bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolución y ecología trófica de los cachalotes (Physeteroidea) del Cenozoico en la costa del Perú: una revisión
Authors:   , Del Aguila Grondona Fernando
Published: November 2022

La compleja historia evolutiva de los cetáceos es el resultado de la suma de eventos “turnovers”, radiaciones adaptativas y una serie de distintas transformaciones morfológicas. Estas pueden verse evidenciadas en los hallazgos fósiles (especialmente de cachalotes) provenientes de la Formación Pisco, que han cobrado relevancia en las investigaciones científicas y descripciones de nuevas especies. En este trabajo se recopila la información dispersa, ofreciendo una visión completa sobre el proceso evolutivo y una primera aproximación a la ecología trófica de cachalotes fósiles presentes en el Cenozoico en las costas del Perú, considerando únicamente los individuos identificados hasta el nivel de especie hasta la fecha. El grupo de los cachalotes surgió en el Oligoceno tardío (hace 27 a 23 Millones de años), alcanzando su máxima diversidad en el Mioceno, época de donde son descritas las nueve especies descritas en este trabajo: Rhaphicetus valenciae del Mioceno temprano y del Mioceno tardío a Scaphokogia cochlearis, Acrophyseter deinodon, Livyatan melvillei, Acrophyseter robustus, Koristocetus pescei, Scaphokogia totajpe, Platyscaphokogia landinii y Kogia danomurai. Finalmente tuvieron su declive para inicios del Plioceno, con una gran reducción en su diversidad y la desaparición del rol macroraptorial, por lo que los siguientes hallazgos y estudios deben apuntar a comprender este declive a detalle tanto como las relaciones interespecíficas, para poder entender la dinámica de la comunidad marino-costera peruana en el Cenozoico.
Change we can believe in: A randomised controlled trial evaluation of a vitality training employing behaviour-change techniques
Authors: Plant Bernice R. C. , Leeuwen Mattheis L. van , Peters Pascale , Heijden Beatrice I. J. M.
Published: November 2022

Background

This paper reports on the effects of a nine-week vitality training that employed behaviour-change techniques and was evaluated using a randomised controlled trial (RCT) in three large companies based in the Netherlands.

Method.

A total of 84 adult employees from three participating organisations in The Netherlands were enrolled in the study. A parallel group RCT design was used and participants were assigned using individual random assignment to either an intervention (n = 38) or a wait-list control group (n = 46). The intervention consisted of a nine-week vitality training employing the behaviour-change techniques of self-persuasion, implementation intentions and self-efficacy, which was delivered in-house over five fortnightly two-hour sessions. Primary outcomes (reported energy and stress) and secondary outcomes (reported daily life satisfaction and work capacity) were assessed prior to, immediately after, and three months following the intervention.

Results.

A doubly MANOVA revealed a significant interaction effect between treatment group and time period for the combination of reported energy, stress, daily life satisfaction, and work capacity. Subsequent univariate ANOVAs revealed significant interactions between treatment group and time period for reported energy, stress, and daily life satisfaction; however, not for reported work capacity. Improvements in outcomes were observed for both groups following their completion of the vitality training; however, not all improvements reached statistical significance. Reported self-efficacy regarding managing one’s work-life balance was found to mediate the relationship between the effects of the intervention and reported energy; however, such an effect was not found for stress.

Conclusions.

An intervention drawing upon evidence-based behaviour-change techniques shows promise for improving indicators associated with burnout; although, it is recommended that in future research a larger-scale evaluation be conducted over a longer time period with an active control group to establish effectiveness.
This research was retrospectively registered as a trial (UTN: U1111-1282-1116) on the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) (Trial registration number: ACTRN12622001268730, registration date: 26/09/2022).
Optimization model for designing reliable supply chain network using drones in last-mile delivery under uncertainties
Authors: Tolooie Ali , Sinha Ashesh
Published: November 2022

Land transportation is generally considered one of the most expensive, polluting and least efficient parts of the logistics chain. Due to these issues, using unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones for package delivery in last-mile logistics becomes increasingly attractive. However, there are several significant obstacles in terms of technical aspects and performance capabilities of drones like limited flight coverage. In addition, supply chains are exposed to a broad range of uncertainties some of which may cause disruptions in the whole supply chain system. To hedge against these issues, a well-designed reliable network is a top priority. This research aims to construct a feasible delivery network consisting of warehouses and recharging stations through the development of a stochastic mixed-integer model, resulting in improving the coverage and reliability of the supply chain network. Due to the computational complexity of the scenario-based mixed-integer model, this research improves the performance of the genetic algorithm by considering each scenario independently in one of the steps of the algorithm to significantly improve the computational time need to find the solutions. Computational results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is efficiently capable of solving large-scale problems. It is also demonstrated that substantial improvements in the reliability of the system can often be possible with minimal increases in facility cost.
Psychometric Properties of an Arabic Translation of the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MSPSS) in a community sample of Lebanese Adults
Authors: Fekih-Romdhane Feten , Fawaz Mirna , Hallit Rabih , Sawma Toni , Obeid Sahar , Hallit Souheil
Published: November 2022

Background
There is a lack of methodologically strong measure to assess perceived social support among Arabic-speaking populations. Our main objective was therefore to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MSPSS) in a sample of Arabic-speaking Lebanese adults from the general population.
Methods
We adopted a cross-sectional design involving 387 non-clinical Lebanese adults aged 26.17 ± 11.47 years (58.4% females). The forward and backward translation method was applied to the MSPSS scale.
Results
The Arabic MSPSS and its subscales have a high internal consistency with McDonald’s ω values between 0.94 and 0.97. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that fit of the three-factor model was acceptable. All indices suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across gender. Both genders exhibited no significant difference in all MSPSS dimensions. Convergent validity was supported by showing that all three MSPSS sub-scores and total score correlated significantly and positively with resilience and posttraumatic growth scores.
Conclusion
Although further cross-cultural validations involving other Arab countries and communities are still needed, we preliminarily suggest that this scale is applicable to the broad Arabic-speaking people for the measurement of perceived social support in clinical and research contexts.
Comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal the link between ferroptosis and gut microbiota in CRC
Authors: Duan Ling , Shuai Yuxi , Fan Rui , Xia Yang , Li Chunmei , Hou Xiaoming
Published: November 2022

Objective
Given the high incidence rate and mortality of CRC, we constructed a high-performance early diagnosis model based on ferroptosis-related genes and explored the possible pathway between ferroptosis and intestinal microbiota metabolites.
Methods
To explore the ferroptosis genes associated with CRC, the gene expression data of GSE14297 was extracted from the GEO database. A series of difference analyses and ferroptosis correlation analyses were carried out. Cytoscape was used to optimize the PPI network, and MCODE was used to screen hub gene modules. 16S rDNA was used to analyze the intestinal flora. MetaboAnalyst 5.0 was used to analyze the correlation between metabolites and genes.
Results
Compared with normal tissues, 2959 genes were differentially expressed in CRC samples, including 2946 upregulated genes and 13 downregulated genes. 63 overlapping genes were obtained by crossing with ferroptosis genes. Further MCODE analysis showed that 15 hub genes were obtained. The ROC curve showed that the AUC value of NQO1 was 0.929, and the AUC value of the other 14 genes was 1. GO enrichment analysis showed that 15 hub modules were significantly correlated with the functions of "response to oxidative stress", "plasma membrane region" and "antioxidant activity". KEGG pathway analysis showed that ferroptosis, metabolic pathways, and pathways in cancer were enriched. Metabolite pathway analysis showed that in the CRC group, the significantly enriched pathways were neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, ABC transporters, aminoacyl tRNA biosynthesis, cocaine addition, central carbon metabolism in cancer, information processing, phenylalanine metabolism, and biosynthesis of amino acids. Analysis based on metaboanalyst5.0 showed that 25 differential metabolites were associated with ferroptosis-related genes.
Conclusion
Based on bioinformatics and 16S rDNA analysis, 25 differential metabolites were found to be associated with ferroptosis-related genes. Ferroptosis-related genes and gut microbes may jointly participate in the progression of CRC.
An atlas of genetic regulation and disease associations of microRNAs
Authors: Ghanbari Mohsen , Mustafa Rima , Mens Michelle , Hilten Arno van , Huang Jian , Roshchupkin Gennady , Huan Tianxiao , Broer Linda , Elliott Paul , Levy Daniel , Ikram M. Arfan , Evangelou Marina , Dehghan Abbas
Published: November 2022

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. Identification of genetic variants influencing the transcription of miRNAs can provide an understanding of their genetic regulation and implication in human disease. Here we present genome-wide association studies of 2,083 plasma circulating miRNAs measured by next-generation sequencing in 2,178 participants of the Rotterdam Study to identify miRNA-expression quantitative trait loci (miR-eQTLs). We report 4,310 cis- and trans-miR-eQTLs for 64 miRNAs that have been replicated across independent studies. Many of these miR-eQTLs overlap with gene expression, protein, and metabolite-QTLs and with disease-associated variants. The consequences of perturbation in miRNA transcription on a wide range of clinical conditions are systematically investigated in phenome-wide association studies, with their causality tested using Mendelian randomization. Integration of genomics and miRNAs enables interrogation of the genetic architecture of miRNAs, revealing their clinical importance, and providing valuable resources for future studies of miRNAs in human disease.
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in Pregnant Women with Chronic Hypertension: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Wang Xiaoyi , Wang Xuexin , Gao Hong
Published: November 2022

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to determine the incidence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in pregnant women with chronic hypertension. The secondary objectives were to define the risk factors and assess the maternal-foetal consequences in this population.
Methods: This was a single-centre, retrospective study. The participants were pregnant women with chronic hypertension in the Department of Internal Medicine of Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, between January 2019 and November 2020. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) was performed to diagnose OSA. A total of 99 pregnant women with chronic hypertension who underwent PSG for the first time were included. We reviewed the medical records and collected baseline data, obstetrics, and neonatal information. IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0 was used for data analysis.
Results: Of the 99 women with chronic hypertension, 63 (63.6%) were diagnosed with OSA, including 41 with mild OSA, 14 with moderate OSA, and eight with severe OSA. Comparing the two groups of chronic hypertensive pregnant women with OSA and those without OSA, the OSA group had higher mean pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI, 30.68±5.19 vs 27.11±5.22, P=0.001), higher rate of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM, 38.1% vs 13.9%, P=0.011), a higher induction rate (33.3% vs 11.1%, P=0.014), higher vaginal delivery rate (33.9% vs 13.3%, P=0.034), and a lower caesarean section rate (86.1% vs 66.7%, P=0.034). No significant differences were found in the other evaluated indicators.
Conclusion: The incidence of OSA in pregnant women with chronic hypertension was high in this study. A higher pre-pregnancy BMI is a risk factor for OSA in this population. Pregnant women with chronic hypertension and OSA had a higher risk of developing GDM but a lower rate of caesarean section.
1-nm linewidth room temperature single-photon source from optical microcavity-embedded CsPbI3 perovskite quantum dots
Authors: Farrow Tristan , Dhawan Amit , Marshall Ashley , Ghorbal Alexander , Son Wonmin , Snaith Henry , Smith Jason , Taylor Robert
Published: November 2022

Ultra-narrow bandwidth single-photon sources operating at room temperature are of vital importance for viable optical quantum technologies at scale, including quantum key distribution, cloud-based quantum information processing networks, and quantum metrology. Here we show a room-temperature single-photon source generating polarised photons at a rate of 5MHz based on an inorganic CsPbI3 perovskite quantum dot embedded in a tunable open optical microcavity. When coupled to the mode of the optical cavity, the quantum dot room-temperature emission becomes single-mode and the spectrum narrows down to just ∼ 1 nm. The excellent directionality of the optical modes enables high single-mode collection at RT, offering promising performance for photonic and quantum technology applications. We measure 94% single-photon purity under pulsed and continuous-wave (CW) excitation.
Job preference of preventive medicine students during COVID-19 pandemic,a Discrete Choice Experiment Survey in eastern China
Authors: tian zhuang , zhai min , li hongmin
Published: November 2022

Background: Public health workers are a crucial part of the health workforce especially during COVID-19 pandemic and play an important role in achieving universal health coverage and sustainable development goals. In China, public health human resources are in short supply, the distribution is unequal and the turnover rate is high. DCE was applied to investigate preventive medicine students’ preferred job choice criteria and to investigate the trends in the trade-offs by calculating the marginal rate of substitution between these criteria. This study identified the properties of the jobs primarily selected by preventive students, and aims to estimate the monetary value of each attribute.
Methods: Based on discussions and in-depth interviews with preventive medicine students’ focus groups and a literature review, we created a discrete choice experiment (DCE) that assessed how students’ stated preference for a certain choice was influenced by various job attributes: location, salary, bianzhi, career development opportunities, working environment and workload. We applied this DCE to preventive medicine students in eastern China using a brief structured questionnaire, conditional logit models were used to estimate the utility of each job’s attributes. Willingness to pay (WTP) was estimated as the ratio of the value of the coefficient of interest to the negative of the cost attribute.
Results:In total, 307 respondents completed the questionnaire, and 261 respondents who passed the internal consistency test were analyzed. All attributes were statistically significant. Career development opportunities and work location were most important to respondents. There was preference heterogeneity among respondents, e.g.,3-year medical education college’s students placed higher value on jobs with bianzhi compared to 5-year medical education college’s students. Furthermore, rural students’ willingness to pay is much lower than urban students.
Conclusions: The heterogeneity of attributes showed the complexity of job preferences. Both monetary and nonmonetary job characteristics significantly influenced the job preferences of preventive students in China. A more effective policy intervention to attract graduates to work in rural areas should consider both incentives on the job itself and the background of preventive school graduates.
Toxicity of acute or repeated exposures to particles from pyrotechnic smokes in normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells 3D culture
Authors: de Lagarde Violaine Martin , Chevalier Laurence , Méausoone Clémence , Cazier Fabrice , Dewaele Dorothée , Cazier-Dennin Francine , Janona Marion , Logie Cathy , Achard Sophie , André Véronique , Rogez-Florent Tiphaine , Monteil Christelle , Corbière Cécile
Published: November 2022

Background
Hexachloroethane (HC) based smokes and colored pyrotechnic smokes are widely used in the military field, as screening and signaling smokes, that are reported to cause pulmonary toxic effects in humans and in animal studies. Toxicity of pyrotechnic smokes might be caused by the inhalation of particles that composed the smoke and gives the desired pyrotechnic effect. In a previous study, we showed that smoke particles from a red signaling smoke (RSS) and from an HC obscuring smoke (HC-OS) have an intrinsic oxidative potential and induce an adaptive response in human small airway epithelial cells after an acute exposure. Thus, the aim of this study was to further explore the underlying mechanisms of toxicity linked to oxidative stress response of RSS and HC-OS particles, by using a 3D model of normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) cultured at the air-liquid interface (ALI).
Results
Acute exposure (24 h) to HC-OS particles induced a weak antioxidant response, characterized by increases of glutathione level and weak increase of one enzymatic antioxidant mRNA expression (NQO-1). Acute exposure to RSS particles induced oxidative stress characterized by production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increases of glutathione level, increases mRNA expression of several enzymatic antioxidants (SOD-1, SOD-2, HO-1, NQO-1) and expression of NQO-1 protein as well as increase expression of IL-8 mRNA. We noticed that 24 h post-exposure to RSS particles, antioxidant response was still induced. Additionally, 24 h post-exposure to RSS particles revealed internalization of particles and morphological changes in 3D NHBE cells like loss of cilia and a cubic epithelium. Repeated exposures to RSS particles on 3D NHBE cells did not induce oxidative stress while cubic changing aspects of 3D NHBE cells were observed.
Conclusions
Thus, although further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms underlying these cubic changes, these results revealed differences in toxicity responses between the two types of particles, characterized by an RSS particles-induced oxidative stress as well as morphologic changes. Overall, this study provides a better overview of the toxic effects of pyrotechnic smoke particles whose toxic risks were very little studied.
Epidemiology and molecular characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among Italian community-dwelling adults, 2021/22 season
Authors: Panatto Donatella , Domnich Alexander , Lai Piero Luigi , Ogliastro Matilde , Bruzzone Bianca , Galli Cristina , Stefanelli Federica , Pariani Elena , Orsi Andrea , Icardi Giancarlo
Published: November 2022

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute respiratory infections worldwide. While historically RSV research has been focused on children, data on RSV infection in adults are limited. The goal of this study was to establish the prevalence of RSV in Italian adults and analyze its genetic variability during the 2021/22 winter season.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a random sample of naso-/oropharyngeal specimens from symptomatic adults seeking for SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing between December 2021 and March 2022 were tested for RSV and other respiratory pathogens by means of reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. RSV-positive samples were further molecularly characterized by sequence analysis.
Results: Of 1,213 samples tested, 1.6% (95% CI: 0.9–2.4%) were positive for RSV and subgroups A (44.4%) and B (55.6%) were identified in similar proportions. The epidemic peak occurred in December 2021, when the RSV prevalence was as high as 4.6% (95% CI: 2.2–8.3%). The prevalence of RSV detection was similar (p = 0.64) to that of influenza virus (1.9%). All RSV A and B strains belonged to the ON1 and BA genotypes, respectively. Most (72.2%) RSV-positive samples were also positive for other pathogens being SARS-CoV-2, Pneumococcus pneumoniae and rhinovirus the most frequent. RSV load was significantly higher among mono-infections than co-infections.
Conclusions: During the 2021/22 winter season, characterized by the predominant circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and some non-specific containment measures still in place, a substantial proportion of Italian adults tested positive for genetically diversified strains of both RSV subtypes. In view of the upcoming registration of vaccines, establishment of the National RSV surveillance system is urgently needed.
Identifying important microbial and genetic biomarkers for differentiating right- versus left-sided colorectal cancer using random forest models
Authors: Kolisnik Tyler , Sulit Arielle Kae , Schmeier Sebastian , Frizelle Frank , Purcell Rachel , Smith Adam , Silander Olin
Published: November 2022

Background:Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease, with subtypes that have different clinical behaviours and subsequent prognoses. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that right-sided colorectal cancer (RCC) and left-sided colorectal cancer (LCC) also differ in treatment success and patient outcomes. Biomarkers that differentiate between RCC and LCC are not well-established. Here, we apply random forest (RF) machine learning methods to identify genomic or microbial biomarkers that differentiate RCC and LCC.Methods:RNA-seq expression data for 58,677 coding and non-coding human genes and count data for 28,557 human unmapped reads were obtained from 308 patient CRC tumour samples. We created three RF models for datasets of human genes-only, microbes-only, and genes-and-microbes combined. We used a permutation test to identify features of significant importance. Finally, we used differential expression (DE) and paired Wilcoxon-rank sum tests to associate features with a particular side.Results:RF model accuracy scores were 90%, 70%, and 87% with area under the curve values (AUC) of 0.9, 0.76, and 0.89 for the human genomic, microbial, and combined feature sets, respectively. 15 features were identified as significant in the model of genes-only, 54 microbes in the model of microbes-only, and 28 genes and 18 microbes in the model with genes-and-microbes combined.PRAC1expression was the most important feature for differentiating RCC and LCC in the genes-only model, withHOXB13,SPAG16,HOXC4, andRNLSalso playing a role.Ruminococcus gnavusandClostridium acetireducenswere the most important in the microbial-only model.MYOM3,HOXC4,Coprococcus eutactus,PRAC1, lncRNA AC012531.25,Ruminococcus gnavus,RNLS,HOXC6,SPAG16andFusobacterium nucleatumwere most important in the combined model.Conclusions:Many of the identified genes and microbes among all models have previously established associations with CRC. However, the ability of RF models to account for inter-feature relationships within the underlying decision trees may yield a more sensitive and biologically interconnected set of genomic and microbial biomarkers.
A novel molecular imaging probe 99m Tc-HYNIC-FAPI targeting cancer- associated fibroblasts
Authors: Jiang Yanghongyan , Tian Yaxin , Feng Bei , Zhao Tingting , Du Liang , Yu Xiaodong , Zhao Qian
Published: November 2022

Background
Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is higher expressed on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in most malignant epithelial neoplasms, which is lower expressed in normal tissues. As a promising small molecular probe, FAP inhibitor (FAPI) shows the specific binding to FAP. This study aimed to explore a novel molecular probe 99mTc-HYNIC-FAPI targeting CAFs. The in vitro characteristics of the probe were also evaluated.
Methods
The FAPI targeting to FAP was designed, synthesized and conjugated with the chelator 6-hidrazinylnicotinic acid (HYNIC) for radiolabeling with 99mTc. The radiolabeling yield, radiochemical purity and stability were evaluated by Instant thin-layer chromatography (ITLC) and High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The binding and migration ability of the probe were assessed using the tumour cell line.
Results
The radiolabeling yield of 99mTc-HYNIC-FAPI were (97.29 ± 0.46) %. The radiochemical purity was more than 90% and keep stable until 6 h. In vitro experiments, the results indicated that the probe showed binding properties, and inhibited the migration ability of tumor cells.
Conclusion
The novel 99mTc-HYNIC-FAPI probe was successfully radiosynthesized and exhibited good radiochemical purity, stability and in vitro biding ability to tumor cells. The 99mTc-HYNIC-FAPI will be a promising SPECT/CT imaging probe.
Complete Chloroplast Genome of Shorea macrophylla (Engkabang): Structural Features, Comparative and Phylogenetic Analysis
Authors: Chew Ivy Yee Yen , Chung Hung Hui , Lim Leonard Whye Kit , Lau Melinda Mei Lin , Gan Han Ming , Wee Boon Siong , Sim Siong Fong
Published: November 2022

Shorea macrophylla belongs to the Shorea genus under the Dipterocarpaceae family. It is a woody tree that grows in the rainforest in Southeast Asia. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of S. macrophylla is reported here. The genomic size of S. macrophylla is 150,778 bp and it possesses a circular structure with conserved constitute regions of large single copy (LSC, 83,681 bp) and small single copy (SSC, 19,813 bp) regions, as well as a pair of inverted repeats with a length of 23,642 bp. It has 112 unique genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. The genome exhibits a similar GC content, gene order, structure, and codon usage when compared to previously reported chloroplast genomes from other plant species. The chloroplast genome of S. macrophylla contained 262 SSRs, the most prevalent of which was A/T, followed by AAT/ATT. Furthermore, the sequences contain 43 long repeat sequences, practically most of them are forward or palindrome type long repeats. The genome structure of S. macrophylla was compared to the genomic structures of closely related species from the same family, and eight mutational hotspots were discovered. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated a close relationship between Shorea and Parashorea species, indicating that Shorea is not monophyletic. The complete chloroplast genome sequence analysis of S. macrophylla reported in this paper will contribute to further studies in molecular identification, genetic diversity, and phylogenetic research.
Periventricular diffusion gradient of normal-appearing white matter and its transcriptional signatures in normal aging and multiple neurological diseases
Authors: Zhuo Zhizheng , Tian Decai , Duan Yunyun , Li Runzhi , Bai Yutong , Shi Yulu , Xu Xiaolu , Xu Siyao , Lv Shan , Cao Guanmei , Hu Geli , Xu Jun , Zhang Jianguo , Shi Fu-Dong , Chard Declan , Barkhof Frederik , Haller Sven , Zhang Xinghu , Liu Yaou
Published: November 2022

Abnormal periventricular gradient of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) is a common WM signature of aging and multiple neurological diseases. Here, we investigated the periventricular gradient of NAWM and its association with brain-wide gene expression in middle-aged and elderly participants with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cerebral small vessel disease, and multiple sclerosis compared to young healthy controls (HC), using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data. Using the normalized neurite density and orientation dispersion indices, we observed the abnormal periventricular diffusion gradients in elderly HC and those with diseases, and the gradients correlated with brain volumes and cognitive performances. Using gene expression data, we observed the periventricular diffusion gradient in a normal aging population and patients with multiple neurological disorders associated with transcriptional changes in endothelial, synaptic, and immunologic functions. We determined a periventricular diffusion gradient of NAWM in normal aging and multiple neurological diseases and revealed its possible transcriptional signatures.
Transcriptome profiling in ovarian cancer cells treated with platelets reveals that TGFBI as a novel prognostic indicator
Authors: Wang Hao , Xu Yin-hai , Guo Yi
Published: November 2022

Background
Ovarian cancer is a gynecologic malignancy with poor prognosis. Present prognostic models for ovarian cancer focus on clinico-pathological parameters, quantifiable prognostic biomarkers at molecular level are urgently needed. Platelets contribute to ovarian cancer progression, thus we aimed to search for new predictors in platelet-treated ovarian cancer cells.
Methods
Microarrays analysis was done with platelet-treated SKOV3 cells and controls (4 replicates in each group). Studies on ovarian cancer cells co-incubated with platelets were searched in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by R language. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment were conducted using online software Metascape. Venn diagram was generated to present common DEGs. Candidate genes were determined by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, Cox proportional hazards model and Kaplan-Meier analysis. The functions of candidate genes were predicted using data from TCGA by R software, and validated by in vitro experiments.
Results
One dataset (GSE155546) met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed with our microarray data. A total of 4553 mRNAs were differentially expressed between the two groups from our own data, whereas 260 genes exhibited significantly differential expression in GSE155546. DEGs involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) organization and system development were found in both datasets. There were 88 overlapping genes between the two datasets. TGFBI was proved to be an independent adverse factor for ovarian cancer. In addition, high expression of AFT3 and CXCL1 showed worse prognosis in ovarian cancer, while IGFBP7 behaved as a protective predictor. Only increased expression of TGFBI led to significant decrease of overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and post-progression survival (PPS), therefore TGFBI was selected as the candidate gene. Functionally, TGFBI was predicted to be significantly correlated with epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, degradation of ECM, collagen formation and ECM-related genes. In vitro experiments demonstrated that TGFBI could affect the migration and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells by regulation E-cadherin, Vimentin, N-cadherin and MMP2.
Conclusion
We found TGFBI as a novel prognostic indicator using platelet-treated ovarian cancer model. Functionally, TGFBI could promote ovarian cancer progression by EMT induction and ECM remodeling.
Understanding the Impact of Composition on the Geometry, Electronic Structure and Spectroscopic Profile of an Atomically Precise Gold-Phosphine Cluster
Authors: Pollard Nia , Clayborne Andre
Published: November 2022

Atomically precise nanochemistry relies on understanding the structure and properties of clusters with precise details at the atomic level. Here, we report on the effects of changing the atomic composition of the superatomic gold-gallium cluster [(PL3)8Au9MX2]2+ (L = Ph, Me, H; M = Al, Ga, In; X = F, Cl, Br) using density functional theory (DFT) based methods. By reducing the ligand from PPh3 to PMe3, the geometry illustrates no significant change in the symmetry of the gold core. Similarly, a change in post-transition metal atom or halide does not affect the structure. However, the change in post-transition metal atom does illustrate both blue and red shifts in the spectra by substituting the Al and In for Ga, respectively. The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and HOMO-LUMO gap decreases as one substitutes the post-transition metal and halide atoms down the periodic table. These studies show the potential for incorporating other post-transition metal and halide atoms in atomically precise gold clusters.
The Epidemiology of Tuberculosis among Internal Displaced Persons in EL-salam Camp, South Darfur State - Sudan 2022.
Authors: Salih Ahmed , Salim Abdelbasit , Dawria Adam , Belal Abdallah , Alzaki Ahmed
Published: November 2022

Background: Sudan is a large country. It has a diverse economy, a large population, and a history of civil wars and conflicts. The poverty rate is high. With an estimated 50,000 TB incident cases, in the year 2009. Objectives: To study the epidemiology of TB, risk factors associated with the spread of the disease, and to evaluate the effectiveness of TB program interventions in EL-salam IDP camp in South Darfur state in Sudan from 2019 to 2022.
Methodology: A cross-sectional, descriptive, community-based study with a cluster sample was used; pre and post-intervention study. There were 401 households chosen in the 1st study in which a survey was conducted at the start of the study as a baseline to measure tuberculosis epidemiology and the implementation of tuberculosis program interventions; After 6 months, the same study was repeated for case epidemiology (prevalence), in the sample were 398 households, Interventions include case detection and treatment. Community mobilization and education about tuberculosis through various means of community awareness, free diagnosis, and treatment. The questionnaire was designed and the mobile app kobo-toolbox was used to collect data before and after the intervention. SPSS was used to analyze the data.
Result: In the first study, the prevalence of suspected TB cases was 52.9%(9/17 )of the suspected tuberculosis cases were sent for testing, 9 cases were positive in the camp, and the overall prevalence of positive tuberculosis in the camp was 2.2 % (9/401). In the first study, the prevalence of tuberculosis among people aged 30–39 years was 1.3% (5/401), and it was highest among females at 1.8% (7/401) and lower among males at 0.50% (2/401). Tuberculosis is prevalent among the uneducated at 1.00% (4/401). The prevalence of tuberculosis is higher among the increased number of people living in a room, with a statistically significant p-value of 0.000. The prevalence is also high among people who have never had an infection with TB; 2.00% (8/401), with a statistically significant p-value of 0.001. In the second study following the program interventions, the prevalence was zero. Although there was no significant change in other variables, the intervention was not well controlled or systematically managed due to the many challenges faced by the study, e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion: The study concluded that the prevalence of TB was 2.2% (9/401). The prevalence among suspected cases sent for testing was 52.9% (9/17). TB is also high in females at 1.8 % (7/401), compared with males at 0.50% (2/401). The study revealed that disease prevalence among the age group 30–39 years old is 1.3% (5/401). The spread of TB has been linked to a lack of education at 1.00% (4/401), overcrowding at 0.8% (3/401), and family income very low at less than 3 dollars at 46.1%( 184/401).
AGW reassessment through behavioral modeling from millennial climate data
Authors: de Larminat Philippe
Published: November 2022

Context. Theanthropogenic principle, usually referred to as AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming), is based on thousands of climate simulations that indicate that human activity is virtually solely responsible for the recent global warming. The climate models used are derived from the meteorological models used for short-term predictions. They are based on the fundamental and empirical physical laws that govern the myriad of atmospheric and oceanic cells integrated by the finite element technique. Numerical approximations, empiricism and the inherent chaos of fluid circulations make these models questionable for validating the anthropogenic principle, given the accuracy required (better than one per thousand) in determining the Earth energy balance.Aims.The objective is to quantify and simulate behavioral models of weak complexity, without explicitly referring to the parameters of underlying physical laws, but relying exclusively on generally accepted historical and paleoclimate series.Results. These models perform global temperature simulations that are consistent with those from the more complex physical models. However, the repartition of contributions in the current warming depends strongly on the retained temperature reconstructions, in particular the magnitudes of the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. It also depends on the level of solar activity series. It follows from these observations and climate reconstructions that the anthropogenic principle holds only for climate profiles assuming the absence of any significantPreindustrial Climate Oscillation(PCO) and variations in solar activity. Otherwise, it reduces to a weak principle where global warming is not only the result of human activity, but is largely due to solar activity.
Semantic-aware Retrieval and Recommendation based on the Dirichlet Compound Language Model
Authors: Bahrani Mohammad , Roelleke Thomas
Published: November 2022

Traditional bag-of-word Information Retrieval (IR) has led to quasi-standard models (e.g. TF-IDF, BM25) that are applied in the context of recommendation. While the benefits of semantic-aware models are clear, there is no standard semantic IR model, and this prevents the usage of semantic retrieval for tasks such as recommendation. We propose a ranking framework by quantifying parameters of the Dirichlet Compound Model (DCM) and using query performance prediction to aggregate scores of semantic extensions of DCM. Instead of employing heuristics, we introduce reasonable aggregation standards which are expandable to the recommendation task by considering user interaction (e.g. rating) as a semantic event. This approach helps to bridge the gap between advanced IR and recommendation. One of the main findings of this paper is that the concept-based extension of DCM consistently outweighed both terms-only and concept-only baselines concerning biomedical data. The DCM-based recommender system is also shown to be effective when applied on MovieLens, Book Crossing and LastFM. By bringing together recommendation (prediction) and retrieval, we lay the grounds for generalizable and hybrid algorithms. This paper shows how advanced but well-established probability distributions can be transparently leveraged in the standardization of semantic ranking methods, especially for applications in which recommendation (notification) is critical.
A HRFDC strategy based on dynamic classification of failed cloud tasks
Authors: Liang Bin , Bai Junqing
Published: November 2022

With the continuous development and improvement of cloud computing technology, the major computer giants have deployed their own cloud data center (CDC). At the same time, as user demands continue to expand, competition among cloud service providers is also intensifying. In order to continuously improve its own service quality and user satisfaction, cloud service providers adopting efficient and low-cost fault-tolerant strategy will improve the performance and profit of CDCs. However, the existing rescheduling strategy are mostly at the expense of the completion time of cloud task (CT) or increasing the compensation of cloud service providers, which ultimately leads to a decline in the profit of cloud service providers. More serious will affect the reputation and user experience of the enterprise. This paper systematically analyzes the performance loss caused by virtual machine (VM) failure and the rescheduling process of CDCs fault-tolerant strategy. At the same time, we established a dynamic classification rule of failed cloud task (FCT) according to the deadline for CTs. After that, a high-profit rescheduling fault-tolerant strategy for CDCs based on dynamic classification of FCTs (HRFDC) was proposed. This scheduling strategy maximizes the profitability of cloud service providers by increasing the failure repair rate of CDCs and reducing the compensation of cloud service providers. Finally, this strategy has been tested and verified, and its effect is due to the comparison algorithm.
Apoptotic gene loss in Cnidaria is associated with transition to parasitism
Authors: Neverov Alexander M. , Panchin Alexander Y. , Mikhailov Kirill V , Batueva Marina D. , Aleoshin Vladimir V. , Panchin Yuri V.
Published: November 2022

BackgroundThe phylum Cnidaria consists of several morphologically diverse classes including Anthozoa, Cubozoa, Hydrozoa, Polypodiozoa, Scyphozoa, Staurozoa, and Myxozoa. Myxozoa comprises two subclasses of obligate parasites – Myxosporea and Malacosporea, which demonstrate various degrees of simplification. The subclass Myxosporea is especially simplified, lacking any normal multicellular body plan and embryonic development. Myxosporea lack the majority of core protein domains of apoptotic proteins including caspases, Bcl-2 and APAF-1 homologs. Other sequenced Cnidaria, including the parasitePolypodium hydriformefrom Polypodiozoa do not share this genetic feature. Whether this loss of core apoptotic proteins is unique to Myxosporea or also present in its sister subclass Malacosporea was not previously investigated. It is also unclear whether Myxosporea lost their apoptotic proteins abruptly or gradually (starting with their common ancestors with Malacosporea) during their evolutionary history.ResultsUsing comparative genomics and transcriptomics approaches we describe a detailed picture of apoptotic protein gene loss in parasitic cnidaria in relation to each other and free-living members of the phylum. We show thatPolypodium hydriformelost the main components of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway such as death receptor and adaptor proteins. For the intrinsic pathway it has one predicted initiator and one effector caspase, compared to 2 and 11 inHydrarespectively. Malacosporea retain one predicted effector caspase while Myxosporea universally lack all main actors of apoptosis including caspases, Bcl-2 family proteins, calpains, inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs), APAF-1 and p53 homologs. As an exception some Myxosporea species retained potentially functional cytochrome C, whose gene is however absent inMyxobolus squamalis,Henneguya salminicolaand is a pseudogene with multiple inner stop-codons inKudoa iwatai,Sphaeromyxa zaharoni, andEnteromyxum leei.ConclusionsWe show that the presence of core apoptotic proteins (such as the number of different caspases) gradually diminishes from free-living Cnidaria toPolypodiumto Malacosporea to Myxosporea. This observation does not favor the hypothesis of catastrophic simplification of Myxosporea at the genetic level, but rather supports a stepwise adaptation to parasitism that likely started from early parasitic ancestors that gave rise to Myxozoa.
A Multi-stage Decision Framework for Optimal Energy Efficiency Measures of Educational Buildings: A case study of Chongqing
Authors: Cui Wenjing , Hong Jingke , Liu Guiwen , Zhang Lin , Wei Lizhen
Published: November 2022

Buildings consume large amounts of energy resources and emit considerable amounts of greenhouse gas: especially existing buildings which do not meet energy standards. Building retrofitting is considered one of the most promising and significant solutions to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. However, finding suitable energy efficiency measures for existing buildings is extremely difficult due to the existence of thousands of retrofit measures and the need to meet various objectives. In this paper, a multi-stage decision framework including a multi-objective optimization model and a ranking method is proposed to help decision-makers select optimal energy efficiency measures. The multi-objective optimization model takes into account the economic objectives and the environmental objectives, expressed as retrofit cost and energy consumption, respectively. The entropy weight ideal point ranking method is adopted to sort the Pareto front and make a final decision. Then, the proposed decision framework is implemented for the retrofit planning of an educational building in Chongqing, China. The results show that decision-makers can identify near-optimal energy efficiency measures quickly through multi-objective optimization and can select suitable energy efficiency measures by the ranking method. Moreover, energy consumption can be reduced by building retrofitting. The energy consumption of the case building is 64.20 kWh/m2 before retrofitting, and the value can be reduced by 6.79% through retrofitting. Furthermore, the reduction of building energy consumption was significantly improved by applying the decision framework. The highest value of energy consumption is 59.84 kWh/m2, while the lowest value is 27.11 kWh/m2 when implementing the multi-stage decision framework. Thus, this paper provides a useful decision framework for decision-makers to formulate suitable energy efficiency measures.
Production of low-calorie cake by partial replacement of flaxseed mucilage and flaxseed flour and investigation of its physicochemical, textural and sensory characteristics
Authors: Ahmadinia Fariba , Mohtarami Forogh , Esmaili Mohsen , Pirsa Sajad
Published: November 2022

Cake is one of the most important baking products, which is widely produced due to its ease of storage and consumption. However, considering the high calorific value of grain products, the aim of this research was to produce low-calorie cake, so the mixture design, in D-optimal format was used to investigate the effect of replacing flaxseed mucilage with animal butter and flaxseed flour with cake flour on the physicochemical, textural and sensory properties of the cake were evaluated. The results of the rheological properties of two types of flax mucilage prepared from 1 to 15 and 1 to 20 ratios of flax seeds to water and butter showed Newtonian behavior in flax mucilage and pseudoplastic behavior in butter. According to the results of the frequency scanning test, with an increase in frequency at constant strain of 1%, the loss modulus (Gʹ) of all samples increased. Storage modulus (G) increased in the flax mucilage sample (1:15) and was almost constant in flax mucilage (1:20) and butter. The results showed that the moisture content and water activity of the samples increased with the increase in the substitution of mucilage and flax seed flour. Also, with the increase of flax mucilage replacement, the antioxidant capacity, tissue cohesion and resilience increased and the specific volume, elasticity and hardness of the shell decreased (P < 0.05). Flax seed mucilage had a significant effect on reducing the height and increasing the stiffness of the samples. The overall acceptance score decreased with the replacement of mucilage and flaxseed flour, but all samples had an acceptable overall acceptance score (p < 0.05). According to the numerical optimization results, the cake formulation with 60% flaxseed mucilage + 28% flaxseed flour was identified as the optimal sample with textural, sensory and high nutritional value.