bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EĞİTİM DEĞERLENDİRME AŞAMASININ YANLIŞLANABİLİRLİK, MODERN ÖRGÜT VE RASYONELLİK ÇERÇEVESİNDE İNCELENMESİ
Authors: MAN Fuat , YILMAZ Canan
Published: November 2020

Bu çalışmanın amacı, bir kavramlar karması oluşturmak değildir. Bu çalışmanın oldukça net bir amacı bulunmaktadır: Eğitim ve geliştirme faaliyetlerinin değerlendirilmesinin yanlışlanabilirlik bağlamında ele alarak muğlaklığı ortadan kaldıracak bir girişim olarak Kirkpatrick modelini incelemektir. Eğitim yatırımının değerlendirme aşamasında, verilmiş olan eğitimin başarısının tam olarak hesap edilememesi eğitim ve geliştirme faaliyetlerini oldukça muğlak bir alana dönüştürmektedir. Hâlbuki modern örgüt, rasyonellik temelinde bulunma iddiasındadır. Bu temel ise, hesap edilebilirliğe, tahmin edilebilirliğe, öngörüye işaret etmektedir. Kısacası rasyonellik, modern örgüt açısından, ‘yanlışlanamayan’ olgulara ve durumlara karşı mesafeli olmayı gerektiren bir vasıftır. Bu çalışmada,‘yanlışlanamayan’ muğlak bir alan olarak eğitim ve geliştirme faaliyetlerinin modern örgüt içindeki çelişkili durumu tartışılmakta ve bu muğlaklığı aşmaya yönelik girişimlerden birisi olan Kirkpatrick modeli yanlışlanabilirlik kavramı ekseninde ele alınmaktadır. Sonuç olarak modern örgütte eğitim geliştirmenin değerlendirme aşamasının taşıdığı muğlaklık için Kirkpatrick modelinin uygulanabileceği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
SOSYAL MEDYA TROLLERİNİN MOTİVASYONU VE TROLLEME ÇEŞİTLERİ ÜZERİNE BİR İNCELEME
Authors: KAYADUMAN Abdurrahman Cihad
Published: November 2020

Sosyal medya üzerinden kurulan iletişimi aksatan trolleme eylemleri hakkında yapılan bilimsel araştırmaların artmasıyla beraber bu eylemin kökleri açığa çıkartılabilmektedir. Trolleme yapmaya yönelen kullanıcılarının bunu neden yaptığı, başarılı olması halinde beklenilen tatminin neler olabileceği gibi soruların cevapları farklı bilimsel disiplinler arasında araştırılmaktadır. Araştırmaların ulaştıkları cevaplar bir araya getirildiğinde trolleme eylemi ve çeşitlerinin anlaşılması ve etkisizleştirilmesi daha mümkün olmaktadır. Bu çalışmada amaçlanan ise bu araştırmalara bütüncül bir bakış açısı sağlayabilmektir. Bir trolün başarısız olması trollenmenin fark edilmesine bağlıdır. Trollendiğini anlayan kişi bu eylemi sonlandırmak için yapması gereken en basit adımı atacak ve trolleme saldırısından kurtulacaktır. Bu basit adım ise “trolleri besleme!” sloganı ile ifade edilen şey yani sessiz kalmak, cevap vermemektir. “Trolleri besleme!” sloganının çalışabilmesi trolü teşhis edebilme şartına bağlıdır. Bu çalışmada trolleme eyleminin çeşitleri ve motivasyon kaynakları ortaya konulmak istenmektedir. Trolleme çeşitleri sıralanarak bunlar hakkında bilgiler verilmiş ve Türkiye’den bazı trollemelerle örneklendirilerek daha iyi anlaşılması amaçlanmıştır.
Feasible and Experimental Study on Partial Replacement of
Fine Aggregate using Construction Debris
Authors: S Arivalagan. , K S A Dinesh Kumar , R Sudhakar
Published: November 2020

Concrete is the most widely used construction material today. The constituents of
concrete are coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water. Concrete plays a
major role in the construction industry and a large quantum of concrete is being utilized. River
sand, which isone of the constituent used in the production of conventional concrete, has
become expensive and also a scarce material. In view of this,the utilization of demolished
aggregate which isa waste material has been accepted as building material in many countries
for the past three decades. The demand of natural sand in the construction industry has
increased a lot resulting in the reduction of sources and an increase in price. Thus an increased
need to identify a suitable alternative material from industrial waste in place of river sand, that
is eco-friendly and inexpensive construction debris i.e fresh concrete being extensively used as
an alternative to the sand in the production of concrete. There is an increase in need to find
new alternative materials to replace river sand so that excess river erosion is prevented and
high strength concrete is obtained at lower cost. One such material is building construction
debris: a by-product obtained during construction and demolition waste. An experimental
investigation is carried out on M 25 concrete containing debris during construction in the
different range of 20%, 30% & 40% by weight of sand. Material was produced, tested and
compared with conventional concrete in terms of workability and strength. These tests were
carried out on standard cube of 150×150×150 mm and beam of 700×150×150 mm for 28 days
to determine the mechanical properties of concrete.
8-Anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) as a probe for
Poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) swelling
Authors: Shaik Janbee , Kumar Anitha C
Published: November 2020

Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a hydrophilic polymer developed for biomedical
applications. Swelling properties of PVA gels is very important for its drug delivery
applications. There are many ways to study the swelling behaviour. Here we are proposing a
fluorescent study by using 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) as an extrinsic fluorescent
probe. When ANS incorporated PVA films are allowed to swell in water, there is a loss of
fluorescence intensity at 453 nm and there is a new peak at 500 nm. Thus, ANS is proposed
as a fluorescent probe for the sensing of hydration of PVA.
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Risk of Subsequently Engaging in Self-Harm and Violence Towards Other People – ‘Dual Harm’
Authors: Carr Matthew J. , Steeg Sarah , Mok Pearl L. H. , Bøcker Pedersen Carsten , Antonsen Sussie , Kapur Nav , Webb Roger
Published: November 2020

The etiology of ‘dual harm’ (the co-occurrence of self-harm and externalized violence in the same individual) is under-researched. Risk factors have mostly been investigated for each behavior separately. We aimed to examine adversities experienced between birth and age 15 years among adolescents and young adults with histories of self-harm and violent criminality, with a specific focus on dual harm. Three nested case-control studies were delineated using national interlinked Danish registers; 58,409 cases in total aged 15-35 were identified: 28,956 with a history of violent criminality (but not self-harm), 25,826 with a history of self-harm (but not violent criminality), and 3987 with dual harm history. Each case was matched by date of birth and gender to 20 controls who had not engaged in either behavior. We estimated exposure prevalence for cases vs. controls for each of the three behavior groups, and incidence rate ratios (IRRs). Experiencing 5 or more childhood adversities was more prevalent among individuals with dual harm history (19.3%; 95% CI 18.0, 20.8%) versus self-harm (10.9%; 10.5, 11.3%) and violence (11.4%; 11.0%, 11.8%) histories. The highest IRRs for dual harm were linked with parental unemployment (5.15; 95% CI 4.71, 5.64), parental hospitalization following self-harm (4.91; 4.40, 5.48) or assault (5.90; 5.07, 6.86), and parental violent criminality (6.11; 5.57, 6.70). Growing up in environments that are characterized by poverty, violence and substance misuse, and experiencing multiple adversities in childhood, appear to be especially strongly linked with elevated dual harm risk. These novel findings indicate potential etiologic pathways to dual harm.
Thermal Uncertainty Relations and LMC Structural Quantifiers
Authors: Hernando de Castro Alberto , Pennini Flavia , Plastino Angelo , Plastino Angel Ricardo
Published: November 2020

In this paper we establish information theoretical bridges between 1) Thermal Heisenberg uncertainties $\Delta x \Delta p$ (at temperature $T$), and 2) LMC structural quantifiers. After having achieved such purpose, we determine to what an extent our bridges can be extended to both the semi classical and classical realms. Also, we find a strict bound relating a special LMC structural quantifier to quantum uncertainties.
MCRA: Multicost Rerouting Algorithm in SDN
Authors: Qin Kuangyu , Fu Bin , Chen Peng , Huang Jianhua ,   School of Computer Science and Information Security, Guilin University of Electronic Technology No.1 Jinji Road, Guilin, Guangxi 541004, China,   Department of Computer Science, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, Texas, USA,   Network and Information Technology Center, Guilin University of Electronic Technology No.1 Jinji Road, Guilin, Guangxi 541004, China
Published: November 2020

A software-defined network (SDN) partitions a network into a control plane and data plane. Utilizing centralized control, an SDN can accurately control the routing of data flow. In the network, links have various costs, such as bandwidth, delay, and hops. However, it is difficult to obtain a multicost optimization path. If online rerouting can be realized under multiple cost, then network performance can be improved. This paper proposes a multicost rerouting algorithm for elephant flow, as the latter is the main factor affecting network traffic. By performing path trimming, the algorithm can obtain the approximate optimal solution of (1+e) in polynomial time. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm yields good performance.
Two-Channel Feature Extraction Convolutional Neural Network for Facial Expression Recognition
Authors: Liu Chang ,   School of Automation, Beijing Institute of Technology No.5 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing 10081, China, Hirota Kaoru , Wang Bo , Dai Yaping , Jia Zhiyang
Published: November 2020

An emotion recognition framework based on a two-channel convolutional neural network (CNN) is proposed to detect the affective state of humans through facial expressions. The framework consists of three parts, i.e., the frontal face detection module, the feature extraction module, and the classification module. The feature extraction module contains two channels: one is for raw face images and the other is for texture feature images. The local binary pattern (LBP) images are utilized for texture feature extraction to enrich facial features and improve the network performance. The attention mechanism is adopted in both CNN feature extraction channels to highlight the features that are related to facial expressions. Moreover, arcface loss function is integrated into the proposed network to increase the inter-class distance and decrease the inner-class distance of facial features. The experiments conducted on the two public databases, FER2013 and CK+, demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the previous methods, with the accuracies of 72.56% and 94.24%, respectively. The improvement in emotion recognition accuracy makes our approach applicable to service robots.
ETHNO MEDICINAL SURVEY AND EVALUATION OF TWO RECIPES USED IN MANAGING SICKLE CELL DISEASE IN ILE-IFE COMMUNITY OF OSUN-STATE, NIGERIA
Authors: Cyril-Olutayo Mojisola Christianah , Ajayi Dorcas O. , Odunowo Olayinka O
Published: November 2020

Background: Ethno-medicinal survey of herbal recipes used in managing sickle cell disease in Ile-Ife, Osun-State, Nigeria was carried out and two recipes selected for antisickling studies. Materials and Methods: Information was obtained using semi-structured questionnaires and open interview from respondents consisting of herb sellers, traditional medical practitioners, artisans and traders in two local government areas of Ife. Two recipes from the survey were selected for antisickling studies. Aqueous extract of each recipe was obtained by boiling the constituents in water for 1 h while the hydro ethanolic extracts were obtained by maceration in 70% ethanol for 72 h. Inhibitory and reversal antisickling properties were assessed using sodium metabisulphite as deoxygenating agent, vanillic acid (inhibitory agent), para-hydroxybenzoic (reversal agent) acid as positive controls while phosphate buffered saline was employed as negative control. Results: Fifty four recipes comprising forty six plants were obtained from the ethno-medicinal survey. The respondents comprised of 44% men and 56% women. The most frequently and commonly used plants belong to family Fabaceae. The inhibitory and reversal activities of the aqueous extract of recipe 1 (81.37± 1.09%, 88.56 ±1.38% respectively) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than recipe 2 (78.51 ± 0.78% inhibition and 79.8 ± 2.16% reversal) at same concentration. The hydro-alcoholic extracts of recipes 1 and 2 gave highest inhibitory activities at 0.5 mg/mL (69.25 ±1.30% and 68.28 ±2.78% respectively). Conclusion: This study documented the medicinal plants and recipes used in Ile-Ife for managing sickle cell disease, and validated the ethno-medicinal claim of two recipes.
STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY-RELATIONSHIP OF THE POLYPHENOLS INHIBITION OF α-AMYLASE AND α-GLUCOSIDASE
Authors: Bamigboye Taiwo Josiah , Idowu Olawuni Julius , Olujide Olubiyi Oludayo , Fanie Van Heerden Retif
Published: November 2020

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a serious public health challenge, projected by WHO to be one of the 7 leading cause of death by 2030. Medicinal plants have been demonstrated to be useful in DM local management because of polyphenols present in these plants. For an alternative treatment approach especially with polyphenols-rich herbs, knowledge of comparative efficacy of the polyphenols will lead to enhanced therapy especially in postprandial hyperglyceamic control. Materials and Methods: Vegetative parts of Anacardium occidentale, Abelmoschus ecsulentus and Ceiba pentandra, prominent in the local management of DM were identified, collected and subjected to alcoholic extraction. From the crude extracts were isolated agathisflavone, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-diglycoside, mangiferin, isomangiferin and pentagalloyl glucose, belonging to flavonoid, xanthones and tannins structural classes. These polyphenols were evaluated for their potentials to inhibit both α-glucosidase and α-amylase. Physicochemical parameters of the polyphenols were evaluated and molecular docking experiments were carried out to gain insight into the observed inhibitory activity. Results: quercetin 3-O-glucosidewas the most potent of the polyphenols against the two enzymes. Increase in the number of phenolic hydroxyl group did not increase the inhibitory activity and neither computation of the binding energies with the enzymes nor physicochemical parameters of the polyphenols could explain the observed inhibitory activity against the enzymes, across the structural classes. Thus, only the bioassay against the enzymes α-glucosidase and α-amylase correlated well with the use of the plants in treating diabetic mellitus Conclusion: Medicinal plants rich in quercetin 3-O-glycoside may have better treatment outcomes in postprandial hyperglycaemia control.
The Feudal rule of Mutawila of Jabal Amel under the Ottoman era 1804-1830 A.D
Authors: ABU NAHEL Osama
Published: November 2020

This study deals with the feudal rule of al-Mutawila, a Shiite sect settled in the South of Lebanon, in Jabal Amel under the Ottoman era during the period (1804–1830). Despite the abundance of a great many references on the political and feudal history of Levant under the Ottoman regime, there still remains a large number of issues which have not been tackled by historians. Of these is the history of the Shiite al-Mutawila in Jabal Amel which was eschewed by both Lebanese and non-Lebanese historians in what seems to be a deliberate attempt to ignore historicizing that crucial era in the history of that region of the Muslim World.
The present study is simply a humble effort I have exerted seeking to reevaluate that Muslim sect, in which I stood detached, impartial and free of any inclinations or prejudices and was urged by a wish that such an effort will ultimately be beneficial to bridging any gaps among the great two Islamic sects; the Sunnis and the Shiites.
Adolescent Birth Rates and Rural–Urban Differences by Levels of Deprivation and Health Professional Shortage Areas in the United States, 2017–2018
Authors: Orimaye Sylvester O. , Hale Nathan , Leinaar Edward , Smith Michael G. , Khoury Amal
Published: November 2020

Objectives. To examine the differences in adolescent birth rates by deprivation and Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in rural and urban counties of the United States in 2017 and 2018.

Methods. We analyzed available data on birth rates for females aged 15 to 19 years in the United States using the restricted-use natality files from the National Center for Health Statistics, American Community Survey 5-year population estimates, and the Area Health Resources Files.

Results. Rural counties had an additional 7.8 births per 1000 females aged 15 to 19 years (b = 7.84; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.13, 8.55) compared with urban counties. Counties with the highest deprivation had an additional 23.1 births per 1000 females aged 15 to 19 years (b = 23.12; 95% CI = 22.30, 23.93), compared with less deprived counties. Rural counties with whole shortage designation had an additional 8.3 births per 1000 females aged 15 to 19 years (b = 8.27; 95% CI = 6.86, 9.67) compared with their urban counterparts.

Conclusions. Rural communities across deprivation and HPSA categories showed disproportionately high adolescent birth rates. Future research should examine the extent to which contraceptive access differs among deprived and HPSA-designated rural communities and the impact of policies that may create barriers for rural communities.
Patient and health system factors associated with pretreatment loss to follow up among patients diagnosed with tuberculosis using Xpert® MTB/RIF testing in Uganda
Authors: Zawedde-Muyanja Stella , Katamba Achilles , Cattamanchi Adithya , Castelnuovo Barbara , Manabe Yukari C
Published: November 2020

Background: In 2018, Uganda started only 65% of persons with incident tuberculosis on treatment. Pretreatment loss to follow up is an important contributor to suboptimal treatment coverage. We aimed to describe the patient and health facility-level characteristics associated with pretreatment loss to follow up among patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis at public health facilities in Uganda. Methods: At ten public health facilities, laboratory register data was used to identify patients aged 15 years who had a positive Xpert®MTB/RIF test. Initiation on TB treatment was ascertained using the clinical register. Factors associated with not being initiated on TB treatment within two weeks of diagnosis were examined using a multilevel logistic regression model accounting for clustering by health facility. Results:From January to June 2018, 510 patients (61.2% male and 31.5% HIV co-infected) were diagnosed with tuberculosis. One hundred (19.6%) were not initiated on TB treatment within two weeks of diagnosis. Not having a phone number recorded in the clinic registers (aOR 7.93, 95%CI 3.93-13.05); being HIV-infected (aOR 1.83; 95% CI: 1.09-3.26) and receiving care from a high volume health facility performing more than 12 Xpert tests per day (aOR 4.37, 95%CI 1.69-11.29) and were significantly associated with pretreatment loss to follow up. Conclusion: In public health facilities in Uganda, we found a high rate of pretreatment loss to follow up especially among TBHIV co-infected patients diagnosed at high volume health facilities. Interventions to improve the efficiency of Xpert® MTB/RIF testing, including monitoring of the TB care cascade should be developed and implemented.
Behavioral Profile, Lifestyle and Social Skills in Portuguese Adolescents
Authors: Magalhães Clarisse , Ribeiro Maria de Fátima , Esteves Maria Raquel , Aires Luísa , Lima Sara , Silva Gustavo , Nogueira Assunção , Herdeiro Maria Teresa , Pedras Susana
Published: November 2020

Background: Seventy percent of premature deaths in adults are due to behaviors initiated during adolescence. Therefore, it is essential to promote individual and social behaviors that educate adolescents in the ability to make healthy choices. Accordingly, the main goals of this study were to characterize Lifestyles and Social Skills, as well as identify homogeneous subgroups, in a sample of Portuguese adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, including 1008 adolescents attending the 7th to the 9th grades of five middle schools from the Tâmega and Sousa regions of Portugal, and using the My Lifestyle Questionnaire and the Social Skills Inventory. To establish a profile of the participants, a Cluster Analysis (K-means) was performed, and the Jaccard coefficient was used to assess the stability of the solution found. Results: From the total sample, 556 adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years (SD=1.1) were included in the analysis. The majority of the sample presented a healthy lifestyle (72.26%) and 50.7% of the adolescents had a highly elaborated repertoire of Social Skills. Moreover, three clusters were found. Cluster 1 (n=92) showed a less elaborate repertoire of Social Skills and was designated as the “Adjusted”. Cluster 2 (n=115) comprised adolescents with a good repertoire of Social Skills and was named the “Sociable”. Cluster 3 (n=258) was composed of adolescents with a highly elaborate repertoire of Social Skills and the best Lifestyle indicators and was named the “Healthy”. Conclusions: The group of adolescents in the cluster called the “Sociable” needs to be included in health education and Social Skills programs. Nutrition and Monitored Safety behaviors reveal low values and, therefore, present a greater need for awareness, sensitization, and intervention in the school context. For this reason, the promotion of a healthy lifestyle should be part of the academic curriculum and transversal to all academic disciplines.
Composition of Weighted Finite Transducers in MapReduce
Authors: Elghadyry Bilal , Ouardi Faissal , Verel Sébastien
Published: November 2020

Weighted finite-state transducers have been shown to be a general and efficient representation in many applications such as text and speech processing, computational biology, and machine learning. The composition of weighted finite-state transducers constitutes a fundamental and common operation between these applications. The NP-hardness of the composition computation problem presents a challenge that leads us to devise efficient algorithms on a large scale when considering more than two transducers. This paper describes a parallel computation of weighted finite transducers composition in MapReduce framework. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to tackle this task using MapReduce methods. First, we analyze the communication cost of this problem using Afrati et al. model. Then, we propose three MapReduce methods based respectively on input alphabet mapping, state mapping, and hybrid mapping. Finally, intensive experiments on a wide range of weighted finite-state transducers are conducted to compare the proposed methods and show their efficiency for large-scale data.
Symbiosis of the Millipede Parasitic Nematodes Rhigonematoidea and Thelastomatoidea with Evolutionary Different Origins
Authors: Nagae Seiya , Sato Kazuki , Tanabe Tsutomu , Hasegawa Koichi
Published: November 2020

BackgroundHow various host-parasite combinations have been established is an important question in evolutionary biology. We have previously described two nematode species, Rhigonema naylae and Travassosinema claudiae, which are parasites of the Xystodesmidae millipede Parafontaria laminata in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Rhigonematoidea belongs to the infraorder Rhigonematomorpha and is phylogenetically close to the Ascaridomorpha, which includes the roundworm parasite in animals. Thelastomatoidea spp. belong to the infraorder Oxyuridomorpha, which comprises a wide variety of parasites in many vertebrates and invertebrates. These nematodes were isolated together with high prevalence; however, the phylogenetic, evolutionary, and ecological relationships between these two parasitic nematodes and between host-parasites are not well known.ResultsWe collected nine species (11 isolates) of Xystodesmidae millipede from seven different locations in Japan and found that all species were co-infected with the parasitic nematodes Rhigonematoidea spp. and Thelastomatoidea spp. Rhigonematoidea spp. is exclusively a millipede parasite, and combinations of parasitic nematode groups and host genera seem to be fixed, supporting the hypothesis of their co-speciation. Intriguingly, Thelastomatoidea spp. were isolated, and the host-parasite relationship was not clarified, clearly indicating the broad host range of these nematode groups. Although the infection prevalence and population of Rhigonematoidea spp. were higher than those of Thelastomatoidea spp., these parasites were not competitive. The population of Rhigonematoidea spp. was not negatively affected by co-infection with Thelastomatoidea spp.ConclusionsPhylogenetic analysis supported our hypothesis that, during the evolution of parasitic nematode diversity in millipedes, the Rhigonematoidea spp. first established relationships with millipedes and were followed by the Thelastomatoidea spp.. The ancestor of the latter nematode might have moved from other host arthropods such as cockroaches.
Pyridostigmine Protects Against Diabetic Cardiomyopathy by Regulating Gut Microbiota and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Catabolism to Attenuate Mitochondria Dysfunction
Authors: Yang Yang , Zhao Ming , He Xi , Wu Qing , Zang Wei-Jin
Published: November 2020

Background: Recent studies have reported that disruption of gut microbes and their metabolites is associated with diabetic cardiomyopathy, but the mechanism by which gut microbes improve diabetic cardiomyopathy remains unclear. Method: Male C57BL/6J mice with high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetic cardiomyopathy were studied in comparison with control littermates. Diabetic mice were either untreated or subjected to daily intragastric of pyridostigmine. After 10 weeks of hyperglycaemia, vagus activity, cardiac function and cardiac structure were measured by heart rate variability assessment, echocardiography, and immunohistochemistry. The intestinal barrier and gut microbiota were evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization and high-throughput sequencing. Additionally, plasma and cardiac branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) distribution and cardiac BCAA catabolism were determined. The structure and respiratory function of mitochondria were measured to assess cardiac mitochondria performance. Results: Intestinal permeability and tight junctions were impaired, bacterial translocation was increased, vagal activity was decreased in mice with diabetic cardiomyopathy mice. Additionally, gut microbes in mice with diabetic cardiomyopathy were disrupted, especially key microbes related to diabetes and BCAA production. Pyridostigmine, which reversibly inhibits cholinesterase to improve autonomic imbalance, enhanced vagus nerve activity, improved insulin resistance and cardiac damage, and alleviated intestinal barrier injury and gut microbiota disruption. Specifically, pyridostigmine decreased the abundance of diabetes-non-protective microbes and increased that of diabetes-protective microbes and BCAA-producing microbes. Pyridostigmine decreased cardiac BCAA concentrations by impairing gut microbe-mediated BCAA production. Furthermore, pyridostigmine upregulated BCAT2 and PP2Cm expression and decreased P-BCKDHA/BCKDHA and BCKDK expression, thus improving cardiac BCAA catabolism. Interestingly, the mitochondrial structural and functional disruption in mice with diabetic cardiomyopathy was attenuated after pyridostigmine administration, which may indicate one of the mechanisms by which BCAAs reduce cardiac damage. Conclusions: In conclusion, intestinal barrier, gut microbiota and vagal activity were impaired in mice with diabetic cardiomyopathy. Pyridostigmine ameliorated insulin resistance and cardiomyopathy, with an effect related to regulated gut microbes and its metabolite BCAA catabolism to attenuate mitochondria dysfunction of heart. These results provide novel insights for the development of a therapeutic strategy for diabetes-induced cardiac damage that targets gut microbes and BCAA catabolism.
Early Arteriosclerosis and Its Risk Factors in Prediabetes and New-Onset Diabetes Subjects
Authors: Liu Xiaoli , Liu Lanxiang , Wang Rui , Jia Xiaojiao , Liu Binbin , Ma Ning , Lu Qiang
Published: November 2020

Background: We aimed to investigate early arteriosclerosis and its risk factors in populations with prediabetes and new-onset diabetes. Materials and Methods: A total of 148 participants without known diabetes mellitus were assigned to three groups: normal glucose tolerance (NGT); impaired glucose regulation (IGR), also known as prediabetes; and new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) through an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The insulin resistance index was assessed using the homeostasis model (HOMA-IR). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the expression level of the fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). An arteriosclerosis detector was used to measure the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and the ankle-brachial index (ABI). The baPWV, ABI and FGF21 were used to assess early arteriosclerosis. Results: Significant differences in age, systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour plasma glucose (2hPG), 2-hour insulin (2hINS) and HOMA-IR were found between the NGT group and the prediabetic and new-onset diabetic groups. All except 2hINS showed an increasing trend. The FGF21 and the baPWV increased from the NGT group to prediabetic and the new-onset diabetic group, but no significant difference was noted in the ABI. The age, SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), FPG, 2hPG and FGF21 positively correlated with the baPWV. The BMI, SBP, DBP, FPG, 2hPG and HOMA-IR positively correlated with the ABI. The age, BMI, FPG, FGF21 and HOMA-IR were independent risk factors for the baPWV, and the SBP and the HOMA-IR were independent risk factors for ABI. Conclusions: Patients with prediabetes and new-onset diabetes had more significant early arteriosclerosis. The blood glucose and insulin resistance index were independent risk factors for early arteriosclerosis.
Geodetic and Architectural Inventory of the Historic Wooden Church of St. Szczepan in Mnichów (Poland) in Terms of Safety Assessment of the Geometric Condition of the Structure.
Authors: Lipecki Tomasz
Published: November 2020

The article concerns the method of architectural inventory of the historic, wooden church in Mnichów (southern Poland), built in the 18th century. During hundreds of years of operation, structural changes can be seen in it, as well as in objects located above mining operations. The article explains the principles of inventory and describes the applied method of laser scanning, starting from the design to the creation of a 3D solid model of the object, paying particular attention to the analysis based on the created point cloud. Thanks to them, the area and volumes of all rooms were determined, the verticality of columns supporting the church levels was assessed, the floor level and verticality of walls were determined, as well as the shape and level of the roof edges. Based on the research, it can be concluded that the church, as an example of a wooden religious monument, is in good condition. The detected deformations in this range do not have a destructive effect on the current state of the object, but it should be subjected to control measurements in a cyclical manner. The laser scanning method used allowed for a wide and accurate scope of the study of the geometry of the church structure, without the need to disorganize its equipment.
HOXC6 Promotes Metastasis of MSI-H CRC via Interacting with M2 Macrophages
Authors: qi lina , zhou biting , chen jiani , xu kailun , wang kailai , zheng shu , hu wangxiong
Published: November 2020

Background: HOXC6 was the most significantly upregulated gene in right-sided colon cancer (RCC) compared to left-sided colon cancer (LCC) according to our previous study. It is known that RCC has a higher immunogenicity than LCC because much higher prevalence of MSI-H samples, however, the role of HOXC6 acted in MSI-H tumors remains poorly understood. Methods: Expression datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus databases were used to analyze the differential expression and prognostic role of HOXC6 in CRC. ELISA and qRT-PCR were performed to examine the association of HOXC6 and CCL2. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were performed to evaluate the correlation of HOXC6 and M2 macrophage infiltration. CCK8 and Transwell were used to evaluate the proliferation and migration of tumor cells in vitro.Results: HOXC6 was overexpressed in MSI-H CRC and associated with poor prognosis. Upregulation of CCL2 by HOXC6 could attract more M2 macrophage infiltration. IL6 secreted by M2 macrophages could induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of tumor cells by upregulating HOXC6. Overexpression of HOXC6 promoted the migration and invasion of CRC cells in vitro. Finally, inhibition of IL6/JAK pathway using ruxolitinib downregulated HOXC6 and suppressed invasion of HCT116 cells.Conclusion: Our study revealed that overexpression of HOXC6 attracted more M2 macrophage infiltration and the positive crosstalk between M2 macrophages and HOXC6-highly expressed tumor led to EMT and enhanced the migration ability of CRC, which offered a promising therapic target for treatment of MSI-H CRC.
Activation of EGFR-Aurora A Induces Loss of Primary Cilia in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Yin Fengying , Chen Qian , Shi Yujie , Xu Hao , Huang Jie , Zhong Liang , Qing Maofeng , Li Jing , Xie Liang , Zeng Xin
Published: November 2020

BackgroundPrimary cilia are evolutionally conserved organelles involving multiple cell functions. Loss of primary cilia is frequently observed in various cancers, suggesting that the absence of them may promote tumorigenesis. However, little is known about the role of primary cilia in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).MethodsImmunofluosense staining was applied to detect the incidence of primary cilia in normal, oral leukoplakia (OLK) and OSCC tissues. Differentially expressed ciliary genes of OSCC were screened from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and interested genes were identified by referring to Pubmed literature. Immunohistochemical analysis was used for validating the correlation between the cilia ratio and the protein expression levels, and their regulatory effect on primary cilia was further proved in vitro and in vivo.ResultsA significant decrease in the percentage of ciliated cells was found in OLK, especially in OSCC tissues. Multiple ciliary genes were abnormally expressed in OSCC and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-Aurora A signaling was chosen for further study. A parallel increase of EGFR-Aurora A activity was observed in OLK and OSCC tissues. Moreover, EGFR activation induced obvious cilia absorption by phosphorylating Aurora A, whereas inhibition of EGFR-Aurora A activity significantly restored cilia formation. Besides, Aurora A silencing significantly restored ciliary expression and decreased tumor growth in vivo. Conclusions﻿The abnormal activation of EGFR-Aurora A signaling leads to the gradual loss of primary cilia in oral mucosa carcinogenesis. Primary cilia have the potential to be new biomarkers and therapeutic targets of oral mucosa carcinogenesis.
Genomic Alterations Characterization in Colorectal Cancer Identifies a Prognostic and Metastasis Biomarker: FAM83A|IDO1
Authors: liu zaoqu , zhang yuyuan , dang qin , wu kunpeng , Jiao Dechao , li zhen , Sun Zhenqiang , han xinwei
Published: November 2020

BackgroundGenomic alterations constitute crucial elements of colorectal cancer (CRC). Accumulating evidences have elucidated their clinical significance in predicting outcomes and therapeutic efficacy. However, a comprehensive understanding of CRC genomic alterations from a global perspective is lacking. MethodsA total of 2778 patients in 15 public datasets were enrolled. Tissues and clinical information of 30 patients were also collected. Consensus clustering was performed for samples classification based on mutation signatures.ResultsWe identified two distinct mutation signature clusters (MSC) featured by massive mutations and dominant somatic copy number alterations (SCNA) respectively. MSC-1 was associated with defective DNA mismatch repair, exhibiting more frequent mutations such as ATM, BRAF, and SMAD4. The mutational co-occurrences of BRAF-HMCN and DNAH17-MDN1 as well as the methylation silence event of MLH-1 were only found in MSC-1. MSC-2 was linked to the carcinogenic process of age and tobacco chewing habit, exhibiting dominant SCNA such as MYC (8q24.21) and PTEN (10q23.31) deletion as well as CCND3 (6p21.1) and ERBB2 (17q12) amplification. MSC-1 displayed higher immunogenicity and immune infiltration. MSC-2 had better prognosis and significant stromal activation. Based on the two subtypes, we identified and validated the expression relationship of FAM83A and IDO1 as a robust biomarker for prognosis and distant metastasis of CRC in 15 independent cohorts and qRT-PCR assay. Conclusions﻿We identified two subtypes with heterogeneous molecular alterations and functional status, which might advance precise treatment and clinical management in CRC. A robust biomarker for predicting prognosis and distant metastasis of CRC was identified and validated.
c-Jun Transcriptional Regulates NPRL2 to Promote the Proliferation Activity of Prostate Cancer Cells via AKT/MDM2/p53 Signaling Pathway
Authors: Hu Daixing , Jiang Li , Luo Shengjun , Zhao Xin , Zhao Guozhi , Du Xiaoyi , Tang Yu , Tang Wei
Published: November 2020

BackgroundHigh NPRL2 (Nitrogen permease regulator-like 2) expression is a prognostic marker for poor clinical outcomes in prostate cancer (PCa). However, the regulatory mechanisms of NPRL2 in PCa remain unknown.MethodsThe expression level of NPRL2 in prostate cancer tissues were verified through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The effect of NPRL2 gene in promoting the proliferation of prostate cancer was determined by CCK8 and clone formation assays. The apoptosis rate and cell cycle analysis were tested by ﬂow cytometry. Luciferase reporter gene and ChIP were used to verify the binding relationship between transcription factor c-Jun and the NPRL2 5’ region. The effect of NPRL2 and the MK2206 on the AKT/MDM2/p53 signaling pathway was verified by western blotting.ResultsNPRL2 expression level was significantly increased in prostate cancer tissues than normal tissues base on TCGA and GEO database. We investigated that transcription factor c-Jun can bind to the NPRL2 promoter and regulated NPRL2 transcription directly. Then, we revealed that NPRL2 significantly promotes proliferation and reduces apoptosis in PCa cells. Further mechanistic investigations revealed that NPRL2 mediated proliferation promotion effect is associated with the AKT/MDM2/p53 pathway's participation. Besides, CDK2 might serve as an intermediate effector for NPRL2 to regulate the AKT pathway. ConclusionTaken together, our study identiﬁed that c-Jun contributes to transcriptional control of NPRL2 and NPRL2 can promote prostate cancer proliferation by activating AKT/MDM2/p53 signaling.
Use of Sacubitril/Valsartan in a Chronic Heart Failure Patient with Reduced Ejection Fraction Accompany Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Myocardial Indensification: A Case Report
Authors: Dai Hengfen , Zhang Yan , Xiao Jingwen
Published: November 2020

Rationale: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a progressive cardiac disease characterized by ventricular dilation and contractile dysfunction and is the third most common cause of heart failure and the most common cause of heart transplantation. Heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) often coexist and share a mutually beneficial relationship. The presence of atrial fibrillation increases the tendency for heart failure, which can worsen its severity and increase the risk of stroke. DCM、AF and HF are causal to each other in pathophysiological view. However, how these pathogens translates upon acute decompensation heart failure(ADHF) is unknown. Control acute attack of chronic heart failure is the first step of treatment.Case summary: Herein, we described a 68-year-old man with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) with severe DCM and atrial fibrillation who was treated with Sacubitril/Valsartan and had a reduced ejection fraction. The patient’s echocardiography features had a significant improvement under taking Sacubitril/Valsartan. Sacubitril/Valsartan may act as an intermediary that balancing of the good and the bad neuroendocrine response.Discussion: DCM is a major cardiomyopathy and a major cause of heart transplantation. DCM’s clinical prognosis is poor, additionally, along with myocardial indensification, early diagnosis and treatment is helpful to prolong the patients' life. The emergence of Sacubitril/Valsartan represents the advent of a new strategy for treating HFrEF. Its beneficial effects are related in part, at least, to an improvement of echocardiographic features and positive modulation of the neuroendocrine response to HF.
Highly Stable Organic Photothermal Agent Based on Near-Infrared-II Fluorophores for Tumor Treatment
Authors: Xu Yunjian , Wang Shiqi , Chen Zhenjiang , Hu Rui , Li Shaoqiang , Zhao Yihua , Liu Liwei , Qu Junle
Published: November 2020

Background: To develop highly stable near-infrared (NIR) photo-induced tumor therapy agent has obtained considerable role for biological application. With longer wavelength, biological imaging exhibits high signal-to-background ratio, deep tissue penetration and maximum permissible light power, and photoinduced tumor therapy can reduce damage minimization to organism.Results: A class of stable NIR-II fluorophores (NIR998, NIR1028, NIR980, NIR1030 and NIR1028-S) based on aza-BODIPY dyes with donor-acceptor-donor structures have been rationally designed and synthesized via utilizing steric relaxation effect and intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer (IPET). These fluorophores exhibit superior stability against photobleaching, NIR-II emission, large Stokes shift (≥ 100 nm) and excellent photothermal conversion performance. Among them, NIR998 with better near-infrared-II emission and higher temperature increase was utilized to prepare NIR998 nanoparticles (NIR998 NPs) by lipidosome encapsulation. NIR998 NPs show super stability in the presence of light, heat, reactive oxygen nitrogen species than that of ICG NPs, as well as high photothermal conversion ability (η = 50.5%). Finally, under the guidance of photothermal imaging, NIR998 NPs with negligible cytotoxicity have effectively eliminated tumors by their excellent photothermal conversion performance.Conclusions: Utilizing IPET and steric relaxation effect can effectively fulfill NIR-II emission of aza-BODIPY dyes and super stable NIR998 NPs with excellent photothermal conversion performance and negligible dark cytotoxicity can act as potential photothermal agents for biological applications.
A Novel Self-Assembled Epitope Peptide Nanoemulsion Vaccine with Targeting the Nasal Mucosal Epithelial Cell for Reinvigorating CD8+ T cell Immune Activity and Inhibiting Tumor Progression
Authors: Sun Hongwu , Yang Yun , Ge Shuang , Song Zhen , Zhao Anni , Zhao Liqun , Hu Zhiming , Cai DingYi , Zhang Zelong , Peng Liusheng , Lu Dongshui , Luo Ping , Zhang Weijun , Zou Quanming , Zeng Hao
Published: November 2020

Synthetic epitope peptide are not suitable for nasal administration due to its weak immunogenic and low delivery efficiency. In this work, we developed a intranasal epitope nanovaccine (I-OVA NE) which can prolong mucosal retention and enhance CTL activity induced by epitopes. I-OVA NE was a nanoemulsion system that assembled with IKVAV-OVA257-264(I-OVA) conjugated peptides.This nanovaccine with I-OVA at a concentration of 4 mg/mL showed the average particle size of 30.37±2.49 nm, zeta potential of -16.67±1.76 mV, and encapsulation rate of 84.07±7.59%. I-OVA NE particles exhibit smooth and spherical surfaces, good dispersibility and no obvious aggregation. Moreover, the physicochemical characteristics (size, PdI and zeta potential) of this vaccine did not significantly change in the condition of mucin exist. I-OVA NE had no significant cytotoxic effects on BEAS-2B cells, and no obvious acute pathological changes were observed on nasal mucosa or lung tissue in the mice after nasal immunization. We found that I-OVA NE prolonged the nasal residence time, promoted the cellular uptake of the epitope peptide and improved the antigen uptake efficiency of BEAS-2B cells, but this effect was significantly decreased after integrin blockade. Importantly, the level of Th1 cytokines and the proportion of epitope-specific CD8+ T cells increased significantly, and thus I-OVA NE protected E.G7/OVA tumor-bearing mice by suppressing tumour growth and provoking anti-tumour immune activation. Overall, these data indicate that I-OVA NE can be an applicable strategy for tumor vaccine design.
WITHDRAWN: Diagnosis of Chronic Prostatitis by Noninvasive Methods in Elderly Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in China
Authors: Cao Qifeng , Wu Yu , Guan Wenbin , Zhu Yunkai , Qi Jun , Xu Ding
Published: November 2020

Background: Chronic prostatitis is hard to be identified in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients in clinical works. This study aimed to diagnose chronic prostatitis in BPH patients by noninvasive methods.Methods: The research was carried out on the BPH patients who received transurethral resection of prostate at Xinhua hospital from January 2014 to Jul 2015. Before operation, patients were asked for medical history and required to receive physical examination, serum sample collection including PSA, sex hormones, inflammatory cytokines, metabolic panel and transrectal ultrasonography. According to histological results, the patients were divided into 2 group of BPH with/without prostatitis. Logistic regression was used to find the risk factors of chronic prostatitis.Results: As a result, 181 men with an average age of 72.15±8.41 years were enrolled in this study, including 116 patients with prostatitis and 65 patients without prostatitis. The storage sub-score (9.24±1.55 vs 8.52±1.63, p=0.009), PSA (8.23±7.69 vs 4.92±3.84, p=0.005) and IL-2R (531.96±200.75 vs 434.11±153.54, p=0.001) were significantly higher in patients with prostatitis than those without prostatitis. Based on logistic regression analysis, the above three parameters were also the risk factors of BPH with prostatitis. The diagnostic model was calculated as: 0.317* storage sub-score+0.092* PSA+0.003* IL-2R-4.296. The AUC was 0.725. Conclusions: Histological prostatitis in BPH patients can be diagnosed by the combination of serum IL-2R, PSA and storage sub-score. Identification of chronic prostatitis among patients with BPH is beneficial for medical decisions, which can more efficiently alleviate urinary symptoms and reduce the risk of disease progression.