bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tit for tat or good for evil? Linking customer incivility, hostility, guilt, and employee behaviors
Authors: Chen Chong , Zhang Mingyu , Zhang Yihua
Published: January 2023

The existing literature overemphasizes the negative effects of customer incivility on service employees. However, the positive effects of customer incivility on employee behavior are rarely mentioned. Drawing on affective events theory and attribution theory, we used a moderated dual-mediator causal model to explore the effect of customer incivility on employees’ revenge behavior and customer-oriented behavior through hostility and guilt, and the moderating role of customer blame attribution. An empirical study with a sample of 366 employee-supervisor pairs and two-wave, two-source data indicated that customer incivility positively impacts revenge behavior via employees’ hostility, and this relationship is reinforced by customer blame attribution. In contrast, customer incivility positively impacts customer oriented behavior via employees’ guilt, and this relationship is weakened by customer blame attribution. This study expanded the literature on customer incivility and emotion, and provided significant practical implications for organization on how to help frontline employees deal with customer incivility.
Tracing the translator’s voice: A corpus-based study of six English translations of Daxue
Authors: Wang Huiping
Published: January 2023

The Translator’s voice is the “second” voice in a translated narrative. By tracing a set of textual cues, the translator’s voice embedded in the discourse may come to light. This study is based on a self-constructed bilingual parallel corpus which adopts both quantitative and qualitative methods to reveal the translator’s voice in six English versions of the Chinese classic Daxue. WordSmith 8.0, CLAWS POS Tagger, and Readability Analyzer were used to analyze the data and investigate the lexical, syntactic, and textual features of the translations of Daxue by David Collie, James Legge, Ku Hungming, Ezra Pound, Chan Wing-Tsit, and Andrew Plaks, respectively. Paratexts of translation-prefaces, introductions, translator’s notes, footnotes, and so on, as well as representative examples, were also analyzed by close reading. The findings suggest that each translator’s cultural identity, historical background, and motives for producing the translation are made manifest through various linguistic and non-linguistic choices. This study demonstrates that the translator’s voice, which is always present along with the author’s voice and may take various forms, is deeply associated with the cultural and ideological constructs in which the act of translation is embedded. It is hoped that the results of this research will contribute to an enhanced understanding of the translation and overseas dissemination of the Chinese classic Daxue, and further the study of the translator’s voice with the aid of corpus technology.
“We missed the psychological support”: A case study about the preparation of the Brazilian bronze medal kata team for the 2019 Pan American Games
Authors: Paludo Ana Carolina , Lassalvia Cintia , Mazhak Iryna , Cacek Jan , da Silva Danilo Fernandes
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The main aim of the study was to describe the key factors involved in the preparation process of the Brazilian bronze medal kata team for the 2019 Pan American Games, focusing on the athletes’ perceptions.

Methods

Three male athletes from the Brazilian team performed a semistructured interview to identify the following topics: specific time for preparation, training organization, supplementary support, and perception and suggestion about the efficiency of the preparation process.

Results

Data from interviews were gathered and coded, and the major themes were summarized as follows after performing content analysis of the data: (a) technical and tactical training took the major part of the preparation; (b) the high level of the coaches helped the team to reach the technical quality of the kata; (c) better psychological support during the preparation could improve the athletes’ performance during the training and competition; and (d) the lack of financial support compromised the commitment of the athletes during the training routine.

Conclusion

We concluded, based on the athletes’ perception, that the most positive factor during preparation for a major competition was the high amount of time focused on technical-tactical training. Even with limitations to performing the physical training, the athletes recognized the importance of the physical component, to increase performance. Financial and psychological support could have helped the team to reach a better result (gold medal) attenuating the training distress.
Inclusive leadership can improve nurses’ psychological ownership and reduce their turnover intention under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention
Authors: Zeng Dongyu , Wang Baoxiang , Chen Weiju
Published: January 2023

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact people’s lives and professions worldwide. Chinese nurses face immense work pressure under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control, resulting in greater turnover intention. It is, therefore, crucial to study the mechanisms that influence the turnover intention of nurses in this situation.

Objective

Many studies have examined the impact of leadership style on nurses’ turnover intention; however, few researchers have investigated this influence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the leader-member exchange theory, this study empirically studied the effect of inclusive leadership on turnover intention of nurses under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control in China, while assessing the mediating role of psychological ownership.

Design

Cross-sectional study with multi-center data.

Participants

Two thousand, two hundred ninety-nine registered nurses from 17 hospitals in China were recruited from January to March, 2022, under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control in China.

Methods

A demographic questionnaire and scales of inclusive leadership, psychological ownership, and turnover intention integrated into an online survey were sent to registered nurses of different hospitals. Maximum likelihood structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) was used to analyze data.

Results

Independent variable inclusive leadership has a significant effect on the overall turnover intention of nurses, p < 0.001. The direct effect path coefficient from inclusive leadership to psychological ownership is significant, p < 0.001. The direct effect path coefficient from psychological ownership to turnover intention is significant, p < 0.001. The indirect effect path coefficient from inclusive leadership to turnover intention is significant, p < 0.001.

Conclusion

Psychological anxiety, burnout, turnover intention, and even suicidal thoughts were the main symptoms of Chinese nurses under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control in China. The absence of a mechanism to counteract these negative conditions may ultimately lead to personal psychological distress for nurses and collapse of the healthcare system. Inclusive leadership can improve nurses’ psychological ownership level and reduce their turnover intention by treating them fairly, providing them with opportunities for self-development, paying attention to communication with them, and increasing their sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and self-identity.
Quality of life in adult patients with congenital heart disease: Results of a double-center study
Authors: Khajali Zahra , Sayyadi Amin , Ansari Zahra , Aliramezany Maryam
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Prevalence of congenital heart disease (CHD) has increased in recent years, and patients with CHD have to deal with sequelae of the multiple medical and surgical treatments that can affect different aspects of their life which could be reflected in their quality of life (QoL). In Iran, to the best of our knowledge, QoL of adult patients with CHD has not been investigated, so this study aimed to investigate the QoL of adult patients with CHD referred to two Iranian outpatient settings.

Methods

In 2022, a double center, cross-sectional study was performed on adult patients with CHD receiving out-patient care at Besat Clinic in Kerman, Iran, and Clinic of Shahid Rajaee Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Inclusion criteria were documented diagnosis of CHD based on guidelines, ejection fraction of above 45% and age of 18–55 years. We recruited a sample of 120 individuals using a simple random sampling method. At the day of referring to the adult congenital heart diseases clinic, after ensuring their written consent to participate in the study, we asked patients to fill in two questionnaires of demographic questionnaire and Persian version of the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi square via SPSS-22.

Results

A total of 101 patients with a mean age of 31.05 years participated in the study. Demographic and socio-economic factors had no significant relationship with the patients’ QoL. But factors related to the disease were significantly different among QoL groups (P-value > 0.05).

Discussion

Adults with CHD had a low QoL, which is not related to their demographic and socio-economic factors. That is, the existence of the disease alone and its accompanying complications can affect the QoL of these people. Hence, the mental health of adult patients with CHD should be monitored during their routine cardiac care.
Internalized stigma in mental health staff with lived experience of mental crises–Does the professional role protect against self-stigmatization?
Authors: Stuetzle Stefan , Brieger Anna , Lust Christian , Ponew Angel , Speerforck Sven , von Peter Sebastian
Published: January 2023

Objective

The stigma of mental illness is widespread in the general population and also among healthcare and psychiatric professionals. Yet, research on the self-stigma of the latter is still limited. The purpose of this article was to assess self-stigma and its correlates in mental health professionals with lived experiences of mental crisis and treatment.

Methods

In a cross-sectional exploratory research project, 182 mental health professionals with lived experiences of mental crisis and treatment from 18 psychiatric hospital departments in the German federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg were surveyed on their lived experiences, self-stigma, perceived stigma in the workplace, subjective vulnerability to crises, and meaningfulness of lived experiences. To investigate the relationships between the variables, manifest and latent correlation analyses were calculated.

Results

Results showed low levels of self-stigma and perceived public stigma in the workplace. Self-stigma was significantly and positively associated with workplace stigma and subjective vulnerability to crisis, but not with identification with lived experiences.

Conclusion

The relationship between self-stigma, workplace stigma, and vulnerability should be investigated in terms of mutual causality in order to derive possible strategies of reducing self-stigma along with its detrimental effects. Possible reasons for the low levels of self-stigma are discussed in the light of limitations, including processes of self-selection, with highly self-stigmatizing individuals being possibly discouraged from participating. Strategies to enhance sampling quality are briefly discussed.
The impact of China's urban and rural economic revitalization on the utilization of mental health inpatient services
Authors: Yan Yu , Tu Yongqian
Published: January 2023

Background

Rural locations have a lower preference for mental healthcare than urban areas. Medical and pharmacy expenses incurred as a result of serious mental illness are covered by public health insurance, according to the People's Republic of China's Mental Health Law. This study aimed to acknowledge the disparities in the use of mental health services provided by the government health schemes among the rural and urban populations of China and to assess the real reimbursement rates for health insurance coverage. It also sheds light on China's ongoing healthcare reforms for mental health treatments.

Materials and methods

A retrospective cohort study of patients was conducted that were hospitalized with mental illnesses to assess rural–urban disparities in the utilization of mental health services and the role of health insurance. We used electronic health data from the major psychiatric institutes for 15 years (2005–2020) to assess the influence of health insurance systems on Chinese public preferences for mental health treatments. These psychiatric hospitals serve almost 10% of all mental health patients every year in Shandong and accept patients from all over the country. In addition, health insurance policy regulations in Shandong Province are consistent with national health insurance policy regulations. Models 1 and 2 assess disparities in the utilization of mental health treatments. Our study population was identified using patients' primary diagnosis, as recorded in the two hospitals' EHRs, which routinely record information on patients' sociodemographic characteristics, clinical characteristics of the disease, cost of the treatment, and type of the health insurance plan. The record of EHR data is considered efficient because they document all inpatient expenses incurred during hospitalization in a detailed, itemized, and reliable way.

Results

Urban patients had longer hospital stays (p = 0.0001), more hospitalizations (p = 0.006), and greater hospitalization expenses (p = 0.001) than rural patients. Patients who had insurance had a longer hospital stay (p = 0.0001), more hospitalizations (p = 0.0001), and greater hospitalization costs (p = 0.0001) than those who did not have insurance. Urban residents used mental health services more than rural residents. People preferred mental healthcare when the reimbursement ratio variable was larger, especially in rural areas.

Conclusion

Rural people of China experience mental health services are an economic burden. Uniform measures are required to be taken for the development of health insurance policies for people in rural areas.
Frost prediction using machine learning and deep neural network models
Authors: Talsma Carl J. , Solander Kurt C. , Mudunuru Maruti K. , Crawford Brandon , Powell Michelle R.
Published: January 2023

This study describes accurate, computationally efficient models that can be implemented for practical use in predicting frost events for point-scale agricultural applications. Frost damage in agriculture is a costly burden to farmers and global food security alike. Timely prediction of frost events is important to reduce the cost of agricultural frost damage and traditional numerical weather forecasts are often inaccurate at the field-scale in complex terrain. In this paper, we developed machine learning (ML) algorithms for the prediction of such frost events near Alcalde, NM at the point-scale. ML algorithms investigated include deep neural network, convolution neural networks, and random forest models at lead-times of 6–48 h. Our results show promising accuracy (6-h prediction RMSE = 1.53–1.72°C) for use in frost and minimum temperature prediction applications. Seasonal differences in model predictions resulted in a slight negative bias during Spring and Summer months and a positive bias in Fall and Winter months. Additionally, we tested the model transferability by continuing training and testing using data from sensors at a nearby farm. We calculated the feature importance of the random forest models and were able to determine which parameters provided the models with the most useful information for predictions. We determined that soil temperature is a key parameter in longer term predictions (>24 h), while other temperature related parameters provide the majority of information for shorter term predictions. The model error compared favorable to previous ML based frost studies and outperformed the physically based High Resolution Rapid Refresh forecasting system making our ML-models attractive for deployment toward real-time monitoring of frost events and damage at commercial farming operations.
A data-driven approach for motion planning of industrial robots controlled by high-level motion commands
Authors: Hou Shuxiao , Bdiwi Mohamad , Rashid Aquib , Krusche Sebastian , Ihlenfeldt Steffen
Published: January 2023

Most motion planners generate trajectories as low-level control inputs, such as joint torque or interpolation of joint angles, which cannot be deployed directly in most industrial robot control systems. Some industrial robot systems provide interfaces to execute planned trajectories by an additional control loop with low-level control inputs. However, there is a geometric and temporal deviation between the executed and the planned motions due to the inaccurate estimation of the inaccessible robot dynamic behavior and controller parameters in the planning phase. This deviation can lead to collisions or dangerous situations, especially in heavy-duty industrial robot applications where high-speed and long-distance motions are widely used. When deploying the planned robot motion, the actual robot motion needs to be iteratively checked and adjusted to avoid collisions caused by the deviation between the planned and the executed motions. This process takes a lot of time and engineering effort. Therefore, the state-of-the-art methods no longer meet the needs of today’s agile manufacturing for robotic systems that should rapidly plan and deploy new robot motions for different tasks. We present a data-driven motion planning approach using a neural network structure to simultaneously learn high-level motion commands and robot dynamics from acquired realistic collision-free trajectories. The trained neural network can generate trajectory in the form of high-level commands, such as Point-to-Point and Linear motion commands, which can be executed directly by the robot control system. The result carried out in various experimental scenarios has shown that the geometric and temporal deviation between the executed and the planned motions by the proposed approach has been significantly reduced, even if without access to the “black box” parameters of the robot. Furthermore, the proposed approach can generate new collision-free trajectories up to 10 times faster than benchmark motion planners.
Producing Safe Medicines: Cleanrooms Control Microorganisms
Authors: Goggin Kirstie Alice , Thompson Mark , Sandle Tim
Published: January 2023

Medicines are chemicals that are used to cure, slow, or prevent disease. Some medicines are injected into the bloodstream, so production facilities must make sure those medicines do not contain microorganisms, toxins, or particles. If they did, the medicines could make people very ill and even cause death, which is the opposite of what medicines are supposed to do! That is why medicine production around the world is strictly monitored, to prevent anything bad like this from happening! In this article, we discuss how to control microorganisms in medicine production, ensuring that medicines are safe for patients.
A randomized crossover study of the effect of butorphanol–lidocaine and tramadol–lidocaine on sevoflurane's minimum alveolar concentration in dogs
Authors: Marzok Mohamed , Almubarak Adel I. , Kandeel Mahmoud , El-Deeb Wael , Babiker Hussein , Fathi El-Hawari Sayed
Published: January 2023

Inhalational anesthesia is routinely used in small animal surgery. Selecting a suitable drug combination is vital since it may negatively affect the patient's physiological condition. We conducted this study to examine the sparing effect of butorphanol–lidocaine (BUT–LID) and tramadol–lidocaine (TRM–LID) on sevoflurane's minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) in 10 healthy mongrel dogs aged 1–2 years and weighing 11.5 ± 0.8 kg (mean ± SD). Sevoflurane's MAC was measured on three separate occasions. The three dog treatment groups were control (CONT) anesthetized only with sevoflurane, TRM–LID (TRM, i.v. 1.5 mg kg−1, then 1.3 mg kg−1h−1and LID, i.v. 2 mg kg−1, then 3 mg kg−1h−1) or BUT–LID treatment (BUT, i.v. 0.1 mg kg−1then 0.2 mg kg−1h−1and LID, i.v. 2 mg kg−1, then 3 mg kg−1h−1). We hypothesized that both TRM–LID and BUT–LID would result in a significant MAC sparing effect in healthy dogs. The TRM–LID treatment resulted in a non-significant MAC reduction. MAC was lowered significantly in the BUT–LID group (p= 0.009). The sevoflurane MAC-sparing effects of TRM–LID and BUT–LID treatments were 7.05 ± 22.20 and 19.90 ± 5.91%, respectively, a difference that was not statistically significant (p= 0.13). Bradycardia was observed in the TRM–LID (p< 0.001) treatment. The esophageal temperature was significantly higher for the TRM–LID treatment than the CONT (p< 0.001) treatment. No statistically significant changes were detected between the three groups infR, Pe′CO2, and MABP. In conclusion, there was a significant sparing effect after adding BUT–LID co-infusion than the control group. No sparing effect was noticed when adding TRM–LID co-infusion. However, no difference in the MAC sparing percentages between the TRM–LID and BUT–LID treatments. The BUT–LID co-infusion resulted in a sevoflurane MAC reduction superior to TRM–LID in addition to minimal cardiorespiratory changes. Both BUT-LID and TRM-LID may be clinically beneficial to dogs during anesthesia. However, BUT-LID produced higher sparing effect and reduction of sevoflurane MAC value.
Effects of Yucca schidigera extract on serum biochemical parameters, humoral immune response, and intestinal health in young pigeons
Authors: Sun Xiaoshan , Wang Zheng , Li Xing , Du Shaohua , Lin Dongmei , Shao Yuxin
Published: January 2023

Introduction

It is of great importance to find antibiotic alternatives that can improve poultry performance and enhance immunity. Plant-derived extracts and their concentrates are natural bioactive compounds that are widely and effectively applied as the antibiotic alternatives in animal industries. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Yucca schidigera extract (YSE) on growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, immune function, intestinal morphology, and microbiota diversity of young pigeons.

Methods

A total of 120 healthy White King pigeons (28 days old) with similar weight were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with six replicate cages. Each of the pigeons from 4 treatments was orally administrated with 0 (control), 5, 10, and 15 mg YSE per day, respectively.

Results

The results showed that orally supplemental YSE had no significant effects (P > 0.05) on the growth performance and immune organ index of pigeons. The serum total protein and IgM contents in the 10 mg YSE group were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those in the control group. Supplemental 10 and 15 mg YSE significantly lowered the level of serum total cholesterol (P < 0.05) and increased (P < 0.05) the villi height in the jejunum compared with the control group. Supplemental 5 and 10 mg YSE significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the level of serum alanine aminotransferase and the crypt depth in the ileum compared with the control group. The beta diversity showed a distinct difference in the ileum microbial composition between the control and the 10 mg YES group. YSE supplementation enriched the bacterial genera Sulfurospirillum, Solobacterium, Desulfovibrio, Desulfobulbus, Lactococcus, Parabacteroides, Acidaminococcus, Acetobacter, and Streptococcus. Additionally, Enterococcus genus showed a significantly negative correlation with serum alanine aminotransferase (R = −0.618, P = 0.043). Actinomyces genus showed a significantly negative correlation with cholesterol (R = −0.633, P = 0.036). Turicibacter genus showed a significantly positive correlation with villi height in the jejunum (R = 0.751, P = 0.008).

Discussion

In conclusion, orally supplemental YSE could improve serum biochemistry, immunoglobulin contents, and intestinal morphology by regulating the composition of microbial community in the ileum of young pigeons.
Extracorporeal Photopheresis Improves Graft Survival in a Full-Mismatch Rat Model of Kidney Transplantation
Authors: Piñeiro Gaston J. , Lazo-Rodriguez Marta , Ventura-Aguiar Pedro , Ramirez-Bajo Maria J. , Banon-Maneus Elisenda , Lozano Miquel , Cid Joan , Hierro-Garcia Natalia , Cucchiari David , Revuelta Ignacio , Montagud-Marrahi Enrique , Palou Eduard , Bayés-Genís Beatriu , Campistol Josep M. , Diekmann Fritz , Rovira Jordi
Published: January 2023

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is an immunomodulatory therapy based on the infusion of autologous cellular products exposed to ultraviolet light (UV) in the presence of a photosensitizer. The study evaluates the ECP efficacy as induction therapy in a full-mismatch kidney transplant rat model. Dark Agouti to Lewis (DA-L) kidney transplant model has been established. ECP product was obtained from Lewis rat recipients after DA kidney graft transplantation (LewDA). Leukocytes of those LewDA rats were exposed to 8-methoxy psoralen, and illuminated with UV-A. The ECP doses assessed were 10 × 106 and 100 × 106 cells/time point. Lewis recipients received seven ECP infusions. DA-L model was characterized by the appearance of donor-specific antibodies (DSA) and kidney function deterioration from day three after kidney transplant. The dysfunction progressed rapidly until graft loss (6.1 ± 0.5 days). Tacrolimus at 0.25 mg/kg prolonged rat survival until 11.4 ± 0.7 days (p = 0.0004). In this context, the application of leukocytes from LewDA sensitized rats accelerated the rejection (8.7 ± 0.45, p = 0.0012), whereas ECP product at high dose extended kidney graft survival until 26.3 ± 7.3 days, reducing class I and II DSA in surviving rats. ECP treatment increases kidney graft survival in full-mismatch rat model of acute rejection and is a suitable immunomodulatory therapy to be explored in kidney transplantation.
Analysis of Kernel Matrices via the von Neumann Entropy and Its Relation to RVM Performances
Authors: Belanche-Muñoz Lluís A. , Wiejacha Małgorzata
Published: January 2023

Kernel methods have played a major role in the last two decades in the modeling and visualization of complex problems in data science. The choice of kernel function remains an open research area and the reasons why some kernels perform better than others are not yet understood. Moreover, the high computational costs of kernel-based methods make it extremely inefficient to use standard model selection methods, such as cross-validation, creating a need for careful kernel design and parameter choice. These reasons justify the prior analyses of kernel matrices, i.e., mathematical objects generated by the kernel functions. This paper explores these topics from an entropic standpoint for the case of kernelized relevance vector machines (RVMs), pinpointing desirable properties of kernel matrices that increase the likelihood of obtaining good model performances in terms of generalization power, as well as relate these properties to the model’s fitting ability. We also derive a heuristic for achieving close-to-optimal modeling results while keeping the computational costs low, thus providing a recipe for efficient analysis when processing resources are limited.
Ca2+ Homeostasis by Plasma Membrane Ca2+ ATPase (PMCA) 1 Is Essential for the Development of DP Thymocytes
Authors: Beckmann David , Langnaese Kristina , Gottfried Anna , Hradsky Johannes , Tedford Kerry , Tiwari Nikhil , Thomas Ulrich , Fischer Klaus-Dieter , Korthals Mark
Published: January 2023

The strength of Ca2+ signaling is a hallmark of T cell activation, yet the role of Ca2+ homeostasis in developing T cells before expressing a mature T cell receptor is poorly understood. We aimed to unveil specific functions of the two plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPases expressed in T cells, PMCA1 and PMCA4. On a transcriptional and protein level we found that PMCA4 was expressed at low levels in CD4−CD8− double negative (DN) thymocytes and was even downregulated in subsequent stages while PMCA1 was present throughout development and upregulated in CD4+CD8+ double positive (DP) thymocytes. Mice with a targeted deletion of Pmca1 in DN3 thymocytes had an almost complete block of DP thymocyte development with an accumulation of DN4 thymocytes but severely reduced numbers of CD8+ immature single positive (ISP) thymocytes. The DN4 thymocytes of these mice showed strongly elevated basal cytosolic Ca2+ levels and a pre-mature CD5 expression, but in contrast to the DP thymocytes they were only mildly prone to apoptosis. Surprisingly, mice with a germline deletion of Pmca4 did not show any signs of altered progression through the developmental thymocyte stages, nor altered Ca2+ homeostasis throughout this process. PMCA1 is, therefore, non-redundant in keeping cellular Ca2+ levels low in the early thymocyte development required for the DN to DP transition.
Preparation and Characterization of Gelatin-Agarose and Gelatin-Starch Blends Using Alkaline Solvent
Authors: Dzeikala Oleksandra , Prochon Miroslawa , Marzec Anna , Szczepanik Szymon
Published: January 2023

Plastic waste is a serious problem in modern society. Every day, mankind produces tons of waste that must be disposed of or recycled. The most common types of plastic waste are disposable tableware, bags, packaging, bottles, and containers, and not all are recycled. Therefore, there is a great interest in producing environmentally friendly disposable materials. In this study, modified gelatin blends using polysaccharides (e.g., agarose, starch) were produced to obtain a stable coating. Various techniques were used to characterize the obtained bioplastics, including FTIR spectroscopy (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), TGA (thermogravimetric analysis)/DSC (differential scanning calorimetry), contact angle measurements, and surface energy characterization. We also investigated the influence of thermal and microbiological degradation on the properties of the biocomposite. The addition of agarose increased the hardness of the blend by 27% compared to the control sample without added polysaccharides. Increases were also observed in the surface energy (24%), softening point (15%), and glass transition temperature (14%) compared to the control sample. The addition of starch to the biopolymer increased the softening point by 15% and the glass transition temperature by 6%. After aging, both blends showed an increase in hardness of 26% and a decrease in tensile strength of 60%.
Endogenous Retrovirus RNA Expression Differences between Race, Stage and HPV Status Offer Improved Prognostication among Women with Cervical Cancer
Authors: Alldredge Jill , Kumar Vinay , Nguyen James , Sanders Brooke E. , Gomez Karina , Jayachandran Kay , Zhang Jin , Schwarz Julie , Rahmatpanah Farah
Published: January 2023

Endogenous human retroviruses (ERVs) are remnants of exogenous retroviruses that have integrated into the human genome. Using publicly available RNA-seq data from 63 cervical cancer patients, we investigated the expression of ERVs in cervical cancers. Four aspects of cervical cancer were investigated: patient ancestral background, tumor HPV type, tumor stage and patient survival. Between the racial subgroups, 74 ERVs were significantly differentially expressed, with Black Americans having 30 upregulated and 44 downregulated (including MER21C, HERV9-int, and HERVH-int) ERVs when compared to White Americans. We found that 3313 ERVs were differentially expressed between HPV subgroups, including MER41A, HERVH-int and HERVK9. There were 28 downregulated (including MLT1D and HERVH-int) and 61 upregulated (including MER41A) ERVs in locally advanced-stage compared to early-stage samples. Tissue microarrays of cervical cancer patients were used to investigate the protein expression of ERVs with protein coding potential (i.e., HERVK and ERV3). Significant differences in protein expression of ERV3 (p = 0.000905) were observed between early-stage and locally advanced-stage tumors. No significant differential expression at the protein level was found for HERVK7 (p = 0.243). We also investigated a prognostic model, supplementing a baseline prediction model using FIGO stage, age and HPV positivity with ERVs data. The expression levels of all ERVs in the HERVd were input into a Lasso-Cox proportional hazards model, developing a predictive 67-ERV panel. When ERVs expression levels were supplemented with the clinical data, a significant increase in prognostic power (p = 9.433 × 10−15) relative to that obtained with the clinical parameters alone (p = 0.06027) was observed. In summary, ERV RNA expression in cervical cancer tumors is significantly different among racial cohorts, HPV subgroups and disease stages. The combination of the expression of certain ERVs in cervical cancers with clinical factors significantly improved prognostication compared to clinical factors alone; therefore, ERVs may serve as future prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Novelty and Impact: When endogenous retroviral (ERV) expression signatures were combined with currently employed clinical prognosticators of relapse of cervical cancer, the combination outperformed prediction models based on clinical prognosticators alone. ERV expression signatures in tumor biopsies may therefore be useful to help identify patients at greater risk of recurrence. The novel ERV expression signatures or adjacent genes possibly impacted by ERV expression described here may also be targets for the development of future therapeutic interventions.
New Semisynthetic Penicillins Obtained by Coupling of the 6-Aminopenicillanic Acid with 5-Mercapto-1,2,4-triazoles-3,4-disubstituted
Authors: Cheptea Corina , Zara Alexandru , Dimitriu Dan Gheorghe , Sunel Valeriu , Dorohoi Dana Ortansa , Cigu Toni Andor
Published: January 2023

In a basic medium, 5-Mercapto-1,2,4-triazoles pass into the thiol form, allowing their transformation into sodium salts, which, in reaction with sodium monochloroacetate, lead to sodium 5-thioacetates of 1,2,4-triazoles-3,4-disubstituted. Sulfur derivatives converted to pivalic mixed anhydrides were used as active forms in the acylation of 6-amino penicillanic acid (6-AP) to obtain new semisynthetic penicillins. They contain in the molecule, together with the β-lactam ring, the nucleus 3-[(5-nitroindazol-1′-yl-methyl)]-4-aryl-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole, both contributing to an important antibacterial effect. The structure of the new antibiotics was confirmed by the results of elemental and spectral analysis (FT-IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR). The synthetic penicillins were tested for toxicological action and antibacterial activity and the obtained results were close to those for amoxicillin, the reference drug.
The Importance of the Immune System and Molecular Cell Signaling Pathways in the Pathogenesis and Progression of Lung Cancer
Authors: Smok-Kalwat Jolanta , Mertowska Paulina , Mertowski Sebastian , Smolak Konrad , Kozińska Aleksandra , Koszałka Filip , Kwaśniewski Wojciech , Grywalska Ewelina , Góźdź Stanisław
Published: January 2023

Lung cancer is a disease that in recent years has become one of the greatest threats to modern society. Every year there are more and more new cases and the percentage of deaths caused by this type of cancer increases. Despite many studies, scientists are still looking for answers regarding the mechanisms of lung cancer development and progression, with particular emphasis on the role of the immune system. The aim of this literature review was to present the importance of disorders of the immune system and the accompanying changes at the level of cell signaling in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. The collected results showed that in the process of immunopathogenesis of almost all subtypes of lung cancer, changes in the tumor microenvironment, deregulation of immune checkpoints and abnormalities in cell signaling pathways are involved, which contribute to the multistage and multifaceted carcinogenesis of this type of cancer. We, therefore, suggest that in future studies, researchers should focus on a detailed analysis of tumor microenvironmental immune checkpoints, and to validate their validity, perform genetic polymorphism analyses in a wide range of patients and healthy individuals to determine the genetic susceptibility to lung cancer development. In addition, further research related to the analysis of the tumor microenvironment; immune system disorders, with a particular emphasis on immunological checkpoints and genetic differences may contribute to the development of new personalized therapies that improve the prognosis of patients.
Enhancement of Cell Behavior by the Polysaccharide Extract of Arthrospira and Potential Biomedical Applications
Authors: Xu Junpeng , Hsu Shan-hui
Published: January 2023

Arthrospira is one of the most studied cyanobacteria and has been reported with practical applications. Among the substances derived from Arthrospira, polysaccharides have received relatively less attention than phycocyanins, though they have more abundant structural variations and specific properties. Herein, a new Arthrospira-derived sulfated polysaccharide was explored for its potential bioactive functions. The ability of this sulfated polysaccharide to promote the behavior of neural stem cells (NSCs) in three-dimensional hydrogel was examined for the first time. NSCs encapsulated in the sulfated polysaccharide-containing hydrogel showed better proliferation than the control hydrogel as well as a unique cell clustering behavior, i.e., formation of multicellular spherical clusters (40–60 μm). The sulfated polysaccharide, in an appropriate range of concentration (5 mg/mL), also maintained the stemness of NSCs in hydrogel and facilitated their differentiation. In addition, the potentials of the new sulfated polysaccharide as a coating material and as a component for drug carrier were verified. The sulfated polysaccharide-modified substrate exhibited superhydrophilicity (contact angle ~9°) and promoted cell adhesion to the substrate. Composite nanoparticles composed of the sulfated polysaccharide and other differently charged polysaccharides were produced with an average diameter of ~240 nm and estimated drug loading of ~18%. The new Arthrospira-derived sulfated polysaccharide is a promising candidate for cell culture, surface-modification, and drug-delivery applications in the biomedical field.
Functional Regulation of ZnAl-LDHs and Mechanism of Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2: A DFT Study
Authors: Xu Dongcun , Fu Gang , Li Zhongming , Zhen Wenqing , Wang Hongyi , Liu Meiling , Sun Jianmin , Zhang Jiaxu , Yang Li
Published: January 2023

Defect engineering and heteroatom doping can significantly enhance the activity of zinc-aluminum layered double hydroxides (ZnAl-LDHs) in photocatalytic CO2 reduction to fuel. However, the in-depth understanding of the associated intrinsic mechanisms is limited. Herein, we systematically investigated Zn vacancies (VZn), oxygen vacancies (VO), and Cu doping on the geometry and electronic structure of ZnAl-LDH using density functional theory (DFT). We also revealed the related reaction mechanism. The results reveal the concerted roles of VO, VZn, and doped-Cu facilitate the formation of the unsaturated metal complexes (Znδ+-VO and Cuδ+-VO). They can localize the charge density distribution, function as new active centers, and form the intermediate band. Simultaneously, the intermediate band of functionalized ZnAl-LDHs narrows the band gap and lowers the band edge location. Therefore, it can broaden the absorption range of light and improve the selectivity of CO. Additionally, the unsaturated metal complex lowers the Gibbs free energy barrier for effective CO2 activation by bringing the d-band center level closer to the Fermi level. The work provided guidance for developing LDH photocatalysts with high activity and selectivity.
Design of Nickel Supported Hierarchical ZSM-5/USY Zeolite Bifunctional Catalysts for One-Pot Menthol Synthesis via Liquid-Phase Citral Hydrogenation
Authors: Shah Abdul Karim , Shah Ghulam Taswar , Shah Aqeel Ahmed , Park Yeung Ho , Shah Ayaz Ali , Choi Mooseok , Ahmed Shoaib , Shah Bukhari Syed Nizamuddin , Chandio Ali Dad , Mahar Muhammad Atta , Shar Muhammad Ali , Alhazaa Abdulaziz
Published: January 2023

Nickel-supported hierarchical zeolite catalysts were prepared through a desilication reassembly process under optimized conditions and applied in one-pot menthol synthesis. In this work, the hierarchical zeolite-supported metal bifunctional catalysts were prepared with the help of desilication re-assembly and wetness impregnation techniques and applied in menthol synthesis via citral hydrogenation. The prepared catalysts were characterized using PXRD, BET, FE-TEM, NH3-TPD, H2-TPR, pyridine adsorption, and ICP-OES techniques. As a result, the physicochemical and acidic properties, such as mesopore surface area, metal dispersion, acidity, catalytic activity, and strong Lewis acid sites of pure microporous ZSM-5/USY zeolites, were significantly improved. Consequently, with the occurrence of superior physicochemical and acidic properties, the Ni/HZ-0.5 M catalyst exhibited outstanding catalytic activity (100% conversion, TOF 7.12 h−1) and menthol selectivity (83%, 4 h) with uniform stability at 100 °C, 1.0 MPa hydrogen. Similarly, the cracking rate decreased with the decrease in Bronsted acid sites.
Signal Suppression in LC-ESI-MS/MS from Concomitant Medications and Its Impact on Quantitative Studies: An Example Using Metformin and Glyburide
Authors: Liu Jingyu , Jiang Fulin , Lu Zihan , Zhang Chang , Liu Peiqing , Huang Min , Zhong Guoping
Published: January 2023

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been widely used in the quantitative analysis of drugs. The ubiquitous concomitant drug scenario in the clinic has spawned a large number of co-analyses based on this technique. However, signal suppression caused by concomitant drugs during electrospray ionization may affect the quantification accuracy of analytes, which has not received enough attention. In this study, metformin (MET) and glyburide (GLY) were co-eluted by the conventional optimization of chromatographic conditions to illustrate the effect of signal suppression caused by the combined drugs on the quantitative analysis. The response of MET was not affected by GLY over the investigated concentration range. However, the GLY signal could be suppressed by about 30% in the presence of MET, affecting its pharmacokinetic analysis in simulated samples. As an attempt to solve the suppression of GLY by co-eluting MET, dilution can alleviate the suppression. However, this method still has limitations due to the sacrifice of sensitivity. The stable isotope-labeled internal standard could play a role in correction and improve the quantitative accuracy of GLY, which was further confirmed in the pharmacokinetic study of simulated samples. This study provided an example model to illustrate the possible effect of clinical drug combination on LC-MS/MS drug quantitative analysis and investigated the effective methods to solve this problem.
Can Biomass Mastication Assist the Downstreaming of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced from Mixed Microbial Cultures?
Authors: Souza Hiléia K.S. , Matos Mariana , Reis Maria A.M. , Covas José A. , Hilliou Loïc
Published: January 2023

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are natural polyesters which biodegrade in soils and oceans but have more than double the cost of comparable oil-based polymers. PHA downstreaming from its biomass represents 50% of its overall cost. Here, in an attempt to assist downstreaming, mastication of wet biomasses is tested as a new mechanical continuous biomass pretreatment with potential for industrial upscaling. Downstreaming conditions where both product recovery and purity are low due to the large amount of treated wet biomass (50% water) were targeted with the following process: extraction of 20 g in 100 mL solvent at 30 °C for 2 h, followed by 4.8 h digestion of 20 g in 0.3 M NaOH. Under the studied conditions, NaOH digestion was more effective than solvent extraction in recovering larger PHA amounts, but with less purity. A nearly 50% loss of PHA was seen during digestion after mastication. PHAs downstreamed by digestion with large amounts of impurities started to degrade at lower temperatures, but their melt elasticity was thermally stable at 170 °C. As such, these materials are attractive as fully PHA-compatible processing aids, reinforcing fillers or viscosity modifiers. On the other hand, wet biomass mastication before solvent extraction improves PHA purity and thermal stability as well as the melt rheology, which recovers the viscoelasticity measured with a PHA extracted from a dried biomass.
Effect of the Bleaching Process on Changes in the Fatty Acid Profile of Raw Hemp Seed Oil (Cannabis sativa)
Authors: Golimowski Wojciech , Teleszko Mirosława , Zając Adam , Kmiecik Dominik , Grygier Anna
Published: January 2023

Many refined oils from soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower, among others, are available on the food market, except olive oil. Refining, on the small production scale of niche oils, is not used due to the high cost of the refining process. Unrefined oils are characterized by intense taste, odor, color, and undesirable nutrients. The problem to be solved is determining the effects of incomplete refining of niche oils on their composition. One process, which does not require the use of complex apparatus, is the bleaching process. The results presented in this article relate to the research stage, in which the aim is to evaluate the changes occurring in the oil due to the low-temperature bleaching process with different process parameters. The presented research results provide evidence of the absence of adverse changes in the fatty acid profile of hemp oil of the varieties ‘Finola’, ‘Earlina 8FC’, and ‘Secuieni Jubileu’. Seven different types of bleaching earth were used to bleach the oil in amounts of 2.5 and 5 g/100 g of vegetable oil. The fatty acid profile was obtained by gas chromatography (GC-FID). The obtained chromatograms were subjected to statistical analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The results show that there was no effect of the type of bleaching earth and its amount on the change in the fatty acid profile of bleached oils. Only real differences between the types of hemp oils were observed. However, an overall positive effect of the bleaching process on hemp oil was found. The amount of saturated fatty acid (SFA) was reduced by 17.1% compared with the initial value, resulting in an increase in the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) by 4.4%, resulting in an unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) proportion of 90%. There was a significant improvement in the SFA/PUFA ratio by 26% over the baseline, and the omega-6/omega-3 ratio by 8.9% to a value of 3.1:1. The new knowledge from this study is evidence of the positive effect of the low-temperature bleaching process on the fatty acid profile. In contrast, the parameters of the bleaching process itself are not significant.