bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Microplasma Synthesis of Antibacterial Active Silver Nanoparticles in Sodium Polyacrylate Solutions
Authors: Shepida Mariana , Kuntyi Orest , Sukhatskiy Yuriy , Mazur Artur , Sozanskyi Martyn
Published: October 2021

The great demand for functional, particularly biologically active, metal nanoparticles has led to the search for technologically effective, green, and controlled methods of synthesizing these metal nanoparticles. Plasma glow discharge is one of the most promising techniques in this direction. The results of studies based on the synthesis of colloidal solutions of stabilized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by the microplasma method in solutions of a nontoxic surfactant sodium polyacrylate (NaPA) are presented. It is shown that AgNPs with a size of 2–20 nm are formed in solutions of 0.05–0.2 mmol⋅L−1 AgNO3 + 5 g⋅L−1 NaPA at U = 250 V by tungsten cathode plasma glow discharge. At 20°C, the yellow solutions are formed with λmax ≈ 410 nm, which are stable during long-term storage. It was found that the process of AgNPs formation corresponds to a first-order reaction on the AgNO3 concentration. Its value has little effect on the geometry of nanoparticles, so the Ag(I) concentration in solution is one of the main factors influencing the rate of microplasma synthesis of AgNPs. The antimicrobial activity of synthesized AgNPs solutions against strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans was established.
Effectiveness of Physical Activity and Finger Millet-Based Food Supplement on Biochemical Parameters and Bone Mineral Density among Premenopausal Women
Authors: Sahaya Rani Golda , Swaminathan Aruna , Vijayaraghavan Rajagopalan
Published: October 2021

The effectiveness of physical activity and finger millet-based food supplement on biochemical parameters and bone mineral density (BMD) among premenopausal women were studied. Serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, and BMD of 720 women (30–40 years) were analyzed. From them, 150 women with low BMD (t-score, −1 to −2.5) and low calcium (<9.0 mg/dL) were randomized to control and experimental groups, equally. The experimental group was given 5 days per week physical activity, for 3 months, and a diet supplement of finger millet-based sweet balls (ragi laddu), 3 days per week for 3 months. The above parameters were measured as the posttest. Physical activity was assessed by the General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire. A 24 h recall assessment was carried out for the diet supplement, and self-reported activity checklist was maintained for physical activity. Among 720 women, 163 (22.6%) showed BMD, t-score < −1.0, and calcium <9.0 mg/dL

p
<
0.001

. The serum phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase were also low

p
<
0.001

. After the supplementation to the experimental group, all the biochemical parameters, BMD, and physical activity score showed significant improvement in the posttest

p
<
0.001

. This study showed significantly low BMD and calcium among premenopausal women. Physical activity and finger millet supplement improved the calcium level and BMD.
HIV Preventive Behaviors and Associated Factors among Gold Mining Workers in Dima District, Southwest Ethiopia, 2019: Community‐Based Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Nigussie Tadesse , Mamo Yitagesu , Qanche Qaro , Yosef Tewodros , Wondimu Wondimagegn , Asefa Adane
Published: October 2021

Background. HIV/AIDS is becoming more prevalent over time, resulting in a considerable number of deaths. In 2017, 36.9 million (35.1 million adults) people worldwide were living with HIV, 1.8 million people were newly infected with HIV, and 940 000 people died from AIDS‐related illnesses. Mining workers are at a high risk of contracting HIV and infecting others, and effective prevention is a critical. Objective. To assess HIV preventive behaviors and associated factors among gold mining workers in Dima district, southwest Ethiopia, 2019. Methods and Materials. A community‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted from November 1st to 30th, 2019. A convenience sampling technique was used to get mining workers for the interview.The data were collected through face‐to‐face interviews. The collected data were coded and entered into EpiData version 4.2.0.101, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS version 21 statistical software. A binary logistic regression was conducted to determine the association using odds ratios at 95% confidence intervals. A P value of less than 0.05 considered the level of significance for HIV preventive behaviors. Results. From a total of 455 mining worker, 279 (61.3%) of them have good practices of HIV prevention. Factors associated with good preventive practice were not alcohol drinkers (AOR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.30‐6.29), not chew khat (AOR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.09‐4.02), having good knowledge about HIV (AOR = 1.81, CI: 1.16‐2.83), favorable attitude towards HIV prevention (AOR = 4.76, 95% CI: 3.02‐7.49), and high perceived susceptibility to HIV (AOR = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.63‐4.24). Conclusion. Only about 61% of the mining workers in the study area were practiced HIV preventive behaviors. Not alcohol drinkers, having good knowledge about HIV, having a favorable attitude toward HIV prevention, and having high perceived susceptibility to HIV were factors associated with the practice of HIV preventive behaviors. Efforts have to be made by local governments and other concerned bodies to increase preventive behavior.
Engineering the Energy Gap of Cupric Oxide Nanomaterial Using Extreme Learning Machine and Stepwise Regression Algorithms
Authors: Alqahtani Abdullah
Published: October 2021

CuO is a narrow band gap semiconductor with distinct features that render it indispensable in many industrial and technological applications such as environmental friendly catalysts for organic pollutant removal, sensors, photovoltaic, solar cells, batteries, and storage media among others. Engineering of its energy gap becomes imperative and necessary for tailoring its light absorption capacity to a desired level required for a particular application. Elemental doping mechanisms with accompanied lattice distortion symmetry breaking effectively enhance the optical property of this semiconductor and serve as a major route through which material design is achieved. This work develops an extreme learning machine intelligent predictive (ELM-IP) model and stepwise regression (SWR) based model for estimating energy gap of a doped CuO semiconductor. The developed ELM-IP-Sin model which employs sine activation function performs better than the ELM-IP-Sig model (that utilizes sigmoid activation function) and SWR model with a percentage improvement of 14.15% and 50.05%, respectively, using root mean square error (RMSE) metric, while the developed ELM-IP-Sig model outperforms the SWR-based model. The developed models further investigate the dependence of CuO energy gap on iron and cobalt impurity incorporation, and the obtained results agree well with measured values. The outstanding performance of the developed models is highly meritorious in tailoring the light response capacity of CuO semiconductor for photocatalytic and optoelectronics applications at a reduced cost while the experimental stress is circumvented.
Predictive Value of Apelin and Vaspin on Hemorrhagic Transformation in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke after Intravenous Thrombolysis and Analysis of Related Factors
Authors: Zhu Benju , Yan Lili , Ren Haiyan , Li Qiang , Chen Xu
Published: October 2021

Background. Acute ischemic stroke (CIS) is a high-risk condition among the elderly, and intravenous thrombolytic therapy (ITT) is the most effective means for it. However, ITT is prone to induce hemorrhagic transformation (HT) that further threatens the life and health of patients. As paramount substances in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, adipocyte factor (Apelin) and serine protease inhibitor (Vaspin) are strongly bound up with CIS. Objective. To analyze the predictive significance of Apelin and Vaspin on HT in CIS patients after ITT and offer effective reference to HT prevention in the future. Methods. A total of 109 CIS patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IT) in two hospitals between June 2017 and February 2018 were enrolled. Among them, 48 patients who suffered HT after therapy were assigned to the research group (Res group) and the other 61 patients who did not suffer it after therapy were assigned to the control group (Con group). Serum Apelin, Vaspin, inflammatory factors, and oxidative stress levels were quantified, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn for analyzing the predictive value of Apelin and Vaspin on HT after ITT and their associations with inflammatory factors and oxidative stress. CIS patients who suffered HT were followed up for 3 years for prognostic significance analysis of Apelin and Vaspin. Results. After ITT, the Res group showed lower Apelin and Vaspin levels than the Con group (all

P
<
0.05

), and patients with a higher HT grade had lower Apelin and Vaspin levels (all

P
<
0.05

). The joint detection of Apelin and Vaspin showed a sensitivity of 77.08% and a specificity of 73.77% for forecasting HT in CIS patients after thrombolytic therapy (all

P
<
0.001

). In addition, after thrombolytic therapy, the Res group presented higher levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) than the Con group, and the levels had negative associations with Apelin and Vaspin (all

P
<
0.05

). The Res group showed a lower superoxide dismutase (SOD) level than the Con group, and the level presented a positive association with Apelin and Vaspin (all

P
<
0.05

). According to Logistic analysis, IL-1β, IL-6, and MDA were independent risk factors for HT in CIS patients after IT, while Apelin, Vaspin, and SOD were independent protective factors (all

P
<
0.05

). According to the follow-up results, Apelin and Vaspin demonstrated excellent value in forecasting the death of patients with both CIS and HT (

P
<
0.05

), and their lower levels indicate a higher risk of death (all

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. Apelin and Vaspin can help effectively forecast the occurrence of HT in CIS patients after ITT as independent protective factors of HT, so they are of a high clinical application value.
Comparing Zinc Oxide- and Zinc Silicate-Related Metal-Organic Networks via Connection-Based Zagreb Indices
Authors: Hussain Muhammad Tanveer , Javaid Muhammad , Ali Usman , Raza Ali , Alam Md Nur
Published: October 2021

Metal-organic networks (MONs) are among the unique complex and porous chemical compounds. So, these chemical compounds consist of metal ions (vertices) and organic ligands (edges between vertices). These networks represent large pore volume, extreme surface area, morphology, excellent chemical stability, highly porous and crystalline materials, and octahedral clusters. MONs are mostly used in assessment of chemicals, gas and energy storage devices, sensing, separation and purification of different gases, heterogeneous catalysis, environmental hazard, toxicology, adsorption analysis, biomedical applications, and biocompatibility. Recently, drug delivery, cancer imaging, and biosensing have been investigated by biomedical applications of zinc-related MONs. The versatile applications of these MONs make them helpful tools in many fields of science in recent decade. In this paper, we discuss the two different zinc oxide and zinc silicate related MONs according to the number of increasing layers of metal and organic ligands together. We also compute the connection-based Zagreb indices such as first Zagreb connection index (ZCI), second ZCI, modified first ZCI, modified second ZCI, modified third ZCI, and modified fourth ZCI. Moreover, a comparison is also included between the zinc-related MONs by using numerical values of connection-based Zagreb indices. Finally, we conclude that zinc silicate-related MON is better than zinc oxide-related MON for all values of n.
An Improved Coercion-Resistant E-Voting Scheme
Authors: Hao Yuanjing , Zeng Zhixin , Chang Liang
Published: October 2021

E-voting has gradually replaced the traditional voting methods to make it easier for people to conduct an election. Recently, Liu et al. propose an unconditional secure e-voting scheme using secret sharing and k-anonymity. Their scheme achieves correct tallying results without revealing raw voting information. However, in this paper, we observe that Liu et al.’s scheme cannot achieve coercion resistance in e-voting since the voter can prove the content of his ballot to the colluded candidates. Then, we propose an improved e-voting scheme to cover up the ballot of the voter with masked values. In this way, even if the voter colludes with corresponding candidates, he cannot prove which candidate he has voted for. Moreover, comparing with Liu et al.’s scheme, the security analysis shows that our proposed e-voting scheme achieves these security requirements like the coercion resistance, integrity of ballots, privacy of ballots, multiple-voting detection, and fairness. Through performance analysis, the experimental results show that our proposed e-voting scheme has higher time efficiency. Compared with other schemes, our scheme achieves a complete voting process and obtains the correct tallying result without complex computation and intricate communication process.
Artificial Fuzzy‐PID Gain Scheduling Algorithm Design for Motion Control in Differential Drive Mobile Robotic Platforms
Authors: Yousfi Allagui Najah , Salem Farhan A. , Aljuaid Awad M.
Published: October 2021

Mobile robots are promising devices which are dedicated to human comfort in all areas. However, the control algorithm of the wheels of mobile robot is entirely challenging due to the nonlinearity. Recently, the classical PID (proportional‐integral‐derivative) controllers are frequently used in robotics for their high accuracy and the smooth determination of their parameters. A robust approach called fuzzy control which is based on the conversion of linguistic inference sets in a suitable control value is a widely used method in industrial system control in our days. A new challenging method to solve the problem of intelligent navigation of nonholonomic mobile robot is suggested. In this work, the presented methodology is based on three hybrid fuzzy logic PID controllers which are adapted to guarantee target achievement and trajectory tracking. A fuzzy‐PID control algorithm is designed with 2 inputs and 3 outputs. By the information given by the system response, error and error derivate can be used to extract and adopt the PID controller parameters: proportional, integral, and derivative gains. Besides, a tuning value A is introduced to improve the resulted response in terms of speeding up and reducing error, overshoot, and oscillation, as well as reducing ISE and IAE values. A modelization of a differential drive mobile robot is presented. The developed algorithm is tested and implemented to this mobile robot model via Simulink/MATLAB.
Incentives against Max‐Min Fairness in a Centralized Resource System
Authors: Chen Zheng , Gu Zhaoquan , Wang Yuexuan
Published: October 2021

Resource allocating mechanisms draw much attention from various areas, and exploring the truthfulness of these mechanisms is a very hot topic. In this paper, we focus on the max‐min fair allocation in a centralized resource system and explore whether the allocation is truthful when a node behaves strategically. The max‐min fair allocation enables nodes receive appropriate resources, and we introduce an efficient algorithm to find out the allocation. To explore whether the allocation is truthful, we analyze how the allocation varies when a new node is added to the system, and we discuss whether the node can gain more resources if it misreports its resource demands. Surprisingly, if a node misrepresents itself by creating several fictitious nodes but keeps the sum of these nodes’ resource demands the same, the node can achieve more resources evidently. We further present some illustrative examples to verify the results, and we show that a node can achieve 1.83 times resource if it misrepresents itself as two nodes. Finally, we discuss the influence of node’s misrepresenting behavior in tree graph: some child nodes gain fewer resources even if their parent node gains more resources by creating two fictitious nodes.
NCF1/2/4 Are Prognostic Biomarkers Related to the Immune Infiltration of Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Chen Yifei , He Fei , Wang Ruhua , Yao Menglin , Li Yarui , Guo Dan , He Shuixiang
Published: October 2021

Neutrophil cytoplasmic factor 1/2/4 (NCF1/2/4) belongs to the NADPH oxidase complex, which is a cytoplasmic component, and its polymorphism is the main factor related to autoimmune diseases, which is probably caused by the regulation of peroxide. They also play a role in tumor growth and metastasis. This research is aimed at evaluating the biological function and prognostic role of NCF1, NCF2, and NCF4 genes in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) by using multiple online bioinformatics website, including Oncomine, GEPIA, UALCAN, Kaplan–Meier Plotter, TIMER, TISIDB, cBioPortal, LinkedOmics, GeneMANIA, and DAVID databases. The mRNA levels of NCFs were higher in KIRC tissues than in normal tissues. The overexpression of NCFs was significantly correlated with advanced pathological grades and individual cancer stages in KIRC. Meanwhile, the expressions of NCFs played an important role in the tumorigenesis and progression of KIRC. Prognostic value analysis suggested that high transcription levels of NCF1/4 were associated with poor overall survival in KIRC patients. In addition, results from the LinkedOmics database showed that the KEGG pathway related to NCFs mainly focused on immune activation and immune regulation function. NCF genetic alterations, including copy number amplification, missense mutation, and deep deletion, could be found through the cBioPortal database. Further, NCF expression was significantly correlated with infiltration levels of various immune cells as well as immune signatures. Protein‐protein interaction network and enrichment analysis of NCF1/2/4 in KIRC showed that NCF coexpressed genes mainly associated with diverse immune marker sets showed significance. Overall, these results indicated that NCFs could be prognostic biomarkers as well as effective targets for diagnosis in KIRC.
Development and Validation of a Novel Ferroptosis‐Related Gene Signature for Predicting Prognosis and the Immune Microenvironment in Gastric Cancer
Authors: Wang Feng , Chen Cheng , Chen Wei-Peng , Li Zu-Ling , Cheng Hui
Published: October 2021

Ferroptosis is a mode of regulated cell death that depends on iron and plays pivotal roles in regulating various biological processes in human cancers. However, the role of ferroptosis in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. In our study, a total of 2721 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were filtered based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (n = 375) dataset. Weighted gene coexpression network (WGCNA) analysis was then used and identified 7 modules, of which the blue module with the most significant enrichment result was selected. By taking the intersections of the blue module and ferroptosis‐related genes (FRGs), we obtained 23 common genes. Functional analysis was performed to explore the biological function of the genes of interest, and with univariate Cox regression (UCR) analysis, survival genes were screened to construct a prognostic model based on 3 genes (SLC1A5, ANGPTL4, and CGAS), which could play a role in predicting the survival of GC patients. UCR and multivariate Cox regression (MCR) analysis revealed that the prognostic index could be used as an independent prognostic indicator and validated using another GSE84437 dataset. Notably, patients in the high‐risk group had higher mutation frequencies, such as TTN and TP53. TIMER analysis demonstrated that the risk score strongly correlated with macrophage and CD4+ T cell infiltration. In addition, the high‐ and low‐risk groups illustrated different distributions of different immune statuses. Furthermore, the low‐risk group had a higher immunophenoscore (IPS), which meant a better response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Finally, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed several significant pathways involved in GC. In this study, a novel FRG signature was built that could predict GC prognosis and reflect the status of the tumor immune microenvironment.
Long-Term Effect of Zhenzhu Tiaozhi Capsule (FTZ) on Hyperlipidemia: 2-Year Results from a Retrospective Study Using Electronic Medical Records
Authors: Huang Xiaoqiang , Zhan Huixia , Yang Jin , Peng Liufen , Piao Shenghua , Wang Lexun , Lan Tian , Rong Xianglu , Guo Jiao
Published: October 2021

The objective of this work was to study the lipid profile (LDL, TC, TG, and HDL) over 2 years in patients with hyperlipidemia in a real-world clinical setting and to describe the dynamical trajectory of lipid profile change in response to lipid-lowering treatment (Zhenzhu Tiaozhi capsule (FTZ) vs. general lipid-lowering treatment, i.e., statins, fibrates, and Xuezhikang). We conducted a retrospective study that included people aged ≥18 years with hyperlipidemia that initiated lipid-lowering treatment between January 2010 and December 2020. Demographic, diagnosis, and laboratory data were retrieved from hospital’s electronic medical records, including hospital information system (HIS) and the laboratory information system (LIS). Follow-up trajectories of lipid profile were plotted in a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) with smooth splines. A total of 839 patients with hyperlipidemia were included. Within 2 years, LDL, TC, and TG descended steadily and gently in the FTZ group (N = 99), while the general lipid-lowering treatment (N = 740) shortly improved LDL, TC, and TG before 11 weeks and was no longer present around 30 weeks. After 30 weeks, the trajectory of LDL, TC, and TG fluctuated up and down. Also, for HDL, a similar trajectory was observed before 40 weeks between 2 groups, but the FTZ group showed an increasing trend after 40 weeks, while a similar trend was not seen in the general lipid-lowering group. In this study, FTZ was shown to have similar long-term effectiveness as an alternative lipid-lowering treatment to the general lipid-lowering treatment. The findings of this study provide observational evidence for further studies of FTZ, but more prospective studies are needed to determine the impacts of FTZ on lipid profile.
Effect of the Interaction between Depression and Sleep Disorders on the Stroke Occurrence: An Analysis Based on National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey
Authors: Li Jia , Li Leijun , Lv Yan , Kang Yanhai , Zhu Mingjin , Wang Wenfeng
Published: October 2021

Objective. To investigate the effect of the interaction between depression and sleep disorders on the stroke occurrence based on the data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods. Seven cycles of 2-year NHANES data (2005-2018) were analyzed in this study. Univariate analysis was first performed between the stroke and nonstroke patients, and then, multivariate logistic regression models were conducted to analyze the association of depression, sleep disorders, and their interactions with stroke occurrence. Results. A total of 30473 eligible participants were included in this study, including 1138 (3.73%) with stroke and 29335 (96.27%) with nonstroke. Except sex, the differences were all significant between the stroke and nonstroke patients in baseline information (all

P
<
0.001

). Depression (odds ratio (OR): 2.494, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.098-2.964), depression severity (moderate, OR: 2.013, 95% CI: 1.612-2.514; moderately severe, OR: 2.598, 95% CI: 1.930-3.496; severe, OR: 5.588, 95% CI: 3.883-8.043), and sleep disorders (OR: 1.677, 95% CI: 1.472-1.910) were presented to be associated with an increased risk of stroke after correcting all the confounders. The logistic regression analysis showed that there was a synergic, additive interaction between depression and sleep disorders on the stroke occurrence, and the proportion of stroke patients caused by this interaction accounted for 27.1% of all the stroke patients. Conclusion. Depression, depression severity, and sleep disorders are all independently associated with a high risk of stroke. The interaction between depression and sleep disorders can synergistically increase the stroke occurrence.
A New Triple Filtering Algorithm and Its Application for Aerial GNSS/INS‐Integrated Direct Georeferencing System
Authors: Chen Qusen , Li Leilei , Xu Keyi , An Xiangdong , Wu Yu
Published: October 2021

A global navigation satellite system and inertial navigation system‐ (GNSS/INS‐) integrated system is employed to provide direct georeferencing (DG) in aerial photogrammetry. However, GNSS/INS suffers from stochastic error, strong nonlinearity, and weak observability problems in high dynamic or less maneuver scenarios. In this paper, we proposed a new triple filtering algorithm for aerial GNSS/INS integration. The new algorithm implements filtering in the sequence of forward, backward, and forward directions. Each filter is initialized by a previous filter to get a quick convergence, and the final result is combination of the last two filtering to smooth error. The proposed triple filtering strategy avoids inaccuracy in the 1st forward filtering when the system has not reached convergence. Moreover, it facilitates engineering implementation because backward filtering can employ the same equations with forward filtering. To assess stochastic error of the inertial measurement unit, the Allan variance method is used and abbreviated stochastic model is built. A real aerial testing is conducted, and the result indicates that DG can achieve horizontal accuracy of 5 cm by the proposed algorithm, which has 63% improvement compared to standard extended Kalman filter.
A Comparative Study of Four Total Variational Regularization Reconstruction Algorithms for Sparse-View Photoacoustic Imaging
Authors: Liu Xueyan , Zhang Limei , Zhang Yining , Qiao Lishan
Published: October 2021

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a new nonionizing, noninvasive biomedical imaging technology that has been employed to reconstruct the light absorption characteristics of biological tissues. The latest developments in compressed sensing (CS) technology have shown that it is possible to accurately reconstruct PAI images from sparse data, which can greatly reduce scanning time. This study focuses on the comparative analysis of different CS-based total variation regularization reconstruction algorithms, aimed at finding a method suitable for PAI image reconstruction. The performance of four total variation regularization algorithms is evaluated through the reconstruction experiment of sparse numerical simulation signal and agar phantom signal data. The evaluation parameters include the signal-to-noise ratio and normalized mean absolute error of the PAI image and the CPU time. The comparative results demonstrate that the TVAL3 algorithm can well balance the quality and efficiency of the reconstruction. The results of this study can provide some useful guidance for the development of the PAI sparse reconstruction algorithm.
Bombyxin II Regulates Glucose Absorption and Glycogen Synthesis through the PI3K Signaling Pathway in HepG2 Cells
Authors: Yang Hongliang , Li Hongxia , Song Yang , Sui Yujie , Du Zhenwu , Zhang Guizhen
Published: October 2021

Bombyxin, as an insulin‐like insect hormone, was discovered in the silkmoth Bombyx mori. It can regulate the metabolism of trehalose and glycogen in Bombyx mori, but whether it has glucose absorption and glycogen synthesis effect on mammalian cells was not clear. BombyxinII (BbxII) and mutant BbxII (mBbxII) genes were cloned into pcDNA3.1(+) vector, respectively; then, gene vectors were transfected into 293FT cells using Lipofectamine 2000. Levels of mRNA and protein expression of BbxII and mBbxII were detected by PCR and Western blot in 293FT cells, respectively. Glucose consumption and glycogenesis were determined by glucose oxidase‐peroxidase (GOD‐POD) and periodic acid‐Schiff (PAS) staining in HepG2 cells; the PI3K signaling pathway was inhibited with wortmannin S1952 in HepG2 cells. Result showed that BbxII and mBbxII genes were being successfully expressed in 293FT cells, respectively. The expression protein of BbxII gene is 10kd pre‐bombyxinII, and yet, the expression protein of mBbxII gene is 4kd mature bombyxinII. Only the 4kd bombyxinII showed increased glucose uptake and glycogenesis in HepG2 cells, and the ability of increasing glucose uptake was equal to the human insulin (10 nM). PI3K‐wortmannin S1952 inhibitor can decrease the glycogen synthesis induced by bombyxin II protein in HepG2 cells. In conclusion, mature bombyxin II may adjust glucose absorption and glycogen synthesis in HepG2 cells through the PI3K signaling pathway.
Multiscale Bidirectional Input Convolutional and Deep Neural Network for Human Activity Recognition
Authors: Qiu Yishu , Lin Lanliang , Yang Lvqing , Li Dingzhao , Song Runhan , Xu Gengchen , Shen Shaoqin
Published: October 2021

In this paper, we proposed a multiscale and bidirectional input model based on convolutional neural network and deep neural network, named MBCDNN. In order to solve the problem of inconsistent activity segments, a multiscale input module is constructed to make up for the noise caused by filling. In order to solve the problem that single input is not enough to extract features from original data, we propose to manually design aggregation features combined with forward sequence and reverse sequence and use five cross‐validation and stratified sampling to enhance the generalization ability of the model. According to the particularity of the task, we design an evaluation index combined with scene and action weight, which enriches the learning ability of the model to a great extent. In the 19 kinds of activity data based on scene+action, the accuracy and robustness are significantly improved, which is better than other mainstream traditional methods.
Genetic Diversity of Shanlan Upland Rice (Oryza sativa L.) and Association Analysis of SSR Markers Linked to Agronomic Traits
Authors: Yang Guofeng , Yang Yong , Guan Yali , Xu Zhixia , Wang Junyu , Yun Yong , Yan Xiaowei , Tang Qingjie
Published: October 2021

Shanlan upland rice, a kind of unique rice germplasm in Hainan Island, was used to evaluate genetic diversity and association between SSR markers and agronomic traits. A total of 239 alleles were detected in 57 Hainan upland rice varieties using 35 SSR markers, and the number of alleles per locus was 2‐19. The observed heterozygosity was 0.0655‐0.3115. The Shannon diversity index was 0.1352‐0.4827. The genetic similarity coefficient was 0.6736‐0.9707, and 46 varieties were clustered into one group, indicating that the genetic base of the Shanlan upland rice germplasm was narrow. A total of 25 SSR markers significantly related to plant height, effective panicle number per plant, panicle length, total grain number, filled grain number, seed rating rate, and 1000‐grain weight were obtained (P < 0.01), with the percentage of the total variations explained ranging from 0.12% to 42.62%. RM208 explained 42.62% of the total variations in plant height of Shanlan upland rice. RM493 was significantly associated with 6 agronomic traits. We can speculate that RM208 may flank QTLs responsible for plant height and RM493 may flank QTLs playing a fundamental role in the intertwined regulatory network of agronomic traits of Shanlan upland rice.
Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Torque Properties of Rotary Elastomer Particle Damper considering the Effect of Gap and No Gap between Rotor and Body of the Damper
Authors: Rakhio Allah , Ido Yasushi , Iwamoto Yuhiro , Toyouchi Atsushi
Published: October 2021

Particle dampers are devices used to control the vibration of mechanical systems. In this research, prototypes of rotary elastomer particle dampers are experimentally tested considering gap and no gap between shaft and cylinder. There is a gap between the rotor and cylinder in the gap model; particles can move from one chamber to another. There is no space for the particles to move from one chamber to another in the no‐gap model. Elastomer particles are soft, and they have different behavior from hard (metallic) particles. Experiments on rotary elastomer particle dampers considering the gap between rotor and cylinder helped investigate the effects of the change in packing fraction, rotational speed, size of elastomers, and the gap between the rotor and the damper body. A numerical simulation approach based on the discrete element analysis method is used to perform a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the rotary elastomer particle damper. The simulation results are in great agreement with the experiment results. It is observed that packing fraction, rotational speed, size of elastomer particles, and the gap between rotor and cylinder play a vital role in producing higher damper torque.
The Efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine Combined with Huangqi Tablets in the Treatment of Diabetic Nephropathy
Authors: Chen Xiaorong , Sheng Danhong , Kong Xiangdong
Published: October 2021

Objective. This study aimed to analyze the effect of hydroxychloroquine combined with Huangqi tablets in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods. Eighty patients with DN were enrolled and divided into two groups by a random number table. 27 patients received routine treatment + hydroxychloroquine (group A), while 27 patients received routine treatment + hydroxychloroquine + Huangqi tablets (group B) and 26 patients received routine treatment (group C). Results. FPG, 2h PG, and HbA1c levels as well as TC and TG levels were lower in group B than in groups A and C at the end of 3 months of treatment and were lower in group A than in group C (

P

 < 0.05). SCR, BUN, and 24-hour urine protein were reduced in group B after therapy, whereas eGFR was increased and the difference between groups A and C was significant (

P
=
0.05

). After treatment, VEGF, IGF-1, and TGF-1 levels were lower in group B than in groups A and C and in group A than in group C (

P
=
0.05

). Total symptom scores at 2, 4, and 6 months after treatment was lower in group B than in groups A and C, and they were lower in group A than in group C at all time points (

P

 < 0.05). The total effective rates of treatment in groups A, B, and C were 66.67%, 88.89%, and 38.46% (

P

 < 0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in groups A, B, and C was 37.04%, 25.93%, and 11.54% (

P

 > 0.05). Conclusion. Hydroxychloroquine combined with Huangqi tablets in the treatment of DN showed the best efficacy, with better control of blood glucose and lipids, which can more effectively delay the progression of renal lesions and effectively inhibit the expression of VEGF, IGF, and TGF-β1 in tethered cells with high safety.
Analysis of Continuous Nursing Intervention on Aplastic Anemia Patients Based on the “Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model”
Authors: Shen Wei , Liu Xiaorong , Zhou Aiping
Published: October 2021

Objective. To explore the effect of continuous nursing care based on the “information-motivation-behavioral skills model” (IMB) in the intervention of patients with aplastic anemia. Methods. A total of 90 patients with aplastic anemia who were admitted to our hospital from June 2019 to January 2021 were included in the study. The patients were divided into an observation group and a control group according to the random number table, with 45 patients in each group. The control group received routine nursing care, while the observation group received continuous nursing care based on IMB on the basis of the control group. Patients were followed up for 3 months, and their health knowledge was assessed with our self-made health knowledge rating scale. Patients’ medication compliance was assessed using the Morisky medication compliance questionnaire. The self-care ability was assessed with the self-made self-care ability scale in our hospital. The comprehensive quality of life assessment questionnaire (GQOLI-74) was used to assess the quality of life of patients. A self-prepared nursing satisfaction questionnaire was used to score patients’ nursing satisfaction. The total effective rate of nursing was evaluated. Results. The awareness scores of basic disease knowledge, medication knowledge, and daily self-care knowledge in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (

P

 < 0.05). The scores of medication compliance in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (

P

 < 0.05). The self-care abilities such as healthy diet, psychological adjustment, self-care skills, oral care, and perianal care in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (

P

 < 0.05). The quality of life scores of patients in the two groups in the 3 months of nursing were higher than those when they were discharged from hospital (

P

 < 0.05). The GQOLI-74 score of 3 months’ nursing care in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (

P

 < 0.05). The nursing satisfaction degree of the observation group (97.78%) was higher than that of the control group (82.23%) (

P

 < 0.05). The total effective rate of nursing care in the observation group (97.78%) was higher than that in the control group (77.78%) (

P

 < 0.05). Conclusion. IMB-based continuous nursing care can significantly increase the awareness of health knowledge in patients with aplastic anemia, effectively improve medication compliance, significantly enhance self-care ability, and thus, improve the quality of life.
Salivary Interleukin-6 and C-Reactive Protein/Mean Platelet Volume Ratio in the Diagnosis of Late-Onset Neonatal Pneumonia
Authors: Omran Ahmed , Ali Yasmin , Abdalla Mohamed Osama , El-Sharkawy Sonya , Rezk Ahmed R. , Khashana Abdelmoneim
Published: October 2021

Neonatal pneumonia is a serious respiratory infectious disease with a high rate of case fatality in developing countries. Salivary cytokines could serve as interesting noninvasive markers in the diagnosis of neonatal pneumonia. The aim was to assess the diagnostic role of salivary and serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein/mean platelet volume (CRP/MPV) ratio, and the combination of these markers in the diagnosis of late-onset neonatal pneumonia in full-term neonates. Seventy full-term neonates, 35 with late-onset neonatal pneumonia and 35 controls, were enrolled in this prospective case-control study. Complete blood count (CBC), salivary and serum IL-6, and CRP concentrations were measured for all the study subjects. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of salivary IL-6, serum IL-6, and CRP/MPV ratio for the diagnosis of late-onset neonatal pneumonia were determined. At the cutoff point of >34 pg/ml, salivary IL-6 showed 82.86% sensitivity and 91.43% specificity. CRP/MPV ratio showed a sensitivity of 97.14% and specificity of 85.71% at a

cutoff
 
value
>
0.88

. The combination of salivary IL-6 and CRP/MPV ratio improved the sensitivity and specificity to 100%. The current study shows for the first time that both salivary IL-6 and CRP/MPV ratio are suitable markers for the diagnosis of late-onset neonatal pneumonia in full-term neonates.
Virtual Viewpoint Film and Television Synthesis Based on the Intelligent Algorithm of Wireless Network Communication for Image Repair
Authors: Zhang Jianfeng
Published: October 2021

With the development of the computer vision field, the acquisition of scene depth information is one of the important topics in the three‐dimensional reconstruction of the computer vision field, and its significance is particularly important. The purpose of this paper is to study the virtual viewpoint video synthesis for image restoration based on the intelligent algorithm of wireless network communication. Aiming at the hole problem caused by the change of occlusion relationship, this paper proposes a hole‐filling method based on background recognition. A threshold segmentation algorithm is used to reduce the filling priority of foreground pixels at the boundary of the hole and fully solve the hole problem. This paper also proposes a wireless sensor network node positioning model with swarm intelligence algorithm, which combines swarm intelligence algorithm with some key issues of wireless sensor network, speeds up the convergence, and improves the traditional intelligence algorithm. According to the experimental data in this paper, the algorithm in this paper is about 20% higher than the traditional algorithm in PSNR. On SSIM, the performance of the algorithm in this paper is 4.6% higher than the traditional algorithm at most, and the lowest is 2.2%.
Latitudinal Variation into the Macrofaunal Assemblages Associated to Zostera noltei Seagrass along the Atlantic Coast of Morocco
Authors: Bououarour Oussama , Boutoumit Soilam , El Kamcha Reda , Bazairi Hocein
Published: October 2021

Large-scale research on seagrass-associated benthic fauna is very important for future regional marine conservation. In our study, we investigated spatial and latitudinal variation of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages associated to Zostera noltei Hornemann, 1832 beds from five semi-enclosed coastal systems (SECSs) ranging from 23°N to 34°N along the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Overall, 17,320 individuals were reported as belonging to 96 taxa. The ecological community descriptors differ significantly at the level of the site. Specific richness showed an inconsistent significant pattern with latitude. The multivariate analyses of the assemblage’s composition showed 57% of total variation observed in benthic assemblages, while the PERMANOVA analysis confirmed that this variation is significant at the level of the site. According to DistLM results, variations in belowground biomass, and percentage of mud, were the important predictor variables explaining this variation along the large scale of the studied SECS. However, such patterns could be related to other factors such as habitat heterogeneity and regional, biogeographic, and anthropogenic factors. The present study marked the first attempt on broad-scale ecological research of seagrass beds in Morocco and offers baseline data for planning the broad-scale conservation of biodiversity in seagrass beds that remain suffering from multiple human-induced threats such as coastal developments and climate change.
Poisson Regression-Based Mean Estimator
Authors: Shahzad Usman , Shahzadi Shabnam , Afshan Noureen , Al-Noor Nadia H. , Alilah David Anekeya , Hanif Muhammad , Anas Malik Muhammad
Published: October 2021

The most frequent method for modeling count responses in numerous investigations is the Poisson regression model. Under simple random sampling, this paper offers utilizing Poisson regression-based mean estimator and discovers its associated formula of the mean square error (MSE). The MSE of the proposed estimator is compared to the MSE of traditional ratio estimators in theory. As a result of these evaluations, the proposed estimator has been proven to be more efficient than traditional estimators. Furthermore, the practical results corroborated the theoretical findings.
Neoadjuvant In Situ Immunomodulation Enhances Systemic Antitumor Immunity against Highly Metastatic Tumors
Authors: Oba Takaaki , Kajihara Ryutaro , Yokoi Toshihiro , Repasky Elizabeth A. , Ito Fumito
Published: October 2021

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy, given before surgical resection, is a promising approach to develop systemic antitumor immunity for the treatment of high-risk resectable disease. Here, using syngeneic and orthotopic mouse models of triple-negative breast cancer, we have tested the hypothesis that generation of tumor-specific T-cell responses by induction and activation of tumor-residing Batf3-dependent conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1) before resection improves control of distant metastatic disease and survival. Mice bearing highly metastatic orthotopic tumors were treated with a combinatorial in situ immunomodulation (ISIM) regimen comprised of intratumoral administration of Flt3L, local radiotherapy, and in situ TLR3/CD40 stimulations, followed by surgical resection. Neoadjuvant ISIM (neo-ISIM) generated tumor-specific CD8+ T cells that infiltrated into distant nonirradiated metastatic sites, which delayed the progression of lung metastases and improved survival after the resection of primary tumors. The efficacy of neo-ISIM was dependent on de novo adaptive T-cell immunity elicited by Batf3-dependent dendritic cells and was enhanced by increasing dose and fractionation of radiotherapy, and early surgical resection after the completion of neo-ISIM. Importantly, neo-ISIM synergized with programmed cell death protein-1 ligand-1 (PD-L1) blockade to improve control of distant metastases and prolong survival, while removal of tumor-draining lymph nodes abrogated the antimetastatic efficacy of neo-ISIM. Our findings illustrate the therapeutic potential of neoadjuvant multimodal intralesional therapy for the treatment of resectable tumors with high risk of relapse.

Significance:

Neoadjuvant induction and activation of cDC1s in primary tumors enhances systemic antitumor immunity, suppresses metastatic progression, improves survival, and synergizes with anti–PD-L1 therapy.
T Cells Promote Metastasis by Regulating Extracellular Matrix Remodeling following Chemotherapy
Authors: Haj-Shomaly Jozafina , Vorontsova Avital , Barenholz-Cohen Tamar , Levi-Galibov Oshrat , Devarasetty Mahesh , Timaner Michael , Raviv Ziv , Cooper Tim J. , Soker Shay , Hasson Peleg , Weihs Daphne , Scherz-Shouval Ruth , Shaked Yuval
Published: October 2021

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related mortality. Despite intense efforts to understand the mechanisms underlying the metastatic process, treatment of metastatic cancer is still challenging. Here we describe a chemotherapy-induced, host-mediated mechanism that promotes remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), ultimately facilitating cancer cell seeding and metastasis. Paclitaxel (PTX) chemotherapy enhanced rapid ECM remodeling and mechanostructural changes in the lungs of tumor-free mice, and the protein expression and activity of the ECM remodeling enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) increased in response to PTX. A chimeric mouse model harboring genetic LOX depletion revealed chemotherapy-induced ECM remodeling was mediated by CD8+ T cells expressing LOX. Consistently, adoptive transfer of CD8+ T cells, but not CD4+ T cells or B cells, from PTX-treated mice to naïve immunodeprived mice induced pulmonary ECM remodeling. Lastly, in a clinically relevant metastatic breast carcinoma model, LOX inhibition counteracted the metastasis-promoting, ECM-related effects of PTX. This study highlights the role of immune cells in regulating ECM and metastasis following chemotherapy, suggesting that inhibiting chemotherapy-induced ECM remodeling represents a potential therapeutic strategy for metastatic cancer.

Significance:

Chemotherapy induces prometastatic pulmonary ECM remodeling by upregulating LOX in T cells, which can be targeted with LOX inhibitors to suppress metastasis.

See related commentary by Kolonin and Woodward, p. 197