bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of structured pelvic floor muscle training on pelvic floor muscle contraction and treatment of pelvic organ prolapse in postpartum women: ultrasound and clinical evaluations
Authors: Zhao Hui , Liu Xiu-Ni , Liu Linna
Published: August 2023

Objectives
The purpose of this study is to see how structured pelvic floor muscle training affects pelvic floor muscle contraction and therapy of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in postpartum women.
Methods
This retrospective study included 60 patients who volunteered for a pelvic floor muscle assessment at 6–8 weeks postpartum. All patients had structured pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), which included supervised daily pelvic muscle contractions, biofeedback therapy, and twice-week electrical stimulation. The main outcomes were POP stage assessed by POP quantification (POP-Q), pelvic organ position and hiatus area assessed by 3-/4- dimensional transperineal ultrasound, PFM contraction assessed by Modified Oxford scale (MOS), surface electromyography (EMG), and sensation of pelvic muscle graded using a visual analog scale (VAS).
Results
Structured PFMT was associated with better POP-Q scores in Aa, Ba, C, D. The pelvic organ position and hiatus area by 3-/4- dimensional transperineal ultrasound were significantly better than before. PFM contraction assessed by MOS, EMG, and VAS were significantly higher than before. However, no statistically significant differences were observed in improve POP stage.
Conclusions
Postpartum structured PFMT can improve pelvic floor muscle contraction, improve POP-Q scores and elevate the bladder neck, and uterus position. But no effect was found of decreased POP stage. More randomized controlled trials are needed before strong conclusions can be drawn on the effect of structured PFMT on POP in postpartum women.
Clinical efficacy analysis of percutaneous "tripod" combined with radiofrequency ablation and bone cement filling in the treatment of periacetabular metastases
Authors: Yi Chunzhi , Lan Yun , Li Ruoyu , Jiang Linheng , Zhou Nannan , He Mincon , Fang Bin
Published: August 2023

Background： To investigate the clinical efficacy of a percutaneous "tripod" combined with radiofrequency ablation and bone cement filling surgery in treating acetabular bone metastases.
Methods： We retrospectively analyzed 11 patients who underwent percutaneous "tripod" combined with radiofrequency ablation and bone cement filling for acetabular bone metastases at a tertiary care hospital from February 2021 to December 2022.
Results： A total of 11 cases with 13 hips underwent this procedure, including two female patients who underwent both sides, and the rest were unilateral. All cases were followed up for 3 to 24 months, with a mean of 12 months and a median follow-up time of 11 months. By the final follow-up, two of the 11 patients died, and nine survived. One died seven months after surgery, and one died eight months after surgery; the survival of the deceased patients was 7.5 months (range: 7-8 months), with a median survival time of 7.5 months. All 11 patients completed the surgery successfully, and the average unilateral operation time was 167.4 min (148-193). The amelioration of postoperative pain, concomitant with an improvement in the quality of life, was observed in a significant manner, ultimately resulting in a prolonged and sustained effect.
Conclusions： The combination of percutaneous "tripod", radiofrequency ablation, and bone cement filling can effectively relieve pain without delaying the patient's systemic anti-tumor therapy and is a minimally invasive, safe, and effective procedure for the treatment of periacetabular metastases.
High-dose benzodiazepine use and Interval prolongation: a latent class analysis study in a sample of patients using the Verona Detox Approach With Flumazenil
Authors: Zamboni Lorenzo , Portoghese Igor , Casari Rebecca , Fusina Francesca , Santin Laura , Lecca Luigi , Campagnari Simone , Carli Silvia , Zandonai Thomas , Lugoboni Fabio
Published: August 2023

BDZ addiction is a widespread and multifaceted phenomenon. For many patients, especially females, the concomitant use of other drugs also increases their risk of QTc prolongation, possibly leading to complications such as seizures and even sudden death. However, the relationship between BDZ use and QTc prolongation is currently unclear. The present study aims to examine patterns of polysubstance use among a sample of Italian adults with BDZ dependence in relation with their QTc prolongation risk. We used Latent Class Analysis (LCA) on data collected from 251 inpatients of the Addiction Medicine Unit in Verona to group patients into three classes according to their substance use and QTc prolongation risk. Results showed no significant relationship between QTc prolongation and BDZ use in any of the classes considered. We conclude that BDZs, even if used long-term and at high dosages, can be considered safe in terms of cardiovascular complications for patients.
Infection control with antimicrobial solid-state ZnO nanoparticles on silk fibroin gauze
Authors: Vieira Daniela , Dang Cat-Thy , Monk Rachel , Angel Samuel , Marion Alexis , Gbureck Uwe , Harvey Edward , Merle Geraldine
Published: August 2023

Traditional antibiotic treatments for wound infections pose risks associated with microbial resistance, necessitating the exploration of innovative approaches such as nanoparticles as the next generation of antibiotics. In this study, we present a paradigm shift approach for acute and chronic wound care by developing an active wound dressing capable of protecting and eradicating bacteria from the injury site. The focus of this research is on the electroless deposition of large zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) onto spined silk fibroin gauze, targeting a particle size range of approximately 200 nm to minimize cytotoxity. The biocompatibility and antimicrobial efficacy of the ZnO NP-embedded silk wound dressing were evaluated against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. The results demonstrate that the ZnO NPs integrated within the silk wound dressing exhibit biocompatibility with 70% cell viability and control microorganism growth against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, gradually from first 24 hours of exposure. By targeting larger particle size, only the release of a substantial amount of zinc ions were released without generating toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) that could harm both bacteria and cells. These findings underscore the therapeutic potential of utilizing bioresorbable wound dressings functionalized with large ZnO NPs, thus revolutionizing the landscape of clinical wound care.
Risperidone for the Treatment of Dementia-Related Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Shan Guangzhen , Yin Suna , Zhang Shubao , Guo Yunfa , Hao Fang
Published: August 2023

Background
Risperidone is one of the atypical antipsychotics that has been used for the treatment of dementia-related psychosis (DRP). However, the findings concerning its efficacy and safety in DRP are contradictory.
Methods
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to address the effects of risperidone on the alleviation of DRP. We searched Medline via PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PsychINFO from the inception until March 2023. Appropriate statistical tests were used to test the study hypothesis.
Results
The study included 17 articles and 2311 patients with DRP. Risperidone alleviated DRP with a standardized mean difference (SMD) of 0.355 (95%CI, 0.170 to 0.541, p = 0.000). The impact of treatment was positively associated with treatment duration (slope p = 0.038) and dose (slope p = 0.000). Six studies (n = 354) reported the data for the effects of risperidone on cognitive function. Analysis showed that risperidone treatment deteriorated cognitive function in DRP patients with an SMD of -0.185 (95%CI, -0.349 to -0.020, p = 0.028). The heterogeneity of the data was found to be high.
Conclusions
Our meta-analysis provides evidence for the effectiveness of risperidone in the management of DRP. However, because of safety concerns and high data heterogeneity, its use should be individualized for each patient.
A novel filter-based multi-stage parameter estimation for a class of hybrid nonlinear models
Authors: Chen Yanyu , Zhang Xiao , Ding Feng , Xiong Weili
Published: August 2023

Hybird models which combine several different kinds of models together provide effective and flexible structures for modeling time series. Gradient radial basis function based varying-coefficient autoregressive (GRBF-AR) model is a kind of hybrid model which used to describe the nonlinear and nonstationary time series. It has been tested and validated that the GRBF-AR model have good performance in predicting nonlinear and nonstationary time series. This paper presents a novel online parameter estimation method for a class of GRBF-AR models encountered with the colored noise taking account of the ubiquity of colored noise in process control. Aiming to mitigate the disturbance of the colored noise,a filter is designed to whiten the measurement data. With the target of improving the data utilization at every recursion, the multi-innovation identification theory is used to expand the innovation scalar into the innovation vector. By means of the hierarchical identification principle, the whole identification process is divided into several parts to improve the estimation accuracy. In addition, a filter-based multistage multi-innovation generalized extended recursive stochastic gradient algorithm is proposed. Experiment involving two numerical simulations and the prediction for a real world signal are used to validate the performance of the proposed method.
Dental implant rehabilitation in oral cancer patients – evaluation of possible risk factors for implant survival: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Burtscher Doris , Torre Daniel Dalla
Published: August 2023

Objective: The primary treatment strategy of oral cancer is represented by ablative surgery, often combined to radiochemotherapy. Therefore, oral cancer patients are mostly in the need of dental rehabilitation. Implant procedures play an important role of such rehabilitations despite possible complications related to oncologic treatment and patients’ conditions. The main objective of the present study was the evaluation of survival of dental implants inserted after oncologic treatment of oral cancer patients with additional investigation of possible risk factors.
Material and methods: Data of 38 oral cancer patients, who underwent dental implant rehabilitation with a total of 157 implants inserted after oncologic treatment at the Medical University of Innsbruck from 2008 to 2016, was analyzed retrospectively.
Results: Cumulative 8-year survival rate for all included implants after a mean follow-up of 84 months was 86%. 22 out of 157 implants failed during the observation period, whereby radiotherapy (p=0.007) and maxillary implant insertion (p=0.04) were significantly correlated with a worse implant survival. Tendency of worse outcomes in men and in implants restored with fixed prosthesis were registered, although statistically not significant (p=0.064 resp. p=0.082), whereas chemotherapy didn’t influence implant survival (p=0.607) at all.
Conclusion: The present study confirms promising long-term implant survival in oral cancer patients after oncologic therapy. The main risk factor for implant survival seems to be radiotherapy, which has to be taken into account in implant planning.
Clinical relevance: Given a correct treatment planning, implant rehabilitations seem to be a feasible option for oral cancer patients.
Development and initial assessment of [18F]OP-801: a novel hydroxyl dendrimer PET tracer for preclinical imaging of innate immune activation in the whole body and brain
Authors: Carlson Mackenzie L. , Jackson Isaac M. , Azevedo E. Carmen , Reyes Samantha T , Alam Israt S , Kellow Rowaid , Castillo Jessa B. , Nagy Sydney C , Sharma Rishi , Brewer Matthew , Cleland Jeffrey , Shen Bin , James Michelle
Published: August 2023

Purpose
Innate immune activation plays a critical role in the onset and progression of many diseases. While positron emission tomography (PET) imaging provides a non-invasive means to visualize and quantify such immune responses, most available tracers are not specific for innate immune cells. To address this need, we developed [18F]OP-801 by radiolabeling a novel hydroxyl dendrimer that is selectively taken up by reactive macrophages/microglia and evaluated its ability to detect innate immune activation in mice following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge.
Procedures:
OP-801 was radiolabeled in two steps: [18F]fluorination of a tosyl precursor to yield [18F]3-fluoropropyl azide, followed by a copper-catalyzed click reaction. After purification and stability testing, [18F]OP-801 (150–250 µCi) was intravenously injected into female C57BL/6 mice 24 hours after intraperitoneal administration of LPS (10 mg/kg, n = 14) or saline (n = 6). Upon completing dynamic PET/CT imaging, mice were perfused and radioactivity was measured in tissues of interest via gamma counting or autoradiography.
Results
[18F]OP-801 was produced with > 95% radiochemical purity, 12–52 µCi/µg specific activity, and 4.3 ± 1.5% decay-corrected yield. Ex vivo metabolite analysis of plasma samples (n = 4) demonstrated high stability in mice (97 ± 3% intact tracer > 120 min post-injection). PET/CT images of mice following LPS challenge revealed higher signal in organs known to be inflamed in this context, including liver, lung, and spleen. Gamma counting confirmed PET findings, showing significantly elevated signal in the same tissues compared to saline-injected mice: liver (p = 0.009), lung (p = 0.030), and spleen (p = 0.004). Brain PET/CT images (summed 50–60 min) revealed linearly increasing [18F]OP-801 uptake in whole brain that significantly correlated with murine sepsis score (r = 0.85, p < 0.0001). Specifically, tracer uptake was significantly higher in the brain stem, cortex, olfactory bulb, white matter, and ventricles of LPS-treated mice compared to saline-treated mice (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
[18F]OP-801 is a promising new PET tracer for sensitive and specific detection of activated macrophages and microglia that warrants further investigation.
Design and Verification of the Electric Control Box of the Low Energy X-ray Telescope onboard the Insight-HXMT
Authors: Li Wei , Lu Jingbin , Xu Yupeng , Zhao Xiaofan , Yang Yanji , Cui Weiwei , Chen Yong
Published: August 2023

The Low Energy X-ray telescope (LE) is one of main instruments of the Insight-Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT), which is the first Chinese X-ray astronomical satellite. The scientific objectives of LE focus on the scanning and pointed observations of the X-ray sources in the soft X-ray band (0.7–13 keV). LE is constituted of three detector boxes (LEDs) and an electric control box (LEB). The LEB is composed of data handling unit, monitoring unit and power distribution unit, with the functions of data processing, communication, monitor, power supply and distribution. All the functions designed in the LEB were verified during the operation in orbit. To improve the efficiency of astronomical observations and reliability of LE, onboard data processing is designed in the LEB. The results of onboard data processing are immediately transmitted to the ground as important housekeeping data, and it is verified by comparing with the processing results of the data transmitted to the ground. In the six years since launch, the LEB has performed well and operated smoothly, and all expected requirements have been achieved. The LEB has participated in a number of scientific observations, transmitted a large amount of scientific data, and achieved a number of observational results.
Human Cystic Echinococcosis in The Populations of MENA Countries, With A Focus on The United Arab Emirates, From 1990 To 2019: From Genetic Epidemiology of Rare Disease to Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
Authors: Rahim Fakher , Qasim Nameer Hashim , Zhumagaliuly Abzal , Dzzhusupov Kenesh
Published: August 2023

This article provides a thorough and methodical evaluation of the Human Cystic Echinococcosis (HCE) burden in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area from 1990 to 2019, with a particular focus on the United Arab Emirates (UAE). HCE is prevalent in many places, including MENA, and has a severe public health effect as a zoonotic disease. By analyzing data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study, we were able to calculate the rate of HCE and the number of years of life lost due to it. In 2019, across 21 countries, the three highest number of CE cases were measured in Iran with 5760 (95% UI: 4753 to 6977), in Iraq with 5489 (95% UI: 2905 to 8992), and in Sudan with 5070 (95% UI: 2661to 8432). The largest increase in the number of incident CE cases was seen in UAE (459% increase), Jordan (450% increase), and Afghanistan (234% increase). Moreover, the largest increase in the ASIR of CE was measured was observed in Jordan [EAPC = 2.06%, 95% UI: (1.66–2.47%)], while the greatest reduction was seen in Qatar [EAPC = ‒0.21%, 95% UI: (‒0.36% to ‒0.06%)]. Our research shows that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Middle East are both heavily impacted by HCE. The fact that HCE keeps returning shows that not all bases have been covered in the fight against this illness. The research highlights the need for more focused, resource-optimized measures to tackle HCE, especially in heavily afflicted places like the UAE. To better health outcomes associated with HCE in the MENA area, this report is an essential evidence-based resource for policymakers, healthcare professionals, and academics.
Pheromone of grouped female mice impairs genome stability through stress-mediated pathways
Authors: Glinin Timofey , Petrova Marina , Shcherbinina Veronika , Shubina Anastasia , Dukelskaya Anna , Starshova Polina , Mamontova Victoria , Burnusuz Alexandra , Romashchenko Alexander , Moshkin Mikhail , Khaitovich Philipp , Daev Eugene
Published: August 2023

Population density is known to affect the health and survival of many species, and is especially important for social animals. In mice, living in crowded conditions results in the disruption of social interactions, chronic stress, and immune and reproductive suppression; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated the role of chemosignals in the regulation of mouse physiology and behavior in response to social crowding. The pheromone 2,5-dimethylpyrazine (2,5-DMP), which is released by female mice in crowded conditions, induced aversion, glucocorticoid elevation and, when chronic, resulted in reproductive and immune suppression. 2,5-DMP olfaction induced genome destabilization in bone marrow cells in a stress-dependent manner, providing a plausible mechanism for crowding-induced immune dysfunction. Interestingly, the genome-destabilizing effect of 2,5-DMP was comparable to a potent mouse stressor (immobilization), and both stressors led to correlated expression changes in genes regulating cellular stress response. Thus, our findings demonstrate that, in mice, the health effects of crowding may be explained at least in part by chemosignals and also propose a significant role of stress and genome destabilization in the emergence of crowding effects.
Spin-orbit coupling effects on transmission and absorption of electromagnetic waves in gapped graphene armchair nanoribbon
Authors: Rezania H. , Abdi A
Published: August 2023

We compute the optical absorption, density of states and optical coefficients of graphene armchair nanoribbon under spin-orbit coupling effects. Kane-Mele model Hamiltonian has been applied for obtaining electronic band structure of graphene armchair nanoribbon in the presence of magnetic field and gap parameter. The effects of magnetic field and spin-orbit coupling strength on the frequency behavior of optical absorption of graphene armchair nanoribbon have been investigated. Also the frequency behavior of optical absorption of gapped graphene armchair nanoribbon has been studied due to magnetic field, spin-orbit coupling and gap parameter. Linear response theory and Green’s function approach have been exploited to obtain the frequency behavior of optical behavior of the structure. Moreover, the transmissivity and reflectivity of electromagnetic wave between two media separated by a graphene armchair nanoribbon are given. Our numerical results indicate that the frequency dependence of optical absorption includes a peak due to applying magnetic field. Also the frequency dependence of transmissivity and reflectivity of electromagnetic wave between two media separated by graphene armchair nanoribbon for normal incidence has been investigated due to effects of magnetic fields and spin-orbit coupling.
Comparision of Romberg and Fixed Tolerance Gaussian Quadrature Over Imaginary Exponent Functions
Authors: Kumar Tanmay
Published: August 2023

This research paper presents an extensive comparative investigation of two numerical integration techniques: Romberg1and Fixed Tolerance Gaussian quadrature,2 when applied to functions with Imaginary exponents. The main objective is to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of these methods in approximating definite integrals over functions with imaginary powers. The study involves systematic analyses of the computational requirements and precision achieved by each method over multiple intervals. QUADPACK's3 adaptive quadrature is utilized as a benchmark. Through this study, valuable insights are offered into the performance of these quadrature techniques when dealing with integrals involving Imaginary exponents.
Letrozole Plus Misoprostol versus Misoprostol Alone in Induction of Anembryonic Missed Abortion: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Zekry Ramy Heshmat , Fouda Usama , Zaki Sherif Sameh , abdalla marwa
Published: August 2023

Background: letrozole is a third-generation aromatase inhibitor approved for breast cancer therapy. According to many recent studies, letrozole given for three days before the administration of misoprostol was more effective than misoprostol alone at inducing abortion. Our study compared the efficacy of various letrozole regimens (10 mg/d for three days and a single dose of 20 mg) combined with misoprostol vs. misoprostol alone in inducing abortion.
Methodology: Using a computer-generated randomization list and sequentially numbered sealed envelopes, we randomly divided 96 patients with anembryonic missed abortions into three equal groups (a single-dose letrozole group, a multiple-dose letrozole group, and a misoprostol-only group). Age, BMI, gestational age according to LMP, complete abortion rate, incomplete abortion rate, missed abortion rate, and induction-to-abortion interval were all collected.
Results: The complete abortion rate was significantly higher in the single-dose letrozole and the multiple-dose letrozole groups than in the misoprostol group (p-values = 0.0455 and 0.001, respectively). On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the complete abortion rate between the single-dose group and the multiple-dose letrozole group (p-value = 0.1713).
The time to complete abortion was significantly shorter in the single-dose and multiple-dose letrozole groups than in the misoprostol group (p-values = 0.0036 and 0.0049, respectively). On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the time to complete abortion between the single-dose letrozole group and the multiple-dose letrozole group (P = 0.532).
Conclusion: Single- and multiple-dose letrozole regimens followed by misoprostol had a higher rate and a shorter time to complete abortion than misoprostol alone. Administering a single-dose regimen of letrozole has the benefit of being more convenient and may improve patient compliance, but for its universal use, there is a need for more randomized controlled trials.
Trial registration: The trial is registered at gov with the name " Letrozole and abortion" and the identifier " NCT05198050." The date of registration was April 1, 2022, registered prospectively. URL: https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/prs/app/action/ViewOrUnrelease?uid=U0004GED&ts=25&sid=S000BPDQ&cx=43mobl
Environmental influence on feeding and biodeposition rates of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) throughout its culture cycle in a coastal lagoon with upwelling influence
Authors: Samperio_Ramos Guillermo Alberto , Vidal-Nieves Carlo , García-Esqu ZaúL , Herzka Sharon Z , Gil José Miguel Sandoval , Camacho-Ibar Víctor Froylan
Published: August 2023

Suspended oysters employ physiological strategies to adjust their metabolic needs with the available food resources. Using the biodeposition method, the feeding and processing behavior of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) was investigated with a field study comparing four periods (May, July, October, and December 2016) with different upwelling intensities in the coastal lagoon of San Quintin Bay (Mexico). We calculated physiological feeding responses throughout the culture cycle, including the clearance rate, filtration rate (FR), net organic ingestion rate (NOIR), net organic absorption rate (NOAR), net organic selection efficiency, and net absorption efficiency, as well as the ammonium excretion rate (AER). The dietary quality predictors showed large fluctuations in terms of total particulate material, organic fraction of seston, and chlorophyll concentration. Unlike the pumping activity, FR, NOIR, and NOAR were related to upwelling conditions, and C. gigas removed 2-fold, ingested 4-fold, and assimilated 5-fold more of the organic suspended material during the upwelling season compared with periods of weak upwelling. C. gigas showed the potential of depositing nearly twice the organic biodeposits to the sediments during intense upwelling. The highest AER was recorded in July and October, suggesting that seasonal temperature variation is the most important exogenous factor regulating nitrogen metabolism. Also, mechanistic models incorporating dietary quality predictors to the feeding and processing response functions of C. gigas were performed. We conclude that coastal upwelling plays an important bottom-up control on oysters’ feeding and processing activity, and our results facilitate further studies of the carrying capacity of embayments influenced by eastern boundary current systems.
Aqueous extract of CAP-ash: An innovative approach for Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction in palladium catalyzed ligand-free condition
Authors: Patil Rupesh C. , Patil Suresh S.
Published: August 2023

A green and highly efficient Pd(OAc)2catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura (SM) coupling reaction using an aqueous extract of CAP-ash (AECAP) at ambient temperature is reported to synthesize a variety of biphenyls. The analytical reports showed the presence of oxides which are probably extracted in water produces corresponding hydroxides, which provide alkaline media in water as a dual performance (solvent and base) for said cross-coupling transformation. The catalytic system is generated in situ based on aqueous extract and Pd(OAc)2which requires no external base and ligand. The custard apple peels were found to be natural agro-waste, highly cost-effective, operationally convenient, and easily recyclable.
Mid-to-late Holocene climate variability in coastal East Asia and its impact on ancient Korean societies
Authors: Park Jungjae , Bhak Junbeom , Park Jinheum , Kim Hyejin , Choi Jieun
Published: August 2023

The sustainability of human societies is contingent upon our ability to accurately predict the effects of future climate change on the global environment and humanity. Wise responses to forthcoming environmental alterations require extensive knowledge from historical precedents. However, in coastal East Asia, a region with a long history of agriculture, it is challenging to obtain paleoenvironmental proxy data without anthropogenic disturbances that can be used to assess the impact of late Holocene climate change on local communities. This study introduces a high-resolution multi-proxy sedimentary record from an isolated crater in Jeju Island, Korea, to elucidate the mechanisms underlying mid-to-late Holocene climate change and its impacts on ancient societies. Our findings suggest that hydroclimate changes were predominantly governed by sea surface temperature fluctuations in the western tropical Pacific, with low-frequency variability in solar activity and a decrease in summer insolation identified as primary drivers of temperature change. Moreover, ancient societies on the Korean peninsula were significantly affected by recurring cooling events, including the 2.8 ka event, 2.3 ka event, Late Antique Little Ice Age, maunder minimum, and others.
The Histomorphological and Stereological Assessment of Rat Dorsal Root Ganglion Tissues After Various Types of Sciatic Nerve Injury
Authors: Delibaş Burcu , KAPLAN Süleyman
Published: August 2023

Peripheral nerve injuries lead to significant changes in the dorsal root ganglia, where the cell bodies of the damaged axons are located. The sensory neurons and the surrounding satellite cells rearrange the composition of the intracellular organelles to enhance their plasticity for adaptation to changing conditions and responding to injury. Meanwhile, satellite cells acquire phagocytic properties and work with macrophages to eliminate degenerated neurons. These structural and functional changes are not identical in all injury types. Understanding the cellular response, which varies according to the type of injury involved, is essential in determining the optimal method of treatment. In this research, we investigated the numerical and morphological changes in primary sensory neurons and satellite cells in the dorsal root ganglion 30 days following chronic compression, crush and transection injuries using stereology, high-resolution light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and behavioral analysis techniques. Electron microscopic methods were employed to evaluate fine structural alterations in cells. Stereological evaluations revealed no statistically significant difference in terms of mean sensory neuron numbers (p > 0.05), although a significant decrease was observed in sensory neuron volumes in the transection and crush injury groups (p < 0.05). Active caspase-3 immunopositivity increased in the injury groups compared to the sham group (p < 0.05). While crush injury led to desensitization, chronic compression injury caused thermal hyperalgesia. Electromyography parameters exhibited a significant decrease in the compression and crush injury groups compared to the sham group (p < 0.05). Macrophage infiltrations were observed in all injury types. Electron microscopic results revealed that the chromatolysis response was triggered in the sensory neuron bodies from the transection injury group. An increase in organelle density was observed in the perikaryon of sensory neurons after crush-type injury. This indicates the presence of a more active regeneration process in crush-type injury than in other types. The effect of chronic compression injury is more devastating than that of crush-type injury, and the edema caused by compression significantly inhibits the regeneration process.
Machine learning-based hub gene identification of pyroptosis-related nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: yang luping , Liu Shiyi , Zhou Run , Shi Junping
Published: August 2023

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by excessive lipid deposition and metabolic imbalance in hepatocytes, which may lead to the occurrence and development of a variety of diseases (various chronic liver diseases, cirrhosis, etc.). Pyroptosis is a programmed cell death, and its role in NAFLD remains unclear. This paper aimed to explore the hub genes and involved biological processes related to NAFLD diagnosis and pyroptosis by machine learning methods and further analyze the differences in immune infiltration between healthy obesity and NAFLD from the perspective of transcriptome data. The results showed that IL32, TREM2 and PANX1 were potentially closely related to NAFLD by random forest algorithm. We verified the diagnostic performance of the three genes in the internal and external test sets, respectively. T Its AUC in the internal test set reached 0.850, and the AUC in the external test set reached 0.803. In addition, the correlation between three genes and immune cells was analyzed in detail, and three genes were found to evaluate the immune microenvironment of patients. This study provided a basis for revealing the molecular mechanism associated with NAFLD.
From disease to people-centred pandemic management: organized communities, community oriented primary care and health information systems
Authors: Leyns Christine , Willems Sara , Powell Richard A. , Camacho Vivian , Fabrega Ricardo , De Maeseneer Jan , Rawaf Salman , Mangtani Punam , El-Osta Austen
Published: August 2023

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the health equity gap within and between countries. Western countries were the first to receive vaccines and mortality was higher among socially deprived, minority and indigenous populations within countries. Surprisingly, many sub-Saharan countries presented low excess mortalities. These countries share experience with community organization and participation in health. The aim is to analyse if and how this central role of people can promote a successful pandemic response.
Methods
This analysis is partly based on local and national experiences shared during an international and Latin American conference on person-and people-centred care in 2021. Additionally, excess mortality data and data relevant for pandemic control as well as literature on the pandemic response of countries with an unexpected low excess mortality were consulted.
Results
Togo, Mongolia, Thailand, and Kenya had a seven times lower mean excess mortality for 2020 and 2021 than the United States of America. More successful pandemic responses were seen in settings with experience in managing epidemics like Ebola and HIV, well-established community networks, a national philosophy of mutual aid, financial government assistance, more human resources for primary care and paid community health workers.
Discussion
Since trust in authorities and health needs vary greatly, local strategies are needed to complement national and international pandemic responses. Three key levers were identified to promote locally tailored pandemic management: (1) well-organized communities, (2) community-oriented primary care and (3) health information systems. An organized community structure stems from a shared ethical understanding of humanity as being interconnected with each other and the environment. This structure facilitates mutual aid and participation in decision making. Community-oriented primary care includes attention for collective community health and ways to improve health from its roots. A health information system supports collective health and health equity analysis by presenting health needs stratified for social deprivation, ethnicity, and community circumstances.
Conclusions
The difference in excess mortality between countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and various country experiences, demonstrate the potential of the levers in promoting a more just and effective health emergency response. These same levers and strategy can promote more inclusive and socially just health systems.
ACSL4 Inhibition Prevents Macrophage Ferroptosis and Alleviates Fibrosis in Bleomycin-induced Systemic Sclerosis Model
Authors: Cao Dianyu , Zheng Jina , Li Zheng , Yu Yong , Chen Zengrui , Wang Qiang
Published: August 2023

Background.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc), with unclear pathophysiology, is a paradigmatic rheumatic disease of immunity dysfunction driven multi-organ inflammation and ultimate fibrosis. Pathogenesis breakthroughs are urgently needed for available treatments halting its unremitting stiffness. This study aims to investigate whether ferroptosis can regulate the progressive SSc fibrosis.
Methods
In vivo, bleomycin (BLM) -induced mice model were subjected to ferroptosis detection using western blotting, malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) assays. Pharmacological inhibitor of the acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) was utilized to explore its potential therapeutic effects for fibrosis, from histological, biochemical, proteomic and molecular analyses. In vitro, bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) was activated into inflammatory phenotype and then evaluated the relationship between activation level and ferroptosis sensitivity in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)incubation with gradient concentration. The potential calpain/ACSL4 axis was analyzed after calpain knockdown or over-expression in Raw264.7.
Results.
A wild rage of tissue ferroptosis was present in SSc mice with enhanced ACSL4 expression, while ACSL4 inhibition effectively halted fibrosis progressing and provides protection from inflammatory milieu. Meanwhile, a positive regulation relationship between LPS-induced macrophage activity and ferroptosis sensitivity can be observed. After calpain knockdown, both inflammatory macrophage ferroptosis sensitivity and ACSL4 expression decreased, while its over-expression renders ACSL4-envoking condition. Also, calpain pharmacological inhibition reduced both ferroptosis and fibrosis aptitude in mice.
Conclusions.
ACSL4 induces inflammatory macrophage ferroptosis to aggravate fibrosis progressing. ACSL4 and its up-regulators of calpains may be potential therapeutic targets for BLM model of SSc.
Obsolete Solar Panels Recycling and Economic Growth
Authors: Vita Giuseppe Di
Published: August 2023

In this paper we investigate the impact of obsolete solar panels recycling on the economic growth rate and the optimal time of depletion of exhaustible resource. Using a simple growth model where the solar panels constitutes the physical capital, the labor and exhaustible resource, we study how the recycling of obsolete solar panels impacts the growth rate and the optimal exhaustion time of this kind of natural input. The optimal switching point of time is derived, from the regime where primary and secondary input are used together, to the regime in which the exhaustible resource is completely depleted and only secondary material is used.
JEL classification: O44; Q32.
Genomic Characterization of Transgenic Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Using Fluorescence IN SITU Hybridization
Authors: Auteri Micol , Nieves Mariela , Fradkin Maia , Giardini María Cecilia , Faccio Paula , Beznec Ailin , Bossio Ezequiel
Published: August 2023

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a powerful tool to visualize specific DNA fragments in cultured cells, tissue sections or whole-mount preparations. The cytogenetic slides that serve as a target for the labeled DNA probe might be prepared using any approach suitable for obtaining cells with appropriate morphology for imaging and analysis. In mitotic metaphases, this technique allows to detect the presence of chromosomes and/or introgressive chromosomal segments. This study was conducted to identify the transgene copy number by FISH in transgenic wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) lines previously obtained and compared the accuracy of this methodology to the traditional Southern blot technique. We obtain chromosomal preparations and evaluated mitotic metaphases testing four FISH protocols on a set of two transgenic wheat lines. A total of 24 experiments (three experiments for two transgenes in each transgenic line, and the control line) were conducted. FISH analyses of individual transgenic events revealed multiple insertions of transgene fragments. The results obtained in this work showed that FISH allows determining the number of the transgene insertions in the genome of transgenic wheat plants in an accurate way and emerges as a viable alternative to replace the traditional technique of hybridization, Southern Blot.
A piecewise thickness-function to the interferometric measurement of the optically transparent thin films
Authors: Gasca-Figueroa Davidd , García-Rodríguez Francisco J. , Castro-Beltrán Rigoberto , Perez-Pinal Francisco J. , Vélez-García Rogelio D. , Gutiérrez-Juárez Gerardo
Published: August 2023

A new piecewise thickness-function to determine the thickness of extremely transparent thin films, through the monochromatic-light-interferometric data, is proposed. The piecewise thickness-function is based on the gray values interference patterns, studied as a piecewise function as well. In the gray value piecewise function each subfunction corresponds to an interferometric branch, which is related to reflectivity from where a new rescaled gray value piecewise function is proposed to obtain the piecewise thickness function. The rescaled gray-values piecewise function is in the interval [0,1], which avoids divergences on the reflectivity function. The thickness function approach was tested by obtaining the meniscus thickness of a water droplet. We got an adsorbed layer thickness of \(21\pm 2.2 \text{n}\text{m}\). In addition, we demonstrated numerically that our proposal includes or improves other methods previously reported. The process was validated in two ways, i) numerical simulation and ii) comparison with previous works. Finally, the application of our data analysis procedure to obtain dynamic meniscus thickness in real-time is discussed.
Release of soybean (Glycine max L.) polyphenols by solid-state fermentation with Eurotium cristatum and its effect on glycemic index
Authors: Shi Shuo-shuo , Hu Ting
Published: August 2023

In this study, soybean (Glycine max L.) by using solid-state fermentation (SSF) technology and was fermented by Eurotium cristatum. The influence of SSF on the composition of free polyphenols (FP), bound polyphenols (BP), total polyphenols (TP) and FP in soybean before and after fermentation was investigated. The results showed that the content of FP and TP increased significantly during SSF process. After 12 days of SSF, FP, BP and TP in soybean were approximately 3.98-, 1.38-, 3.16 higher, respectively. HPLC-MS/MS analysis detected 10 kinds of substances were newly formed in the FP during SSF process. Furthermore, SSF with E. cristatum considerably scaveng effects against ABTS·+ and DPPH radical, reducing power, and chelating ability of soybeans, and its hypoglycemic activity was significantly enhanced. And the FP of soybeans after fermentation can reduce the glycemic index (GI) of common foods. This research demonstrated that solid-state bioprocessing with E. cristatum is an effective way to increase polyphenols content and hypoglycemic ability of soybeans. Compared with unfermented soybean, fermented soybean products might have great potential in hypoglycemic agents or be used as a new natural source applied in hypoglycemic.
METTL1 mediated tRNA m 7 G modification promotes leukaemogenesis of AML via tRNA regulated translational control
Authors: Pan Zhao , Lin Xia , Dan Chen , Huanping Guo , Yinying Xu , Bingbing Yan , Xiao Wu , Wei Xu , Yuxia Li , Yunfang Zhang , Xi Zhang
Published: August 2023

Background
RNA modifications have been proven to play fundamental roles in regulating cellular biology process. Recently, maladjusted N7-methylguanosine (m7G) modification and its modifiers METTL1/WDR4 have been confirmed an oncogene role in multiple cancers. However, the functions and molecular mechanisms of METTL1/WDR4 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) remain to be determined.
Methods
METTL1/WDR4 expression levels were quantified using qRT-PCR, western blot analysis on AML clinical samples, and bioinformatics analysis on publicly available AML datasets. CCK-8 assays and cell count assays were performed to determine cell proliferation. Flow cytometry assays were conducted to assess cell cycle and apoptosis rates. Multiple techniques were used for mechanism studies in vitro assays, such as northern blotting, liquid chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry (LC-MS), tRNA stability analysis, transcriptome sequencing, small RNA sequencing, and protein synthesis measurements.
Results
METTL1/WDR4 are significantly elevated in AML patients and associated with poor prognosis. METTL1 depletion resulted in reduced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis in AML cells. Mechanically, METTL1 depletion leads to significant decrease of m7G modification abundance on tRNA, which further destabilizes tRNAs and facilitates the biogenesis of tsRNAs in AML cells. In addition, profiling of nascent proteins revealed that METTL1 depletion and transfection of total tRNA that isolated from METTL1 knockdown AML cells decreased global translation efficiency in AML cells.
Conclusions
Taken together, our study demonstrates the important role of METTL1/WDR4 in AML leukeamogenesis, which provides a promising target candidate for AML therapy.
Thermal conductivity of an epoxy resin enhanced with a polythiophene/graphene complex and aluminum nitride
Authors: Maruyama Tatsuo , Tominaga Yudai , Kado Junko , Morita Kenta , Moriwaki Tomoko , Kusamoto Yoshi , Yoshitomi Tomohiro , Mori Atsunori , Nishino Takashi
Published: August 2023

Thermal management plays an important role in electronic devices as the power density of electronic devices increases year by year. A polymer-composite with thermal conductivity is one of rational approaches for heat dissipation in electronic devices. We prepared epoxy resin-based composite films filled with a polythiophene [poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)]/graphene complex and aluminum nitride (AlN). Electrical resistance measurements indicate that the prepared epoxy films exhibited insulating properties. The composite films were characterized by electron microscopic observation, thermogravimetric analysis and thermal conductivity measurements. The addition of a small quantity of P3HT/graphene complex (< 1 wt%) increased the out-of-plane and in-plane thermal conductivities of the epoxy resin. The addition of AlN also increased the thermal conductivities, but required ≤ 40 wt% to obtain a thermal conductivity comparable with that of a 0.9 wt% P3HT/graphene complex. The present study suggested the high potential of P3HT/graphene complexes as fillers for improving the thermal conductivity of epoxy resins without affecting their insulating properties.
Magnetic and geochemical properties of Zagreb city area soils
Authors: Frančišković-Bilinski Stanislav , Peco Josip , Sakan Sanja , Đorđević Dragana , Inđić Dejan
Published: August 2023

The study was performed to get the first insight of distribution of the low field volume magnetic susceptibility (MS) throughout the Zagreb city area, based on in-situ field measurements on 125 locations. 25 most interesting locations were selected for soil sampling and geochemical content was determined using ICP-OES method. A geostatistical approach was applied on MS and geochemical results. Median value of 0.245 x 10− 3 SI units, obtained by in-situ measurements is proposed to be used as relevant average value of MS in Zagreb area. Mean concentrations of heavy metals measured in Zagreb soils are following: Pb (36.82 µg/g), Zn (87.77 µg/g), Cu (30.84 µg/g), Cd (0.66 µg/g), Cr (29.04), Co (11.89) and Ni (28.40). Those concentrations are relatively low in comparison with Croatian legislation and with Europe and world average. Boxplot analysis showed that 45% of studied elements do not show any anomaly (Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Ni and Pb) and most of them have regular normal distribution. The rest of other elements mostly show only one weak anomaly. Boxplot analysis confirmed element anomalies are located at the same sampling points where MS anomalies are located. Statistical correlations between MS in-situ measurements and analyzed elements are following: Cd (0.52), Co (0.54), Fe (0.35), Mn (0.74), Na (0.45), Pb (0.48), Sb (0.63) and Zn (0.75). In-situ MS measurements proved to be an efficient tool for initial screening of a large area in terms of elevated heavy elements concentrations, enabling cheap and fast assessment of state of environment.