bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comprehensive Pan-Genome Analysis of Mycobacterium marinum: Insights into Genomic Diversity, Evolution, and Pathogenicity
Authors: Zhang Meng , Adroub Sabir , Ummels Roy , Asaad Mohammed , Song Lei , Pain Arnab , Bitter Wilbert , Guan Qingtian , Abdallah Abdallah M.
Published: June 2024

Mycobacteria is a diverse genus that includes both innocuous environmental species and serious pathogens like Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium leprae, and Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agents of tuberculosis, leprosy, and Buruli ulcer, respectively. This study focuses on M. marinum, a closely related species known for its larger genome and ability to infect ectothermic species and cooler human extremities. Utilizing whole-genome sequencing, we conducted a comprehensive pan-genome analysis of 100 M. marinum strains, exploring genetic diversity and its impact on pathogenesis and host specificity. Our findings highlight significant genomic diversity, with clear distinctions in core, dispensable, and unique genes among the isolates. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a broad distribution of genetic lineages, challenging previous classifications into distinct clades. Additionally, we examined the synteny and diversity of the virulence factor CpnT, noting a wide range of C-terminal domain variations across strains, which points to potential adaptations in pathogenic mechanisms. This study enhances our understanding of M. marinum's genomic architecture and its evolutionary relationship with other mycobacterial pathogens, providing insights that could inform disease control strategies for M. tuberculosis and other mycobacteria.
Decreased number of satellite cells-derived myonuclei in both fast- and slow-twitch muscles in HeyL-KO mice during voluntary running exercise
Authors: Iwamori Kanako , Kubota Manami , Kodama Kazuki , Zhang Lidan , Kubo Atsushi , Kokubo Hiroki , Akimoto Takayuki , Fukada So-ichiro
Published: June 2024

Background
Skeletal muscles possess unique abilities known as adaptation or plasticity. When exposed to external stimuli, such as mechanical loading, both myofiber size and myonuclear number increase. Muscle stem cells, also known as muscle satellite cells (MuSCs), play vital roles in these changes. HeyL, a direct target of Notch signaling, is crucial for efficient muscle hypertrophy because it ensures MuSC proliferation in surgically overloaded muscles by inhibiting the premature differentiation. However, it remains unclear whether HeyL is essential for MuSC expansion in physiologically loaded muscles. Additionally, the influence of myofiber type on the requirement for HeyL in MuSCs within loaded muscles remains unclear.
Methods
We used a voluntary wheel running model and HeyL-knockout mice to investigate the impact of HeyL deficiency on MuSC-derived myonuclei, MuSC behavior, muscle weight, myofiber size, and myofiber type in the running mice.
Results
The number of new MuSC-derived myonuclei was significantly lower in both slow-twitch soleus and fast-twitch plantaris muscles from exercised HeyL-knockout mice than in control mice. However, exercised HeyL-knockout mice exhibited similar responses to control mice regarding myofiber size and type.
Conclusions
HeyL expression is crucial for MuSC expansion during physiological exercise in both slow and fast muscles. Nevertheless, the absence of HeyL did not affect the increased myofiber size or alteration of myofiber types, suggesting that MuSCs are not required in the wheel-running model because of the low degree of hypertrophy compared with that in surgically overloaded models.
Prevalence and selected predictors of vitamin D deficiency, and among children and adolescents attending primary health care centers: A cross-sectional record-based study, Qatar 2018-2019.
Authors: Khudadad Hanan , Alnuaimi Ahmed Sameer , Veettil Shajitha , Zainel A. Jaleel A.
Published: June 2024

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is a significant public health concern with potential implications for bone health and overall well-being. A comprehensive understanding of its prevalence and influencing factors in the pediatric population is crucial for informed healthcare interventions.
Aim/Objectives: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among children and adolescents (<18 years old) who attended primary health care centers in the state of Qatar during the period from 2018 to 2019.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study based on data extracted from the electronic medical records (EMR) in the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC).
Results: A total of 48,947 electronic medical records of individuals <18 years old were eligible for analysis (by having at least one valid serum vitamin D test result in the EMR). A severe form of vitamin D deficiency was defined as serum level (<10 ng/ml).
For participants without a documented vitamin D replacement therapy, children aged 1-4 years and infants <1 year old exhibited the lowest rates of severe vitamin D deficiency (3.4% and 3.8%, respectively). This deficiency rate gradually escalated with age, peaking at 40% among teenagers aged 10-17 years. Notably, males showcased a lower rate of severe vitamin D deficiency (15.3%) compared to females (30.4%).
Age, gender and nationality were among the top three factors that predicts a severe form of vitamin D deficiency. Teenagers (10-17 years old) exhibited a 17-fold increase in risk of deficiency compared to preschool age (<5 years old), after adjusting for confounding variables. Female gender showed a 2.4-fold increase in risk, and Southern Asia nationality had a 5.7-fold increase compared to other nationalities, when accounting for other variables.
Conclusion: This study highlights the substantial prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among older children and adolescents in primary health care centers. A holistic approach encompassing education, policy changes, and healthcare provider involvement is advised to address this important health issue.
A Chiral Active Particle on two-dimensional random landscapes: ergodic uncertain diffusion and non-ergodic subdiffusion
Authors: Shi Hongda , Zhao Xiongbiao , Du Luchun , Fang Jun , Guo Wei
Published: June 2024

The dynamics of a chiral active particle moving on two-dimensional random landscapes (with Gaussian distribution and Gaussian correlation) is investigated. We demonstrate that the ergodic uncertain diffusion and the non-ergodic subdiffusion occur in the system. The ergodic uncertain diffusion arises from the periodic motion of the chiral active particle along a circular trajectory. In contrast, the non-ergodic subdiffusion is primarily caused by the competitive effect between local high heterogeneity due to random landscapes (or chirally induced rotational motion) and the self-propulsion of the active particle. Our work provides a theoretical basis for understanding the dynamic behavior of a chiral active particle in complex environments.
Genetic Association between lipid and the risk of Headache
Authors: Zhang Houwen , Cao Fangzheng , Wang Juan , Zhou Yu , Wu Bin , Li Chunrong
Published: June 2024

Background
Headache is one of the most prevalent neurological manifestation. Abnormal vascular function and activation of inflammatory responses increase the sensitivity of pain, which together affect pain processing pathways. Lipids perform a variety of critical functions, dysfunction of lipid metabolism and homeostasis can be involve in a variety of acute and chronic diseases. However, the exact association between lipids and headache still remains unknown due to various challenges. This study aimed to investigate the potential causal association between lipids and headache by using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) analysis.
Methods
Utilizing a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, this study analyzed genome-wide association study (GWAS) data pertaining to 179 lipid traits to explore their causal links with four prevalent headache disorders: tension-type headache (TTH), migraine, cluster headache, and medication-overuse headache (MOH). A suite of MR analytical methods, including inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median, weighted mode, and simple mode were employed to ascertain the robustness of the causal conclusions. To further validate these findings, sensitivity analyses were conducted.
Results
The MR analysis demonstrated significant causal associations between several lipid species and headache disorders. Increased genetic predisposition to specific lipid levels, such as diacylglycerol and triacylglycerol, was linked with a higher risk of developing TTH and migraine. Contrasting effects were observed with phosphatidylcholine; certain species conferred protection against cluster headaches, while others were associated with increased risks of TTH and migraine. The associations remained consistent across different MR methods and were statistically significant after adjustments for multiple testing.
Conclusion
The MR analysis suggests a potential causal relationship between lipids and the risk of headache including TTH, migraine, cluster headache and MOH. However, further extensive research involving diversified populations is imperative to validate these findings.
Privacy-preserving Human Activity Recognition Using Principal Component-based Wavelet Cnn
Authors: Pervin Nadira , Sanam Tahsina Farah , Imtiaz Hafiz
Published: June 2024

Human activity recognition (HAR) is crucial in applications such as smart homes, interactive games, surveillance, security, and healthcare. In recent years, Channel State Information (CSI) data extracted from Wi-Fi signals has garnered significant interest for applications in HAR. This interest stems from CSI's several advantages, including its immunity to illumination variations and environmental disturbances, and the elimination of the need for wearable devices. Despite being widely used, existing HAR system's performance suffers when used in new environments without system improvement or retraining. This constraint can be overcome by gathering and annotating data from various locations, and then re-training the system. However, it is far from ideal from the privacy perspective, as the training algorithms access the data from different privacy-sensitive environments. This motivates us to design a reliable and robust privacy-preserving HAR system. In this work, we introduce a Differentially Private Principal Component-based Wavelet Convolutional Neural Network (DP-PCWCNN) that offers accurate and robust HAR performance across different environments, while preserving strict privacy constraints. We evaluate the performance of our proposed algorithm on a publicly available real dataset and demonstrate that our proposed system closely approximates the non-private system's performance for some parameter choices.
Stochastic Dynamics of Postural Sway Modeled by Double Ornstein Uhlenbeck Process
Authors: Yaradanakul Naci Barış , Hassanpour Maryam , Gürses Senih
Published: June 2024

The Center-of-Pressure in anteroposterior direction (CoPx) exhibits two regime dynamics during quiet stance. First regime is slowly changing equilibrium points determined by higher nervous system. Second includes the fast postural corrections around it. We proposed a novel system of stochastic differential equations, double Ornstein Uhlenbeck process (dOU), where the long-term mean of first OU is controlled by the second OU. We derived the closed forms of the correlation and the power spectral density (PSD) functions. Four parameters were optimized in frequency domain over experimental data. We found that the mean reversion rate of second OU governs the dominant sway frequency while its volatility scales the associated variation. Fast reflexive postural adjustments around the equilibrium are modeled by first OU. The phenomenological dOU model exploits two independent Wiener processes as the driving forces in random dynamics of CoPx while mean reversion rates serve for bounded variability of balance considering biomechanical constraints.
Instability enhanced dewatering during mechanical pressing of elastic porous media
Authors: Dudick Sumner , Hess Dennis W. , Breedveld Victor
Published: June 2024

One commonly used method to remove water from porous media is mechanical pressing. Applying stress to a material whose voids are filled with fluid causes the pores to collapse, driving out the liquid. When the porous medium is both elastic and hydrophilic, this dewatering process is reversible. After the applied stress is released, elastic recovery of the medium reopens pores, and capillary forces draw some of the expelled water back into the pore structure from whatever absorbent sink was adjacent to the material. Because the purpose of mechanical pressing is to remove liquid, preventing this reflux is key for optimizing dewatering efficiency. We investigated the impact of layering a stiff spacer at the interface of the material and sink such that dewatering occurs with minimal reflux. We hypothesize that this technique works by applying the Plateau-Rayleigh instability to achieve unidirectional transport. A spacer with the appropriate structure causes liquid channels to rupture as dewatering occurs. Although the driving force for reflux remains upon decompression, there is no path for flow. We find that this approach results in enhanced dewatering over a wide range of liquid properties. While other methods have previously been developed to promote unidirectional flow in porous media, our approach provides a solution where existing techniques fail to be practical. The main advantages of leveraging interfacial instability to prevent reflux include: a passive design with no moving parts, a structure with high permeability that does not restrict flow, and a rapid mechanism applicable to fast industrial processes.
The Deep Latent Space Particle Filter for Real-Time Data Assimilation with Uncertainty Quantification
Authors: Mücke Nikolaj Takata , Bohté Sander M. , Oosterlee Cornelis W.
Published: June 2024

In Data Assimilation, observations are fused with simulations to obtain an accurate estimate of the state and parameters for a given physical system. Combining data with a model, however, while accurately estimating uncertainty, is computationally expensive and infeasible to run in real-time for complex systems. Here, we present a novel particle filter methodology, the Deep Latent Space Particle filter or D-LSPF, that uses neural network-based surrogate models to overcome this computational challenge. The D-LSPF enables filtering in the low-dimensional latent space obtained using Wasserstein AEs with modified vision transformer layers for dimensionality reduction and transformers for parameterized latent space time stepping. As we demonstrate on three test cases, including leak localization in multi-phase pipe flow and seabed identification for fully nonlinear water waves, the D-LSPF runs orders of magnitude faster than a high-fidelity particle filter and 3-5 times faster than alternative methods while being up to an order of magnitude more accurate. The D-LSPF thus enables real-time data assimilation with uncertainty quantification for physical systems.
Alexithymia and Illness Perceptions in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Their Partners: a dyadic analysis.
Authors: Luca Maria , Luca Antonina , Patti Francesco , Algorta Guillermo Perez , Eccles Fiona Juliet Rosalind
Published: June 2024

Background
Illness perceptions (IPs) encompass opinions regarding the nature, severity and curability of a disease. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between alexithymia and IPs among persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and their partners, as well as within the dyads composed of PwMS and partners.
Methods
PwMS referred to the Multiple Sclerosis Center of the University Hospital “Policlinico-San Marco” from 11th August 2021 to 7th January 2022 and their partners completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and the Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised. A dyadic data analysis (Actor-Partner Interdependence Model) was performed to test the effect of alexithymic traits both on a person’s own illness perceptions (actor effect) and on the partner’s illness perceptions (partner effect).
Results
100 PwMS (71 women; mean age 47.6 ± 10.4 years) and 100 partners (29 women; mean age 49.1 ± 10.8 years), with a mean partnership duration of 20.1 ± 11.7 years, were enrolled. At the dyadic analysis, statistically significant small-to-moderate actor and partner effects were found considering alexithymia (total score and alexithymic facets) and IPs, whereby higher alexithymic traits related to higher negative perceptions (i.e. consequences, emotional representations) and lower positive ones (i.e. coherence, treatment control).
Conclusion
Our findings support the relationship between alexithymia and negative illness appraisals. This data may inform therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing alexithymic traits, which in turn may reduce negative, and potentially dysfunctional, illness perceptions.
The unequal face of hunger: How gender and race/colour have exacerbated food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic—a cross-sectional analysis
Authors: Luiz Gleiciane Bueno da Silva , Ferreira Aline Alves , Salles-Costa Rosana
Published: June 2024

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated Food Insecurity (FI) in a heterogeneous way across different household profiles. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic on FI in Brazil according to the intersections of race/colour and the gender of household heads.
Methods
Microdata from the 1st and 2nd Food Insecurity Surveys in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic (VIGISAN) were used (1st VIGISAN: n=2,180; 2nd VIGISAN: n=12,745). FI levels were compared according to the profiles created from the intersection of gender (male and female) and race/colour (white and black) for the household reference person. Odds ratio (OR) values were calculated using multinomial logistic regression models to assess the association between reference person profiles and FI levels.
Results
Although the proportion of households with moderate+severe FI increased in the first two years of the pandemic among households headed by black people, the prevalence of severe FI was significantly greater for households headed by black women (2.2 versus 3.2; 95% CI 2.52; 4.00).
Conclusions
The results of this study reinforce the need to plan equitable public policies that debate the intersectionality of gender and race/colour as a way of guaranteeing food and nutritional security in Brazil.
Feet edema and growth retardation in Turner syndrome by prenatal ultrasonography: a case report and literature review
Authors: Ma Jing , Liang Li , Liu Shanshan , Yan Kailin , Liu Xi , Zhang Li
Published: June 2024

Background: Turner syndrome (TS), also known as congenital ovarian hypoplasia syndrome, is a sex chromosome abnormality caused by a complete/partial absence of the second sex chromosome with complete X chromosome. The most common findings by prenatal ultrasonography of TS include thickened nuchal translucency, cystic hygroma, cardiovascular system abnormalities, urinary system diseases, and growth retardation.
Case presentation: We present a unique case of TS with the ultrasonographic features of dorsal skin edema on both feet and a progressive intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) at the second trimester of spontaneous pregnant. We performed an extensive review of prenatal ultrasound features of TS cases from MEDLINE (PUBMED) published in English between 2000-2024 to prove this case's uniqueness. A 29-year-old pregnant woman with her second pregnancy after a previous missed abortion presented as the prenatal ultrasound exam for fetal structural anomalies at 24+3 weeks gestation revealed an edema of the dorsal skin on both feet and a short long bone of both femur and humerus for gestational age. Nuchal translucency (NT) measurement at week 13+6 was 1.3mm and fetal echocardiography at week 24+2 showed normal. There were no markedly abnormal findings in the results of non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) cell-free fetal DNA (cff-DNA) at 14+6 weeks. Then, amniocentesis was performed and the results confirmed Turner syndrome with a 45,X karyotype. The final review included 11 with a total number of 884 cases were identified, among which central lymphedema such as increased nuchal translucency or cystic hygroma is the typical finding with TS by ultrasonographic examination. Peripheral lymphedema resulting in fetal substantial swelling in feet was reported in 3 cases. Fetal feet edema accompanied with growth retardation are extremely rare.
Conclusions: Peripheral lymphedema such as feet edema accompanied with long bone-involved growth retardation is rare but recognized features by prenatal ultrasonography, which should be considered as an index of chromosomal abnormalities in fetus with TS.
Research on Airport Express Train Schedule Optimization Based on Demand-Driven Air-Rail Intermodal Transportation
Authors: He Jin , Li Yinzhen
Published: June 2024

The optimization of airport express train schedules is crucial for air-rail intermodal transport, which directly affects the efficiency of passenger transfer and service level. It thus enhances the competitiveness of the transport system. In the context of air-rail intermodal transportation, this study explores the “Airport Express and Flight Succession” issue. Given the take-off and landing time of airport flights, we analyze the demand of different passenger flows and the key factors influencing the connection between airport express lines and flights, and construct a demand-driven optimization model of airport express train schedules based on air-rail intermodal transport conditions with the goal of minimizing the total travel time and the number of unserved passengers, and use a simulated annealing algorithm to solve the model and verify the model and algorithm by taking the case of the Lanzhou-Zhong Chuan Airport Express Line. The model and algorithm are validated by taking Lanzhou Zhong Chuan Airport Express as an example. The results show that the optimized timetable reduces the total travel time cost of passengers by 0.93% and 3.82%, the number of unserved passengers by 14.7%, and the proportion of flights and trains that do not satisfy the constraints of passenger occupancy by 17%, under the premise of considering the time sensitivity of different types of passengers and the principle of fairness, respectively. Therefore, the timetable optimization strategy of this study significantly reduces the total travel time of intermodal and commuter traffic while increasing the number of served passengers, which provides a solid scientific basis for the operation and management of the Airport Express to develop a more efficient and reasonable train timetable under the conditions of air-rail intermodal transportation.
Evaluation of systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and other blood count indices in patients with Behçet’s disease: A prospective study
Authors: Bijani Faezeh Moghimpour , Alikhani Majid , Yavari Tahereh , Faezi Tahereh , Valizadeh Amirhossein , Koohpayezadeh Zohreh , Madreseh Elham
Published: June 2024

Behçet’s disease (BD) is an auto-inflammatory systemic vasculitis, with immune system dysregulation playing a key role in its pathogenesis. Accordingly, estimation of active inflammation and modification of immune system is critical in the treatment modalities. Several serum markers have been studied for the identification of active inflammation in BD. This study aimed to investigate complete blood count (CBC) indices, including systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in patients with BD.
In this prospective study, 112 BD patients (58 active, 54 non-active) and 61 healthy controls were enrolled from January 2023 to January 2024. CBC indices including neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), absolute monocyte count (AMC), monocyte to RDW ratio (MRR), and neutrophil to RDW ratio (NRR) were compared between groups.
Accordingly, SII, NLR, ANC, AMC, platelet count, MRR, and NRR were significantly higher in BD patients compared to controls (p-value= 0.004, 0.015, <0.001, 0.037, 0.031, 0.034 and 0.001, respectively). However, there were no differences in these indices between active and non-active groups. Notably, patients with BD-related ocular complications had elevated SII and NRR compared to those without ocular involvement (p-value=0.03 and 0.018, respectively). ROC curve analysis identified SII, NLR, and NRR as predictive factors for BD diagnosis (p-value=0.001, 0.033 and 0.003, respectively).
SII, NLR, PLR, MRR and NRR are found to be elevated in BD patients. Furthermore, SII and NRR are revealed to be increased in patients with BD-related ocular complications. Moreover, SII, NLR and NRR are demonstrated to be predictive factors for making the diagnosis of BD.
The AP-1 adaptor complex is essential for intracellular trafficking of the ORF2 capsid protein and assembly of Hepatitis E virus
Authors: Ferrié Martin , Alexandre Virginie , Montpellier Claire , Bouquet Peggy , Tubiana Thibault , Mézière Léa , Ankavay Maliki , Bentaleb Cyrine , Dubuisson Jean , Bressanelli Stéphane , Aliouat-Denis Cécile-Marie , Rouillé Yves , Cocquerel Laurence
Published: June 2024

Although the Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging global health burden, little is known about its interaction with the host cell. HEV genome encodes three proteins including the ORF2 capsid protein that is produced in different forms, the ORF2i protein which is the structural component of viral particles, and the ORF2g/c proteins which are massively secreted but are not associated with infectious material. We recently demonstrated that the endocytic recycling compartment (ERC) is hijacked by HEV to serve as a viral factory. However, host determinants involved in the subcellular shuttling of viral proteins to viral factories are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the AP-1 adaptor complex plays a pivotal role in the targeting of ORF2i protein to viral factories. This complex belongs to the family of adaptor proteins that are involved in vesicular transport between the trans-Golgi network and early/recycling endosomes. An interplay between the AP-1 complex and viral protein(s) has been described for several viral lifecycles. In the present study, we demonstrated that the ORF2i protein colocalizes and interacts with the AP-1 adaptor complex in HEV-producing or infected cells. We showed that silencing or drug-inhibition of the AP-1 complex prevents ORF2i protein localization in viral factories and reduces viral production in hepatocytes. Modeling of the ORF2i/AP-1 complex also revealed that the S domain of ORF2i likely interacts with the σ1 subunit of AP-1 complex. Hence, our study identified for the first time a host factor involved in addressing of HEV proteins (i.e. ORF2i protein) to viral factories.
Clinical features and sequelae of detrusor underactivity: a study of possible cause and effect
Authors: Vuthiwong Jaraspong , Whalen Stewart , Qu Liang G , Gani Johan
Published: June 2024

Purpose
To describe the clinical presentation and urodynamic findings in detrusor underactivity (DU) patients and investigate the association between DU and straining related complications such as pelvic organ prolapse (POP), inguinal hernia, and hemorrhoids.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed all consecutive patients who underwent urodynamic studies (UDS) from 2012 to 2023, divided into two groups: those with evidence of DU (n = 573), and control subjects with normal voiding parameters (n = 522). Exclusion criteria were patients who lacked sufficient data, those with obstructive voiding parameters and those who had received intravesical botulinum toxin injections within the previous nine months. Demographic information, clinical presentation, straining related complications and UDS findings were compared between the two groups using univariate statistical analysis.
Results
Median age in the DU group was 67. The DU group had a statistically significant higher prevalence of spinal disease, multiple sclerosis, previous cerebrovascular accidents, previous colorectal surgery, previous transabdominal gynecological surgery, POP surgery, and recurrent UTIs. DU patients had a higher prevalence of pronounced vaginal bulging symptoms, inguinal hernia, and hemorrhoids. Poor stream was the most common lower urinary tract symptom (50.5%). The median Qmax, PdetQmax, and PVR for DU patents were 7 ml/sec, 13 cmH2O, and 200 ml, respectively.
Conclusion
DU patients commonly present with both voiding and storage symptoms. There is approximately twice the risk of having POP surgery and inguinal hernia, a seven-fold risk of hemorrhoids, and a three-fold risk of recurrent UTIs. This is thought to be secondary to increased intra-abdominal pressure during urinary straining.
Spatiotemporal transcriptome atlas of developing mouse lung
Authors: Meng Xiaogao , Li Wenjie , Xu Jian , Yang Yumeng , Zheng Hui , Cui Guizhong , Suo Shengbao , Peng Guangdun
Published: June 2024

Background
The lung is a vital organ for mammalian life, as it is intricately connected to the cardiovascular system for supporting gas exchange. The functional development of the mammalian lung is a complex process that relies on the spatial and temporal organization of multiple cell types and their states. However, a comprehensive spatiotemporal transcriptome atlas of the developing lung has not yet been reported.
Results
Here we apply high-throughput spatial transcriptomics to allow for a comprehensive assessment of mouse lung development comprised of two critical developmental events: branching morphogenesis and alveologenesis. We firstly generate a spatial molecular atlas of mouse lung development spanning from E12.5 to P0 based on the integration of published single cell RNA-sequencing data and identify 10 spatial domains critical for functional lung organization. Furthermore, we create a lineages map connecting spatial clusters from adjacent time points in E12.5-P0 lungs and explore TF regulatory networks for each lineage specification. We observe the establishment of pulmonary airways within the developing lung, accompanied by the proximal-distal patterning by distinct characteristics of gene expression, signaling landscape and transcription factors enrichment. We characterize the alveolar niche heterogeneity with maturation state differences during the later developmental stage around birth and demonstrate differentially expressed genes, such as Angpt2 and Epha3, which may perform a critical role during alveologenesis. In addition, multiple signaling pathways, including ANGPT, VEGF and EPHA, exhibit increased levels in more maturing alveolar niche.
Conclusion
By integrating the spatial transcriptome with corresponding single-cell transcriptome data, we provide a comprehensive molecular atlas of mouse lung development with detailed molecular domain annotation and communication, which would pave the way for understanding human lung development and respiratory regeneration medicine.
Preparation and n-hexadecane hydroisomerization properties of SAPO-11 based composite molecular sieve
Authors: Tuo Changmin , Liu Qinghua , Wu Xianglian , Abulizi Abulikemu , Ren Tiezhen , Nulahong Aisha
Published: June 2024

In this work, SAPO-11, SAPO-11-γ-Al2O3 and SAPO-11-ZSM-5-γ-Al2O3 molecular sieve supports were prepared by static hydrothermal synthesis, which SAPO-11-γ-Al2O3 and SAPO-11-ZSM-5-γ-Al2O3 supports were loaded with Co and Mo as active metal components. The hydroisomerization properties of n-hexadecane on SAPO-11, SAPO-11-γ-Al2O3 and SAPO-11-ZSM-5-γ-Al2O3 molecular sieves were investigated, as well as the effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, solid-liquid ratio and reaction pressure on the hydroisomerization properties. The results showed that the SAPO-11 molecular sieves under the conditions Al2O3: H3PO4: DPA: SiO2: H2O = 1:2:1.2:0.6:55, a crystallization time of 48 h, and crystallization temperature of 180 ℃ were synthesized, had a higher degree of crystallinity and uniform size distribution, and the pore structure was more obvious. After the metal-loaded SAPO-11-γ-Al2O3 molecular sieves due to the charged metal blocked part of the pore or pore opening of the molecular sieve, resulting in the reduction of the specific surface area and pore volume, some of their acidic sites are blocked occupied by the metal and the acid is weakened. The results of the hydroisomerization experiments showed that SAPO-11 molecular sieves the isoparaffin selectivity and isoparaffin yield reached maximum values of 31.26% and 28.32% at 340 ℃, 60 min, respectively. The selectivity and yield reached maximum of 51.02% and 43.76% at liquid-solid ratio up to 25:1. The selectivity and yield reached maximum values of 55.82% and 51.2% at an initial reaction pressure of 5 MPA. For the SAPO-11-γ-Al2O3 supports, the selectivity and yield the maximum values of 79.50% and 71.49% at a metal Co: Mo loading ratio of 1:3 was achieved. For the SAPO-11-ZSM-5-γ-Al2O3 supports, the selectivity and yield the maximum values of 55.44% and 54.05% were achieved with ZSM-5 loading of 30 wt%. These catalysts have the potential for a wide range of applications.
A novel S-scheme ZnO/Ce-g-C3N5 heterojunctions with enhanced photocatalytic activity
Authors: Jia Jia , Huang Lili , Yan Yumin , Wang Haiqiao , Tian Mingxia , Jiang Jianhui
Published: June 2024

Creating a high-performance photocatalyst is critical for enhancing the degradation of organic contaminants in wastewater. A novel ZN/Ce-CN heterojunctions, in which ZnO nanoparticles were uniformly deposited on the rare earth metal cerium doped g-C3N5 (Ce-CN) nanosheets, was fabricated in a two-step process (hydrothermal and calcination). The Mott-Schott test revealed S-scheme heterojunctions formed between Ce-CN and ZnO rather than type II. Regarding methylene blue (MB) degradation, the as-prepared heterojunctions demonstrated significantly more photocatalytic activity than Ce-CN and ZnO. The presence of heterojunctions in ZN/Ce-CN improves the separation efficiency of photo-induced e-h+ pairs, resulting in ZN/Ce-CN's superior photocatalytic activity. The primary active species engaged in photocatalytic degradation have been discovered to be h+, •OH, and •O2- based on the research results using electron spin resonance spectra and radical trapping. Furthermore, ZN/Ce-CN had excellent reusability and stability. These results demonstrate the remarkable photocatalytic activity of S-scheme photocatalyst in the degradation of organic contaminants.
Variation in surgical treatment by body mass index in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast
Authors: Falade Israel O. , Switalla Kayla M. , Baxter Molly E. , Quirarte Astrid , Record Helena , Rothschild Harriet T. , Clelland Elle N. , Mukhtar Rita A.
Published: June 2024

Purpose
Patients with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) face high rates of positive margins and completion mastectomy, which can be improved with the use of specific techniques such as oncoplastic surgery. However, prior studies have shown that type of breast cancer surgery performed is also associated with patient factors such as elevated body mass index (BMI). Thus, this study investigates whether BMI impacts the type of surgical interventions in patients with ILC.
Methods
A retrospective analysis of 705 patients with stage I-III ILC from an institutional database was conducted. Patients were stratified by BMI (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese). Pearson’s chi-square, ANOVA, and multivariable logistic regression were used to evaluate the relationship between BMI and surgical procedures.
Results
Breast conserving surgery (BCS) was the initial operation in 60% of patients, with no significant difference by BMI. Among those undergoing BCS, patients with obese BMI were significantly more likely to undergo oncoplastic surgery (46.9% vs. 7.7%, 37.3%, and 33.6% for underweight, normal, and overweight respectively, p = 0.032). Obese BMI patients undergoing mastectomy were less likely to have reconstruction compared to those with BMI groups 1–3 (44.2% vs. 50%, 71.1%, and 64.1%, p = 0.002).
Conclusion
Overweight/obese BMI patients with ILC underwent different surgical interventions compared to those with lower BMI. While initial BCS rates were similar, overweight/obese patients had higher oncoplastic surgery rates in BCS and lower reconstruction rates in mastectomy. Further research is needed to understand BMI's impact on surgical decisions and outcomes in ILC.
Bovine lactoferrin inhibits Plasmodium berghei growth by binding to heme
Authors: Obayashi Momoka , Kimura Momoko , Haraguchi Asako , Gotanda Mari , Kitagawa Taiki , Matsuno Misato , Sakao Kozue , Hamanaka Daisuke , Kusakisako Kodai , Ibrahim Hisham , Miyata Takeshi , Ikadai Hiromi
Published: June 2024

Bovine lactoferrin (bLF) is a 77 kDa glycoprotein that is abundant in bovine breast milk and exerts various bioactive functions, including antibacterial and antiviral functions. Few studies have explored bLF activity against parasites. We found that bLF affects hemozoin synthesis by binding to heme, inhibiting heme iron polymerization necessary for Plasmodium berghei ANKA survival in infected erythrocytes, and also binds to hemozoin, causing it to disassemble. In a challenge test, bLF administration inhibited the growth of murine malaria parasites compared to untreated group growth. To determine whether the iron content of bLF affects the inhibition of malaria growth, we tested bLFs containing different amounts of iron (apo-bLF, native-bLF, and holo-bLF), but found no significant difference in their effects. This indicated that the active sites were located within the bLFs themselves. Further studies showed that the C-lobe domain of bLF can inhibit hemozoin formation and the growth of P. berghei ANKA. Evaluation of pepsin degradation products of the C-lobe identified a 47-amino-acid section, C-1, as the smallest effective region that could inhibit hemozoin formation. This study highlights bLF’s potential as a novel therapeutic agent against malaria, underscoring the importance of its non-iron-dependent bioactive sites in combating parasite growth.
Testicular Atrophy Risk after Orchidopexy Surgery in Children with Cryptorchidism in Isfahan Hospitals
Authors: Hosseinpour Mehrdad , Zahed Ali , Mirjalali Kimia
Published: June 2024

Introduction: This study was conducted to investigate testicular atrophy risk after orchidopexy surgery in children with Cryptorchidism.
Method: "This prospective cross-sectional study , included 80 patients from Imam Hussein and Al-Zahra hospital in Isfahan. Children with endocrine disorders or retractable testes were excluded. Testicular measurements were taken before and 6 months after surgery using Lambert's criteria. The significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: A total of 70 children, with a mean age of 26.1 ± 67.1 months, participated in this study and were examined. A prevalence of 21.4% for testicular atrophy was reported. A statistically significant association was found between the variables of testicular torsion, initial inguinal testis position, and laparoscopic surgical method with the occurrence of atrophy. Logistic regression analysis revealed that testicular torsion prior to surgery, initial abdominal testicular position, and laparoscopic surgery increased the risk of testicular atrophy six months post-operatively.
Conclusion: This study revealed that testicular torsion, laparoscopic surgery, and abdominal positioning of the initial testis were significantly associated with increased rates of atrophy. No significant correlation was found between atrophy and age. We recommend conducting future orchidopexy studies with larger sample sizes and conducting longer-term follow-up examinations to further elucidate these findings.
GaitHF: Enhancing Appearance-Based Gait Recognition through Height Fused Images
Authors: Zhu Jinchang , Sun Dayang , Cheng Yu , Wang Hailong , Chen Yujing , Chen Yaowei
Published: June 2024

Gait recognition, an emerging field at the intersection of computer vision and biometrics, has garnered significant attention for its potential applications in surveillance, security, and healthcare. In this paper, we present a novel method that combines appearance-based gait recognition with human height data. The proposed approach aims to enhance the accuracy and robustness of gait recognition systems by incorporating complementary features derived from both gait patterns and human height. We believe that incorporating height information can offer additional discriminative power to gait recognition models, enabling them to better distinguish individuals in various scenarios. Many gait recognition convolutional neural networks using deep learning methods have made good data progress in recent years, so we also adopt this approach, e.g., deep learning methods such as (CNN) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), which can automatically learn hierarchical representations of gait and height features to capture intricate patterns and relationships. Our experiments involve a comprehensive analysis using benchmark gait datasets, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed approach in comparison to traditional gait recognition methods. The results highlight the potential of leveraging human height information to enhance the overall performance of gait recognition systems. Our experimental data show that the results achieved by many appearance-based gait recognition models on the CASIA-B and OU-MVLP datasets progress in most conditions after using our proposed new approach, which are eye-catching in that the average accuracy improves by 1.875% and 6% on BG and CL of CASIA-B, respectively, and the average accuracy improves on the large dataset OU-MVLP is also improved by 1.35%. Overall, our work focuses on analyzing and recognizing gait images, contributing to gait recognition. The source code and datasets can be accessed at https://github.com/ReinerBRO/GaitHF.
Adaptive Cross-platform Scheduling Framework for NWP in Hybrid Clouds
Authors: Ding Fan
Published: June 2024

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) requires real-time, high-accuracy processing, straining traditional high-performance computing clusters with limited resources, complex operations, and long queue times. Hybrid clouds merge the security of local clusters with the scalability of public clouds, providing a viable solution for high-performance computations. However, it also poses challenges: parallel programming for local clusters is not suitable for the various settings of hybrid clouds; complex parallelization policies increase communication overhead and complicate scheduling; and traditional static resource binding can lead to load imbalance in heterogeneous environments. This paper proposes an adaptive cross-platform scheduling strategy tailored to the characteristics of NWP models. This approach harmonizes the advantages of traditional and cloud-based parallel computing, integrating two distinct parallel programming methodologies and reconfiguring the parallel programming framework of the forecasting models. Experimental results show that the framework effectively improves adaptability and resource utilization, significantly improves computational efficiency and reduces operational overhead in hybrid cloud deployments.
Bioinformatics Approach Unravels Potential Crosstalk Between Cytomegalovirus and Epilepsy
Authors: Rashdi Salim Al , Al-Mahrami Nabras
Published: June 2024

Background Cytomegalovirus is a double-stranded DNA virus that is known to be associated with congenital disorders. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that happens due to the activation of the inception of neurotransmitters. It is suggested that cytomegalovirus can affect epilepsy since it can reach the brain. This study aims to investigate the molecular crosstalk between epilepsy and Cytomegalovirus infection using a bioinformatics approach.Methods We used gene expression datasets related to each condition retrieved from the public database. Differentially expressed gene analysis has been done on each dataset group separately. The common genes that are significantly expressed in both conditions have been processed into protein-to-protein network analysis and gene enrichment analysis.Results Results showed that 192 common genes were identified across the two conditions. The three genes CCL2, CD44, and CCL3 have been defined as hub genes in protein-to-protein interaction networks with the highest centralities measures. This suggests the essential roles of these molecules in biological systems. Additionally, these genes are involved in inflammatory processing and immune response.Conclusion We suggest that inflammatory chemokine molecules have potential molecular crosstalk between Cytomegalovirus and Epilepsy. Therefore, more investigations are required to demonstrate the role of each suggested molecule in the association.
Does economic liberty impact banks’ performance and risk-taking behaviour? A cross-country analysis.
Authors: Mamoon Abdullah
Published: June 2024

Performance and optimal risk-taking behaviour of the financial sector in a country play a crucial role in the overall health and strength of the market, it is also important for economic growth and financial stability. This study examines whether the degree of economic liberty influences the performance and risk-taking behaviour in banking, using a panel dataset of 130 emerging and developed countries between 2010 to 2021. To achieve a robust outcome from the analysis of our study, we employ Newey-West regression with standard error and GMM econometric techniques, along with baseline panel OLS regression. Our findings suggest that increasing economic liberty enhances banking sector performance while also supporting optimal risk-taking behaviour. However, economic liberty provides more balanced risk-taking behaviour or stability in developed countries than in emerging countries. On the other hand, economic liberty enhances performance in emerging countries relative to developed countries. Our findings have significant implications for finance and economics literature as well as policy practices in the banking sector in a country.
JEL classification E4,F4,G1,G21,G28
Ultrafast surface esterification of cellulosic materials in aqueous media at room temperature
Authors: Xing Tianqing , Zhao Tengfei , Hu Chensheng , Cao Xuefei , Sun Shaoni , Shen Xiaojun , Wen Jialong , Yuan Tongqi , Sun Runcang
Published: June 2024

Cellulose is the most abundant and renewable biopolymers on earth. The hydrophilic nature of cellulose endows cellulosic materials good compatibility with polar matrices, but it also leads to their poor dispersion in non-polar matrices. Regulating the surface hydrophobicity of cellulosic materials via surface esterification can greatly extend their applications. However, the existing surface esterification methods for cellulosic materials are time-consuming and costly, which makes them less attractive to practical application. Here we found that when vinyl esters were used as esterifying agents, various alkalis can be used to catalyze the ultrafast surface esterification of cellulose materials in aqueous media at room temperature within seconds or minutes, which is highly attractive to the surface esterification of nanocellulose in suspension state. Surface acetylated cellulose nanofibers (ACNF) and surface acetylated cellulose nanocrystals (ACNC) with acetyl group content (Ac%) up to 10.7% and 6.5%, respectively, were successfully prepared within 5 min in aqueous diethylamine solution. Additionally, this method can also be used to achieve the rapid acetylation of phenol hydroxyl group in aqueous media.