bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
WITHDRAWN: Morphometry of Foramen Magnum by Using Post-Mortem Computed Tomography (PMCT) for Discriminant Analysis of Sex and Population Affinity among Malaysian Population
Authors: Lai Poh Soon , Yi-Li Wong , Noor Mohamad Helmee Mohamad , Ibrahim Mohamad Azaini
Published: October 2022

Aims: Morphometrics of foramen magnum were assessed for discriminant function analysis of sex estimation and population affinity estimation by using post mortem computed tomography (PMCT) images in a Malaysian population-based study.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted by using convenient sampling of PMCT skull images among 300 Malaysian adults. Standardized morphometric evaluation of two foramen magnum parameters i.e. foramen magnum anterior posterior diameter (FMAPD) and transverse diameter (FMTD) were performed. Statistical analyses included independent t-test, ANOVA, univariate and multivariate analyses together with discriminant function analyses were performed in this study.
Results: There were substantial significant differences of FMTD and FMAPD between sexes within respective population affinity. The foramen magnum morphometry of males was relatively larger than females.There were relatively significant differences of FMTD between population affinities. The multivariate analysis showed that there were also generally sufficient significant differences of FMAPD between population affinities. The morphometry of foramen magnum among Chinese was generally larger than those in Malay and Indian.
Discussion and Conclusion: Morphometry of foramen magnum had stronger discriminant function in sex estimation with 60% accuracy as compared to population affinity estimation at only 40.7% accuracy. This study had shown the FMTD and FMAPD could be the potential discriminators in sex estimation among Malaysian population especially whenever other sex dimorphism indicators not available for investigation.
Policy Analysis: The Prevalence of Leisure-related Concepts Found in Mental Health Legislation
Authors: Levick Jessica J , Broome Kieran , Oprescu Florin , Gray Marion
Published: October 2022

Background. There appears to be limited investigation on the impact mental health acts have on the implementation of therapeutic modalities such as leisure or recreation in acute settings. This policy analysis explores Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom’s documents as they share similar principles on service delivery for mental health. This paper explores 33 mental health act legislation and supporting documents within Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, in comparison with international (WHO, UN) recommendations, to explore their alignment with the promotion of access to meaningful leisure activities.
Methods. A checklist was developed from the literature on ideal criteria that can facilitate leisure engagement and best-practice standards for leisure delivery. Each document was hand-searched and scored.
Results. Some documents did not contain any leisure related language and received a score of 1. Leisure-related language was typically associated with the built environment. Australia was the only country to contain high-quality leisure-related language in their policy. New Zealand presented with the lowest scores overall and lacked meaningful use of leisure-related language throughout its reviewed documents.
Conclusion. The legislation and supporting documents reviewed do not include sufficient language to support therapeutic engagement in inpatient units.
Resolution approximation method; An analysis, failures and successes
Authors: Shiri Babak
Published: October 2022

The resolution approximation method is introduced for the first time for data approximating with minimizing an energy function. The minimization problem of the corresponding energy function is analyzed with three different distances, maximum distance, average distance and Ecleadian distance. Interestingly, the first approximations for monomials with introduced distances are equivalent to descriptive statistics such as minimum, maximum, average and median. Unfortunately, the resolution approximation methods with monomials fail. A cure with Haar scale functions is introduced. The theoretical results are validated with some examples.
MSC Classification: 41A05 , 94A16
Optimizing soil moisture in subsurface irrigation system based on porous clay capsule technique
Authors: vaghei Hojjat Ghorbani , Bahrami HosseinAli , Saleh Farzin Nasiri
Published: October 2022

A clay capsule is one of the porous pipes in a sub-irrigation system that can release water near the root zone. This paper has attempted to improve the physical and hydraulic properties of clay capsules based on changing the percentage of organic matter in the raw materials. The raw material used for making clay capsules is obtained from the calcareous soil of Nasr Abad village of Gorgan, Iran. The ratio of rice bran to calcareous soil as improving hydraulic properties was 1:2, 1:5, 1: 10, 1:15, and 1:20 (kg of rice bran to kg of air-dried soil). The produced clay capsules were named G2, G5, G10, G15, and G20 respectively. The water discharge and soil water distribution of clay capsules were measured at 10, 25, 50, 80, and 100 kPa of hydrostatic pressures by a discharge-pressure automation instrument. The results showed a significant relationship between discharges of porous clay capsules and organic matter mixed with raw material. Also, the results show that with increasing organic matter percentage in the clay capsule component, the discharge of clay capsules increased. The relationship between discharges of G10, G15, and G20 with hydrostatic pressure is linear, and in G2, and G5, this relationship becomes non-linear. Meanwhile, the soil wetting shape followed a spherical trend due to the slow seepage of clay capsules. But the soil wetting shapes in G10, G15, and G20 were completely spherical, and in G5 and G2 trended to ellipsoid vertically. Finally, this is of significance for irrigating plants in arid and semi-arid regions.
Modeling Studies of Cervical Thoracic Sympathetic Nerve Magnetic Stimulation
Authors: Wang Jiawen , Sun Xiao , Xing Haoyang , Kong Qingquan
Published: October 2022

Background
Electromagnetic fields have been administered, with mixed success, in order to treat a variety of ailments. During the update of magnetic stimulation technology, modelling studies play an important role. To numerically investigate the possibility of cervical thoracic sympathetic nerve magnetic stimulation with current commercial figure-eight coil commonly used in the implementation of Transcranial magnetic stimulation, and improve coil design specially for cervical thoracic sympathetic nerve magnetic stimulation, we conducted this modelling study.
Results
We simulated the induced currents and induced electric fields at the cervicothoracic sympathetic and spinal nerves under different simulation study settings; compared and displayed the induced electric field distribution and induced currents at the level of the cervicothoracic sympathetic ganglia (stellate ganglia) At the same time, we recorded the specific values of the maximum induced current density of the cervical and thoracic sympathetic nerves and spinal nerves and compared them.
Conclusions
For current commercial figure-eight coils, in order to obtain the best magnetic stimulation results, we should place the figure-eight coils 19 mm away from the midline of the front of the human neck and rotate the coil to a certain angle to fit the human neck as closely as possible. And properly enlarging the size of the traditional figure-eight coil can obtain a stronger stimulation effect on cervical thoracic sympathetic nerve. However, the anatomical depth of the cervical thoracic sympathetic nerve is relatively deep while the induced electric field generated by the current commercial figure-eight coil decays rapidly with the stimulation depth, stimulation effect of figure-eight coil is not good enough. Although the traditional double-cone coil can theoretically achieve a deeper stimulation depth, the good fit of the double-cone coil to the neck becomes another practical problem to be solved. Our results provide guidance for further clinical volunteer trials and the development of cervical magnetic stimulation devices. We believe that this conclusion may become a weather vane for the study of cervical thoracic sympathetic nerve.
Effect of Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) on postmenopausal sexual dysfunction: A randomized clinical trial
Authors: Vahedpoorfard Zahra , Ferdosi Samira , Rahimi Habibollah , Motedayyen Hossein
Published: October 2022

Objective: Female sexual dysfunction is a common distressing problem among women which may result from reducing circulating endogenous estrogen. Humulus lupulus L (Hop) has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and estrogenic properties. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the efficacy of Hop on postmenopausal sexual dysfunction.
Methods: Study populations consisted of 63 postmenopausal women who were randomly categorized into two groups. In the Hop group (N=33), women received the Vaginal gel containing Hop extract every day for seven days and then continued for two months, twice weekly. In the Estradiol group (N=30), women were treated with vaginal estradiol (0.625 mg) over two 28-day cycles (21 days of therapy and seven days rest). The sexual function was evaluated using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire before and after the intervention.
Results: No statistically significant differences in FSFI scores (sexual desire, sexual arousal, vaginal lubrication, satisfaction, orgasm, sexual pain, and total FSFI) (P>0.05) were noticed after treatment between Hop and estradiol groups.
Conclusion: Vaginal Hop was as effective as estradiol in improving the sexual dysfunction among postmenopausal women with no adverse events.
Anthelmintic and hepatoprotective activities of the biocompatible Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles against Parascaris equorum infection in rats
Authors: Ali Sara Bayoumi , Mohamed Ayman Saber , Fahmy Sohair R , El–Garhy Manal , Mousa Mohamed R , Abdel-Ghaffar Fathy
Published: October 2022

Background: Nanoparticles have many properties, depending on their size, shape, and morphology, allowing them to interact with microorganisms, plants, and animals. Objectives: Investigatation of the therapeutic effects biocompatible zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on P. equorum infection in rats.
Methods: Thirty-six rats were divided into two divisions are: the first division is noninfected groups were allocated into three groups. Group 1: Control, Group 2: ZnO NPs (30mg/kg) and group 3: ZnO NPs (60mg/kg). The second division is infected groups were allocated into three groups. Group 1: vehicle, group 2: ZnO NPs (30mg/kg) and group 3: ZnO NPs (60mg/kg).
Findings: Biocompatible ZnO NPs caused a significant decrease in liver functions, LDL, cholesterol, triglycerides, MDA and NO. While it caused a significant increase in HB, HDL, BCHE, GSH, CAT, and GST in infected treated rats. The histological inflammation and fibroplasia scores showed a significant enhancement during the treatment with ZnO NPs (30, 60mg/kg) compared to the infected untreated animals that scored the highest pathological destruction score. Immunohistochemical markers of NF-κB showed a significant decrease during the treatment with ZnO NPs (30, 60mg/kg) compared to the infected untreated animals.
Main conclusions: Biocompatible Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle is a promising treatment modality against parasitic infection through its powerful anthelmintic, antioxidant, healing promotion, and anti-inflammation effects.
Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals distinct gene expression profiles in Fusarium graminearum challenged with carbendazim and phenamacril
Authors: Guo Xuhao , Jiang Jia , Qian Le , Xu Jianqiang , Che Zhiping , Liu Shengming
Published: October 2022

Background: Fusarium graminearum, which causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) on cereal crops worldwide, is an economically important phytopathogenic fungus. Chemical control is the dominant method to manage FHB.
Results: In this study, the sensitivity of F. graminearum against carbendazim and phenamacril of two commonly-used fungicides with different mode of action weredetermined. A total of 5086 and 2559 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in F. graminearum with carbendazim and phenamacril treatment, respectively, by RNA-seq. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed proteasome complex, transporter activity, and transmembrane transporter activity were most enriched with carbendazim treatment, whereas ion binding, ribonucleotide binding and carbohydrate derivative binding were most enriched with phenamacril treatment. The pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated proteasome, ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes and pentose phosphate pathway were associated with carbendazim response while nitrogen metabolism, glutathione metabolism and citrate cycle (TCA cycle) were associated with phenamacril response. Furthermore, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis was performed to elucidate protein and metabolic networks in F. graminearum response of fungicide. In addition, the results show that those genes associated with ATP-binding cassette transporters, heat shock proteins and stress response were changed expression and genes regulating trichothecenes biosynthesis were altered with two fungicide treatment.
Conclusions: Taken together, those results promoted to unravel the action mechanism of carbendazim and phenamacril on F. graminearum and provide valuable resources for searching novel antifungal in the future to improve strategies managing FHB.
Long-term Continuous-cropping System Altered the Microbial Communities and Nutrient Cycles in Karst Agroecosystems
Authors: Ding Mengjiao , Shang Nianjie , He Yi , Hu Binbin , Cai Heqing , Dai Bin , Fan Long , Bin Jun , Huang Ying
Published: October 2022

Purpose Understanding the response of microbial communities and their potential functions is essential for the long-term continuous-cropping karst agroecosystems. However, there are few studies on the interaction between soil physicochemical factors and microbial community dynamics in karst agroecosystems under long-term continuous-cropping conditions.
Methods We investigated the physicochemical properties, metabolites, and microbial diversity of rhizosphere soils in which tobacco was cropped continuously for 0, 5, and 20 years.
Results Compared with CK, the bacterial diversity significantly increased and then decreased with the duration of continuous cropping. In addition, the fungal diversity increased significantly, indicating that the change in fungi may shift the nutrient cycles of continuous-cropping karst agroecosystems. Soil pH and the contents of available phosphorus (AP) and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN) were the key environmental factors leading to changes in the structures and functions of microbial communities in continuous-cropping soil. The metabolites released by tobacco, such as palmitic acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, stearic acid, and hippuric acid, reduced soil pH.
Conclusion Continuous cropping system altered the ecological balance of the soil microbial communities.
RETRACTED: ‘I am not a good enough parent’: The experience of self-stigma in parents of children with mental illness in China
Authors: Zhang Xi , Wu Yue , Sheng Qingqing
Published: October 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
A Comparative Study of the Effects of Cordia africana, Ficus sur and Manihot esculenta on Soil Chemical Properties in an Agroforestry System
Authors: Gota Hizkel Gotoro , Madalcho Aklilu Bajigo , Kerse Belete Limani , Szwagrzyk Jerzy , Solomon Tamirat
Published: October 2022

in Krakow, Poland The incorporation of woody components ensures the sustainability of land productivity through complementary resource acquisition and nutrient cycling. Hover, the integrated species, however, play a major role in determining the environmental impact of agroforestry practices. In order to compare the effects of woody plants on various soil chemical properties, three agroforestry species: Cordia africana, Ficus sur, and Manihot esculenta were selected from three different elevation ranges; and the soil samples were collected from the canopy zone and outside the tree canopy influence. As a result, all of the agroforestry species in the current study have demonstrated a significantly favorable impact on the soil chemical properties inside the canopy. Focusing solely on the effects of individual species on the soil, Cordia Africana and Ficus sur did not significantly differ in the bulk of the measured soil chemical property measures. Manihot esculenata, on the other hand, had much lower impact in comparison to the first two, showing that it is the least important species for enhancing soil quality. The influence of agroforestry species on soil chemical properties is similar across all elevation ranges for the majority of the parameters, indicating that the impact of agroforestry species on soil property is stronger than the impact of elevation. Therefore, in an agroforestry system, woody plants, Cordia Africana and Ficus sur perform a significantly larger role of improving the soil than the tuber crop Manihot esculenata, which in turn has a strong negative impact on the soil's available potassium and cation exchange capacity.
Development and evaluation of Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) for the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Authors: Kordi Marzieh , Dehghan Mohammad Jafar , Shayesteh Ali Akbar , Azizi Amirabbas
Published: October 2022

Introduction

IBS manifestations are similar to heartburn, making diagnosis difficult for physicians. To diagnose this illness, doctors now rely on their experiences and therapeutic guidelines. Misdiagnosis, added costs, and extended treatment times are possible outcomes of this method. Researchers believe CDSS can help clinicians solve problems when used to make decisions. The CDSS is used in this current study to diagnose IBS.

Methods

The fuzzy-logic algorithm was optimized in this applicable modeling research using particle swarm optimization (PSO). Input data, an inference engine, and output data comprised this fuzzy-logic model-based system. Classification algorithms and the PSO method were used to select the input variables. PSO and "If-then" rules were used in the inference engine to extract data from the dataset. Patients experiencing IBS and normal people make up the output. The accuracy, sensitivity, precision, specificity, confusion Matrix, kappa test, and F-measure values of this model were used to assess its performance.

Results

The recommended model had a mean score of 96.5% accuracy, 100% sensitivity, 95.2% precision, and 89.4% specificity.

Conclusion

The optimized model was found that effectively diagnosed IBS cases. To improve the accuracy of this disease's diagnosis, healthcare organizations can implement the aforementioned model into their strategic scheduling at a reasonable expense.
Functionalized DNA tetrahedron for concomitant delivery of doxorubicin and paclitaxel
Authors: Eymael Denise , Carneiro Karina , Magalhaes Marco
Published: October 2022

Breast cancer is a complex disease and the most common cancer among women. Chemotherapy is commonly used in patients with late-stage breast cancer, which can lead to significant adverse effects. The development of new drug delivery systems is fundamental to improving survival and decreasing morbidity for these patients. Previous studies have shown promising results using DNA nanostructures for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery into drug-resistant breast cancer cells. Here, we successfully modify a DNA tetrahedron (TDN) to include alkyl chains attached to the core of the nanostructure for encapsulation of the hydrophobic drug paclitaxel (PTX). The functionalized TDN (fTDN) simultaneously delivered PTX and DOX into MCF7 cells, leading to improved cell death compared to freely diluted drugs. Our fTDN is a stable and effective delivery system that allows dual drug delivery and shows encouraging results for improving breast cancer chemotherapy.
Bioinformatics analysis of genes related to ferroptosis in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury
Authors: Sun Shuo , Xue Jianming , Guo Yunfei , Li Jianling
Published: October 2022

Background
Primary liver cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide in 2020. Liver resection or liver transplantation are the two most prominent modalities for the treatment of primary liver cancer, and both inevitably result in HIRI, causing serious complications for patients. Ferroptosis, a newly discovered mode of cell death, is closely related to HIRI. We further investigated the relationship between the two by means of bioinformatics analysis.
Methods
The GEO database dataset GSE112713 and FerrDB database data were selected for analysis using bioinformatic analysis methods (differential analysis, FRGs identification, GO analysis, KEGG analysis, PPI network construction and analysis, Hub gene screening with GO analysis and KEGG analysis, inter-gene interaction prediction, drug-gene interaction prediction, miRNA prediction).
Results
Volcano, Venn, bar chart, bubble chart, PPI network, and Cytoscape network plots were plotted.
Conclusion
There is a close relationship between HIRI and ferroptosis, and inhibition of ferroptosis could be a new approach to mitigate HIRI treatment.
Bio Inspired Approach for Customer Churn Prediction
Authors: Ramesh Chinnaraj
Published: October 2022

Customers are the bottom for any commercial enterprise fulfillment and this is why corporations come to be privy to the importance of obtaining pride of clients. Customer churn exercise is important in aggressive and swiftly growing in telecom sector. Due to superior services, competitive pricing, or other benefits offered by competitor companies to clients who sign up, customers move from one telecom service provider to another. The prediction of customer churn has evolved into an essential component of planning processes and strategic decision making in the telecom sector due to the higher costs associated with gaining new consumers. The prime goal line of the introduced study is to scrutinize exactly how a massive bio-inspired data platform might be used to expect customer’s wear and tear in the application of telecom industry. The probabilities of customers leaving a business have been estimated using Mimosa Pudica optimization (MPO) of two upmost classifying approaches. Big data combined with logistic regression and machine learning is also used in this study for comparisons. Feature selection, reduction and clustering are also performed with the help of MPO to forecast customer revenue in the telecom industry, in order to calculate the probability of churn as a function of a collection of factors or client characteristics. In a similar way, MPO is then used to optimize the two customer's churn classifiers on how close their product in every class. This study predicts and analyses churn using data from two different websites. As a result of these judgments, expectations of consumer churn can efficiently provide an accuracy rate of the best classifier as 0.95 percent and an AUC, area under curve of about 0.96 percent.
The hot-e lasers based on effectively electron transfer enhanced by electric polarization in perovskite and metal
Authors: Pan Yong , Cao Jianguo , Zhang Yan , Zhao Yuxin , Gao Dangli
Published: October 2022

The hot electron transfer resulting fluorescence enhancement has the significant meaningful for theory and experiment of photoelectric devices studying. However, the laser emission based on hot electron transfer directly is difficult to realize because of the low transfer efficiency. To achieve laser with new generation mechanism base on hot-electron transfer, the optical + electrical excitation simultaneously are proposed for improving the efficiency of hot electron transfer. The lasing behavior at 532 nm are realized with a threshold of 5 kw cm− 2&1 µA, which can be considered as the hot e transfer lasing. For details, number of hot electrons transfer process were described via transient absorption spectrum according to the improved ground state bleaching and excited state absorption signal in device ON. Through comparing to optical pump only, the quantum efficiencies of hot electron generation (HEG) and hot electron transfer (HET) were increased by this method about 31% and 31% (about 2.2 and 3.5 times), respectively. Efficient hot electron transferring from the charge regulation of metals by adding an electric field was confirmed. Most importantly, a triple gain mode coupling device including local surface plasmon, hot-e transfer and whispering gallery mode was presented in experiment and simulation. This study can provide theoretical and experimental reference for the research of hot electron lasers and device.
Screening biomarkers of oral leukoplakia canceration based on GEO database and in vitro experiments
Authors: Li Fengji , Qiu Lin , Gao Qian , Liu Han
Published: October 2022

Background: Oral leukoplakia (OLK) is the most common precancerous lesion in the oral cavity. This study aimed to screen the key genes of OLK canceration using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database.
Methods: GSE52088 dataset was downloaded from GEO database to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in precancerous cells and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell samples. The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) was employed to screen OLK canceration related genes, which were subsequently conducted with a series of bioinformatic analyses. The GSE26549 dataset was then used as an external validation and the immune cell infiltration was assessed by ssGSEA. Finally, real-time PCR was exploited to verify the database results.
Results: 439 DEGs were selected from GSE52088 data set (| log2 (Fold change) | > 2.0 and P < 0.001). On this basis, 12 DEGs were selected by CTD database, among them, LAPTM4B, NR3C1 and COX6A1 are finally chosen as three key genes of OLK canceration through external validation by GSE26549. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis showed that the model constructed based on LAPTM4B, NR3C1 and COX6A1 had high accuracy in diagnosing OLK canceration. The area under the curve (AUC) value was 0.753. Moreover, three potential key genes had certain correlation with immune cell infiltration. In addition, real-time PCR results were consistent with the results of three potential key genes in the dataset.
Conclusions: In this study, three key genes (LAPTM4B, NR3C1 and COX6A1) were screened as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of OLK canceration, laying a foundation for clinical research on OLK canceration.
microRNA profiling of Iraqi patients with gastric cancer
Authors: Hasan Mohanad , Safaralizadeh Reza , Khalaj-Kondori Mohammad
Published: October 2022

Background: Gastric cancer has the fifth place commonly identified malignancy and third principal cause of cancer-related fatalities globally, with over 1 million cases globally. Since each miRNAs regulates multiple target mRNAs that participate in a variety of biological processes, including signal transduction, cell differentiation, apoptosis, and proliferation, totaling 30% of protein-coding genes. Thus, deregulation of miRNAs has a role in a variety of clinical diseases, including GC and characterize a developing field of cancer research. The goal of this study was to investigate the signature of miRNA profile in Iraqi patients with gastric cancer.
Methods: One-hundred tissue specimens include 50 cancerous tissues and 50 normal tissues from 50 patients were collected for miRNA profiling by microarray assay.
Results Our results exhibited that 37 miRNAs were up-regulated in patients with gastric cancer (P <0.05), and 40 miRNAs were down-regulated in patients with gastric cancer (P <0.05). Then, 3 highly overexpressed miRNAs (miR-221-3p, miR-106a-5 and miR-21-5p) were chosen for further validated by Real-Time polymerase chain reaction. In the validation set, the level of (miR-106a-5, miR-21-5p and miR-221-3p) were tested by qRT-PCR have significant up-regulation in GC related to normal tissues (P <0.05).
Conclusions: According to our present findings, the 3 miRNAs (miR-106a-5, miR-21-5p and miR-221-3p) strongly suggested involvement in gastric carcinogenesis, hence highlighting its serving as promising prognostic, diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets for gastric cancer patients.
Novel sustainable Cellulose Acetate based biosensor for Glucose Detection
Authors: El-Sayed E. M. , Elkady M. F. , Hassan H. Shokry , Samy Mahmoud
Published: October 2022

In this study, green ZnO/polypyrrole (ppy)/cellulose acetate (CA) film was prepared via solvent casting. This film was used as supporting material for glucose oxidase (GOX) to sensitize a glucose biosensor. First, Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles have been prepared via the green route using olive leaves extract as a reductant. ZnO/ppy nanocomposite has been synthesized by a simple in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole (Py) monomer using FeCl3 as an oxidizing agent. The produced materials and the composite films were characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Glucose oxidase was successfully immobilized on the surface of the prepared membrane and then ZnO/polypyrrole/cellulose acetate/GOX composite was deposited on the platinum electrode for determination of the current at different initial concentrations of glucose. Current measurements proved the suitability and the high sensitivity of the constructed biosensor for the detection of glucose levels in different samples. The performance of the prepared biosensor has been assessed by measuring glucose concentration for different samples with known concentrations. The results affirmed the reliability of the developed biosensor towards real samples which suggests the wide-scale application of the proposed biosensor.
A Novel Hybrid Proportional Derivative/H-infinity Controller Design for Improved Trajectory Tracking of a Two-Link Robot Arm
Authors: Bankole Adesola Temitope , Igbonoba Ezekiel Endurance Chukwuemeke
Published: October 2022

In this work, a hybrid control strategy integrating proportional derivative and H-infinity control method is proposed for a serial two-link robotic manipulator. The aim of this research is to achieve an improved trajectory tracking performance of the robot arm. The H-infinity controller achieves high performance and robustness in the presence of disturbances and uncertainties, such as unwanted overreaction caused by the derivative control's quick response times, while the proportional derivative controller stabilizes the nonlinear manipulator system. Simulation results using matlab shows that, the proposed hybrid controller, which integrates the advantages of both proportional derivative and H-infinity controllers, has the lowest rise time for the second link, the lowest settling time for the two links, the lowest peak time for both links and the fastest decay of the error response. In addition, the hybrid control scheme also has the lowest mean square error value, with 53.3% improvement over H-infinity controller and 91.8% improvement over proportional derivative controller, indicating improved trajectory tracking performance when compared to pure proportional derivative and pure H-infinity controllers, respectively. It was also discovered that, the hybrid controller has the lowest Integral Absolute Error (IAE), Integral Square Error (ISE), Integral Time Absolute error (ITAE) and Integral Time Square (ITSE) for the second link, while the error values for the first link are fairly okay, showing the superior performance of the hybrid controller above PD and H-infinity controllers respectively.
Prospective observational study of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine treatment of vivax malaria in North Sumatera, Indonesia
Authors: PASARIBU Ayodhia Pitaloka , SA'ID Ibrahim BIN , NASUTION Irma Sari , LIMAVADY Andrew , FAHMI Fahmi , BONNOT Guillaume , BIENVENU Anne-Lise , PICOT Stephane
Published: October 2022

Objectives. Plasmodium vivax malaria treated by dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PPQ) in Indonesia remains a challenge. Plasmodium falciparum resistance to DHA-PPQ was documented in Asia and it is suspected that this will also be a concern for P. vivaxmalaria. Thus it is needed to test the sensitivity of P. vivax on a regular basis. Parasite clearance time (PCT) and molecular markers of resistance are efficient sentinel tools for this goal.
Methods. A prospective observational study was conducted at North Labuhan Batu Regency (Sumatra). The outcome were the clinical and parasitological efficacy of the 3-day DHA-PPQ therapy corrected by PCR and the prevalence of Pvmdr1, PvK12 and PvPM4 molecular markers of chloroquine and DHA-PPQ resistance.
Results. During the 6-months study period, 100 patients were included and 6 were lost to follow-up. Ninety-four patients were included in the per-protocol analysis. The parasite clearance half-life increased over 18h in 8.5% of the cases while no clinical recurrence were observed during the Day-28 follow-up. None of the molecular marker of ACT resistance were detected among the samples tested.
Conclusions. This study highlighted the need for active surveillance of ACT efficacy against P. vivax malaria in Indonesia, using simple method such as PCT during observational studies, as it may provide a cost-effective early warning signal.
Skeletal muscle cell protein dysregulation highlights the pathogenesis mechanism of myopathy-associated p97/VCP R155H mutations.
Authors: Luzzi Anna , Wang Feng , Li Shan , Iacovino Michelina , Chou Tsui-Fen
Published: October 2022

Background: p97/VCP, a hexametric member of the AAA-ATPase super family, has been associated with a wide range of cellular protein pathways such as proteasomal degradation, unfolding of polyubiquitinated proteins, and autophagosome maturation. Autosomal dominant p97/VCP mutations cause a rare hereditary multisystem disorder called IBMPFD/ALS (Inclusion Body Myopathy with Paget’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), characterized by progressive weakness and subsequent atrophy of skeletal muscles and impacting bones and brains, such as Parkinson's disease, Lewy body disease, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral ALS. Among all disease-causing mutations, Arginine 155 to Histidine (R155H/+) was reported to be the most common one, affecting over 50% of IBMPFD patients, resulting in disabling muscle weakness, which might eventually be life-threatening due to cardiac and respiratory muscle involvement.
Methods:Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer an unlimited resource of cells to study pathology’s underlying molecular mechanism, perform drug screening, and investigate regeneration. Using R155H/+ patients' fibroblasts, we generated IPS cells and corrected the mutation (Histidine to Arginine, H155R) to generate isogenic control cells before differentiated them into myotubes. Further proteomic analysis allowed us to identify a series of differentially expressed proteins associated with the R155H mutation.
Results: Our results showed that R155H/+ cells were associated with dysregulated expression of several proteins involved in skeletal muscle function, cytoskeleton organization, cell signaling, intracellular organelles organization and function, cell junction, and cell adhesion.
Conclusions: Our findings provide molecular evidence of dysfunctional protein expression in R155H/+ myotubes and provide new therapeutic targets for the treatment of IBMPFD/ALS.
A Matrix Completion Method for Cycle-based Traffic Volume Estimation Using Sampled Trajectory Data
Authors: Tan Chaopeng , Yao Jiarong , Tang Keshuang
Published: October 2022

Cycle-based volume can describe the fluctuation of traffic demand in a more sophisticated manner, which is helpful for performance evaluation and optimization of signalized intersections. Solely using sampled vehicle trajectory data for traffic volume estimation has received increasing attention recently. However, most existing methods commonly rely on historical data or site-specific vehicle arrival distributions. This study proposes a data-driven method for cycle-based volume estimation at signalized intersections. Using the sampled trajectory data, the cyclic vehicle arrival is represented as an arrival flow rate vector to discretize the continuous arrival flow. So for a TOD (time-of-day) period, an incomplete arrival rate matrix can be constructed with a rasterization standardization step to ensure equal sizes of the arrival rate vector for each cycle. The cycle-based volume estimation problem is then transformed into a matrix completion problem, and solved through the Singular Value Thresholding (SVT) algorithm. The proposed method is evaluated through an empirical case and two simulation cases. Empirical case results show that given a penetration rate of 8.4%, the proposed method can reach 5.7% for hourly volume estimation and 17.6% for cycle-based volume estimation. Even under a penetration rate of 3.4%, it shows better robustness than three existing methods, A simulation case is done to explore the sensitivity of the proposed method to the degree of saturation, the number of lanes and the penetration rate, while another simulation case demonstrates the applicability of the proposed method in large-scale network, which is also one advantage of the proposed data-driven approach.
Evaluating the System Reliability of the Bridge StructureUsing the Unit Half-Logistic Geometric Distribution
Authors: Tolba Ahlam , Taha Ahmed , El-Desouky Beih
Published: October 2022

Recently, reliability concept is widely used in manufacturing fields and manyother fields. In this paper, a system of five components with a bridge networkcomponent is studied. All components are assumed to be identical and havea changeable failure rate with time. Moreover, all components are assumed tohave the unit half-logistic geometric distribution. In addition, some propertiesincluding mean time to failure (MTTF), \[Alpha]-fractiles, and reliability equivalencefactor (REF) are studied. The bridge system is improved due to the reduc-tion and the duplication methods. Finally, numerical results are presented to illustrate the difference between these methods.
Evaluation of the content of metals and contamination indices generated by environmental liabilities, in Tacna, Peru
Authors: Quiroz César Julio Cáceda , choque Gisela July maraza , Mamani Milena Carpio , Quispe Gabriela de Lourdes Fora
Published: October 2022

Abandoned mines are environmental liabilities with a high potential for contamination of rivers, soils, and entire ecosystems, which constitutes a threat to wildlife, flora, and fauna, in addition to socio-environmental, economic, and human health risks. The objective of this study was to determine the degree of contamination of 5 abandoned mines to evaluate their potential environmental and social impact. The presence and concentration of arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, chromium, mercury, and free cyanide by mass spectrometry, and hexavalent chromium by ion chromatography. The environmental indices of geoaccumulation, contamination factor, and contamination load were used to evaluate the level of contamination for each area. The results showed high contamination with a high content of arsenic (2,046 mg Kg− 1), cadmium (650 mg Kg− 1), lead (26,131 mg Kg− 1), free cyanide (92 mg Kg− 1), mercury (26.4 mg Kg− 1) above the established maximum limits, not detecting the presence of hexavalent chromium (0.03 mg Kg− 1). In Peru, there are many abandoned mines, so it is a latent danger of an environmental disaster. Therefore, it is essential to assess heavy metal contamination together with environmental risks, to establish efficient mitigation measures.
Association of sleep disturbance with clock genes and neurotransmitters in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Zhu KaiXuan , Wang YunLei , Wang YuXiang , Wang XianNa , Bai Chen , Li XingZhu , Zhang HaoJie , Zhang Tong , Zhang Yan
Published: October 2022

Sleep disturbance is often reported in children with autism spectrum disorder, but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. In the current study 44 children with autism spectrum disorder and 44 with typical development were assessed via a sleep questionnaire and the Apple Watch. Neurotransmitter levels and clock gene mRNA levels were determined in all children. Children with autism spectrum disorder had a higher prevalence of sleep disturbance (p < 0.001) and had more sleep problems than children with typical development, including shorter total sleep time, lower sleep efficiency, and longer awake time (all p < 0.001). Orexin levels (p < 0.001) and clock gene mRNA levels were lower in children with autism spectrum disorder (both p < 0.05), and leptin levels were higher (p = 0.034). These results demonstrate the importance of clock genes and neurotransmitters in the pathogenesis of sleep disturbance in children with autism spectrum disorder. Trail registration number: ChiCTR2100046234, 2012/5/12.
Dielectric and thermodynamic study of Carbon dioxide(CO2) - methanol (CH3OH) mixture.
Authors: Fuentes-Azcatl Raúl , Domı́nguez Hector
Published: October 2022

In this paper is calculated and analyzed the dielectric behavior of carbon dioxide - methanol mixture and evaluate how the correct reproduction of the electrical properties of carbon dioxide and methanol influences the mixture of these two molecules. A comparison of two carbon dioxide models and three methanol models is made, where the CO2/ϵ model reproduces and improves the dielectric constant and for the methanol the TraPPE 2015 and MeOH-4P models improve the dielectric constant ϵ, the surface tension γ , and the liquid density ρ of the pure liquid at T=298.15 K and p=1 bar.
Mesalazine Inhibits amyloid formation and destabilizes pre-formed amyloid fibrils in the human insulin
Authors: Bardineshin Fatemeh , Bahramikia Seifollah , Khodarahmi Reza , Hadi Faranak
Published: October 2022

Amyloid formation due to protein aggregation is associated with several amyloid diseases (amyloidosis). The use of small organic ligands as inhibitors of protein aggregation is an attractive strategy to treatments for these diseases. In the present study, we evaluated the in vitro inhibitory and destabilizing effects of Mesalazine on human insulin protein fibrillation. To induce fibrillation, human insulin was incubated in 50 mM glycine buffer (pH 2.0) at 50°C. The effect of Mesalazine on insulin amyloid aggregation was studied using spectroscopic, imaging, and computational approaches. Based on the results, the Mesalazine in a concentration dependent manner (different ratios (1:0.1, 1:0.5, 1:1 and 1:5) of the insulin to Mesalazine) prevented the formation of amyloid fibrils and destroyed pre-formed fibrils. In addition, our molecular docking study confirmed the binding of Mesalazine to insulin through hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. Our findings suggest that Mesalazine may have therapeutic potential in the prevention of insulin amyloidosis and localized amyloidosis.
Population-based cortical mapping of callosal connections in the human brain
Authors: Xiong Yirong , Yang Liyuan , Wang Changtong , Zhao Chenxi , Luo Junhao , Wu Di , Ouyang Yiping , de Schotten Michel Thiebaut , Gong Gaolang
Published: October 2022

The corpus callosum (CC) is the principal white matter (WM) bundle supporting communication between the two brain hemispheres. Despite its importance, a comprehensive mapping of callosal connections is still lacking. Here, we constructed the first bidirectional population-based callosal connectional atlas between the midsagittal section of the CC and the cerebral cortex of the human brain by means of diffusion-weighted imaging tractography. The estimated connectional topographic maps within this atlas have the most fine-grained spatial resolution, demonstrate histological validity, and were reproducible in two independent samples. This new resource will revolutionize the investigation of interhemispheric communication and come with a user-friendly companion online tool (CCmapping) for easy access and visualization of the atlas.
Evaluation of Aedes aegypti sugar feeding behaviour in a semi-field system in Tanzania
Authors: Tenywa Frank Chelestino , Musa Jeremiah John , Musiba Revocatus Musyangi , Swai Johnson Kyeba , Mpelepele Ahmad Bakar , Okumu Fredros Okech , Maia Marta Ferreira
Published: October 2022

Background
Sugar feeding behaviour is an essential aspect for mosquito survival, fitness, reproduction, and competence. Understanding the behaviour of Aedes aegypti is a fundamental phenomenon for the development of new interventions for controlling the vectors. The objective of the current study was to investigate i) the time in an Ae. aegyptimosquito’s adult life when they are most likely to sugar feed ii) if sugar sources availability limits Ae. aegypti blood feeding with the aim of informing control strategies using attractive-targeted sugar baits (ATSBs)
Methods:
The preference of Ae. aegypti to feed on sugar or blood and the effect of sugar source availability on Ae. aegypti blood feeding was studied at different chronological and physiological ages in semi-field conditions in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Experiments were done through a series of paired–choice assays whereupon mosquitoes were allowed to choose between a sugar meal or a blood meal in the form of a rabbit.
Results
In the first five days post emergence, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were equally likely to opt for a sugar meal or a blood meal. However, after the first gonotrophic cycle Ae. aegypti prefer to feed on blood meal (OR=9.4; 95%CI= [6.7-13.0]; p<0.001) over a sugar meal (OR=1). Moreover, a nulliparous Ae. aegypti mosquitoes are less likely to blood feed if they have both sugar and blood sources available (OR=0.06; 95%CI [0.02-0.16] p<0.001).
Conclusion
In this study, sugar meal is observed to be a part of Ae. aegypti life particularly at the younger stage (nulliparous stage). Therefore, there is potential for the development of interventions such as attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSBs).
HFD-induced downregulation of TRPV2 mediates hepatic steatosis via p21 signaling
Authors: Wei Pengfei , Li Lixuan , Ran Chenqiu , Jin Mingyue , Zhao Huijuan , Yang Kelaier , Wang Yu , Jia Mengyang , Pan Hongyan , Li Qiang , Guo Jing
Published: October 2022

The global prevalence and incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) exhibit a growing trend. Although its underlying mechanism is still unknown, NAFLD is characterized by a significant accumulation of lipids. Here we report that high-fat diet (HFD) feeding HFD induced hepatic steatosis in mice, accompanied by a reduction in the expression and function of hepatic TRPV2. By conditional knockout TRPV2 in hepatocytes, we found that HFD-induced hepatic steatosis was exacerbated. In vitro model of NAFLD, we found TRPV2 regulated the lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells, and TRPV2 activation inhibited the expression ofp21andp16which are cellular senescence markers. Finally, we found administration of probenecid, TRPV2 agonist, impaired HFD-induced hepatic steatosis and suppressed HFD-induced elevation inp21andp16. Collectively, our findings imply that hepatic TRPV2 protects against the accumulation of lipids by modulatingp21signaling.