bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Unified Computational Framework for a Robust, Reliable, and Reproducible Identification of Novel miRNAs From the RNA Sequencing Data
Authors: Ruhela Vivek , Gupta Anubha , Sriram K. , Ahuja Gaurav , Kaur Gurvinder , Gupta Ritu
Published: July 2022

In eukaryotic cells, miRNAs regulate a plethora of cellular functionalities ranging from cellular metabolisms, and development to the regulation of biological networks and pathways, both under homeostatic and pathological states like cancer.Despite their immense importance as key regulators of cellular processes, accurate and reliable estimation of miRNAs using Next Generation Sequencing is challenging, largely due to the limited availability of robust computational tools/methods/pipelines. Here, we introduce miRPipe, an end-to-end computational framework for the identification, characterization, and expression estimation of small RNAs, including the known and novel miRNAs and previously annotated pi-RNAs from small-RNA sequencing profiles. Our workflow detects unique novel miRNAs by incorporating the sequence information of seed and non-seed regions, concomitant with clustering analysis. This approach allows reliable and reproducible detection of unique novel miRNAs and functionally same miRNAs (paralogues). We validated the performance of miRPipe with the available state-of-the-art pipelines using both synthetic datasets generated using the newly developed miRSim tool and three cancer datasets (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Lung cancer, and breast cancer). In the experiment over the synthetic dataset, miRPipe is observed to outperform the existing state-of-the-art pipelines (accuracy: 95.23% and F1-score: 94.17%). Analysis on all the three cancer datasets shows that miRPipe is able to extract more number of known dysregulated miRNAs or piRNAs from the datasets as compared to the existing pipelines.
Detection of Carbohydrate Antigen 50 Based on a Novel Miniaturized Chemiluminescence Analyzer Enables Large-Scale Cancer Early Screening in Grassroots Community
Authors: Liu Yu , He Xiaowei , Zou Jingjing , Ouyang Xiuyun , Huang Chunrong , Yang Xiao , Wang Yu
Published: July 2022

Early screening of cancer can effectively prolong survival time and reduce cancer mortality. However, the existing health-monitoring devices can only be carried out in professional laboratories, so large-scale early cancer screening in resource-limited settings is hardly achieved. To embrace the challenge, we developed a novel chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) analyzer that does not require a professional operation. Then, it was applied to detect carbohydrate antigen 50 (CA50), a non–organ-specific tumor marker for screening various cancers. As a result, the analyzer exhibited excellent performance that the total assay time was only 15 min, and the detection limit reached 0.057 U ml−1. A coefficient of variance (CV) less than 15% was well-controlled for both intra- and inter-assay precision, and the linear range was 0–500 U ml−1. More importantly, this analyzer can continuously detect 60 samples per hour without any professional paramedic. Finally, this analyzer has been applied to evaluate clinical samples and the detected results showed a good correlation with the clinical test results (correlation coefficient, 0.9958). These characteristics exactly meet large-scale and high-throughput early screening of cancer. Thus, this miniaturized analyzer for CA50 detection is promising to achieve early large-scale screening of cancer in the resource-limited grassroots community.
Temporal Dynamic Analysis of Alternative Splicing During Embryonic Development in Zebrafish
Authors: Liu Zhe , Wang Wei , Li Xinru , Zhao Xiujuan , Zhao Hongyu , Yang Wuritu , Zuo Yongchun , Cai Lu , Xing Yongqiang
Published: July 2022

Alternative splicing is pervasive in mammalian genomes and involved in embryo development, whereas research on crosstalk of alternative splicing and embryo development was largely restricted to mouse and human and the alternative splicing regulation during embryogenesis in zebrafish remained unclear. We constructed the alternative splicing atlas at 18 time-course stages covering maternal-to-zygotic transition, gastrulation, somitogenesis, pharyngula stages, and post-fertilization in zebrafish. The differential alternative splicing events between different developmental stages were detected. The results indicated that abundance alternative splicing and differential alternative splicing events are dynamically changed and remarkably abundant during the maternal-to-zygotic transition process. Based on gene expression profiles, we found splicing factors are expressed with specificity of developmental stage and largely expressed during the maternal-to-zygotic transition process. The better performance of cluster analysis was achieved based on the inclusion level of alternative splicing. The biological function analysis uncovered the important roles of alternative splicing during embryogenesis. The identification of isoform switches of alternative splicing provided a new insight into mining the regulated mechanism of transcript isoforms, which always is hidden by gene expression. In conclusion, we inferred that alternative splicing activation is synchronized with zygotic genome activation and discovered that alternative splicing is coupled with transcription during embryo development in zebrafish. We also unveiled that the temporal expression dynamics of splicing factors during embryo development, especially co-orthologous splicing factors. Furthermore, we proposed that the inclusion level of alternative splicing events can be employed for cluster analysis as a novel parameter. This work will provide a deeper insight into the regulation of alternative splicing during embryogenesis in zebrafish.
TFAP2B Haploinsufficiency Impacts Gastrointestinal Function and Leads to Pediatric Intestinal Pseudo-obstruction
Authors: Zada Almira , Kuil Laura E. , de Graaf Bianca M. , Kakiailatu Naomi , Windster Jonathan D. , Brooks Alice S. , van Slegtenhorst Marjon , de Koning Barbara , Wijnen René M. H. , Melotte Veerle , Hofstra Robert M. W. , Brosens Erwin , Alves Maria M.
Published: July 2022

Background: Pediatric Intestinal Pseudo-obstruction (PIPO) is a congenital enteric disorder characterized by severe gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility, without mechanical obstruction. Although several genes have been described to cause this disease, most patients do not receive a genetic diagnosis. Here, we aim to identify the genetic cause of PIPO in a patient diagnosed with severe intestinal dysmotility shortly after birth.

Methods: Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed in the patient and unaffected parents, in a diagnostic setting. After identification of the potential disease-causing variant, its functional consequences were determined in vitro and in vivo. For this, expression constructs with and without the causing variant, were overexpressed in HEK293 cells. To investigate the role of the candidate gene in GI development and function, a zebrafish model was generated where its expression was disrupted using CRISPR/Cas9 editing.

Results: WES analysis identified a de novo heterozygous deletion in TFAP2B (NM_003221.4:c.602-5_606delTCTAGTTCCA), classified as a variant of unknown significance. In vitro studies showed that this deletion affects RNA splicing and results in loss of exon 4, leading to the appearance of a premature stop codon and absence of TFAP2B protein. Disruption of tfap2b in zebrafish led to decreased enteric neuronal numbers and delayed transit time. However, no defects in neuronal differentiation were detected. tfap2b crispants also showed decreased levels of ednrbb mRNA, a downstream target of tfap2b.

Conclusion: We showed that TFAP2B haploinsufficiency leads to reduced neuronal numbers and GI dysmotility, suggesting for the first time, that this gene is involved in PIPO pathogenesis.
The Concilium of Information Processing Networks of Chemical Oscillators for Determining Drug Response in Patients With Multiple Myeloma
Authors: Bose Ashmita , Dittrich Peter , Gorecki Jerzy
Published: July 2022

It can be expected that medical treatments in the future will be individually tailored for each patient. Here we present a step towards personally addressed drug therapy. We consider multiple myeloma treatment with drugs: bortezomib and dexamethasone. It has been observed that these drugs are effective for some patients and do not help others. We describe a network of chemical oscillators that can help to differentiate between non-responsive and responsive patients. In our numerical simulations, we consider a network of 3 interacting oscillators described with the Oregonator model. The input information is the gene expression value for one of 15 genes measured for patients with multiple myeloma. The single-gene networks optimized on a training set containing outcomes of 239 therapies, 169 using bortezomib and 70 using dexamethasone, show up to 71% accuracy in differentiating between non-responsive and responsive patients. If the results of single-gene networks are combined into the concilium with the majority voting strategy, then the accuracy of predicting the patient’s response to the therapy increases to ∼ 85%.
Preparation of TiO2 Superhydrophobic Composite Coating and Studies on Corrosion Resistance
Authors: Zhou Chaogang , Chen Qiya , Chen Qinggong , Yin Huawei , Wang Shuhuan , Hu Chuanbo
Published: July 2022

The superhydrophobic coatings with excellent performance are prepared on the brass substrate to improve its application limitations in real production. In this article, the superhydrophobicity was obtained by the modification of TiO2 nanoparticles, and the FAS/STA-TiO2 superhydrophobic coating of the composite structure was obtained by modification of 1, 1, 2H, 2H-perfluoroquine trimethyl silane (FAS). By using scanning electron microscopes (SEMs), X-ray spectrometers (EDSs), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers, the surface morphology, chemical composition, and functional group structure of the samples were analyzed in turn. Experiments show that the water contact angle of the FAS-modified STA-TiO2 coating reaches 161.3°, and the sliding angle is close to 1.2°. Based on the chalk dust containment, it has enabled noticeable self-cleaning properties. The composite superhydrophobic coating also presents enhanced adhesive strength compared with the single coating by the tape peeling experiment. Moreover, the composite coating has a corrosion current density as low as 8.41 × 10-7 A/cm2, and the largest |Z| in low frequency in a 3.5% NaCl solution to achieve better protection of the brass substrate. It is also not difficult to see that FAS/STA-TiO2 coating can not only improve the corrosion resistance of brass substrates but also be applied to other metal substrates.
Fe3O4-Fused Magnetic Air Stone Prepared From Wasted Iron Slag Enhances Denitrification in a Biofilm Reactor by Increasing Electron Transfer Flow
Authors: Wu Yifeng , Liu Xiangru , Wang Qi , Han Dongxu , Lin Shanshan
Published: July 2022

nFe3O4 was prepared from waste iron slag and loaded onto air stone (named magnetic air stone or MAS in the following text). The main component of air stone is carborundum. To study the magnetic effects of MAS on denitrification, a biofilm reactor was built, and its microbial community structure and electron transfer in denitrification were analyzed. The results showed that MAS improved the performance of the reactor in both carbon and nitrogen removal compared with air stone (AS) control, and the average removal efficiencies of COD, TN, and NH4+-N increased by 17.15, 16.1, and 11.58%, respectively. High-throughput sequencing revealed that magnetism of MAS had a significant effect on the diversity and richness of microorganisms in the biofilm. The MAS also reduced the inhibition of rotenone, mipalene dihydrochloride (QDH), and sodium azide on the respiratory chain in denitrification and enhanced the accumulation of nitrite, in order to provide sufficient substrate for the following denitrification process. Therefore, the denitrification process is accelerated by the MAS. The results allowed us to deduce the acceleration sites of MAS in the denitrification electron transport chain.

The existence of MAS provides a new rapid method for the denitrifying electron transport process. Even in the presence of respiratory inhibitors of denitrifying enzymes, the electron transfer acceleration provided by MAS still exists objectively. This is the mechanism through which MAS can restore the denitrification process inhibited by respiratory inhibitors to a certain extent.
What Is New in the Anti–Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Development Pipeline Since the 2017 WHO Alert?
Authors: Reig Sébastien , Le Gouellec Audrey , Bleves Sophie
Published: July 2022

The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a substantial threat to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) are considered “critical-priority” bacteria by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2017 taking into account criteria such as patient mortality, global burden disease, and worldwide trend of multi-drug resistance (MDR). Indeed P. aeruginosa can be particularly difficult to eliminate from patients due to its combinatory antibiotic resistance, multifactorial virulence, and ability to over-adapt in a dynamic way. Research is active, but the course to a validated efficacy of a new treatment is still long and uncertain. What is new in the anti–P. aeruginosa clinical development pipeline since the 2017 WHO alert? This review focuses on new solutions for P. aeruginosa infections that are in active clinical development, i.e., currently being tested in humans and may be approved for patients in the coming years. Among 18 drugs of interest in December 2021 anti–P. aeruginosa development pipeline described here, only one new combination of β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor is in phase III trial. Derivatives of existing antibiotics considered as “traditional agents” are over-represented. Diverse “non-traditional agents” including bacteriophages, iron mimetic/chelator, and anti-virulence factors are significantly represented but unfortunately still in early clinical stages. Despite decade of efforts, there is no vaccine currently in clinical development to prevent P. aeruginosa infections. Studying pipeline anti–P. aeruginosa since 2017 up to now shows how to provide a new treatment for patients can be a difficult task. Given the process duration, the clinical pipeline remains unsatisfactory leading best case to the approval of new antibacterial drugs that treat CRPA in several years. Beyond investment needed to build a robust pipeline, the Community needs to reinvent medicine with new strategies of development to avoid the disaster. Among “non-traditional agents”, anti-virulence strategy may have the potential through novel and non-killing modes of action to reduce the selective pressure responsible of MDR.
Identification of Peptoniphilus vaginalis-Like Bacteria, Peptoniphilus septimus sp. nov., From Blood Cultures in a Cervical Cancer Patient Receiving Chemotherapy: Case and Implications
Authors: Wang Huacheng , Yang Jin-Lei , Chen Chunmei , Zheng Ying , Chen Mingming , Qi Junhua , Tang Shihuan , Zhan Xiao-Yong
Published: July 2022

A 39-year-old woman with a 3-year human papillomavirus (HPV) 18 infection history was admitted to the hospital for a 16-day history of vaginal bleeding after sex. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer based on the results of the electronic colposcopy, cervical cytology, microscopy, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Then, she received chemotherapy, with paclitaxel 200 mg (day 1), cisplatin 75 mg (day 2), and bevacizumab 700 mg (day 3) twice with an interval of 27 days. During the examination for the diagnosis and treatment, many invasive operations, including removal of intrauterine device, colposcopy, and ureteral dilatation, were done. After that, the patient was discharged and entered the emergency department about 2.5 months later with a loss of consciousness probably caused by septic shock. The patient finally died of multiple organ failure and bacterial infection, although she has received antimicrobial therapy. The blood cultures showed a monobacterial infection with an anaerobic Gram-positive bacterial strain, designated as SAHP1. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI–TOF MS) indicated that the patient was infected with Peptoniphilus asaccharolyticus, while molecular analysis and genome-based taxonomy confirmed the infection with a novel Peptoniphilus species that has a close genetic relationship with Peptoniphilus vaginalis and proposed provisionally as Peptoniphilus septimus sp. nov., which may also act as a commensal of the human vagina. Genomic features of SAHP1 have been fully described, and comparative genomic analysis reveals the known prokaryote relative of Peptoniphilus septimus sp. nov. in the genus Peptoniphilus. The invasive operations on the genital tract during the diagnosis and treatment of the patient and the tumor tissue damage and bleeding may have a certain role in the bloodstream infection. This study casts a new light on the Peptoniphilus bacteria and prompts clinicians to include anaerobic blood cultures as part of their blood culture procedures, especially on patients with genital tract tumors. Furthermore, due to the incomplete database and unsatisfying resolution of the MALDI–TOF MS for Peptoniphilus species identification, molecular identification, especially whole-genome sequencing, is required for those initially identified as bacteria belonging to Peptoniphilus in the clinical laboratory.
Network-Informed Constrained Divisive Pooled Testing Assignments
Authors: Sewell Daniel K.
Published: July 2022

Frequent universal testing in a finite population is an effective approach to preventing large infectious disease outbreaks. Yet when the target group has many constituents, this strategy can be cost prohibitive. One approach to alleviate the resource burden is to group multiple individual tests into one unit in order to determine if further tests at the individual level are necessary. This approach, referred to as a group testing or pooled testing, has received much attention in finding the minimum cost pooling strategy. Existing approaches, however, assume either independence or very simple dependence structures between individuals. This assumption ignores the fact that in the context of infectious diseases there is an underlying transmission network that connects individuals. We develop a constrained divisive hierarchical clustering algorithm that assigns individuals to pools based on the contact patterns between individuals. In a simulation study based on real networks, we show the benefits of using our proposed approach compared to random assignments even when the network is imperfectly measured and there is a high degree of missingness in the data.
Features and Formation Mechanism of the Jiaopenba Landslide, Southwestern Sichuan Province, China
Authors: Shen Tong , Wang Yunsheng , Zhao Xun , Liu Heng , Wu Xuyang , Chu Yapei , Zhai Panpan , Han Yang
Published: July 2022

The Jiaopenba landslide, which represents a typical large basalt high-speed remote landslide, is located in Emeishan City, southwestern Sichuan province, China. Based on the field investigation, the characteristics of the Jiaopenba landslide have been revealed. The Jiaopenba landslide occurred on the steep Mount Emei. Landslide materials with a volume of approximately 6.75×108 m3 slid down from a high position, forming a large-scale high-speed remote debris flow, with the farthest sliding distance of about 7.5 km. The landslide area is located in the west wing of the Emeishan anticline, which is cut by faults to form a monoclinal fault-block mountain. Although the shear outlet of the landslide is near the slope toe and does not have good free conditions, there are faults passing through the slope toe of the bedding slope of the fault hanging wall, the landslide is affected by the fault activity, and the integrity of the layered slope is poor. When the foot of the slope is empty, the fault zone is compressed and plastic extrusion, which leads to bedding slip of the slope rock mass and greatly weakens the interlayer bonding force. When coupled with long structural planes on both sides to form side crack planes, a large-scale inclined plate structure is formed. Under the action of a strong earthquake and other external forces, the rock mass near the fault can be damaged by tension, and a large-scale high-position landslide can be formed by the mode of compression-slip-tension fracture.
In Situ Stress Distribution in Cretaceous Ultra-Deep Gas Field From 1D Mechanical Earth Model and 3D Heterogeneous Geomechanical Model, Kuqa Depression, Tarim Basin, NW China
Authors: Xu Ke , Zhang Hui , Dong Ruixia , Ju Wei , Xie Yani , Cui Deyu , Fang Lu , Yuan Fang , Lai Shujun , Liang Jingrui , Zhang Wei , Zhao Bin
Published: July 2022

The Kuqa Depression boasts rich cretaceous ultra-deep hydrocarbon resources. However, it is in complex geological conditions. At present, sufficient understandings on the in situ stress distribution and influencing factors are lacking, which restricts the process of hydrocarbon exploitation. Therefore, in this study, the Bozi gas field is selected as an example, and a 1D mechanical earth model (1D MEM) is established with the drilling data and logging data through the geomechanical method to clarify the in situ stress distribution of the wellbore. A 3D heterogeneous geomechanical model (3D HGM) is established with the constraint of 1D HEM to clarify the distribution characteristics of the 3D in situ stress field in the Bozi gas field and discuss its influencing factors. The results show that: 1) the Bozi gas field is in an extremely strong in situ stress condition with high stress values. The minimum horizontal principal stress (Sh) of the cretaceous system is 153∼180 MPa, and the maximum horizontal principal stress (SH) is nearly 200 MPa; 2) the in situ stress in the Bozi gas field has obvious vertical stratification characteristics, which can be divided into three stress sequences of “low–high–low”, with great differences in interlayer stress; 3) the in situ stress distribution of the Bozi gas field is greatly affected by the types of faulted anticline. Different types indicate different stress distribution; 4) within the influence range of overthrusts, the in situ stress in the footwall is lower than that of the hanging wall. The greater the fault offset, the greater the in situ stress difference between the hanging wall and footwall. Moreover, the lower the stress in the footwall, the higher is the degree of overthrust, and the larger is the range of footwall stress area; and 5) the means of highly deviated wells is more helpful to the Bozi gas field for hydrocarbon exploitation.
Civic Online Reasoning Among Adults: An Empirical Evaluation of a Prescriptive Theory and Its Correlates
Authors: Guath Mona , Nygren Thomas
Published: July 2022

Today, the skill to read digital news in constructive ways is a pivotal part of informed citizenship. A large part of the research on digital literacy is dedicated to adolescents and not adults. In this study, we address this research gap. We investigated the abilities of 1222 Swedish adults to determine the credibility of false, biased, and credible digital news in relation to their background, education, attitudes, and self-reported skills. Their ability was operationalized as three components in the prescriptive theory of civic online reasoning. Results from a combined survey and performance test showed that the ability to determine the credibility of digital news is associated with higher education, educational orientation in humanities/arts, natural sciences, and technology, the incidence of sourcing at work, and appreciation of credible news. An SEM analysis confirmed that the items used to assess the different skills tapped into the theoretical constructs of civic online reasoning and that civic online reasoning was associated with a majority of the predictors in the analyses of the separate skills. The results provide unique evidence for a prescriptive theory of the skills needed to navigate online.
A Network Meta-Analysis of the Dose–Response Effects of Dapagliflozin on Efficacy and Safety in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Li Yinhui , Li Hui , Dong Liming , Lin Dandan , Xu Lijuan , Lou Pengwei , Zang Deng , Wang Kai , Ma Li
Published: July 2022

Background

Most patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) do not reach the blood glucose goal with treatment of insulin. In our research, we intended to estimate the therapeutic effect and safety of additional different doses of dapagliflozin on insulin treatment in T1DM.

Methods

We performed direct and indirect network meta-analysis using Bayesian models and graded different dosages of dapagliflozin by mixed therapy contrasts. We retrieved information from the PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China Biology Medicine (CBM) disc, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, and WEIPU Data. Our research included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including T1DM treated with insulin and additional dapagliflozin 5 mg or dapagliflozin 10 mg from January 2012 to June 2021. Thirteen RCTs with 10,701 participants were divided into three groups as below: insulin alone, dapagliflozin 5 mg + insulin, and dapagliflozin 10 mg + insulin.

Results

Dapagliflozin dose-dependently exhibited reductions in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total insulin daily dose (TDD), and body weight. Neither dapagliflozin 5 mg nor 10 mg could induce hypoglycemia or severe hypoglycemia. However, both doses of dapagliflozin increased the incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and genital infection.

Conclusions

Dapagliflozin 10 mg could achieve a better outcome in efficacy and could not increase the risk of hypoglycemia. Although it may induce a higher risk of DKA and genital infection, there was no significant difference between dapagliflozin 10 mg and 5 mg. Our outcomes indicate that dapagliflozin 10mg has a high reliability of being graded prior as a supplementary treatment to insulin in T1DM.
Blockchain Based Peer-To-Peer Energy Trading Between Wind Power Producer and Prosumers in Short-Term Market
Authors: Du Pengbo , Liu Ziming , Huang Bonan , Jing Guoxiu , Feng Lihong , Yang Chao
Published: July 2022

With the increase of wind power penetration, the deviation caused by its volatility and intermittency poses a growing threat to the grid. Energy trading in short-term markets for wind power and backup storage helps compensate for the deviations. Furthermore, the introduction of peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading can effectively reduce the risk of centralized market management. However, the higher cost of energy storage are not conducive to wind power producers (WPPs). And P2P trading also suffers from trust and efficiency problems. This paper provides a blockchain based short-term energy trading market, which resolves generation deviations through efficient and trusted real-time transactions between WPP and prosumers. The blockchain-based energy trading market is a trustless P2P structure, and the trading is triggered by smart contracts to ensure efficiency. Furthermore, a reputation mechanism is designed to incentivize WPP’s generation forecasts to be accurate and prosumers to participate in the market. A bilevel optimization method is designed to increase the revenue of WPP and reduce the costs of prosumers. The market can effectively balance the deviation of wind power generation, increase the revenue of WPP by 9.55%, and reduce the costs for consumers by 5.6%.
Hierarchical Adaptive Control of the Cyber–Physical Power System With MMC-MTDC for Transient Stability Improvement
Authors: Wen Xichang , Wu Ting , Jiang Hui , Peng Jianchun , Wang Huaizhi
Published: July 2022

Large-scale wind power integration into the power system has promoted the development of a multiterminal DC (MTDC) transmission grid with a modular multilevel converter (MMC). Basically, MTDC with MMC is a typical cyber–physical system with continuous coupling interactions between cyber assets and power systems. However, cyber events may introduce many internet-based vulnerabilities and even result in the loss of transient stability of the power system. Therefore, a voltage compensation-based two-level hierarchical adaptive control strategy is proposed in this article. At the higher level, a modified MMC output current reference calculation method is developed in the αβ framework to guarantee the transient stability of the power system, whereas a feedback adjustment method is proposed in the MMC control framework, at the bottom level, to contain the controller from deviating from its output reference while eliminating the impact of cyber communication delay on transient stability. The article shows that the proposed hierarchical control strategy can improve the transient stability of the power grid under the interference of three-phase ground faults in physical and communication delays in the cyber layer. Finally, the simulation results of the modified IEEE 9-bus test system with MMC–MTDC are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Prediction of Carbon Emissions Trading Price in Fujian Province: Based on BP Neural Network Model
Authors: Du Yi , Chen Keren , Chen Simin , Yin Kai
Published: July 2022

To achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets, it has become a common choice for all countries to introduce the carbon emissions trading market to foster low carbon sustainable development. The construction of national carbon emissions trading market in China is still in its initial stage. However, the carbon market in Fujian province has already accumulated certain experience, and its unique energy mix of “higher share of the clean energy and low share of fossil fuels consumption” can provide guidance to China’s future development. Therefore, an accurate forecast of the carbon price in Fujian province not only provides conducive suggestions for the further optimization of the carbon market in Fujian province, but also offers a significant reference for the development of China’s carbon trading market. By adopting the effective daily data from 2017.01 to 2022.02, this paper predicts the carbon emissions trading price in Fujian province based on the BP neural network model and analyzes the mechanism of different influencing factors on carbon price from six dimensions. The results show that the BP neural network model works well in predicting carbon price in Fujian province and in the impact mechanism analysis. This paper also puts forward corresponding policy recommendations, which provide theoretical support for the sound development of the carbon market in Fujian province.
Analysis of Influencing Factors of a Fully Enclosed Double-Cylinder CO2 Rotor Expander for Air-Conditioner
Authors: Wang Pai , Li Minxia , Ma Yitai , Tian Hua , Hou Beiran
Published: July 2022

CO2 household air-conditioners are difficult to popularize due to their low efficiency. The use of the expander can reduce the throttling loss and increase the cooling capacity of the CO2 system. In this paper, a fully enclosed double-cylinder rotor expander is designed. The structure and working progress are introduced. The factors affecting the efficiency of the expander are theoretically analyzed. The results show that the design of high back pressure can greatly improve the efficiency. Moreover, the relative cylinder height of the first cylinder should be between 0.2 and 0.3, while the relative cylinder height of the second cylinder should be between 0.4 and 0.6. The relative eccentricity should be around 0.1. The expander is very suitable for the condition of high outlet temperature of the gas cooler. There is a peak mass flow rate when the efficiency of the expander is maximum. This paper provides theoretical support for the design and manufacture of expander.
Impact of Heterogeneous Environmental Regulation on Manufacturing Sector Green Transformation and Sustainability
Authors: Liu JianHua , Wang HuiYang , Ho HollyWenWei , Huang Liangchao
Published: July 2022

This study aims to investigate the effect of heterogeneous environmental regulation on the green transformation of the manufacturing sector in the Yellow River Basin by using the SBM-GML. Spatial econometrics and threshold regression models were utilized to examine the effect of heterogeneous environmental regulation on the green transformation of the manufacturing sector in the Yellow River Basin and the regulatory function of green technology innovation. The results demonstrated that the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of the manufacturing sector in the Yellow River Basin increased with fluctuations from 2010 to 2019. The analysis revealed a U-shaped relationship between command-and-control type environmental regulation and the green transformation. It also signifies that market-incentive type environmental regulation had a negligible effect on the green transformation. The relationship between public-participation type environmental regulation and the green transformation of the manufacturing sector in the Yellow River Basin was “U”-shaped but inverted. Innovations in green technology are a significant variable that influences the heterogeneous environmental regulations that affect the green transformation.
Long-Noncoding RNA MANCR is Associated With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Malignant Development and Immune Infiltration
Authors: Tang Jianfei , Bao Mingyan , Chen Juan , Bin Xin , Xu Xinghuanyu , Fang Xiaodan , Tang Zhangui
Published: July 2022

Recent studies have demonstrated an important role for mitotically associated long non-coding RNA (MANCR) in carcinogenesis and cancer progression, but its function has not been elucidated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In this study, we identified differentially expressed MANCR from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases across 24 cancer types and included 546 HNSCC patients. Furthermore, high expression of MANCR was verified in HNSCC cell lines and tissue by using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis. The Kaplan–Meier analysis showed a worse prognosis with higher levels of MANCR for HNSCC. The univariate Cox regression and multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that MANCR was a high-risk factor in patients with HNSCC. Thereafter, we carried out the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. It was indicated that MANCR participates in axonogenesis and ECM-receptor interaction. Further enrichment analysis demonstrated that the expression of MANCR was positively correlated with the T gamma delta (tgd) cells, neutrophils, and Th1 cells, and negatively correlated with the infiltration of B cells, CD8 T cells, and T cells in HNSCC. In addition, in vitro experiments showed that knockdown of MANCR in HNSCC cells markedly inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. We find that MANCR was elevated in HNSCC and promoted the malignant progression of HNSCC. MANCR may serve as a potential biomarker in prognostic implications for HNSCC patients. The positive correlation between MANCR and immune infiltration cells may provide novel therapeutic targets and personalized immune-based cancer therapy for HNSCC.
A Prospective Study on Risk Factors for Acute Kidney Injury and All-Cause Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients From Tehran (Iran)
Authors: Rostami Zohreh , Mastrangelo Giuseppe , Einollahi Behzad , Nemati Eghlim , Shafiee Sepehr , Ebrahimi Mehrdad , Javanbakht Mohammad , Saadat Seyed Hassan , Amini Manouchehr , Einollahi Zahra , Beyram Bentolhoda , Cegolon Luca
Published: July 2022

Background

Several reports suggested that acute kidney injury (AKI) is a relatively common occurrence in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but its prevalence is inconsistently reported across different populations. Moreover, it is unknown whether AKI results from a direct infection of the kidney by SARS-CoV-2 or it is a consequence of the physiologic disturbances and therapies used to treat COVID-19. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of AKI since it varies by geographical settings, time periods, and populations studied and to investigate whether clinical information and laboratory findings collected at hospital admission might influence AKI incidence (and mortality) in a particular point in time during hospitalization for COVID-19.

Methods

Herein we conducted a prospective longitudinal study investigating the prevalence of AKI and associated factors in 997 COVID-19 patients admitted to the Baqiyatallah general hospital of Tehran (Iran), collecting both clinical information and several dates (of: birth; hospital admission; AKI onset; ICU admission; hospital discharge; death). In order to examine how the clinical factors influenced AKI incidence and all-cause mortality during hospitalization, survival analysis using the Cox proportional-hazard models was adopted. Two separate multiple Cox regression models were fitted for each outcome (AKI and death).

Results

In this group of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the prevalence of AKI was 28.5% and the mortality rate was 19.3%. AKI incidence was significantly enhanced by diabetes, hyperkalemia, higher levels of WBC count, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). COVID-19 patients more likely to die over the course of their hospitalization were those presenting a joint association between ICU admission with either severe COVID-19 or even mild/moderate COVID-19, hypokalemia, and higher levels of BUN, WBC, and LDH measured at hospital admission. Diabetes and comorbidities did not increase the mortality risk among these hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Conclusions

Since the majority of patients developed AKI after ICU referral and 40% of them were admitted to ICU within 2 days since hospital admission, these patients may have been already in critical clinical conditions at admission, despite being affected by a mild/moderate form of COVID-19, suggesting the need of early monitoring of these patients for the onset of eventual systemic complications.
Gut Microbiota Structure and Metabolites, Before and After Treatment in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Pilot Study
Authors: Marazzato Massimiliano , Iannuccelli Cristina , Guzzo Maria Paola , Nencioni Lucia , Lucchino Bruno , Radocchia Giulia , Gioia Chiara , Bonfiglio Giulia , Neroni Bruna , Guerrieri Francesca , Pantanella Fabrizio , Garzoli Stefania , Vomero Marta , Barbati Cristiana , Di Franco Manuela , Schippa Serena
Published: July 2022

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease. Modifications of gut microbiota seem to be associated with the disease, but the impact of gut microbiota on therapies’ outcome remains unclear. A role of T cells in RA pathogenesis has been addressed, particularly on the Th17/Treg cells balance. Our study aimed to evaluate in early RA (ERA) patients compared to a control group, fecal gut microbiota composition, short-chain fatty acids concentrations, and the levels of circulating Th17/Treg and their own cytokines, before and after 3 months of standard treatment (Methotrexate (MTX) plus glucocorticoids). Fecal microbiota characterization was carried out on 19 ERA patients and 20 controls matched for sex and age. Significant decreased biodiversity levels, and a partition on the base of the microbiota composition, between the ERA patients at baseline compared to controls, were observed. The co-occurrent analysis of interactions revealed a characteristic clustered structure of the microbial network in controls that is lost in ERA patients where an altered connection between microbes and clinical parameters/metabolites has been reported. Microbial markers such as Acetanaerobacterium elongatum, Cristiansella massiliensis, and Gracilibacter thermotolerans resulted significantly enriched in control group while the species Blautia gnavus emerged to be more abundant in ERA patients. Our results showed an alteration in Th17/Treg balance with higher Th17 levels and lower Treg levels in ERA group respect to control at baseline, those data improved after therapy. Treatment administration and the achievement of a low disease activity/remission appear to exert a positive pressure on the structure of intestinal microbiota with the consequent restoration of biodiversity, of the structure of microbial network, and of the abundance of taxa that became closer to those presented by the subject without the disease. We also found an association between Blautia gnavus and ERA patients characterized by a significant reduction of propionic acid level. Furthermore significant differences highlighted at baseline among controls and ERA patients are no more evident after treatment. These data corroborate the role played by gut microbiota in the disease and suggest that therapy aimed to restore gut microbiota would improve treatment outcome.
The Secreted Ribonuclease SRE1 Contributes to Setosphaeria turcica Virulence and Activates Plant Immunity
Authors: He Shidao , Huang Yufei , Sun Yanqiu , Liu Bo , Wang Suna , Xuan Yuanhu , Gao Zenggui
Published: July 2022

During the plant infection process, pathogens can secrete several effectors. Some of the effectors are well-known for their roles in regulating plant immunity and promoting successful pathogen colonization. However, there are few studies on the ribonuclease (RNase) effectors secreted by fungi. In the present study, we discovered a secretable RNase (SRE1) in the secretome of Setosphaeria turcica that was significantly upregulated during the early stages of S. turcica infection in maize. Knockdown of SRE1 significantly reduced the virulence of S. turcica. SRE1 can induce cell death in maize and Nicotiana benthamiana. However, unlike the conventional hypersensitive response (HR) caused by other effectors, SRE1 is not dependent on its signal peptide (SP) or plant receptor kinases (such as BAK1 and SOBIR1). SRE1-induced cell death depends upon its enzymatic activity and the N-terminal β-hairpin structure. SRE1 relies on its N-terminal β-hairpin structure to enter cells, and then degrades plant's RNA through its catalytic activity causing cytotoxic effects. Additionally, SRE1 enhances N. benthamiana's resistance to pathogenic fungi and oomycetes. In summary, SRE1 promotes the virulence of S. turcica, inducing plant cell death and activating plant immune responses.
CARs-DB: A Database of Cryptic Amyloidogenic Regions in Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
Authors: Pintado-Grima Carlos , Bárcenas Oriol , Manglano-Artuñedo Zoe , Vilaça Rita , Macedo-Ribeiro Sandra , Pallarès Irantzu , Santos Jaime , Ventura Salvador
Published: July 2022

Proteome-wide analyses suggest that most globular proteins contain at least one amyloidogenic region, whereas these aggregation-prone segments are thought to be underrepresented in intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). In recent work, we reported that intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) indeed sustain a significant amyloid load in the form of cryptic amyloidogenic regions (CARs). CARs are widespread in IDRs, but they are necessarily exposed to solvent, and thus they should be more polar and have a milder aggregation potential than conventional amyloid regions protected inside globular proteins. CARs are connected with IDPs function and, in particular, with the establishment of protein-protein interactions through their IDRs. However, their presence also appears associated with pathologies like cancer or Alzheimer’s disease. Given the relevance of CARs for both IDPs function and malfunction, we developed CARs-DB, a database containing precomputed predictions for all CARs present in the IDPs deposited in the DisProt database. This web tool allows for the fast and comprehensive exploration of previously unnoticed amyloidogenic regions embedded within IDRs sequences and might turn helpful in identifying disordered interacting regions. It contains >8,900 unique CARs identified in a total of 1711 IDRs. CARs-DB is freely available for users and can be accessed at http://carsdb.ppmclab.com. To validate CARs-DB, we demonstrate that two previously undescribed CARs selected from the database display full amyloidogenic potential. Overall, CARs-DB allows easy access to a previously unexplored amyloid sequence space.
Roles of Non-Coding RNAs in Primary Biliary Cholangitis
Authors: Zhang Yaqin , Jiao Ziying , Chen Mingwei , Shen Bing , Shuai Zongwen
Published: July 2022

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is an autoimmune-mediated chronic cholestatic liver disease, fatigue, and skin itching are the most common clinical symptoms. Its main pathological feature is the progressive damage and destruction of bile duct epithelial cells. Non-coding RNA (NcRNA, mainly including microRNA, long non-coding RNA and circular RNA) plays a role in the pathological and biological processes of various diseases, especially autoimmune diseases. Many validated ncRNAs are expected to be biomarkers for the diagnosis or treatment of PBC. This review will elucidate the pathogenesis of PBC and help to identify potential ncRNA biomarkers for PBC.
Altered Intrinsic Properties and Inhibitory Connectivity in Aged Parvalbumin-Expressing Dorsal Horn Neurons
Authors: Gradwell Mark A. , Smith Kelly M. , Dayas Christopher V. , Smith Douglas W. , Hughes David I. , Callister Robert J. , Graham Brett A.
Published: July 2022

The incidence of pain symptoms such as allodynia are known to increase with age. Parvalbumin expressing interneurons (PVINs) within the dorsal horn (DH) of the spinal cord play an important role in allodynia whereby their inhibitory connections prevent innocuous touch information from exciting nociceptive pathways. Here we ask whether the functional properties of PVINs are altered by aging, comparing their functional properties in adult (3–7 month) and aged mice (23–28 month). Patch clamp recordings were made from PVINs in laminae IIi-III of parasagittal spinal cord slices. The intrinsic excitability of PVINs changed with age. Specifically, AP discharge shifted from initial bursting to tonic firing, and firing duration during current injection increased. The nature of excitatory synaptic input to PVINs also changed with age with larger but less frequent spontaneous excitatory currents occurring in aged mice, however, the net effect of these differences produced a similar level of overall excitatory drive. Inhibitory drive was also remarkably similar in adult and aged PVINs. Photostimulation of ChR2 expressing PVINs was used to study inhibitory connections between PVINs and unidentified DH neurons and other PVINs. Based on latency and jitter, monosynaptic PVIN to unidentified-cell and PVIN-PVIN connections were compared in adult and aged mice, showing that PVIN to unidentified-cell connection strength increased with age. Fitting single or double exponentials to the decay phase of IPSCs showed there was also a shift from mixed (glycinergic and GABAergic) to GABAergic inhibitory transmission in aged animals. Overall, our data suggest the properties of PVIN neurons in aged animals enhance their output in spinal circuits in a manner that would blunt allodynia and help maintain normal sensory experience during aging.