bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characteristics and Prediction Model of Hospital-acquired Influenza Using EMR
Authors: Cho Younghee , Lee Hyang Kyu , Kim Joungyoun , Yoo Ki-Bong , Choi Jongrim , Lee Yongseok , Choi Mona
Published: February 2023

Background:Hospital-acquired influenza (HAI) is under-recognized despite high morbidity and poor health outcomes. It is important to detect influenza infections early to prevent its spread in hospitals.Aim:This study was conducted to identify characteristics of HAI and develop HAI prediction models based on electronic medical records using machine learning.Methods:This was a retrospective observational study including 111 HAI and 73,748 non-HAI patients. General characteristics, comorbidities, vital signs, laboratory results, chest X-ray results, and room information in EMR were analysed. Univariate analyses were performed to identify characteristics and logistic regression, random forest, extreme gradient boosting and artificial neural network were used to develop prediction models.Results:HAI patients had significantly different general characteristics, comorbidities, vital signs, laboratory results, chest X-ray results and room status from non-HAI patients. The random forest model showed best performance in terms of AUC (83.4%) and the least number of false negatives. Staying in double rooms contributed most to prediction power followed by vital signs, laboratory results.Conclusion:This study found HAI patients’ characteristics and the importance of ventilation to prevent influenza infection. They would help hospitals plan infection prevention strategies and prediction models could be used to early intervene spread of influenza in hospitals.
The clinical significance and prognostic role of whole-blood Epstein-Barr virus DNA in lymphoma-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
Authors: Zhang Jing , Qin Shuchao , Jin Ze , Chen Qingqing , Xing Lingxiao , Qiu Tonglu , Xia Yi , Liang Jinhua , Zhu Huayuan , Wang Li , Fan Lei , Xu Wei , Li Jianyong , Miao Yi
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To evaluate the role of circulating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in lymphoma-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 306 adult patients with lymphoma-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from August 2009 to November 2022.
Results: T/NK-cell malignancies (54.3%, 166/306) were the most common subtypes, followed by B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (38.2%, 117/306). Elevated whole-blood EBV DNA was observed in 55.8% (164/294) of the patients and the median number was significantly higher in the T/NK malignancies (199500, 30000-1390000) than that in the B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (5520, 1240-28400, P < 0.001). The optimum cutoff value for the overall survival of EBV DNA was determined as 43600 copies/mL. Compared to the patients with EBV DNA ≤ 43600 copies/mL, those with EBV DNA > 43600 copies/mL were younger and had more T/NK-cell malignancies, more bone marrow infiltration, lower levels of neutrophils and fibrinogen, and higher levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactic dehydrogenase, triacylglycerol, and β2-microglobulin. A higher load of EBV DNA (> 43600 copies/mL), thrombocytopenia (< 100×109/L), neutropenia (< 1×109/L), hypofibrinogenemia (≤ 1.5 g/L), and elevated levels of creatinine (> 133 μmol/L) were independent adverse predictors of overall survival. A prognostic index based on EBV DNA and the other four factors was established to categorize the patients into four groups with significantly different outcomes.
Conclusion: Our study identified high EBV load as a risk factor for lymphoma-associated HLH and established a prognostic index based on EBV DNA to predict patients’ outcomes.
Bioinspired handheld time-share driven robot with expandable dexterity
Authors: Wang Yunjiang , Hu Xinben , Cui Luhang , Xiao Xuan , Yang Keji , Zhu Yongjian , Jin Haoran
Published: February 2023

Handheld robots are welcome solutions with a short learning curve to extend operator capabilities. However, the controllable degree-of-freedoms are limited due to scarce space for actuators. Inspired by muscle movements stimulated by nerves, we report a handheld time-share driven robot composed of several motion modules powered by only one motor. The modules are connected to shape memory alloy wires as nerves for activation, to be actuated by the motor. The robot contains a 202-gram motor base and a 1.2 cm diameter manipulator consisting of serially socketed bending modules. The manipulator can be tailored in length and integrated with various instruments in situ, for non-invasive access and high-dexterous operation on remote surgical sites. The applicability was demonstrated in clinical scenarios, where a surgeon held the robot to perform transluminal experiments on a human stomach model and an ex vivo porcine stomach. The time-share driven mechanism provides a practical way to build a multi-degree-of-freedom robot for broader applications.
Acute kidney injury interacts with VKORC1 genotype on initiative warfarin dose among heart surgery recipients: a real-world research
Authors: Xiong Liang , Yu Feng , Ge Weihong , Xu Hang
Published: February 2023

Patients who receive heart valve surgery need anticoagulation prophylaxis to reduce the risk of thrombosis. Warfarin often is a choice but its dosage varies due to gene and clinical factors. We aim to study, among them, if there is an interaction between acute kidney injury and two gene polymorphisms from this study. We extracted data of heart valve surgery recipients from the EHR system of a medical center. The primary outcome is about the average daily dose of warfarin, measured as an additive interaction parameter between acute kidney injury and warfarin-related gene polymorphisms. The confounders, including age, sex, BSA, comorbidities (i.e., AF, hypertension, CHF), serum albumin level, warfarin-relevant gene polymorphism (i.e., CYP2C9, VKORC1), prosthetic valve type (i.e., metal, bio), and warfarin history were controlled via a multivariate-linear regression model. We found a significant additive interaction between acute kidney injury and VKORC1 (-1.17, 95%CI -1.82 to -0.53, p=0.0004). This result suggests it is probable that there is an interaction between acute kidney injury and the genotype for the warfarin dose during the initial period of anticoagulation prophylaxis.
Synergy of monoatomic copper and oxygen vacancy formed in-situ on ultrathin TiO2(B) nanosheet for efficient photocatalytic dehalogenative C−C coupling synthesis of bibenzyl
Authors: Zheng Peng , Zhang Yuanrong , Li Shuaitao , Guo Hongpian , Hu Xun , Fang Yanfen , Duan Ran , Chen Qifeng
Published: February 2023

Photocatalytic C − C coupling reaction plays an important role in the synthesis of organics that are widely used as fine chemicals, medicine and pesticides. However, the development of high-performance, low-cost photocatalysts to drive the C − C coupling reaction under mild conditions remains a severe challenge. Herein, we present a green photocatalytic method for the selective coupling synthesis of bibenzyl over an ultrathin TiO2(B) nanosheet photocatalyst with single-atom Cu anchored and rich in oxygen vacancy (VO), which were generated in-situ in the reaction system. The method requires no tedious pre-functionalization steps, which allows the use of cheap copper compounds as starting materials. The experimental results show that the introduction of single-atom Cu sites on the ultrathin TiO2(B) nanosheet can improve the charge transfer and separation efficiency, and the presence of surface VO not only improves the light absorption capacity but also favors the adsorption and activation of reactant benzyl bromide. More importantly, the synergy of single-atom Cu sites and surface oxygen vacancy of TiO2(B) endows the high efficiency in the C − C coupling synthesis of bibenzyl. This work provides a novel insight into the photocatalytic C − C coupling reaction through the collaborative strategy of single-atom Cu species and oxygen vacancy on ultrathin nanosheet photocatalysts.
Adaptor proteins mediate CXCR4 and PI4KA crosstalk in prostate cancer cells and the significance of PI4KA in bone tumor growth
Authors: Govindarajan Barani , Sbrissa Diego , Pressprich Mark , Kim Seongho , Vaishampayan Ulka , Cher Michael L. , Chinni Sreenivasa
Published: February 2023

The chemokine receptor, CXCR4 signaling regulates cell growth, invasion, and metastasis to the bone-marrow niche in prostate cancer (PCa). Previously, we established that CXCR4 interacts with phosphatidylinositol 4- kinase IIIα (PI4KIIIα encoded by PI4KA) through its adaptor proteins and PI4KA overexpressed in the PCa metastasis. To further characterize how the CXCR4-PI4KIIIα axis promotes PCa metastasis, here we identify CXCR4 binds to PI4KIIIα adaptor proteins TTC7 and this interaction induce plasma membrane PI4P production in prostate cancer cells. Inhibiting PI4KIIIα or TTC7 reduces plasma membrane PI4P production, cellular invasion, and bone tumor growth. Using metastatic biopsy sequencing, we found PI4KA expression in tumors correlated with overall survival and contributes to immunosuppressive bone tumor microenvironment through preferentially enriching non-activated and immunosuppressive macrophage populations. Altogether we have characterized the chemokine signaling axis through CXCR4-PI4KIIIα interaction contributing to the growth of prostate cancer bone metastasis.
Artificial Intelligence Inspired Design of Non-Isothermal Heat Treatments for γ - γ' Two-phase Ni-based Alloys
Authors: Nandal Vickey , Dieb Sae , Bulgarevich Dmitry S. , Osada Toshio , Koyama Toshiyuki , Minamoto Satoshi , Demura Masahiko
Published: February 2023

In this paper, a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) technique is used for a precipitation hardenable Ni-based alloy to predict more flexible non-isothermal heat treatment and to examine the possible heat treatment routes for the enhancement in strength that may be practically achieved. Additionally, AI is used to integrate with Materials Integration by Network Technology, which is a computational workflow utilized to model the microstructure evolution and evaluate the 0.2% proof stress for isothermal heat treatment (IHT) and non-isothermal heat treatment (non-IHT). As a result, it is possible to find enhanced 0.2% proof stress for non-IHTs for a fixed time of 10 minutes compared to the IHT benchmark. The entire search space for heat treatment scheduling was ~ 3 billion. Out of 1620 non-IHTs, we succeeded in designing the 110 non-IHTs schedules that outperformed the IHT benchmark. Interestingly, it is found that early-stage high-temperature for a shorter time increases the γ' precipitate size up to the critical size and later heat treatment at lower temperature increases the γ' fraction with no anomalous change in γ' size. Therefore, employing this essence from AI, we designed a heat treatment route in which we attained an outperformed 0.2% proof stress to AI-designed non-IHT routes.
Emotional Maturity, Resilience, Parent Adolescent Relationship and Peer Pressure as predictors of Psychological Well-being among adolescents of Indian Working and Non-working Mothers
Authors: Monika Monika , Majeed Jahangeer , Sharma Neha
Published: February 2023

Happiness and a positive state of well-being are the most desirable goals of all individuals. Every family wants to produce happy, healthy and productive humans. The social environment of the adolescents constitutes of many important factors which can directly impact their well-being. It is important to understand the factors which can greatly influence the psychological well-being of adolescents. The present study has been conducted to explore the predictive role of various individual and environmental factors as emotional maturity, resilience, parent adolescent relationship and peer pressure on the psychological well-being of adolescents of working and non-working mothers and also to assess the differences among adolescents of working and non-working mothers on these variables. The sample was 520 adolescents (260 boys and 260 girls) in the age group of 13-18 years selected purposively from five bigger districts of Punjab in terms of female employment. Psychological well-being Scale, Parenting Scale, Peer Pressure scale, Emotional Maturity Scale and 14-item Resilience Scale were used to collect the data, Step wise multiple regression and t-test were used to analyze the results. All the variables were found to significantly predict the psychological well-being of adolescents. Parent adolescent relationship was found to be the most significant predictor of psychological well-being of adolescents of working and non-working mothers, followed by resilience, peer pressure, and emotional maturity. Adolescents of working and non-working mothers were not found to differ on parent adolescent relationship, peer pressure, emotional maturity and peer pressure. Psychological well-being of adolescents of non-working mothers was found to be better than adolescents of working mothers. The findings has practical implications for the parents, counsellors, teachers to provide positive opportunities for adolescents for enhancing their psychological well-being.
Tuning the pH Response of Monolayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride/Graphene Field-Effect Transistors
Authors: Fuhr Nicholas , Azize Mohamed , Bishop David
Published: February 2023

Scaling the fabrication of 2D devices for pH sensing will have implications in materials and life sciences. Monolayer hexagonal boron nitride has recently reached commercial wafer-scale transferability on monolayer graphene and is hypothesized to preserve graphene quality, reducing device-to-device variation, while simultaneously screening charge density at the liquid-solid interface resulting in attenuation of pH sensitivity of the graphene transducer. The pH-dependencies of field-effect transistors derived from monolayer hexagonal boron nitride/graphene were compared to monolayer graphene on four-inch SiO2/p-type Si wafers. Photoresistless fabrication of the two-dimensional devices relied on shadow masking for metallization, and the sensing areas were defined using microcentrifuge tube masking and reactive ion etching to produce quasi-pure sensing areas. Microcentrifuge tubes sealed the devices and were opened for experimentation where the liquid-gated Dirac voltages were studied as a function of pH in 10 mM phosphate solutions. The sensitivity of the shift in the Dirac voltage versus pH of hexagonal boron nitride/graphene devices (-40 mV/pH) was smaller than bare graphene (-47 mV/pH) with greatest attenuation in the acidic regime. Moreover, triplicating this experiment revealed smaller standard deviations for the hexagonal boron nitride/graphene transistors. Then, electron beam and atomic layer deposition of AlxOy nanofilms were employed before encapsulation to study the tunability of the pH response of hexagonal boron nitride/graphene and revealed thickness-dependent enhancement, with the greatest sensitivity on 8.6 nm AlxOy/hBN/graphene/SiO2 (-100 mV/pH). Then, reversion of the pH response upon dissolving the AlxOy was characterized. In this work, nanoscale dielectrics enabled tuning of the electrical response of graphene-based pH sensors.
Research in the genetics of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: A bibliometric analysis from 2002 to 2022
Authors: Li Lei , Guan Lihua , Lu Yiwen , Tang Yueming , Zou Yutong , Zhong Jian , Qiu Ling
Published: February 2023

Over the past two decades, there has been a significant growth in articles focusing on the genetics of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). We used bibliometric methods to investigate the historical changes and trend in PPGL research. There was a total of 1,263 articles published in English from 2002 to 2022 included in our study. The number of annual publications and citations in this field has been increasing in the past 20 years. Furthermore, most of the publications originated from the European countries and the United States. The co-occurrence analysis showed close cooperation between different countries, institutions, or authors. The dual-map discipline analysis revealed that majority articles focused on four disciplines: #2 (Medicine, Medical, Clinical), #4 (Molecular, Biology, Immunology), #5 (Health, Nursing, Medicine), and #8 (Molecular, Biology, Genetics). The hotspot analysis revealed the keywords that have been landmark for PPGL genetics research in different time periods, and there was continued interest in gene mutations, especially on SDHX family genes. In conclusion, this study displays the current status of research and future trends in the genetics of PPGL. In the future, more in-depth research should concentrate on crucial mutation genes and their specific mechanisms to assist in molecular target therapy. It is hoped that this study may help to provide directions for future research on genes and PPGL.
Psychosocial predictors of palliative care decisions among oncology patients: a pilot study
Authors: Asmar Abyaz , Ahmad Noor-Us-Sabah , Mushtaq Aliza , Khokhar Muhammad Abbas , Tahir Muhammad Zain , Majeed Muhammad Hassan
Published: February 2023

Objective:
To evaluate the demographic, social, and religious factors influencing perceptions towards receiving only palliative care near the end of life among cancer patients in Pakistan, and to determine their preferred location for receiving end-of-life care and the reasons behind their choice.
Results:
Out of a total of 112 patients, 61% of patients preferred palliative care. Those who were well aware of their prognosis (OR=5.383, p=0.006), had a positive perception of palliative care (OR=4.165, p=0.001) and believed that it aligned with their religious beliefs (OR=2.964, p=0.004) indicated that they would prefer palliative care over curative treatment near the end of life. Fewer patients preferred to opt for palliative care with the increasing cost of stay per day at the hospital (OR=0.121, p=0.002) and increasing age (OR=0.939, p=0.001). More than two-thirds of the patients preferred receiving palliative care at their homes. Some of the major reasons for this included being able to receive care from friends or family (n= 27) and being able to let their family have a normal life (n=20).
Preparation and performance of grinding wheel with orderly arranged abrasive particles based on laser processing technology
Authors: Li Kangwei , Zhang Mingjun , Zhang Jian , Mao Cong , Dai Longzhou , Zhang Yun , Zhang Yan , Bi Zhuming , Tang Kun , Hu Yongle
Published: February 2023

Laser processing has its advantages of high energy density, good controllability and high flexibility; it has shown its importance in advancing modern manufacturing. Laser processing is used in this paper to fabricate an end grinding wheel with orderly arranged abrasive particles, and the performance of the fabricated grinding wheel is compared with that of a conventional grinding wheel. Our experiment and comparative studies have drawn the conclusions of (1) active laser brazing has been successfully used to arrange diamond particles in Archimedes’ spirals; (2) the resulted grinding wheel has shown the enhanced effectiveness in comparison with the conventional grinding wheel in terms of reduced grinding force; when the spiral change rate i is set 0.25, the tangential grinding force has been reduced by up to 60%; (3) for a grinding wheel with specific spiral change rate, ground debris are discharged from the grinding zone in a certain direction, and the grinding temperature can be reduced; (4) in high-speed grinding, the surface quality by the grinding wheel with orderly arranged abrasive particles is better than that of conventional grinding wheel; under the tested grinding conditions, the roughness of the ground surface has been reduced up to 47% of that by conventional grinding wheels; (5) the grinding wheel with orderly arranged abrasive particles has shown the better wear-resistance that conventional grinding wheels; abrasive particles of all four conventional grinding wheels are damaged to certain extent but orderly arranged abrasive particles on the fabricated wheel maintain mostly their protruded heights.
Analysis of Muti-agent low-carbon behavioral strategies in the construction industry: An Evolutionary Game based on Prospect Theory
Authors: Duan Jiajun , Wang Yousong , Zhang Yangbing
Published: February 2023

As a major energy consumption sector in China, the construction industry has been a hot spot of concern regarding carbon reduction. The local governments have launched various policies to promote low-carbon production. However, the response of different parties is still confusing. Thus, based on prospect theory, this paper investigated the relationship among government policy intervention, enterprises’ production strategies and consumers’ purchasing behavior. Then, a tripartite evolutionary game model was established and a case study was applied to simulate the model. The results show that: 1) government subsidies and penalties can directly influence the strategy of each party, but excessive supervision costs can also be counterproductive to policy intervention; 2) corporate revenue and technical costs are also the main drivers affecting the low-carbon strategies of construction enterprises; 3) enhancing consumers’ environmental preference or awareness is also an effective way to promote low-carbon production. The findings are valuable for governments to further realize related parties’ responses to different policies and make appropriate development for low-carbon construction.
Virtual Element Method for nonlinear Sobolev equation on Polygonal Meshes
Authors: Liu Wanxiang , Chen Yanping , Gu Qiling , Huang Yunqing
Published: February 2023

In this work, the virtual element method (VEM) on convex polygonal meshes for the Sobolev equations is developed, where the semi-discrete and fully discrete formulations are presented and analysed. To overcome the complexity of nonlinear terms, the nonlinear coefficient is approximated by employing the orthogonal L2 projection operator, which is directly computable from the degrees of freedom. Under some assumptions about the nonlinear coefficient, the existence and uniqueness of the semi-discrete solution are analyzed. Furthermore, a priori error estimate showing optimal order of convergence with respect to the H1 semi-norm was derived. Finally, some numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate the theoretical convergence rate.
The auxiliary effects of low-molecular-weight fucoidan on the quality of life for locally advanced rectal cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy before surgery: A double-blind, randomized, placebo- controlled study
Authors: Tsai Hsiang-Lin , Yeh Yung-Sung , Chen Po-Jung , Chang Yu-Tang , Chen Yen-Cheng , Li Ching-Chun , Su Wei-Chih , Chang Tsung-Kun , Huang Ching-Wen , Wang Jaw-Yuan
Published: February 2023

Background
Patients with cancer use low-molecular-weight fucoidan (LMF) as a supplement to therapy. However, most studies of LMF are in vitro or conducted using animals. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the gold standard for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). This study investigated the quality of life and clinical outcomes of patients with LARC taking LMF as a supplement to neoadjuvant CCRT before surgery.
Methods
This was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. The sample comprised 87 patients, of whom 44 were included in a fucoidan group and 43 were included in a placebo group. We compared their scores of the quality of life and clinical outcomes before treatment, and at 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months posttreatment. Pretreatment and posttreatment gut microbiota differences were also compared.
Results
Although the enhanced quality of the life was observed in the fucoidan group at 2 months and 3 months posttreatment (both P < 0.05), the efficacies were nonsignificant (all P > 0.05). Skin rash and itching and fatigue were less common in the fucoidan group (both P < 0.05). Posttreatment, the genus Parabacteroides was significantly more common in the gut microbiota of the fucoidan group (P = 0.015).
Conclusions
LMF administration improved the quality of life, skin rash and itching, fatigue, and gut microbiota composition of the patients with LARC receiving CCRT.
Computed Tomographic Analysis of Frontal Recess Cell Prevalence According to International Frontal Sinus Anatomy Classification
Authors: Yaylacı Atılay , Değer Hasan Mervan
Published: February 2023

Purpose
The frontal recess (FR) has a complex anatomy composed of a number of cells that dictate the frontal sinus drainage pathway. The International Frontal Sinus Anatomy Classification (IFAC) is a new system for classifying FR cells. This study investigated the prevalence and symmetry of IFAC cells in healthy sinuses and assessed the interrater agreement of IFAC cells.
Methods
509 adult patients with non-diseased paranasal sinuses were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. Two rhinologists independently identified IFAC cells on 1018 sides using triplanar CT reconstructions. The prevalence of each cell type was assessed, and interobserver agreement was measured using the kappa coefficient (κ).
Results
The prevalence of FR cells varied, with the agger nasi cell (ANC) being the most prevalent at 88.0% and the supra bulla frontal cell (SBFC) being the least prevalent at 7.1%. FR cells that pneumatize into the frontal sinus were identified in 28.6% of the FRs, with male patients having a significantly higher prevalence than female patients. The ANC had the highest bilateral incidence at 80.4%, while the SBFC had the lowest at 2.2%. All IFAC cells had excellent interrater agreement, with κ values ranging from 0.94 to 1.0.
Conclusion
The prevalence of FR cells varies among populations. Male patients were more likely to have FR cells that pneumatize across the frontal sinus. These results highlight the importance of considering population- and gender- specific prevalence rates of individual FR cells in endoscopic sinus surgery planning. IFAC is a reliable tool for identifying cells in the FR with a high level of interrater agreement.
Remnant liver function is associated with long-term survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing hepatectomy
Authors: Miki Atsushi , Sakuma Yasunaru , Watanabe Jun , Endo Kazuhiro , Sasanuma Hideki , Teratani Takumi , Lefor Alan Kawarai , Shimizu Atsushi , Kitayama Joji , Yasuda Yoshikazu , Sata Naohiro
Published: February 2023

Purpose
It is important to assess the prognosis and intervene before and after surgery in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aims to elucidate the association of outcomes and residual liver function after hepatectomy.
Methods
A total of 176 patients who underwent the initial resection for hepatocellular carcinoma between January 2011 and March 2021 at Jichi Medical University were included. Hepatic clearance of the remnant liver was measured using 99mTc-galactosyl serum albumin scintigraphy. The log-rank test was used to analyze survival using the Kaplan-Meier method. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for overall survival were calculated using Cox’s proportional hazard model.
Results
In multivariate analysis, microvascular invasion (HR 2.34, P = 0.0327, 95%CI 1.072–5.117), intraoperative blood loss (HR 2.27, P = 0.0313, 95%CI 1.077–4.797), and hepatic clearance of the remnant liver (HR 0.48, P = 0.0174, 95%CI 0.266–0.880) were independently associated with overall survival. Hepatic clearance of the remnant liver (HR 0.63, P = 0.0398, 95%CI 0.411–0.979) was independently associated with recurrence free survival.
Conclusions
This is the first report to show that lower residual liver function is associated with shorter survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing hepatectomy. Preoperative determination of remnant liver function may allow assessment of prognosis in patients planned to undergo resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Preservation of liver functional reserve may be crucial for improved long-term outcomes after hepatectomy in patient with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Generalization of the Local Diabatization Approach for Propagating Electronic Degrees of Freedom in Nonadiabatic Dynamics
Authors: Shakiba Mohammad , Akimov Alexey V.
Published: February 2023

In this Festschrift contribution in honor of Prof. Maurizio Persico, we present a systematic derivation and comprehensive assessment of several integrators for quantum-classical time-dependent Schrodinger (TD-SE) and Liouville (QCLE) equations. We construct a systematic formalism that naturally accounts for trivial state crossing effects and helps solve related phenomena that often pose significant numerical problems in nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. Our derivations generalize and extend the local diabatization approach pioneered by Prof. Persico and co-workers, leading to several new integrators for TD-SE. Further, we extend this formalism to the QCLE integration. We generalize the symmetric splitting integrator proposed by one of us earlier, and demonstrate how it can be applied to integrate both TD-SE and QCLE. We provide detailed discussion of the algorithms and their implementation in the Libra software, and we present their comprehensive assessment with several well-designed model problems.
Albumin-to-Fibrinogen Ratio is an Independent Prognostic Parameter in De Novo non-M3 acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Ding Yaqun , Qi Xiangyu , Li Yang , Sun Yanni , Wan Jia , Luo Chengxin , Huang Yarui , Li Qingrong , Wu Guixian , Zhu Xiaoqing , Xu Shuangnian
Published: February 2023

Inflammation and nutrition related proteins participate in the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It has been reported that the albumin-to-fibrinogen ratio (AFR) could serve as a prognostic indicator in patients with malignancy, but the precise relevance of AML is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of AFR on survival prognosis in patients with AML. We analyzed 227 patients newly diagnosed with non-M3 AML. AFR was calculated as albumin divided by fibrinogen. Based on the cutoff point from X-tile program, patients were divided into AFR-high (38.8%) and AFR-low (61.2%) groups. AFR-low group showed poorer complete remission rate (P < 0.001) and median time to relapse (P = 0.026); while the mortality was higher (P = 0.009) than AFR-high ones. According to the log-rank test, AFR-low group had shorter OS (P < 0.001) and DFS (P = 0.034). Multivariate analysis identified AFR, ELN risk, bone marrow transplant, and hemoglobin as independent prognostic variables associated with OS. A visualized nomogram for predicting OS was performed. The C-index (0.75), calibration plots, and decision curve analyses of new model showed better discrimination, calibration, and net benefits than the ELN risk model. The time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 1-, 2-, and 3-year also functioned well (AUC, 0.81, 0.93, 0.90, respectively). Our study provided a comprehensive view of AFR which could be an independent prognostic indicator in AML patients. The prognostic model utilized readily available information from ordinary clinical practice to improve predictive performance, identify risks, and assist in therapeutic decision-making.
Comprehensive analysis of the diagnostic and therapeutic value of the hypoxia- related gene PLAUR in the progression of atherosclerosis
Authors: Dai Chengyi , Lin Yuhang
Published: February 2023

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a major contributor to a variety of negative clinical outcomes, including stroke and myocardial infarction. The progression of the lesion is accompanied by a decrease in oxygen diffusion in the area of the plaque. Our research aims to reveal whether hypoxia-related genes are involved in the occurrence and development of AS, and whether they have potential diagnostic and therapeutic value. Combined with the results of differential expression genes (DEG) analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and random forest analysis, the key hypoxia-related genes highly related to AS progression were selected. To investigate differences in immune infiltration in lesions and the relationship between hypoxia and immune infiltration, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), ESTIMATE, and CIBERSORT analyses were performed. On the basis of TarBase, MirTarBase, and DIANA databases, a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed to regulate the expression of key gene. Use the DrugMatrix database to predict targeted drugs, and use AutoDock to verify the binding ability of drugs and proteins. We found that hypoxia was prominent in advanced-stage plaques and that there was a broad correlation between the hypoxia microenvironment and immune infiltration. The PLAUR gene has been identified as an effective diagnostic marker for the progression of AS lesions. PLAUR was positively correlated with HIF1A expression and macrophage infiltration in plaques. We predicted that HCG17-hsa-miR-424-5p-HIF1A is a ceRNA network that regulates PLAUR expression. Finally, alprostadil, valsartan, biotin A, luteolin, and curcumin were predicted as potential drugs to delay lesion progression by antagonizing PLAUR. This research has significant implications for the search for new treatment targets and disease prevention as it advances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underpin the role of hypoxia in AS progression.
Mining of alluvial cassiterite and its compositional diversity at the Mayo Darlé area, northern Cameron
Authors: Njiganga Nwamba Maurice , Tebogo Tebogo Kelepile , Ngatcha Ralain Bryan , Suh Cheo Emmanuel , Ilouga Charles Dieudonne Isiodore , Shemang Elisha Mutum , Tantoh Bih Solange , Tata Ernest Tata , Agyingi Christopher M.
Published: February 2023

Cassiterite mineralization occurs in both the rock and the alluvial system in the Mayo-Darlé area of northern Cameroon. This study focuses on the morphology, mineral inclusions, and composition of alluvial cassiterite derived from Bambol and Mayo Seni localities, where active alluvial mining by artisans constitutes the most important rural economic activity. The cassiterite grains were primarily analyzed by backscattered electron (BSE) images to investigate their morphological characteristics and mineral inclusions. The composition was examined through electron microprobe analysis (EMPA). The cassiterite grains have an irregular to sub-rounded morphology, indicating proximity to the source, although most of the cassiterite grains display evidence of mechanical transport and abrasion. EMPA results show mainly high SnO2content (93–103 wt. %), highlighting the predominance of cassiterite minerals in the humid tropical region. Among the Sn substituting elements, only Fe, Ta, and Mn were detected at very low concentrations (Fe = 0.02 to 0.3 FeO, Mn = 0 to 0.04 MnO, and Ta = 0 to 0.2 Ta2O5) all in wt. % respectively, suggesting little variation in the alluvial cassiterite compositions. This high SnO2content indicates the purity of cassiterite in the area. Binary plots of compositional variation have similar trends, suggesting that cassiterite was derived from a single bedrock source, despite having a mixed signature of pegmatite- and hydrothermal-derived cassiterite. Mineral inclusions include quartz, hematite, and columbite group minerals (CGMs), which were similar in all the samples, suggesting a homogeneous source. The quartz inclusions highlight quartz veins associated with the mineralization and potential felsic plutonic bedrocks. The chemical signatures of the studied cassiterite grains are useful tools to explore the environment of an unknown primary source that can greatly help in mineral exploration in northern Cameroon.
The synergistic route for enhancing rice by-product derived nanoparticles in sustaining release of bioactive compound
Authors: Basta Altaf H. , Lotfy Vivian F.
Published: February 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Metabonomics Application on Screening Serum Biomarkers of Golden
Hamsters with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Induced by High-Fat Diet
Authors: Hu Jingjing , Shen Yueliang , Chen Yunwen
Published: February 2023

Background:

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common liver injury which will
develop into advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. This study was designed to identify the different serum
metabolites of NASH hamsters and predict the diagnosis biomarkers for NASH.

Methods:

Golden hamsters were randomly divided into a control group that received a normal diet
and a NASH group that received a high-fat diet (HFD). After 12 weeks of feeding, the body and
liver weight of the hamsters were monitored. Serum biochemical parameters and liver histopathological
changes were analyzed. Moreover, an untargeted metabolomics analysis based on a GCTOF/
MS system was performed to identify the serum differential metabolites between the NASH
and control groups.

Results:

The liver weight was increased in the NASH group, accompanied by significantly higher
levels of serum TC, TG, ALT, AST, LDL-C, and lower HDL-C. HE, Masson, and oil red O staining
showed the hepatocyte structure destroyed, lipid droplets accumulated, and fibers proliferated
in the NASH group. Furthermore, 63 differential metabolites were identified by metabolomic analysis.
Lipids and fatty acids were significantly up-regulated in the NASH group. The top 9 differential
metabolites included cholesterol, methyl phosphate, taurine, alpha-tocopherol, aspartic acid,
etc. Metabolites were mainly involved in amino acid metabolism (glycine, cysteine, taurine),
spermine, fatty acid biosynthesis, urea cycle, bile acid metabolism pathways, etc.

Conclusion:

Metabonomics analysis identified 63 differential metabolites in the serum of NASH
hamsters; among them, lipids and fatty acids had a key role and may be used as biomarkers for the
early diagnosis of NASH.
An Effective Approach to Enhance the Dissolution Profile of Curcumin
and Quercetin: Liquisolid Compacts
Authors: Sharma Shaveta , Arora Vimal , Sharma Teenu
Published: February 2023

Background:

The drugs categorized under BCS class II and IV are poorly water-soluble,
which in turn affects their dissolution and bioavailability. To overcome these limitations, namely, poor
solubility and bioavailability, several approaches have been tried so far, like, co-solvency, size reduction
or micronization, complexation, adsorption on high surface area carriers, etc.

Objective:

The present article aims to explore the utilization of the liquisolid technique to improve the
dissolution profile of curcumin and quercetin, used as a combination in a solid dosage form. It covers the
study of the impact of various carriers employed in liquisolid technology on drug dissolution profiles;
Avicel pH 101, Fujicalin and Neusilin were used as carriers in this study.

Methods:

The solubility of the drugs was evaluated in various non-volatile solvents except water to select
the vehicle having maximum solubility. All formulations were then prepared using curcumin and quercetin
in a ratio of 2:1 (150 mg curcumin : 75 mg Quercetin), comprising a proportion of 40-60% w/w of the
total mass of the formulation and were estimated for post-compression parameters. During the final processing
of the liquisolid compacts, the carrier is to coating material ratio was kept consistent, i.e., 20:1.

Results:

Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were
utilized to analyze drug-excipient interaction; these studies stated no evidence of any physical or chemical
interaction between drug(s) and the excipients. The final product was then evaluated for the liquid adsorption
capacity and in vitro release of the drugs as a combination, and it was observed that these two properties
were found to be significantly improved in the liquisolid compacts.

Conclusion:

The outcomes indicated that the combination of Neusilin as the carrier and castor oil as a
non-volatile solvent was the best-performing formulation appropriate for targeting an improved dissolution
profile.
Organocatalyzed Stereoselective Glycosylation: An Overview of the Last
Decade
Authors: López Mildred , de Parrodi Cecilia Anaya , Huelgas Gabriela , Lozada-Ramírez José Daniel
Published: February 2023

Even though there has been an important evolution in the synthesis of oligosaccharides, the
efficient and stereoselective study of glycosidic bonds through non-toxic, moderate, and inexpensive
techniques is one of the most challenging fields in organic synthesis. Glycosyl reactions play a
fundamental role in biological material and structure-activity relationships, having numerous medicinal
chemistry applications. For this, interesting strategies have evolved over the years to control the
stereoselectivity of glycosidic bonds, including the manipulation of different reaction elements, mainly
promoters or catalysts, but also involving the nature of donors and solvents. This review looks at
glycosylation methodologies in the last decade resulting in the specific formation of alpha or beta
glycosidic bonds.
Pharmacokinetics and Tissue Distribution Study of Daphnoretin in Ethanol
Extract from the Roots of Wikstroemia Indica in Rats by a Validated
UPLC-MS/MS Method
Authors: Wang Wenjing , Feng Guo , Li Lailai , Li Wei , Liu Wen , Wu Zengguang , Su Hongmei , Zhu Guanglin , Ren Chenchen , Song Xueli , Zhang Ju , He Zhengyan
Published: February 2023

Background:

Daphnoretin, as a known bicoumarin compound that contained various
pharmacological activities, was isolated from Wikstroemia indica C.A. Mey (RWI).

Objective:

The study aims to investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of daphnoretin from RWI
ethanol extracts in rat plasma and to determine daphnetin in rat plasma and various tissues by a rapid,
reliable and sensitive ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry
method.

Methods:

The UPLC-MS/MS method was established. Daphnoretin and IS (buspirone) were chromatographed
on an agilent Zorbax XDB-C18 column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 3.5 μm), and Gradient elution
of acetonitrile-0.15% formic acid in aqueous solution. Quantification was performed using electrospray
ionization in positive ion multiple reaction monitoring mode of the transitions m/z
353.1→179.1 for daphnoretin and m/z 386.3→122.3 for IS.

Results:

Good linearity between 5-10000 ng/mL for cyperidin in plasma and tissue samples (r ≥ 0.99)
was resulted. The accuracies of plasma and tissue homogenates ranged from-3.31% to 9.00%, and the
precision was less than 5.78%. After that, the validated method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetics
and tissue distribution study of daphnoretin after oral administration of ethanol extract
from the roots of RWI to rats.

Conclusion:

Daphnoretin was well absorbed in the systemic circulation after oral administration and
was widely distributed in tissues, with the highest concentration in lung tissue. This study is beneficial
to the development and utilization of RWI and provides a reasonable reference for its clinical administration.
CCRMDA: MiRNA-disease Association Prediction Based on Cascade
Combination Recommendation Method on a Heterogeneous Network
Authors: Ma Yuan-Lin , Yu Dong-Ling , Liu Ya-Fei , Yu Zu-Guo
Published: February 2023

Background:

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short and endogenous single-stranded
non-coding RNAs, with a length of 21-25nt. Many studies have proved that miRNAs are closely related
to human diseases. Many algorithms based on network structure have been proposed to predict potential
miRNA-disease associations.

Methods:

In this work, a cascade combination method based on network topology is developed to explore
disease-related miRNAs. We name our method as CCRMDA. First, the hybrid recommendation
algorithm is used for a rough recommendation, and then the structural perturbation method is used for a
precise recommendation. A special perturbation set is constructed to predict new miRNA-disease associations
in the miRNA-disease heterogeneous network.

Results:

To verify the effectiveness of CCRMDA, experimental analysis is performed on HMDD V2.0
and V3.2 datasets, respectively. For HMDD V2.0 dataset, CCRMDA is compared with several state-ofthe-
art algorithms based on network structure, and the results show that CCRMDA has the best performance.
The CCRMDA method also achieves excellent performance with an average AUC of 0.953 on
HMDD V3.2 dataset. In addition, case studies further prove the effectiveness of CCRMDA.

Conclusion:

CCRMDA is a reliable method for predicting miRNA-disease.
Drug Repositioning Based on a Multiplex Network by Integrating Disease,
Gene, and Drug Information
Authors: Zhou Gang , Xuan Chenxu , Wang Yan , Zhang Bai , Wu Hanwen , Gao Jie
Published: February 2023

Background:

The research of new drugs is very expensive and the cycle is relatively long, so it has broad development prospects and good economic benefits to use validated drugs in the treatment of other diseases.

Objective:

The purpose of drug repositioning is to identify other indications for existing drugs. In addition to using disease and drug information for drug repositioning, other biomolecular information can also be integrated for drug repositioning. Integrating multiple biomolecular data of different types can improve the predictive performance of drug repositioning models.

Methods:

This paper proposes a drug repositioning algorithm based on a multiplex network (DRMN algorithm) by integrating disease, gene, and drug information. DRMN algorithm utilizes known disease-gene and gene-drug associations to connect disease phenotype similarity network, gene expression similarity network, and drug response similarity network. Then they are constructed into a multiplex network, and the importance score of each node is calculated by PageRank (PR) algorithm. Finally, disease-drug association scores are sorted to achieve drug repositioning.

Results:

DRMN algorithm is applied to two sets of sample data. Disease-drug association scores are
calculated separately from disease PR values and drug PR values in both datasets. In top 50% of association
scores, lots of disease-drug association prediction results have been verified by existing results.
Compared with other algorithms, DRMN algorithm also shows better performance.

Conclusion:

DRMN algorithm can effectively integrate multi-omics data for drug repositioning and obtain better prediction results.
Application of Polymer Materials in Targeting Glioma
Authors: Guo Jia , Yao Zheng , Zhang Feiyu , Wu Junzi
Published: February 2023

Glioma is a serious life-threatening disease, and traditional treatments have little effect. In recent decades,
polymer materials have been developed for the treatment of glioma as a new research area. The ability to target reactive
polymeric carriers is important for treating glioma. Polymer materials have good designability and expansibility.
They respond to different stimuli, leading to a change in the macroscopic properties of materials. Sensitive polymer
carriers respond to biological stimuli (pH, oxidative stress, enzyme, temperature, ions and nucleic acids) and the tumour
microenvironment. They can be used as intelligent polymer carriers to transport chemotherapy and imaging drugs
for glioma treatment. The ability of these polymer carriers to control the release of molecules at tumour-specific sites
has aroused great interest. This review summarizes current research on sensitive polymer-carriers for glioma treatment
over the past decade, focusing on their clinical application prospects. Finally, future applications of polymer carriers in
nanomedicine are reviewed.