bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cell membrane vesicles derived from hBMSCs and hUVECs enhance bone regeneration
Authors: Deng Xuliang , Wang Dandan , Guo Yaru , Heng Boon chin , Zhang Xuehui , Wei Yan , He Ying , Xu Mingming , Xia Bin
Published: April 2023

Bone tissue renewal can be enhanced through co-transplantation of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and vascular endothelial cells (ECs). However, there are apparent limitations in stem cell-based therapy which hinder its clinic translation. Hence, we investigated the potential of alternative stem cell substitutes for facilitating bone regeneration. In this study, we successfully prepared cell membrane vesicles (CMVs) from BMSCs and ECs. The results showed that BMSC-derived cell membrane vesicles (BMSC-CMVs) possessed membrane receptors involved in juxtacrine signaling and growth factors derived from their parental cells. EC-derived cell membrane vesicles (EC-CMVs) also contained BMP2 and VEGF derived from their parental cells. BMSC-CMVs enhanced tube formation and migration ability of hUVECs, while EC-CMVs promoted the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs in vitro. Using a rat skull defect model, we found that co-transplantation of BMSC-CMVs and EC-CMVs could stimulate angiogenesis and bone formation in vivo. Therefore, our research might provide an innovative and feasible approach for cell-free therapy in bone tissue regeneration.
Consolidation of LVFRT capabilities of microgrids using energy storage devices
Authors: Moheb Aya M. , El-Hay Enas A. , El-Fergany Attia A.
Published: April 2023

The integration of microgrids (MGs) along the distribution networks may improve their performance and reliability. However, it is required to improve the low voltage (LV) fault-ride-through (FRT) i.e. LVFRT ability to deter abrupt disconnecting from the grid during LV events in faulty conditions. In this study, a control strategy for energy storage elements (ESDs) which includes batteries and supercapacitors is proposed to enhance FRT under balanced and unbalanced faults. The MG comprises wind farms and/or photovoltaic arrays. Based on the dynamic simulations using MATLAB/SIMULINK, the ESDs can enhance FRT capability. A comparison of the conventional crowbar scheme and ESDs is realized, and the latter has a better performance than the former in retaining the DC link voltage within satisfactory bounds. At an advanced stage of this effort, the coot bird optimizer (CBO) is applied to generate the best gains of bi-directional converter PI-controller and the ESDs ratings to have minimum ripples in the DC bus voltage and to boost the LVFRT capability of the MGs. The viability of the proposed method based on the CBO’s results is indicated with further validations under different operating scenarios.
Seroprevalence, serotyping, and associated risk factors of Foot and mouth diseases in Bovine in Western Amhara regional state, North western Ethiopia
Authors: Yirdaw Betelihem , Jibril Yasmin , Muluneh Ayelech
Published: April 2023

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is the most contagious disease in animals. The study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of FMD, its serotypes, and associated risk factors. A total of 389 sera samples were collected from cattle in four districts of the northwestern Amhara region and subjected to a 3ABC enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay. The overall seroprevalence of FMDV was 5.66% (22/389); (95%; CI: 3.34–7.98%). The 22 positive samples were subjected to solid-phase competitive ELISA to identify specific serotypes. The occurrence of FMD was higher in Adet (OR = 12.8), greater in the semi-intensive than extensive production systems (OR = 10.4), and highly occurred in the crossbreed than in local breed cattle (OR = 3.56). Serotypes identified in the four districts were type O, SAT2, and A. This study revealed that FMD is a prevalent and endemic disease. Thus, awareness creation among the stakeholders on the control and prevention of disease is required. Further epidemiological investigation and vaccine trials should be conducted.
Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement for Pure Native Aortic Regurgitation: One-Year Outcomes of a Single-center study
Authors: Zheng Hua-Jie , Cheng Yong-Bo , Yan Chao-Jun , Lin De-Qing , Yu San-Jiu , Li Jun , He Ping , Cheng Wei
Published: April 2023

Background Evidence about safety and efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with the Venus A-Valve system (Venus Medtech, Hangzhou, China) remains limited for patients with pure native aortic regurgitation (PNAR).Objectives The single-center study sought to report the one-year clinical outcomes of the Venus A-Valve in the treatment of PNAR.Methods This study was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Data was from all consecutive patients who had PNAR and underwent TAVR with the Venus A-Valve at three Chinese centers from June 2019 and July 2022. Procedural and clinical outcomes up to one year were analyzed using Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 criteria.Results A total of 45 consecutive patients with PNAR underwent transfemoral TAVR with the Venus A-Valve across three participating centers between June 2019 and July 2022. The Mean age was 73.5 ± 5.5 years and 26.7% were female. All the TAVR procedures were performed via transfemoral access without cardiopulmonary bypass. Implantations were successful in 44 cases (97.8%). Only one patient was converted to surgical aortic valve replacement. No patient died intraoperatively. No second valve was implanted. In-hospital mortality rate was 2.3%. The one-year all-cause mortality rate was 4.7% without cardiovascular related death. No patient had moderate or severe paravalvular leakage during follow-up. At one year, the mean pressure gradient was 8.8 ± 0.9 mmHg, and left ventricular ejection fraction increased to 61.5 ± 3.6%.Conclusions This single-center study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of transfemoral TAVR with the Venus A-Valve in the treatment of patients with PNAR.
Lack of Polynucleotide Phosphorylase activity in Enterococcus faecalis 14 increases the stability of EntDD14 bacteriocin transcripts
Authors: Ladjouzi Rabia , Lucau-Danila Anca , Lopez Paloma , Drider Djamel
Published: April 2023

A mutant deficient in polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) activity was previously constructed in Enterococcus faecalis 14; a strain producing a leaderless two-peptide bacteriocin, named enterocin DD14 (EntDD14). Here, we examined the impact of the absence of PNPase on the expression and synthesis of EntDD14, at the transcriptional and functional levels. Consequently, synthesis of EntDD14 started after only 3 h of growth at 37ºC and reached its highest level after 9 h, in both E. faecalis 14 and its isogenic PNPase deficient (ΔpnpA), and has remarkably increased at least two-fold in the ΔpnpA mutant. Notably, high expression level of the ddABCDEFGHIJ cluster was registered in ΔpnpA mutant. Transcriptional and in silico analyses support the existence of ddAB and ddCDEFGHIJ independent transcripts, and analysis of the fate of ddAB and ddCDEFGHIJ mRNAs indicated that the differences in mRNA levels and the high EntDD14 activity are likely due to a better stability of the two transcripts in the ΔpnpA mutant, which should result in a higher translation efficiency of the ddAB EntDD14 structural genes and their other protein determinants. Consequently, this study shows a potential link between the mRNA stability and EntDD14 synthesis, secretion and immunity in a genetic background lacking PNPase.
Robust and Secure Routing Protocol Based on Group Key Management for Internet of Things Systems
Authors: Othmen Salwa , Mansouri Wahida , Asklany Somia
Published: April 2023

The Internet of Things (IoT) has significantly altered our way of life. IoT is employed due to pressure from customers, authorities, and business partners. Although IoT opens up new possibilities, security is always a top priority when offering various services. It is particularly difficult to shield the information produced by IoT devices from security threats and to secure the exchange of this data as it passes through various nodes and gateways. Hence, group key management (GKM) is the essential method for controlling the deployment of keys for network access and safe data delivery in these kinds of dynamic situations. Nevertheless, the huge volume of IoT devices and the rising subscriber base presented a scalability difficulty unaddressed by the current authentication techniques based on GKM and devoted to the IoT. Moreover, all of the GKM models that are currently in use enable the independence of participants. They only concentrate on dependent symmetrical group keys for each subgroup, which is ineffective for subscriptions with very dynamic behavior. To address these issues, a unique Decentralized Lightweight Group Key Management framework for Network Access in the IoT environment. REMI, a dependable and efficient multicast routing system for Internet of Things networks, is also introduced in this study. REMI employs a cluster-based routing protocol that causes a quicker multiplex message distribution within the system. According to the data, this protocol is more effective than cutting-edge protocols regarding the end-to-end delay, energy consumption, memory usage, and packet delivery ratio.
Design and fabrication of 3D-printed patient-specific soft tissue and bone phantoms for CT imaging
Authors: Mei Kai , Pasyar Pouyan , Geagan Michael , Liu Leening P. , Shapira Nadav , Gang Grace J. , Stayman J. Webster , Noël Peter B.
Published: April 2023

The objective of this study is to create patient-specific phantoms for computed tomography (CT) that have realistic image texture and densities, which are critical in evaluating CT performance in clinical settings. The study builds upon a previously presented 3D printing method (PixelPrint) by incorporating soft tissue and bone structures. We converted patient DICOM images directly into 3D printer instructions using PixelPrint and utilized stone-based filament to increase Hounsfield unit (HU) range. Density was modeled by controlling printing speed according to volumetric filament ratio to emulate attenuation profiles. We designed micro-CT phantoms to demonstrate the reproducibility and to determine mapping between filament ratios and HU values on clinical CT systems. Patient phantoms based on clinical cervical spine and knee examinations were manufactured and scanned with a clinical spectral CT scanner. The CT images of the patient-based phantom closely resembled original CT images in texture and contrast. Measured differences between patient and phantom were less than 15 HU for soft tissue and bone marrow. The stone-based filament accurately represented bony tissue structures across different X-ray energies, as measured by spectral CT. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the possibility of extending 3D-printed patient-based phantoms to soft tissue and bone structures while maintaining accurate organ geometry, image texture, and attenuation profiles.
Robust In-Vehicle Heartbeat Detection Using Multimodal Signal Fusion
Authors: Warnecke Joana M. , Lasenby Joan , Deserno Thomas M.
Published: April 2023

A medical checkup during driving enables the early detection of diseases. Heartbeat irregularities indicate possible cardiovas-cular diseases, which can be determined with continuous health monitoring. Therefore, we develop a redundant sensor system based on electrocardiography (ECG) and photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors attached to the steering wheel, and a red, green, and blue (RGB) camera behind the steering wheel. For the video, we integrate the face recognition engine SeetaFace to continuously detect landmarks of face segments. Based on the green channel, we derive colour changes and subsequently the heartbeat. We record the ECG, PPG, video, and reference ECG with body electrodes of 19 volunteers during different driving scenarios, each lasting 15 min: city, highway, and countryside. We combine early, signal-based late, and sensor-based late fusion with a hybrid convolutional neural network (CNN) and integrated majority voting to deliver the final heartbeats that we compare to the reference ECG. Based on the measured and the reference heartbeat positions, the usable time was 51.75%, 58.62%, and 55.96% for the driving scenarios city, highway, and countryside, respectively, with the hybrid algorithm and combination of ECG and PPG. In conclusion, the findings suggest that approximately half the driving time can be utilised for in-vehicle heartbeat monitoring.
Clinical prognostic scale for the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas exposed to a pathogen: application to OsHV-1 (Oyster Herpesvirus type 1)
Authors: François Cyrille , Haure Joël
Published: April 2023

When epizooty involving a pathogen affects the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, the current diagnostic of this disease requires sacrificing animals to sample tissues before performing laboratory tests. This study highlights the interest of a clinical scale based on physical examinations of C. gigas during breeding to predict the outcomes of a disease involving a pathogen, with the example of an infection with OsHV-1 (Oyster Herpesvirus type 1). Established during preliminary tests of experimental transmissions of OsHV-1, this ordinal and nested scale on 6 stages has been the subject of several (i) development assays with the proposal of a univariate Cox model of the survival duration of C. gigas exposed to seawater contaminated by OsHV-1, and (ii) internal validation assays for its discrimination (c statistic, ROC curve) and its calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow test, graphic representation of observed and predicted survival durations). The scale exhibits very good discrimination on the 3rd day (D2 post exposure) and on the 4th day (D3 post exposure), with c-statistics of 0.86 and 0.89 respectively. Concerning calibration, Hosmer-Lemeshow test shows the observed values were not significantly different from the predicted values at a threshold of 5% (ddl = 5; chi2 < 11.7), confirming the graphic representation of the relation between the observed and the predicted survival durations. Improvement assays of the clinical prognostic scale will be considered by adjusting the number of its stages and by adding non-destructive physiological biomarkers to move from an univariate to a multivariate model of survival duration.
Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Oncology NursesHealth Behaviors Determinants Scale
Authors: Lu Tingting , Yang Zhen , Xie Wenguang , Wang Xiuli , Zheng Chen , Kong Linghui , Pan Dini , Zhang Huijun
Published: April 2023

Background: Oncology nurses are susceptible to chemotherapy exposure due to frequent exposure to chemotherapy agents.Compliance with the guidelines for safe management of chemotherapy is an important aspect of reducing occupational exposure and protecting the safety of oncology nurses.It is important to investigate the current situation of oncology nurses complying with safety protection guidelines and identify the factors affecting chemotherapy exposure. These factors will help to formulate corresponding intervention measures to effectively promote the health behavior of oncology nurses and strengthen self-protection.The objective of this study was to translate the Oncology Nurses Health Behaviors Determinants Scale (HBDS-ON)into Chinese and validate its psychometric properties in oncology nurses.
Methods: A total of 408 oncology nurses from three hospitals in China were selected by convenience sampling method.Item analysis was used to test the differentiation of each item in the scale.Cronbach’s α coefficient, split-half reliability were used to test the internal consistency of the translated scale,and retest reliability was used to measure the external consistency of the translated scale.Exploratory factor analysis(EFA) was used to explore the number of factors affecting the observed variables, and confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) was used to validate the translated scale's structural validity.The content validity of the translated scale was evaluated by expert correspondence consultation.
Results: The Cronbach’s α coefficient,the split-half reliability and retest reliability of the translated scale were0.898, 0.849 and 0.898 respectively.The content validity of the scale was 0.965.A 6-factor structure was extracted from EFA, and 63.260% of variance contribution was explained.The factor structure of the scale was verified by CFA, and the results showed that the scale fit within the acceptable range.
Conclusions: The Chinese version of the HBDS-ON had good reliability and validity.The scale can be used to measure the influencing factors of chemotherapy exposure in oncology nurses.Moreover, the results of this scale can provide a basis for the formulation of intervention measures to reduce chemotherapy exposure.
A Face Anti-Spoofing Approach Driven by Multi-modal Confidence Constraint and Adaptive Feature Weighting
Authors: Sun Zhe , Huang Jiaxue , Tian Shuai , Wang Mingyang
Published: April 2023

Directly combining multi-modal features can result in overlooking the complementary information between different modalities and disregarding their interaction, given above, this paper proposes an approach for face anti-spoofing driven by the multi-modal confidence constraints and adaptive feature weighting. The first step is to utilize a multi-modal confidence constraint (MCC) loss, which helps to better regulate the fusion features and prevent overfitting. The MCC loss contributes to the loss of each mode and applies modulation constraints to enhance the accuracy of prediction probabilities. To fully utilize the discrimi-nant information and reduce interference factors, an adaptation feature weighting (AFW) strategy is further employed to dynamically assign the prediction probabilities between modalities. Finally, the fused features are classified using a binary cross-entropy loss function. To wrap up, the paper conducts qualitative and quantitative experiments on two public datasets: CASIA-SURF and CASIA-SURF CeFA. The results show that the approach is effective, achieving average error rates of 0.068% and 2.160% on CASIA-SURF and CASIA-SURF CeFA, respectively.
A vendor-agnostic, PACS integrated, and DICOM-compatible software-server pipeline for testing segmentation algorithms within the clinical radiology workflow.
Authors: Zhang Lei , LaBelle Wayne , Unberath Mathias , Chen Haomin , Hu Jiazhen , Li Guang , Dreizin David
Published: April 2023

Background
Reproducible approaches are needed to bring AI/ML for medical image analysis closer to the bedside. Investigators wishing to shadow test cross-sectional medical imaging segmentation algorithms on new studies in real-time will benefit from simple tools that integrate PACS with on-premises image processing, allowing visualization of DICOM-compatible segmentation results and volumetric data at the radiology workstation.
Purpose
In this work, we develop and release a simple containerized and easily deployable pipeline for shadow testing of segmentation algorithms within the clinical workflow.
Methods
Our end-to-end automated pipeline has two major components- 1. a router/listener and anonymizer and an OHIF web viewer backstopped by a DCM4CHEE DICOM query/retrieve archive deployed in the virtual infrastructure of our secure hospital intranet, and 2. An on-premises single GPU workstation host for DICOM/NIfTI conversion steps, and image processing. DICOM images are visualized in OHIF along with their segmentation masks and associated volumetry measurements (in mL) using DICOM SEG and structured report (SR) elements. Feasibility is demonstrated by recording clock times for a traumatic pelvic hematoma cascaded nnU-net model.
Results
Mean total clock time from PACS send by user to completion of transfer to the DCM4CHEE query/retrieve archive was 5 minutes 32 seconds (+/- SD of 1 min 26 sec). This compares favorably to the report turnaround times for whole-body CT exams, which often exceed 30 minutes. Inference times accounted for most of the total clock time, ranging from 2 minutes 41 seconds to 8 minutes 27 seconds. All other virtual and on-premises host steps combined ranged from a minimum of 34 seconds to a maximum of 48 seconds.
Conclusion
The software worked seamlessly with an existing PACS and could be used for deployment of DL models within the radiology workflow for prospective testing on newly scanned patients. Once configured, the pipeline is executed through one command using a single shell script. The code is made publicly available through an open-source license at “https://github.com/vastc/”, and includes a readme file providing pipeline config instructions for host names, series filter, other parameters, and citation instructions for this work.
Comparing hunting practices of urban and rural inhabitants in Western Amazonia: the role of religion, wealth, and livelihoods
Authors: Oliveira Marcela Alvares , Bizri Hani Rocha El , Morcatty Thais Queiroz , Braga-Pereira Franciany , Fa Julia E. , Messias Mariluce Rezende , Doria Carolina Rodrigues Costa
Published: April 2023

Hunting is essential for securing access to energy and nutrients by rural and urban populations throughout the tropics. The hunting patterns of urban hunters are unknown, and we do not know how much they resemble or differ from rural hunters. On the other hand social factors that influence hunting choice of these hunters are still largely unclear. Here we analyzed the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors on frequency and composition of species hunted by urban and rural Amazonian hunters. Within 10 municipalities in western Amazonia in Brazil, we interviewed 49 urban hunters and 57 rural hunters. A total of 44 species were cited as hunted. Our analyses showed that the probability of engaging in sport hunting (for recreation) was greater in urban hunters. Rural inhabitants, who had overall incomes lower than urban hunters, and were non-practicing Christians and Atheists hunted more frequently. Species hunted or preferred were similar independently of the livelihood or religion of the urban or rural hunters. However, we found that hunting frequency was influenced by the hunters’ socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, which did not affect the composition of the harvest. This similarity between urban and rural hunters might be related to species distribution and availability and could potentially impact the most hunted species if hunting grounds overlap. Understanding hunting patterns, especially those of urban hunters can be used to manage hunting activities more effectively, improve law enforcement against illegal hunting as well as develop more effective conservation strategies.
Meta-analysis of Multi-functional Biomarkers for Discovery and Predictive Modeling of Colorectal Adenoma and Carcinoma
Authors: Peterson Scott N. , Eroshkin Alexey M. , Kozbial Piotr Z. , Florio Ermanno , Fouladi Farnaz , Strom Noah , Valdes Yacgley , Kuehn Gregory , Casaburi Giorgio , Kuehn Thomas
Published: April 2023

Background:
Despite the effectiveness of colonoscopy for reducing colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality, poor screening compliance ranks CRC as the second most deadly malignancy. There is a need to develop a preventative, non-invasive diagnostic test, such as a fecal microbiota test, for early detection of both pre-cancerous adenomas and carcinomas to effectively reduce mortality.
Results:
We conducted a clinical meta-analysis of published deep metagenomic stool sequence datasets including 1,670 subjects from 9 countries, including 703 healthy controls, 161 precancerous colorectal adenoma (CRA), 48 advanced precancerous colorectal adenoma (CRAA) and 758 CRC cases diagnosed by colonoscopy. We analyzed these data through a novel automated machine learning workflow using a two-stage feature importance ranking and ensemble modeling method to identify and select highly predictive taxonomic and functional biomarkers. Machine learning modeling of selected features differentiated the metagenomic profiles of healthy patients from CRA, CRAA and CRC cases with an average area under the curve (AUC) for external holdout testing of 0.84 (sensitivity=0.82; specificity=0.71, accuracy=0.77) for CRC; an AUC of 0.97 (sensitivity=0.78; specificity=0.98, accuracy=0.97) for CRAA; and an AUC of 0.90 (sensitivity=0.74, specificity=0.89, accuracy=0.86) for CRA. These performance outcomes represented a 2%, 3% and 8% increase in AUC, compared to baseline ML performance, respectively. The predictive features identified for each disease class were largely distinct and represented differing proportions of taxonomic and functional features.
Conclusions:
The predictive taxonomic features identified for each disease class were largely distinct, whereas many functional gene features were shared across disease classes but displayed differing direction of change. Application of our ensemble approach for feature selection increased the predictive power of each disease class and moreover may generate discriminatory models with greater generalizability.
Personally Rattled: a Unique Protocol to Support the Presence of Personality and Behavioral Syndromes in Rattlesnakes
Authors: Cunha Oceane Da , Horne L. Miles , Johnson Jerry D.
Published: April 2023

While personality studies have been growing in number for various animal taxa, some groups have been underrepresented in the literature. Even if individual differences have been acknowledged, reptiles have been severely overlooked for behavioral studies potentially due to the challenges arising with studying their behavior. This study investigated the personality of wild Western diamond-backed rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox) across five axes: activity, exploration, boldness, sociality, and aggressiveness. The objectives of this study were to develop a protocol to successfully test personality in rattlesnakes following these axes and to determine whether Crotalus atrox exhibits personality and behavioral syndrome. To do so, 22 wild rattlesnakes were captured and submitted to a series of captive behavioral trials. Crotalus atrox exhibited individual differences that were repeatable through time across the five previously mentioned axes. Activity was the only axis that was sex-dependent where males move more than females on average. Moreover, these axes were grouped into three personality dimensions: aggressiveness, exploration, and activity-boldness-sociality. This last personality dimension provides evidence for the presence of a behavioral syndrome within this species. This study provides a repeatable and ecologically relevant protocol to study personality in rattlesnakes throughout five different axes. Crotalus atrox exhibits individual behavioral differences consistent through time and behavioral syndromes comparable to other species. This study provides a baseline to answer questions pertinent to personality in rattlesnakes such as conflict management and will help gain insights in the secretive life of serpents.
Changes in the physicochemical characteristics, bioactive compounds, flavor volatiles and antioxidant properties of noni juice (Morinda citrifolia) during natural fermentation
Authors: LI Da , Jing TIAN , LIANG Yufei , Yi-Kai FAN , LIANG Han-Qiao
Published: April 2023

Noni (Morinda citrifolia) is a tropical plant native to South-East Asia, the fruit of which is usually fermented to extract the juice as a drink, and for medicinal purposes. Despite its widespread consumption and good natural medicinal properties, little is known about its postharvest handling and compositional changes during processing. Here, changes in the physiochemical characteristics (pH value, titratable acidity (TA) and total suspended solid (TSS)), bioactive compounds (total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, lignins), flavor volatiles, and antioxidant capacity were monitored in the broth of naturally fermented of noni fruit using conventional analytical methods. The pH value of the fermented noni fruit showed an overall declining trend (from 4.35 to 4.04) while TA increased slowly (from 2.91 g/kg) in the first 24 weeks, reaching 9.25 g/kg at week 36. Fermentation had little impact on TSS, and values remained largely unchanged (1.34 mg/mL). The total phenolic compounds revealed and overall decreasing trend (from 1.52 mg/L to 0.87 mg/mL) reaching a maximum value (1.79 mg/mL) during the first week. Within this group, the total flavonoids decreased rapidly in the first week of fermentation (from 0.531 mg/mL to 0.295 mg/mL) while lignins decreased slowly in the first few weeks before increasing to 0.314 mg/mL by week 4. Both species increased from week 36 to reach 0.732 mg/mL and 0.366 mg/mL at the end of fermentation. The DPPH scavenging capacity of the extract reached its highest value (100%) at week 4. A total of 112 volatile compounds were identified in the noni juice at week 1, and their compositions changed during fermentation over 1-24 weeks. Methyl caproate and caprylic acid were the dominant compounds, with the latter contributing to the distinctive odor of the fermenting juice. During the first week, a high concentration of total esters and increasing TA was the dominant characteristics; total flavonoids reached highest level in week 2; alcohols were the major class of compound in week 4, reaching maximum levels at 8. The changes in physicochemical characteristics, active and odor compounds at different stages of the fermentation may provide a foundation to understand and control key relationships during the commercial production of noni fruit.
TaATG8 is involved in the response to abiotic stresses and powder mildew in Arabidopsis
Authors: Tian Lijuan , Wang Dongmei , Liu Gang , Wei Fengju , Hou Chunyan , Han Shengfang , Zhang Fangfang
Published: April 2023

Autophagy is a major degradation process of cytoplasmic components in eukaryotes, and executes bulk and selective degradation of targeted cargos. A set of autophagy-related (ATG) proteins participate in various stages of the autophagic process. Among ATGs, ubiquitin-like protein ATG8 plays a central role in autophagy. The expression of ATG8 affects many intracellular progresses. Here we report that the amino acid sequence of AtATG8 and TaATG8 protein share a high similarity of 84.03%, we found that TaATG8 involved in the abiotic stresses, such as drought, salt stress and nutrient deficiency. Our results indicated that TaATG8 gene participates in resisting against abiotic stresses in the stage of seed germination, seedling and adult. Moreover, TaATG8 plays an important role in the process of Arabidopsis defending against biotic stress caused by the infection of powdery mildew through HR. Hydrogen peroxide acts as an important metabolic product and signaling molecule in the process of TaATG8 resisting to powdery mildew.
Preserving Coastal Ecosystem through Micro-zonation Analysis of Karimunjawa, Indonesia
Authors: Trihatmoko Edy , Nurlinda Nurlinda , Darussalam Andi , Purwitaningsih Santika , Sartohadi Junun , Banowati Eva , Naibaho Betty , Juhadi Juhadi , Aji Ananto
Published: April 2023

Small island ecosystems and their inhabitants face a significant threat from global warming, which jeopardizes their sustainability. These communities are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change, as they heavily rely on natural resources for their livelihoods and are more vulnerable than mainland regions. Additionally, the effects of global warming on oceanographic conditions will disproportionately affect these communities. Therefore, it is essential to take urgent action to address the challenges small island states face and promote their resilience in the face of climate change. To preserve the coastal ecosystems in Karimunjawa, Indonesia, this study proposes an alternative spatial plan through micro-zonation analysis. The study conducted literature reviews and field surveys to collect data and developed recommendations for the current spatial plans through spatially, descriptive statistics, and comparative analysis. The findings show that sea surface temperatures in Karimunjawa and Kemujan Island have increased by 1–2 ℃. Stress levels were found for coral reefs at the bleaching warning position for all Karimunjawa Island marine areas, including Kemujan Island. Legon Lele and Tanjung Gelam were found to have suspended sediment traces and indications of heavy metal contamination, making them the research focus. The Karimunjawa micro-zonation boundaries were obtained, especially in the Legon Lele and Tanjung Gelam areas, with an area of 640.63 and 817.45 ha, respectively. The proposed micro-zonation for Karimunjawa National Park zoning refers to watersheds-sedimentary cells, making it an example of implementing integrated coastal management (ICM) spatial boundaries in Karimunjawa and other nations.
Node Embedding Approach for Accurate Detection of Fake Reviews: A Graph-Based Machine Learning Approach with Explainable AI
Authors: Zaki Nazar , Krishnan Anusuya , Turaev Sherzod , Rustamov Zahiriddin , Rustamov Jaloliddin , Almusalami Aisha , Ayyad Farah , Regasa Tsion , Iriho Brice Boris
Published: April 2023

Purpose: In recent years, online reviews have become increasingly important in promoting various products and services. Unfortunately, writing deceptive reviews has also become a common practice to promote one’s own business or tarnish the reputation of competitors. As a result, identifying fake reviews has become an intense and ongoing area of research. This paper proposes a node embedding approach to detect online fake reviews. The approach involves extracting features from the input data to create a distance matrix, which is then used to construct a Graph. From the graph, we extract graph nodes and use the Node2Vec biased random walk algorithm to create a model. We retrieve node embeddings from the Node2Vec model using Word2Vec and use different classifiers to classify the nodes. We trained and evaluated the machine learning models on the Deceptive Opinion Spam Corpus and YelpChi datasets, and achieved superior results compared to prior work for detecting fake reviews, with SVM using the ham-ming distance achieving 98.44% accuracy, 98.44% precision, 98.44% recall, and 98.44% F1-score. Furthermore, we explored different methods for explaining our proposed methods using explainable AI, demonstrating the interpretability of our approach. Our proposed node embedding approach shows promising results for 1 detecting fake reviews and offers a transparent and interpretable solution for the problem.
The orchestration of Cornus kousa fruit and gut microbiota for anti- obesity via integrated pharmacological analysis based on metabolomics
Authors: Oh Ki-Kwang , Yoon Sang-Jun , Lee Su-Been , Lee Sang Youn , Gupta Haripriya , Ganesan Raja , Sharma Satya Priya , Won Sung-Min , Jeong Jin-Ju , Kim Dong Joon , Suk Ki-Tae
Published: April 2023

Background: Cornus kousa fruit (CKF) has been utilized as anti-obesity (AOB) supplementation in East Asia, including Korea, and gut microbiota (GM) might have positive effects on obesity (OB) via its interplay. We aimed to decode molecule(s), mechanism(s), and target(s) on interactive association between CKF and GM via network pharmacology (NP) analysis. The chemical constituents from ethanolic CKF (ECKF) were detected by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).
Results: The 31 compounds in ECKF were accepted by Lipinski’s rule and the overlapping targets (45) were identified by SEA and STP. The final targets (22) were selected on OB-responded targets, indicating that IL6 was the most crucial protein-coding target on PPI networks. A bubble plot and CKF, GM, signaling pathways, targets, and metabolites (CGSTM) networks suggested that AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications inhibited by CKF, and PPAR signaling pathway activated by GM. As the most stable conformers, the IL6-equol complex was attributed to GM, and PPARA-linoleic acid, PPARD-stearic acid, and FABP4-dimethyl 2,3-bis(1,3-dimethylindol-2-yl) fumarate complex were attributed to CKF. Noticeably, stearic acid was removed by Density Functional Theory (DFT) analysis, all other three molecules were proposed as good electron donators with the higher electronegativity, compared with a standard drug (Orlistat).
Conclusion: This study shows that integrated pharmacological analysis can enable to decode the unknown relationships between CKF and GM. For the extensive viewpoints, our approach can obtain scientific evidence to verify the food-GM-host interactions by introducing several fields: bioinformatics, cheminformatics, pharmacology, microbiology, natural products chemistry, and quantum chemistry. Overall, this study reveals that the combination of CKF and favorable GM might exert dual therapeutic effects on OB.
Predictors of functional and morphological arterial wall properties in coronary artery disease patients with increased lipoprotein (a) levels before and after treatment with proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 inhibitors
Authors: Likozar Andreja Rehberger , Šebeštjen Miran
Published: April 2023

Background In addition to proatherogenic properties, lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) has also pro-inflammatory, antifibrinolytic and prothrombogenic features. The aim of the current study was to identify the predictors of functional and morphological properties of the arterial wall in patients after myocardial infarction and increased Lp(a) levels at the beginning and after treatment with proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors.Methods Seventy-six post-myocardial infarction patients with high Lp(a) levels were included in the study. Ultrasound measurements of flow-mediated dilation of brachial artery (FMD), carotid intima-media thickness (c-IMT) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were performed initially and after 6 months of treatment. At the same time points lipids, Lp(a), inflammatory and hemostasis markers were measured in blood samples.Results In linear regression model FMD significantly correlated with age at first myocardial infarction (β = 0.689; p = 0.022), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (β=-1.200; p = 0.009), vascular cell adhesion protein 1 (VCAM-1) (β=-0.992; p = 0.006), overall coagulation potential (β = 1.428; p = 0.014) and overall hemostasis potential (β=-1.473; p = 0.008). c-IMT significantly correlated with age at first myocardial infarction (β = 0.574; p = 0.033) and Lp(a) (β = 0.524; p = 0.040). PWV significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure (β = 0.332; p = 0.002), tumor necrosis factor alpha (β = 0.406; p = 0.002), interleukin-8 (β=-0.315; p = 0.015) and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (β = 0.229; p = 0.031). After treatment FMD reached statistical significance only in univariant analysis with systolic blood pressure (r=-0.286; p = 0.004) and VCAM-1 (r=-0.229; p = 0.024). PWV and c-IMT correlated with age (r = 0.334; p = 0.001 and r = 0.486; p < 0.0001, respectively) and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.556; p < 0.0001 and r = 0.233; p = 0.021, respectively).Conclusions Our results suggest that age, systolic blood pressure, Lp(a) levels and other biochemical markers associated with Lp(a) are predictors of functional and morphological properties of the arterial vessel wall in post-myocardial patients with high Lp(a) levels initially. However, after 6 months of treatment with PCSK9 inhibitors only age and systolic blood pressure seem to be predictors of these properties.Trial registration: The protocol for this study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov on November, 3 2020 under registration number NCT04613167.
Distribution Characteristics of PAHs in coals of varying rank --Identification for sources of PAHs in complicated environmental studies
Authors: Wen Xueqin , Fu Xue , Li Zhengyan , Yang Yali
Published: April 2023

The concentrations of 16 Priority Pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in coals of varying rank were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography for obtaining the distribution of PAHs in raw coal with different metamorphic degree. The results indicate that the Σ16PAHs in coal ranged from 1416.28~131786.7 and 1896.85~133012.45 ng/g respectively with a the maximum yield when R0, max=1.47%. With the increase of coal rank, the toxicity of PAHs in raw coal increases and then decreases. The range of Flua / (Flua + Pyr), Ant / (Ant + Phe) and BaA / (BaA + Chr) is 0.237~0.340, 0.073~0.085, 0.064~0.178 and the total index of PAHs ranged from 3.17 to 3.74 in coals. Above diagnostic ratios are quite distinguished from petroleum origin, coal combustion and low-temperature combustion of coal gangue in previous work, which can be used to identify the sources of PAHs in complicated environment study.
Regulation of a novel DsGATA1 from Dunaliella salina on the synthesis of carotenoids under red light
Authors: Song Yao , Lan Yanhong , Li Ke , Qiao Dairong , Cao Yi , Xu Hui
Published: April 2023

Background Dunaliella salina is a high-quality industrial effector for carotenoid production. Although the accumulation of carotenoids in D. salina increases under red light conditions, the content of carotenoids in the algal cell decreases. The mechanism by which red light regulates carotenoid synthesis is still unclear.Results In this study, a transcription factor of DsGATA1 with a distinct structure was discovered in D. salina. The recognition motif of DsGATA1 was comparable to that of plant and fungal GATA, despite its evolutionary proximity to animal-derived GATA. The expression of DsGATA1 in D. salina was still noticeably decreased when exposed to red light. Analysis of physiological and biochemical transcriptomic data from overexpressed, interfering and wild-type strains of DsGATA1 revealed that DsGATA1 acts as a global regulator of D. salina carotenoid synthesis. The upregulated genes in the CBP pathway by DsGATA1 were involved in its regulation of the synthesis of carotenoids. DsGATA1 also enhanced carotenoid accumulation under red light by affecting N metabolism. DsGATA1 was found to directly bind to the promoter of nitrate reductase to activate its expression, promoting D. salina nitrate uptake and accelerating biomass accumulation. DsGATA1 affected the expression of the genes encoding GOGAT, GDH and ammonia transporter proteins. Moreover, our study revealed that the regulation of N metabolism by DsGATA1 led to the production of NO molecules that inhibited carotenoid synthesis. However, DsGATA1 significantly enhanced carotenoid synthesis by NO scavenger removal of NO. The D. salina carotenoid accumulation under red light was elevated by 46% in the presence of overexpression of DsGATA1 and NO scavengers.Conclusion It was found that a transcription factor of DsGATA1 from D. salina has a distinct structure and recognition motif. The novel gene encoding DsGATA1 enhanced the production of carotenoids under red light and endowed D. salina with high algal biomass. The regulation of terpenoid metabolism by DsGATA1 is different from that reported for GATA factors. DsGATA1 yet enhanced the production of NO in D. salina. Nevertheless, our results indicated that DsGATA1 could be an important target for engineering carotenoid production.
Acute minocycline treatment inhibits microglia activation, reduces infarct volume, and has domain-specific effects on post-stroke cognition in rats
Authors: Myers Sarah J. , Agapova Victoria , Patel Salonee V. , Hayes Sarah H. , Sposato Luciano A. , Allman Brian L. , Whitehead Shawn N.
Published: April 2023

Ischemic stroke affects millions of individuals worldwide and a high prevalence of survivors experience cognitive deficits. At present, the underlying mechanisms that drive post-stroke cognitive decline are not well understood. Microglia play a critical role in the post-stroke inflammatory response, but experimental studies show that an accumulation of chronically activated microglia can be harmful and associates with cognitive impairment. This study aimed to assess the effect of acute post-stroke minocycline treatment, a tetracycline derivative that readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and has been shown to inhibit microglia activation, on chronic microglia and astrocyte expression within both the infarct and remote white matter regions, as well as determine its effect on various domains of cognitive function post-stroke. Nine-month-old male rats received an injection of endothelin-1 into the right dorsal striatum to induce a transient focal ischemic stroke, and then were treated with minocycline or saline for 4 days post-stroke. Rats were tested using a series of lever-pressing tasks and the Morris water maze to assess striatal-based learning, cognitive flexibility, and spatial learning and reference memory. We found that minocycline-treated rats had smaller stroke-induced infarcts, less microglia activation in the infarct area and less microglia activation in remote white matter regions compared to saline-treated rats at 28 days post-stroke. The behavioural testing results differed according to the cognitive domain; whereas minocycline-treated rats trended towards improved striatal-based learning in a lever-pressing task, but cognitive flexibility was unaffected during the subsequent set-shifting task. Furthermore, minocycline treatment unexpectedly impaired spatial learning, yet it did not alter reference memory. Collectively, we show that post-stroke minocycline treatment can reduce chronic microglia activation even in remote brain regions, with domain-specific effects on cognitive function.
Biosorption potential of Lantana camara leaves’ biosorbent to remove Zn (II) ions from synthetic aqueous solution
Authors: negi Ankita , Joshi Sushil Kumar , Bhandari Narendra Singh
Published: April 2023

Inorganic metal pollution is becoming more prevalent as industrialization progresses. Despite being an essential element, Zn (II) can be detrimental if consumed in excess. In this study, the possibility of using Lantana camara leaves to prepare a biosorbent that can eliminate Zn (II) ions from contaminated wastewater solutions was investigated. BET surface area, FTIR and SEM analysis were carried out to characterize the prepared Lantana camara leaves biosorbent (LCLB). It was reported that increasing biosorbent dosage and contact duration improves Zn (II) ion removal while it decreases with rising initial concentrations of Zn (II) ions and temperature. At pH 6, 5 g adsorbent dosage, and 45 minutes contact time, excellent removal capabilities (85.06%) were reported. The pseudo-second-order rate model fit the kinetics of Zn (II) adsorption well (R2 > 0.998), and the predicted adsorption capacity of the model agreed well with the experimental outcomes. The Langmuir isotherm (R2 > 0.996) was the best suited isotherm model for Zn (II) adsorption onto LCLB, implying monolayer adsorption. Thermodynamic experiments revealed that Zn (II) adsorption on the biosorbent's surface was spontaneous and exothermic. Desorption studies implied that the biosorbent can be recycled effectively up to two cycles. An investigation of the maximum adsorption capabilities of different untreated biomaterial-based residues found that LCLB is an effective, inexpensive, and environmentally acceptable biosorbent for use in the removal of contaminants from polluted aqueous media.
On the weighted Sobolev space and its application on the existence of weak solutions related to the p-Laplacian
Authors: Zhan Huashui
Published: April 2023

The initial boundary value problem of an evolutionary equation with the form

is considered, where a(x) ≥ 0 is a weight and may be degenerate on some points of Ω. Such a equation arises from the heat flow in a certain composite materia or reaction-diffusion problem in an environmental heterogeneity and barriers. In the paper, we assume that

and invistigate the Sobolev inequality and the embedding inequality in the weighted Sobolev space are true. Then, by generalizing the the classical Gagliardo-Nirenberg inequality to the weighted Sobolev space, using the difference method as [10], the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions are obtained provided that p > 2.
Mathematics Subject Classification: 35K65 35L85 35R92