bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Empirical analysis of Integrated Teaching Mode of International Trade Based on Practical training data detection and Neural Network
Authors: Chen Lifang
Published: March 2023

With the continuous development of China's foreign trade, the foreign trade industry requires universities to train more application-oriented talents with specific theoretical basis and professional knowledge. However, on the one hand, the gap between international trade professionals within enterprises is widening; On the other hand, many international trade graduates are not engaged in the foreign trade industry because their professional skills are not recognized, resulting in a waste of teaching resources. The root of this dilemma lies in the serious disconnection between the traditional training mode of international trade professionals and the international development background of Chinese foreign trade enterprises. This paper focuses on neural network technology, and then analyzes the integrated teaching mode of international trade. The integrated teaching resources studied in this paper come from various sources, mainly including traditional textbooks, courseware and other resources, as well as self-made MOOC courses and other MOOC platform course resources and other online teaching resources. In this paper, the framework of the integrated teaching model is mainly designed from three aspects: pre analysis, curriculum design, assessment and evaluation. It can be found that the following practice on integrated teaching mode is very successful in MOOC, which improves students' self-study ability and also cultivates their ability to cooperate and communicate. This proves that the integrated teaching model of international trade in this paper is effective. Through the research and discussion of neural network technology, this paper applies it to the integrated teaching mode, which provides a more powerful technical guarantee for the training of international trade talents.
Effectiveness and adverse effects of vaginal misoprostol as a single agent for second trimester pregnancy termination: The impact of fetal viability
Authors: Pongsatha Saipin , Suntornlimsiri Nuchanart , Tongsong Theera
Published: March 2023

Purpose
To compare the effectiveness of vaginal misoprostol for second trimester termination between pregnancies with a dead fetus in utero and those with a live fetus and to identify factors associated with the success rate.
Methods
Singleton pregnancies with live fetuses and dead fetuses, between 14 and 28 weeks, with unfavorable cervix were recruited to have pregnancy termination with intravaginal misoprostol 400 mcg every 6 hours.
Results
Misoprostol was highly effective for termination, with a low failure rate of 6.3%. The effectiveness was significantly higher in pregnancies with a dead fetus (log-rank test; p: 0.008), with median delivery time of 11.2 vs 16.7 hours. Fetal viability, fetal weight or gestational age and an initial Bishop score were significantly related with total amount of misoprostol dosage used for induction. Fetal viability and gestational age / fetal weight were still an independent factor after adjustment on multivariate analysis.
Conclusion
Vaginal misoprostol is highly effective for second trimester termination, with significantly higher effectiveness in pregnancies with a dead fetus. Also, the effectiveness is significantly associated with birth weight / gestational age, and initial Bishop score, suggesting that the regimen of misoprostol should be modified, depending on fetal viability and gestational age.
Identification of Subtypes Associated with Pyroptosis and Immune Cell Death, Prediction using Prognostic Models, and Analysis of Tumor Microenvironment in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Ge yi , Liu Shuang , He Jing , Xia Jiaqi
Published: March 2023

Purpose: Pyroptosis and immunogenic cell death (ICD) are two pathways of programmed cell death (PCD). The role of pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) and immunogenic cell death-related genes (ICDGs) in the alteration of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear to date.
Method: We used the consensus clustering analysis for the classification of subtypes from TCGA datasets.Regression analysis was performed to identify the significant genes. We analyzed the infiltration of immune cells in each patient's TME. Finally, a Nomogram model was constructed, which was related to the clinical phenotype of the patients.
Result: In the consensus clustering, HNSCC patients were divided into different subtypes according to the expression levels of PRGs and ICDGs. The risk score was obtained based on 19 risk genes, and the patients were divided into a high-risk group and a low-risk group. The low-risk group was observed to be strongly associated with better survival. The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed the risk scores of pyroptosis and ICD as independent prognostic indicators.
Conclusion: It is important to type HNSCC according to PRGs and ICDGs, to develop effective treatment strategies for HNSCC.
A 64-year-old woman with recurrent cough and expectoration for 8 months after CAR-T cell therapy
Authors: Fang Chuangsen , Zhong Xefeng , Li Yanming
Published: March 2023

Background: Various side effects may occur after CAR-T cell therapy, including cytokine release syndrome, tumor lysis syndrome, graft versus host reaction, etc. However, there is no report of bronchiolitis obliterans after CAR-T treatment.
Case presentation: A 64-year-old woman was diagnosed with multiple myeloma type IgG-λ stage IIIA. After receiving CAR-T therapy 8 months ago, cough and expectoration occurred. Chest CT scan showed ground glass opacity in the upper lobe of the right lung and the basal segment of the left lower lobe. After antibiotic treatment, the patient's symptoms and imaging performance did not significantly improve. Through bronchoscopy biopsy, it was ultimately diagnosed as bronchitis obliterans. After receiving glucocorticoid and azithromycin treatment, the patient's condition was controlled.
Conclusion: CAR-T cell therapy may be one of the causes of BO. Treatment with glucocorticoids and azithromycin may be helpful.
Altered functional brain networks in problematic Internet use: resting-state fMRI study
Authors: Áfra Eszter , Janszky József , Perlaki Gábor , Orsi Gergely , Nagy Szilvia Anett , Arató Ákos , Szente Anna , Alhour Husamalddin Ali Mohammad , Kis-Jakab Gréta , Darnai Gergely
Published: March 2023

Nowadays, the limitless availability to the World Wide Web can lead to general Internet misuse and dependence. Currently, problematic Internet, smartphone and social media use belong to the most prevalent behavioral addictions. However, the neurobiological background of these Internet related behavioral addictions is not sufficiently explored. In this study, these addiction forms were assessed with self-reported questionnaires. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was acquired for all participants (n=72, 36 males) to examine functional brain networks. The resting-state networks that were discovered using independent component analysis were analyzed to estimate within network differences. Significant negative associations with problematic Internet use, social media addiction and smartphone addiction were found in the language network, the lateral and medial visual networks, the auditory network, the sensorimotor network and the executive network. Our study suggests that problematic Internet, smartphone and social media use can cause alterations in sensory processing and higher cognitive functioning.
Modeling study of particle flow pattern and in-out plasma density asymmetry in the divertor region due to drifts with SOLPS and BOUT++
Authors: Deng G. Z. , Yu C. H. , Wang X. M. , Feng W. , Liu X. J. , Yang H. H.
Published: March 2023

A study of the effects of drifts on the particle flow pattern and in-out divertor plasma density asymmetry for L-mode and H-mode plasmas is carried out for EAST discharges by the edge plasma transport codes SOLPS and BOUT++. The simulation of L-mode plasmas is done by SOLPS while the simulation of H-mode plasmas is done by BOUT++. The toroidal magnetic field direction for the simulated discharge is artificially reversed in the codes to study the effects of different drift directions on the divertor particle flow pattern and the in-out asymmetry of divertor plasma density. The divertor particle flows induced by diamagnetic and E×B drifts are found to have similar directions in the divertor region for the same discharge. The directions of the flows induced by drifts would be reversed with the reverse of toroidal magnetic field direction. The diamagnetic drift seems to have no effect on the in-out asymmetry of divertor plasma density due to its divergence-free nature. However, the E×B drift could result in a pronounced asymmetry of plasma density between the inner and outer divertor targets. The density in-out asymmetry caused by E×B drift is reversed with the reverse of E×B drift flow direction. Detailed analysis shows that the radial component of the E×B drift flow is the main cause of density asymmetry. The results from the simulation of H-mode plasmas with BOUT + + are similar to those of the L-mode plasmas with SOLPS except that the drift effects seem to be slightly larger in the H-mode plasmas compared to the L-mode plasmas.
A comprehensive evaluation model for university classroom teaching quality based on machine vision and Fermatean fuzzy sets
Authors: Li Junbo , Zhang Fangwei , Wang Rui , Ni Huan , Li Taiyang
Published: March 2023

Traditional course teaching evaluation models face increasing challenges in higher education due to their limitations in measuring qualitative indicators. To address this issue, this study constructs a classroom teaching quality evaluation system based on YOLOv5 object detection technology and the five major processes of course teaching management. Here, Fermatean fuzzy set (FFS) is introduced to express the uncertainty in the evaluation process. The core of this study is to establish a scientifically effective comprehensive evaluation model for university classroom teaching quality. Specifically, this model utilizes the minimum discriminative information principle and combines the order relation analysis method (G1 method) and the FFS entropy weighting method to determine attribute weights for weighted attribution. Thereafter, the proposed generalized distance measurement formula is utilized to enhance the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) for assessing similarity, thereby achieving the objective of evaluating classroom teaching. Eventually, the effectiveness and practicality of the evaluation model are validated through case studies and comparisons with other methods.
An integrative bioinformatics investigation and experimental validation of immune- related genes in overflow arteriovenous fistula
Authors: Lu Peng , Wang Tun , Wan Zicheng , Wang Mo , Zhou Yang , He Zhenyu , Liao Sheng , Liu Haiyang , Shu Chang
Published: March 2023

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred vascular access for hemodialysis. However, the low rate of AVF maturation is a pressing issue. While the role of immunity and inflammation in AVF has been recognized, there is no research describing their effects on AVF maturation from a bioinformatics perspective. In this study, we analyzed the GSE119296 dataset to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and then performed Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis (KEGG) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). We also performed immune cell infiltration analysis and identified differentially expressed immune-related genes (DEIRGs). Our results showed that immune-related genes and signaling pathways are significantly enriched in mature AVF. We found that the proportion of macrophages, plasma cells and follicular helper T cells increased significantly in matured AVF. The gene expression of candidate hub genes obtained from the PPI network increased sequentially in native veins, failed AVFs, and matured AVFs. We validated the candidate hub genes using qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, and ultimately identified three hub genes (IL1B, IL6, CXCR4). Our bioinformatics research provides potential targets to further explore the effects of inflammation and immunity in AVF.
Brookite TiO2 Nanosquares Synthesized by a Novel Green Hydrothermal Method
Authors: Wu Zhigang , Wang Yulei , Wang Le , Zhang Aiwei
Published: March 2023

Brookite TiO2 nanopsquares were synthesized by using a mixture of TiBALDH and TiOCl2 and low-temperature hydrothermal method at 150℃. The process does not need any template, organic additive, or organic solvent. It is proved to be a clean, simple, time-saving, and mild reaction condition route to prepare brookite TiO2 nanopsquares. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) prove that a pure brookite TiO2 nanosquares with mean edge length of ∼51 nm were successfully prepared. The obtained brookite nanosquares show outstanding photoactivity toward the decomposition of Rhodamine B in water under UV light irradiation which is even better than Degussa P25.
A Multi-View Learning Approach to Enhance Automatic 12-Lead ECG Diagnosis Performance
Authors: Choi Jae-Won , Hong Dae-Yong , Jung Chan , Hwang Eugene , Park Sung-Hyuk , Roh Seung-Young
Published: March 2023

The electrocardiogram (ECG) has important clinical value for the early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Recently, the performance of existing diagnosis models based on ECG data has improved with the introduction of deep learning (DL). However, the impact of various combinations of multiple DL components and/or the role of augmentation techniques on the diagnosis have not been sufficiently investigated in this field. In this sense, this study aims to design an integrated model consisting of diverse DL-based modules. Here, an ensemble-based multi-view learning approach with an ECG augmentation technique is proposed to achieve higher performance than traditional automatic 12-lead ECG diagnosis methods. Accordingly, several experiments have been conducted with CPSC2018 dataset for evaluation. The proposed model reports F1 score of 0.840, which outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods in the literature. Thus, this study provides quantitative evidence demonstrating that the multi-view learning approach can be used as a unified algorithmic method in the field of bioinformatics.
Augmented Reality based Language and Math Learning Applications for Preschool Children Education
Authors: Yao Wei , Wang Lei , Liu Deyang
Published: March 2023

AR-supported learning methods are widely applied in preschool education. In order to improve and develop preschool children’s capacity in learning English language and math, this paper puts forward two AR-based applications by fully considering children?? developmental characteristics. Combining the designed cartoon picture cards, 3D models and cartoon videos, the developed AR applications can enrich children’s learning experience in virtue of marker-based AR technique. To evaluate the effect of the proposed AR applications, two tests are conducted to respectively investigate the usability and children’s learning achievement. The results demonstrate that (1) the AR applications can provide a fun learning environment and enable children to participate in the teaching activities; (2) the user interfaces of our AR applications are neat and easy to follow; (3) the preschool teachers present an inclination towards AR applications in teaching activities; (3) the designed AR applications benefit in mastering English language and math skills for preschool children.
Ursolic acid inhibits autophagy-dependent neuronal cell death by reducing oxidative stress levels in an in vitro model of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Gao Jinyong , Lei BingHai , He Hui , Xi Di , Wu Qian , Wang XiaoDong , Li Na , Tian ZhenZhen , Zhu Qing , Yu Yanyan
Published: March 2023

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease in middle-aged and elderly people. The pathogenesis of PD is complicated, resulting from the comprehensive action of many factors [3-5]. In addition, increasing studies have shown that autophagy plays an important role in the development of PD [6-9]. We found that Rotenone caused ROS to build up, which led to apoptosis. However, it is still not clear whether AMPK is involved in Rotenone-induced inhibition of autophagy and apoptosis. We found that Rotenone induced a significant increase in mitochondrial oxidative stress and activated AMPK signaling, leading to a decrease in intracellular autophagy and then apoptosis. The inhibition of autophagy, oxidative stress, and apoptosis induced by Rotenone could be significantly reversed by reducing the oxidative stress level with ursolic acid. In addition, the passivation of AMPK with Ad-dnAMPKα significantly alleviate AMPK phosphorylation, autophagy inhibition, oxidative stress, and apoptosis induced by Rotenone. In conclusion, Rotenone leads to autophagosome-dependent accumulation of apoptosis by inhibiting AMPK-impaired neuronal autophagy flux. Our results highlight that inhibiting AMPK activity and oxidative stress using ursolic acid to improve autophagy levels is a promising strategy to combat Rotenone-induced neurotoxicity.
Comparative study of interaction energies between αIIbβ3 integrin and the peptidic, peptidomimetic and non-peptidic ligands by quantum mechanics FMO-PIEDA calculations
Authors: Kóňa Juraj
Published: March 2023

Integrins are one of the major families of cell adhesion receptors. The recognition of the vital roles of integrins in various diseases revealed their therapeutic potential. To better understand an adhesion mechanism of integrins, pair interaction energy decomposition analysis (PIEDA) along the two-body fragmented molecular orbital (FMO) method was used. Interaction energies were evaluated between the amino acid residues including Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions at ligand-binding site of αIIbβ3 integrin and two peptide chains with the Ala-Gly-Asp and the Arg-Gly-Asp binding motifs, a cyclic peptide (eptifibatide), peptidomimetic ligands (tirofiban and L-739758) and poly(L-lactic acid) chain (PLA). The results indicate that Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions together with Asp224A, Asn215B, Asp159A and Lys125B of αIIbβ3 are the most important residues for a binding of the peptidic ligands while for the peptidomimetic ligands and PLA, interactions with Ca2+ ions are less significant than those with amino acid residues of αIIbβ3. For all complexes a dominant part of interaction energy comes from electrostatic interactions. Based on optimized geometries at the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) level an interaction pattern predicted for PLA was compared with the native peptidic ligands.
Self-efficacy of advanced cancer patients for participation in treatment related decision- making: the ACTION study.
Authors: Yildiz Berivan , Korfage Ida J. , Deliens Luc , Preston Nancy , Miccinesi Guido , Ceh Hana Kodba , Pollock Kristian , Johnsen Anna Thit , Delden Johannes van , Rietjens Judith , Heide Agnes van der
Published: March 2023

Purpose: Many patients prefer an active role in making decisions about their care and treatment, but participating in such decision-making is challenging. The aim of this study was to investigate whether patient reported outcomes (quality of life and patient satisfaction), patients’ coping strategies, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were associated with self-efficacy for participation in decision-making among patients with advanced cancer.
Methods: We used baseline data from the ACTION trial of patients with advanced colorectal or lung cancer from six European countries, including scores on the Decision-making Participation Self-efficacy (DEPS) scale, EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire and the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to examine associations with self-efficacy scores.
Results: The sample included 660 patients, mean age 66 years (SD 10). Patients had a mean score of 73 (SD 24) for self-efficacy. Problem-focused coping (B 1.58 (95% CI 0.91 to 2.25)), better quality of life (B 3.60 (95% CI 2.22 to 4.98)) and more patient satisfaction (B 8.02 (95% CI 6.02 to 10.10)) were associated with a higher level of self-efficacy. Patients in the Netherlands had a higher level of self-efficacy than patients in Belgium ((B 10.77 (95% CI 5.47 to 16.07)), whereas Italian patients had a lower level ((B -7.38 (95% CI -12.94 to -1.83)) than those in Belgium.
Conclusion: Coping style, quality of life and patient satisfaction with care were associated with self-efficacy for participation in decision-making among patients with advanced cancer. These factors are important to consider for healthcare professionals when supporting patients in decision-making processes.
Enhanced low-temperature activity of toluene combustion over Ce-modified Co3O4 catalyst by weakening Co−O strength
Authors: Cheng Lijun , Fan Tingting , Mao Kangping , Chang Hong , Ren Xiaoli , Zhang Biao , Jiang Yi
Published: March 2023

In this study, a series of Ce-modified Co3O4catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation. The influence of Ce/(Ce + Co) ratio on the catalyst microstructure and catalytic oxidation performance of toluene were systematically investigated. The results showed that introduction of Ce lead to great changes in the structure with a smaller crystallite size of Co3O4and larger specific surface area of the catalyst. More importantly, Ce dopant can significantly weaken the Co-O bond strength and enhance the activity of oxygen species, thus improving the degradation efficiency of toluene. Due to the weakest Co-O bond strength, abundant oxygen vacancy, and the strongest reducibility of Co3+, CoCe0.05Oxcatalyst exhibited the best catalytic oxidation activity of toluene (T90 = 225℃). In addition, CoCe0.05Oxcatalyst presented good stability and repeatability during 30 h durability test under water vapor.
Effectiveness model of automatic machine translation of publicity texts based on deep learning
Authors: Fan LU
Published: March 2023

The constant emergence and rapid popularization of various intelligent technologies have brought a lot of convenience to people's lives, and also changed people's usual way of life. The use of machine automatic translation technology can greatly improve the efficiency of the analysis of publicity text information, and it is very helpful for people to deal with publicity text. The emergence of text machine automatic translation technology has brought convenience and new ideas to people's processing of large amounts of data. In the process of application, this technology will first model and analyze the semantic information contained in the text to be processed, and then output the information that people need according to their data processing requirements. In order to more clearly illustrate the effect of automatic text machine translation technology in practical applications, this paper selects two different types of text models, compares and analyzes the actual performance of this technology, and conducts a comparative study on the effect of Seq2Seq model and pre training model in translating text information. Combined with the relevant theory of deep learning, this paper illustrates the advantages and differences of the two models in translation effects, It provides scientific reference for the improvement of automatic translation model of publicity texts.
Existence of bound state solutions for p-Laplacian equation with critical growth
Authors: Dai Tingting , Ou Zengqi , Lv Ying
Published: March 2023

Note: Please see pdf for full abstract with equations.
In this paper, we study the following p-Laplacian problem
−Δpu + V(x)|u|p−2u = |u|p*−2u + α(x)|u|q−2u, x ∈ RN,
u ∈ W1,p(RN),
where Δp := div(|∇u|p−2∇u) is the p-Laplacian operator, V is a nonnegative function, N > p2, 1 < p < q < p* and p* = Np/N−p is the Sobolev critical exponent. Under appropriate assumptions on V and a, we prove that this problem has at least two distinct bound state solutions.
Temporal changes in green spaces of Guwahati city, Assam, India with special reference to tree community structure of selected urban green patches
Authors: Goswami Maitreyee , Bayan Jijnyasha , Dutta Uma , Hazarika Arup Kumar , Sarma Kuladip
Published: March 2023

Urban green spaces are of utmost necessity in the context of urban ecology and there is an ever-growing list of challenges being faced by these due to various anthropogenic activities. The current study aims to estimate the temporal changes in green spaces of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and also investigate the tree community structure of three selected green patches. The change detection analysis of the identified green spaces has been done by comparing Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) map of the year 2022 with that of the year 1972 using satellite images for both the years. The NDVI maps have been reclassified into three threshold categories viz., No Vegetation (NV), Moderate Vegetation (MV) and High Vegetation (HV). The results show changes in the area of the selected green patches between 1972 and 2022. Whereas, the tree community structure in the three selected patches indicates low diversity of plant species. Subsequently, the categories of the green spaces viz., NV, MV and HV also show significant changes over the last 50 years. The result of the current study prioritizes patch wise management of urban green spaces in the Guwahati city with the help of both remotely sensed and ground data. Thus, the present study can significantly contribute in conservation and management of urban greeneries based on landscape management strategies.
Medical testing services’ quality enhancement with discrete-event simulation
Authors: Mira Jorge , Ferreira Diogo Cunha , Caldas Paulo , Varela Miguel
Published: March 2023

In recent years, the demand for health care has increased owing to the ongoing introduction of new health problems and the intensification of existing illnesses. As research in this area progresses, knowledge becomes the primary motivation for patients to adopt a better quality of life. Consequently, many health units have struggled to develop solutions to manage excessive demand while maintaining a high quality of service to enhance patient satisfaction and boost revenues. One of these tactics is using simulation models as a method of operational research to analyze the flow of patients and predict potential solutions to enhance resource efficiency while decreasing waiting time. This work aims to develop and demonstrate a simulation model that replicates the functioning of a hospital unit. For this purpose, data derived from the health services of the Imaging Department of a private hospital, located in Lisbon, Portugal, were used. This model will replicate the daily flow that this department is subjected to by its patients and personnel and depict how the system evolves due to the management of the department's number of resources and examination rooms. At the end of the analyses, several solutions are presented and discussed, from level to level, concerning improvements in the performance of services, resources and patients. However, only the increase in one unit of examination rooms translates into a huge positive impact on waiting times in the respective queues.
Comparison of growth performance and biochemical components between low salinity tolerant hybrid and imported populations of Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus vannamei
Authors: Ye Yucong , Zhang Junya , Yang Ying , Tian Jiangtao , Xu Wenyue , Zhu Bihong , Du Xinglin , Huang Yizhou , Li Yiming , Zhao Yunlong
Published: March 2023

Penaeus vannamei, a high yield economical shrimp, is confronting germplasm degradation in the brine culture environments found in China. Genetic improvement by hybridization is an effective way to solve this problem. In this study, EB and CE hybrid was obtained from Guam wild B, C and E families from Shanghai Ocean University. EB and CE were used as parents to obtain genetic hybrids suitable for freshwater culture. The control group was shrimp imported from the Hainan Lutai Company. The two groups of shrimp were cultured for 3 months under salinities of 1‰, 5‰, and 15‰. Growth performance-related indicators, biochemical composition, and growth-related gene expression were examined. The results showed that at salinities of 1‰ and 5‰, the survival rate and growth performance of the low salt breeding group were better than those of the imported population. The digestive enzyme activity in the low salt breeding group was higher, which was consistent with its better growth performance, and was also associated with higher triglyceride, total cholesterol, and glycogen content. Lower levels of lactic acid indicated less anaerobic metabolism and better adaptability to the environment. The amino acid analysis of fatty acids showed that levels of essential amino acids and high unsaturated fatty acids were both higher in the low-salt breeding group than in the imported shrimp cultured in low salinity. The expression levels of genes associated with growth and hair removal were also higher in the low salt breeding group than in the imported shrimp group. The results indicated that the hybrid shrimp showed better growth performance and nutritional advantages compared with the imported shrimp under salinities of 1‰ and 5‰. This research provided a valuable reference for subsequent genetic breeding and shrimp culture.
METTL14-dependent m 6 A modification of circUGGT2 drives gastric cancer progression by sponging miR-186-3p and upregulating MAP3K9
Authors: Chen Xiao-Yu , Yang Yan-Ling , Chen Zhao-Yu , Yu Yi , Chen Ming , Fan Hui-Ning , Zhang Jing , Zhu Jin-Shui
Published: March 2023

Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification has been shown to act fundamental roles in cancer progression. However, the underlying mechanisms by which m6A modification of circRNAs contributes to gastric cancer (GC) remain unknown.
Methods: METTL14-mediated m6A modification of circRNAs was identified by an m6A-circRNA epi-transcriptomic microarray and verified by methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP) and m6A dot blot. Cell bio-behaviors were measured by molecular oncology experiments in vitro and in vivo. The mechanisms underlying gastric tumorigenesis were conducted by RIP, luciferase gene report, RT-qPCR. and Western blot analyses. The prognostic significance was analyzed by FISH and TCGA dataset.
Results: We found that hsa_circ_0030632 (circUGGT2) was a predominant m6A target of METTL14, and METTL14 knockdown (KD) reduced circUGGT2 m6A levels but increased its mRNA levels. circUGGT2 KD impaired cell growth and metastasis in vitro and in vivo, but circUGGT2 overexpression prompted these effects. Furthermore, circUGGT2 was validated to sponge miR-186-3p and upregulate MAP3K9 and could abolish METTL14-caused miR-186-3p upregulation and MAP3K9 downregulation in GC cells. circUGGT2 negatively correlated with miR-186-3p expression and harbored a poor prognosis in patients with GC.
Conclusion: Our findings unveil that METTL14-dependent m6A modification of circUGGT2 promotes GC progression by sponging miR-186-3p and upregulating MAP3K9.
First-principles Study on α/β/γ-FeB 6 Monolayers as Potential Gas Sensor for H 2 S and SO 2
Authors: Wang Chao , Zhang Yuhang , Huang Rongfang , Wei Xueqian , Zhao Xiaoxiao , Geng Shiyi , Xue Yuxin , Hou Jianhua , Duan Qian
Published: March 2023

The adsorptions of toxic gases SO2 and H2S on 2D α/β/γ-FeB6 monolayer were investigated using density functional theory calculations. To analyze the interaction between gas molecule H2S/SO2 and α/β/γ-FeB6 monolayer, we calculated adsorption energy, adsorption distance, Mullikan charge, charge density difference, band structure, density of states, work function and theoretical recovery time. The adsorption energies show that H2S/SO2 is chemisorbed on α/β-FeB6 while H2S/SO2 is physiosorbed on γ-FeB6 monolayer. As a result, γ-FeB6 has short recover time for H2S (3.40×10− 4 s)/SO2 (5.09×10− 3 s) due to modest adsorption. Therefore, γ-FeB6 may be a promising candidate for reusable H2S/SO2 sensor at room temperature. Although H2S is chemisorbed on α/β-FeB6, as the working temperature rises to 500 K, the recovery time of α/β-FeB6 for H2S can decrease to 1.34×10− 2 s and 5.23×10− 1 s, respectively, which are well within the detectable range. So, α/β-FeB6 monolayer also may be good candidate for H2S gas sensor.
Bone marrow-derived c-kit positive stem cell administration protects against diabetes-induced nephropathy in a rat model by reversing PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathway and inhibiting cell apoptosis
Authors: Ghaffari-Nasab Arshad , Ghiasi Fariba , Keyhanmanesh Rana , Roshangar Leila , Korjan Elnaz Salmani , Nazarpoor Navid , Bavil Fariba Mirzaei
Published: March 2023

Stem cell-based therapy has been proposed as a novel therapeutic strategy for diabetic nephropathy. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of systemic administration of rat bone marrow-derived c-kit positive (c-kit⁺) cells on diabetic nephropathy in male rats, focusing on PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathway and apoptosis as a possible therapeutic mechanism. Twenty-eight animals were randomly classified into four groups: Control group (C), diabetic group (D), diabetic group, intravenously received 50 μl phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing 3×105 c-kit- cells (D+ckit-); and diabetic group, intravenously received 50 μl PBS containing 3×105 c-Kit positive cells (D+ckit+). Control and diabetic groups intravenously received 50 μl PBS. C-kit+ cell therapy could reduce renal fibrosis, which was associated with attenuation of inflammation as indicated by decreased TNF-α and IL-6 levels in the kidney tissue. In addition, c-kit+ cells restored the expression levels of PI3K, pAKT, and GSK-3β proteins. Furthermore, renal apoptosis was decreased following c-kit+ cell therapy, evidenced by the lower apoptotic index in parallel with the increased Bcl-2 and decreased Bax and Caspase-3 levels. Our results showed that in contrast to c-kit– cells, the administration of c-kit+ cells ameliorate diabetic nephropathy and suggested that c-kit+ cells could be an alternative cell source for attenuating diabetic nephropathy.
Convergence Analysis for Elliptic Quasivariational Inequalities
Authors: Barboteu Mikaël , Sofonea Mircea
Published: March 2023

We deal with a class of elliptic quasivariational inequalities with constraints in a reflexive Banach space. We use arguments of monotonicity, convexity and compactness in order to prove a convergence criterion for such inequalities.This criterion allows us to consider a new well-posedness concept in the study of the corresponding inequalities,which extends the classical Tykhonov and Levitin-Polyak well-posedness concepts used in the literature.Then, we introduce a new penalty method, for which we provide a convergence result. Finally, we consider a variational inequality which describes the equilibrium of a spring-rods system, under the action of external forces.We apply our abstract results in the study of this inequality and provide the corresponding mechanical interpretations. We also present numerical simulations which validate our convergence results.
2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 47J20, 49J27, 49J40, 49K20, 74M15, 74M10.
HBWO-CML: An energy-efficient Hybrid Black Widow Optimisation and a Combined Machine Learning approach for VM Placement
Authors: Goyal Sahul , Awasthi Lalit Kumar
Published: March 2023

Cloud data centers remove the hardware barriers for the world with enormous storage and computing capabilities and provide access from anywhere over the internet with the concept of virtual machines (VM) and physical machines (PM). These cloud centers raise the problem of lack of resource utilisation and energy waste. These drawbacks have led many researchers to propose VM placement techniques that improve resource utilization and energy consumption. The research proposes VM migration/consolidation and host selection techniques to improve the resource utilisation of cloud centers. This research suggests hybrid black widow optimization (HBWO) and a combined machine learning model to mitigate the problem of cloud centers. HBWO optimizes the VM placement sub-process using an evolutionary approach and a combined machine-learning-based model to predict the over and under-utilised hosts. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was analysed and compared with a Power-Aware Best-Fit Decrease (PABFD) approach and a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) approach. The proposed approach improves energy utilisation by 30-40\% over PABFD and 20-15\% over PSO. Moreover, the combined approach of HBWO and machine learning improves the overall performance by 40-50\% compared to PABFD and 20-30\% compared to PSO.
Economies of Scale in Food and Housing Expenditure in Iranian Households
Authors: Mehrjou Saeed , Bakhshoodeh Mohammad
Published: March 2023

Household scale economics are plausibly attributed to shared household public goods that make larger households better off at the same level of per capita resources. This paper examines the role of food and housing from co-residence and economies of scale in the allocation of Iranian household expenditure. Using seemingly unrelated regression model, for 2011 and 2021 to prediction that in the presence of shared food and housing. Our method (solely) exploits preference information revealed by a cross-section of household observations while accounting for fully unobserved preference heterogeneity. We find that scale economies changed significantly from 2011 to 2021 for expenditure categories of food and housing, but not all trends in scale economies are consistent with theoretical predictions. The results indicated that the economies of scale is recognized to be higher in housing group than in the food group in both time periods. However, it has decreased within a decade and intensified by the lack of appropriate government policy. In this context, the government's policies to encourage the population growth has failed and the population encountered a low growth rate. Thus, providing support and welfare policy packages such as increasing income policy and household support insurance, as well as assistance in providing housing, are prioritized due to the economies of scale in housing.
Household scale economics are plausibly attributed to shared household public goods that make larger households better off at the same level of per capita resources. This paper examines the role of food and housing from co-residence and economies of scale in the allocation of Iranian household expenditure, for 2011 and 2021, by using seemingly unrelated regression. Our method exploits preference information revealed by a cross-section of household observations while accounting for fully unobserved preference heterogeneity. We find that scale economies changed significantly from 2011 to 2021 for expenditure categories of food and housing and are consistent with theoretical predictions. The results indicated that the economies of scale are recognized to be higher in housing group than in the food group in both time periods. However, it has decreased within a decade and intensified by the lack of appropriate government policy. In this context, the government's policies to encourage the population growth has failed and the population encountered a low growth rate. Thus, providing support and welfare policy packages such as increasing income policy and household support insurance, as well as assistance in providing housing, are prioritized due to the economies of scale in housing.
Calcium Scoring with Prospective ECG-Triggered coronary CT Angiography: A Path to Reduce Radiation Dose
Authors: Hagar Muhammad Taha , Soschynski Martin , Benndorf Matthias , Stein Thomas , Taron Jana , Schlett Christopher L. , Bamberg Fabian , Krauß Tobias
Published: March 2023

Objectives:
To examine if calcium scoring CT (CAS-CT) reduces the whole-examination radiation dose of prospectively ECG-triggered coronary CT-angiography (CCTA).
Methods
In this retrospective study, patients underwent CAS-CT and prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA on a 2nd generation Dual-Source CT scanner. CCTA was planned on CAS-CT images. We further simulated CCTA-planning on scout-view. Therefore, the scan length of the scout-view-derived CCTA was set equal to the CAS-CT scan length. Effective doses were compared for the following scenarios: (1) CAS-CT-derived CCTA + CAS-CT and (2) scout-view-derived CCTA without CAS-CT. Dose differences between the scenarios were additionally examined with respect to scan mode and body-mass-index.
Results
Among 182 patients (58±12 years, 47% females), planning cCTA on CAS-CT resulted in a shorter scan length than planning on scout-view (114.3 ± 9.7 mm vs 133.7 ± 13.2 mm, p<0.001). The whole-examination effective dose was slightly lower for scenario (1) (3.2 [1.8 – 5.3] mSv vs 3.4 [1.5 – 5.9] mSv; p<0.001, n=182). Scenario (1) resulted in a substantially lower radiation dose in sequential scans (3.6 [2.3 – 6.1] mSv vs 3.9 [2.4 – 6.50] mSv, n=150), or in obese patients (6.8 mSv [4.5 – 9.1]) vs 7.3 mSv [4.7 – 9.9], n=45), p<0.001 respectively. Only in high-pitch spiral CCTA, scenario (2) resulted in a dose salvage (0.8 mSv [0.6 – 1.4] vs 1.0 mSv [0.8 – 1.5], n=32; p<0.001).
Conclusions
Planning prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA on CAS-CT reduces the overall radiation dose of the examination compared to a scout-view planning approach where no CAS-CT is acquired. Only for high-pitch spiral CCTA a slightly opposite effect was observed.
AFDD-LSTSNET-SARIMA Based Short-Term Net Load Forecasting for Customers
Authors: Wang Jingdong , Zhou Jianchen , Cheng Zhu , Qu Guangqiang
Published: March 2023

In order to improve the accuracy of short-term load forecasting for users, an adaptive frequency-domain decomposition (AFDD), long-short term skip neural network (LSTSNET) and the AFDD-LSTSNET-SARIMA short-term load forecasting model is proposed by combining the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model (SARIMA). Firstly, AFDD is used to find the optimal combination of all potential periodicity in the frequency domain by using genetic algorithm, thus decomposing the load into periodic and non-periodic components. Based on this, SARIMA and LSTSNET are used to predict the periodic and acyclic components respectively; finally, the prediction results of each component are recombined to obtain the final prediction results of short-term net load of users. The AFDD-LSTSET-SARIMA model is validated on the measured data set of a community in New York State, U.S.A. The experimental results show that the proposed model overcomes the problem of high randomness and fluctuation of net load and effectively improves the accuracy of short-term net load prediction of customers.
A novel de novo splicing mutation of STXBP1 in epileptic encephalopathy associated with hypomyelinating leukodystrophy
Authors: Wang Zixuan , Zhang Jun , Zhou Yunfei , Wang Juan , Liu Guicen , Tian Zixin
Published: March 2023

Background: Deleterious variations in STXBP1 are responsible for early infantile epileptic encephalopathy type 4 (EIEE4, OMIM # 612164) because of its dysfunction in the central nervous system. The clinical spectrum of the neurodevelopmental delays associated with STXBP1 aberrations is collectively defined as STXBP1 encephalopathy (STXBP1-E), the conspicuous features of which are highlighted by early-onset epileptic seizures without structural brain anomalies. The girl first diagnosed with the unexplained disorders of movement and cognitive later was developed into STXBP1-E with unexpected leukoaraiosis and late-onset of seizures.
Methods: The genetic screening and molecular tricks including trio Whole Exome Sequencing (WES), Sanger sequencing, bioengineering with CRISPR/Cas9, Western blot, qPCR/RT-PCR and bioinformatic analyses alongside neurological examinations were employed to investigate the genetic etiology and established the diagnosis.
Results: A novel de novo heterozygous mutation of c.37+2dupT at STXBP1 splice site was identified as the pathogenic cause in the affected girl. The de novo mutation (DNM) didn't result in any truncated proteins, but immediately trigger mRNA degradation by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), which led to the haploinsufficiency of STXBP1. The patient showed the atypical phenotypes characterized by hypomyelinating leukodystrophy and late-onset of epileptic seizures, which had never previously been delineated in STXBP1-E.
Conclusion: The findings strongly implicated that the haploinsufficiency of STXBP1 could also exhibit divergent clinical phenotypes because of the genetic heterogeneity in the subset of encephalopathies.
Comparison of the Wound Healing Activity of the Leaf and Leaf Ash Extracts of Vernonia amygdalina in Rats
Authors: Matovu Isaac Joram , Bogere Cissy , Othieno James , Nakabiri Winfred , Kahwa Ivan , Ajayi Clement Olusoji , Omara Timothy , Iqbal Shabnoor
Published: March 2023

Background: Species in the genus Vernonia (Asteraceae) are traditionally used in the treatment of
different ailments, for example, leaves in both fresh and dry forms have been used in dressing wounds.
Anecdotal reports show that the ash of Vernonia amygdalina (V. amygdalina) has been used in the
treatment of wounds, but there are no precise reports to support this claim; therefore, the
contemporary study focused on comparing the wound healing activity of its leaf extracts and leaf ash.
Methods: The study investigating the wound healing activity of V. amygdalina leaf was carried out in
Wistar Albino rats in an excision wound model using its aqueous extract (AE) and leaf ash (LA) at
concentrations of 1%, 2% and 3% (w/v). Mupirocin ointment and distilled water were used as positive
and negative controls, respectively. The wound diameter was measured every 3 days from day 1 to
day 22 and the results were used to calculate the percentage of wound reduction in all groups.
Results: Significant wound healing activity was observed in all groups except 3% AE (w / v), against
distilled water (negative control group) (p<0.05). Group 2 (1% AE), group 5 (1% LA), and group 6
(2% LA) showed faster wound healing than the positive control (p<0.05). Leaf ash was shown to have
the best wound healing activity, and its lower concentrations worked better than the category of the
same concentrations in aqueous extracts.
Conclusions: Our findings have for the first time confirmed the traditional claim of using V. amygdalina
ash in the treatment of topical wounds.