bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Safety and Efficacy of Therapeutic Taping in Primary Dysmenorrhea: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: EMIA Bandara , WNI Kularathne , Brain K , I Weerasekara
Published: September 2021

Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a common gynecological complaint among adolescents and adult women. Various pharmacological and alternative therapies such as therapeutic taping have been used as a treatment of PD. Although several studies have been conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of therapeutic taping in PD, these studies have not provided adequate level of evidence related to the safety and efficacy of therapeutic taping in PD. Hence, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of therapeutic taping in PD. The following databases; Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, PEDro, CINAHL and any other gray literature sources were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used therapeutic taping to treat PD from inception to June 2021 with the language restricted to English. Independently screened articles by two reviewers were extracted according to the study objectives. A total of nine studies were included in the systematic review, involving 577 participants. Three studies were eligible for meta-analysis to find the pooled effect of taping on pain intensity. The review indicates that therapeutic taping is an effective measure in improving pain, anxiety and quality of life of women with PD. Meta-analysis conducted to compare the effect of elastic therapeutic taping (ETT) to sham taping showed that the ETT is an effective measure in improving pain among women with PD (MD = -3.12 (95% CI -5.64, -0.60); p=0.02; I2=95 %). The quality of the studies was assessed using the PEDro scale and the included RCTs indicated a fair to good level of quality. Our systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that therapeutic taping is an effective intervention for PD. However, RCTs with higher quality and larger sample sizes are necessary to verify the current results of the review.
Bacterial Atlas of Mouse Gut Microbiota
Authors: Chu Mengqi , Zhang Xiaobo
Published: September 2021

Background: Mouse model is one of of the most widely used animal models for exploring the roles of human gut microbiota, a complex system involving in human immunity and metabolism. However, the structure of mouse gut bacterial community has not been explored at a large scale. To address this concern, the diversity and composition of the gut bacteria of 600 mice was characterized in this study. Results: The results showed that the bacteria belonging to 8 genera were found in the gut microbiota of all mouse individuals, indicating that the 8 bacteria were the core bacteria of mouse gut microbiota. The dominant genera of the mouse gut bacteria contained 15 bacterial genera. It was found that the bacteria in the gut microbiota were mainly involved in host’s metabolisms via the collaborations between the gut bacteria. The further analysis demonstrated that the composition of mouse gut microbiota was similar to that of human gut microbiota. Conclusion: Our study presented a bacterial atlas of mouse gut microbiota, providing a solid basis for investing the bacterial communities of mouse gut microbiota.
Intraspecific Variation Promotes Coexistence Under Competition For Essential Resources
Authors: Holdridge Erica , Vasseur David A.
Published: September 2021

Intraspecific variation may be key to coexistence in diverse communities, with some even suggesting it is necessary for large numbers of competitors to coexist. However, theory provides little support for this argument, instead finding that intraspecific variation generally makes it more difficult for species to coexist. Here we present a model of competition where two species compete for two essential resources and individuals within populations vary in their ability to take up different resources. We found a range of cases where intraspecific variation expands the range of conditions under which coexistence can occur, which provides a mechanism that allows the ecologically neutral evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) to become ecologically stable. We demonstrate that this result relies on nonlinearity in the function that describes how traits map onto ecological function. A sigmoid mapping function is necessary in order to model essential resources because it allows for variation in a unbounded trait while maintaining biologically realistic boundaries on uptake rates, and differs from other kinds of nonlinearity, which only unidirectionally increase or decrease ecological function. The sigmoid function’s nonlinearity spreads individuals unevenly along the growth function, which allows positive growth contributions from some individuals to compensate for growth loses from others, leading to coexistence. We discuss empirical systems beyond competition for essential resources in which discontinuous functions are important.
­­­Quorum Sensing-Based Interaction Network Construction for Drugs, Microbes, and Diseases
Authors: Wu Shengbo , Yang Shujuan , Wang Manman , Wu Hao , Liu Chunjiang , Li Yanni , Guo Fei , Qiao Jianjun
Published: September 2021

Background:Various diseases and health are closely related to different gut microbes, which own complex interactions with diverse drugs, while the detailed targets for drug-microbe interactions are still limited and investigated separately. Quorum sensing (QS), a potential target for dealing with drug resistant, are yet to be further explored systematically for drug-microbe interactions. Furthermore, many existing studies have reported diverse casual associations among drugs, gut microbes, and diseases, which call for a systematic framework and repository to reveal their intricate interactions.Results:In this study, interactions between microbes and more than 8000 drugs have been systematically studied targeting on microbial quorum sensing receptors (LuxR, LasR, TraR, CviR, PqsR, QscR, YenR, SdiA, LsrB, LuxP, CckA) combined docking-based virtual screening technique and in vitro experimental validation. We have also illustrated the potential drug-microbe interaction network based on the predicted docking-based results to to have a more comprehensive illustration for the drug-microbe interactions, along with obtaining 14 possible potential broad-spectrum drugs for all of the 11 QS receptors. Furthermore, we have constructed a systematic framework including various connections for drugs, receptors, microbes, and diseases to form a comprehensive repository and network, which can give the QS-based underlying mechanisms for the reported causal associations between drugs and microbes at the phenotypic level. The framework, repository, and network will promote the understanding on personalized medicine and developing potential therapies for diverse diseases. Conclusions: Taken together, we curated and predicted various interactions carefully for drugs, receptors, microbes, and diseases to form a comprehensive framework, repository, and network for QS-based drug-microbe-disease interactions. This work contributes to the paradigm for the construction of the more comprehensive molecule-receptor-microbe-disease interaction network for human health that may form one of the key knowledge maps of the precision medicine in the future.
Establishment of a Highly Sensitive Analytical Method For Measurement of Monoamine Neurotransmitters Using Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Hirai Anri , Yamazaki Ryo , Kobayashi Atsushi , Kimura Takashi , Nomiyama Kei , Shimma Shuichi , Nakayama Shouta M.M. , Ishizuka Mayumi , Ikenaka Yoshinori
Published: September 2021

Monoamine neurotransmitters (MAs), including dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT), regulate brain functions such as behavior, memory, and learning. Neonicotinoids are pesticides that are being used more frequently. Neonicotinoid exposure has been observed to produce neurological symptoms, such as altered spontaneous movements and anxiety-like behaviors, which are suspected to be caused by altered MA levels. However, current neurotoxicity tests are not sufficiently sensitive to make these determinations. In this study, we performed some behavior tests and developed a sensitive and accurate analytical method using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to clarify the effects of neonicotinoid administration on MAs in the brain.We orally administered the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (0, 10, and 50 mg/kg body weight) to C57BL/6NCrSlc mice. In behavior tests, the decrease of activity was observed. The LC-MS/MS quantification of MAs in various brain regions by tetrafluoroborate salt of 2,4-diphenyl-pyranylium (DPP) derivatization, which was newly developed in this study, showed a decrease in some MA levels in the olfactory bulb and the striatum.Thus, in this study, we developed a new method for the sensitive detection of MAs by LC/MS using DPP derivatization. In addition, we showed that this sensitive MA quantification is effective in clarifying the neurotoxicity caused by chemical substances.
Complement C3a Activates Astrocytes to Promote Medulloblastoma Progression through TNF -α
Authors: Gong Biao , Guo Duancheng , Zheng Chaonan , Ma Zhen , Zhang Jie , Qu Yanghui , Li Xinhua , Li Gen , Zhang Li , Wang Yuan
Published: September 2021

Background: Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Approximately one third of MB patients remain incurable. Understanding the molecular mechanism of MB tumorigenesis is therefore critical for developing specific and effective treatment strategies. Our previous work demonstrated that astrocytes constitute tumor microenvironment (TME) of MB and play an indispensable role in MB progression. However, the underlying mechanisms for how astrocytes are regulated and activated to promote MB remain elusive. Methods: By taking advantage of Math1-Cre/Ptch1 loxp/loxp mice which spontaneously develop MB, primary MB cells and astrocytes were isolated then underwent administration and coculture in vitro . Immunohistochemistry was utilized to determine C3a presence in MB sections. MB cell proliferation was evaluated by immunofluorescent staing. GFAP and cytokines expression in C3a stimulated astrocytes was assessed by immunofluorescent staining, western blotting, q-PCR and ELISA method. C3a receptor and TNF-α receptor expression was determined by PCR. p38 MAPK pathway was detected by western blotting. Transplanted MB mice were treated with C3a receptor or TNF-α receptor antagonist to investigate their role in MB progression in vivo . Results: We found that complement C3a, a fragment released from intact complement C3 following complement activation, was enriched in both human and murine MB tumor tissue, and its receptor was highly expressed on tumor-associated astrocytes (TAAs). We demonstrated that C3a activated astrocytes and promoted MB cell proliferation via p38 MAPK pathway. Moreover, we discovered that C3a upregulated production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in astrocytes. Application of the conditioned medium of C3a-stimulated astrocytes promoted MB cell proliferation, which was abolished by preincubation with TNF-α receptor antagonist, indicating a TNF-α -dependent event. Indeed, we further demonstrated that administration of selective C3a receptor or TNF-α receptor antagonist to subcutaneous transplantation MB mice suppressed tumor progression in vivo . Conclusions: C3a was released during MB development. C3a triggered astrocytes activation and TNF-α production via p38 pathway, which promoted MB cell proliferation. Our findings revealed the novel role of C3a-mediated TNF-α production by astrocytes in MB progression. The findings imply that targeting to C3a and TNF-α may represent a potential novel therapeutic approach for human MB.
Determinants of Under-five Child Mortality: Evidence from Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019
Authors: Islam Md. Momin , Noor Farha Musharrat , Hasan Md. Rokibul , Udddin Mohammad Ahsan
Published: September 2021

Background: Every year millions of under-five children die due to different causes and some of those death could be prevented by proper awareness or taking steps. Though under-five child mortality rate has reduced by a remarkable rate for last decade in Bangladesh, the rate is still high to reach the expected level of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Methods: The main aim of this study was to find out the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of under-five child mortality in Bangladesh. Nationally representative cross-sectional secondary data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019, Bangladesh had been used in this study. Outcome variable was under-five child survival status (alive or dead). Kaplan–Meier log-rank test and Cox Proportional Hazard (PH) model with 95% confidence interval (CI) were fitted to identify associated risk factors for under-five child mortality. This analysis was performed by using STATA version 16.Results: The study showed that among 5112 under-five children, 170 (3.3%) were dead. Cox proportional hazard model revealed that mother’s education [secondary (HR: 0.53, 95%CI: (0.30, 0.94), p=0.03), higher (HR: 0.41, 95% CI: (0.21, 0.81), p=0.01)], higher birth order [HR: 1.43, 95% CI: (1.13, 1.89), p=0.007], size of child at birth [HR: 2.28, 95% CI: (1.22, 4.26), p=0.009], taking antenatal care [HR: 0.77, 95% CI: (0.52, 1.15), p= 0.091] had a significant effect on child mortality. Under-five child mortality rate was varied among division and highest mortality rate was found in Sylhet [HR: 2.13, 95% CI: (0.99, 4.55), p=0.054]. Conclusions: This study identified potential risk factors for under-five child mortality, which would help the policy makers to take proper steps as community-based educational programs for mother’s and public health interventions focused on birth to reduce under-five child mortality rate in Bangladesh.
Associations of streptococci and fungi amounts in the oral cavity with nutritional and oral health status in institutionalized elders: a cross sectional study
Authors: Sato Hanako , Yano Akira , Shimoyama Yu , Sato Toshiro , Sugiyama Yukiko , Kishi Mitsuo
Published: September 2021

Background:Disruption of the indigenous microflora is likely to relate with frailty caused by undernutrition. However, relationship between undernutrition and oral flora, especially normal indigenous bacteria, is not obvious. The aim of this study was to elucidate the associations of nutritional and oral health conditions with bacteria and fungi prevalence in oral cavity of older individuals.Methods:Forty-one institutionalized older individuals with an average age ± standard deviation of 84.6 ± 8.3 years were enrolled in this study. Body mass index (BMI) and Oral health assessment tool (OHAT) were used to represent nutritional and oral health status. Amounts of total bacteria, streptococci, and fungi in oral specimens collected from the tongue dorsum were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay results. Results:There found a significant correlation between BMI and streptococcal amount (ρ=0.526, p<0.001). In addition, the undernutrition group (BMI <20) showed a significantly lower average number of oral streptococci (p=0.003). In logistic regression models, streptococcal amount was the significant variable accounting for “not undernutrition” [odds ratio 5.68 and 95% confidential interval (CI) was 1.64-19.7 (p=0.06)]. On the other hand, participants with poor oral health condition (OHAT ≥5) harbored significantly higher level of fungi (p=0.028). Conclusion:Oral streptococci were associated with systemic nutritional condition and oral fungi were associated with oral health condition. Thus, it is necessary to examine oral indigenous bacteria as well as etiological microorganisms in order to understand the relationship of frailty with oral microflora in older individuals.
Natural Compound Library Screening Identifies Sanguinarine Chloride For The Treatment of SCLC By Upregulating CDKN1A
Authors: Zhong Mingtian , Zhao Fengyun , Huang Yanni , Li Xun , Long Yihao , Chen Kaizhao , Li Fugui , Ji Mingfang , Tian Xuemei , Ma Xiaodong , Liu Ming
Published: September 2021

Background: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is notorious for aggressive malignancy without effective treatment, and most patients eventually develop tumor progression with a poor prognosis. There is an urgent need for discovering novel antitumor agents or therapeutic strategies for SCLC. Drug discovery from natural compounds has been proved to be an effective and innovative approach. Here, we performed a screening method with a natural compound library to identify the potential SCLC inhibitors. Methods: In this study, we performed a screening method based on CCK-8 assay to screen 640 natural compounds for SCLC. The effects of Sanguinarine chloride on SCLC cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle, apoptosis, migration and invasion were determined. RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis was performed to investigate the anti-SCLC mechanism of Sanguinarine chloride. Publicly available datasets and samples were analyzed to investigate the expression level of CDKN1A and its clinical significance. Loss of functional cancer cell models were constructed by shRNA-mediated silencing. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot were used to measure gene and protein expression. Immunohistochemistry staining was performed to detect the expression of CDKN1A, Ki67, and Cleaved caspase 3 in xenograft tissues. Results: We identified Sanguinarine chloride as a potential inhibitor of SCLC, which inhibited cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle, cell migration and invasion, and promoted apoptosis of SCLC cells. Sanguinarine chloride played an important role in anti-SCLC by upregulating the expression of CDKN1A. Furthermore, Sanguinarine chloride in combination with panobinostat, or THZ1, or gemcitabine, or (+)-JQ-1 increased the anti-SCLC effect compared with either agent alone treatment. Conclusions: Our findings identified Sanguinarine chloride as a potential inhibitor of SCLC by upregulating the expression of CDKN1A. Sanguinarine chloride in combination with chemotherapy compounds exhibited strong synergism anti-SCLC properties, which could be further clinically explored for the treatment of SCLC.
Degradation of polymers by fungi isolated from dumpsites
Authors: Bashir Iqra , Shams Zafar Iqbal , Ehteshamul-Haque Syed , Urooj Faizah , Farhat Hafiza
Published: September 2021

The present study aims at identifying the ability of nine fungal species, which were isolated from garbage of different sites to degrade commonly used polymers, viz. polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyurethane when treated with four methods separately, viz., sterilized and unsterilized drench methods, sterilized and unsterilized mulching methods for four months. All the species considerably degraded the polymers by the above-mentioned methods. However, polystyrene demonstrated the greatest degradation compared to the other two polymers, particularly by sterilized and unsterilized drench methods. Seven fungal species caused greater than 50% weight loss of polystyrene when treated with the above-mentioned methods. Aspergillus flavus instigated the greatest weight loss (74.78 ± 2.85%) by the unsterilized drench method. Of nine, three species caused more than 50% weight loss of polyurethane by the unsterilized drench method. A. niger divulged greater than 50% weight loss of the polymer by sterilized drench method. In this study, polyethylene was found least degraded compared to polystyrene and polyurethane by the selected fungal species. Of nine, only two species, viz. Aspergillus flavus and A. niger caused a higher than 50% weight loss of polyethylene only by sterilized drench method. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of six elevated degraded polymer samples were taken to reveal the formation of spores and hyphae on the surface of the plastic. The images demonstrated the formation of cracks and crevices on the surface of different polymers by spores and the fungal hyphae.
Integrating Geoheritage into the Management of Protected Areas: Proposal for the Itatiaia National Park, Brazil
Authors: Mucivuna Vanessa Costa , Garcia Maria da Glória Motta , Reynard Emmanuel , Rosa Pedro Augusto da Silva
Published: September 2021

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has created many initiatives to integrate geodiversity and geoheritage into the management of protected areas through a broader concept of nature. Many protected areas, however, do not have an inventory of geoheritage sites. In view of this fact, this study aims to discuss the geoheritage inventory and to analyse, through a case study, how geodiversity is described in an existing management plan, prepared before IUCN included geoheritage in the Manual for the Management of Protected Areas. This study was conducted in the Itatiaia National Park, which has outstanding geological and geomorphological features. To ensure appropriate assessment of geological sites (including geomorphological, hydrological, petrological, sedimentary, structural sites, etc.), we took inventory of geoheritage and then analysed how the management plan addresses geodiversity. The geoheritage inventory includes 17 geosites distributed in six geological frameworks, seven geodiversity sites and three viewpoints. We concluded that although geodiversity is mentioned in the plan, the geoheritage inventory would facilitate and support the exploration of management possibilities that range from protection to education. Therefore, we recommend the inclusion of geoheritage inventory in the management plans of protected areas because it is a valuable tool for the proper conservation and management of geoheritage.
Longitudinal high-dimensional analysis identifies biomarkers of response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy
Authors: Li Run-Ze , Fan Xing-Xing , Jiang Ze-Bo , Huang Jumin , Pan Hu-Dan , Wang Lily Yan , Fan Yue , Xu Hongmei , Rui Haopeng , Zhou Longen , Gavine Paul , Wang Yan , Wong Piu , Sumatoh Hermi , Fehlings Michael , Nardin Alessandra , Liu Liang , Cao Yabing , Leung Elaine
Published: September 2021

The response to immunotherapy could be better predicted by using a wide set of biomarkers, including serum tumor markers; however, robust immune markers associated with efficacy have yet to be validated. In this study, changes in immune cell subsets from NSCLC patients treated with anti-PD1 therapy were longitudinally monitored by high-dimensional cytometry by time of flight (CyTOF) and Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) multi-cytokines kits. The frequencies of circulating CD8+ and CD8+CD101hiTIM3+ (CCT T) subsets were significantly correlated with clinical response and survival. Enrichment of these populations in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) indicated a poor clinical response to ICB therapy. Cell function assays revealed that these subsets were remarkably impaired, which supported the poor outcomes observed. Additionally, longitudinal analysis showed that KLRG1 expression and cytokines were associated with the response to therapy. Overall, our results provide novel potential biomarkers for guiding the management of NSCLC patients eligible to anti-PD-1 therapy, and contribute insights for new therapeutic strategies.
Redefining Serum PSA Cut-off in Indian Population to Avoid Unnecessary Biopsies - A Descriptive Study
Authors: Prakash Javangula Venkata Surya , PV Thiruvarul , Sattanathan Vetrichandar , Arasi Krishnan Vembu , Paranjothi ArunKumar , Paranjothi ArunKumar , Sharma Somanatha
Published: September 2021

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in men with an estimated 1.2 million diagnoses worldwide. The incidence of Prostate cancer is higher in western countries and low in Asian countries. The need for prostate biopsy is based on PSA levels. The general cut off PSA value for the Indian population is 4.0 ng/mL. The reported cancer detection rate of TRUS-guided biopsies is around 30 percent in western countries and lesser in Asian countries, including India, particularly for serum PSA values less than 20 ng/mL indicating that many of the Indian patients are subjected to unnecessary biopsy which adds up to distress to these patients.PURPOSE: To determine the cancer detection rate of TRUS-guided prostate biopsy in the Indian population at different serum Prostate-Specific Antigen levels and determine a PSA cut-off level to avoid unnecessary biopsies.MATERIALS AND METHODS:All symptomatic patients who underwent TRUS guided biopsy for raised serum PSA levels between 4 - 20 ng/mL were included. The patients were categorized into four groups corresponding to the PSA levels ranging between 4-6 ng/mL, 6- 8 ng/mL, 8-10 ng/mL, and 10-20 ng/mL respectively, and cancer detection rate in each group were statistically analyzed.RESULTS:The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of TRUS guided biopsy are 75%, 95%, and 98% respectively in our study. The overall cancer detection rate of TRUS biopsy in our series was 18.4%. The PSA cut-off to do biopsy was derived by ROC curve as 8.9 ng/ml for all the men. CONCLUSION: The PSA cut-off of 4.0 ng/mL is currently used as an indication for biopsy among men of all ages in the Indian population. We recommend a raise in cut-off to 8.9 ng/mL to avoid unnecessary TRUS-guided biopsies in the Indian population.
MicroRNA-322-5p Protects Against Myocardial Infarction through Targeting BTG2
Authors: Ruan Yang , Meng Shuai , Jia Ruofei , Cao Xiaojing , Jin zening
Published: September 2021

Objective: A large cohort of studies have addressed the therapeutic importance of microRNA (miR) in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI). The current paper gives prominence to the role of miR-322-5p in MI by regulating B-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2).Methods: In a rat model of MI miR-322-5p and BTG2 expression was estimated. Adenovirus that altered miR-322-5p or BTG2 expression was injected into MI rats. After that, cardiac function, inflammation, myocardial injury, pathological condition, apoptosis, and the NF-κB pathway-related genes in the myocardial tissue of MI rats after targeted treatment were evaluated. The targeting relationship between miR-322-5p and BTG2 was assessed.Results: miR-322-5p was lowly expressed and BTG2 was highly expressed in the myocardial tissue of MI rats. Restored miR-322-5p improved cardiac function, relived inflammation and myocardial injury, suppressed pathological condition and apoptosis and inactivated NF-κB pathway in MI rats. BTG2 expression was negatively mediated by miR-322-5p. Overexpressed BTG2 rescued miR-322-5p-induced cardioprotection on MI rats.Conclusion: It is evident that miR-322-5p protects against MI through suppressing BTG2 expression.
Analytical Performance of the Point-of-care BIOSYNEX COVID-19 Ag BSS for the Detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 Nucleocapsid Protein in Nasopharyngeal Swabs: A Prospective Field Evaluation During the COVID-19 Third Wave in France
Authors: Fitoussi Frédéric , Tonen-Wolyec Serge , Awaida Natalio , Dupont Raphaël , Belec Laurent
Published: September 2021

Background: The accuracy and reliability of rapid diagnostic tests are critical for monitoring and diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general population. This study aimed to evaluate the analytical performance of the BIOSYNEX COVID-19 Ag BSS (Biosynex Swiss SA, Fribourg, Switzerland) antigen rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT), which targets the SARS-CoV-2 N-nucleocapsid protein for the diagnosis of COVID-19. The Ag-RDT was compared with a real-time RT-PCR (rtRT-PCR) gold standard for performance measurement.Methods: Two nasopharyngeal flocked swabs were prospectively collected simultaneously in March and April 2021 from 967 individuals aged ≥18 years tested for SARS-CoV-2 in two private laboratories, Paris, France.Results: Overall, the Ag-RDT demonstrated high sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 81.8%, 99.6%, 96.6%, and 97.5%, respectively, as well as high or near-perfect agreement (97.0%), reliability was assessed using Cohen’s κ-coefficient (0.87), and accuracy was evaluated using Youden index (J) (81.6%) in detecting SARS-CoV-2. The analytical performance of the Ag-RDT remained high when there was significant viral shedding (i.e., N gene Ct values ≤ 33 on reference RT-PCR). The sensitivity was only 55.2% in case of low or very low viral excretion (Ct> 33).Conclusions: The BIOSYNEX COVID-19 Ag BSS Ag-RDT is a promising, potentially simple diagnostic tool, especially in symptomatic COVID -19 or proven infectiousness.
Effect of Yb Concentration on the Structural, Magnetic and Optoelectronic Properties of Yb Doped ZnO: First Principles Calculation
Authors: Achehboune Mohamed , Khenfouch Mohammed , Boukhoubza Issam , Derkaoui Issam , Mothudi Bakang Moses , Zorkani Izeddine , Jorio Anouar
Published: September 2021

Density functional theory-based investigation of the electronic, magnetic, and optical characteristics in pure and ytterbium (Yb) doped ZnO has been carried out by the plane-wave pseudopotential technique with generalized gradient approximation. The calculated lattice parameters and band gap of pure ZnO are in good agreement with the experimental results. The energy band-gap increases with the increase of Yb concentration. The Fermi level moves upward into the conduction band after doping with Yb, which shows the properties of an n-type se miconductor. New defects were created in the band-gap near the conduction band attributed to the Yb-4f states. The magnetic properties of ZnO were found to be affected by Yb doping; ferromagnetic property was observed for 4.17% Yb due to spin polarization of Yb-4f electrons. The calculated optical properties imply that Yb doped causes a blue shift of the absorption peaks, significantly enhances the absorption of the visible light, and the blue shift of the reflectivity spectrum was observed. Besides, a better transmittance of approximately 88% was observed for 4.17% Yb doped ZnO system. The refractive index and the extinction coefficient were observed to decrease as the Yb dopant concentration increased. As a result, we believe that our findings will be useful in understanding the doping impact in ZnO and will motivate further theoretical research.
Impact of Screen Exposure on Pediatric Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis: a Survey During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy
Authors: Masini Marzio , Brindisi Giulia , Giovannini Mattia , Pignataro Elia , Grande Laura Di , De Libero Cinzia , Mori Francesca , Caputo Roberto , Zicari Annamaria
Published: September 2021

Background
SARS-CoV-2 outbreak pushed the Italian government to start a strict lockdown, replacing school attendance with long-distance learning. This caused reduced exposure to sunlight but increased exposure to screens. Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic inflammatory ocular condition in which exposure to light plays a cardinal role. We conducted an online survey to evaluate the impact of screen exposure in children with VKC during the lockdown.
Methods
We performed a survey-based observational study, asking patients followed at the Allergology of Meyer Children’s University Hospital in Florence and of Policlinico Umberto I in Rome to provide grading on 6 subjective ocular clinical manifestations presented during the lockdown and to give an estimate of the hours/day of screen exposure.
Results
Mean scores of signs and symptoms increased homogeneously when studying patients exposed to longer screen time. When comparing scores collected in 2019 versus 2020, there was not a significant reduction in clinical manifestations, although the situation differed between the two centres due to geographical differences in sunlight exposure.
Conclusion
During the lockdown, there was a reduction of sunlight exposure but conversely an increase in the time spent in front of screens that correlated with the worsening of VKC signs symptoms in direct proportion to the hours/day of screen exposure. Our results also showed a statistically significant difference in the relative impact of long-distance learning on VKC clinical manifestations in the different Italian regions.
Evaluation of a novel dichoptic training method using polarising film for treatment of amblyopia
Authors: Iwata Yo , Handa Tomoya , Ishikawa Hitoshi
Published: September 2021

We have developed a new, low-cost, easily administered method that uses a polarising film to enable dichoptic training for amblyopia. In this study, we compared its effects with occlusion therapy using an eye patch. Fifty-eight patients (4.7 ± 0.1 years old) diagnosed with anisometric amblyopia were included and instructed to wear complete refractive correction glasses with either occlusion therapy using an eye patch (eye patch group) or dichoptic training using polarising film (polarising film group) for two hours per day. We examined the improvement in the visual acuity and adherence rate of the patients two months after treatment initiation. After training, the polarising film group showed significant improvement in visual acuity compared with the eye patch group. The adherence rate was also significantly better in the polarising film group than in the eye patch group. In both groups, there was a significant correlation between the improvement in visual acuity and adherence rate. This new dichoptic training using a polarising film was shown to be effective for anisometropic amblyopia.
Profile of Gene Expression Changes During Estrodiol-17β-Induced Feminization in the Takifugu Rubripes Brain
Authors: Shen Xufang , Yan Hongwei , Jiang Jieming , Li Weiyuan , Xiong Yuyu , Liu Qi , Liu Ying
Published: September 2021

Background: As the critical tissue of the central nervous system, the brain has been found to be involved in gonad development. Previous studies have suggested that gonadal fate may be affected by the brain. Identifying brain-specific molecular changes that occur during estrodiol-17β (E2) ‑induced feminization is crucial to our understanding of the molecular control of sex differentiation by the brains of fish. Results: In this study, the differential transcriptomic responses of the Takifugu rubripes larvae brain were compared after E2 treatment for 55 days. Our results showed that 514 genes were differentially expressed between E2-treated-XX (E-XX) and Control-XX (C-XX) T. rubripes, while 362 genes were differentially expressed between E2-treated-XY (E-XY) and Control-XY (C-XY). For example, the expression of cyp19a1b, gnrh1 and pgr was significantly up-regulated, while st, sl, tshβ, prl and pit-1, which belong to the growth hormone/prolactin family, were significantly down-regulated after E2 treatment, in both sexes. The arntl1, bhlbe, nr1d2, per1b, per3, cry1, cipc and ciart genes, which are involved in the circadian rhythm, were also found to be altered. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were identified between E-XX and C-XX, were significantly enriched in neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, arachidonic acid metabolism, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and the calcium signaling pathway. The DEGs that were identified between E‑XY and C-XY were significantly enriched in tyrosine metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism and linoleic acid metabolism. Conclusion: By using transcriptome sequencing of XX and XY brains of torafugu larvae showed that many genes and pathways were altered by E2 exposure. They provide the opportunity to further study the possible involvement of networks in the brain-pituitary-gonadal axis in sex differentiation in T. rubripes.
Ringwoodite rim around olivine core in shock-induced melt-vein of GRV 022321 chondrite: Transformation kinetics of olivine to ringwoodite
Authors: Xie Zhidong , Sharp Thomas G. , Zuo Shuhao , Li Xiaochun
Published: September 2021

Here we report the natural occurrence of the ringwoodite rims around olivine cores in shock-induced melt veins of the Antarctic chondrite GRV 022321. Electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to examine the sample to better elucidate the mechanisms of transformation of the olivine to ringwoodite and Fe-Mg partitioning in olivine under the shock. The GRV 022321 is an L6 chondrite with a network of black veins enclosing abundant olivine host-rock fragments. Some of the enclosed fragments ranging from 5 µm to 100 µm in size have bright rims up to 20 µm wide, and a dark core under reflected light and backscatter electron imaging. Raman spectroscopy reveals that rims are made of ringwoodite, and cores are predominantly olivine. EMPA data show the ringwoodites in rims are richer in Fe (Fa46) than the olivine cores (Fa10-Fa23). The olivine cores have variable contrast in BSE images with the heterogeneities in fayalite content (Fa10 to Fa23) and a branching network of low-Fa olivine. FIB-TEM observations reveal that the ringwoodite rims are polycrystalline with crystallite sizes from 200 nm to 800 nm, while the olivine cores are also polycrystalline, but with smaller crystallites from 100 nm to 200 nm. Based on observation, we conclude that the original Fa23 olivine transformed to Fa10 olivine and Fa46 ringwoodite by a solid-state diffusion-controlled growth mechanism during shock, and the branching network of low-Fa olivine acted as long-range(up to 10µm)high-diffusion pathways for grain-boundary Fe-Mg interdiffusion through highly deformed nano-crystalline olivine to accommodate the diffusion-controlled growth of ringwoodite.
Whole-exome sequencing reveals migraine associated novel functional variants
Authors: Asoom Lubna Ibrahim Al , Khan Johra , Sunni Ahmad Al , Rafique Nazish , Latif Rabia , Alabdali Majed M. , Alhariri Azhar , Aloqaily Majed , AbdulAzeez Sayed , Borgio J. Francis
Published: September 2021

Background

Migraine, as the 7th most disabling neurological multi-symptomatic disease condition and 26.9% prevalence in Saudi females lacks studies on SNPs for their relation with migraine aura.
Methods

This study was conducted on 40 Arab ancestry young female subjects, among whom 50% cases with migraine and remaining controls were used to identify the migraine associated novels genes and risk variants. After quality controls, 3365343 missense, frameshift, missense splice region variants and insertion-deletion (indels) polymorphisms were tested for association to migraine.
Results

Seventeen significant (p value 9.091×10− 05) functional variants in 12 genes (RETNLB, SCAI, ADH4, ESPL1, CPT2, FLG, PPP4R1, SERPINB5, ZNF66, ETAA1, EXO1 and CPA6) were migraine risk associated including a stop gained frameshift (-13-14*SX) variant in the gene RETNLB (rs5851607; p value 3.446×10− 06). Gene analysis revealed that half of the significant novel migraine risk genes expressed in temporal lobe (p-value 0.0058) of the cerebral cortex.
Conclusions

This first study in female (22.10 ± 3.63 years) migrainers is the first one exploring migraine risk variants in Arab ancestry.
Acupuncture methods for insomnia in the elderly: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Authors: Dong Weitao , Zhang Feng , Wu Rong , He Ximeng , Chen Xingliang , Zhou Hongchi , Gong Tingting , Wang Chao
Published: September 2021

Background: Insomnia remains one of the most common sleep disorders in the elderly, with high prevalence and substantial consequences for patients’ general health. Despite that increasing clinical trials have indicated that acupuncture seems to be effective for insomnia in the elderly, comparative efficacy and safety of different acupuncture methods for elderly individuals with insomnia has been unclear. Therefore, this protocol outlined a plan to evaluate and rank the efficacy and safety ofvarious acupuncture approaches for insomnia in the elderly.Methods: A systematic search of 8 bibliographic databases will be conducted from their inception to 31 October 2021, including Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Embase, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM). Randomized controlled trials investigating acupuncture methods for insomnia in the elderly, published in English or Chinese will be included. The primary outcome is sleep quality measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Two reviewers will independently perform study selection, data extraction and risk assessment of bias. The quality of included literatures will be appraised using Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (ROB 2.0). ADDIS (Aggregate Data Drug Information System) V.1.16.8 will be used to conduct Bayesian network meta-analysis. The quality of evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation System (GRADE).Discussion: In this study, the results will provide credible evidence to assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapies for elderly patients with insomnia, assisting patients, physicians and clinical research investigators to select the most appropriate acupuncture method.Trial registration: The protocol has been registered at OSF (https://osf.io/3kjpq/) with a registration number DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/3KJPQ.
Morphologic and anatomic response, catalase gene expression in drought varieties of tomato and bioinformatics analyses of microarray studies of the catalase gene
Authors: Shoja Hanieh Mohajjel , Khezriani Taha , Kolahi Maryam , Kazemi Elham Elham Mohajel , Yazdi Milad
Published: September 2021

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Profiling of plasma extracellular vesicle transcriptome reveals that circRNAs are prevalent and differ between multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls
Authors: Iparraguirre Leire , Alberro Ainhoa , Hansen Thomas Birkballe , Castillo-Triviño Tamara , Muñoz-Culla Maider , Otaegui David
Published: September 2021

Background
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are released by almost all cell types and are implicated in a number of biological and pathological processes including autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Differences in the number and cargo of plasma derived EVs have been described in MS. In this work, we attempt to characterise the EV RNA cargo of MS patients with particular attention to a recently discovered non coding RNA type, circular RNAs (circRNAs), which have been shown to play important roles in physiology and disease and hold a great biomarker potential.
Methods
Plasma was collected from 20 MS patients and 8 healthy controls (HC) and total RNA was isolated from plasma-derived extracellular vesicles isolated by differential centrifugation. Samples were pooled in disease status, sex and age paired groups and RNA-Sequenced with Illumina HiSeq X Ten after rRNA depletion. CircRNAs were detected by both find_circ and CIRI2 and their quantification was based on BSJ-spanning reads. Linear transcripts were quantified by HTSEq. Differential expression analysis was performed using DESeq2. RNA type distribution was analyzed based on biomart classification. MiRNA binding site number and density for circRNAs was calculated based on the TargetScan prediction performed by Circinteractome. CircRNA secondary structure prediction was calculated by their length normalized Gibbs free energy. All the statistical analysis were performed in Rstudio.
Results
The EV linear and circular transcriptome of MS patients and controls is characterized and compared to the transcriptome previously described in leucocytes. Results reveal differences in the RNA type distribution, showing that circRNAs are enriched in EVs compared to leucocytes. Nevertheless, highly structured circRNAs are preferentially retained in leukocytes. Additionally, differential expression analysis reports significant differences in circRNA and linear RNA expression between MS patients and controls as well as between different MS types.
Conclusions
The plasma derived EV RNA cargo is not a representation of leukocytes’ cytoplasm but a message that must be studied. Moreover, our results reveal the interest of circRNAs as part of this message highlighting the importance to further understand the RNA regulation in MS.
Recommender System for Telecom Packages Based on the Deep & Cross Network
Authors: Shi Congming , Wang Wen , Wei Shoulin , Lv Feiya
Published: September 2021

With the evolution of 5G technology, the telecom industry has influenced the livelihood of people and impacted the development of the national economy significantly. To increase revenue per customer and secure long-term contracts of users, telecommunications firms and enterprises have launched different types of telecom packages to satisfy the varying requirements of users. Although several recommender systems have been proposed in recent years for telecommunication package recommendation, extracting effective feature information from large and complex consumption data remains challenging. Considering the telecom package recommendation problems, traditional recommendation methods either use complex expert feature engineering or fail to perform end-to-end deep learning training. In this study, a recommender system based on deep & cross network (DCN), deep belief network (DBN), Embedding, and Word2Vec is proposed using the powerful learning abilities of deep learning. The proposed system fits the telecom package recommender system in terms of click-through rate prediction to provide a potential solution for the recommendation challenges faced by telecom enterprises. The proposed model can effectively capture the finite order interactional features and deep hidden features. Additionally, the text information in the data is completely used to further improve the recommendation ability of the model. Moreover, the proposed method does not require feature engineering. We conducted comprehensive experiments using real-world datasets, and the results verify that our method can generate improved recommendation accuracy in comparison with those observed in DBN, DCN, deep factorization machine, and deep neural network models individually.
Programmable Wavelength Filter with Double Ring Loaded MZI
Authors: Wang Mi , Chen Xiangfeng , Khan Umar , Bogaerts Wim
Published: September 2021

We propose a novel filter circuit that incorporates a double ring resonator with a balanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI).The circuit has a response equivalent to a conventional ring loaded MZI filter, but with added flexibility in terms of configurability. The second-order filter can also be cascaded to realize higher-order filters. The circuit incorporates a two-stage input and output coupler to further reduce the effect of dispersion. A combination of local and global optimization strategies to program the filter, using tailored objective functions, have been tested in simulation and experiments. To our best knowledge, this is the first time a global optimization strategy is directly used in ARMA filter synthesis and simulation without any additional requirement. We further extend the optimization strategy into experiments and demonstrated its use in practical case for programmable filter circuits.
Measured distribution of cloud chamber tracks from radioactive decay
Authors: Schonfeld Jonathan
Published: September 2021

Using publically available video of a cloud chamber with a very small radioactive source, I measure the spatial distribution of where tracks start, and consider possible implications. This is directly relevant to the quantum measurement problem and its possible resolution, and appears never to have been done before. The raw data are relatively uncontrolled, leading to caveats that should guide future, more tailored experiments. Track distributions from decays in cloud chambers represent a previously unappreciated way to probe the foundations of quantum mechanics, and a novel case of wavefunctions with macroscopic signatures.