant, internode length, flower diameter, follicle length and number of seeds/follicle have shown moderate to high heritability and high genetic advance (%). It was suggested that these characters were controlled by the additive gene action and further improvement could be achieved by selection for enhancement of ornamental traits.
The Efficacy and Safety of Patiromer for Heart Failure Patients A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Wang  , Gao Yu , Feng Jun , Hou Linlin , Luo Chunmiao , Zhang Zhipeng
Published: May 2023

Purpose
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of patiromer, a novel potassium binder, in reducing the risk of hyperkalemia in patients with heart failure and optimizing the therapy of RAASi on them.
Design
Systematic review and meta-analyses.
Method
The authors conducted a systematic search in the Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials investigating efficacy and safety of patiromer in heart failure patients from inception to 31 January 2023 and updated on 25 March 2023. The primary outcome was the association between reduction of hyperkalemia and patiromer compared with placebo, and the secondary outcome was the association between optimization of RAASi therapy and patiromer.
Results
A total of four Randomized Controlled Trials (n=1163) were included in the study. Patiromer was found capable to reduce the risk of hyperkalemia in heart failure patients by 44% (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.87; I2= 61.9%), improving tolerance to standard doses of MRA in patients with heart failure (RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.30; I2=49.4%), and decrease the proportion of all-cause discontinuation of RAASi (RR 0.49, 95%CI 0.25 to 0.98; I2=48.4%). However, patiromer therapy was associated with an increased risk of hypokalemia (RR 1.51, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.12; I2=0%), while no other statistically significant adverse events were observed.
Conclusion
Patiromer appears to have a considerable effect on reducing the incidence of hyperkalemia in heart failure patients and on optimizing the therapy of RAASi in those patients.
ORPHAcodes use for the coding of rare diseases: comparison of the accuracy and cross–­­country comparability
Authors: Mazzucato Monica , Pozza Laura Visonà Dalla , Facchin Paola , Angin Céline , Agius Francis , Cavero-Carbonell Clara , Corrochano Virginia , Hanusova Katerina , Kirch Kurt , Lambert Deborah , Lucano Caterina , Maiella Sylvie , Panzaru Monica , Rusu Cristina , Weber Stefanie , Zurriaga Oscar , Zvolsky Miroslav , Rath Ana
Published: May 2023

Background: Estimates of rare disease (RD) population impact in terms of number of affected patients and accurate disease definition is hampered by their under-representation in current coding systems. This study tested the use of a specific RD codification system (ORPHAcodes) in five European countries/regions (Czech Republic, Malta, Romania, Spain, Veneto region-Italy) across different data sources over the period January 2019-September 2021.
Results: Overall, 3,133 ORPHAcodes were used to describe RD diagnoses, mainly corresponding to the disease/subtype of disease aggregation level of the Orphanet classification (82.2%). More than half of the ORPHAcodes (53.6%) described diseases having a very low prevalence (<1 case per million), and most commonly captured rare developmental defects during embryogenesis (31.3%) and rare neurological diseases (17.6%). ORPHAcodes described disease entities more precisely than corresponding ICD-10 codes in 83.4% of cases.
Conclusions: ORPHAcodes were found to be a versatile resource for the coding of RD, able to assure consistency of use and inter-country comparability across population and hospital databases. Future research on the impact of ORPHAcoding as to the impact of numbers of RD patients with improved coding in health information systems is needed to inform on the real magnitude of this public health issue.
The investigation of dynamical behaviour variation of (2+1)-dimensional Extended Calogero-Bogoyavlenskii-Schiff Equation with different fractional operators
Authors: Mahmood Ayesha , Abbas Muhammad , Huntul M. J. , Elkenany Elkenany B.
Published: May 2023

The majority of scientific fields employ differential equations involving fractional-order derivatives to understanda wide range of physical events. Fractional derivatives and integrals have the ability to cop with complicatedproblems. Various types of fractional-order derivative have been dicovered, like -fractional and M-truncatedderivative. In this article the Extended Calogero-Bogoyavlenskii-Schiff Equation (CBSE) is used in its fractionalform to extract the soliton solutions, as well as to observe the behaviour of -fractional and M-truncated derivative.CBSE equation has been used to analyse various events in many fields of research. The analytical solutionsare drawn by using the Jacobi elliptic function (JEF) and the expanded tanh-coth techniques. These analyticalsolutions exhibit solitary and periodic wave behaviours. The perposed techniques are one of the effective methodsto obtain soliton solutions of partial differential equations (PDEs). The results are depicted graphically usingdifferent parametric values and the fractional parameters. The wave behaviour is observed, and shown by 3D and 2D plots.
Manifold-based Sparse Representation for Opinion Mining
Authors: Karimi Zohre
Published: May 2023

This paper focuses on how to enhance feature representation for opinion mining. The classical feature representation methods suffer from high dimensionality, sparsity , noisy, irrelevant and redundant information. It is proposed to exploit the manifold assumption and sparse property as prior knowledge for opinion representation to learn effective features. First, the graph representation of user reviews based on the mentioned prior knowledge is learned. Then, the spectral properties of the learned graph are exploited to present data in a new feature space. The proposed algorithm is applied to four various common input features on two benchmark datasets, Internet Movie Database (IMDB) and Amazon review dataset. Our experiments reveal that the proposed algorithm yields considerable enhancements in terms of F-measure, accuracy, and other standard performance measures compared to the combination of state-of-the-art features with various classifiers. The highest classification accuracies of 99.15 and 91.97 are obtained in the proposed method on IMDB and Amazon exploiting linear SVM classifier, respectively. The impact of parameters of the proposed algorithm is also investigated in this paper.
Will you take my (s)crap? Waste havens in the global plastic waste trade
Authors: Chunsuttiwat Pukitta , Coxhead Ian
Published: May 2023

For two decades until 2017, China imported more than half of the world’s traded plastic waste. Starting in 2018, however, China banned further imports of post-consumer plastic waste. The ban forced many countries to seek new ways to deal with plastic waste, including new destinations for exports. These changes may have significant impact on global social welfare and the environment. In this study we first ask whether trade in plastic waste follows a waste haven pattern, shifting environmental burden from richer countries and those with better environmental regulations to poorer countries and those with with weaker regulations. Second, we evaluate how China’s import ban altered the plastic waste trade. Empirical analysis using a gravity model reveals that the plastic waste trade follows a waste haven pattern, and the ban exacerbated this relationship. Differences in per capita GDP drove bilateral trade both before and after the ban, and disparities in stringency of environmental regulations became influential following the ban. Given that post-ban import volumes far exceeded pre-ban volumes in many countries, these results raise two concerns. First, post-ban trade increases were seemingly driven by exporters’ demand for disposal services rather than importers’ demand for plastic waste, thereby increasing environmental burden in poorer countries. Second, because countries with weak environmental regulations likely have poor waste management systems, this pattern of plastic waste redistribution may worsen the existing global plastic waste pollution crisis.|
JEL codes: F14, F18, F64, O19
Effect of treatment delay on tumor stage among symptomatic patients with earlyonset colorectal cancer: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Sun Yaya , Jiang Guangqing , Xu Zhaiyue , Zhang Yihong , Ling Yanxuan , Shi Xin
Published: May 2023

Background: The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) among adults younger than 50 years of age has continued to increase in many countries over the past two decades. Among younger patients with CRC, a lower awareness of symptoms may contribute to treatment delay, which perhaps leads to adverse consequence on tumor stage. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether delayed treatment influences the staging of CRC among symptomatic patients under the age of 50 years.
Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, all pathologically diagnosed early-onset colorectal cancer patients (<50 years) were selected and a part of colorectal cancer patients aged 50 years and older were randomly selected by the proportion of 1:4 in Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University from March 1, 2014 to September 31, 2021. We compared clinical symptoms, pathological features, treatment delay and tumor stages between younger patients (n= 121) and older patients (n=443).
Results: Patients with early-onset CRC had higher rates of dMMR (20.0% vs 10.9% in older patients, p=0.012), high-grade adenocarcinoma (17.3% vs 9.4% in older patients, p=0.021), and mucinous adenocarcinoma (11.6% vs 5.6% in older patients, p=0.023). The median treatment delay among CRC patients was slightly longer in the younger group than in the older group (80 days [IQR 32-167] vs 53 days [IQR 20-159], p=0.028), and treatment delay was mainly caused by patient's delay. However, the proportion of stage III and stage IV tumors in younger patients (52.9%) was similar to that in older patients (46.0%) (p=0.182). In multivariable analyses, age was not a factor contributing to treatment delay in patients with CRC. Among early-onset CRC patients, 57.8% of patients with treatment delay of less than 3 months had stage III and stage IV tumors, while the proportion of stage III and stage IV tumors in patients with treatment delay of more than 3 months was 47.4%. There was no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.251).
Conclusions: In the retrospective analyses of patients with CRC in our center, we found that although treatment delay of patients with early-onset CRC was moderately longer than that of patients aged 50 years and older, age was not a factor leading to the delay in treatment. In addition, this level of delayed treatment didn't have a negative impact on tumor stage.
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Infection in a Cohort of Hospitalized Kidney Transplant Recipients: Risk Factors of Severity
Authors: Cai Zhitao , Wang Tianyu
Published: May 2023

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron is a major coronavirus variant, which was prevalent in China at the end of 2022 and caused widespread infection. As a low-immune group, renal transplant recipients with SARS-CoV-2 infection are prone to developing serious pneumonia or an adverse outcome event if the infection is not treated in time. Here, we analyze the possible risk factors of infection severity.
Methods: Ninety-two cases of moderate and severe SARS-CoV-2 infection after renal transplantation were collected. Statistical methods, including Fisher’s tests, F test, Spearman relative values, and multi-parameter logistic regression models, were used to analyze the risk factors for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in renal transplant recipients.
Results: Forty-four cases complicated with hypertension wereobserved in the study cohort, among whom 30 were severe (OR: 4.63, P < 0.001). Meanwhile, 30 male patients presented with severe SARS-CoV-2 (OR: 2.45, P = 0.039) out of 51 male patients infected with Omicron. In renal transplant patients, hypertension comorbidity was closely correlated with clinical presentation (R = 0.369, P < 0.001). Interestingly, we found an increased risk of death in renal transplant patients with diabetes (OR: 5.53, P = 0.052), albeit with no significance. Blood routine test, chemistries, and additional indices showed increased neutrophils and C-reactive protein in patients with severe disease compared with themoderate group according to one-way analysis of variance (P = 0.004), while CD3 (P = 0.02) and CD4 (P = 0.04) showed lower expressional levels.Moreover, there was an evident correlation between clinical presentation and outcomes (R = 0.315, P = 0.002), which indicated that a severe status triggers worse outcomes or death events. We also observed meaningful correlations between neutrophil levels and hypertension comorbidity (R = 0.222, P = 0.034) and between interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and diabetes comorbidity (R = 0.315, P = 0.011), with IL-6 considered a key factor in the context of coronavirus disease. Finally, urea nitrogen (P = 0.03) levels were significantly higher in patients with severe disease than in those with moderate disease, while serum creatinine (P = 0.06) levels showed no significant differences between patients with severe and moderate disease.
Conclusions: Renal transplant recipients were generally susceptible to infection with the Omicron variant, with a more pronounced incidence of severe illness observed in men than in women. Hypertension in renal transplant recipients may increase the rate of severe disease, and diabetes mellitus may further increase mortality.
HLA-identical sibling hematopoietic stem cell transplantation following reduced-toxicity myeloablative conditioning regimen in sickle cell disease
Authors: Costa Thalita , Darrigo-Junior Luiz , Grecco Carlos , Pieroni Fabiano , Faria Joana , Stracieri Ana Beatriz , Dias Juliana , Vieira Ana Carolina , Mesquita Camila , Laurindo Patrícia , Pires Bruno , Valeri Pedro , Silva Gabriela , Moraes Daniela , Loterio Lucas , Oliveira-Cardoso Érika , Santos Manoel Antônio dos , Santos Flávia , Pinto Ana Cristina , Guerino-Cunha Renato , Oliveira Maria Carolina , Traina Fabiola , Santos Antonio , De Santis Gil , Simões Belinda
Published: May 2023

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only widely available curative treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD). Myeloablative conditioning regimens are associated with excellent outcomes in children with HLA-identical sibling donors but are limited by organ toxicity in adults. Here we report 48 children and adults who underwent HLA-identical sibling HSCT for SCD using a reduced toxicity conditioning (RTC) regimen (fludarabine, busulfan, and anti-thymocyte globulin), followed by cyclosporine plus methotrexate for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. Median (range) age at transplant and duration of follow-up were 16.5 (7–35) years and 77.5 (1-169) months, respectively. Indication for HSCT included neurological complications in 25 (52.1%) patients and 10 (20.8%) were alloimmunized against red blood cell antigens. All patients achieved engraftment, except one who died before engraftment period. Secondary graft failure, grade ≥ 2 acute GHVD and chronic GVHD were present in 7 (14.6%), 10 (20.8%) and 7 (14.6%) patients, respectively. Five-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) (95% CI) were 91% (77.8–96.5) and 80.3% (65.5–89.2), respectively. Survival curves were not different between children and adults (p = 0.37 and p = 0.33, respectively). RTC regimen is safe and effective, with acceptable toxicity and incidence of GVHD, in children and adults with SCD.
Analysis of inflammatory biomarkers as predictors of treatment efficacy in patients with soft tissue sarcoma treated with trabectedin
Authors: Imai Toru , Kojima Yuki , Shimoi Tatsunori , Aiba Hisaki , Yazaki Shu , Tokura Momoko , Kawachi Asuka , Mizoguchi Chiharu , Okuma Hitomi S. , Arakaki Motoko , Saito Ayumi , Kita Shoske , Yamamoto Kasumi , Maejima Aiko , Nishikawa Tadaaki , Sudo Kazuki , Noguchi Emi , Yoshida Akihiko , Matsui Yoshiyuki , Iwata Shintaro , Kobayashi Eisuke , Kawai Akira , udagawa Ryoko , Fujiwara Yasuhiro , Yonemori Kan
Published: May 2023

Background: Trabectedin is used as a treatment for advanced-stage soft tissue sarcomas (STSs), particularly liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. Aside from its direct effect on tumor cells, trabectedin can affect the immune system in the tumor microenvironment. This study aimed to evaluate whether inflammatory biomarkers predict trabectedin efficacy in STSs.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical features and outcomes of patients with STS treated with trabectedin at our institution between 2016 and 2020. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI = neutrophil × monocyte/lymphocyte) were calculated based on the blood samples obtained prior to trabectedin treatment initiation. Analyses of the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were performed according to various factors.
Results: Of the 101 patients identified, 54 had L-sarcoma (leiomyosarcoma: 30; liposarcoma: 24), and 47 had other types of STSs. Elevated SIRI, NLR, PLR, LMR, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were associated with worse PFS (P < 0.001, P = 0.008, P = 0.027, P = 0.013, and P < 0.001, respectively) according to the results of the univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis showed that elevated SIRI, other histology, and CRP were associated with poor PFS (P = 0.007, P = 0.008, and P = 0.029, respectively). In addition, the multivariate analysis of OS showed that SIRI was an independent prognostic factor (hazard ratio: 2.16, P = 0.006).
Conclusion: Pretreatment SIRI can be considered a biomarker for the prognostic prediction of patients with STS treated with trabectedin.
A Hybrid Multifunctional Physicochemical Sensor Suite for Continuous Monitoring of Crop Health
Authors: Hossain Nafize Ishtiaque , Tabassum Shawana
Published: May 2023

This work reports a first-of-its-kind hybrid wearable physicochemical sensor suite that we call PlantFit for simultaneous measurement of two key phytohormones, salicylic acid, and ethylene, along with vapor pressure deficit and radial growth of stem in live plants. The sensors are developed using a low-cost and roll-to-roll screen printing technology. A single integrated flexible patch that contains temperature, humidity, salicylic acid, and ethylene sensors, is installed on the leaves of live plants. The strain sensor with in-built pressure correction capability is wrapped around the plant stem to provide pressure-compensated stem diameter measurements. The sensors provide real-time information on plant health under different amounts of water stress conditions. The sensor suite is installed on bell pepper plants for 40 days and measurements of salicylic acid, ethylene, temperature, humidity, and stem diameter are recorded daily. In addition, sensors are installed on different parts of the same plant to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of water transport and phytohormone responses. Subsequent correlation and principal component analyses demonstrate the strong association between hormone levels, vapor pressure deficit, and water transport in the plant. Our findings suggest that the mass deployment of PlantFit in agricultural settings will aid growers in detecting water stress/deficiency early and in implementing early intervention measures to reduce stress-induced yield decline.
The Growth of Online Retailing in India
Authors: Samprathi Srinivas
Published: May 2023

Industrial experts have agreed that India’s small-scale industries are intensely competitive due to globalization, domestic economic liberalization, and digitization. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to evaluate the relationship between transaction costs, customer satisfaction, and customer trust in online shopping with the growth of online retailing in India. The theoretical foundation for this research study was the theory of planned behavior, and the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology. The research questions examined India’s online retailing growth due to transaction costs, customer satisfaction, and customer trust. The study used a quantitative correlational research design. The data collected by the survey research method were analyzed with the software package IBM SPSS. The results indicated that customer satisfaction and transaction cost are significant predictors and can explain 59% (adjusted R2 = .589) of the variance in online retailing growth in India. The previous research had not empirically verified the relationship between transaction costs, customer satisfaction, and customer trust in online shopping with the growth of online retailing in India. The recommendation was to include environmental factors and to increase sample size in future research. Closing the gap may contribute to a positive social change by preparing small business owners to compete against online retail growth by understanding which factors affect the growth of online retail in India. With online shopping support, small business owners can implement measures to retain and attract customers of specific demographic groups.
Comparison on efficiency of pulse electric field, cold plasma and enzymatic pre-treatments for barberry anthocyanins extraction: Modeling and optimization
Authors: Dara Arash , Feizy Javad , Naji-Tabasi Sara , Fooladi Ebrahim , Rafe Ali
Published: May 2023

Barberry fruit is a good source of natural antioxidants and various functional compounds such as flavonoids, polyphenols, anthocyanins, vitamins, and pigments.Polyphenols and anthocyanins from barberry extract are directly related to health-promoting activities, and advanced extraction methods could increase the extraction efficiency. This research investigated and compared the conditions optimization for extracting anthocyanins and polyphenols through pulsed electric field, cold plasma, and pectinase pre-treatment. Pulsed electric at 3 levels of electric field intensity (3000, 5000, and 7000 V/cm) and three levels of pulse numbers (50, 75, and 100) were applied. Cold plasma was carried out at 3 levels of voltage (60, 70, and 80 kV) and 3 levels of time (1, 3, and 5 min); also, enzymatic method, which leads to the best results enzyme concentration (0.5, 1, and 1.5%) and temperature (40, 50, and 60 °C), was performed. The optimum conditions for pulse electric field were (7000 V/cm, 100), for cold plasma pre-treatment was (80 kV, 5 min) and for enzymatic pre-treatment was (1.5%, 60 °C). The comparison between different pre-treatments showed that, the enzymatic pre-treatment resulted in the best anthocyanins and polyphenols extraction efficiency was due to enzymes disrupt the complex cell wall structure to release the active constituents more effectively than other pre-treatment methods.
Design and Optimization of Sequence Generator Using N-N Transvidkan Gate
Authors: Ramakrishnan Kannan , Vidhya K.
Published: May 2023

Nowadays, electronic systems are a significant part of human life. The sophistication and complexity of these systems increase with developing technology. These advancements, however, lead to an increase in power consumption, and reduction in area availability, causing issues related to microchip technology. This is where reversible logic helps in saving power and facilitating zero-power computation. It enables the development of various combinational circuits and sequential circuits. The modified gate diffusion input (MGDI) method is characterized as a new approach bearing a circuit design with a low-power digital combination. This technique lowers propagation latency, power consumption, and transistor size of digital circuits, while keeping the logic architecture simple. A comparison of performance between typical CMOS and different pass transistor logic design methodologies is obtainable. Examples of reversible logic gates are DOUBLE FEYNMAN gate, NOT gate, FEYNMAN gate, etc. This paper performs the transistor-level execution of certain primary reversible gates and discusses the results.
Association between osteoporosis and coronary heart disease in the elderly
Authors: Xiong Jing , Qi Mingyu , Shi He , Zou Deli , Liu Quanxiang , Cheng Wei
Published: May 2023

BackgroundCoronary heart disease and osteoporosis are common diseases in the elderly, which have high mortality. Objective: To study the relationship between osteoporosis and coronary heart disease in the elderly.Methods345 elderly patients (> 60 years) were randomly selected to investigate the basic information, biochemical indicators, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone turnover markers (BTMs). The relationship between osteoporosis and coronary heart disease in the elderly was studied by recording and statistical analysis.ResultsThere were significant differences in gender, age, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, diabetes, smoking, drinking, and BMD (P < 0.05) in the coronary heart disease group, while no significant difference was observed in heart rate, Ca, P, OC, and CTX (P > 0.05). Osteoporosis was an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease in the elderly, and BMD was negatively correlated with the modified Gensini score and Agatston score.ConclusionOsteoporosis in the elderly is closely related to coronary heart disease and is an independent risk factor of coronary heart disease. The lower the BMD, the higher the risk of coronary heart disease.
Cement pavement void detection algorithm based on GPR signal and continuous wavelet transform method
Authors: qiuqin Yu , youxin Li , tingyi Luo , Zhang Jun , liang Tao , xin Zhu , liufen Luo , xinxin Xu , Yun Zhang
Published: May 2023

The dimension of the void area in pavement is crucial to its structural safety. However, there is no effective method to measure its geometric parameters. To address this issue, a void size extraction algorithm based on the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) method was proposed using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signal. Firstly, the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method was used to investigate void areas with different shapes, sizes, and depths. Next, the GPR signal was processed using the CWT method, and a 3D image of the CWT result was used to visualize the void area. Based on the differences between the void and normal pavement in the time and frequency domains, the signal with maximum energy at the CWT time-frequency result was extracted and combined to reconstruct the B-scan image, where void areas have energy concentration phenomenon, which represent the location of the void area. And width and depth of void detection algorithm was proposed to recognize the energy concentration area. Finally, the detection algorithm was verified both in numerical model and physical lab model. The results indicated that the CWT time-frequency energy spectrum can be used to enhance the void feature, and the 3D CWT image can clearly visualize the void area with a highlighted energy area. After fully testing and validating in numerical and lab models, our proposed method achieved high accuracy for void width and depth extraction, providing a precise method for estimating void dimension in pavement. This method can guide DOT departments to carry out pre-maintenance, thereby ensuring pavement safety.
Temperature increase alters fatty acid composition and has negative effects on reproductive output of the benthic copepod Microarthridion littorale (Copepoda: Harpacticoida)
Authors: Relva Julieta Vigliano , Colen Carl Van , Barhdadi Wissam , Daly Aisling , De Troch Marleen
Published: May 2023

Copepods are marine invertebrates with a key role at the basis of marine food webs due to their high biomass as well as their elevated fatty acid (FA) content, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), two FA which have a well demonstrated role in growth and reproduction in marine organisms. Temperature is a key driver of organisms fitness as well as ecosystem functioning and sea surface temperature is expected to rise under all CO2 emission scenarios. Thus, understanding how copepods will response to such changes is crucial given their role in marine food webs. While the majority of research has focused on planktonic copepod species, less is known for benthic species, particularly non-model species. In this study we expose Microarthridion littorale, an intertidal benthic copepod to a temperature gradient (12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 °C) including current environmental variability as well as future scenarios. Individuals were retrieved from a mudflat in the Westerschelde estuary (51°21′ 24′′ N, 3° 42′ 51′′E) and cultured at lab conditions. Survival and FA were measured after 18 days exposure. Growth rates and nauplii production were also measured for each temperature treatment. We found decreased survival, EPA and DHA content with increased temperature as well as increased growth rates and detrimental effects for nauplii production. Benthic copepods are prey for many juvenile fish, any changes in their biomass as well as their FA composition in response to temperature changes could therefore amplify to higher trophic levels with important consequences for food web functioning.
Liquid Phase Epitaxy of CuGaO2 on GaN: P-N Heterostructure for Photocatalytic Water Splitting
Authors: Sena Hadi , Kitano Sho , Habazaki Hiroki , Fuji Masayoshi
Published: May 2023

Semiconductor photocatalytic water splitting is a promising method to address the worldwide energy issues. Fast carrier recombination and the limited visible-light absorption are two main challenges to be overcome, and designing p-n heterojunctions is an effective solution. In this study, two direct band gap semiconductors are selected to form a p-n heterojunction. Results show that liquid phase epitaxy of a thick film p-type CuGaO2 on an n-type GaN substrate is effective for the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Mapping of quantitative trait loci linked to Phytophthora nicotianae var. parasitica resistance in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
Authors: Chaudhary Shilpa , Kaur Rajinder , Singh Shiv Pratap , Sharma Monica
Published: May 2023

Buckeye rot is the most devastating disease of tomato. As no work has been done to tag genes responsible for resistance to this disease, present study was planned out to generate segregating population by crossing susceptible parent ‘Solan Lalima’ and resistant parent ‘EC-251649’, followed by phenotypic and genotypic screening of 100 F2 segregants and finally identification of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL). On phenotyping F2 segregants were scaled in three main categories, five plants as resistant, 43 as susceptible and 52 as highly susceptible. Out of total 153 primers used, 93 primers were found polymorphic with parents which were used for genotyping studies of F2 population. MAPMAKER/EXP version 3.0b resulted in construction of 12 linkage groups with coverage of total genetic map distance of 4660.7 cM. Linkage group 2 was the largest group spanning a distance of 4584.9 cM. QTL Cartographer detected total 22 QTL with placement of 20 QTL on chromosome 2 and single QTL each on chromosome 6 and 7. Identified markers can further be used for marker assisted selection and other molecular studies.
Genome-wide identification reveals that BZR1 family transcription factors involved in hormones and abiotic stresses response of lotus (Nelumbo)
Authors: Zhou Ping , Huiyan Jiang , Jingwen Li , Qijiang Jin , Yanjie Wang , Yingchun Xu
Published: May 2023

Background The brassinazole-resistant (BZR) transcription factors (TFs) are key components of BR signaling, which play an important role in regulating plant growth, development and responding to abiotic stress. However, the functional study of BZR transcription factors in lotus has not been reported.Results A total 10 BZR1 genes (4 NnBZR1 and 6 NlBZR1) were identified from the genomes of two lotus species (Nelumbo nucifera and Nelumbo lutea). The construction of phylogenetic tree showed that the 10 BZR1 genes of lotus were divided into 4 groups, the NnBZR1s and NlBZR1s were unevenly distributed on 3 and 4 chromosomes, respectively. Gene structure analysis showed that motif 1 and motif 9 are highly conserved in lotus BZR1 protein, which might be related to the conserved domain BES_N of BZR1. The analysis of promoter cis-acting elements showed that the promoters of most of the BZR1 genes in lotus contained elements related to light-responsive, ABA-responsive and abiotic stress-responsive, indicating that the BZR1 gene of lotus played an important role in its response to abiotic stress. The expression profiles of different tissues indicated that the NnBZR1 genes were mainly expressed in the carpel, apical bud and seed coat, suggesting that the NnBZR1 genes may play an important role in reproduction and dormancy in lotus. The responses of 6 genes NnBZR1s, Nn1g01524.2 and Nn5g29512.5 to BR, ABA and 4 abiotic stresses (Cold, PEG6000, Cd and NaCl) were analyzed by qRT-PCR. The qRT-PCR results were further verified that the lotus BZR1 genes play an important role in responding to gene signals and resisting abiotic stress.Conclusions This study laid the foundation for further research on the function of lotus BZR1 genes, and provided a theoretical basis for future breeding and horticultural applications.
Changes of roots metabolites and soil microbial community structures in rhizospheres of sugarcanes under different propagation methods
Authors: Lin Xinru , Yang Da , Zhu Yu , Qin Yonglin , Liang Tian , Yang Shangdong , Tan Hongwei
Published: May 2023

Background To provide new insights in selecting proper propagation methods for sugarcane production. soil fertility, root metabolome and soil microbial community structure in rhizospheres of sugarcanes under different propagation methods (tissue culture and stem propagation) were analyzed.Results The results showed that the activities of soil β-Glucosidase and Aminopeptidase, soil microbial biomass nitrogen ( MBN) in rhizospheres of sugarcanes with tissue culture method were all significantly higher than those of stem propagation method. In addition, the soil bacterial and fungal diversities in rhizospheres of sugarcanes were also significantly increased with the tissue culture propagation method. Moreover, in comparison with stem propagation method, higher abundant beneficial microorganisms such as Actinobacteria, Bacteroidota, Myxococcota, Ascomycota, Bradyrhizobium, Sphingomonas, Streptomyces, Exophiala and Aspergillus enriched in rhizospheres of sugarcanes under tissue culture method, regardless of newly planted or ratoon canes. Meanwhile, the compositions and functions of cane root metabolites also could be significantly altered by different propagation methods. Firstly, the biosyntheses of flavonoids and flavonols were significantly up-regulated in cane roots under the tissue culture propagation (TCN) method. Also, the metabolisms of alanine, aspartate and glutamate were significantly up-regulated in cane roots under the tissue culture propagation (TCR) method.Conclusions All above results suggested that soil fertility and health in rhizospheres of sugarcanes could be significantly improved by tissue culture propagation method. It indicates that tissue culture propagation method can be developed as a sustainable method for future sugarcane production.
Development of a Biomarker Panel for Assessing Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetic Patients with Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia (CLTI): a Prospective Study
Authors: Nardella Elisabetta , Biscetti Federico , Rando Maria Margherita , Cecchini Andrea Leonardo , Nicolazzi Maria Anna , Rossini Enrica , Angelini Flavia , Iezzi Roberto , Eraso Luis H , Dimuzio Paul J , Pitocco Dario , Massetti Massimo , Gasbarrini Antonio , Flex Andrea
Published: May 2023

Background: Lower-extremity endovascular revascularization (LER) is often required for diabetic patients with chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI). During the post-revascularization period patients may unpredictably experience major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and major adverse limb events (MALE). Several families of cytokines are involved in the inflammatory process that underlies the progression of atherosclerosis. According to current evidence, we have identified a panel of possible biomarkers related with the risk of developing MACE and MALE after LER.
The aim was to study the relationship between a panel of biomarkers - Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and 6 (IL-6), C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α), High-Mobility Group Box-1 (HMGB-1), Osteoprotegerin (OPG), Sortilin and Omentin-1- at baseline, with cardiovascular outcomes (MACE and MALE) after LER in diabetic patients with CLTI.
Methods: In this prospective non-randomized study, 264 diabetic patients with CLTI undergoing endovascular revascularization were enrolled. Serum levels of each biomarker were collected before revascularization and outcomes’ incidence was evaluated after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months.
Results:During the follow-up period, 42 cases of MACE and 81 cases of MALE occurred. There was a linear association for each biomarker at baseline and incident MACE and MALE, except Omentin-1 levels that were inversely related to the presence of MACE or MALE. After adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, the association between each biomarker baseline level and outcomes remained significant in multivariable analysis. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) models were constructed using traditional clinical and laboratory risk factors and the inclusion of biomarkers significantly improved the prediction of incident events.
Conclusions: Elevated IL-1, IL-6, CRP, TNF-α, HMGB-1, OPG and Sortilin levels and low Omentin-1 levels at baseline correlate with worse vascular outcomes in diabetic patients with CLTI undergoing LER. Assessment of the inflammatory state with this panel of biomarkers may support physicians to identify a subset of patients more susceptible to the procedure failure and to develop cardiovascular adverse events after LER.