bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quality of Life in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury Attending Selected Rehabilitation Centers of Nepal
Authors: Gautam Pratiksha , Marasini Rudra Prasad , Shrestha Rosy , Gautam Pratibha , Marasini Laxmi
Published: August 2020

Background: Spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord resulting from trauma, diseases or degenerations. The aim of this study is to identify the quality of life among the patients with spinal cord injury in relation to the physical, psychological, social and environmental health. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed within a period of one year in 103 spinal cord injury patients in two different rehabilitation centers of Nepal by using WHOQOL-BREF through face to face interview. The quality of life had been analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics by using socio-demographic and disease related variables.Results: The study finding revealed that the overall quality of life was impaired in spinal cord injury patients and it was more in psychological (48.17±14.99) and environmental health (38.70±13.79) as compared to physical (55.01±12.77) and social health (51.81±12.89). The mean difference of quality of life score in education (p=0.017), occupation (p= 0.003), and income status (p=0.001) was found statistically significant (p value <0.05) and the highest relationship was found between the psychological health and environmental health (r=0.668).Conclusions: More than 50%of the spinal cord injury patients had below the average quality of life. Physical health and social health scores are above the average but psychological and environmental health score are below the average. The overall quality of life of Spinal cord injury patients can be improved by modifying psychological health, environmental health, education, occupation, and income status.Keywords: Quality of life; rehabilitation; spinal cord injury patients.
Bilgi Teknolojilerinin Çalışanların Performansına ve Motivasyonuna Etkisi: TRB1 Bölgesindeki KOBİ’lerde Bir Uygulama
Authors: GÜVEN Mehmet , ASLAN Mesut
Published: August 2020

Günümüz ticari hayatının ve sosyal hayatın merkezine oturan önemli kavramların başında ‘’bilgi ve bilgi teknolojileri’’ kavramları gelmektedir. Bilgi teknolojilerinin ulaşmış olduğu önemli teknolojik seviyeler, bilginin düzenli bir şekilde üretilmesi ve hızlı yayılmasında önemli bir etken haline gelmiştir. Bilgi teknolojilerini kullanarak işletmeler seri üretim yapabilmekte ve daha düşük masrafla işlerini yürütebilmektedirler. Aynı zamanda işletmeler bu teknolojileri kullanarak işletme çalışanlarının performansı ve motivasyonu üzerinde de etkili olmaya çalışmaktadır. Bu makale çalışmasının amacı bilgi teknolojilerinin çalışanların motivasyonu üzerindeki etkilerini incelemektir. Hazırlanan makale çalışmasında, TRB1 bölgesinde (Malatya, Elazığ, Bingöl ve Tunceli) yer alan KOBİ’lerde bir anket çalışması yapılarak, günümüz bilgi teknolojilerinin çalışanların performansı ve motivasyonu üzerinde etkisinin olup olmadığı incelenmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu bölge Türkiye nüfusunun %2.2. ‘sini oluşturmaktadır.Anket uygulamasına 257’si erkek, 53’ü kadın olmak üzere toplamda 310 kişi katılım sağlamıştır. Verilerin analizi konusunda; tanımlayıcı istatistiksel frekans, yüzde, ortalama, standart sapma değerleri ile sunulmuştur. Ölçeğin güvenilirlik düzeyinin tespit edilebilmesi ve kategorik değişkenler arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenebilmesi için ki-kare analizi uygulanmıştır. Belirlenen değişkenler arasındaki ilişkinin tespit edilmesi için regresyon analizi uygulanmıştır.Yapılan anket uygulaması sonucunda, bilgi teknolojilerinin çalışanların üzerindeki yükleri hafiflettiğini ve Bilişim Teknolojilerinin KOBİ'lerde işletme performansı ve motivasyonuna olan etkilerinin sürekli ölçülmesi gerektiği sonucu elde edilmiştir. Ayrıca, katılımcıların, performans ve motivasyon düzeylerinin istatistiki olarak daha yüksek olduğu ve değişkenler arasında yüksek düzeyde ilişkinin var olduğu tespit edilmiştir.
Geleneksel Yatırım Araçlarının Hisse Senedi Fiyatlarına Etkisi: BIST'te Sektörel Bazda Karşılaştırmalı Bir Analiz
Authors: GÜNGÖR Bener , POLAT Ahmet
Published: August 2020

Bu çalışmada geleneksel yatırım araçlarının BIST’teki sektörler bazında hisse senedi fiyatına etkileri zaman serileri ile analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmada Ocak 2004-Haziran 2017 dönemine ait aylık veriler kullanılmıştır. BIST’teki sektörleri temsilen beş model oluşturulmuştur. Çalışmada bağımlı değişken olarak BIST’teki sektörler, bağımsız değişken olarak döviz kuru, altın fiyatı ve faiz oranı ele alınmıştır. Ayrıca 2008 küresel krizi kukla değişken yardımıyla dikkate alınmıştır. Sonuç olarak geleneksel yatırım araçlarının bütün sektörlerde hisse senedi fiyatını negatif etkilediği tespit edilmiştir. Ancak altın fiyatının etkisi istatistiki açıdan anlamlı bulunmamıştır. Anlamlı etki tespit edilen yatırım araçlarından döviz kurunun, hisse senedi fiyatını faiz oranından daha çok etkilediği belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca bu etkinin en çok BIST Mali Endeksinde en az ise BIST Hizmet Endeksinde olduğu görülmüştür.
Adopting Recommendations of a Road Safety Management Capacity Review: addressing a tragic decade of road safety in Romania
Authors: Grzebieta Raphael , Czapski Radoslaw , Burlacu Florentina Alina , Sakashita Chika , Job Soames , Burlacu Adrian
Published: August 2020

This article outlines a capacity review of Romania’s national road infrastructure and road safety in general. Romania’s road fatality rate per 100,000 population has improved overall from a 2008 high of around 15 to the current 2019 value of 9.6. However, the rate has flat-lined with no real improvement for the last decade, stalling at around 9.7 over the period 2011- 2019 and around double the EU rate. Moreover, Romania’s total annual number of road deaths has remained at an average of around 1900 fatalities per annum over this period. Romania has been the worst performing country in the European Union (EU) in recent years, and one of the worst performing countries compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations in terms of road safety. The review performed in 2016 found inadequate political leadership and commitment to effective actions to reduce road fatalities, fragmented government road safety activities across a number of regulatory entities, speed limits set at levels that exceed internationally accepted survivable limits, weak traffic law enforcement including a lack of speed enforcement cameras resulting in a failure of drivers to comply with speed limits, and a lack of structured programs to implement human error tolerant road infrastructure constructed according to Safe System principles. A series of recommendations from the capacity review were adopted (as described here) since 2016, although much remains to improve road safety in Romania.
Road Safety into the Next Decade: Greater commitment and actions in LMICs (Editorial)
Authors: Mooren Lori , Shuey Ray , King Mark , Grzebieta Raphael
Published: August 2020

In this Special Issue, we encouraged authors to submit papers on road safety in LMICs for peer review. The four peer-reviewed papers cover:

• Lack of pedestrian safety in Chennai, India;

• Impact of density and urban design features on road safety outcomes in Bogota, Colombia

• Availability and usage rates of seat belts in Malawi; and

• Analyses of the context of speed management in Cambodia to improve implementation.

In addition, we have three contributed articles:

• Good practice road safety examples in LMICs;

• Features of LMICs making road safety more challenging; and

• Review of road safety management and infrastructure in Romania and recommended actions.

We hope you find this Special Issue interesting and helpful in your work.
Tuberculosis in wild South American sea lions Otaria flavescens stranded in Chubut, Argentina
Authors: Fiorito C , Marfil J , Falzoni E , Martínez Vivot M , Zumárraga M , Lombardo D , Barandiaran S
Published: August 2020

Pinniped tuberculosis, commonly caused by Mycobacterium pinnipedii, is a zoonotic disease reported in free-living and captive otariid species of the southern hemisphere. Currently, data concerning pinniped tuberculosis in South America are scarce, reinforcing the need for further studies of the disease in free-ranging pinnipeds. In this study, we investigated the presence of tuberculosis in South American sea lions Otaria flavescens (SASLs) stranded along the Chubut coastline (Argentina). Necropsies were performed in 9 SASLs, and tissue samples were collected for histopathology, bacteriology, and molecular diagnosis. Four SASLs showed enlarged tracheobronchial lymph nodes (TBLNs) with multifocal to coalescing granulomas. In these animals, a direct IS6110-PCR amplification confirmed the presence of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex member in TBLNs (n = 4) and lungs (n = 2), but the agent could not be further identified. In one SASL, Mycobacterium murale was isolated from lungs without lesions. This study confirms the presence of tuberculosis in SASLs from Chubut, where tourist activities promote close interaction with the animals, generating a potential risk to human health. Further research is currently focusing on addressing the prevalence of tuberculosis in wild SASLs, to assess the risk for public health and develop management strategies to avoid human infection.
Effect of Block of α1-adrenoceptors on Overall Motor Activity but not on Spatial Cognition in the Object-Position Recognition Task
Authors: LEVČÍK D. , STUCHLÍK A. , KLEMENT D.
Published: August 2020

Prazosin, an α1-adrenoceptor antagonist, is well known for its depressant effect on motivation and motor activity, while it has no effect on retention of spatial behavior in several tasks, e.g. in the Morris water maze and radial arm maze. The role of α1-adrenoceptors in operant tasks with stimulus-controlled behavior has not yet been tested. The present study investigated the effect of prazosin on the modulation of overall motor activity and on cognitive performance in a spatial operant task called object-position recognition task, where operant behavior (lever pressing) was controlled by spatial stimuli displayed on a computer screen. This task has been previously showed to be hippocampal-dependent. Pre-test injection of prazosin at the dose of 3 mg/kg decreased the responding rate, while it did not affect the recognition of object’s position. In conclusion, we validated the new cognitive test with a drug with known pharmacological effects on behavior and confirmed the depressant effect of prazosin on motor activity and no effect on retrieval of spatial memory in the hippocampal-dependent operant task.
Time-Delay Systems: An Overview
Authors: Rahman B.
Published: August 2020

Time-delay naturally arises in many real-world systems, due to the fact that the instantaneous rate of change of such systems does not only depend on their current time but rather on their previous history as well. Hence, time-delays are ubiquitous, their introduction often leads to suppression of oscillations, multistability and chaotic motion in the dynamical systems. This review presents some models with different kinds of time-delays such as discrete, distributed and combination of both discrete and distributed time-delays with special emphasis on the reason of incorporating such delays into the system.
A Primer on Laplacian Dynamics in Directed Graphs
Authors: Veerman J. J. P. , Lyons R.
Published: August 2020

We analyze the asymptotic behavior of general first order Laplacian processes on digraphs. The most important ones of these are diffusion and consensus with both continuous and discrete time. We treat diffusion and consensus as dual processes. This is the first complete exposition of this material in a single work.
Linearities, Non-Linearities and Phase Transitions in Loss Diffusion Processes in Financial Networks
Authors: Eboli M.
Published: August 2020

Banks and financial institutions are linked by financial obligations that form complex networks. These networks serve risk sharing purposes and become channels of contagion in the event of liquidity and insolvency shocks. The consequent processes of loss diffusion are usually non-linear and, in some cases, exhibit phase transitions from situations in which there is no default contagion to systemic crisis that involve the entire network. In this paper, I discuss the results of recent numerical simulations of contagion processes in financial networks that present some unexpected linearities.
Soft Release Translocation of Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) on an Urban Military Installation in Oklahoma, United States
Authors: DeGregorio Brett , Moody Raymond , Myers Hannah
Published: August 2020

Wildlife translocation is an often-used technique to augment populations or remove animals from harm’s way. Unfortunately, many translocation efforts fail to meet their goals for myriad reasons, particularly because translocated animals make large, erratic movements after release, which can result in high mortality rates. Soft release, holding animals in acclimation pens for some period of time at the recipient site before release, has been proposed as a technique to reduce these large movements and increase the survival of translocated animals. Here, we compared the survival and movement patterns of soft-released Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) with resident lizards, as well as hard-released lizards from a prior study. Juvenile lizards that were soft-released had high survival rates similar to resident lizards, despite still moving more frequently and occupying larger home ranges than residents. Conversely, soft-released adult lizards had survival rates similar to those that were hard-released, and much lower rates than resident adults. Curiously, soft-released adults did not have significantly higher movement rates or home range sizes than residents. Our results suggest that caution should be used before adult Texas horned lizards are translocated. However, juveniles responded well to soft release, and future research should explore whether they are more resilient to translocation in general, or if soft release provided a specific survival advantage. Contrary to our predictions, the survival of translocated animals was not related to their post-release movement patterns, and the mechanism underlying the observed survival patterns is unclear.
Reproductive Outcomes and Endocrine Profile in Artificially Inseminated versus Embryo Transferred Cows
Authors: Lopes Jordana S. , Alcázar-Triviño Estefanía , Soriano-Úbeda Cristina , Hamdi Meriem , Cánovas Sebastian , Rizos Dimitrios , Coy Pilar
Published: August 2020

The increasing use of in vitro embryo production (IVP) followed by embryo transfer (ET), alongside with cryopreservation of embryos, has risen concerns regarding the possible altered pregnancy rates, calving or even neonatal mortality. One of the hypotheses for these alterations is the current culture conditions of the IVP. In an attempt to better mimic the physiological milieu, embryos were produced with female reproductive fluids (RF) as supplements to culture medium, and another group of embryos were supplemented with bovine serum albumin (BSA) as in vitro control. Embryos were cryopreserved and transferred while, in parallel, an in vivo control (artificial insemination, AI) with the same bull used for IVP was included. An overview on pregnancy rates, recipients’ hormonal levels, parturition, and resulting calves were recorded. Results show much similarity between groups in terms of pregnancy rates, gestation length and calves’ weight. Nonetheless, several differences on hormonal levels were noted between recipients carrying AI embryos especially when compared to BSA. Some calving issues and neonatal mortality were observed in both IVP groups. In conclusion, most of the parameters studied were similar between both types of IVP derived embryos and the in vivo-derived embryos, suggesting that the IVP technology used was efficient enough for the safe production of calves.
Association between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in SIRT1 and SIRT2 Loci and Growth in Tibetan Sheep
Authors: Gui Lin-sheng , Raza Sayed Haidar Abbas , Zhou Li , Garcia Matthew , Abd El-Aziz Ayman Hassan , Wei Dawei , Hou Shengzhen , Jia Jianlei , Wang Zhiyou
Published: August 2020

Silent information regulator 1 and 2 (SIRT1, 2) were NAD+-dependent histone or non-histone deacetylase, which emerged as key metabolic sensors in several tissues of mammals. In the present study, the search for polymorphisms within the ovine SIRT1 and SIRT2 loci as well as association analyses between SNPs and growth-related traits were performed in Tibetan sheep. To determine the expression pattern of SIRT1 and SIRT2 genes in Tibetan sheep, the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis revealed that those two genes were widely expressed in diverse tissues. Expression of SIRT1 was less in abomasum of lamb, whereas it was greater in duodenum within adult stage. In the case of SIRT2, the greatest expression was observed in reticulum (lamb) and in muscle (adult), whereas the least expression was in liver for lamb and in kidney for adult animals. The association analysis demonstrated that g.3148 C > T polymorphism of SIRT1 affected heart girth (p = 0.002). The g.8074 T > A SNP of SIRT2 had a significant correlation with body weight (p = 0.011) and body length (p = 0.008). These findings suggested that the SIRT1 and SIRT2 polymorphism was involved in growth-related traits in Tibetan sheep, which may be considered to be genetic markers for improving the growth traits of Tibetan sheep.
Exploring Attitudes toward Animal Welfare through the Lens of Subjectivity—An Application of Q-Methodology
Authors: Vecchio Yari , Pauselli Gregorio , Adinolfi Felice
Published: August 2020

Opinions increasingly influence legislative processes. The case of animal welfare (AW) standards is a clear example of the role played by opinions in political decisions. The issue, to which European citizens have historically been sensitive, has been the subject of numerous consultations and investigations, aimed at considering citizens’ opinions regarding breeding conditions. However, these tools and in particular standard surveys, suffer from response biases such as the prejudices involved in the design of questions and the interpretation of the results. To mitigate these problems, we used the Q-methodology, which is an inductive but systematic methodology focused on patterns that explain the ideas of individuals. The purposive sample consisted of 36 veterinary students who were acquiring scientific knowledge about AW. The results, in addition to providing policymakers with food for thought for the further development of AW standards, contribute to testing the use of alternative methodologies to collect citizens’ views. This mapping of viewpoints helps to build a more effective form of AW policy making.
Center of Pressure in the Paws of Clinically Sound Dogs in Comparison with Orthopedically Diseased Dogs
Authors: Reicher Bianca , Tichy Alexander , Bockstahler Barbara
Published: August 2020

The center of pressure (COP) is recognized as a valuable tool for the assessment of orthopedic and neurologic disorders in humans. Relatively few studies are available in veterinary medicine, particularly concerning the COP in the individual paw. This study assessed the dynamic paw COP parameters during the stance phase of dogs with cox- or cubarthrosis (20 dogs each), as well as of 20 sound dogs. Data were obtained by walking over a pressure platform and analyzed within the diseased groups in comparison to the control group. Both diseased groups showed significant differences between the affected and non-affected limbs, but also in comparison to the reference limbs of sound animals. For coxathrosis, the primary increase was in the medio-lateral COP displacement and the COP area in both hind limbs. For cubarthrosis, the most prominent changes were an increase in the medio-lateral COP displacement in the ipsilateral hind limb and in the cranio-caudal COP displacement in the lame limb. Additionally, the COP area increased in both hind limbs. This can reflect a compensatory redistribution of the body mass as well as compensatory changes of body balance.
Competing Reverse Channels’ Performance with Sustainable Recycle Innovation Input
Authors: Liu Ran , Du Bisheng , Yuan Wenwen , Li Guiping
Published: August 2020

Increasing attention to sustainable development issues and recycling are forcing the recyclers to use different incentives to capture more market share. Recycling innovation input is one of the effective topics in reverse competitive chains. Because of the importance of this issue, firstly, a basic closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) system is discussed that includes an integrated manufacturer and a third-party collector. Then the impact of the integration with the innovation input into third-party product collectors is considered. Eventually, two models are constructed. The first model is a basic model that includes an integrated manufacturer and one third-party collector with innovation investment. The other model is the hybrid model that includes an integrated manufacturer and two third-party collectors with and without innovation input. Stackelberg game models are used to study the optimal pricing strategies for all three models and players’ attitudes toward different scenarios. Finally, numerical analysis is presented. Our findings are generated on the following three aspects. The collector’s recycling choice, recycling innovation input, and influence on recyclers and manufacturers. It is found that the manufacturer will always choose to recycle and prefers the hybrid recycling market, which depends on the rate of collection and the compensation from production-collecting. Moreover, the results reveal that the highest return rate of recyclers occurred under the hybrid model. However, the recyclers may not be able to invest the sustainable recycle innovation input under the exorbitant innovation barriers.
Automatic CNN-Based Arabic Numeral Spotting and Handwritten Digit Recognition by Using Deep Transfer Learning in Ottoman Population Registers
Authors: Can Yekta Said , Kabadayı M. Erdem
Published: August 2020

Historical manuscripts and archival documentation are handwritten texts which are the backbone sources for historical inquiry. Recent developments in the digital humanities field and the need for extracting information from the historical documents have fastened the digitization processes. Cutting edge machine learning methods are applied to extract meaning from these documents. Page segmentation (layout analysis), keyword, number and symbol spotting, handwritten text recognition algorithms are tested on historical documents. For most of the languages, these techniques are widely studied and high performance techniques are developed. However, the properties of Arabic scripts (i.e., diacritics, varying script styles, diacritics, and ligatures) create additional problems for these algorithms and, therefore, the number of research is limited. In this research, we first automatically spotted the Arabic numerals from the very first series of population registers of the Ottoman Empire conducted in the mid-nineteenth century and recognized these numbers. They are important because they held information about the number of households, registered individuals and ages of individuals. We applied a red color filter to separate numerals from the document by taking advantage of the structure of the studied registers (numerals are written in red). We first used a CNN-based segmentation method for spotting these numerals. In the second part, we annotated a local Arabic handwritten digit dataset from the spotted numerals by selecting uni-digit ones and tested the Deep Transfer Learning method from large open Arabic handwritten digit datasets for digit recognition. We achieved promising results for recognizing digits in these historical documents.
Analysis of the Influence of Production Method, Crumb Rubber Content and Stabilizer on the Performance of Asphalt Rubber
Authors: Li Haibin , Li Wenbo , Temitope Ahmed Abdulakeem , Zhao Dong , Zhao Guijuan , Ma Qingwei
Published: August 2020

Asphalt rubber (AR) is often described as an environmentally friendly material due to the incorporation of recycled rubber from used tires and its improved service life. Its field application is influenced by many factors. In order to evaluate the impact of different factors such as crumb rubber (CR) content, stabilizer and the production method on the performance of rubber powder modified asphalt, two different matrix asphalts were prepared, the basic experiments, control variable methods and several related tests were thereafter conducted. The results showed that a moderate amount of CR could enhance the pavement performance. The suitable CR content was 20–25% for 90# matrix asphalt and 22–26% for 70# matrix asphalt. The stabilizer had a positive impact on the AR’s high temperature behavior and was beneficial to the storage of AR, but it did not make a significant influence on low temperature behavior. In addition, different methods brought certain performance differences. Though AR produced with the heat fusion method had better high-temperature performance, the rubber particles would easily disperse and melt in the asphalt during the shearing process, which gave AR more balanced physical performance. This study identifies the shearing method as the optimal choice for site construction and provides a wider application range for asphalt rubber in the road construction field. The selection of parameters depends on the construction areas and performance requirements.
Microstructure and Hydrophobic Properties of Nano-Cu-Coated Wood-Based Composites by Ultrasonic Pretreatment
Authors: Mu Hongbo , Wang Yanan , Tian Yongqi , Duan Xiaoming , Li Jingkui , Qi Dawei
Published: August 2020

The combination of nano-metal and wood to prepare copper-coated wood-based composite materials has important research value and practical significance for improving the function of wood, expanding the application field of wood, and adding added value. In this paper, 31-year-old wood (Pinus sylvestris L. var. mongholica Litv) veneer was taken as the research object. The wood veneer was pretreated by ultrasonic wave, and copper film was deposited on the surface of the wood veneer by magnetron sputtering to prepare “environmentally friendly” copper-plated wood-based composite materials. The microstructure and hydrophobic properties of Cu-coated wood-based composites were characterized and studied. With the increase in coating time, the diffraction peak intensity of wood cellulose gradually decreased, and the diffraction peaks of Cu (111), Cu (200), and Cu (220) of metallic copper appeared. Under the sputtering condition of a substrate temperature of 200 °C, the copper film deposit on the surface of the wood was uniform and densely arranged. The surface water contact angle reached 149.9°. Ultrasonic treatment increases the porous structure of wood, and the rough metal copper film interface was constructed on the surface of wood by magnetron sputtering to transform the surface wettability of the wood from hydrophilic to super-hydrophobic. The lotus leaf effect was realized on the wood surface.
Modification and Targeted Design of N-Terminal Truncates Derived from Brevinin with Improved Therapeutic Efficacy
Authors: He Haoyang , Chen Yuqing , Ye Zhuming , Chen Xiaoling , Ma Chengbang , Zhou Mei , Xi Xinping , Burrows James F. , Chen Tianbao , Wang Lei
Published: August 2020

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a class of molecules that play an essential role in innate immune regulation. The Brevinin-1 family are AMPs that show strong pharmacological and antimicrobial potential. A novel peptide, B1A, was designed based on the primary structure of brevinin-1PLb and brevinin-1PLc. Subsequently, a synthesised replicate was subjected to a series of bioassays and was found to display antimicrobial activity. However, it also displayed high levels of haemolysis in a horse red blood cell haemolytic assay, suggesting potential toxicity. Therefore, we rationally designed a number of B1A analogues with aim of retaining antimicrobial activity, lowering toxicity, and to explore the structure–activity relationship of its N-terminus. B1A and its analogues still retained the “Rana Box” and the FLP-motif, which is a feature of this subfamily. However, the introduction of Lys and Trp residues into the peptide sequences revealed that antimicrobial activity of these analogues remained unchanged once the hydrophobicity and the charge reached the threshold. Hence, the idea that the hydrophobicity saturation in different situations is related to antimicrobial activity can be understood via the structure–activity relationship. Meanwhile, it could also be the starting point for the generation of peptides with specific antimicrobial activity.
The Effect of Bacterial Endotoxin LPS on Serotonergic Modulation of Glutamatergic Synaptic Transmission
Authors: Bernard Jate , Greenhalgh Abigail , Istas Oscar , Marguerite Nicole T. , Cooper Robin L.
Published: August 2020

The release of the endotoxin lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from gram-negative bacteria is key in the induction of the downstream cytokine release from cells targeting cells throughout the body. However, LPS itself has direct effects on cellular activity and can alter synaptic transmission. Animals experiencing septicemia are generally in a critical state and are often treated with various pharmacological agents. Since antidepressants related to the serotonergic system have been shown to have a positive outcome for septicemic conditions impacting the central nervous system, the actions of serotonin (5-HT) on neurons also exposed to LPS were investigated. At the model glutamatergic synapse of the crayfish neuromuscular junction (NMJ), 5-HT primarily acts through a 5-HT2A receptor subtype to enhance transmission to the motor neurons. LPS from Serratia marcescens also enhances transmission at the crayfish NMJ but by a currently unknown mechanism. LPS at 100 µg/mL had no significant effect on transmission or on altering the response to 5-HT. LPS at 500 µg/mL increased the amplitude of the evoked synaptic excitatory junction potential, and 5-HT in combination with 500 µg/mL LPS continued to promote enhanced transmission. The preparations maintained responsiveness to serotonin in the presence of low or high concentrations of LPS.
The Potential of Phytochemicals in Oral Cancer Prevention and Therapy: A Review of the Evidence
Authors: Lee Tzu-Ying , Tseng Yu-Hsin
Published: August 2020

The etiological factors of oral cancer are complex including drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, betel quid chewing, human papillomavirus infection, and nutritional deficiencies. Understanding the molecular mechanism of oral cancer is vital. The traditional treatment for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (e.g., surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy) and targeted molecular therapy still have numerous shortcomings. In recent years, the use of phytochemical factors to prevent or treat cancer has received increasing attention. These phytochemicals have little or no toxicity against healthy tissues and are thus ideal chemopreventive agents. However, phytochemicals usually have low water solubility, low bioavailability, and insufficient targeting which limit therapeutic use. Numerous studies have investigated the development of phytochemical delivery systems to address these problems. The present article provides an overview of oral cancer including the etiological factors, diagnosis, and traditional therapy. Furthermore, the classification, dietary sources, anticancer bioactivity, delivery system improvements, and molecular mechanisms against oral cancer of phytochemicals are also discussed in this review.
Vivostat Platelet-Rich Fibrin® for Complicated or Chronic Wounds—A Pilot Study
Authors: Bayer Andreas , Höntsch Gesa , Kaschwich Mark , Dell Annika , Siggelkow Markus , Berndt Rouven , Rusch Rene , Harder Jürgen , Gläser Regine , Cremer Jochen
Published: August 2020

Vivostat Platelet-Rich Fibrin® (PRF) is an autologous platelet concentrate used for the local treatment of chronic or complicated wounds. Still, its application for this indication is not evidence-based. Therefore, we performed this monocentric retrospective pilot study investigating the clinical outcome of a local treatment of chronic or complicated wounds in 35 patients (23 male, 12 female, mean age 68.7 years) treated with Vivostat PRF®. This study population is the largest among published studies analyzing the clinical efficacy of Vivostat PRF® on chronic wounds so far. Using the perpendicular method we divided the wounds into three sizes (<10, 10–30, and >30 cm2). The clinical efficacy of the Vivostat PRF treatment was the primary endpoint and was divided into three groups of increasing degrees of wound improvement: (1) no improvement of the wound (wound area was not reduced > 10% under Vivostat PRF® treatment), (2) improvement of the wound (reduced area > 10% under Vivostat PRF® treatment) and (3) complete epithelialization (wounds that were completely re-epithelialized after Vivostat PRF® treatment). We included patients’ diagnosis and concomitant diseases (peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD)), chronic venous insufficiency (CVI)), diabetic foot syndrome (DFS)) in our data analysis in order to investigate their potential impact on the wound healing capacity of Vivostat PRF®. Our results show that in the entire study population, 13 out of 35 (37.1%) patients experienced wound improvement and 14 out of 35 (40%) patients showed complete epithelialization of their wound under Vivostat PRF® treatment. In summary, 77.1% of the treated patients benefited from the Vivostat PRF® therapy. These positive wound healing effects were all observed within the first three to six Vivostat PRF® applications. Subgroup analyses showed that Vivostat PRF® appeared to be more efficient in patients without CVI in comparison to patients with CVI (p = 0.02). Moreover, Vivostat PRF® treatment seems to be particularly efficient in PAOD-related wounds with a reduced crural arterial blood supply (p = 0.01). Additionally, we performed an experimental human in vivo study on ten male students where we artificially generated bilateral gluteal wounds and analyzed the influence of the Vivostat PRF® treatment on the expression of two genes (human beta Defensin-2, ((hBD-2) and human beta-Defensin-3 (hBD-3)) in keratinocytes of resected wound specimens that are induced during wound healing. Interestingly, this analysis revealed that only seven of out ten individuals showed a relevant hBD-2 and hBD-3 gene induction after Vivostat PRF® treatment. This led to the novel “key-lock-hypothesis”. With the goal of an individualized precision medicine approach with optimized wound treatment strategies in the future, this is an important observation that demands further experimental and clinical studies.
Analgesic Effects and Impairment in Locomotor Activity Induced by Cannabinoid/Opioid Combinations in Rat Models of Chronic Pain
Authors: Alsalem Mohammad , Altarifi Ahmad , Haddad Mansour , Azab Belal , Kalbouneh Heba , Imraish Amer , Saleh Tareq , El-Salem Khalid
Published: August 2020

Both opioids and cannabinoids have well-known antinociceptive effects in different animal models of chronic pain. However, unwanted side effects limit their use. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antinociceptive effect of combining synthetic cannabinoids with subtherapeutic doses of opioids, and to evaluate the effects of these drugs/combinations on rat’s locomotor activity. Intra-plantar injection of Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA) into the left hindpaw and intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) were used to induce inflammatory and diabetic neuropathic pain in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, respectively. Von Frey filaments were used to assess the antinociceptive effects of opioids (morphine and tramadol) and the synthetic cannabinoids (HU210 and WIN55212) or their combinations on CFA and STZ-induced mechanical allodynia. Open field test was used to evaluate the effect of these drugs or their combinations on locomotion. HU210 and WIN55212 did not produce significant antinociceptive effect on inflammatory pain while only the maximal dose of HU210 (1 mg/kg) was effective in neuropathic pain. Only the maximal doses of morphine (3.2 mg/kg) and tramadol (10 mg/kg) had significant anti-allodynic effects in both models. Tramadol (1 mg/kg) enhanced the antinociceptive effects of WIN55212 but not HU210 in neuropathic pain with no effect on inflammatory pain. However, in open field test, the aforementioned combination did not change tramadol-induced depression of locomotion. Tramadol and WIN55212 combination produces antinociceptive effects in neuropathic but not inflammatory pain at low doses with no additional risk of locomotor impairment, which may be useful in clinical practice.
Development of [18F]ICMT-11 for Imaging Caspase-3/7 Activity during Therapy-Induced Apoptosis
Authors: García-Argüello Segundo Francisco , Lopez-Lorenzo Beatriz , Cornelissen Bart , Smith Graham
Published: August 2020

Insufficient apoptosis is a recognised hallmark of cancer. A strategy to quantitatively measure apoptosis in vivo would be of immense value in both drug discovery and routine patient management. The first irreversible step in the apoptosis cascade is activation of the “executioner” caspase-3 enzyme to commence cleavage of key structural proteins. One strategy to measure caspase-3 activity is Positron Emission Tomography using isatin-5-sulfonamide radiotracers. One such radiotracer is [18F]ICMT-11, which has progressed to clinical application. This review summarises the design and development process for [18F]ICMT-11, suggesting potential avenues for further innovation.
Immune-Modulating Effects of Conventional Therapies in Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Kalanxhi Erta , Meltzer Sebastian , Ree Anne Hansen
Published: August 2020

Biological heterogeneity and low inherent immunogenicity are two features that greatly impact therapeutic management and outcome in colorectal cancer. Despite high local control rates, systemic tumor dissemination remains the main cause of treatment failure and stresses the need for new developments in combined-modality approaches. While the role of adaptive immune responses in a small subgroup of colorectal tumors with inherent immunogenicity is indisputable, the challenge remains in identifying the optimal synergy between conventional treatment modalities and immune therapy for the majority of the less immunogenic cases. In this context, cytotoxic agents such as radiation and certain chemotherapeutics can be utilized to enhance the immunogenicity of an otherwise immunologically silent disease and enable responsiveness to immune therapy. In this review, we explore the immunological characteristics of colorectal cancer, the effects that standard-of-care treatments have on the immune system, and the opportunities arising from combining immune checkpoint-blocking therapy with immune-modulating conventional treatments.
High-Risk Human Papillomavirus and Tobacco Smoke Interactions in Epithelial Carcinogenesis
Authors: Aguayo Francisco , Muñoz Juan P. , Perez-Dominguez Francisco , Carrillo-Beltrán Diego , Oliva Carolina , Calaf Gloria M. , Blanco Rances , Nuñez-Acurio Daniela
Published: August 2020

Cervical, anogenital, and some head and neck cancers (HNC) are etiologically associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection, even though additional cofactors are necessary. Epidemiological studies have established that tobacco smoke (TS) is a cofactor for cervical carcinogenesis because women who smoke are more susceptible to cervical cancer when compared to non-smokers. Even though such a relationship has not been established in HPV-related HNC, a group of HPV positive patients with this malignancy are smokers. TS is a complex mixture of more than 4500 chemical compounds and approximately 60 of them show oncogenic properties such as benzo[α]pyrene (BaP) and nitrosamines, among others. Some of these compounds have been evaluated for carcinogenesis through experimental settings in collaboration with HR-HPV. Here, we conducted a comprehensive review of the suggested molecular mechanisms involved in cooperation with both HR-HPV and TS for epithelial carcinogenesis. Furthermore, we propose interaction models in which TS collaborates with HR-HPV to promote epithelial cancer initiation, promotion, and progression. More studies are warranted to clarify interactions between oncogenic viruses and chemical or physical environmental factors for epithelial carcinogenesis.
Immobilization of β-Glucosidase over Structured Cordierite Monoliths Washcoated with Wrinkled Silica Nanoparticles
Authors: Venezia Virginia , Costantini Aniello , Landi Gianluca , Di Benedetto Almerinda , Sannino Filomena , Califano Valeria
Published: August 2020

The enzymatic conversion of biomass-derived compounds represents a key step in the biorefinery flowsheet, allowing low-temperature high-efficiency reactions. β-Glucosidases are able to hydrolyze cellobiose into glucose. Wrinkled silica nanoparticles (WSNs) were demonstrated to be a good support for the immobilization of β-glucosidases, showing better performance than free enzymes in batch reaction; on the other hand, immobilized enzyme microreactors (IEMs) are receiving significant attention, because small quantities of reagents can be used, and favorable heat and mass transfer can be achieved with respect to conventional batch systems. In this work, we prepared, characterized, and tested structured enzymatic reactor compounds by a honeycomb monolith, a WSN washcoat, and β-glucosidases as the active phase. Powder and structured materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 physisorption, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Structured catalysts were tested under both batch and continuous flow reaction conditions and compared to powder catalysts (batch reaction). The WSN washcoat was attached well onto the monolith walls, as suggested by the negligible weight loss after ultrasound treatment; the WSNs preserved their shape, porosity, and individual nature when deposited onto the monolith walls. The immobilized enzyme microreactors proved to be very efficient in hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose, showing a complete conversion under continuous flow reaction at a batch-equivalent contact time equal to 120 min vs. 24 h obtained in the batch experiments. The apparent KM value showed a 20-fold decrease with respect to the batch process, due to the absence of external diffusive transport limitations.
Protein-Related Circular RNAs in Human Pathologies
Authors: Wawrzyniak Olga , Zarębska Żaneta , Kuczyński Konrad , Gotz-Więckowska Anna , Rolle Katarzyna
Published: August 2020

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a distinct family of RNAs derived from alternative splicing which play a crucial role in regulating gene expression by acting as microRNA (miRNA) and RNA binding protein (RBP) sponges. However, recent studies have also reported the multifunctional potential of these particles. Under different conditions, circRNAs not only regulate protein synthesis, destination, and degradation but can serve as protein scaffolds or recruiters and are also able to produce short peptides with active biological functions. circRNAs are under ongoing investigation because of their close association with the development of diseases. Some circRNAs are reportedly expressed in a tissue- and development stage-specific manner. Furthermore, due to other features of circRNAs, including their stability, conservation, and high abundance in bodily fluids, they are believed to be potential biomarkers for various diseases, including cancers. In this review, we focus on providing a summary of the current knowledge on circRNA–protein interactions. We present the properties and functions of circRNAs, the possible mechanisms of their translation abilities, and the emerging functions of circRNA-derived peptides in human pathologies.
Context-Dependent Tumorigenic Effect of Testis-Specific Mitochondrial Protein Tiny Tim 2 in Drosophila Somatic Epithelia
Authors: Molnar Cristina , Louzao Anxela , Gonzalez Cayetano
Published: August 2020

We have undertaken a study towards understanding the effect of ectopic expression of testis proteins in the soma in Drosophila. Here, we show that in the larval neuroepithelium, ectopic expression of the germline-specific component of the inner mitochondrial translocation complex tiny tim 2 (ttm2) brings about cell autonomous hyperplasia and extension of G2 phase. In the wing discs, cells expressing ectopic ttm2 upregulate Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling, present extended G2, become invasive, and elicit non-cell autonomous G2 extension and overgrowth of the wild-type neighboring tissue. Ectopic tomboy20, a germline-specific member of the outer mitochondrial translocation complex is also tumorigenic in wing discs. Our results demonstrate the tumorigenic potential of unscheduled expression of these two testis proteins in the soma. They also show that a unique tumorigenic event may trigger different tumor growth pathways depending on the tissular context.
Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Biomass Open Burning Emissions in the Greater Mekong Subregion
Authors: Junpen Agapol , Roemmontri Jirataya , Boonman Athipthep , Cheewaphongphan Penwadee , Thao Pham Thi Bich , Garivait Savitri
Published: August 2020

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burnt area products are widely used to assess the damaged area after wildfires and agricultural burning have occurred. This study improved the accuracy of the assessment of the burnt areas by using the MCD45A1 and MCD64A1 burnt area products with the finer spatial resolution product from the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager/Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIRS) surface reflectance data. Thus, more accurate wildfires and agricultural burning areas in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) for the year 2015 as well as the estimation of the fire emissions were reported. In addition, the results from this study were compared with the data derived from the fourth version of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) that included small fires (GFED4.1s). Upon analysis of the data of the burnt areas, it was found that the burnt areas obtained from the MCD64A1 and MCD45A1 had lower values than the reference fires for all vegetation fires. These results suggested multiplying the MCD64A1 and MCD45A1 for the GMS by the correction factors of 2.11−21.08 depending on the MODIS burnt area product and vegetation fires. After adjusting the burnt areas by the correction factor, the total biomass burnt area in the GMS during the year 2015 was about 33.3 million hectares (Mha), which caused the burning of 109 ± 22 million tons (Mt) of biomass. This burning emitted 178 ± 42 Mt of CO2, 469 ± 351 kilotons (kt) of CH4, 18 ± 3 kt of N2O, 9.4 ± 4.9 Mt of CO, 345 ± 206 kt of NOX, 46 ± 25 kt of SO2, 147 ± 117 kt of NH3, 820 ± 489 kt of PM2.5, 60 ± 32 kt of BC, and 350 ± 205 kt of OC. Furthermore, the emission results of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in all countries were slightly lower than GFED4.1s in the range between 0.3 and 0.6 times.