bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Feasibility of omitting contralateral neck irradiation in patients with node‐negative sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma crossing the midline
Authors: Liu Qian , Lun Lixin , Sun Meng , Wang Zekun , Qu Yuan , Huang Xiaodong , Chen Xuesong , Wang Jingbo , Zhang Jianghu , Wang Kai , Wu Runye , Zhang Ye , Yi Junlin , Luo Jingwei
Published: July 2023

Background

Identifying the lymph node target volume in patients with node‐negative sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SNSCC) crossing the midline poses a challenge. This study aims to address this.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed clinically N0 patients with tumors crossing the midline who received elective neck irradiation (ENI) from two centers between 1999 and 2019. The main endpoint was regional relapse‐free survival (RRFS).

Results

We included 104 patients: 64 received bilateral ENI, and 40 received ipsilateral‐only ENI (median follow‐up time was 89.99 and 95.01 months, respectively). At 5 years, the RRFS rates were comparable (57.68% vs. 55.83%, p = 0.372), as were the contralateral RRFS (57.68% vs. 61.62%, p = 0.541). Five‐year OS, LRFS, and DMFS showed no significant difference between two groups.

Conclusions

Our findings provide preliminary evidence suggesting the potential for avoiding contralateral ENI in SNSCC patients with midline crossing tumors who undergo ipsilateral ENI, covering at least level II. Validation through future prospective studies is necessary.
Nurses’ assessment of health literacy requirements for adult inpatients: An integrative review
Authors: Hogan Alana , Hughes Lynda , Coyne Elisabeth
Published: July 2023

Issue Addressed

This paper reviews current research which examines nurses' assessment of patient's health literacy in the acute hospital setting. Research highlights, that patients with low health literacy have more frequent hospitalisations and are more likely to be re‐admitted. Within the healthcare team, nurses are primarily responsible for teaching patients and deciphering health communication, to enhance understanding. Within the acute care setting, there remains a disparity in patient understanding of information, despite nurse‐led education. The health literacy assessment and tailoring of information by nurses, is becoming more important with shorter stays, plus limited family visits and the wearing of masks with COVID‐19 related changes.

Methods

An integrative review across four nursing databases, from 2010 and June 2022 was conducted. The integrative framework included problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis with thematic analysis, and results presentation.

Results

Nine studies were included. Common themes were nurses' overestimation of patients' health literacy, the use of universal precautions, and adapting communication techniques to improve education moments.

Conclusion

The findings of this review indicate a tendency among nurses to overestimate their patients' health literacy levels, which can result in ineffective health education and inadequate discharge planning.

So What

Nurses decipher health communication for their patients. Designing tailored patient communication and education could potentially be a cost saving measure for hospitals by reducing length of stay and reducing readmissions. Health literacy training should be incorporated into nursing practice.
A prognostic biomarker NRG1 promotes U‑87 MG glioblastoma cell malignancy by inhibiting autophagy via ERBB2/AKT/mTOR pathway
Authors: Lin Jia‐zhe , Lin Nuan , Zhao Wei‐Jiang
Published: July 2023

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain malignancy. Studies have shown that autophagy‐related (ATG) genes play important roles in regulating GBM malignancy. However, the mechanism still needs to be fully elucidated. Based on clinical and gene expression information of GBM patients downloaded from The The Cancer Genome Atlas database, Kaplan–Meier, univariate Cox regression, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and multivariate Cox regression were applied to construct a risk signature for GBM prognosis, followed by validation using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Next, Cell Counting Kit‐8, wound healing assay, flow cytometry, monodansyl cadaverine autophagy staining assay, immunofluorescence staining and western blot, either in the absence or presence of ERBB2/AKT/mTOR inhibitors, were carried out in GBM U87 cell line to explore molecular pathway underlying GBM malignancy. A three‐ATG‐gene signature (HIF1A, ITGA3, and NGR1) was constructed for GBM prognosis with the greatest contribution from NRG1. In vitro experiments showed that NRG1 promoted U87 cell migration and proliferation by inhibiting autophagy, and ERBB2/AKT/mTOR is a downstream pathway that mediates the autophagy‐inhibitory effects of NRG1. We constructed an ATG gene prognostic model for GBM and demonstrated that NRG1 inhibited autophagy by activating ERBB2/AKT/mTOR, promoting GBM malignancy, thus providing new insights into the molecular contribution of autophagy in GBM malignancy.
Fisetin induces apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells by suppressing autophagy and down‐regulating nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2)
Authors: Pandey Akanksha , Trigun Surendra Kumar
Published: July 2023

Modulation of autophagy is evolving as a relevant strategy in cancer pathogenesis and therapeutic intervention and hence, needs to be examined as a target for the promising anticancer agents. Fisetin, a dietary flavanol, is emerging as a potent anticancer agent, however, its tumour‐specific pharmacological targets remain largely unexplored. This article describes correlative profiles of autophagy and apoptotic markers versus nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the colorectal cancer (CRC) cell line SW‐480. As compared to the untreated cells, significantly less number of fluorescent detected autophagic vacuoles (AVOs) in the fisetin‐treated cells coincided with a similar decline of the autophagy flux markers, Beclin 1 and microtubule‐associated protein‐1 light chain‐3 and accumulation of p62 in those cells. The significantly increased number of annexin‐V/propidium iodide (+/+) positive and acridine orange/ethidium bromide‐stained apoptotic cells coincided with the enhanced signals for the cleaved caspase 3 and nuclear PARP‐1 in those fisetin‐treated cells. This was consistent with the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential and release of cytochrome c. The fisetin‐treated cells showed increased ROS level and a significant decline in nuclear Nrf2 immunosignal versus recovery in nuclear Nrf2 due to the treatment with curcumin and resveratrol (Nrf2 activators) and thus, suggesting a role of Nrf2 suppression in fisetin‐mediated apoptosis in SW‐480 cells. The effect of chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor, resulted into declined number of AVOs and enhanced apoptosis, similar to that of the fisetin effect. Also, regaining of AVOs number and reduced apoptosis of CRC cells due to the treatment with rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, could be observed. These loss and gain of functions experiments thus suggested a correlation between fisetin‐mediated autophagy suppression and apoptotic induction in a colorectal cell line.
Decoding hepatocarcinogenesis from a noncoding RNAs perspective
Authors: El‐Aziz Mostafa K. Abd , Dawoud Alyaa , Kiriacos Caroline J. , Fahmy Sherif Ashraf , Hamdy Nadia M. , Youness Rana A.
Published: July 2023

Being a leading lethal malignancy worldwide, the pathophysiology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has gained a lot of interest. Yet, underlying mechanistic basis of the liver tumorigenesis is poorly understood. The role of some coding genes and their respective translated proteins, then later on, some noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as microRNAs have been extensively studied in context of HCC pathophysiology; however, the implication of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) in HCC is indeed less investigated. As a subclass of the ncRNAs which has been elusive for long time ago, lncRNAs was found to be involved in plentiful cellular functions such as DNA, RNA, and proteins regulation. Hence, it is undisputed that lncRNAs dysregulation profoundly contributes to HCC via diverse etiologies. Accordingly, lncRNAs represent a hot research topic that requires prime focus in HCC. In this review, the authors discuss breakthrough discoveries involving lncRNAs and circRNAs dysregulation that have contributed to the contemporary concepts of HCC pathophysiology and how these concepts could be leveraged as potential novel diagnostic and prognostic HCC biomarkers. Further, this review article sheds light on future trends, thereby discussing the pathological roles of lncRNAs and circRNAs in HCC proliferation, migration, and epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition. Along this line of reasoning, future recommendations of how these targets could be exploited to achieve effective HCC‐related drug development is highlighted.
Why is financial inclusion so popular? An analysis of development buzzwords
Authors: Ozili Peterson K. , Mhlanga David
Published: July 2023

We analyse the popularity of the term ‘financial inclusion’ in relation to other development buzzwords. We extract trend data for multiple development buzzwords across countries and cities from 2004 to 2022, and we run a series of empirical analyses. We find that the ‘financial inclusion’ buzzword is popular because the term ‘financial inclusion’ is correlated with other development buzzwords, particularly ‘microfinance’, ‘digital finance’, ‘inclusive finance’, ‘financial exclusion’ and ‘Fintech’ buzzwords. Financial inclusion buzzword is more popular in developing countries than in developed countries. Financial inclusion buzzword is also popular in major cities in developing countries. We also observe that the financial inclusion buzzword was more popular during the second wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. There is uni‐directional causality between interest in financial inclusion and interest in fintech and inclusive finance, indicating that interest in financial inclusion buzzword causes interest in fintech and inclusive finance buzzword. There is also uni‐directional causality between interest in financial exclusion and interest in financial inclusion. Finally, there is a significant correlation between interest in the ‘financial inclusion’, ‘digital finance’, ‘inclusive finance’ and ‘Fintech’ buzzwords.
An evaluation of the use and efficacy of behavioural therapy when treating paediatric patients with radiation therapy
Authors: McCoola Brianna , Outhwaite Julie‐Anne , Lathouras Marika , Pelecanos Anita , Blyth Jemma , Carter Amanda , Hastings Yvonne , Rattray Greg , Cheuk Robyn
Published: July 2023

Introduction

The paediatric radiation therapy group (PRTG) provided a multidisciplinary network to support patients accessing radiation therapy (RT). This study aims to evaluate the use and efficacy of behaviour therapy practices used by the PRTG.

Methods

A retrospective cross‐sectional review of general anaesthetic (GA) utilisation for paediatric patients was completed between 1 January 2010 and 30 June 2014. The PRTG incorporated behavioural therapy techniques into all appointments but offered additional play appointments to children unable to comply with the requirements of RT. This aimed to increase their compliance and minimise GA use.

Results

Two‐hundred and seventy‐four patients had 5402 occasions of service, of which 1361 were delivered under GA (25.2%). Two‐hundred and fifty‐seven patients met the eligibility criteria. Patients under 8 years who required GA for their entire treatment reduced for each year of increase in age (odds ratio 0.37, 95% confidence interval 0.27–0.51, P < 0.001). Participants 3 years and younger were shown not as likely to change their GA requirements with the use of play appointments. Seventy‐eight per cent (83/106) of 3–8‐year‐olds used no GA or ceased GA during treatment.

Conclusions

Most paediatric patients <3 years will gain minimal benefit to reduce GA use from additional play appointments. Children older than nine were not likely to require play appointments to be compliant with RT. Encouragingly, 53.3% of 3–8‐year‐olds who were categorised as full GA after CT planning did not continue to a full course of GA due to the behavioural therapy interventions of the PRTG.
MMP3 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with noncontact ACL injuries in competing high‐level athletes
Authors: Simunic‐Briski Nina , Vrgoc Goran , Knjaz Damir , Jankovic Sasa , Dembic Zlatko , Lauc Gordan
Published: July 2023

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in matrix remodeling, as well as in ligament integrity. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a severe and frequent knee injury in sports. The aim of this study was to investigate polymorphisms within theMMP3gene with the predisposition for noncontact ACL rupture in the Croatian professional athletes. One hundred eighty‐seven (95 with ACL rupture occurring through a noncontact mechanism and 92 asymptomatic controls) unrelated Caucasians were recruited between 2016 and 2017. All participants were genotyped for three single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within theMMP3gene: rs591058 C/T, rs650108 A/G, and rs679620 G/A using the pyrosequencing method. For all three investigated SNPs, genotype frequencies have significantly differed between cases and controls. The MMP3 rs591058 TT (p = 0.0012, odds ratio [OR] = 38.541, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7024–8.7254), rs650108 GG (p = 0.0051, OR = 23.338, 95% CI = 1.2899–4.2226) and rs679620 AA (p = 0.0030, OR = 34.750, 95% CI = 1.5266–7.9101) genotypes, as well as haplotype variant T‐G‐A (p = 0.0104, OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.13–2.59) were significantly overrepresented in cases compared to controls. These results support association between functional variants within theMMP3gene and the risk of ACL rupture. Still, further research is needed to corroborate these results in a larger population.
Real‐Time Investigation of Ultrafast Dynamics through Time‐Stretched Dispersive Fourier Transform in Mode‐Locked Fiber Lasers
Authors: Lau Kuen Yao , Cui Yudong , Liu Xiaofeng , Qiu Jianrong
Published: July 2023

Real‐time investigation in mode‐locked fiber lasers (MLFLs) is important to understand the ultrafast dynamics before, during, and after the formation of stable laser pulses. However, the experimental measurement of these dynamics is restricted by the resolution of conventional oscilloscopes. The development of a time‐stretched dispersive Fourier transform (TS‐DFT) technique provides the shot‐to‐shot measurement of mapping the spectral information of an ultrashort optical pulse into time‐stretched waveform in the MLFL. Here, the recent progress and development of various fascinating dynamics in the MLFL, including the study of birth, evolution, and extinction process in MLFL, different types of MLFL, and complex motion dynamics in MLFL, have been reviewed. The issues and challenges encountered in this research area are discussed and several recommendations are suggested to overcome these problems. The integration of the TS‐DFT technique is expected to provide deeper insight into the real‐time investigation of various dynamics in the MLFL by displaying fascinating phenomenon and revealing unexplored trajectories.
Probabilistic Phase Shaping Guided Wavefront Control of Complex Media with Information‐Limited Intensity Measurements
Authors: Wu Daixuan , Wang Zhengyang , Wang Jian , Zou Dongdong , Huang Guoqiang , Luo Jiawei , Lu Liang , Shen Yuecheng , Li Zhaohui
Published: July 2023

Recent developments in wavefront shaping for complex media bring new possibilities to a variety of applications, including optical imaging, optical manipulation, and optical communications. In these applications, retrieving transmission matrices is critically important to the synthesization of arbitrary optical fields inside or through complex media. According to the information theory, 2N measurements contain sufficient information to determine N elements of the transmission matrix that include both amplitude and phase, suggesting a sampling ratio of . While holographic approaches are sensitive to environmental disturbance, nonholographic phase‐retrieval methods take more intensity measurements to fight against nonlinearity. Untill today, a non‐holographic phase‐retrieval method that can effectively retrieve the transmission matrix with information‐limited intensity measurements, i.e., , was still absent. In this work, this blank is filled by developing a probing strategy, termed probabilistic phase shaping (PPS) guided amplitude flow (AF). Retrieval of the transmission matrix of a multimode fiber (MMF) is experimentally demonstrated using the PPS‐AF method over () and with () information limit. Using the retrieved transmission matrix, wavefront control including projecting single optical foci and synthesizing English letters is demonstrated successfully. This work is an important step toward efficient wavefront control of complex media, showing great prospects for a wide range of applications.
Improving Infection Resistance in Tissue Engineered Scaffolds for Tensile Applications Using Vancomycin‐Embedded Melt Electrowritten Scaffolds
Authors: Mathew Asha , Devlin Brenna L. , Singh Dilpreet , Paxton Naomi C. , Woodruff Maria A.
Published: July 2023

It is important to consider mechanical, biological, and antibacterial properties of scaffolds when used for tissue engineering applications. This study presents a method to create complex “wavy” architecture polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds toward the development of tissue engineered ligament and tendon tissue substitutes, fabricated using melt electrowriting (MEW) and loaded with vancomycin (5, 10, and 25% w/w). Scaffolds are characterized for both mechanical and biological properties. Loading PCL scaffolds with vancomycin with modified solvent evaporation technique achieves a high loading efficiency of maximum 18% w/w and high encapsulation efficiency with over 89%. Vancomycin loaded PCL scaffolds with all three doses (5, 10, and 25% w/w) display antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) up to 14 days of release. Initial burst followed by a sustained release is observed on all three vancomycin loaded scaffolds for up to 28 days. Importantly, in addition to antibacterial properties, vancomycin‐loaded PCL scaffolds also display improved mechanical properties compared to traditional crosshatch design MEW scaffolds and are noncytotoxic at all concentrations as demonstrated by live‐dead staining, cell attachment and proliferation assays indicating its potential as an effective treatment option for tissue regeneration in rotator cuff injuries or other tissues undergoing tensile biomechanical loading.
Sodium Oxybate in Alcohol‐Responsive Essential Tremor of Voice: An Open‐Label Phase II Study
Authors: O'Flynn Lena C. , Frucht Steven J. , Simonyan Kristina
Published: July 2023

Background

Essential tremor of voice (ETv) is characterized by involuntary oscillations of laryngeal and upper airway muscles, causing rhythmic alterations in pitch and loudness during both passive breathing and active laryngeal tasks, such as speaking and singing. Treatment of ETv is challenging and typically less effective compared with treatment of ET affecting extremities.

Objective

We conducted a proof‐of‐concept, open‐label phase II study to examine the efficacy and central effects of sodium oxybate in patients with alcohol‐responsive ETv.

Methods

All subjects received 1.0 to 1.5 g of oral sodium oxybate and underwent brain functional magnetic resonance imaging. The primary endpoint was the number of patients (% from total) with reduced ETv symptoms by at least 10% at about 40 to 45 minutes after sodium oxybate intake based on the combined visual analog scale score of ETv symptom severity. The secondary endpoint included changes in brain activity after sodium oxybate intake compared to baseline.

Results

Sodium oxybate reduced ETv symptoms on average by 40.8% in 92.9% of patients. Drug effects were observed about 40 to 45 minutes after intake, lasting about 3.5 hours, and gradually wearing off by the end of the fifth hour. The central effects of sodium oxybate were associated with normalized activity in the cerebellum, inferior/superior parietal lobules, inferior frontal gyrus, and insula and re‐established functional relationships between these regions.

Conclusions

Sodium oxybate showed high efficacy in ETv patients, with a likely central action on disorder pathophysiology. Sodium oxybate may be an effective novel oral drug for treatment of alcohol‐responsive ETv patients. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Adequacy of psychiatry networks lags in Medicare Advantage plans
Authors: Enos Gary
Published: July 2023

Medicare Advantage plans have become an increasingly attractive insurance option for older Americans, but results of a new study suggest that in many cases the cost savings they bring could come at the expense of access to psychiatric services.
Boarding patterns among youth with public insurance revealed
Authors: Canady Valerie A.
Published: July 2023

Publicly insured youths were more likely to experience psychiatric boarding during the COVID‐19 pandemic and, if boarded, were less likely to be transferred to a 24‐hour level of care, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open.
Solving the Kemeny ranking aggregation problem with quantum optimization algorithms
Authors: Combarro Elías F. , Pérez‐Fernández Raúl , Ranilla José , De Baets Bernard
Published: July 2023

The aim of a ranking aggregation problem is to combine several rankings into a single one that best represents them. A common method for solving this problem is due to Kemeny and selects as the aggregated ranking the one that minimizes the sum of the Kendall distances to the rankings to be aggregated. Unfortunately, the identification of the said ranking—called the Kemeny ranking—is known to be a computationally expensive task. In this paper, we study different ways of computing the Kemeny ranking with quantum optimization algorithms, and in particular, we provide some alternative formulations for the search for the Kemeny ranking as an optimization problem. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that this problem is addressed with quantum techniques. We propose four different ways of formulating the problem, one novel to this work. Two different quantum optimization algorithms—Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm and Quantum Adiabatic Computing—are used to evaluate each of the different formulations. The experimental results show that the choice of the formulation plays a big role on the performance of the quantum optimization algorithms.
Conduction blocks of the median nerve at the wrist in pregnancy and postpartum carpal tunnel syndromes
Authors: Seror Paul
Published: July 2023

Introduction/Aims

The aim in this study is to describe the clinical and electrophysiological patterns of pregnancy‐related carpal tunnel syndrome (PRCTS) occurring during pregnancy or after delivery.

Methods

Clinical, epidemiological, and electrodiagnostic (EDx) data were studied in 130 women with PRCTS onset during pregnancy (n = 80) or after delivery (n = 50). Twenty‐six women with PRCTS underwent EDx analysis during pregnancy and 104 after delivery (83 within 6 months of delivery and 21 up to 24 months after pregnancy onset). PRCTS was compared with idiopathic CTS in a control group consisting of 57 age‐matched women with 98 cases of CTS. Twenty‐four women with PRCTS had clinical and electrophysiological follow‐up after corticosteroid injection (CSI) at the wrist.

Results

Clinical analysis showed a higher rate of bilateral and diurnal/permanent paraesthesia and more severe symptoms in PRCTS compared with idiopathic CTS. EDx analysis showed more severe abnormalities in classical tests and a higher rate of conduction block (CB) in PRCTS. Statistical analysis showed a strong negative correlation between the incidence and importance of CB and the time interval at which PRCTS women underwent EDx examination, between pregnancy onset and 24 months later. CSI resulted in significant clinical and EDx improvement in 22 of 24 PRCTS women, with disappearance of all motor and most sensory CBs.

Discussion

The EDx pattern of PRCTS is an acute/subacute median nerve lesion at the wrist identified by many CBs. This occurs concurrently with hormonal changes, is responsible for more severe clinical symptoms and EDx data, and it explains why CSI is so effective.
Private and civic actions as distinct types of individual engagement for transforming the exotic pet trade
Authors: Naito Rumi , Zhao Jiaying , Naidoo Robin , Chan Kai M. A.
Published: July 2023

In the pathway toward environmental sustainability, it is important that we understand how individuals can make a difference through diverse types of engagement. Theories suggest that transformative change toward a sustainable future requires individuals to engage in not only private actions (e.g. household energy saving, recycling) but also social‐signalling and system‐changing civic actions (e.g. opinion sharing, voting, petition signing and protesting). Yet, past research on pro‐environmental behaviour has primarily focused on private actions, while overlooking individual contributions to facilitating widespread change through civic actions.

We use the exotic pet trade as a focal case to understand how individuals may act to promote environmental sustainability through different patterns of engagement and what factors might explain these distinct patters of action.

Results from an online survey about behavioural intentions in the United States (n = 527) revealed three types of individual action that could transform the exotic pet trade.

Private actions clustered separately from civic actions. Within the category of civic actions, a distinction emerged between lower social‐commitment actions and higher social‐commitment actions, based on the perceived level of social engagement and personal efforts involved.

We also found that each type of action was associated with unique factors, highlighting the importance of attitudes, perceived social norms, and relational values for variously promoting individual engagement among the U.S. public.

Our findings suggest that these distinct types of action should be treated differently when designing future wildlife conservation campaigns and behaviour change interventions.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Synthesis of guanidinium‐dendrimer‐type pDNA carriers for gene delivery into floating blood cells
Authors: Kon Ryoto , Asayama Shoichiro
Published: July 2023

Guanidinium‐dendrimer‐type pDNA carriers have been synthesized for gene delivery into floating blood cells. A 2nd generation polyamidoamine (PAMAM‐G2) dendrimers were modified with guanidinium groups at the primary amine. The resulting PAMAM‐G2‐Gu dendrimer with a modification degree of 53 mol%, PAMAM‐G2‐Gu(53), formed polyion complexes (PICs) above a mixing positive/negative charge ratio (+/−) of 64. The resulting PAMAM‐G2‐Gu(53)/pDNA PIC was stable for 24 h in the presence of 10% fetal bovine serum and exhibited no significant cytotoxicity against HL‐60 human leukemia cells during the above incubation. It is worth noting that the PAMAM‐G2‐Gu(53)/pDNA PIC at mixing positive/negative (+/−) charge ratio of 64 mediated the highest gene expression among all PICs in this study such as an unmodified PAMAM‐G2, the PAMAM‐G2 modified with diethylaminoethyl groups (PAMAM‐G2‐DEAE). Especially, the resulting gene expression was higher than commercially available branched poly(ethylenimine) (b‐PEI). Consequently, the PAMAM‐G2‐Gu(53)/pDNA PIC is effective for gene delivery to floating blood cells and is expected to be applied to ex vivo transfection.
Children's Oncology Group's 2023 blueprint for research: Epidemiology
Authors: Lupo Philip J. , Marcotte Erin L. , Scheurer Michael E. , Poynter Jenny N. , Spector Logan G. ,   COG Epidemiology Committee
Published: July 2023

The Children's Oncology Group (COG) Epidemiology Committee has a primary focus on better understanding the etiologies of childhood cancers. Over the past 10 years, the committee has leveraged the Childhood Cancer Research Network, and now more recently Project:EveryChild (PEC), to conduct epidemiologic assessments of various childhood cancers, including osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma, germ cell tumors, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and Langerhans cell histiocytosis. More recent studies have utilized questionnaire data collected as part of PEC to focus on specific characteristics and/or features, including the presence of congenital disorders and the availability of stored cord blood. Members of the COG Epidemiology Committee have also been involved in other large‐scale National Institutes of Health efforts, including the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative and the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program, which are improving our understanding of the factors associated with childhood cancer risk. Future plans will focus on addressing questions surrounding health disparities, utilizing novel biospecimens in COG epidemiology studies, exploring the role of environmental factors on the etiologies and outcomes of childhood cancer, collaborating with other COG committees to expand the role of epidemiology in childhood cancer research, and building new epidemiologic studies from the Molecular Characterization Initiative—all with the ultimate goal of developing novel prevention and intervention strategies for childhood cancer.
Effect of Cucurbit[7]uril on contrasting binding with flavonoids: Insights from spectroscopy and calorimetric studies
Authors: Jana Rabindranath , Pandit Souvik , Bhattacharjee Sanyukta , Seth Debabrata
Published: July 2023

Due to intrinsic fluorescence behavior, and the environment‐dependent excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process, makes special attention towards flavonoids for conducting photophysical study. The binding of fisetin, morin hydrate, and quercetin with macrocyclic molecule Cucurbit[7]urils (CB[7]) has been studied using different spectroscopic methods. The changes in the thermodynamic parameters during complex formation between the flavonoids with CB[7] are estimated by an isothermal titration calorimetry study. From the spectroscopic measurement, we have seen that in the presence of CB[7], flavonoids show the ESIPT process and the prototropic equilibrium is present between different forms of flavonoids. The isothermal titration calorimetry study shows that the complex formation between these flavonoids with CB[7] spontaneously takes place at room temperature, which is an endothermic process.
Novel mandelic acid derivatives suppress virulence of Ralstonia solanacearum via type III secretion system
Authors: Guo Qiao‐Qiao , Li Yu‐Zhen , Shi Hua‐Bin , Yi Ao‐Yun , Xu Xiao‐Li , Wang Hai‐Hong , Deng Xin , Wu Zhi‐Bing , Cui Zi‐Ning
Published: July 2023

BACKGROUND

Bacterial wilt induced by Ralstonia solanacearum is regarded as one of the most devastating diseases. However, excessive and repeated use of the same bactericides has resulted in development of bacterial resistance. Targeting bacterial virulence factors, such as type III secretion system (T3SS), without inhibiting bacterial growth is a possible assay to discover new antimicrobial agents.

RESULTS

In this work, identifying new T3SS inhibitors, a series of mandelic acid derivatives with 2‐mercapto‐1,3,4‐thiazole moiety was synthesized. One of them, F‐24, inhibited the transcription of hrpY gene significantly. The presence of this compound obviously attenuated hypersensitive response (HR) without inhibiting bacterial growth of R. solanacearum. The transcription levels of those typical T3SS genes were reduced to various degrees. The test of the ability of F‐24 in protecting plants demonstrated that F‐24 protected tomato plants against bacterial wilt without restricting the multiplication of R. solanacearum. The mechanism of this T3SS inhibition is through the PhcR‐PhcA‐PrhG‐HrpB pathway.

CONCULSION

The screened F‐24 could inhibit R. solanacearum T3SS and showed better inhibitory activity than previously reported inhibitors without affecting the growth of the strain, and F‐24 is a compound with good potential in the control of R. solanacearum. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Flavonoid production in tomato mediates both direct and indirect plant defences against whiteflies in tritrophic interactions
Authors: Yang Fengbo , Shen Haowei , Huang Tianyu , Yao Qixi , Hu Jinyu , Tang Juan , Zhang Rong , Tong Hong , Wu Qingjun , Zhang Youjun , Su Qi
Published: July 2023

BACKGROUND

The role of plant flavonoids in direct defences against chewing and sap‐sucking herbivorous insects has been extensively characterized. However, little is known about flavonoid‐mediated tritrophic interactions between plants, herbivorous insects and natural enemies. In this study, we investigated how flavonoids modulate plant–insect interactions in a tritrophic system involving near‐isogenic lines (NILs) of cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) with high (line NIL‐purple hypocotyl [PH]) and low (line NIL‐green hypocotyl [GH]) flavonoid levels, with a generalist herbivore whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) and its predatory bug (Orius sauteri).

RESULTS

By contrasting levels of tomato flavonoids (direct defence) while manipulating the presence of predators (indirect defence), we found that high production of flavonoids in tomato was associated with a higher inducibility of direct defences and a stronger plant resistance to whitefly infestation and stimulated the emissions of induced volatile organic compounds, thereby increasing the attractiveness of B. tabaci‐infested plants to the predator O. sauteri. Furthermore, suppression of B. tabaci population growth and enhancement of plant growth were mediated directly by the high production of flavonoids and indirectly by the attraction of O. sauteri, and the combined effects were larger than each effect individually.

CONCLUSION

Our results show that high flavonoid production in tomato enhances herbivore‐induced direct and indirect defences to better defend against herbivores in tritrophic interactions. Thus, the development of transgenic plants may present an opportunity to utilize the beneficial role of flavonoids in integrated pest management, while simultaneously maintaining or improving resistance against other pests and pathogens. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Preventive and therapeutic effects of natural products and herbal extracts onnonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
Authors: Cao Yiming , Fang Xiaoxue , Sun Mingyang , Zhang Yegang , Shan Mengyao , Lan Xintian , Zhu Difu , Luo Haoming
Published: July 2023

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common condition that is prevalent in patients who consume little or no alcohol, and is characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver. The disease is becoming increasingly common with the rapid economic development of countries. Long‐term accumulation of excess fat can lead to NAFLD, which represents a global health problem with no effective therapeutic approach. NAFLD is a complex, multifaceted pathological process that has been the subject of extensive research over the past few decades. Herbal medicines have gained attention as potential therapeutic agents to prevent and treat NAFLD due to their high efficacy and low risk of side effects. Our overview is based on a PubMed and Web of Science database search as of Dec 22 with the keywords: NAFLD/NASH Natural products and NAFLD/NASH Herbal extract. In this review, we evaluate the use of herbal medicines in the treatment of NAFLD. These natural resources have the potential to inform innovative drug research and the development of treatments for NAFLD in the future.
Horizontal kinetic energy analysis of tropical transition simulations with the WRF and HARMONIE‐AROME models
Authors: Calvo‐Sancho Carlos , Bolgiani Pedro , Subias Álvaro , Sastre Mariano , González‐Alemán Juan Jesús , Martín María Luisa
Published: July 2023

Four tropical transition (TT) events in the North Atlantic basin are simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and the HARMONIE‐AROME (HAR) models to study the main features of the horizontal kinetic energy (HKE) spectra of these kinds of high‐energetic atmospheric system. Though most of the times similar results are obtained with both models, HAR shows a more intense filtering and numerical dissipation, whereas WRF tends to represent overenergized spectra in the synoptic scale and especially at smaller wavelengths. Predictability is dissimilar for the four TTs studied due to the different spectral curve slope obtained for each case, ranging from unlimited to very poor predictability at synoptic scale. Additionally, an increased HKE is presented in the middle–upper troposphere spectra. A deep analysis of the different terms involved in the equation of the spectral energy budget is presented through a detailed study of one of these TTs. The role of all of them is studied, connecting the energy spectra and the meteorological processes involved. The energy budget terms related to the nonlinear spectral transfer, the three‐dimensional divergence, and diabatic process tendencies are identified as the key ones, whereas the potential and kinetic conversion terms and the vertical flux HKE and pressure divergence terms play a secondary role on modulating the spectrum behaviour. The major energetic contributions are found at the synoptic scale, but results show that a two‐dimensional energy cascade does not fully capture the whole spectrum of a TT. The role of convection, latent heat release, and moist convection outbursts is sketched and a link within different vertical levels is found. Results show that a high‐energetic system, such as a TT, can effectively alter the atmospheric energy behaviour.
Robust offset‐free nonlinear model predictive control for systems learned by neural nonlinear autoregressive exogenous models
Authors: Xie Jing , Bonassi Fabio , Farina Marcello , Scattolini Riccardo
Published: July 2023

This paper presents a robust model predictive control (MPC) scheme that provides offset‐free setpoint tracking for systems described by neural nonlinear autoregressive exogenous (NNARX) models. To this end, a NNARX model that learns the dynamics of the plant from input‐output data is augmented with an explicit integral action on the output tracking error. A robust tube‐based MPC is finally designed, leveraging the unique structure of the model, to ensure robust offset‐free convergence to constant reference signals even in case of plant‐model mismatch. Numerical simulations on a water heating system show the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm.
Toward marine sustainability: Unveiling the effect of the fishery industry on blue carbon sequestration
Authors: Alsaleh Mohd , Wang Xiaohui , Nan Zhang
Published: July 2023

The fishing fleet of European Union (EU) nations gets billions in tax benefits each year, and the combustion of that fuel results in millions of tons of carbon emissions each year—and quantity of carbon dioxide equal to what Malta's entire fishing fleet emits each year. By considering the function of fishing output, fossil fuel usage, economic development, and population density (PD) from 1990 to 2022, this study examines the dynamic impact of the fishery sector on blue carbon in 27 European nations. The findings revealed a significant positive correlation and showed a significant positive association between fishing output as well as carbon sink decline at most quantiles by adopting an innovative methodology which is the method of moments quantile regression method which has a fixed factor. From the first to the ninth quantiles, fishery output greatly accelerates the decline of blue carbon storage, with a more substantial impact at the highest and a lesser influence at the lowest quantile. The findings also show that the EU14 developed countries experience a more meaningful, beneficial effect of fishing output on carbon sink deterioration than the EU13 developing nations. Economic development in EU14 created and EU13 developing nations were found to compress carbon sink degradation across all quantiles, supporting the growth theory for countries that produce fisheries. Fossil fuel usage was found to boost carbon sink degradation. In EU14 developed countries, the impact of PD was significantly negative from the first to the seventh quantiles. In contrast, in EU13 developing countries, this has a significant positive effect across all quantiles. With the help of diverse and green energy sources like the tide and wave energy, lawmakers can reduce the deterioration of blue carbon in the EU14 and EU13 nations.
A corrected smoothed score approach for semiparametric accelerated failure time model with error‐contaminated covariates
Authors: Song Xiao
Published: July 2023

We consider the semiparametric accelerated failure time (AFT) model with multiple covariates measured with error. Existing methods for the AFT model are either inconsistent, computationally intensive, or require stringent assumptions. To overcome these limitations, we develop a correction approach for a general smooth function of error‐contaminated variables. We apply this method to the smoothed rank‐based score function for the AFT model. The estimator is consistent and asymptotically normal. The finite‐sample performance of the method is assessed by simulation studies. The approach is illustrated by application to data from an HIV clinical trial.
3D Monolayer Silanation of Porous Structure Facilitating Multi‐Phase Pollutants Removal
Authors: Ji Yanzheng , Zhuang Yifan , Jiao Xuan , Cheng Zhikang , Liu Chunhui , Yu Xinquan , Zhang Youfa
Published: July 2023

Activated carbon (AC) is widely used to removing hazardous pollutants from air and water, owing to its exceptional adsorption properties. However, the high affinity of water molecules with the surface oxygen‐containing functional groups can adversely affect the adsorption performance of AC. In this study, a facile and efficient method is presented for fabrication of hydrophobic AC through surface monolayer silanation. Compared to initial AC, the hydrophobic AC improves the water contact angle from 29.7° to 123.5° while maintaining high specific surface area and enhances the removal capacity of multi‐phase pollutants (emulsified oil and toluene). Additionally, the hydrophobic AC exhibits excellent adsorption capability to harmful algal bloom species (Chlorella) (97.56%) and algal organic matter (AOM) (96.23%) owing to electrostatic interactions and surface hydrophobicity. The study demonstrates that this method of surface monolayer silanation can effectively weaken the effect of water molecules on AC adsorption capacity, which has significant potential for practical use in air and water purification, as well as in the control of harmful algal blooms.
Tunable Multicolor Lanthanide Supramolecular Assemblies with White Light Emission Confined by Cucurbituril[7]
Authors: Zhou Wei‐Lei , Lin Wenjing , Chen Yong , Dai Xian‐Yin , Liu Yu
Published: July 2023

Macrocyclic confinement‐induced supramolecular luminescence materials have important application value in the fields of bio‐sensing, cell imaging, and information anti‐counterfeiting. Herein, a tunable multicolor lanthanide supramolecular assembly with white light emission is reported, which is constructed by co‐assembly of cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) encapsulating naphthylimidazolium dicarboxylic acid (G1)/Ln (Eu3+/Tb3+) complex and carbon quantum dots (CD). Benefiting from the macrocyclic confinement effect of CB[7], the supramolecular assembly not only extends the fluorescence intensity of the lanthanide complex G1/Tb3+ by 36 times, but also increases the quantum yield by 28 times and the fluorescence lifetime by 12 times. Furthermore, the CB[7]/G1/Ln assembly can further co‐assemble with CD and diarylethene derivatives (DAE) to realize the intelligently‐regulated full‐color spectrum including white light, which results from the competitive encapsulation of adamantylamine and CB[7], the change of pH, and photochromic DAE. The multi‐level logic gate based on lanthanide supramolecular assembly is successfully applied in anti‐counterfeiting system and information storage, providing an effective method for the research of new luminescent intelligent materials.
Model‐based source code refactoring with interaction and visual cues
Authors: Hemati Moghadam Iman , Ó Cinnéide Mel , Sardarian Ali , Zarepour Faezeh
Published: July 2023

Refactoring source code involves the developer in a myriad of program detail that can obscure the design changes that they actually wish to bring about. On the other hand, refactoring a UML model of the code makes it easier to focus on the program design, but the burdensome task of applying the refactorings to the source code is left to the developer. In an attempt to obtain the advantages of both approaches, we propose a refactoring approach where the interaction with the developer takes place at the model level, but the actual refactoring occurs on the source code itself. We call this approach model‐based source code refactoring and implement it in this paper using two tools: (1) Design‐Imp enables the developer to use interactive search‐based design exploration to create a UML‐based desired design from an initial design extracted from the source code. It also provides visual cues to improve developer comprehension during the design‐level refactoring process and to help the developer to discern between promising and poor refactoring solutions. (2) Code‐Imp then refactors the original source so that it has the same functional behavior as the original program, and a design close to the one produced in the design exploration phase, that is, a design that has been confirmed as “desirable” by the developer. We evaluated our approach involving interaction and visual cues with industrial developers refactoring three Java projects, comparing it with an approach using interaction without visual cues and a fully automated approach. The results show that our approach yields refactoring sequences that are more acceptable both to the individual developer and to a set of independent expert refactoring evaluators. Furthermore, our approach removed more code smells and was evaluated very positively by the experiment participants.
Development and validation of a reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography method for quantification of hesperidin from a nutraceutical
Authors: Panda Vandana , Pund Swapnil , Saindane Akash , Bokde Vidya
Published: July 2023

Hesperidin is a flavonoid predominantly found in citrus fruits, primarily in orange and lemon. Recent studies report hesperidin to be a promising compound for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 due to its ability to bind to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 receptors. A global rise in hesperidin‐containing products calls for a rapid and cost‐effective method for hesperidin estimation. Bridging this gap, the present study developed a simple but efficient method for the isolation and quantification of hesperidin from a nutraceutical product by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. The analysis was carried out on a high‐performance liquid chromatography system using Cosmosil C18 Column (250 × 4.0 mm internal diameter; 5 μm particle size) and Methanol: Water (70:30 v/v) as the mobile phase. The injection volume was 20 μl and detection was done at 231 nm in an ultraviolet detector. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection, limit of quantification, robustness, and ruggedness. From the validation studies, the present method was found to be specific, accurate, precise, reliable, and reproducible. Linearity was found to be R2 = 0.9997 and recovery was around 99.81% for hesperidin. The method is thus, a rapid and cost‐effective quality control tool for routine quantitative analysis of hesperidin from pharmaceuticals/nutraceuticals/citrus fruit juices/skin care products.