bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DNMT3A Low-Expression is Correlated to Poor Prognosis in Childhood B Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Confers Resistance to Daunorubicin on Leukemic Cells
Authors: Li Weijing , Liu Shuguang , Wang Chanjuan , Cui Lei , Zhao Xiaoxi , Liu Wei , Zhang Ruidong , Li Zhigang
Published: April 2021

Background Little is known about DNMT3A expression and its prognostic significance in childhood B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). MethodsWe determined DNMT3A mRNA expression in 102 children with BCP-ALL. Correlations with relapse-free survival (RFS) and common clinical characteristics were analyzed. DNMT3A was stably knocked out by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology in 697 cell line. Cell proliferation activity after treated with daunorubicin was determined by CCK8 assay in DNMT3A KO 697 cell line.Results DNMT3A expression in BCP-ALL patients who were in CCR was higher than in those who got relapse (P=0.0111). Receiver operating characteristic curve showed prognostic significance of DNMT3A expression (P=0.003). Low expression of DNMT3A (<0.197) was significantly correlated with poor RFS (P<0.001) in children with BCP-ALL. Knock-out of DNMT3A in 697 cell line significantly increased IC50 of daunorubicin (P=0.0057), indicating elevated resistance to daunorubicin. ConclusionsLow expression of DNMT3A associates with poor prognosis in children with BCP-ALL. Knock-out of DNMT3A confers resistance to daunorubicin on leukemic cells.
Ex situ conservation of Cistus heterophyllus subsp. carthaginensis (Cistaceae) saves the taxon from introgression by Cistus albidus
Authors: Werner Olaf , Vicente María José , Aguado Mayra , Robles Jesús , Ros Rosa María
Published: April 2021

Cistus heterophyllus subsp. carthaginensis is a critically endangered plant taxon from E Spain. Only two populations, one in La Pobla de Vallbona, Valencian Community (consisting of only one plant) and the other in Llano de Beal, Cartagena municipality, Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, are presently known. The low number of individuals and introgression by the closely related C. albidus are the major threats to the conservation of Cistus heterophyllus subsp. carthaginensis. In the years 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2013 seeds were collected from the Murcia population within the efforts to protect this taxon. In this work, we compare the natural population of Murcia with the ex situ plants originated from the recollected seeds, the only known sample from Valencia, and a specimen of North Africa of C. heterophyllus using genotyping by sequencing. The natural population of Murcia shows clear signals of introgression by C. albidus while the ex situ plants are much less affected, suggesting that the major part of the introgression of the natural populations took place after the specimens for the ex situ collection were taken. The Murcian samples seem not to be very close to the Valencian plant, but the systematic relationships among the studied populations remain unclear. The ex situ conservation efforts are a key to the conservation of this taxon.
Removal of p-arsanilic acid and phenylarsonic acid from water by Fenton-coagulation process: influence of substituted amino group
Authors: Peng Qiang , Xu Wenze , Qi Weixiao , Hu Chengzhi , Liu Huijuan , Qu Jiuhui
Published: April 2021

Phenylarsonic acid compounds, which were widely used in poultry and swine production, are emerging contaminants due to their considerable solubility in water and the highly toxic inorganic arsenic species forming potential during their biotic and abiotic degradation in the natural environment. Herein, we investigated the optimal conditions to treat typical organoarsenic contaminants ( p -arsanilic acid ( p -ASA) and phenylarsonic acid (PAA)) in aqueous solution based on Fenton-coagulation process for oxidizing them and capturing the released inorganic arsenic, and elucidated the influence mechanism of substituted amino group on removal. Results showed that the pH value and the dosage of H 2 O 2 and Fe 2+ significantly influenced the performance of the oxidation and coagulation processes. The optimal conditions for removing 20mg L -1 -As in this research were: 40mg L -1 Fe 2+ and 60mg L -1 H 2 O 2 (the mass ratio of Fe 2+ /H 2 O 2 = 1.5), initial solution pH of 3.0 and final solution pH of 5.0 adjusting after 30 min Fenton oxidation reaction. Meanwhile, the substituted amino group observably influence the oxidation and coagulation performance of phenylarsonic acid compounds. Amino group could make phenylarsonic acid compounds more easily be attacked by ·HO and supply more binding sites for forming complexes with Fe 3+ hydrolysates, resulting in higher oxidation rate and better coagulation performance.
Photodegradation of methotrexate in aqueous solution: degradation kinetics and identification of transformation products
Authors: Espinosa Anaïs , Nélieu Sylvie , Lieben Pascale , Skarbek Charles , Labruère Raphaël , Benoit Pierre
Published: April 2021

Methotrexate is an antineoplastic folate analog of high environmental concern, due to its low biodegradability and toxicological properties. This study focused on its photodegradation under two irradiation conditions, aiming to be representative of environment (300–450 nm) and drinking water treatment (254 nm). The photodegradation experiments were conducted at two pH, to vary the methotrexate ionization state and to produce a large variety of transformation products (TPs). The degradation kinetics determined through LC-UV monitoring were contrasted according to pH and irradiation wavelength. However, the quantum yields were independent of ionization state at 254 nm and the changes in kinetics at higher wavelengths were attributed to a change in the degradation mechanism. The TPs formed during the reactions were identified by UHPLC-MS/MS, using both the positive and negative modes. Among the eleven proposed structures, five were described as methotrexate TPs for the first time. The TPs result from N-demethylation, glutamic acid oxidation and C-N cleavage, all of them leading to further degraded photoproducts presenting modified or lost glutamic acid part. This was made possible thanks to the negative mode, which allowed the exploration of the glutamic acid moiety modifications. Cytotoxicity assessment on A549 cancer cells demonstrated that all photoproducts formed at pH 7 were less toxic than the parent compound.
Title Length Variation Trends in Papers on Algorithms in IEEE Xplore
Authors: Besharati Mohammad Reza , Jafari Nafiseh , Izadi Mohammad
Published: April 2021

The title of any paper showcases its identity and the scientific orientation of its authors. The title length is one of the scientometrics indicators used in the statistical analysis of papers. The researchers have already found a relationship between the number of authors of a paper and its title length. In this study, we have analyzed the metadata of 19,469 papers on algorithms indexed in the IEEE Xplore database to conduct a more extensive study on this indicator and its trends, with three major findings: 1) Over time, the title lengths of the algorithm-related papers have increased, going from 70 printed letters in 1995 to 80 in 2009; 2) Papers with more authors also have longer titles; and 3) With time, as more scholars delve into the subfields of a scientific discipline, the title lengths of papers would increase. So that the peaks of the frequency charts of this variable exhibit a wave-like behavior and shift to the right.
Event-Triggered Adaptive Asymptotic Tracking Control of Flexible Robotic Manipulators: A Command Filtered Backstepping Method
Authors: Cheng Tingting , Niu Ben , Zhang Guangju , Wang Zhenhua , Duan Peiyong
Published: April 2021

This paper formulates an event-triggered adaptive asymptotic tracking control scheme for flexible robotic manipulators via command filtered backstepping method. Firstly, in the proposed design algorithm, the unknown nonlinear functions are firstly approximated by using intelligent estimation technique. Then, the “explosion of complexity” problem existing in the traditional backstepping procedure is solved by cleverly applying the command filtered backstepping method. In addition, an event-triggered mechanism is adopted so that the control input is updated irregularly following the occurrence of an event. The advantages of the proposed adaptive design scheme are as follows: (i) the Barbalat’s Lemma is used to asymptotically drive the tracking error to zero; (ii) all the variables in the closed-loop system are bounded; (iii) the utilized event-triggered mechanism reduces the transmission frequency of computer and saves computer resources. Finally, the simulation results of the robotic system are given to illustrate the effectiveness of our design scheme.
Immunoglobulin-G Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Predicts Neutralising Antibody Response in Convalescent SARS-CoV-2 Patients
Authors: Kay Grant A , Owen Sophie I , Giorgi Emanuele , Williams Christopher T , Menzies Stefanie , Clark David J , Cuevas Luis , Davies Benedict M O , Eckersley Nicholas M , Hughes Grant L , Kirwan Daniela E , Krishna Sanjeev , Patterson Edward I , Planche Tim , Staines Henry M , Adams Emily R
Published: April 2021

Severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally since its emergence in 2019. Most SARS-CoV-2 infections generate immune responses leading to rising levels of immunoglobulins (Ig) M, A and G which can be detected using diagnostic tests including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Whilst implying previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, the detection of Ig by ELISA does not guarantee the presence of neutralising antibodies (NAb) that can prevent the virus infecting cells. Plaque reduction neutralisation tests (PRNT) detect NAb but are not amenable to mass testing as they take several days and require use of viable SARS-CoV-2 in high biocontainment laboratories. We evaluated the ability of IgG and IgM ELISAs targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike subunit 1 (S1) and nucleocapsid protein (NP) at predicting the presence and magnitude of NAb determined by PRNT. SARS-CoV-2 IgG ELISA correlated well with NAb and was highly sensitive (93.8% [95% CI 79.2–99.2]) and specific (88.9% [95% CI 51.8–99.7%]) at predicting the presence of NAb. There was not a strong correlation between IgM ELISA and PRNT result. IgG ELISA provides a useful, high throughput method of predicting the presence of neutralising antibodies, with higher ELISA results increasing the likelihood of having a greater NAb titre.
Impactful Study of F-shaped Tunnel FET
Authors: SINGH PRABHAT , YADAV DHARMENDRA SINGH
Published: April 2021

In this proposed work, a novel single gate F-shaped channel tunnel field effect transistor (SG-FC-TFET) is proposed and investigated. The impact of thickness of the source region and lateral tunneling length between the gate oxide and edge of the source region on analog and radio frequency parameters are investigated with appropriate source and drain lateral length through the 2D-TCAD tool. The slender shape of the source enhanced the electric le crowding effect at the corners of the source region which reflect in term of high On-current (Ion). The Ion of proposed device is increased up to 10-4 A=μm with reduced sub-threshold swing (SS) is 7.3 mV/decade and minimum turn-ON voltage (Von = 0.28 V). The analog/RF parameters of SG-FC-TFET are optimized.
Future tense can reduce present bias in infrastructure design
Authors: Hancock Patrick , Klotz Leidy , Shealy Tripp , Johnson Eric , Weber Elke , Stenger Katelyn , Vuppuluri Richa
Published: April 2021

Design professionals (N = 261) were randomly assigned to either a future or present-framed project description before recommending design attributes for an infrastructure project. The future condition led designers to propose a significantly longer infrastructure design life, useful life to the community, and acceptable return on financial investment. The findings suggest that using future framing when soliciting sustainable design expertise can be a straightforward and inexpensive way to lessen present bias.
Inventory of landslides triggered by hurricane Matthew in Guantánamo, Cuba
Authors: Vaciano Yusmira Savón , Tellez Ricardo Delgado , Abella Enrique A. Castellanos , Lacaba Rafael Guardado , Cruz Arisleidys Peña de la
Published: April 2021

An inventory of landslides triggered by Hurricane Matthew (4–5 October 2016) through the eastern region of Cuba was carried out using Sentinel 2A satellite images. The inventory was compared with the slope map generated from the digital elevation model at 25 m per pixel and with the geological map at 1: 100 000 scale. The precipitation data from the 1-hour rain gauge records of four stations of the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) and 24-hour rain gauge records of six stations of National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) were processed and analysed during this event. In total, 237 landslides were classified into rockslides, debrisflows and topples. A wide distribution of landslides was found within the selected slope classes, depending of the landslide type. Most of the landslides were generated in green schist of volcanic and vulcanoclastic rocks and rocks of the ophiolitic complex made up of ancient remains of oceanic crust. Findings increase understanding of landslide occurrence in this area in order to update landslide hazard map and to reduce landslide risk.
Boosting Influences From circ_0048856 On Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Advancement Via Aiming At miR-1287-5p
Authors: He Yinzai , Liu Yanheng , Cha Nier , Gao Yanwei , Li Feng , Zhang Meng , Luan Wei
Published: April 2021

Background: Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the main causes of death in human diseases. In this study, we aimed to explore the prognostic value of serum circ_0048856 in patients with NSCLC and its relationship with miR-1287-5p.Methods: The expression levels of circ_0048856 and miR-1287-5p in serum of NSCLC patients and healthy people were detected by qRT-PCR. The relationships between circ_0048856 expression and clinical data were evaluated via χ2 test. Overall survival analysis was carried out via Kaplan-Meier method with log rank test. Cox regression analysis was taken to evaluate the prognostic ability of circ_0048856 in NSCLC. Luciferase reporter gene was used to detect the targeting relationship between circ_0048856 and miR-1287-5p.Results: The expression of circ_0048856 in serum of NSCLC patients was significantly higher than that of healthy volunteers (P < 0.001). And its high expression was significantly correlated with TNM stage (P = 0.002) and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001). In addition, Kaplan Meier log rank test analysis showed that the overall survival of patients with high expression of circ_0048856 was significantly shorter than that of patients with low expression of circ_0048856 (log rank test, P = 0.002). Serum circ_0048856 expression is an independent prognostic biomarker in NSCLC patients. Furthermore, we found that miR-1287-5p is a direct downstream miRNA of circ_0048856 through luciferase reporter gene analysis, and there is a negative correlation between circ_0048856 and miR-1287-5p.Conclusion: Serum circ_0048856 is an independent prognostic biomarker in patients with NSCLC. Circ_0048856 can participate in the progression of NSCLC by targeting miR-1287-5p.
Nomogram for chemotherapy decision-making in patients with small triple-negative breast tumor: A population-based study
Authors: Chen Xin-Yu , Shao Yi-Lin , Liu Xing , Zhang Jian , Zhi Wen-Xiang , Hu Xi-Chun , Tao Zhong-Hua
Published: April 2021

Purpose: Small triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) without lymph node invasion is considered less aggressive. This study aimed to develop nomograms for deciding on the appropriateness of chemotherapy for these patients.Methods: The data of patients diagnosed with T1abN0M0 TNBC between 2010 and 2016 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Clinicodemographic characteristics were integrated into nomograms for predicting overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS). Nomogram performance was analyzed according to calibration and discrimination. The subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot (STEPP) was further applied to make individualized chemotherapeutic decisions.Results: Overall, 3133 patients with T1abN0M0 TNBC were evaluated; they were divided equally into the training and validation cohorts. Most tumors were grade III (62.6%) and ductal carcinoma of no special type (88.8%). The median follow-up time was 44.0 months, and 133 patients (4.3%) died by the end of the follow-up. Eight independent prognostic factors, namely, age, race, marital status, tumor size, histology, grade, surgery, and chemotherapy, were identified and used in nomogram construction. The calibration curves showed satisfactory agreement between prediction and observation. The C-indices of the nomograms were significantly higher than those of traditional TNM staging (OS: 0.701 vs 0.503; BCSS: 0.691 vs 0.506). The patients in the training cohort were stratified into two risk groups based on the OS nomogram score cutoff (213), and the groups showed a significant difference in survival, as was further confirmed in the validation cohort. The STEPPs of 5-year OS according to the nomogram score demonstrated distinct patterns of absolute chemotherapeutic effect, with low-risk patients achieving better survival regardless of chemotherapy. In high-risk patients, a significant and consistent chemotherapeutic benefit was observed at the average of 3.7%. Conclusion: At a cutoff score of ≥ 213, the nomogram accurately identified TNBC patients likely to receive a survival benefit from chemotherapy.
Photodynamic Therapy For Synovial Hyperplasia in Patients With Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis : A Study Protocol For A Randomised Double-Blind Blank-Controlled Prospective Trial
Authors: Zhao Xiaofeng , CHEN Ensheng , ZUO Fangfang , BI Yanan , CAO Yanyan , YUAN Yi , LI Kaiqin , XUAN Yanan , LI Libo , WAN Lijuan , ZHANG Xiangqun , YAN Feifei , ZHOU Jiyuan , YIN Kun , XIAO Changhong
Published: April 2021

Background Persistent synovial hyperplasia with inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis is the main cause of refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RRA). As a means of local treatment, photodynamic therapy (PDT) confers less trauma, stronger targeting, and more durable curative effects than steroid injections or arthroscopic synovectomy. The aim of this trial will be to evaluate the short-, medium- and long-term clinical efficacy of PDT in the treatment of RRA synovial hyperplasia and synovitis. Methods and analysis This is a single-centre, randomised, double-blind, blank-controlled, prospective trial. A sample of 126 RRA patients will be randomly divided into 3 groups: the control group, the PDT once group, and the PDT twice group, 42 per group. The trial will be conducted at the Rheumatology and Immunology Department of Integrated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University. Assessments at baseline, the first operation, the second operation (4th week), and then at three follow-ups (8th week, 24th week, 48th week) will be performed. The Ultrasound Compound Score of Synovitis (UCSS), knee joint clinical assessments, Disease Activity Score in 28 Joints (DAS28), serological inflammation indexes and specific antibody levels, pathological biopsies of synovial tissue and X-ray assessments of bone destruction will be evaluated. An improvement in the UCSS will be the main endpoint, and the UCSS at the 8th week versus the baseline value will reflect the short-term outcome of the operation. The results of the 24th week and 48th week follow-up will reflect the medium- and long-term curative effects, respectively. Ethics and dissemination The protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Integrated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, China (Approval No. of the ethics committee: NFZXYEC-2017-005) and later registered in the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry with Registration number ChiCTR1800014918 (approval date: February 21, 2018). All procedures will be in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, as well as the WMA Declaration of Helsinki. Any modifications to the protocol will be approved by the Ethics Committee of our hospital. Trial registration number ChiCTR1800014918.
Associations between plasma protein, IgG and IgA N-glycosylation and metabolic health markers in pregnancy and gestational diabetes
Authors: Štambuk Tamara , Kifer Domagoj , Duvnjak Lea , Lovrenčić Marijana Vučić , Gornik Olga
Published: April 2021

Background. Monitoring of the human circulating N-glycome could provide valuable insight into an individual’s metabolic status. Therefore, we examined if aberrant carbohydrate metabolism in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) associates with alterations in plasma protein, immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin A (IgA) N-glycosylation.Methods. Plasma protein, IgG and IgA N-glycans were enzymatically released, purified and chromatographically profiled in 48 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance and 41 pregnant women with GDM, all sampled at 24-28 weeks of gestation.Results. Fasting insulin exhibited significant associations to numerous glycan traits, including several plasma protein N-glycans bearing bisecting GlcNAc, afucosylated fully sialylated IgG glycan and fully sialylated triantennary IgA glycan (padj range: 7.66x10-05–1.15x10-02). Insulin resistance markers HOMA2-IR and HOMA2-%B were mostly associated to the same glycan structures as fasting insulin. Both markers also showed positive association with high-branched plasma glycans (padj=1.15x10-02 and 2.26x10-03) and negative association with low-branched plasma glycans (padj=1.25x10-02 and 2.27x10-03). Additionally, HOMA2-%B index was significantly related to the glycosylation features describing IgG sialylation. Multiple glycans showed significant associations with total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. None of the tested glycan traits showed a significant difference between GDM and normoglycemic pregnancies.Conclusion. Markers of glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism in pregnancy show extensive associations to various N-glycosylation features. However, plasma protein, IgG and IgA N-glycans were not able to differentiate pregnant women with and without GDM, possibly due to numerous physiological changes accompanying pregnancy, which confound the impact of GDM on protein glycosylation.
Dopingfree Schottky Buried Metal Layer Fully Depleted Planar FET for SCE Suppression at sub-28nm Technology Nodes
Authors: Shafi Nawaz , Bhat Aasif Mohammad , Parmaar Jaydeep Singh , Porwal Ankita , Sahu Chitrakant , Periasamy C.
Published: April 2021

Herein we introduce and investigate a new architectural design strategy for planar single gate field effect transistors (SG-FETs) that delivers advantages from all fronts of design, fabrication and performance perspectives. The amalgamation of schottky buried metal layer (BML) and charge plasma (CP) mechanism of doping in planar single gate architecture yields a novel type of FET called as CP-BML FET. Owing to the schottky BML induced depletion region created on the bottom side of device layer reduces effective device layer thickness (T Si ) suppressing short channel effects (SCEs) including drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL) and threshold voltage roll-off. The proposed FET has been analyzed for DC and RF performance figure of merits (FOMs) and compared to counterpart state of the art technologies with reference to ITRS performance projections. The proposed FET is also investigated the performance FOMs on for criticality of physical param- eters including gate length (Lg), device layer thickness (T Si ), BML workfunction (Φ BML ). The ION and IOFF for proposed device at Lg = 20nm read at 730 µA/µm and 7x10 - 2 pA/µm respectively. RF performance anal- ysis reveal transition frequency (ft) of 390 GHz with SS ' 75mV=dec coherent with ITRS performance pro- jections. It is found that ultra scaled (7 nm) proposed device exhibits intrinsic delay Ƭof 0.6 ps which is supe- rior to ITRS projections of 1.71 ps at 28 nm technology node. The proposed device yields P dyn of 0.248 fJ/µm at Lg=7nm implicating it to be potential candidate for low power with high performance application requirements.
Determinants of Low Birth Weight Among Newborn Delivered At Public Hospital in Silte Zone, Southern Ethiopia: Case Control Study
Authors: Mohammed Mubarek Hussen , Wabe Yasin Awol , Ali Musa Mohammed
Published: April 2021

Background: There is high incidence of neonatal death in Ethiopia. There are various factors that contribute to neonatal death. Low birth weight (LBW) contributes for about half of infant death. Identification of modifiable determinants of LBW for potential interventions has received little attention in southern parts of Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to identify determinants of LBW among mothers delivered at hospitals in Silte Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based unmatched case-control study was conducted in all public hospitals of Silte Zone. In the study, the number of mothers, cases and controls from each hospital was recruited using probability proportion to population size. Baby born with weight less than 2500gm were taken as a case where as a preceding three baby with birth weight of more than or equal to 2500gm was taken as control during study time in consecutive manner. Data was collected using pretested structured questionnaire, and by anthropometric measurements. Data was entered in to Epi Info 3.5.4 and exported to SPSS Version 20 software. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression model were used to calculate Odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals to estimate the association between the dependent and independent variables. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Result: The mean ± SD of birth weight of was 2174.47gm ±266.2for cases and 3370.48gm ±446.48for controls. After using multivariate logistic regression analysis, mothers who did not receive iron folate during pregnancy [AOR=2.84(1.15,7.03)], mothers who had anemia (hemoglobin <11mg/dl) during pregnancy [AOR=1.03(1.12, 6.24)], mothers who did not take additional meal [AOR =3.25(1.64,6.44)], mothers who did not receive nutritional counseling during the current pregnancy [AOR =6.93(4.80,11.76)], maternal under nutrition [AOR= 3.62(2.64, 6.47)], hypertensive disorder related to pregnancy [AOR= 2.76(1.34,5.71)] and inadequate Minimum Dietary Diversity Assessment(MDD-W) [AOR=6.65(2.31, 10.16)] were found as an independent and significant predictors of low birth weight. Conclusions: Maternal under nutrition, mothers not receiving iron folate during pregnancy, mother who had anemia, lack of target nutritional counseling, mothers who did not receive additional food during pregnancy, hypertensive disorder related to pregnancy and inadequate MDD-W were significant determinants of LBW. The importance of nutritional counseling with iron folate supplements, adherence during pregnancy and maternal under nutrition screening needs to be strengthened effort to reduce incidence of LBW infants.
Spiral-based chaotic chicken swarm optimization algorithm for parameters identification of photovoltaic models
Authors: Li Miao , Li Chunquan , Huang Zhengyu , Huang Jiehui , Wang Gaige , Liu Peter X.
Published: April 2021

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are becoming increasingly significant because they can convert solar energy into electricity. The conversion efficiency is related to the PV models’ parameters, so it is crucial to identify parameters of PV models. Recently, various heuristic methods have been proposed to identify the parameters, but they cannot provide sufficient accurate and reliable performance. To address this problem, this paper proposes a spiral-based chaos chicken swarm optimization algorithm (SCCSO) including three strategies: i) the information-sharing strategy provides the latest information of the roosters for searching global optimal solution, beneficial to improve the exploitation ability; ii) the spiral motion strategy can enable hens and chicks to move towards their corresponding targets with a spiral trajectory, improving the exploration ability; iii) a self-adaptive-based chaotic disturbance mechanism is introduced around the global optimal solution to generate a promising solution for the worst chick at each iteration, thereby improving the convergence speed of the chicken flock. Besides, SCCSO is used for identifying different PV models such as the single diode, the double diode, and PV module models. Comprehensive analysis and experimental results show that SCCSO provides better robustness and accuracy than other advanced heuristic methods.
sc-REnF: An Entropy Guided Robust Feature Selection for Single-Cell RNA-seq Data
Authors: Lall Snehalika , Ghosh Abhik , Ray Sumanta , Bandyopadhyay Sanghamitra
Published: April 2021

Annotation of cells in single-cell clustering requires a homogeneous grouping of cell populations. Since single cell data is susceptible to technical noise, the quality of genes selected prior to clustering is of crucial importance in the preliminary steps of downstream analysis. Therefore, interest in robust gene selection has gained considerable attention in recent years. We introduce sc-REnF, (robust entropy based feature (gene) selection method), aiming to leverage the advantages of Rényi and Tsallis> entropies in gene selection for single cell clustering. Experiments demonstrate that with tuned parameter (q), Rényi and Tsallis entropies select genes that improved the clustering results significantly, over the other competing methods. sc-REnF can capture relevancy and redundancy among the features of noisy data extremely well due to its robust objective function. Moreover, the selected features/genes can able to clusters the unknown cells with a high accuracy. Finally, sc-REnF yields good clustering performance in small sample, large feature scRNA-seq data.
Soybean Leaf Age and Plant Stage Influence Expression of Resistance to Velvetbean Caterpillar and Fall Armyworm
Authors: de Souza Bruno Henrique Sardinha , Costa Eduardo N. , Ribeiro Zulene A. , Perlatti Bruno , Cruz Mara C. P. , Forim Moacir R. , Júnior Arlindo L. Boiça , Stout Michael J.
Published: April 2021

Numerous species of herbivorous insects are associated with soybeans, including the specialist velvetbean caterpillar (VBC), Anticarsia gemmatalis, and the generalist fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda. Expression of plant resistance is influenced by factors intrinsic to host plants, such as leaf age and plant stage, which can differentially affect specialist and generalist insects due to varying levels of plant defense and corresponding insect adaptation. In this study four experiments were carried out to test the hypotheses that levels of antibiosis-resistance to VBC and FAW in the resistant genotype PI 227687 and susceptible genotype IGRA RA 626 RR are related to leaf age and plant stage of soybean. Furthermore, the concentrations of nutrients and selected flavonoids were quantified to give insights on possible chemical mechanisms underlying the resistance. As results, development of VBC and FAW were negatively affected when larvae fed leaves of the resistant genotype, older leaves from the lower part of plants, or leaves from reproductive-stage soybeans. The effects were partly different for each insect species, and the generalist FAW was more affected by higher resistance levels in the older leaves of soybean than the specialist VBC. Distribution and concentrations of nutrients and flavonoids in soybean in function of leaf age and plant stage may explain the varying levels of antibiosis-resistance to VBC and FAW. These results can benefit developments of specific protocols for screening resistant soybean genotypes and pest management strategies focused in plant parts and growth stages that insect-resistance levels are lowest.
Abnormal Expression of EPB41L1 in Colon Adenocarcinoma and Effect on Prognosis
Authors: Liu jiaojiao , Liang Taotao , Ding Cong , Ji Zhenyu , Wang Ting , Liu Xin , Kang Qiaozhen
Published: April 2021

Background: Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is the most common pathological type of colorectal cancer (CRC) and further study of the molecular mechanism will help to improve the quality of life of patients with COAD. Erythrocyte membrane protein band 4.1 like 1(EPB41L1), a gene encoding protein 4.1N, has been reported to be closely associated with tumorigenesis and progression. However, the role of EPB41L1 in COAD is largely unknown and remains to be fully studied.Methods: In this study, we analyzed the mRNA expression of EPB41L1 in COAD through the Oncomine and GEO databases. Then, the relative expressions of EPB41L1 across the sub-groups of COAD were performed by the UALCAN data portal. Next, we investigated the prognostic value of EPB41L1 in COAD patients by using the UALCAN and HPA online databases. Further, the mutation of EPB41L1 in COAD was analyzed by c-Bioportal. The co-expression genes of EPB41L1 in COAD were displayed from the LinkedOmics database, and function enrichment analysis was analyzed by DAVID. The co-expression gene network was constructed through the STRING database, and the MCODE plug-in of which was used to build the gene modules, both of them were visualized by Cytoscape software. Finally, the pathway enrichment of the top modular genes in the co-expression gene network was analyzed by DAVID.Results: The results revealed that EPB41L1 is significantly upregulated with the development of COAD, leading to a poor prognosis. There are mutations in the EPB41L1 gene, but it has no significant effect on the prognosis of COAD. Moreover, the genes correlated with EPB41L1 in COAD, identified in the most highly connected sub-network, were enriched in the cell cycle. Conclusions: In summary, the above results suggest that EPB41L1 was significantly upregulated in the COAD tissues and the high expression level of EPB41L1 predicts a poor prognosis of COAD patients. Therefore, we suggest that EPB41L1 can be a potential candidate biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of COAD.
A Life-Saving Case of Cardiopulmonary Arrest with Cardiac Tamponade Caused by Erosion 6 Years After Percutaneous Atrial Septal Defect Closure: A Case Report
Authors: Kobayashi Takuma , Watanabe Taiji , Fu Haruka , Yohei Okada , Goto Tomoyuki
Published: April 2021

Background: Cardiac erosion after percutaneous atrial septal defect (ASD) closure is a rare complication that requires immediate life-saving emergency surgery. In this report, we present our successful life-saving strategy for cardiac arrest due to cardiac tamponade caused by erosion 6 years after the percutaneous closure of an ASD.Case presentation:. The patient was a 50-year-old man who received Amplatzer septal occlude (St. Jude Medical, St Paul, MN, USA) treatment for ostium secundum atrial septal defect (size: 29.5 × 27.0 mm) at another institution when he was 44 years old. Conclusion: The key point of this case was a bailout surgical strategy for patients who were hemodynamically unstable with risks of coagulopathy and multiple organ failure. This case suggests that cardiac surgeons need to be aware of the complications of percutaneous ASD closure and consider a bailout surgical strategy for patients at risk of multiple organ failure.
Temperature Sensitivity Analysis of Extended Source Double Gate Tunnel Field Effect Transistor
Authors: Nishad Dharmender , Nigam Kaushal , Kumar Satyendra
Published: April 2021

Temperature-induced performance variation is one of the main concerns of the conventional stack gate oxide double gate tunnel field-effect transistor (SGO-DG-TFET). In this regard, we investigate the temperature sensitivity of extended source double gate tunnel field-effect transistor (ESDG-TFET). For this, we have analyzed the effect of temperature variations on the transfer characteristics, analog/RF, linearity and distortion figure of merits (FOMs) using technology computer aided design (TCAD) simulations. Further, the temperature sensitivity performance is compared with conventional SGO-DG-TFET. The comparative analysis shows that ESDG-TFET is less sensitive to temperature variations compared to the conventional SGO-DG-TFET. Therefore, this indicates that ESDG-TFET is more reliable for low-power, high-frequency applications at a higher temperature compared to conventional SGO-DG-TFET.
Phenolic compounds and biological activities of phenolic extract of olive oil mill wastewater issue from the cold extraction of olive oil from Khenchela (Algeria)
Authors: Gueboudji Zakia , Kadi Kenza , Nagaz Kamel , Addad Dalila , Secrafi Mansour , Yahya Leila Ben , Lachehib Belgacem
Published: April 2021

This study aimed to the determination of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticoagulant activities of phenolic compounds present in olive oil mill wastewater (OMW) issue from the cold extraction of olive oil from Khenchela eastern of Algeria.After polyphenols extraction, a quantity and quality analysis by LC-MS was made. The LC-MS (liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry)results were revealed the presence of 20 phenolic compounds in theextract of OMW which were: (quinic acid, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, rutin, transfrolic acid, hyperoside (quercetin-3-o-galactoside), luteolin-7-o-glucoside, naringin, 4.5-di-caffeoyquinic acid, quercetrin(quercetin-3-o-rhamonosid), apegenin-7-o-glucoside, salviolinic acid, kampherol, quercetin, naringenin, apegenin,cirsiliol, and cirsilineol). The results of antioxidant activity with DPPH(2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS+ (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), and FRAP (ferric reducing ability of plasma)showed that the IC50(half-maximal inhibitory concentration) were(9.62 ± 0.28µg/mL, 7.10 ± 0.11µg/mL and 3.59 ± 0.24µg/mL)respectively. The extract of OMW was found to exhibit the highestinhibitory effectanti-inflammatory activity usinginhibition of protein denaturation(IPD) and membrane stabilizing potential (MSP) tests (80.46 ± 3.81; 87.43 ± 0.66 µg/mL) more than the standard used. In addition, the extract had the best anticoagulation activity in the endogenous and exogenous pathways (44.77 ± 0.25s; 15.84 ± 0.12s). Based on these results, it is right to conclude that OMW is an important source of natural phenolic compounds that have important antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticoagulant activities.
Activation Ferroptosis Enhanced the Therapy Sensitivity of TNBC to Paclitaxel Via NCOA4 Mediated Ferritinophagy
Authors: Qiu Yu , Yu Qifeng , Ji Meng , Zhang Zhiwei , Kang Liuyun , Fu Ying , Feng Miao
Published: April 2021

BackgroundPaclitaxel (PTX) is the first-line drug for chemotherapy, but Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) develops resistance to PTX is the main challenge in clinical therapy. Ferroptosis is a new type of regulated cell death (RCD) characterized by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation accumulation, despite activation of ferroptosis has been shown to enhance the sensibility of tumor to chemotherapy drugs, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. MethodsC11-BODIPY probe and real time PCR was used to detect the ferroptosis level in breast cancer cells. FerroOrange probe and western blot was employed to measure ferritinophagy. The cell viability was examined by CCK-8, EdU and AM/PI double staining.ResultsThe anti-cancer effect of PTX was related to the induction of ferroptosis in TNBC cells, the ferroptosis occurring was mediated by NCOA4-driven ferritinophagy, and the autophagy-related molecules also downregulated in clinical specimens. Furtherly, TNBC cells survival was decreased more significantly than PTX alone when combining with ferroptosis agonist RSL3. In addition, we also discovered that HERC2, a unique identified E3 ubiquitin ligase of NCOA4, obviously expressed downregulation under PTX treated TNBC cells while elevated in breast carcinoma comparing with adjacent tissues. Meanwhile, bioinformatics results showed that the survival rate was significantly lower in breast cancer patients with high expression of HERC2.ConclusionsFerroptosis agonist can assist PTX to enhance the sensitivity of TNBC to PTX in chemotherapy, which possible mechanism is prompting the expression of NCOA4 and the occurrence of ferritinophagy.
An Energy Efficient Secure Data Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: A Jenice Prabu , D Hevin Rajesh
Published: April 2021

In Wireless sensor network, the major issues are security and energy consumption. There may be several numbers of malicious nodes present in sensor networks. Several techniques have been proposed by the researchers to identify these malicious nodes. WSNs contain many sensor nodes that sense their environment and also transmit their data via multi-hop communication schemes to the base station. These sensor nodes provides power supply using battery and the energy consumption of these batteries must be low. Securing the data is to avoid attacks on these nodes and data communication. The aggregation of data helps to minimize the amount of messages transmitted within the network and thus reduces overall network energy consumption. Moreover, the base station may distinguish the encrypted and aggregated data based on the encryption keys during the decryption of the aggregated data. In this paper, two aspects of the problem is concerned, we investigate the efficiency of data aggregation: first, how to develop cluster-based routing algorithms to achieve the lowest energy consumption for aggregating data, and second, security issues in wsn. By using Network simulator2 (NS2) this scheme is simulated. In the proposed scheme, energy consumption, packet delivery ratio and throughput is analyzed. The proposed clustering, routing, and protection protocol based on the MCSDA algorithm shows significant improvement over the state-of - the-art protocol.
Fear of COVID-19 Reinforces Climate Change Beliefs. Evidence From 28 European Countries
Authors: Hortay Oliver , Stefkovics Ádám
Published: April 2021

The long-term nature of climate policy measures requires stable social legitimacy, which other types of crises may jeopardize. This article examines the impact of the COVID-19 fear on climate change beliefs based on an autumn 2020 population survey in the Member States of the European Union and the United Kingdom. The results show that deep COVID-19 concerns increase awareness, climate change concerns, and perceived negative impacts of climate change. These effects are more robust among the lower educated Europeans. On the country level, strict governmental measures are also linked to deep climate change concerns. In contrast to the experience following the 2008 recession, the findings show that a secondary crisis can positively impact climate attitudes, which is a promising result for policy actions.
Pattern of Genetic Inheritance of Grain Zinc and Iron Content, Agronomic and Biochemical Traits in Bread Wheat Using Mixed Linear Models Under Salinity Stress
Authors: Holasou Hossein Abbasi , Kia Seyed Siamak Alavi , Mohammadi Seyed Abolghasem , Vahed Mohammad Moghaddam
Published: April 2021

Wheat is the most important staple food that acts as a primary source of dietary calories, protein and most of the bioavailable micronutrients such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) for the world’s population. Understanding genetic control of micronutrients uptake is necessary for development of good quality wheat genotypes. To study the nature of inheritance of Zn and Fe efficient uptake under none-saline and saline conditions, two Iranian facultative wheat variety; Navid (salt sensitive, Fe and Zn-deficient) and Roshan (salt tolerant, Fe and Zn-efficient); were crossed to generate six basic generations for generation mean analysis. All the genotypes of these six generations were evaluated for grain Zn and Fe content, agronomic and biochemical traits under none-saline and saline conditions. For all the studied traits, the non-additive components were greater than the additive component. Additive effects were negative and significant for all traits under non-saline and saline conditions, except for 100-SW in control, MDA in 100 mM salinity level, EL and LeaNaC in all salinity levels. Additive gene actions were important for grain Zn and Fe content; while for rest of traits both fixable and non-fixable genetic effects were important. Duplicate dominant type of epistasis was involved in inheritance of all the traits. Broad-sense heritability values (>0.6) for most traits under non-saline and saline conditions were high, whereas the narrow-sense heritability values for most of the studied traits were low to moderate. These Zn and Fe efficient uptake indices could be used to select Zn/Fe-efficient wheat genotypes from segregating populations.
Age- and gender-dependent association of SLC11A1 polymorphisms with tuberculosis susceptibility
Authors: Wang Yuhe , Wang Zhongtao , He Xue , Wang Li , Bai Mei , Yuan Dongya , He Yongjun , Jin Tianbo
Published: April 2021

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an important health issue in our world. It is reported that various factors may effect on its pathogenesis. In this current study, we aimed to investigate the association between SLC11A1 polymorphism and the risk of TB among 510 TB patients and 508 healthy controls.Methods: Agena MassARRAY platform was conducted for genotyping. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were analyzed through unconditional logistic regression adjustment confound factors, such as age and gender.Results: The results suggested that the allele and genotype frequencies of polymorphisms in SLC11A1 were not observed associated with TB risk. Subsequently, stratified analysis by age and gender confirmed that rs7608307 “A/A” and “C/T-T/T” genotypes were related with increased TB risk in age ≤ 41 group (p = 0.021) and males (p = 0.013), respectively. Besides, rs13062 “A/A” genotype was reduced TB risk in age > 41 group (p = 0.043). In addition, we observed that the “C/C” genotype of rs4674301 was noteworthy correlated with increased TB risk in females (p = 0.043). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated the relationship between SLC11A1 polymorphism and TB risk and confirmed for the first time that the correlation was restricted to age and gender in northwest Chinese population.
Identification of Prognostic miRNAs Targeting EZH2 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using The Cancer Genome Atlas Database
Authors: Lin Tianyu , Guo Xinli , Du Qian , Liu Wei , Zhong Xin , Wang Suihan , Cao Liping
Published: April 2021

Background: Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) gene have a prognostic role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to identify the prognostic microRNAs (miRNAs) targeting EZH2 in HCC. Methods and Results: We downloaded the gene and miRNA RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differences in EZH2 expression between tumor and control samples and those between tumors with different clinical variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Association of EZH2 expression with prognosis in HCC patients was detected using Cox regression analysis. We also identified miRNAs targeting EZH2 with negative correlations, compared the miRNA expression profiles between tumor and control tissues, and identified pathways and protein-protein interaction pairs related to EZH2. The miRNA-EZH2-pathway network was constructed accordingly. EZH2 was significantly upregulated in HCC tumors compared with control samples (p<0.0001) and in tumors with advanced T classifications (3/4 vs. 1/2, p=0.0039) and stages (III/IV vs. I/II, p=0.0028). The Cox regression analysis showed that TCGA HCC patients who had high EZH2 expression levels showed a short survival time (HR=1.677, 95% CI 1.316-2.137; p<0.0001). Among miRNAs targeting EZH2, seven miRNAs, including hsa-let-7c-5p, were negatively correlated with EZH2 expression and were significantly downregulated in HCC tumor samples compared with controls (p<0.0001). The miRNA-EZH2-pathway network included seven downregulated miRNAs and four pathways, including hsa00310: Lysine degradation. Hsa-let-7c-5p was associated with prognosis in HCC (HR=0.849 95% CI 0.739-0.975; p=0.021). Conclusions: EZH2-hsa-let-7c-5p has a significant association with HCC prognosis and the mechanism worth investigating.