bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis, Characterization and In Silico Biological and Anticancer Activity of 3-(2-Fluorophenyl)-N-(4-Fluorophenyl)- 7H-[1,2,4] Triazolo[3,4-b] [1,3,4] Thiadiazin-6-Amine
Authors:   Department of Biological Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju, Chungnam 32588, Republic of Korea, Shah Fahad Hassan , Vanjare Balasaheb Daniyal ,   Department of Biological Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju, Chungnam 32588, Republic of Korea, Kim Song Ja ,   Department of Biological Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju, Chungnam 32588, Republic of Korea
Published: March 2022

Drug discovery for different cancers is of great importance to deal with rising cases of drug resistance and tumor recurrence. Here, we have designed and synthesized novel 3-(2-fl uorophenyl)-N- (4-fl uorophenyl)-7H-[1,2,4] triazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazin-6-amine (BC) compound through multistep reaction pathway. The structural elucidation of the synthesized compound has been accomplished using FT-IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR methods. The structure obtained from these techniques was then converted into a 3D structure using OpenBabel to evaluate the biological and anticancer activity through in silico method. The in-silico analysis revealed that BC has a cautionary pharmacokinetic profi le with good druglikeness and gastrointes tinal absorption. Pass and gene expression studies show that they are more effective against cancer as they can inhibit important molecular targets implicated in cancer proliferation and induce autophagy and ferroptosis and also, they play a role in treating diabetes type II. It was observed that BC can inhibit ovarian adenocarcinoma, glioblastoma, and renal carcinoma cell line up to 70 %. Thus, it is concluded that, BC is a promising anti-cancer compound which should be employed for in-vitro anti-cancer studies.
Eff ect of Microwave and Infrared Heating Process on Increasing Resistant Starch type 3 and Reducing Glycemic Index in RD 43 Rice
Authors:   Division of Product Development Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand, Techanet Nattarat , Kawee-ai Arthitaya ,   Division of Product Development Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand, Laokuldilok Natcha ,   Food Innovation and Business Program, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Lampang Rajabhat University, Lampang 52100, Thailand, Utama-ang Niramon ,   Division of Product Development Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand,   Rice Product Research Unit, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Published: March 2022

This study aimed to investigate the effect of microwave and infrared heating on increasing the resistant starch content (RS) and reducing glycemic index (GI) of RD 43 rice (Oryza sativa L.). First, in the microwave heating process, the sample was heated by microwave power at 400–800 W for 15–45 s. It was found that rice heated at 600 W had the highest RS (0.41 ± 0.09%) and the lowest predicted glycemic index (pGI) (52.38 ± 0.26). In terms of time, heating for 30 s caused the highest RS (0.40 ± 0.14%) and heating for 30 and 45 s caused the lowest pGI (52.70 ± 0.39 and 52.82 ± 0.30, respectively). A higher RS was obtained under microwave heating at 600 W for 30 s (0.44 ± 0.01%) and 45 s (0.50 ± 0.05%) and a lower pGI was obtained under microwave heating at 600 W for 15 s (52.23 ± 0.11) and 30 s (52.31 ± 0.23). Second, in the infrared heating process, the sample was heated by infrared power at 400–800 W for 120–180 s. The result showed that the effect of power and time had signifi cant effects on digestible starch (DS), total starch (TS), RS and pGI. The infrared heating at 600 W for 150 s caused a higher RS (0.45 ± 0.16%) and lower pGI (50.4 ± 0.57) and that the TS, DS and RS were not signifi cantly different (p < 0.05). These fi nding might be a useful tool to produce the low GI rice, which provided a benefi cial nutrients and health
Correlation of Antifungal Activities and Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase Gene Expression of Bacillus siamensis 1021
Authors:   School of Science, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladrabang, Bangkok, 10520 Thailand, Nuwong Warinya , Kittiwongwattana Chokchai ,   School of Science, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladrabang, Bangkok, 10520 Thailand
Published: March 2022

Members of the genus Bacillus were biocontrol agents against various phytopathogenic fungi. Several factors affected the regulation and production of nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) in Bacillus species. The aim of this study was to examine how culture media infl uenced the antagonistic activities and gene expression of Bacillus siamensis 1021. The bacterial supernatant from potato dextrose broth (PDB) exhibited higher inhibitory effects against mycelia of Pyricularia oryzae and Colletotrichum fructicola, when compared with those from nutrient broth (NB) and minimal salt medium (MSM). However, the biocontrol activities of these supernatants were not signifi cantly different when they were tested against P. oryzae and C. fructicola conidia. Additionally, the bacterial supernatant from PDB signifi cantly reduced the disease severity caused by P. oryzae in rice seedlings when compared with the water-treated control group. The genome of strain 1021 was sequenced, and biosynthetic gene clusters of nonribosomal peptides surfactin, fengycin and bacillibactin were identifi ed. Effects of PDB, NB and MSM media on expression levels of core biosynthetic genes of surfactin (srfAA), fengycin (fenC) and bacillibactin (dhbE) gene clusters were determined by reverse-transcription quantitative PCR. fenC expression was signifi cantly increased in PDB and corresponded with the antagonistic activities against fungal mycelia. Conversely, expression of the regulatory genes comA and codY in PDB were highly reduced in PDB, indicating their negative relation with fenC expression. This expression analysis indirectly suggested that fengycin was potentially the bioactive compound of B. siamensis 1021 against P. oryzae and C. fructicola
Study on Intelligent Optimization Model of Porous Hydraulic Buffer
Authors: Zheng Yangbing , Xue Xiao , Zhang Jisong
Published: March 2022

In order to improve the buffering performance of porous hydraulic buffer effectively, the artificial fish swarm algorithm is improved to carry out optimization analysis of porous hydraulic buffer. Firstly, theory model of porous hydraulic buffer is studied, and the optimal model of porous hydraulic buffer is established. Secondly, the improved artificial fish swarm algorithm is put forward through improving step size and fish swarm behaviour. Finally, the optimization simulation analysis of porous hydraulic buffer is carried out, and results show that the proposed artificial fish swarm algorithm can obtain better optimal effect, and improve the performance of porous hydraulic buffer.
Adaptive Secure Energy Efficiency Routing Protocol for Wireless Sensor Network
Authors: Bethi Sravankumar , Moparthi Nageswara Rao
Published: March 2022

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is highly used in many applications for monitoring purposes. Many researchers were carried out in energy efficiency and security to improve network performance. In this research, the Adaptive Secure Energy Efficiency Routing Protocol (ASEERP) is proposed to improve security and reduce the energy consumption of the WSN. Gaussian distribution is used in this model to improve the synchronization of the model for the routing. Initialization of the node is carried out based on the residual energy of the node and neighbor node of WSN. The model routing phase transmits the data based on direct transmission and relay transmission based on path availability and distance. The direct transmission is carried out in a possible scenario to save energy in the neighbor nodes. The co-operation phase in the model helps to select the best relay based on the residual energy if the transmission is carried out based on the relay node. The source information and relay information are combined to analyze the neighbourhood information to adaptively select the optimal path in the model. The incoming packets and outgoing packets of the sensor nodes are measured to detect the attack and attack indicator estimation is used to detect the malicious node to deny access to it. The proposed ASEERP model has an energy consumption of 57 J, the existing LEACH-C model has 80 J and the SMEER model has 72 J for 600 ms time.
Design of a grating-assisted silicon hybrid mode-, polarization-, and wavelength-division (De)multiplexer for on-chip optical interconnects
Authors: Minz Manoranjan , Sonkar Ramesh Kumar
Published: March 2022

This paper presents a 12-channel hybrid mode-, polarization-, and wavelength-division (de)multiplexer. The proposed device is designed on a silicon-on-insulator platform. The device structure constitutes three coupling sections with a bus waveguide at the middle and two single-mode waveguides on each side. The periodic grating structures are present in between the waveguides for contra-directional coupling of the three TE modes and three TM modes of the bus waveguide to respective fundamental modes of the single-mode waveguides at 1550 and 1560 nm. The device is simulated using the 3D finite-difference time-domain technique, and the resulting insertion loss, cross talk, and return loss are

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Tunable and enhanced optical activity in twisted graphene metasurface bilayers
Authors: Cheng Min , Fu Ping , Tang Xiaoteng
Published: March 2022

The phenomenon about optical activity has widespread applications in polarization optics, biosensing, and analytical chemistry. The optical activity in twisted graphene metasurface bilayers (TGMBs) is studied theoretically in this paper. It is found that the large circular dichroism (CD) value can be adjusted by various physical parameters of TGMBs such as separation distance, the voltage applied to metasurfaces, and twist angle. By adjusting the twist angle of TGMB, the shapes of the CD spectra, circular birefringence spectra, and ellipticity spectra can be manipulated in the broadband range. When the twisted bilayer metasurfaces are stacked with an ultrathin spacer, it is found that there might exist the strong optical activity responses near the rotated-σ-near-zero regime and topological transition σ-near-zero regime. The corresponding phenomena raise the prospect of tunable, compact, and on-chip terahertz devices with graphene metasurfaces based on optical activity.
Matched illumination: using light modulation as a proxy for a color filter that makes a camera more colorimetric
Authors: Zhu Yuteng , Finlayson Graham D.
Published: March 2022

In previous work, it was shown that a camera can theoretically be made more colorimetric–its RGBs become more linearly related to XYZ tristimuli–by placing a specially designed color filter in the optical path. While the prior art demonstrated the principle, the optimal color-correction filters were not actually manufactured. In this paper, we provide a novel way of creating the color filtering effect without making a physical filter: we modulate the spectrum of the light source by using a spectrally tunable lighting system to recast the prefiltering effect from a lighting perspective. According to our method, if we wish to measure color under a D65 light, we relight the scene with a modulated D65 spectrum where the light modulation mimics the effect of color prefiltering in the prior art. We call our optimally modulated light, the matched illumination. In the experiments, using synthetic and real measurements, we show that color measurement errors can be reduced by about 50% or more on simulated data and 25% or more on real images when the matched illumination is used.
Fast-sweeping continuous wave quantum cascade laser operating in an external cavity with polygon mirror
Authors: Revin Dmitry G. , Matcher Stephen J.
Published: March 2022

We report a continuous wave room temperature quantum cascade laser operating in an external cavity in the Littrow configuration with a 10-facet polygon mirror rotating at 24,000 RPM. The quantum cascade laser emission is swept across ∼1520 - 1625 cm−1 wavenumber range in less than ∼45 µs with a sweep repetition rate of 4 kHz. The measured maximum output power at the laser gain maximum, 15°C and 0.86 A driving current is ∼90 mW; the estimated average output power across the 45 µs wavenumber sweep is ∼50 mW. Through its sweep, the laser emits on the sequential Fabry-Perot longitudinal modes of the laser chip cavity with the mode separation of ∼0.5 cm−1. The linewidth of the emitting modes is less than ∼0.05 cm−1. Spectral measurements of the infrared absorption features of a 10 µm thick layer of acetophenone and water vapor in the air have demonstrated the capability of obtaining spectral data in less than 45 µs.
Stable 10,000-hour operation of 20-W deep ultraviolet laser generation at 266 nm
Authors: Orii Yosuke , Kohno Kenta , Tanaka Hiroki , Yoshimura Masashi , Mori Yusuke , Nishimae Junichi , Shibuya Kimihiko
Published: March 2022

We report 10,000-hour stable operation of a 266-nm picosecond laser with an average power of 20 W. We have developed a narrow-linewidth, high-peak-power 1064-nm laser source with a repetition rate of 600 kHz, an average power of 129 W, a linewidth of 0.15 nm, and a pulse duration of 14 ps using a gain-switched DFB-LD as a picosecond pulse seed source and a four-stage power amplifier with an Nd:YVO4 crystal. A 266-nm laser with a maximum average power of 25.4 W was generated by frequency conversion using LBO and CLBO crystals and had a pulse duration of 8 ps and beam quality factor of 1.5 at 20W. To the best of our knowledge, we also demonstrated that the average power and the beam quality can be maintained for 10,000 hours for the first time. We have confirmed the durability of the developed deep ultraviolet laser for industrial applications.
Mid-infrared optical switches enabled by metal-organic frameworks for compact high-power nanosecond laser sources at 3 µm
Authors: Zheng Le , Wei Chen , Zhou Hongrong , Sun Fanxi , Gao Ang , Wang Dongsheng , Liu Yong
Published: March 2022

Pulsed lasers operating in the mid-infrared are of great importance for numerous applications in spectroscopy, medical surgery, laser processing, and communications. In spite of recent advances with mid-infrared gain platforms, the lack of a capable pulse generation mechanism hinders the development of compact mid-infrared pulsed laser source. Here we show that MIL-68(Al) and MIL-68(Fe), which are aluminum- and iron- based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with ordered atoms distribution and periodic mesoporous structure, constitute exceptional optical switches for the mid-infrared. We fabricated the MIL-68(Al) and MIL-68(Fe) via hydrothermal method and prepared reflection-type MIL-68(Al)- and MIL-68(Fe)- saturable absorber mirrors (SAMs). By employing the as-prepared SAMs in the laser cavities, we achieved high-power nanosecond Q-switched fiber lasers at 2.8 µm. Especially, the average output power and pulse duration of the MIL-68(Al) Q-switched fiber laser reached 809.1 mW and 567 ns, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to demonstrate that MIL-68(M) can be efficient optical switches for 3-µm mid-IR laser pulses generation. Our findings reveal that MIL-68(M) is promising saturable absorber for compact and high-performance mid-infrared pulsed lasers.
High-performance dual-mode ultra-thin broadband CdS/CIGS heterojunction photodetector on steel
Authors: Zeng Xi , Lontchi Jackson , Zhukova Maria , Bolt Pieter , Smor Marcel , Fourdrinier Lionel , Li Guoli , Flandre Denis
Published: March 2022

An ultra-thin CdS/CIGS heterojunction photodiode fabricated on steel firstly exhibits dual-mode broadband photodetection from ultraviolet to near infrared spectrum. In the photovoltaic mode, the CIGS photodiode, working as a self-driven photodetector, shows an outstanding photodetection capability (under a light power density of 20 µW cm-2 at 680 nm), reaching a record detectivity of ∼4.4×1012 Jones, a low noise equivalent power (NEP) of 0.16 pW Hz-1/2 and a high Ilight/Idark ratio of ∼103, but a relatively low responsivity of ∼0.39 A W-1 and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of ∼71%. Working under the same illumination but in the photoconductive mode (1 V reverse bias), the responsivity and EQE are significantly enhanced to 1.24 A W-1 and 226%, respectively, but with a relatively low detectivity of 7×1010 Jones and a higher NEP of 10.1 pW Hz-1/2. To explain these results, a corrected photoconductive gain (G) model indicates that minority electrons could be localized in the defects, surface states and depletion region of the CIGS photodiode, causing excess hole accumulation in the ultra-thin CIGS photodiode and thus high EQE over 100% (G over 1).
Individual illness dynamics: An analysis of children with sepsis admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit
Authors: Kausch Sherry L. , Sullivan Brynne , Spaeder Michael C. , Keim-Malpass Jessica
Published: March 2022

Illness dynamics and patterns of recovery may be essential features in understanding the critical illness course. We propose a method to characterize individual illness dynamics in patients who experienced sepsis in the pediatric intensive care unit. We defined illness states based on illness severity scores generated from a multi-variable prediction model. For each patient, we calculated transition probabilities to characterize movement among illness states. We calculated the Shannon entropy of the transition probabilities. Using the entropy parameter, we determined phenotypes of illness dynamics based on hierarchical clustering. We also examined the association between individual entropy scores and a composite variable of negative outcomes. Entropy-based clustering identified four illness dynamic phenotypes in a cohort of 164 intensive care unit admissions where at least one sepsis event occurred. Compared to the low-risk phenotype, the high-risk phenotype was defined by the highest entropy values and had the most ill patients as defined by a composite variable of negative outcomes. Entropy was significantly associated with the negative outcome composite variable in a regression analysis. Information-theoretical approaches to characterize illness trajectories offer a novel way of assessing the complexity of a course of illness. Characterizing illness dynamics with entropy offers additional information in conjunction with static assessments of illness severity. Additional attention is needed to test and incorporate novel measures representing the dynamics of illness.
Development and internal validation of prediction models for future hospital care utilization by patients with multimorbidity using electronic health record data
Authors: Verhoeff Marlies , de Groot Janke , Burgers Jako S. , van Munster Barbara C.
Published: March 2022

Objective

To develop and internally validate prediction models for future hospital care utilization in patients with multiple chronic conditions.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

A teaching hospital in the Netherlands (542 beds)

Participants

All adult patients (n = 18.180) who received care at the outpatient clinic in 2017 for two chronic diagnoses or more (including oncological diagnoses) and who returned for hospital care or outpatient clinical care in 2018. Development and validation using a stratified random split-sample (n = 12.120 for development, n = 6.060 for internal validation).

Outcomes

≥2 emergency department visits in 2018, ≥1 hospitalization in 2018 and ≥12 outpatient visits in 2018.

Statistical analysis

Multivariable logistic regression with forward selection.

Results

Evaluation of the models’ performance showed c-statistics of 0.70 (95% CI 0.69–0.72) for the hospitalization model, 0.72 (95% CI 0.70–0.74) for the ED visits model and 0.76 (95% 0.74–0.77) for the outpatient visits model. With regard to calibration, there was agreement between lower predicted and observed probability for all models, but the models overestimated the probability for patients with higher predicted probabilities.

Conclusions

These models showed promising results for further development of prediction models for future healthcare utilization using data from local electronic health records. This could be the first step in developing automated alert systems in electronic health records for identifying patients with multimorbidity with higher risk for high healthcare utilization, who might benefit from a more integrated care approach.
Identification of salivary gland escape barriers to western equine encephalitis virus in the natural vector, Culex tarsalis
Authors: Stauft Charles B. , Phillips Aaron T. , Wang Tony T. , Olson Kenneth E.
Published: March 2022

Herein we describe a previously uninvestigated salivary gland escape barrier (SEB) in Culex tarsalis mosquitoes infected with two different strains of Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV). The WEEV strains were originally isolated either from mosquitoes (IMP181) or a human patient (McMillan). Both IMP181 and McMillan viruses were fully able to infect the salivary glands of Culex tarsalis after intrathoracic injection as determined by expression of mCherry fluorescent protein. IMP181, however, was better adapted to transmission as measured by virus titer in saliva as well as transmission rates in infected mosquitoes. We used chimeric recombinant WEEV strains to show that inclusion of IMP181-derived structural genes partially circumvents the SEB.
Sexual and gender minority undergraduates’ relationships and strategies for managing fit in STEM
Authors: Campbell-Montalvo Rebecca , Malaykhan Mya , Smith Chrystal A. S. , Hughes Miller Michelle , Puccia Ellen , Mayberry Maralee , Skvoretz John , Wao Hesborn
Published: March 2022

Undergraduates with sexual and/or gender minority (SGM) identities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, pansexual, intersexual, asexual, or additional positionalities, often face an unwelcoming STEM microclimate. The STEM microclimate includes the places students experience, such as classrooms or labs, and the people, such as peers or professors, with whom they discuss their STEM program. While previous work offers a framework of microaggressions faced by SGM people, and the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional strategies they use to react to them, little is known about the strategies SGM students use to persist in the STEM microclimate. We analyze interviews with 29 SGM STEM undergraduates to uncover how they fit in STEM, their experiences that affect fit, how social capital in the form of influential others affects fit, and the strategies used to deal with microaggressions and cultivate a supportive network. Using thematic analysis, we find that students vary in their feelings of fit, with students with gender minority identities experiencing more frequent and more severe microaggressions than students with sexual minority identities (which are often less visible). We likewise find that students with racial minority identities report compounding issues related to identity. SGM students with social capital, or a network of people to whom they can turn in order to access advice and resources, believe they fit in better than those without such capital. To support their feelings of fit, students use defenses against discrimination, including micro-defenses, wherein they change how they present their self to avoid microaggressions and/or surround themselves with accepting people. This research highlights the role of microaggressions and social capital in affecting fit as well as the micro-defenses students use to defend against discrimination. Our introduction of the concept of micro-defenses provides a way to theorize about micro-interactional dynamics and the site at which students defend against microaggressions so they feel more welcome in STEM. Implications provide insight into how SGM students can be supported in STEM as well as the institutional changes STEM departments and campuses can make in order to better support and include SGM students.
Individual and community-level factors of treatment-seeking behaviour among caregivers with febrile children in Ethiopia: A multilevel analysis
Authors: Liyew Bikis , Tarekegn Gebrekidan Ewnetu , Kassew Tilahun , Tsegaye Netsanet , Asfaw Marye Getnet , Tilahun Ambaye Dejen , Tadesse Ayalew Zewdie , Alamneh Tesfa Sewunet
Published: March 2022

Background

Early diagnosis and treatment of childhood fever are essential for controlling disease progression and death. However, the Treatment-seeking behaviour of caregivers is still a significant challenge in rural parts of the African region. This study aimed to assess individual and community-level factors associated with treatment-seeking behaviours among caregivers of febrile under-five age children in Ethiopia.

Method

The recent Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data (EDHS 2016) was used for the study. The survey collected information among 1,354 under-five children who had a fever within two weeks before the survey. The data were extracted, cleaned, and recoded using STATA version 14. Multilevel logistic regressions were used to determine the magnitude and associated factors of treatment-seeking behaviour among caregivers with febrile children in Ethiopia. Four models were built to estimate both fixed and random effects of individual and community-level factors between cluster variations on treatment-seeking behaviour. The Adjusted Odds Ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) of the best-fitted model were reported at p<0.05.

Result

This study revealed that 491 (36.26%) caregivers seek treatment for their febrile children. Living in metropolitan and small peripheral regions, delivery at health institutions, being poorer, middle and richer wealth quintiles, having a child with diarrhoea, cough, short rapid breathing, and wasting were positively associated with treatment-seeking behaviour of caregivers.

Conclusion

The caregivers had poor treatment-seeking behaviour for their febrile children in Ethiopia. Health education programmers should emphasise the importance of seeking early treatment, taking action on childhood febrile illness signs.
COVID-19 Risk Stratification and Mortality Prediction in Hospitalized Indian Patients: Harnessing clinical data for public health benefits
Authors: Alle Shanmukh , Kanakan Akshay , Siddiqui Samreen , Garg Akshit , Karthikeyan Akshaya , Mehta Priyanka , Mishra Neha , Chattopadhyay Partha , Devi Priti , Waghdhare Swati , Tyagi Akansha , Tarai Bansidhar , Hazarik Pranjal Pratim , Das Poonam , Budhiraja Sandeep , Nangia Vivek , Dewan Arun , Sethuraman Ramanathan , Subramanian C. , Srivastava Mashrin , Chakravarthi Avinash , Jacob Johnny , Namagiri Madhuri , Konala Varma , Dash Debasish , Sethi Tavpritesh , Jha Sujeet , Agrawal Anurag , Pandey Rajesh , Vinod P. K. , Priyakumar U. Deva
Published: March 2022

The variability of clinical course and prognosis of COVID-19 highlights the necessity of patient sub-group risk stratification based on clinical data. In this study, clinical data from a cohort of Indian COVID-19 hospitalized patients is used to develop risk stratification and mortality prediction models. We analyzed a set of 70 clinical parameters including physiological and hematological for developing machine learning models to identify biomarkers. We also compared the Indian and Wuhan cohort, and analyzed the role of steroids. A bootstrap averaged ensemble of Bayesian networks was also learned to construct an explainable model for discovering actionable influences on mortality and days to outcome. We discovered blood parameters, diabetes, co-morbidity and SpO2 levels as important risk stratification features, whereas mortality prediction is dependent only on blood parameters. XGboost and logistic regression model yielded the best performance on risk stratification and mortality prediction, respectively (AUC score 0.83, AUC score 0.92). Blood coagulation parameters (ferritin, D-Dimer and INR), immune and inflammation parameters IL6, LDH and Neutrophil (%) are common features for both risk and mortality prediction. Compared with Wuhan patients, Indian patients with extreme blood parameters indicated higher survival rate. Analyses of medications suggest that a higher proportion of survivors and mild patients who were administered steroids had extreme neutrophil and lymphocyte percentages. The ensemble averaged Bayesian network structure revealed serum ferritin to be the most important predictor for mortality and Vitamin D to influence severity independent of days to outcome. The findings are important for effective triage during strains on healthcare infrastructure.
Lightweight rowers’ perspectives of living with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)
Authors: Gillbanks Lucy , Mountjoy Margo , Filbay Stephanie R.
Published: March 2022

Objective

To compete in lightweight rowing, strict limits are placed on the maximum body weight of each individual. As a result, lightweight rowers commonly restrict calorie intake despite high energy expenditure. This can result in Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). The aim of this study is to investigate the physical and psychosocial impact of RED-S, from the perspective of lightweight rowers.

Design

Semi-structured individual qualitative interviews.

Participants

Adults living in the United Kingdom who are current or former lightweight rowing participants and experienced ≥1 symptom of RED-S.

Method

Audio-recorded semi-structured individual telephone interviews were performed. Data was analysed using an inductive thematic approach, coding was iterative and data-driven, facilitated by NVivo software.

Results

Twelve current or former lightweight rowers (intermediate to international standard, 67% female, aged 19–32 years) participated. Participants restricted calories and increased energy expenditure to elicit weight-loss in order to meet weight requirements. This resulted in psychosocial implications (reduced social interaction, difficulty maintaining relationships, poor emotional regulation, low mood, poor concentration, disordered eating, guilt and anxiety around food, and a negative body image). Some psychosocial implications persisted after retirement from lightweight rowing. Participants described a range of physical implications, including disrupted sleep, decreased performance and recovery, bowel disruption, menstrual dysfunction, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, injury and weakened immune systems.

Conclusions

This study describes short and long-term physical and psychosocial impacts of RED-S from the perspective of lightweight rowers. Findings highlight the importance of effective RED-S prevention and management strategies for lightweight rowers. These findings may be used to educate health-care professionals, coaches and athletes on the personal impacts and serious health consequences of RED-S.
Effect of physical therapy on the flexibility of the infrapatellar fat pad: A single-blind randomised controlled trial
Authors: Kitagawa Takashi , Ozaki Natsumi , Aoki Yuma
Published: March 2022

The infrapatellar fat pad plays a biomechanical role in the knee joint. After knee injury or surgery, its dynamics decrease because of an inflammatory response. Physical therapy might be one of the valuable treatments for the recovery of knee joint mobility. This study aimed to evaluate the immediate effect of physical therapy on the dynamics of the infrapatellar fat pad in healthy participants using ultrasonography. In this prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial, 64 healthy young participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of the following three interventions: manual therapy, hot pack treatment, and control. Ultrasound images of the infrapatellar fat pad were obtained before and after the intervention. The thickness change ratio of the infrapatellar fat pad was calculated to compare the changes between and within groups before and after the intervention. No significant inter-group differences were observed. The effect sizes were relatively small. Manual therapy or hot pack intervention might not have an immediate effect on infrapatellar fat pad flexibility in healthy participants. Thus, it is necessary to consider more intensive treatments to change the dynamics of the infrapatellar fat pad.
Whole-exome sequencing in a Japanese multiplex family identifies new susceptibility genes for intracranial aneurysms
Authors: Maegawa Tatsuya , Akagawa Hiroyuki , Onda Hideaki , Kasuya Hidetoshi
Published: March 2022

Background

Intracranial aneurysms (IAs) cause subarachnoid hemorrhage, which has high rates of mortality and morbidity when ruptured. Recently, the role of rare variants in the genetic background of complex diseases has been increasingly recognized. The aim of this study was to identify rare variants for susceptibility to IA.

Methods

Whole-exome sequencing was performed on seven members of a Japanese pedigree with highly aggregated IA. Candidate genes harboring co-segregating rare variants with IA were re-sequenced and tested for association with IA using additional 500 probands and 323 non-IA controls. Functional analysis of rare variants detected in the pedigree was also conducted.

Results

We identified two gene variants shared among all four affected participants in the pedigree. One was the splicing donor c.1515+1G>A variant in NPNT (Nephronectin), which was confirmed to cause aberrant splicing by a minigene assay. The other was the missense p.P83T variant in CBY2 (Chibby family member 2). Overexpression of p.P83T CBY2 fused with red fluorescent protein tended to aggregate in the cytoplasm. Although Nephronectin has been previously reported to be involved in endothelial angiogenic functions, CBY2 is a novel molecule in terms of vascular pathophysiology. We confirmed that CBY2 was expressed in cerebrovascular smooth muscle cells in an isoform2-specific manner. Targeted CBY2 re-sequencing in additional case-control samples identified three deleterious rare variants (p.R46H, p.P83T, and p.L183R) in seven probands, showing a significant enrichment in the overall probands (8/501) compared to the controls (0/323) (p = 0.026, Fisher’s extract test).

Conclusions

NPNT and CBY2 were identified as novel susceptibility genes for IA. The highly heterogeneous and polygenic architecture of IA susceptibility can be uncovered by accumulating extensive analyses that focus on each pedigree with a high incidence of IA.
Crop and water productivity and profitability of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) under gravity drip irrigation with mulching condition in a humid sub-tropical climate
Authors: Patra Sanmay Kumar , Poddar Ratneswar , Pramanik Sanjit , Gaber Ahmed , Hossain Akbar
Published: March 2022

Strategic irrigation planning and soil water conservation measure can be rewarding for increasing agricultural productivity in a humid subtropical climatic environment. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate broccoli yield response to crop water productivity (CWP), irrigation water productivity (IWP) and economics under varied irrigation regimes and mulching. Four levels of irrigation: surface irrigation at 1.0 IW/CPE (irrigation water to cumulative pan evaporation, I1), drip irrigation at 0.6 (I2), 0.8 (I3) and 1.0 (I4) of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and three mulches: none (M0), black polythene mulch (BPM, M1) and paddy straw mulch (PSM, M2) were examined. Among these treatments I3M1 produced the higher yield (19.17 t ha-1), CWP, IWP and maximum benefit-cost ratio (BCR), being almost competitive with I3M1. Under scarcity of water, I2M1 was an alternative. Drip irrigation could save 21.2–52.7% water over surface irrigation which accommodated 17.1 to 53.3% additional area under irrigation. Yield response factor and water-yield production function suggested the potential yield decrease in relation to increased deficit irrigation. However, a deficit drip irrigation scheduling with 0.8 ETc at a 3-day interval is optimum for increased curd yield, water productivity and economics of broccoli.
New plastomes of eight Ipomoea species and four putative hybrids from Eastern Amazon
Authors: Laux Marcele , Oliveira Renato R. M. , Vasconcelos Santelmo , Pires Eder S. , Lima Talvâne G. L. , Pastore Mayara , Nunes Gisele L. , Alves Ronnie , Oliveira Guilherme
Published: March 2022

Ipomoea is a large pantropical genus globally distributed, which importance goes beyond the economic value as food resources or ornamental crops. This highly diverse genus has been the focus of a great number of studies, enriching the plant genomics knowledge, and challenging the plant evolution models. In the Carajás mountain range, located in Eastern Amazon, the savannah-like ferruginous ecosystem known as canga harbors highly specialized plant and animal populations, and Ipomoea is substantially representative in such restrictive habitat. Thus, to provide genetic data and insights into whole plastome phylogenetic relationships among key Ipomoea species from Eastern Amazon with little to none previously available data, we present the complete plastome sequences of twelve lineages of the genus, including the canga microendemic I. cavalcantei, the closely related I. marabaensis, and their putative hybrids. The twelve plastomes presented similar gene content as most publicly available Ipomoea plastomes, although the putative hybrids were correctly placed as closely related to the two parental species. The cavalcantei-marabaensis group was consistently grouped between phylogenetic methods. The closer relationship of the I. carnea plastome with the cavalcantei-marabaensis group, as well as the branch formed by I. quamoclit, I. asarifolia and I. maurandioides, were probably a consequence of insufficient taxonomic representativity, instead of true genetic closeness, reinforcing the importance of new plastome assemblies to resolve inconsistencies and boost statistical confidence, especially the case for South American clades of Ipomoea. The search for k-mers presenting high dispersion among the frequency distributions pointed to highly variable coding and intergenic regions, which may potentially contribute to the genetic diversity observed at species level. Our results contribute to the resolution of uncertain clades within Ipomoea and future phylogenomic studies, bringing unprecedented results to Ipomoea species with restricted distribution, such as I. cavalcantei.
Correlation of pitching velocity with anthropometric measurements for adult male baseball pitchers in tryout settings
Authors: Huang Jyh How , Chen Szu-Hua , Chiu Chih Hui
Published: March 2022

Several studies have investigated factors influencing baseball pitching velocity. However, some measurements require expensive equipment, and some tests need familiarity to perform well. In this study, we adopted field tests executed using affordable equipment in a tryout event for a professional baseball team in Taiwan, 2019. We use half day to test 64 players, and the result of measurement are used to develop a model for predicting pitching velocity of amateur adult pitchers (age: 23.9 ± 2.8 years; height: 180.3 ± 5.9 cm; weight: 81.4 ± 10.9 kg). The measurements and tests in tryout settings should be easy to implement, take short time, do not need high skill levels, and correlate to the pitching velocity. The outcome measures included maximum external shoulder rotation, maximum internal shoulder rotation, countermovement jump (CMJ) height, 20-kg loaded CMJ height, 30-m sprint time, height, age, and weight tests. Multiple regression indicated a moderate correlation between these tests and pitching velocity (adjusted R2 = 0.230, p = 0.0003). Among the measures, the ratio of loaded CMJ to CMJ, ratio of first 10-m sprint time to 30-m sprint time, and height were significant contributors to pitching velocity. Overall, these measures explained 23% of the variance in the predicted pitching velocity. These field tests can be adopted in tryout events to predict a prospect’s potential and to identify underestimated players. Coaches can obtain an expectation of a pitcher’s performance by comparing his pitching velocity with the predicted value derived from the statistical model presented herein, and the room of growth by comparing his current strength to average strength growth after being drafted and trained with professional coaches.
High migratory propensity constitutes a single stock of an exploited cutlassfish species in the Northwest Pacific: A microsatellite approach
Authors: Guo Yu-Hong , Halasan Lorenzo C. , Wang Hui-Yu , Lin Hsiu-Chin
Published: March 2022

Cutlassfishes, also known as hairtails, include multiple predatory fishes of the family Trichiuridae. They constitute a top marine fish commodity globally, yet the knowledge about their composition and intraspecific genetic structures is still limited.Trichiurus japonicusaccounts for a major amount in the northwest Pacific fishery. Previous studies based on mitochondrial DNA markers reported incongruences in its population structure, hence prompting the need for high-resolution markers and avoiding possible shortcomings in its management. Here we genotyped ten novelde novo-assembled transcriptome-derived microsatellite markers on a total of 150 samples across five major fishing grounds (encompassing latitudes 22–39°N). These markers presented a high number of alleles and heterozygosity compared to other marine fishes, corresponding to the large effective population size of ~20,000 per location and cohort differentiation. Population structuring analyses suggestedT.japonicusto be a homogenous well-mixed population. This configuration is likely attributed to the majority of its effective population migrates across locations, and the absence of oceanographic barriers at the continental shelves. Qingdao with reportedly high ocean productivity could be a genetic pseudosink based on the high heterozygosity and migratory preference. Moreover, the results of sign tests suggest thatT.japonicusexperienced a recent bottleneck likely concurrent with historical glaciation events. Further, we demonstrated satisfactory cross-amplifications of our markers on several congeners, indicating a great promise to use these markers to study the population genetics of trichiurids. Together, our findings will serve as an essential groundwork for enhancing resource conservation and management of cutlassfishes.
Cloning, expression, and characterization of a recombinant xylanase from Bacillus sonorensis T6
Authors: Kiribayeva Assel , Mukanov Birzhan , Silayev Dmitriy , Akishev Zhiger , Ramankulov Yerlan , Khassenov Bekbolat
Published: March 2022

Xylanase is one of industrial enzymes with diverse applications including the paper-bleaching industry and feed additives. Here, a strain having xylanolytic activity and identified as Bacillus sonorensis T6 was isolated from soil. A secretory enzyme was identified by mass-spectrometry as a xylanase of glycosyl hydrolase family 11, with a molecular weight of 23.3 kDa. The xylanase gene of Bacillus sonorensis T6 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli (yielding an enzyme designated as rXynT6-E) and in Pichia pastoris (yielding rXynT6-P). The recombinant xylanases were found to have optimal activity at 47–55°C and pH 6.0–7.0. The recombinant xylanase expressed in P. pastoris has 40% higher thermal stability than that expressed in E. coli. The recombinant xylanases retained 100% of activity after 10 h incubation in the pH range 3–11 and 68% of activity after 1 h at pH 2.0. The xylanase activities of rXynT6-E and rXynT6-P under optimal conditions were 1030.2 and 873.8 U/mg, respectively. The good stability in a wide range of pH and moderate temperatures may make the xylanase from Bacillus sonorensis T6 useful for various biotechnological applications, e.g., as an enzyme additive in the feed industry.
Evaluating factors contributing to the failure of information system in the banking industry
Authors: Ali Syed Mithun , Hoq S. M. Nazmul , Bari A. B. M. Mainul , Kabir Golam , Paul Sanjoy Kumar
Published: March 2022

The increasing use of Information Technology (IT) has led to many security and other related failures in the banks and other financial institutions in Bangladesh. In this paper, we investigated the factors contributing to the failurein the IT system of the banking industry in Bangladesh. Based on the experts’ opinions and weight on the specified evaluating criteria, an empirical test was conducted using a rough set theory to produce a framework for the IT system failure factors. In this study, an extended approach involving the integration of rough set theory based flexible Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) has beenapplied to help the managers of the corresponding field to identify the factors responsible for the failure of the IT system in the banking industries and then prioritize them accordingly, for the ease of decision-making.In this research, eleven such failure factors were identified, which were then quantitatively analyzed to facilitate managers in crucial decision-making. It was observed that cyber-attack, database hack risks, server failure, network interruption, broadcast data error, and virus effect were the most significant factors for the failure of the IT system. The framework developed in this research can be utilized to assist in efficient decision-makingin other serviceindustries where IT systems play a key role. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study thatempirically tested key failure factors of the IT system for the banking sector using an integrated method.
A novel governance planning for the marine biogeography and conservation
Authors: Ding Yuanzhao
Published: March 2022

Nowadays, many marine areas are facing serious environmental issues. This paper focuses mainly on the analysis of species richness and progress of potential methodologies of synthesis for the marine conservation. This study has its merit in introducing potential new trends on marine spatial planning (MSP) with a strong focus on the marine ecosystems with special attention on the “rainforest of the sea” and the emerging novel technologies.