bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
WITHDRAWN: Trajectory Tracking of A Mobile Robot Using Adaptive Sliding Mode Control
Authors: Rostami Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini , Hosseinabadi Fatemeh Jahangiri , yu Xiaofeng , zhang Jingyu , shi Heyuan
Published: August 2021

In this paper, a control system for a mobile four-wheeled robot is designed, whose task is to create stability and achieve proper performance in the execution of commands. Due to the nonlinear and time-varying dynamics, structural and parametric uncertainties of this robot, various control approaches are used in order to achieve stability, proper performance and minimize the effect of uncertainties and modeling errors, etc. The purpose of the control here is to follow a predetermined trajectory by adjusting linear and angular velocities in the presence of external disturbances and parametric uncertainty.In previous articles, the upper band of uncertainties has been assumed known. In this paper, and given that in practice, in many cases it is not possible to know the extent of uncertainties and disturbances in robotic systems, we have assumed that this upper band is unknown. Therefore, the sliding mode control law designed in the paper has been generalized and proved its stability so that by adding an adaptive part to the controller and converting it into a robust-adaptive sliding mode control, the upper band uncertainties are estimated online using these adaptive laws. The results of this typology are expressed in a separate theorem and proved to be stable. The results of simulation with MATLAB software show that the proposed controller ensures optimal performance under external disturbances and parametric uncertainty with less fluctuations.
Optimization of Parameters of Plastic Lined Pump Structural Based on Fluidsolid Coupling Analysis
Authors: Xiong Lei , Tang Lingfeng , Xu Bingxue
Published: August 2021

The main objective of the present article was to obtain the optimum structure of the plastic lined pump under the condition of fluid-structure interaction. The structural parameters of the pump were calculated according to the given design parameters. The three-dimensional geometric model was established. The flow field analysis was carried out by CFD. The inlet diameter 𝐷𝑗 , outlet width 𝑏2, vane outlet angle 𝛽2 and vane number 𝑍 of the impeller were selected as the four factors to design orthogonal experiment. The results were analyzed by range analysis. The efficiency and NPSH were obtained as combined parameters under the evaluation index. The genetic algorithm was used to optimize its structural parameters, and the best structural combination parameters of the plastic-lined pump under the conditions of maximum efficiency and minimum cavitation were obtained. The efficiency was increased by 2.78% and the NPSH was reduced by 0.249707 after optimization. Finally, the stress distribution and displacement deformation under the condition of the coupling field were obtained by the fluidsolid coupling analysis. The maximum stress was 4.83mpa and the maximum displacement deformation was 3.1547e-5m.
Gene Signatures And Cancer-Immune Phenotypes Based On m6A Regulators In Breast Cancer
Authors: Zhao Guanghui , An Junhua , Pu Qian , Geng Wenwen , Song Haiyun , Zhao Qianqian , Gao Haidong
Published: August 2021

Background: The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has been considered as a new layer of epitranscriptomic regulation on mRNA processing, stability and translation. However, potential roles of m6A RNA methylation modification in tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of breast cancer are yet fully understood.Methods: We comprehensively evaluated the genetic variations and transcript expressions of 15 m6A regulators, and clinicopathological features in 1,079 breast cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The mRNA and protein levels of several m6A regulators were validated by RT-qPCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry staining in clinical samples from 39 patients with breast cancer. The prognostic values of m6A regulators were systematically evaluated in different database. We correlated the m6A modification patterns of breast cancer with the immune microenvironment and cancer-immune phenotypes. The m6A regulators-related gene signatures were also analyzed to predict the survival of patients.Results: Some m6A regulators’ CNV events might be potential biomarkers for patient’s stage and prognosis in breast cancer. Major regulators had significantly differential mRNA and protein expression in tumor tissue compared to normal samples among different molecular subtypes of breast cancer, and especially high expression of m6A readers YTHDF1 and YTHDF3 predicted poor survival. Two clusters of breast cancer patients identified by the 15 m6A regulators’ pattern showed distinct overall survival, immune activation status and immune cell infiltration. The profiles of these two clusters accorded with that of two classical cancer-immune phenotypes, immune-excluded and immune-inflamed phenotypes. Moreover, the m6A phenotype-related gene signatures could also be survival predictor in breast cancer.Conclusions: The m6A regulators-based patterns might serve as crucial mediators of TIME in breast cancer. Comprehensive evaluation of tumor m6A modification pattern will contribute to enhance our understanding of the characterization of immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment and promote the responsiveness of breast cancer to immunotherapy.
Quality of Pre-Service Midwifery Education in Public and Private Midwifery Schools in Afghanistan: A Cross Sectional Survey
Authors: Manalai Partamin , Currie Sheena , Jafari Massoma , Ansari Nasratullah , Tappis Hannah , Atiqzai Faridullah , Kim Young Mi , Roosmalen Jos , Stekelenburg Jelle
Published: August 2021

Background
Midwives are the key skilled birth attendants in Afghanistan. Rapid assessment of public and private midwifery education schools was conducted in 2017 to examine compliance with national educational standards. Aim was to assess midwifery education to inform Afghanistan Nurses and Midwives Council and other stakeholders priorities for improving quality of midwifery education.
Methods
A cross-sectional assessment was conducted from September 12–December 17, 2017, using a modified Midwifery Education Rapid Assessment Tool to assess education quality aspects related to infrastructure, management, teachers, preceptors, clinical practice sites, curriculum and students in 29 midwifery schools. A purposive sample of six Institute of Health Sciences schools, seven Community Midwifery Education schools and 16 private midwifery schools was used. Participants were midwifery school staff, students and clinical preceptors.
Results
Libraries were available in 28/29 (97%) schools, active skills labs in 20/29 (69%), childbirth simulators in 17/29 (59%) and newborn resuscitation models in 28/29 (97%). School managers were midwives in 21/29 (72%) schools. Median numbers of students per teacher and students per preceptor were 8 (range 2–50) and 6 (range 2–20). There were insufficient numbers of teachers practicing midwifery (132/163; 81%), trained in teaching skills (113/163; 69%) and trained in emergency obstetric and newborn care (88/163; 54%). There was an average of 13 students at clinical sites in each shift. Students managed an average of 15 births independently during their training, while 40 births are required. Twenty-four percent (7/29) of schools used the national 2015 curriculum alone or combined with an older one. Ninety-one percent (633/697) of students reported access to clinical sites and skills labs. Students mentioned, however, insufficient clinical practice, lack of education materials, transport facilities and disrespect from school teachers, preceptors and clinical site providers as challenges.
Conclusions
Positive findings included availability of required infrastructure, amenities, approved curricula in 7 of the 29 midwifery schools, appropriate clinical sites and students’ commitment to work as midwives upon graduation. Gaps identified were use of different often outdated curricula, inadequate clinical practice, underqualified teachers and preceptors and failure to graduate all students with sufficient skills such as independently having supported 40 births.
Association Between Acute Phase Reactants (High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate) and the Genotype of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) in Patients and Healthy Controls
Authors: Jarjour Rami A. , Zarzour Wafika
Published: August 2021

Background: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder mainly common in Arabs, Non-Ashkenazi Jews, Armenians and Turks. The classical clinical features include painful attacks and recurrent acute fever with periods of remission. Results: This study was carried out on 101 clinically diagnosed Syrian FMF patients, in addition to 107 apparently healthy controls. Twelve mutations in the gene locus of MEFV were detected using reverse hybridization and the M694V mutation was found to be the most common in Syrian patients. This study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups when comparing the levels of the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) for the two groups of patients and healthy controls. However, this study did not show a relationship between genotype of MEFV mutations and hs-CRP titers and ESR in these patients, as well as the absence of a strong relationship between the M694V mutation and hs-CRP titers and ESR. Conclusion: These data indicate the importance of hs-CRP titers and ESR in patients with familial Mediterranean fever when diagnosing the disease, before starting treatment and in attack-free periods, which may give us an idea about the severity of the disease.
Analysis of the Expression of Cathepsin S in Gastric Adenocarcinoma and in Helicobacter Pylori Infection
Authors: Costa Adriano , Santa-Cruz Fernando , Araújo Raphael , Leitão Glauber , Figueiredo José-Luiz , Ferraz Álvaro
Published: August 2021

Background: recent experimental studies have shown a potential link between cathepsin S (CTTS) and gastric cancer progression. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the expression of CTTS in gastric adenocarcinoma.Methods: Cross-sectional study that included two groups, gastric adenocarcinoma (n=42) and gastritis (n=50). The gastritis group was then subdivided into H. pylori positive (n=25) x negative (n=25). Gastric tissue samples were analyzed in order to determine the CTTS expression through immunohistochemistry. Results: In patients with gastritis, the age ranged from 18 to 78 years. Among them, 34% were male, and 66% were female. In patients with gastric cancer, the age ranged from 37 to 85 years. Among them, 50% were male, and 50% were female. When comparing the expression of CTTS between the two groups, only 16% of the gastritis samples had an expression higher than 25%. On the other hand, among patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, 19% had expression between 25-50%, 14.3% between 51-75%, and 26.2% had expressions higher than 75% (p < 0.001). CTTS expression was significantly higher in patients with positive test for H. pylori: 87.5% x 38.5% (p<0.001). There was no statistically significant association between the positivity of CTTS and the clinical-pathological variables, including tumor staging, histological type, angiolymphatic invasion, recurrence, current status and death.Conclusion: CTTS has a higher expression in samples of gastric adenocarcinoma. Patients with gastritis by H. pylori also show a higher expression of CTTS compared with patients with negative results for this bacterium.
Responses to Incremental Exercise and the Impact of the Coexistence of HF and COPD on Exercise Capacity: A Follow-up Study
Authors: Santos Polliana B. Dos , Simões Rodrigo P. , Goulart Cassia L. , Arêas Guilherme P. T. , Marinho Renan S. , Camargo Patrícia F. , Roscani Meliza G. , Arbex Renata F. , Oliveira Cláudio R. , Mendes Renata G. , Arena Ross , Borghi-silva Audrey
Published: August 2021

Aim: Our aim was to evaluate: 1) the prevalence of coexistence of heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the studied population; 2) the impact of HF+COPD on exercise performance and contrasting exercise responses in patients with only a diagnosis of HF or COPD; and 3) the relationship between clinical characteristics and measures of cardiorespiratory fitness; 4) verify the occurrence of cardiopulmonary events in the follow-up period of up to 24 months years.Methods: The current study included 124 patients (HF:46, COPD: 53 and HF+COPD:25) that performed advanced pulmonary function tests, echocardiography, analysis of body composition by bioimpedance and symptom-limited incremental cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) on a cycle ergometer. All patients were contacted by telephone every 6 months and questioned about exacerbations, hospitalizations for cardiopulmonary causes and death. Results: We found a 20% prevalence of HF + COPD overlap in the studied population. Patients with HF+COPD demonstrated a lower work rate (WR), peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2), rate pressure product (RPP), circulatory power (CP) and ventilatory power (VP) compared to those only diagnosed with HF and COPD. In addition, significant correlations were observed between lean mass and peak V̇O2 (r: 0.56 p< 0.001), the oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) (r: 0.42 p<0.001), and O2 pulse (r: 0.58 p<0.001), lung diffusing factor for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and WR (r: 0.51 p< 0.001), DLCO and VP (r: 0.40 p: 0.002), forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1) and peak V̇O2 (r: 0.52; p< 0.001), and FEV1 and WR (r: 0.62; p<0.001). There were no significant differences in the occurrence of events and deaths contrasting both groups.Conclusion: the coexistence of HF+COPD induces greater impairment on exercise performance when compared to patients without overlapping diseases, however the overlap of the two diseases did not increase the probability of the occurrence of cardiopulmonary events and deaths when compared to groups with isolated diseases in the period studied. CPET provides important information to guide effective strategies for these patients with the goal of improving exercise performance and functional capacity. Moreover, given our findings related to pulmonary function, body composition and exercise responses, evidenced that the lean mass, FEV1 and DLCO influence important responses to exercise.
Antineoplastic Activity of Products Derived From Cellulose-containing Materials: Study of Levoglucosenone and Structurally-related Analogous as New Alternatives for Breast Cancer Treatment
Authors: Delbart Damian Ignacio , Giri German Francisco , Cammarata Agostina , Bareño Lizeth Ariza , Amigo Natalia Loreley , Bechis Andres , Suarez Alejandra Graciela , Spanevello Rolando Angel , Todaro Laura Beatriz , Urtreger Alejandro
Published: August 2021

Purpose: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. For this reason, the development of new therapies is still essential. In this work we have analyzed the antitumor potential of levoglucosenone, a chiral building block derived from glucose, and three structurally related analogues obtained from soybean hulls pyrolysis.Methods: Employing human and murine mammary cancer models, we have evaluated the effect of our compounds on cell viability through MTS assay, apoptosis induction by acridine orange / ethidium bromide staining and/or flow cytometry and the loss of mitochondrial potential by tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester staining. Autophagy and senescence induction were also evaluated by Western blot and β-galactosidase activity respectively. Secreted metalloproteases activity was determined by quantitative zymography. Migratory capacity was assessed by wound healing assays while invasive potential was analyzed using Matrigel-coated transwell chambers. In vivo studies were also performed to evaluate subcutaneous tumor growth and experimental lung colonization.Results: Apoptosis was identified as the main mechanism responsible for the reduction of monolayer cell content induced by the compounds without detecting modulations of autophagy or senescence processes. Two of the four compounds were able to modulate in vitro events associated with tumor progression, such as migratory potential, invasiveness, and proteases secretion. Furthermore, tumor volume and metastatic spread were significantly reduced in vivo after treatment with the compounds.Conclusion: We could obtain from soybean hulls, a material with almost no commercial value, a variety of chemical compounds useful for breast cancer treatment.
Non-Syndromic Cleft Palate and Transverse Limb Deficiency Segregating in a Family of Dogs
Authors: Fyfe John Corwin , Mahmood Abdullah , Hix Jeremy , Stanley Bryden J. , Schutte Brian C.
Published: August 2021

Oro-facial clefts are one of the most common birth defects in humans, most are non-syndromic, and few have established molecular diagnoses. Here we report the morphology and genetic transmission of isolated cleft palate in a naturally occurring dog model. Palate morphology was evaluated grossly, by microcomputed tomography, and by histologic examination of serial coronal sections. In repeated matings of a clinically normal sire/dam pair, 18% (12/68) of live-born pups had full-length cleft of the secondary palate with no other abnormalities. At the gestational stage of normal palate fusion, palate shelves of affected fetuses were above the tongue but did not meet at midline. Mandibles were normal, and oral epithelium and periderm were intact. Genetic transmission was determined in experimental backcross matings of surgically repaired affected dogs with a normal parent, which produced 20 cleft, 11 male and 9 female, and 24 normal-palate pups. Furthermore, all offspring of matings between affected dogs had cleft palate. These data were as expected under the hypothesis of autosomal recessive transmission of the cleft palate trait ([1 df, N = 44] Χ2 = 0.36, p = 0.55). About half of cleft offspring produced in backcross matings of which the dam had cleft palate, also exhibited various transverse limb deficiencies. No limb deficiencies occurred in backcross offspring of a dam with normal palate, suggesting a possible maternal effect. This dog family constitutes a large animal model of non-syndromic isolated cleft palate coincident with developmental limb deficiency.
Exploring marine resources against neurological disorders– the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory potential of the brown seaweed Bifurcaria bifurcata
Authors: Silva Joana , Alves Celso , Susano Patricia , Martins Alice , Pinteus Susete , Gaspar Helena , Alfonso Amparo , Pedrosa Rui
Published: August 2021

Oxidative stress is strongly involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson´s disease (PD). Particularly, an excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) released by the cells promotes an oxidative stress condition, which is a main cause of tissue injury leading to nervous system dysfunction. In this work, the antioxidant, neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory activities of different fractions from Bifurcaria bifurcata are presented and related with their chemical profile. The antioxidant capacity was evaluated by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. Neuroprotective capacity was evaluated to prevent neurological cell death mediated by the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) on SH-SY5Y cells, and their anti-inflammatory effects on RAW 264.7 macrophages. Regarding results, ethyl acetate fractions (100 µg/mL) exhibited significant antioxidant and neuroprotective activities in the in vitro models assayed. Furthermore, two of the most polar fractions obtained with methanol and water, also evidenced a significant neuroprotective potential. B. bifurcata fractions treatment decreased ROS production, mitochondrial dysfunction, and Caspase-3 activity. Regarding the anti-inflammatory potential, five fractions (100 µg/mL) inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production and reduced the interleukin – 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) levels. Mannitol, identified as the major component of the most bioactive fraction, protected SH-SY5Y cells against the 6-OHDA neurotoxicity mediating ROS generation mitigation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and DNA damage, together with the Caspase-3 activity inhibition. Results suggest that B. bifurcata is a relevant source of neuroprotective agents, with particular interest for preventive therapeutics.
Genome-wide association studies uncover candidate genes for Zinc, Iron, and Selenium concentration in barley grains
Authors: Thabet Samar G. , Alomari Dalia Z. , Alqudah Ahmad M.
Published: August 2021

Background
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most important staple food crops worldwide. Mineral concentrations in cereals are important for human health; hence improving Zn, Fe and Se accumulation in grains is an imperative need. This study was designed to understand the genetic architecture of Zn, Fe and Se grain concentrations in barley grains.
Results
We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for grain Zn, Fe and Se concentrations in 216 spring barley accessions, using field data from 2 years. All the accessions were genotyped with a high-density 9K SNPs array from IlluminaTM. The mean values of estimated BLUEs for Zn, Fe and Se were 38.37, 35.56 and 39.45 µg g− 1 dry weight, respectively. High heritability was equaled 75.65% for Fe across the two environments, while moderate heritability values were detected for Zn and Se. Notably, wide genetic variation was found among genotypes for Zn, Fe and Se concentrations. A total of 222 SNPs associated with Zn, Fe and Se were detected on all chromosomes, where the highest significant associations is linked to Fe accumulation. Three genomic regions include newly identified putative candidate genes, which are related to Zn uptake and transport or represent Homeobox leucine zipper protein. Additionally, several significant associations were physically located inside or near genes which are potentially involved in Zn and Fe homoeostasis of which two candidate genes at 5H (502,454,312–502,455,148 bp) and 7H (205,216,091–205,221,133 bp) were found to be involved in Basic helix loop helix (BHLH) family transcription factor and Squamosa promoter binding-like protein, respectively.
Conclusions
These findings provide new insights into the genetic basis of Zn, Fe and Se concentration in barley grains that in turn may help plant breeders to select high Zn, Fe and Se-containing genotypes to improve human consumption and grain quality.
A cross-sectional study for risk factor model predictive for developing ischemic stroke: a clinical pharmacist’s approach
Authors: Sadeq Adel , Elnour Asim Ahmed , Mazrouei Nadia Al , Baraka Mohamed
Published: August 2021

BackgroundThere is a paucity of studies in ischemic stroke in our region.Aim The aim of the current study was to delineate the potentially risk factors for the development of ischemic stroke. MethodsWe have conducted a cross-sectional hospital-based study that has enrolled 210 subjects. The subjects have had presented to the emergency department in a tertiary hospital at the United Arab Emirates. Subjects were diagnosed with ischemic stroke within 24 hours of presentation. Outcome measureThe main outcome measure was the development of ischemic stroke during indexed hospital visit.ResultsThe mean age was 47.5 ±3.2 with higher preponderance of males over females (60.9%) and 48.1% were ≥65 years. The final logistic regression model for the development of ischemic stroke contains seven variables. In descending order the seven predictive risk factors for the development of ischemic stroke were: hypertension (OR 6.1, CI 2.4-9.5; P =0.029), coronary artery disease (OR 4.2, 3.7-9.1; P =0.038), low physical activity (OR 4.2, CI 2.1-9.1; P =0.035), history of previous stroke (OR 4.1, 1.4-3.4; P =0.033), atrial fibrillation (OR 3.2, CI 2.6-8.2; P =0.017), family history of stroke (OR 3.1, 1.3-6.9; P =0.042) and diabetes mellitus (OR 2.7, CI 1.25-6.1; P =0.035). The specificity of the model was 54.2%, the sensitivity was 89.7%, and the overall accuracy was 77.3%.ConclusionIt is prudent to control the modifiable risk factors for the development of stroke such as hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease and low physical activity.
Single-Pixel Polarimetric Direction of Arrival Estimation Using Programmable Coding Metasurface Aperture
Authors: Hoang The Viet , Fusco Vincent , Abbasi Muhammad Ali Babar , Yurduseven Okan
Published: August 2021

This paper presents a single-pixel polarimetric compressive sensing (CS)-based direction of arrival (DoA) estimation technique using a cavity backed programmable coding metasurface aperture. The single-pixel DoA retrieval technique relies on a dynamically modulated waveform diversity, enabling spatially incoherent radiation masks to encode the incoming plane waves on the radar aperture using a single channel. The polarimetric nature of the wave-chaotic coding metasurface ensures that DOA estimation considers the sensitivity of the structure to the polarization state of the incoming waves. We show that the polarimetric single-pixel DoA concept can be enabled by encoding the polarization information of the incoming waves at the physical layer level within the antenna. A dynamically reconfigurable wave-chaotic metasurface, that possesses a structured sparsity of dual-polarized coded metamaterial elements, is proposed for the proof of concept. It is also shown that by encoding and compressing the source generated far-field incident waves into a single channel using spatio-temporal incoherent measurement modes generated by the coded programmable metasurface, we can retrieve high fidelity polarimetric DoA information from compressed measurements.
Valproic acid Promotes the in Vitro Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Into Spermatogonial Stem Cell-like Cells
Authors: Wang Xiaotong , Qu Mengyuan , Li Zili , Long Yuting , Hong Kai , Li Honggang
Published: August 2021

Background: Studying human germ cell development and male infertility is heavily relied on mouse models. In vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into spermatogonial stem cell-like cells (SSCLCs) can be used as a model to study human germ cells and infertility. The current study aimed to develop the SSCLC induction protocol and assess the effects of the developed protocol on the SSCLC induction. Methods: We examined the effects of valproic acid (VPA), vitamin C (VC) and the combination of VPA and VC on the SSCLC induction efficiency and determined the expression of spermatogonial genes of differentiated cells. The percentage of haploid cells and cells expressed meiotic and spermatid genes were also detected. RNA-sequencing analysis was performed to compare the transcriptome between cells at 0 and 12 days of differentiation and differently expressed genes were confirmed by RT-qPCR. We further evaluated the alteration in histone marks (H3K9ac and H3K27me3) at 12 days of differentiation. Moreover, the SSCLC induction efficiency of two hiPSC lines of non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) patients was assessed using different induction protocols.Results: The combination of low concentrations of VPA and VC in the induction medium was most effective to induce SSCLCs expressing several spermatogonial genes from human pluripotent stem cells at 12 days of differentiation. High concentration of VPA was more effective to induce cells expressing meiotic genes and haploid cells. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that the induction of SSCLC involved the upregulated genes in Wnt signaling pathway, and cells at 12 days of differentiation showed increased H3K9ac and decreased H3K27me3. Additionally, two hiPSC lines of NOA patients showed low SSCLC induction efficiency and the expression of genes in Wnt signaling pathway. Conclusions: VPA robustly promotes the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cell lines into SSCLCs, which involved the upregulated genes in Wnt signaling pathway and epigenetic changes. hiPSCs from NOA patients showed decreased SSCLC induction efficiency and Wnt signaling pathway gene expression, suggesting that inactivation of Wnt signaling pathway might be a cause of SSC depletion in azoospermia testes. Our developed SSCLC induction protocol provides a reliable tool and model to study human germ cell development and male infertility.
Chemo-photothermal Therapy Promoting Immunogenic Cell Death Based on NIR-II Light-responsive Drug Delivery Systems
Authors: Hang Lifeng , Li Wuming , Men Dandan , Wen Hua , Tang Xinfeng , Zhou Chunze , Ma Xiaofen , Jiang Guihua
Published: August 2021

Background Several recent studies have well demonstrated that the chemotherapy or near-infrared-II (NIR-II) photothermal therapy (PTT) can induce immunogenic cell death (ICD). However, single treatment based on the independent chemotherapy or PTT to induce ICD may require high dose of drug, high laser power, or high temperature, which limits their clinical application. We hypothesize that combination of chemotherapy and NIR-II PTT possesses great promise to overcome respective limitations. This manuscript describes the development of polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified hollow CuxS nanoparticles (NPs) for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy to effectively promote ICD.Results Hollow structure CuxS-PEG NPs were prepared under mild condition by using Cu2O NPs as sacrificial templates. CuxS loaded with doxorubicin (Dox) as NDDSs were characterized for hydrate particle size and surface charge. The morphology, photothermal effect, drug loading/releasing abilities, synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy, and ICD from synergistic therapy of CuxS-PEG NPs have been investigated. The in vitro outcomes of ICD and chemo-photothermal therapy were assessed in EMT-6 cells. In vivo therapeutic studies and immunoreaction were performed in EMT-6 bearing mice where therapeutic outcomes were assessed by tumor volume, immunohistochemical staining, and expression of CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. The CuxS-PEG NPs with hollow structure show high drug loading capacity (~255 μg Dox per mg of CuxS NPs) and stimuli-responsive drug release triggered by NIR-II laser irradiation. The chemo-photothermal strategy more effectively induces ICD than that of the single treatment, accompanying with the release of adenosine triphosphate, pre-apoptotic calreticulin, and high mobility group box-1. Finally, the synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy based on the Dox/CuxS-PEG NPs promotes CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes infiltration into tumors and achieves ~98.5% tumor elimination.Conclusion Therefore, our study emphasizes that the great potentials of CuxS-PEG NPs can be used as NIR-II light-responsive NDDSs for the applications of biomedicine and immunotherapy.
Retrospective Analysis of Acute Adverse Reactions of 4 Iodine Contrast Agents
Authors: Zhu Chuanming , Zheng Xiaofeng , Wang Xiaohui , Li Zhen , Li Hao , Wang Jing
Published: August 2021

Objective Incidence of acute adverse reactions (ADR) of 4 kinds of iodine contrast agents were retrospective analyzed in 10532 cases of CT enhanced scan and 6130 cases of arteriography in our hospital, and to investigate the safety of these 4 types agents in clinical application.Materials and Methods The occurrence of ADR to Iohexol, Ioversol, Iopromide and Iodixanol (expressed as I1, I2, I3 and I4) were recorded in detail from August,2007. 36 months' data were analyzed by Fisher's `Exact Test. The incidences of ADR were calculated, and medicine information and features of adverse reactions induced by these 4 types agents are analyzed. Results: CT enhanced scan and arteriography was performed in 16662 cases, including body enhanced scan, CTA ，CTU and arteriography. Acute adverse reactions occurred in 25 cases, and the incidence of ADR was 0.15%. Among them, 18 cases had mild ADR (0.10%), 7 cases had moderate ADR (0.04%) and 0 cases had severe acute adverse reaction. There was a difference in the incidence of acute adverse reaction between the 4 contrast agents used (X2=5.854, p=0.022). I4 had the highest incidence of ADR, it was 0.32%, and the lowest incidence of ADR occurred in I2, it`s 0.08%. The incidence of ADR with I1 and I3 was 0.14% and 0.18%, respectively. The incidence of ADR in intravenous administration was significantly higher than that in arterial administration（X2=4.655，p=0.036）. Conclusion In this study, the incidence of acute adverse reaction to Iodixanol was the highest, and Ioversol was the lowest. The incidence of ADR in arteriography was significantly lower than that in patients with intravenous administration enhanced CT.
An Improved Algorithm to Predict the Pose-dependent Cutting Stability in Robot Milling
Authors: Wu Long , Wang Guofeng , Liu Haitao , Huang Tian
Published: August 2021

Chattering is one of the most important factors affecting productivity of robot machining. This paper investigates the pose-dependent cutting stability of a 5-DOF hybrid robot. By merging the complete robot structural dynamics with the cutting force at TCP, an effective approach for stability analysis of the robot milling process is proposed using the full-discretization technique. The proposed method enables the computational efficiency to be significantly improved because the system transition matrix can be simply generated using a sparse matrix multiplication. Both simulation and experimental results on a full size prototype machine show that the stability lobes are highly pose-dependent and primarily dominated by the lower-order structural modes.
Role of Fatty Liver in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients' Disease Severity and Hospitalization Length: a Case-control Study
Authors: Ziaee Arash , Azarkar Ghodsiyeh , ziaee masood
Published: August 2021

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSEFatty liver is one of the most common pre-existing illnesses; it can cause liver injury, leading to further complications for coronavirus disease 2019 patients. Our goal is to determine if pre-existing fatty liver is more prevalent in hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared to patients administrated before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and determine the severity of the disease among fatty liver patients.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHThis retro-perspective study involves a case and a control group consisting of 1162 patients; the case group contains hospitalized COVID-19 patients with positive PCR tests and available CT-scan; the control group contains patients with available imaging data previous to the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients’ data such as liver Hounsfield unit, days of hospitalization, number of affected lobes, and total lungs involvement score were extracted and compared between the patients.RESULTSThe findings indicate that 37.9% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a pre-existing fatty liver, which is significantly higher (P < 0.001) than the prevalence of pre-existing fatty liver in control group patients (9.02%). In comparison to hospitalized non-fatty liver COVID-19 patients, data from hospitalized COVID-19 patients with fatty liver indicates longer hospitalization length (6.81 ± 4.76 P = 0.02), a higher total lungs involvement score (8.73 ± 5.28 P < 0.001), and an increased number of affected lobes (4.42 ± 1.2 P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONThe statistical analysis shows fatty liver is much more prevalent among COVID-19 against non-COVID-19 patients, and they develop more severe disease and have to be hospitalized for more extended periods.
Impact of Reentrant Ferroelectric-tetragonal Phase on the Structure, Spectral, Electric, Magnetic and Magnetoelectric Properties of Gd3+-Fe3+ Co-substituted BaTiO3 Ceramics
Authors: P Esther Rubavathi , D Dhayanidhi , N.V. Giridharan , M.T. Rahul , Kalarikkal Nandakumar , B Sundarakannan
Published: August 2021

The tetragonal reentrant phase conversion (P4mm) is obtained from the phase coexistence of the tetragonal and the non-polar hexagonal phases (P63/mmc) as a structural effect due to Gd substitution in Ba1-yGdyTi1-xFexO3(x=0.05; y=0.005, 0.01 and 0.015) ceramics. The diffraction spots in the SAED patterns and the d-spacing of the HREM lattice fringes mainly evidence the coexistence of the structural phase. Rietveld refinement offers the bond length and the other structural data. Ti presents itself as Ti3+ and Ti4+ whereas Fe presents as Fe2+ and Fe3+, revealed by the XPS spectra. The octahedra partly change to pentahedral due to the creation of the charge compensating the oxygen vacancies and therefore the conversion from tetragonal to hexagonal phase occurs. The EPR feature corresponding to Ti3+ decreases progressively as the Gd content increases, which implies a decrease of the oxygen vacancy concentration. This facilitates reentrant tetragonal phase conversion. The observed ferromagnetic nature originated from the Fe3+-O2--Fe3+ super-exchange and Gd3+-O2--Gd3+ interactions. The artificial single tetragonal phase magnetoelectric Ba0.985Gd0.015Ti0.95Fe0.05O3 material has the excellent magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of 3.74mV/cm.Oe.
Analysis of Factors Affecting Academic Career: Clustering of University Students with Dyslexia in Italy
Authors: Ilaria Benedetti , Marcella Barone , Valentina Panetti , Juri Taborri , Tony Urbani , Andrea Zingoni , Calabrò Giuseppe
Published: August 2021

This study was designed to explore learning experiences of university students with dyslexia and factors that could contribute to their success in the university career. Indeed, whereas great efforts have been made to diagnose dyslexia and to mitigate its effects at primary and secondary school, little has been done at the university level in particular in the italian context. In this paper we used bivariate association tests and cluster analysis, in order to identify the most suitable compensatory tools and support strategies that can facilitate the students’ performance. Data were obtained by voluntary participation of university students with dyslexia to an ad-hoc implemented questionnaire Results of our study reveal the importance of an earlier diagnosis and treatment for dyslexia with specific programs, in particular the support from association of dyslexic students has been shown as the most important one. Moreover, from the cluster analysis we identified six groups of students by defining specific support tools and learning strategies for each group. The findings have to be considered as the starting point for the implementation of artificial intelligence-based platform. In fact, the creation of dyslexia profiles can allow us to identify student-specific tools for supporting the academic career of dyslexic students.
The Pretreatment Plasma Prognosis Biomarkers for Advanced NSCLC Patients Treated by Bevacizumab Plus Chemotherapy and the Correlation Between Them
Authors: Liu Jingru , Gao Zhenhua , Wang Shasha , Wu Min , Li Jianing , Meng Xue , Liu Jie
Published: August 2021

Background Bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy is still one of the first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Prior studies have devoted to exploring the possible pretreatment hematological biomarkers for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). In this study, we provide valid predictive biomarkers for NSCLC patients before treatment, and reveal the correlation of these serum biomarkers. Methods Clinical characteristics and hematological indicators concentrations in NSCLC patients were collected prospectively before Bevacizumab and chemotherapy from December 2018 and December 2019. Patients were divided into high group and low group according to the means and medians. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was performed to univariate and multivariate analyze. The Pearson Correlation Coefficients were used to identify the correlation between hematological biomarkers.Results 28 patients were enrolled in the study. The average of IL-8 was 7.32 pg/ml, and the average of VEGF-A was 65.41 pg/ml. After 12 months median follow-up time, IL-8 and VEGF-A was independent prognostic factors of OS, and VEGF-A was independent predictive factors of PFS. The death risk in high IL-8 (>7.32 pg/ml) group was 6.361 times than that in low IL-8 (≤7.32 pg/ml) group (HR=6.361, 95%CI: 2.034-19.890, p=0.001). Meanwhile, the death risk in high VEGF-A (>65.41 pg/ml) group was 9.686 times than that in low VEGF-A (≤65.41 pg/ml) group (HR=9.686, 95%CI: 1.906-49.222, p=0.006), and the disease progression or death risk in high VEGF-A group was 5.627 times than that in low VEGF-A group (HR=5.627, 95%CI: 1.322-23.951, p=0.019). There was a highly linear correlation between CTLA-4 with PD-1 and PD-L1 in peritoneal blood samples before treatment. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient was 0.984 (p=0.000) and 0.946 (p=0.000). PD-1 (y=-13.91+0.06*x, R2=0.968) and PD-L1 (y=-29.42+0.2*x, R2=0.895) vary with CTLA-4. Besides, VEGF-D, FGF-1 and FGF-2 also has highly linear correlation with each other.Conclusions IL-8 is the independently prognosis biomarker for OS of NSCLC patients treated with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy. VEGF-A is an independently prognosis biomarker of OS and PFS. There is a highly linear correlation between CTLA-4, PD-1 and PD-L1 in baseline blood. VEGF-D, FGF-1 and FGF-2 also has highly linear correlation with each other.
Post-fire Soil Erosion Risk in Portugal– Prediction, Validation and Uncertainties of a Nation-wide MMF Application
Authors: Parente J. , Girona-García A. , Lopes A.R. , Keizer J.J. , Vieira D.C.S.
Published: August 2021

Wildfires are a recurrent and increasing threat in mainland Portugal, where over 4,5 million hectares of forests and scrublands have burned over the last 38 years. These fire-affected landscapes have suffered an intensification of soil erosion processes, which can negatively affect soil carbon storage, reduce fertility, forest productivity, and become a source of pollutants. The main objective of the present study is to produce a post-fire soil erosion risk map for the forest and scrubland areas in Mainland Portugal and assess its reliability. To this end, the semi-empirical Morgan–Morgan–Finney erosion model was used to assess the potential post-fire soil erosion according to distinct scenarios (burn severity and climate), and the accuracy of the predictions was verified by an uncertainty analysis and validated against independent field datasets. The proposed approach successfully allowed mapping post-fire soil erosion in Portugal and identified the areas with higher post-fire erosion risk for past and future climate extremes. The outcomes of this study comprise a set of tools to help forest managers in their decision-making for post-fire emergency stabilization, ensuring the adequate selection and implementation of mitigation measures to minimize the economic and environmental losses caused by fire-enhanced soil erosion.
Identification of QTLs for Heat Tolerance at Flowering Stage Using Chromosome Segment Substitution Lines in Rice
Authors: Nguyen Thanhliem , Shen Shijie , Cheng Mengyao , Qingquan Chen
Published: August 2021

High temperature is a major stress in rice production. Although considerable progresses have been made on investigating heat tolerance (HT) in rice, the genetic basis of HT at heading stage remains largely unknown. In this study, a novel set of chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) consisting of 113 lines derived from a heat-resistant indica variety N22 and a heat-sensitive indica variety 9311 was developed and used for the analysis of genetic basis of HT. The heat sensitivity index (HSI) calculated based on seed-setting rates under natural and high temperature environments was used to evaluate the influence of HT at rice heading stage. Totally, five QTLs associated with HT were detected based on seed-setting rate (SSR) evaluation; these were named qSSR6-1, qSSR7-1, qSSR8-1, qSSR9-1 and qSSR11-1 located on chromosomes 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11, respectively. Heat-tolerant alleles of the QTLs were all derived from N22. Among them, qSSR9-1 overlapped with QTLs identified previously, while the remaining QTLs were found novel. Especially, qSSR7-1 explained a high phenotypic variation of 26.35% with a LOD score of 10.75, thus deserved to be further validated. These findings will increase our understanding of the genetic mechanism underlying HT and facilitate the breeding of heat-tolerant rice varieties.
Nematicidal Activity of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Seaweeds Extracts Against Meloidogyne Incognita on Tomato Plant
Authors: Ghareeb Rehab Y. , El-Din Nihal Galal El-Din Shams , Ibrahim Dina S. S. , Aljuaid Bandar S. , Elshehawi Ahmed M. , Abdel-Megeed Ahmed , Abdelsalam Nader
Published: August 2021

This study aimed to evaluate the nematicidal activity of two marine algae (Colpomenia sinuosa and Corallina mediterranea) extracts and their synthesized silver nanoparticles against the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) infecting tomato plant. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) showed that the obtained nanoparticles were aggregated in anisotropic Ag particles. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), results showed the particles size was less than 40 nm. Whenever, FT-IR analysis spectrum presented sharp absorbance between 440 and 4000 cm-1 for the obtained nanoparticles, with 13 distinct peaks ranged from 3915 − 474.Both of methylene chloride extract and its synthesized green silver nanoparticles were applied against the M. incognita. The results indicated that the synthesized silver nanoparticles of C. sinuosa exhibited the highest nematicidal activity. Besides, they reduced number of nematode galls, number of egg-masses per root and eggs/egg mass, as well as growth parameters of the treated plants with nanoparticles were enhanced comparing with the other treatments. While the methylene chloride extract of C. sinuosa exhibited higher activity than that of C. mediterranea, and the most effective eleuent of this solvent was Hexane: methylene chloride: ethyl acetate (1: 0.5: 0.5, v/v/v). The 3rd fraction of this eluent was the most effective one when it was applied on M. incognita, resulting in 87.5 % mortality after 12 h and 100 % after 24 and 72 h of exposure. The analysis of this fraction revealed the presence of seven bioactive constituents. Conclusively, the synthesized silver nanoparticles of C. sinuosa could be considered as alternative chemical nematicides.