bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
QTL analysis based on a long-grain CSSL-Z1392 and SSSLs and fine mapping of qGL6
Authors: Zhao Fangming , Zhang Ting , Wang Shiming , Sun Shuangfei , Zhang Yi , Li Juan , You Jing , Su Tian , Chen Wenbo , Ling Yinghua , He Guanghua
Published: January 2020

Background: Grain shape affects not only rice yield but is also an important element in quality of appearance. However, the mechanism for inheritance of grain shape is unclear.
Results: A rice chromosome segment substitution line Z1392, which harbors three substitution segments and produces grains of increased length, was identified. The three chromosome segments were located on chromosomes 1, 5, and 6, and the average length of the substitution segment was 4.29 Mb. Cytological analysis indicates that the predominant cause of increased grain length in Z1392 could be cell expansion in the glumes. 18 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for important agronomic traits were identified. The inheritance of grain length in Z1392 was controlled by two major QTLs, qGL-5 and qGL-6 . Finally, the qGL-6 was narrowed to a 1.26 Mb region on chromosome 6, and OsARF19 may be the candidate gene of qGL-6 . Based on QTL mapping, three single-segment substitution lines (S1, S2, and S3) and two double-segment substitution lines (D1 and D2) were selected, and the mapping accuracy for qGL-5 and qGL-6 was further verified using the three single-segment substitution lines. Analysis of QTL additive and epistatic effects revealed that the additive effect of alleles qGL5 and qGL6 from ‘Xihui 18’ was estimated to increase grain length of Z1392 by 0.22 and 0.15 mm, respectively. In addition, a positive epistatic interaction between qGL-5 and qGL-6 was detected, which indicates that the pyramiding of qGL-5 and qGL-6 for grain length produces a novel genotype with longer grains.
Conclusions: Inheritance of grain length in the triple-segment substitution line Z1392 is controlled by two major QTLs, qGL-5 and qGL-6 , qGL-6 was narrowed to a 1.26 Mb region on chromosome 6, OsARF19 may be the candidate gene of qGL-6 . And a positive epistatic interaction between qGL-5 and qGL-6 results in longer grains. The present results could be used to facilitate cloning of the qGL-5 and qGL-6 genes and contribute to improvement in grain yield in rice.
Isolation and characterization of Escherichia coli phage and enhance its bactericidal activity that collaborative with kanamycin sulfate
Authors: Jiang Liming , Zheng Rui
Published: January 2020

Background: Escherichia coli is the most important and widespread bacteria in worldwide, which mainly found in contaminated food, human and animal faeces. Unfortunately, Some of E. coli strains are multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogen leading significant public health concern globally. Biofilm is a multicellular community of microorganisms. Phages and their derivatives are ideal candidates for replacing or compensating for antibiotic problems in the future. Method: Here, we aimed to isolation and characterization of Escherichia coli phage and research its bactericidal activity that individually or collaborative with kanamycin sulfateResults: In this study, three virulent phages Flora, T4 and WJ were isolated from the laboratory and drug sample in Wuxi, China. It’s belonged to the Myoviridae family and optimum temperature is 42 ℃, optimum pH= 7, optimum MOI is 0.0001 and the genome size of Flora, T4 and WJ were 168, 909, 168903 and 168, 900 bp respectively. Flora has two exonuclease, whereas T4 and WJ have only one. Antibiotics have better bactericidal activity than phages in a low concentration medium of bacteria, nonetheless, phages have better bactericidal activity than antibiotics in a high concentration of bacteria, and that, collaboration of phages and antibiotics have better bactericidal activity effect than alone of phages or antibiotics in a low concentration medium of bacteria. Conclusion: The excellent performance of phage Flora for its therapeutic potential on clinic. The data of this study provided the strong evidence that the application of phage could reduce the growth and biofilm of E. coli that are important to maintain public health. Keywords: Escherichia coli, phage, lytic spectrum, biofilm, antibiotic
Sarsasapogenin ameliorates diabetes-associated memory impairment and neuroinflammation through inhibiting thrombin/PAR-1 pathway
Authors: Kong Li , Liu Yue , Zhang Yu-Meng , Li Yu , Tang Zhuang-Zhuang , Zhu Xia , Ma Teng-Fei , Liu Yao-Wu
Published: January 2020

Background: Sarsasapogenin (Sar), a natural steroidal compound, shows neuroprotective, promoting cognition, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombosis effects, etc. However, whether Sar can ameliorate diabetes-associated cognitive impairment and whether it is related to the anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombosis effects of Sar, it remains unknown. Methods: Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were treated orally with Sar (20 and 60 mg/kg), and normal rats was orally administrated of Sar (60 mg/kg). Cognitive tests were performed using Morris water maze. Nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat containing protein 1 (NLRP1) inflammasome (NLRP1, cleaved caspase 1, IL-1β, and IL-18), as well as thrombin and its receptor protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1) pathway and advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and its receptor RAGE axis were examined in the brain of diabetic rats. Meanwhile high glucose-cultured human SH-SY5Y cells were used to further investigate the effects of Sar (0.2, 1, 5 μM) on central neurons and deeply explore the mechanism. Results: Sar markedly increased numbers of crossing platform and percentage of time spent in the target quadrant in Morris water maze tests in diabetic rats, accompanied by inhibitions of NLRP1 inflammasome, PAR-1 upregulation, and AGEs/RAGE axis in cerebral cortex. Moreover, Sar mitigated neuronal damages, NLRP1 inflammasome activation, and PAR-1 upregulation in high glucose-cultured SH-SY5Y cells, and the effects were similar to those of the PAR-1 inhibition with a selective PAR-1 antagonist vorapaxar. But Sar also did not affect thrombin activity in the brain of diabetic rats and high glucose-cultured SH-SY5Y cells. Further studies indicated that the key molecules of NLRP1 inflammasome and the phosphorylated NF-kappaB p65 were remarkably decreased in SH-SY5Y cells cultured with high glucose after PAR-1 knockdown by using F2R (the gene symbol of PAR-1) shRNA, and these effects were confirmed by using Sar addition in such condition. Conclusions: These findings demonstrated that Sar could improve memory impairment caused by diabetes, which was achieved through suppressing neuroinflammation from the activated NLRP1 inflammasome and NF-kappaB mediated by thrombin/PAR-1 activation in brain. Moreover, Sar was proved to be a pleiotropic neuroprotective agent and memory enhancer.
Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Myocardial Infarction-A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Fu Wenning , Zou Li , Xu Hongbin , Zeng Xiantao , Yan Shijiao , Zhang Zeyu , Lu Zuxun , Cao Shiyi , Mao Jing
Published: January 2020

Background and Objective: An increasing amount of epidemiological original studies suggested that long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) could be associated with the risk of myocardial infarction(MI), but the results were inconsistent. We aimed to synthesized available cohort studies to identify the association between ambient air pollution (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) and MI risk by a meta-analysis. Methods: PubMed and Embase were searched through September 2019 to identify studies that met predetermined inclusion criterion. Reference lists from retrieved articles were also reviewed. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled relative risk ( RR ) and 95% confidence intervals ( CI ). Results: Twenty-two cohort studies involving 6,567,314 participants and 865,98 patients with MI were included in this systematic review. The pooled results showed that higher levels of ambient air pollution (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) exposure were significantly associated with the risk of MI. The pooled relative ratio ( RR) for each 10-μg/m 3 increment in PM 2.5 and PM 10 were 1.20 (95% CI : 1.11–1.29), and1.03 (95% CI :1.00-1.07) respectively. Exclusion of any single study did not materially alter the combined risk estimate. Conclusions: Integrated evidence from cohort studies supports the hypothesis that long-term exposure to PM 2.5 and PM 10 as a risk factor for MI.
Diverting blame to stay sane - young people's strategies for dealing with the mental health effects of precarious employment: a Grounded Theory study
Authors: Toivanen Susanna , Tarantino Anna Olofsson , Emmelin Maria , Östergren Per-Olof
Published: January 2020

Background Precarious employment is a risk factor for poor mental health, particularly among young adults. Knowledge about how young people maintain their mental health while in a precarious employment situation is scarce. The aim of the study was to explore the meaning of precarious employment for young adults in Sweden and their strategies for maintaining good mental health.Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 individuals (9 men and 6 women) aged 20–39 years in a precarious employment situation. Contact persons at union offices and at specific job-coaching organizations collaborating with the Swedish public employment agency in the city of Malmö were gate openers to reach informants. Analysis was based on constructivist grounded theory, implying an emergent design where data collection and analysis go hand in hand.Results All informants had completed secondary school in Sweden, and one third had studied at the university level. A majority currently had jobs; however, they were mostly employed on an hourly basis and only a few had temporary full-time jobs. The analysis resulted in a core category “Diverting blame to stay sane,” which summarized an emergent coping process involving individual resources and resources represented by the individuals’ social capital. The developed theoretical model contained four main categories, “Facing reality,” ”Losing control,” “Adapting,” and “Fighting back,” related to the core category.Conclusions The results implied a process where the challenges created by loss of employment-based rights required a coping process where the individual’s social capital plays an important role. However, social capital is to a large extent determined by contextual factors, underlining the strong health equity aspect of precarious employment.
Safety and effectiveness of intravitreal injection of dexamethasone for macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion: a meta-analysis
Authors: Xiaorong Gao , Yujiao Dan , Jie Chen , Gang Tian , He Yue
Published: January 2020

Background: This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal injection of dexamethasone (DEX) in treating macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion. Method: PubMed, Embase-clinical key, clinicaltrials.gov, Web of Science, and SinoMed were searched to compare the application of DEX implant in patients with retinal vein occlusion secondary macular edema (RVO-ME). The central retinal thickness, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), postoperative intraocular pressure, and postoperative cataract were extracted. RevMan 5.3 was used to analyze and evaluate the data. Results: This study was based on six randomized trials. A total of 393 eyes were studied. DEX implant could effectively reduce macular edema caused by retinal vein occlusion. After 6 months, the drug could significantly improve the patients’ BCVA [95% confidence interval (CI), 9.669–21.649, P = 21.649]. At the same time, it also could significantly reduce the patients’ central retinal thickness (95% CI: 274.965–142.236, P = 0.0000). DEX implant could increase the intraocular pressure in some patients and greatly increase the risk of cataracts. Conclusions: DEX implant can effectively improve the BCVA of patients with RVO-ME, reduce the central thickness of the retina, and reduce the number of injections for a relatively long time. Therefore, intravitreal injection of DEX can be used as an effective method for treating RVO-ME.
The novel mutation c.1210-3C>G in cis with a poly-T tract of 5T affects CFTR mRNA splicing in a Chinese patient with cystic fibrosis
Authors: Zhao Xinyue , Liu Keqiang , Xu Wenshuai , Xiao Meng , Zhang Qianli , Song Jiaxing , Chen Keqi , Liu Yaping , Tian Xinlun , Xu Kai-Feng , Zhang Xue
Published: January 2020

Purpose To identify potential pathogenic mutations in a Chinese patient with cystic fibrosis (CF) and subsequently study its splicing effect on cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mRNA in vitro. Methods Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes of the patient and his parents. To detect the possible pathogenic mutations in this patient, Sanger sequencing was conducted on all 27 coding exons of CFTR and their flanking intronic regions. Minigene constructs of the wild type and the identified mutant type were produced and transfected into HEK293T cells. Total RNA was extracted and reverse-transcribed into cDNA, with which as the template polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify the corresponding region. Original TA cloning and Sanger sequencing of the resultant PCR products were performed to analyze their splicing patterns. Results The patient is a compound heterozygote of c.2909G>A, p.Gly970Asp in exon 18 and c.1210-3C>G in cis with a poly-T of 5T (T5) sequence, 3 bp upstream in intron 9. As reported, c.2909G>A, p.Gly970Asp is considered to be the most frequent CFTR mutation among Chinese CF patients. c.1210-3C>G, a variant adjacent to the 3’ splice site, may affect splicing and reduce the levels of normal mRNA. We validated this hypothesis by a minigene assay in vitro, which showed that the wild-type plasmid containing c.1210-3C together with the T7 sequence produced a normal transcript as well as a partial exon 10-skipping transcript, whereas the mutant plasmid containing c.1210-3G in cis with the T5 sequence caused almost all mRNA to skip exon 10. Conclusion c.1210-3C>G, newly identified in our patient, in combination with the T5 sequence in cis affects CFTR gene splicing and produces nearly no normal transcripts in vitro, which makes it a pathogenic mutation in this patient. Moreover, this patient carries a p.Gly970Asp mutation, which reinforces the high frequency of this mutation in Chinese CF patients.
The correlations between Th1 and Th2 cytokines in human alveolar echinococcosis
Authors: Ma Xiao , Zhang Xuefei , Liu Jia , Liu Yufang , Zhao Cunzhe , Cai Huixia , Lei Wen , Ma Junying , Fan Haining , Zhou Jianye , Liu Na , Zhang Jingxiao , Wang Yongshun , Wang Wei , Zhan Peizhen , Zhang Xiongying , Zhang Qing , Shi Kemei , Liu Peiyun
Published: January 2020

Background: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a cosmopolitan zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus multilocularis larval tapeworm infections in humans that severely impairs the health of affected patients. Methods: The expression levels of 20 cytokines associated with AE infection were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the correlations between these cytokines were analysed in the R programming language. Results: Serum cytokine levels differed among individuals in both the AE patient and healthy control groups. Related studies have shown that different cytokines are associated with AE. Therefore, we investigated the correlations among the cytokines; these correlations were simple in the healthy control group butcomplex in the AE patient group. Th2 cytokines, such as interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-1β and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, had high betweenness centrality in AE patients, whereas Th1 cytokines, such as growth-regulated oncogene (GRO)-α, eotaxin and IL-5, had high betweenness centrality in the healthy control group. Conclusions: The altered correlations between Th1 and Th2 cytokines may be closely associated with AE progression.
Parental Stress around Ophthalmological Health Conditions: A Systematic Review of Literature Protocol
Authors: SOUZA-SILVA JULIO CESAR , Martins Cleusa Alves , Garciazapata Marco Túlio Antonio , Barbosa Maria Alves
Published: January 2020

Background: Parents can be psychologically impacted when children have eye diseases such as blindness, strabismus, and eye cancer. Stress can reduce the quality of parental care, and may be linked to the deterioration of parents’ and children’s mental and physical health, and family dynamics. No systematic literature review on parental stress in ophthalmology has been found to provide evidence synthesis capable of stimulating and defining new studies promoting research in this field. To address this important gap, the present review aims to synthesize evidence about approaches, methods, instruments, and results from research regarding ophthalmology-related parental stress. Methods: Primary epidemiological observational studies should be original in addressing parental stress caused by ophthalmological health conditions in children. Children must be up to 12 years old and should not have any other associated chronic/disabling condition. Studies must present a summary, and full text should be available in a database. They should present an instrument for assessing parental stress and characterizing the study population. MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and Gray Literature (PsycEXTRA, NTIS and OpenSINGLE) will be searched. Controlled vocabulary, Boolean operators, and defined search strategies will be used. There will be no restrictions on the studies’ publication language, which will be selected in two screening stages. Two reviewers will independently retrieve full-text studies, assess methodological quality, and extract data. Data available through December 2020 will be considered for inclusion. Discussion: The socioeconomic characterization of the participants, the identification of which ophthalmological diseases have been studied in relation to parental stress, and the knowledge of each instrument and methodology peculiarities potentially contribute to this study. The results may promote the development or enhancement of public policies focused on this specific theme, thereby providing the means for potential improvement of physical and mental health for parents and children with eye diseases.Systematic review registration: The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO: number CRD42018094972.
Prevalence and associated factors of musculoskeletal disorders among working adults in Ethiopia: a systematic review protocol
Authors: Gebreyesus Tsiwaye , Janakiraman Balamurugan , Nigussie Kalkidan
Published: January 2020

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders among the working population are a major public health problem, resulting in significant personal and national economic loss. However, in Ethiopia, the cloud of infectious and non-communicable diseases has led to a lack of attention to work-related musculoskeletal disorders and empirical under-representation. This systematic review and meta-analysis will provide the pooled prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and its determinant factors among the adult working population in Ethiopia.Method: The electronic databases MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Science Direct index, SCOPUS, PEDro, and Google Scholar will be systematically searched. In addition, the grey literature resources such as databases or websites of dissertations and theses will be searched. The reference list of screened articles will also be hand searched. All observational studies reporting on the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal pain of any bodily region among adult Ethiopians will be included. Random and quality effects models will be used to calculate pooled prevalence with a 95 % confidence interval. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses will be performed. Publication bias and heterogeneity between the included studies will also be assessed and reported.Discussion: The proposed systematic review and meta-analysis will provide valid insight into the pooled prevalence of multi-regional work-related musculoskeletal pain and factors associated to assist policymakers in occupational health and health care sectors. And further, we strongly believe that the data will also immensely help the understanding of the factors associated and in developing evidence-based musculoskeletal health promotion, work exposure implementations,and prevention programs in workplaces.
Performance of TGSE BLADE DWI in the diagnosis of cholesteatoma compared with RESOLVE DWI
Authors: Sheng Yaru , Hong Rujian , Sha Yan , Zhang Zhongshuai , Zhou Kun , Fu Caixia
Published: January 2020

Background: Based on the high resolution of soft tissue, MRI has gained increasing importance in the evaluation of cholesteatoma, especially diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of 2D turbo gradient- and spin-echo (TGSE) diffusion-weighted (DW) pulse sequence with BLADE trajectory technique in the diagnosis of cholesteatoma at 3T and to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the image quality between the TGSE BLADE and RESOLVE methods.Method: A total of 42 patients (23 males, 19 females; age range, 7-65 years; mean, 40.1 years) with surgically confirmed cholesteatoma in the middle ear were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent DWI (both the prototype TGSE BLADE DWI sequence and RESOLVE DWI sequence) using a 3-T scanner with a 64-channel brain coil.Qualitative imaging parameters (imaging sharpness, geometric distortion, ghosting artifacts, and overall imaging quality) and quantitative imaging parameters (apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC], signal-to-noise ratio [SNR], contrast, and contrast-to-noise ratio [CNR] for the two diffusion acquisition techniques were assessed by two independent radiologists. Result: Comparison of the qualitative scores indicated that TGSE BLADE DWI produced less geometric distortion and ghosting artifacts (P<0.001) and higher image quality (P<0.001) than RESOLVE DWI. Comparison of the evaluated quantitative image parameters between TGSE and RESOLVE showed that TGSE BLADE DWI produced a significantly lower SNR (P<0.001) and higher parameter values (both contrast and CNR (P < 0.001)) than RESOLVE DWI.The ADC (P<0.001) measured by TGSE BLADE DWI (0.763×10-3 s/mm2) is significantly lower than that measured by RESOLVE DWI (0.928×10-3 s/mm2). Conclusion: Comparing with RESOLVE DWI, TGSE BLADE DWI can significantly improve the image quality of cholesteatoma by reducing magnetic sensitive artifacts, distortion, and blurring. TGSE BLADE DWI is more valuable for the diagnosis of small-sized (2mm) cholesteatoma lesions compare with RESOLVE DWI image. However, TGSE BLADE DWI also has some disadvantages: the whole image intensity is slightly low, so that the anatomical details of the air-bone interface are not well shown, which is the place to be improved in the future.
Discriminative Pattern of Reduced Cerebral Blood Flow in Parkinson's Disease and Parkinsonism-Plus Syndrome: an ASL-MRI study
Authors: Cheng Lina , Wu Xiaoyan , Guo Ruomi , Wang Yuzhou , Wang Wensheng , He Peng , Lin Hanbo , Shen Jun
Published: January 2020

Background: Accurate identification of Parkinson's disease (PD) and Parkinsonism-Plus syndrome (PPS), especially in the early stage of the disease, is very important. The purpose of this study was to investigate the discriminative spatial pattern of cerebral blood flow (CBF) between patients with PD and PPS.Methods: Arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion-weighted imaging was performed in 20 patients with PD (mean age 56.35±7.56 years), 16 patients with PPS (mean age 59.62±6.89 years), and 17 healthy controls (HCs, mean age 54.17±6.58 years). Voxel-wise comparison of the CBF was performed among PD, PPS and HC groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the performance of CBF in discriminating between PD and PPS.Results: PD group showed a significantly decreased CBF in the right cerebelum_crus2, the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), the triangle inferior frontal gyrus (IFG_Tri), the left frontal medial orbital gyrus (FG_Med_Orb) and the left caudate nucleus (CN) compared with the HC group (P < 0.05). Besides the above regions, the left supplementary motor area (SMA), the right thalamus had decreased CBF in the PPS group compared with the HC group (P < 0.05). PPS group had lower CBF value in the left MFG, the left IFG_Tri, the left CN, the left SMA, and the right thalamus compared with the PD group (P < 0.05). CBFs in left IFG_Tri, the left CN, the left SMA, and the right thalamus had moderate to high capacity in discriminating between PD and PPS patients (AUC 0.719-0.831).Conclusion: PD and PPS patients have certain discriminative patterns of reduced CBFs, which can be used as a surrogate marker for differential diagnosis.
Primary outcome reporting in adolescent depression clinical trials needs standardization
Authors: Monsour Andrea , Mew Emma J. , Patel Sagar , Chee-a-tow Alyssandra , Saeed Leena , Santos Lucia , Courtney Darren , Watson Priya N. , Monga Suneeta , Szatmari Peter , Offringa Martin , Butcher Nancy J.
Published: January 2020

Background : Evidence-based health care is informed by results of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and their syntheses in meta-analyses. When the trial outcomes measured are not clearly described in trial publications, knowledge synthesis, translation, and decision-making may be impeded. While heterogeneity in outcomes measured in adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) RCTs has been described, the comprehensiveness of outcome reporting is unknown. This study aimed to assess the reporting of primary outcomes in RCTs evaluating treatments for adolescent MDD. Methods : RCTs evaluating treatment interventions in adolescents with a diagnosis of MDD published between 2008 and 2017 specifying a single primary outcome were eligible for outcome reporting assessment. Outcome reporting assessment was done independently in duplicate using a comprehensive checklist of 58 reporting items. Primary outcome information provided in each RCT publication was scored as “fully reported”, “partially reported”, or “not reported” for each checklist item, as applicable. Results : Eighteen RCTs were included. Most trials (72%) did not fully report on over half of the 58 checklist items. Items describing masking of outcome assessors, timing and frequency of outcome assessment, and outcome analyses were fully reported in over 70% of trials. Items less frequently reported included outcome measurement instrument properties (ranging from 6-17%), justification of timing and frequency of outcome assessment (6%), and justification of criteria used for clinically significant differences (17%). Conclusions : Heterogeneous reporting exists in published adolescent MDD RCTs, with frequent omissions of key details about their primary outcomes. These omissions may impair interpretability, replicability, and synthesis of RCTs that inform clinical guidelines and decision-making in this field. Consensus on the minimal criteria for outcome reporting in adolescent MDD RCTs is needed. Trial registration: Not applicable
Handling of spurious sequences affects the outcome of high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon profiling
Authors: Reitmeier Sandra , Hitch Thomas CA , Fikas Nikolaos , Hausmann Bela , Ramer-Tait Amanda E , Neuhaus Klaus , Berry David , Haller Dirk , Lagkouvardos Ilias , Clavel Thomas
Published: January 2020

Background: 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing is a very popular approach for studying microbiomes. However, varying standards exist for sample and data processing and some basic concepts such as the occurrence of spurious sequences have not been investigated in a comprehensive manner, which was done in the present study. Methods: Using defined communities of bacteria in vitro and in vivo , we searched for sequences not matching the expected species ( i.e. , spurious taxa) and determine a threshold of occurrence relevant for adequate data analysis. The origin of spurious taxa was then investigated via large-scale amplicon queries. We also assessed the impact of varying sequence filtering stringency on diversity readouts in human fecal and peat soil communities. Results: 16S rRNA gene amplicon data processing based on Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) clustering and singleton removal, a commonly used approach that discards any taxa represented by only one sequence across all samples, delivered approx. 50% (mock communities) to 80% (gnotobiotic mice) spurious taxa on average. This spurious fraction of taxa was lower based on amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) analysis but varied depending on the gene region targeted and the barcoding system used. A relative abundance of 0.25% was identified as a threshold below which the analysis of spurious taxa can be prevented to a large extent. Most spurious taxa (approx. 70%) detected in simplified communities occurred in samples multiplexed in the same sequencing run and were present in only one of ten runs. Use of the 0.25% relative abundance threshold decreased the coefficient of variations calculated on richness in the same six human fecal samples across seven sequencing runs by 38% compared with singleton filtering. The output of beta -diversity analyses of human fecal communities was markedly affected by both the filtering strategy and the type of phylogenetic distances used for comparing samples. Importantly, major findings were confirmed by using data generated in a second sequencing facility. Conclusions: Handling of artifact sequences during bioinformatic processing of 16S rRNA gene amplicon data requires careful attention to avoid the generation of misleading findings. A threshold of relative abundance of 0.25% is more appropriate than singleton removal, although study-specific analysis strategies are mandatory. We propose the concept of effective richness, which will help comparing results across studies.
Growth of Lonicera caerulea across Fertility and Moisture Conditions: Comparisons with Lonicera villosa and Invasive Congeners
Authors: Hayes Darren J. , Peterson Bryan J.
Published: January 2020

Several species of honeysuckle from Europe and Asia have proved to be invasive in North America, with substantial impacts on native ecosystems. Although shrubby honeysuckles of Eurasian origin have appeared on banned plant lists in North America and other parts of the world, cultivars of the edible blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) derived from Eurasian germplasm and marketed as honeyberry, Haskap, or sweetberry honeysuckle have recently been widely developed for agricultural use in North America, with little scrutiny of invasive potential in North America despite its documented invasion of the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe. To gain insight into differences in growth strategies among congeners, we compared the growth of Eurasian L. caerulea with that of a closely related congener in North America [Lonicera villosa (Michx.) R. & S.] and two known invasive congeners from Eurasia (Lonicera tatarica L. and Lonicera xylosteum L.). In Expt. 1, L. villosa, L. caerulea, and L. tatarica were grown in #1 nursery containers after top-dressing with Osmocote Pro 17–5–11 4-month controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) at rates of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 g CRF/container. Across all fertilizer treatments, L. caerulea outperformed L. villosa by a factor of two for root and shoot dry weights, although L. tatarica produced more growth than either of the others and was more responsive to increasing CRF. However, L. caerulea more strongly resembled L. tatarica in form, producing leaves of greater individual size and producing significantly taller primary stems than L. villosa, evidence for prioritization of competitive growth. In Expt. 2, plants of the same taxa plus L. xylosteum were grown communally in #20 nursery containers, followed by a period in which each container was subjected to regular irrigation, withheld irrigation (dry treatment), or inundation (flooded treatment). Plant growth differed substantially among taxa, but moisture treatments did not affect growth significantly. As in Expt. 1, plants of L. caerulea in Expt. 2 produced greater dry biomass than plants of L. villosa and resembled the invasive Eurasian honeysuckles more strongly in size and form. We conclude Eurasian L. caerulea is distinct in growth rate and morphology from North American L. villosa. In light of these findings, the ecology and competitive ability of Eurasian L. caerulea may not be well predicted by ecological observations of its closely related North American congener.
Produção e captação de energia elétrica limpa através de adaptação de bicicletas ergométricas
Authors: Alexandre Jeisiane Isabella da Silva , Sales Deivson Cesar Silva , Silva João Pedro Ferreira , Cordeiro Ramon Borges , Reis Augusto Wagner Viana
Published: January 2020

O crescimento da sociedade e o desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias implicaram no aumento da produção de equipamentos eletrônicos associado ao consumo de energia. Com a dominância da participação das fontes não renováveis na oferta mundial energética, presentes em quantidades limitadas, a sociedade busca por fontes alternativas de baixo custo e alta eficiência, como soluções para diminuição do impacto ambiental causado pelo aumento da poluição a nível mundial. A busca por energias renováveis de uso sustentável é a grande meta para o desenvolvimento de tecnologia mundial, preservando a Natureza. O presente trabalho apresentou como objetivo a construção e operação de um prot´tipo de equipamento para produzir e armazenar energia a partir de materiais recicláveis, pela adaptação das bicicletas ergométricas presentes em academias, para fins não comerciais. Foi utilizado um alternador automotivo ligado por uma corrente à roda da bicicleta ergométrica, cuja energia gerada foi armazenada em uma bateria do tipo ácido-chumbo. A montagem do equipamento foi realizada, onde foi observada a produção de energia em velocidades acima de 15 km/h, medida na própria bicicleta. Essa velocidade esteve relacionada com o número de giros no eixo do alternador. Nessas condições, o carregamento completo de um smartphone padrão foi realizado em 6 h. Não foi necessária geração constante de energia para alimentar o sistema, apenas em intervalos de 40 min durante todo o processo. O carregamento completo do mesmo aparelho smartphone em na rede elétrica residencial de 220 V, durou 4 h.
Índices de sustentabilidade das atividades agrícolas nos biomas Caatinga e Mata Atlântica da Paraíba, Nordeste do Brasil
Authors: Diniz João Abílio , Pereira Walter Esfrain
Published: January 2020

Objetivando determinar e classificar índices de sustentabilidade das atividades agrícolas em 73 propriedades rurais foram pesquisadas três tipos de vegetações (Mata em Regeneração - MR, Monocultivo de Pastagem - MP e Monocultivo de Milho - MM), com mais de cinco anos de cultivos sucessivos, em dois biomas (Caatinga-CA e Mata Atlântica-MA) no Estado da Paraíba, tendo como referência a aplicação de questionários quanti-qualitativos composto por diversas variáveis técnicas, econômicas e sociais. A área representativa da pesquisa compreendeu sete municípios paraibanos, sendo quatro no bioma Caatinga e três no bioma Mata Atlântica. Para classificar as propriedades rurais por índices de sustentabilidade (IS) foram consideradas variações de 0 a 1, onde zero representavam níveis críticos e a unidade níveis excelentes, ficando estabelecidos os seguintes critérios: sustentáveis (IS > 0,80); sustentabilidades ameaçadas (0,60 <= IS <= 0,80); sustentabilidades comprometidas (0,40 <= IS <= 0,60); insustentáveis (0,20 <= IS <= 0,40) e seriamente insustentáveis (IS <= 0,20). Os dados foram submetidos à análise de distribuição de frequência e de análise fatorial, cujos escores foram utilizados para análise de agrupamento. Confirmou-se que aspectos técnicos, econômicos e sociais foram determinantes na classificação dos índices de sustentabilidades, mostrando que quanto melhores maiores foram os IS. Das 73 propriedades avaliadas, 34 ou 46,58% foram diagnosticadas como insustentáveis, sendo 19 (55,88%) na Mata Atlântica e 15 (44,12%) na Caatinga. Por outro lado, 39 ou 53,42% foram classificadas em condições de serem administradas, podendo com adoções de medidas racionais tornarem-se sustentáveis. Independentemente das condições analisadas verificou-se ser oportuno e racional definir o uso do solo de acordo com as potencialidades e limitações das atividades agrícolas dos diferentes biomas do Estado da Paraíba. Portanto, para alcançar o nível desejável das propriedades rurais (IS > 0,80), propõem-se um conjunto de ações racionais fundamentadas em avanços nos aspectos técnicos, econômicos, sociais e ambientais, tais como: melhoramento no grau de instrução dos proprietários, adoção de práticas conservacionistas, conscientização no sentido de promover a defesa da sustentabilidade, estímulo às experiências com agricultura sustentável, observância dos cuidados necessários antes, durante e após aplicações de defensivos, incentivo a destinação de embalagens vazias aos locais apropriados, encoivaramento e decomposição da vegetação desmatada, uso de equipamento de proteção individual durante aplicação de defensivos agrícolas, armazenamento dos insumos agrícolas em locais reservados, coleta adequada do lixo domiciliar e destinação do esgoto sanitário em rede coletora.
Monitoramento da qualidade da água de cinco rios do litoral da Paraíba: coliformes fecais
Authors: Carneiro Hellen Alves , Oliveira Karoline de Sousa , Brito Luis Gustavo Almeida Simplício de , Silva Samara Galvão da , Silva José Marcelino de Lima , Miranda e Silva João Carlos de
Published: January 2020

As águas que banham os rios urbanos compõem bacias hidrográficas que alimentam todos os ecossistemas são responsãveis pela manutenção da vida marinha, terrestre e essenciais a vida humana. O Brasil é um país banhado por grandes corpos hídricos que abastecem suas comunidades. Contudo, grande parte desses rios apresenta condições depressivas de qualidade de água, fazendo com que seus usos se restrinjam basicamente para navegação e usos secundários. Tendo em vista a importância dos corpos hídricos, o estudo tem como objetivo apresentar o monitoramento da qualidade da água de cinco rios do litoral paraibano, correlacionando o parâmetro medido 'temperatura' com a presença ou ausência e crescimento de microrganismos (coliformes termotolerantes) nesses corpos d'água. Os coliformes termotolerantes são capazes de se desenvolver e fermentar a lactose com produção de acido e gás a temperatura de 44-45 oC, em 24 h. Este grupo de microrganismos é usado como indicativo de contaminação sanitária pelo fato de estarem associados às fezes de animais de sangue quente. Através da análise desses dados, concluímos que o aumento da quantidade de coliformes termotolerantes nos rios amostrados, mesmo que esteja diretamente relacionado ao aumento da temperatura, não tem sido unicamente ocasionado por esses relativos aumentos. Ao invés disso, outros fatores como a grande quantidade de resíduos orgânicos depositados nestes corpos hídricos, através de esgotos, podem ser os responsáveis por esse 'boom' populacional de bactérias.
Wetlands Construídos como alternativas para o tratamento de efluentes em unidades de conservação
Authors: Reis Arieleen , Serbent María Pilar , Rodrigues Eduardo Bello
Published: January 2020

Considerando que as Unidades de Conservação são fundamentais para a conservação da biodiversidade, a presença de sistemas de tratamento de efluentes líquidos é essencial para a integridade destas áreas. No presente trabalho, os sistemas de Wetlands Construídos são indicados como uma alternativa para a realização do tratamento de efluentes líquidos em Unidades de Conservação, devido ao seu baixo custo de implantação e manutenção, o apelo sustentável que esta alternativa de tratamento propõe, além da pouca exigência de elementos construtivos e a harmonização com o ambiente em que é inserido. Neste contexto, o trabalho propõe a utilização do sistema de Wetlands Construídos para o tratamento de efluentes líquidos domésticos na Floresta Nacional de Ibirama em Santa Catarina.
Reuso de latinhas de alumínio recicláveis para tratamento de águas residuais da produção de biodiesel via eletrofloculação
Authors: Vieira Samara Pereira , Nascimento Fabiano Almeida , Braz Mayara de Araújo , Andrade Júnior Sizenando José de , Cavalcanti Luiz Antônio Pimentel
Published: January 2020

A etapa de purificação de biodiesel gera águas residuais que na sua composição apresentam contaminantes que inviabilizam o seu lançamento em corpos d'água nas condições estabelecidas pela Resolução CONAMA no. 430/2011. Com a crise hídrica instalada no mundo, a comunidade científica tem intensificado os estudos sobre técnicas de tratamento e reuso da água. O processo de eletrofloculação foi usado para o tratamento das águas residuais da etapa de purificação do biodiesel. O tratamento foi realizado em reator eletroquímico constituído a partir de latinhas de alumínio recicladas em formato retangular de com 9 cm de comprimento e 3 cm de largura. Os eletrodos foram fixados em um béquer de 0,5 L através de uma estrutura metálica, e a eles foram soldados fios que se ligam à fonte geradora de corrente contínua de intensidade 1,0 A, alimentado por um sistema fotovoltaico. Após o tratamento a amostra foi submetida a um processo de filtração através de papel de filtro. Ao fim do processo a amostra foi filtrada e submetida aos estudos de parâmetros como cor aparente, turbidez, DQO, DBO, óleos e graxas. Que quando comparado com os valores obtidos antes da eletrofloculação foi verificado uma atenuação dos valores de turbidez (97%), cor aparente (100%), DQO (85%), DBO5 (87%) e óleos e graxas (84%).
A in(efetividade) do Direito Penal na legislação ambiental no Estado da Paraíba
Authors: Aversari Marcos
Published: January 2020

A Constituição Federativa do Brasil de 1988 estabeleceu que o meio ambiente é um bem de uso comum do povo, assegurando a todos o direito de tê-lo equilibrado, impondo ao Poder Público e à coletividade o dever de defendê-lo e preservá-lo à presente e às futuras gerações e ampliou as ações judiciais na tutela ambiental. Partindo desse preceito constitucional, a legislação ambiental brasileira tornou-se uma das mais completas e vastas do mundo, sendo composta por numerosas leis, das quais a Lei no. 9.605/1998 (Lei dos Crimes Ambientais), que representa um marco importante no Direito Penal brasileiro, garantindo à sociedade, aos órgãos ambientais e ao Ministério Público a agilidade e a eficácia para punir as pessoas físicas ou jurídicas que cometerem qualquer infração contra o meio ambiente. Com o objetivo de verificar a efetividade da aplicação desta Lei, analisou-se a quantidade de auto de infração lavrados pelo Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) e pela Superintendência de Administração do Meio Ambiente (SUDEMA), no período de 2007 a 2011. Neste período, foram aplicados por estes órgãos um total de 4.957 autos de infração por desrespeito às normas ambientais. Podemos concluir que, apesar da Lei dos Crimes Ambientais (Lei no 9.605/1998) ter punições severas para as infrações cometidas contra o meio ambiente, o número de autos de infração, lavrados na SUDEMA e no IBAMA foram numerosos, devido à falsa impressão de impunidade, provocada pela ineficiência do Estado em cobrar as multas aplicadas e do judiciário considerar estas infrações penais como de menor potencial ofensivo.
Precision of raw and bias-adjusted satellite precipitation estimations (TRMM, IMERG, CMORPH, and PERSIANN) over extreme flood events: case study in Langat river basin, Malaysia
Authors: Soo Eugene Zhen Xiang , Wan Jaafar Wan Zurina , Lai Sai Hin , Othman Faridah , Elshafie Ahmed , Islam Tanvir , Srivastava Prashant , Othman Hadi Hazlina Salehan
Published: January 2020

Although satellite precipitation products (SPPs) increasingly provide an alternative means to ground-based observations, these estimations exhibit large systematic and random errors which may cause large uncertainties in hydrologic modeling. Three approaches of bias correction (BC), i.e. linear scaling (LS), local intensity scaling (LOCI), and power transformation (PT), were applied on four SPPs (TRMM, IMERG, CMORPH, and PERSIANN) during 2014/2015 extreme floods in Langat river basin, and the performance in terms of rainfall and streamflow were investigated. The results show that the original TRMM had a potential to predict the peak streamflow although CMORPH show the best performance in general. After performing BC, it is found that the LS-IMERG and LOCI-TRMM show the best performance at both rainfall and streamflow analysis. Generally, it is indicated that the current SPP estimations are still imperfect for any hydrological applications. Cross validation of different datasets is required to avoid the calibration effects of datasets.
Vaccinations in Infants Born Preterm: An Update
Authors: Sioriki Areti Aphrodite , Gkentzi Despoina , Papadimitriou Evangelia , Dimitriou Gabriel , Karatza Ageliki
Published: January 2020

Infants born prematurely (before completion of 37 weeks of gestation) are at increased
risk of morbidity and mortality due to vaccine preventable diseases, mostly because of their immunological
immaturity and failure of transfer of maternal protective antibodies. Despite their great
need of being vaccinated, concerns on vaccine safety and efficacy, constitute the main reasons for
which vaccinations are often delayed in this group. In this review we summarize the latest evidence
on vaccine safety, efficacy and immunogenicity in preterm infants which is similar to full-term infants.
Therefore there is no reason for delaying vaccination in this population.
Diagnostic Role of Survivin in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review
Authors: Khodashahi Mandana , Saadati Nayyereh , Sahebari Maryam , Rezaieyazdi Zahra , Rastgou Neda
Published: January 2020

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, which is
characterized by the hyperplasia of synovial tissue. Survivin is a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis
protein family, which facilitates the formation of functional T-cell receptor and differentiation
of memory T cells. Survivin plays an important role in the expression of major histocompatibility
complex molecules and mature dendritic cells, which play the main role in the etiology of RA. This
systematic review was conducted to investigate the evidence on the role of survivin as a diagnostic
and predictive value in RA patients. All published articles related to the subject of interest and published
up to 30 March 2018 were searched in three databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed,
and Web of Science. After a detailed evaluation of the full-text version of the papers, 23 articles
were entered into the study. The elevation of survivin in the preclinical phase of RA and its association
with anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibodies suggested it as a predictor of RA. Recently,
survivin has been introduced as the biomarker of joint damage and poor response to antirheumatic
treatment in RA patients. Based on the evidence, survivin level had high specificity and
sensitivity in the diagnosis of RA patients. The results of the reviewed studies demonstrated that a
positive survivin level was associated with the presence of anti-CCP antibodies.