bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Incorporating copper into fluoride-containing bioglasses enhances the inhibition of Streptococcus mutans activity and biofilm formation
Authors: Chen Xiaojing , Zou Songyou , Yan Yingcui , He Hailun , Liu Ousheng , Wang Songlin
Published: February 2023

Low fluoride-containing bioglasses (LFBGs) with the ability to controllably degrade and form acid-resistant fluorapatite are attractive for caries prevention. However, their antibacterial effect is not satisfactory. To address this problem, we first time incorporated copper (0-5 mol%) into LFBG (1 mol% CaF2) by a melt-quench method. Then, we investigated the effects of copper addition on the glass structure, bioactivity, cytocompatibility, inhibitory performance againstStreptococcus mutansand the potential antibacterial mechanism of glasses. The results revealed that copper was not bound directly to fluoride or orthophosphate and might be present as Si-O-Cu2+. Glasses with the proper copper content (≤ 2 mol%) were cytocompatible. All of the Cu-doped LFBGs (FCuBGs) exhibited high bioactivity and excellent antibacterial properties with increasing copper content. Moreover, we present the first detailed analysis of the potential antibacterial mechanism of FCuBGs, which are attractive for dental applications, including use as fissure sealers, varnishes, and additives for caries prevention.
High-throughput sequencing reveals the change of TCR α chain CDR3 with Takayasu arteritis
Authors: Zha Bowen , Pan Lili , Gao Na
Published: February 2023

To research the immunological characteristics of antigen complementarity determining the region of T cell receptor α chain in peripheral blood of patients with Takayasu's arteritis, and to provide the new theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of Takayasu's arteritis. Five untreated patients with Takayasu arteritis in Capital medical university affiliated Anzhen Hospital, China, were collected from June 2019 to December 2019. Four healthy peripheral blood samples were matched as the control group. Separate peripheral blood mononuclear cells and extract RNA for reverse transcription. Specific primers obtained nucleotides in the CDR3 region of the TCR α chain, high-throughput sequencing was performed, and the quality of samples was evaluated by principal component analysis. R software was used for statistical analysis and drawing, and a nonparametric test was used to analyze the differences between the two groups. The results of the principal component analysis showed that the TAK group was in the sample set. D50 analysis showed that the diversity of TCR in the TAK group was significantly higher than in the control group. The expression of 3 genes in the V region was significantly higher in patients than in the control group. 196 VJ rearrangement genes are significantly different between the two groups, of which 47 rearrangement genes in the control group are lower than those in the TAK group, and 149 rearrangement genes in the control group are higher than those in the TAK group. Patients with Takayasu's arteritis have a unique CDR3 library, and there are obvious disease-related T cell clones. These characteristic genes may be a marker for early diagnosis and provide a new theoretical basis for treating Takayasu arteritis.
Analysis of related factors influencing the sleep quality in the patients with rotator cuff tear after arthroscopic surgery
Authors: Zhang Qian , Li Yanjun , Li Yongwang , Wang Chunguang , Yao Yichao , Li Qiuping
Published: February 2023

Background: Recent studies have found a prevalence of sleep disturbance in patients with arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. The purpose of our study was to determine which patient-reported factors correlate with sleep disturbance in patients with arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.
Methods: We prospectively evaluated 133 patients who had had arthroscopic rotator cuff repaired for 6 months. We obtained the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores, the visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, the University of California-Los Angeles Shoulder Rating Scale score (UCLA score), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and patient demographic. According to PSQI scores, participants were divided into a sleep disorder group ( A group, PSQI ≥ 5 ) and a normal sleep group (B group, PSQI < 5). Statistical analysis included the Student t-tests, Mann-Whitney U-test，chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression analysis to determine which patient-reported factors were associated with sleep disturbance.
Results: The mean scores on the VAS, UCLA Score, UCLA Flexion, HADS-Anxiety (HADS-A), and HADS-Depression(HADS-D) in group A were 3.54, 26.36, 3.25, 5.43, and 5.93, respectively; while in group B were 1.49, 30.72, 4.50, 2.11, and 1.79, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference for scores on the VAS, UCLA, UCLA Flexion, HADS-A, HADS-D between the 2 groups (P < 0.05). In the categories of gender, age, BMI, and tear size, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. (P > 0.05). HADS-D and UCLA Flexion were independent factors affecting sleep disturbance after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair 6 months (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: Our study demonstrated patients with sleep disturbances after arthroscopic shoulder surgery had severe pain, more obvious dysfunction, and more pronounced psychologic abnormalities, and the close relationships of depression, UCLA Flexion scores, and sleep disturbance may indicate that more emphasis on psychotherapy and rehabilitation is required.
Empirical Mode Decomposition and Wavelet Decomposition in Respiratory Sounds Processing
Authors: Han Chengwei , Wang Yixuan , Sun Zhibo , Fei Xie
Published: February 2023

In order to process respiratory sounds to achieve acquiring available information of sound signals Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Wavelet Decomposition (WD) are applied separately to analyze lung sound signals. The de-noise of original signals is processed with spectral subtraction method. EMD divides the signal into independent Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs). Moreover, WD method decomposes the signal with wavelet transform. After receiving the decomposition signals of EMD and WD, a comparation is demonstrated. According to the results, WD has 85% signal information concentrate on layer 7 and Hilbert diagram shows the EMD owns more efficiency in decomposing signals with information keeping.
Anti-microbial activity and biofilm inhibition of Streptococcus mutans by Coriandrum sativum essential oil and isothiocyanates
Authors: Ngalah Bidii S. , Hansen Angela , Uwe Frank , Alexandru Movila , Gregory Richard L.
Published: February 2023

Aims This study evaluated the antimicrobial effect of coriander oil (CO) and isothiocyanates (ITC; Allyl, Benzyl and Phenyl-A-, B-, P-ITC) on clinical oral isolateStreptococcus mutans. We evaluated inhibition of biofilm, metabolic activity and exopolysaccharide formation. Methods The composition of CO was determined by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC-MS). CO and ITC were dissolved in 0.1% Tween 80. Different concentrations (0.0039-1%) of CO, ITC and CO-ITC were made in Tryptic soy broth (TSB) and with sucrose (TSBS). Broth dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBIC) were established by staining biofilm with crystal violet. Checkerboard assay was used to evaluate combination effects. An XTT assay was used to determine the metabolic activity and a sulphuric acid-phenol assay for inhibition ofS. mutansexopolysaccharide production. Results CO was dominated by Linalool (65.5%) followed by 2-bornanone (6.16%) and Gamma-terpinene (4.31%). The least was Terpinen-4-ol (0.13%). The MIC of CO was 0.00195% and < 0.00195% for ITCs. MBIC for B-ITC was at < 0.0039%, while with CO-ITC at 0.00195% (p < 0.05). The MBC of CO was 0.125% and for CO-B-ITC MBIC was < 0.00195%. The B-ITC MBC was > 0.25%. StrongS. mutansexopolysaccharide inhibition was observed with ITC and CO at 0.0039%. CO reducedS. mutansmetabolic activity at 0.125% and ITC at 0.0078%. Conclusion and clinical relevance: CO and ITC are promising agents in prevention of both periodontal disease and dental caries. Further data is required to warrant development of products to help mitigate dental caries and periodontal disease.
EvidenceCap: Towards trustworthy medical image segmentation via evidential identity cap
Authors: Zou Ke , Yuan Xuedong , Shen Xiaojing , Chen Yidi , Wang Meng , Goh Rick Siow Mong , Liu Yong , Fu Huazhu
Published: February 2023

Medical image segmentation (MIS) is essential for supporting disease diagnosis and treatment effect assessment. Despite considerable advances in artificial intelligence (AI) for MIS, clinicians remain skeptical of its utility, maintaining low confidence in such black box systems, with this problem being exacerbated by low generalization for out-of-distribution (OOD) data. To move towards effective clinical utilization, we propose a foundation model named EvidenceCap, which makes the box transparent in a quantifiable way by uncertainty estimation. EvidenceCap not only makes AI visible in regions of uncertainty and OOD data, but also enhances the reliability, robustness, and computational efficiency of MIS. Uncertainty is modeled explicitly through subjective logic theory to gather strong evidence from features. We show the effectiveness of EvidenceCap in three segmentation datasets and apply it to the clinic. Our work sheds light on clinical safe applications and explainable AI, and can contribute towards trustworthiness in the medical domain.
m6A demethylase FTO stabilizes LINK-A to exert oncogenic roles via MCM3-mediated cell cycle progression and HIF-1α activation
Authors: Liu Zhihua , Nan Yabing , Liu Shi , Luo Qingyu , Wu Xiaowei , Zhao Pengfei , Chang Wan , Zhang Ruixiang , Li Yin
Published: February 2023

RNAN6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification, balanced by methyltransferases and demethylases, has recently been shown to play critical roles in multiple cancers. However, the mechanism by which m6A modification regulates long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) stability and function during cancer progression remains unclear. Here, we show that m6A demethylase fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) removes the m6A modification on long intergenic noncoding RNA for kinase activation (LINK-A) and stabilizes it to promote cell proliferation and cytotoxic chemotherapy resistance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Mechanistically, LINK-A enhances the interaction between minichromosome maintenance complex component 3 (MCM3) and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) to promote MCM3 phosphorylation by CDK1. MCM3 is a subunit of the hexameric protein complex and its phosphorylation facilitates loading of the MCM complex onto chromatin, which promotes cell cycle progression and subsequent cell proliferation. Meanwhile, LINK-A prevents the interaction of MCM3 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), abrogates MCM3-mediated transcriptional repression of HIF-1α, and promotes glycolysis and chemoresistance of cancer cells. These results elucidate a mechanism whereby FTO-stabilized LINK-A plays oncogenic roles and present the FTO/LINK-A/MCM3/HIF-1α axis as a promising therapeutic target for ESCC.
Modified carboxymethyl cellulose nanocrystalline imprinted aerogels with three-dimensional interoperable pore structure for selective adsorption of gadolinium
Authors: Li Ang , Zheng Xudong , Ji Biao , Xu Tongtong , Zhang Yuzhe , Rong Jian , Mei Jinfeng , Zhou Man , Li Zhongyu
Published: February 2023

Rare earth elements are widely exploited with the deepening of the dual carbon strategy, and it becomes especially important to recover residual rare earth elements as a strategic resource. In the present experiments, we have found that silk gliadin has a variety of strongly polar side chains that allow easy cross-linking, copolymerization and blending with other polymers, and in addition we have found that sodium alginate can form honeycomb-like porous structures at certain ratios. Therefore, it is proposed to use silk glue protein and sodium alginate as precursors to functionalize modified cellulose nanocrystals, combined with ion imprinting technique to construct porous imprinted aerogels and apply them to the selective adsorption of gadolinium ions. The successful synthesis of the material was demonstrated by relevant characterization, and the results of static adsorption experiments showed that the maximum adsorption capacity was 93.41 mg g− 1 at pH = 7.0. Sodium alginate provides a stable honeycomb 3D structure and silk gum provides a large number of adsorption sites, providing a viable direction for green porous sustainable adsorbent materials.
Spatial-temporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Carbon Emissions in China's Manufacturing Industry
Authors: Zeng Qian , Cao Shuya , He Jiayi
Published: February 2023

Manufacturing carbon emissions account for a huge proportion of China 's total carbon emissions, and promoting manufacturing carbon emission reduction will effectively help achieve the ' double carbon ' goal. This paper explores the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics and changing trends of carbon emissions in China 's manufacturing industry by industry and province through exploratory spatial-temporal data analysis method and spatial-temporal transition measurement method, and summarizes the absolute β convergence and conditional β convergence trend of China 's manufacturing industry at the national level and in the eastern, central and western regions. On this basis, the spatial Dubin model is used to analyze the influence degree and spatial effect of economic growth, energy intensity and energy structure on carbon emissions in China 's manufacturing industry. The results show that the emission reduction effect of sub-sectors is not the same. Compared with technology-intensive industries, the carbon reduction effect of resource-intensive industries is poor. From the provincial perspective, the spatial distribution of manufacturing carbon emissions among provinces and cities in China shows the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of agglomeration and differentiation. There are absolute β convergence and conditional β convergence in the whole country and the eastern, central and western regions From the perspective of convergence speed, the convergence speed of the central region is faster than that of the western region, and the western region is faster than the eastern region ; economic growth, energy intensity, urbanization level, energy structure and openness have a significant positive impact on the level of manufacturing carbon emissions in the province and neighboring provinces and cities, and the degree of influence decreases in turn. Industrial structure has a significant negative impact on the level of manufacturing carbon emissions in the province and neighboring provinces and cities.
Reduced Brainstem Volume is Associated with Mobility Impairments in Youth with Cerebral Palsy
Authors: Trevarrow Michael P. , Dukkipati S. Shekar , Baker Sarah E. , Wilson Tony W. , Kurz Max J.
Published: February 2023

Persons with cerebral palsy (CP) have impaired mobility that has been attributed to changes in structure and function within the nervous system. The brainstem is a region that plays a critical role in locomotion by connecting the cortex and cerebellum to the spinal cord, yet this region has been largely unstudied in persons with CP. The objective of this investigation was to use high-resolution structural MRI and biomechanical analyses to examine whether the volume of the whole brainstem and its constituent elements are altered in CP, and if these alterations relate to the mobility impairments within this population. We assessed the volume of the pons, midbrain, medulla, and superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP) in a cohort of persons with CP (N = 26; Age = 16.3 ± 1.0 yrs; GMFCS levels I-IV, Females = 12) and a cohort of neurotypical (NT) controls (N = 38; Age = 14.3 ± 0.4 yrs, Females = 14) using structural MR imaging of the brainstem. Outside the scanner, a digital mat was used to quantify the spatiotemporal gait biomechanics of these individuals. Our MRI results revealed that there was a significant decrease in volume of the total brainstem, midbrain, and pons in persons with CP in comparison to the NT controls. Furthermore, we found that the altered volumes were related to reduced gait velocity and step length. These results suggest that there are structural changes in the brainstems of persons with CP that may contribute to the mobility impairments that are ubiquitous within this population.
Nakayama algebras and Fuchsian singularities
Authors: Lenzing Helmut , Hagen Meltzer , Ruan Shiquan
Published: February 2023

This present paper is devoted to the study of a class of Nakayama algebras Nn(r) given by the path algebra of the equioriented quiver An subject to the nilpotency degree r for each sequence of r consecutive arrows. We show that the Nakayama algebras Nn(r) for certain pairs (n, r) can be realized as endomorphism algebras of tilting objects in the bounded derived category of coherent sheaves over a weighted projective line, or in its stable category of vector bundles. Moreover, we classify all the Nakayama algebras Nn(r) of Fuchsian type, that is, derived equivalent to the bounded derived categories of extended canonical algebras. We also provide a new way to prove the classification result on Nakayama algebras of piecewise hereditary type, which have been done by Happel–Seidel before.
Advanced 4.0 Bed Management System
Authors: Mosca Roberto , Mosca Marco , Revetria Roberto , Currò Fabio , Briatore Federico
Published: February 2023

In this paper which is the extended version of the paper presented at Sysint 2020 and published by Springer on Proceedings [10] the authors address the problem of surveillance of bedridden patients in healthcare, who cannot be supervised by operators 24 hours a day, given the associated costs. This problem is already faced by wearable devices, with some limits. The system proposed consists in monitoring the bed, instead of the patient, through applied sensors. By centralizing and analyzing the data collected it is possible to inform the operative center of the occurrence of risky events. The scope is preventing such risks or mitigating their effects with a real time intervention. Important 4.0 features are added to the new release presented in this extension, like Digital Twins and Cyber Physical Systems enhanced with Artificial Intelligence. The case study proposed in the original paper has been updated with new figures, widely improving the sustainability of the initiative.
The Study of The Secrets of The Flexible Ureterorenoscopy for The Longer Survival of the Flexible Ureterorenoscopes
Authors: Dogan Cagri , Demir Aslan , Şahin Mehmet Fatih , Keleş Anil , Ateş Hüseyin , Akgul Murat , Yazici Cenk Murat
Published: February 2023

Purpose The aim of the study was to investigate whether the durability of the f-URS will be affected due to the volume and location of the stone and some anatomical features of the including infundibulopelvic angle(IPA), and location anomalies.
Materials and Methods The collected data from705 patients’ data including their age, sex, stone location, and stone volume,S-ReSC score, Hounsfield unit(HU) as stone density,IPA, BMI, and the usage time off-URS by using 10f-URS were included to study. Exp(B) values and confidence intervals(95%CIs) of parameters were calculated with COX regression and Roc curve analysis was also used to determine the cut-off value.
Results Renal malformation, DJ stent use, previousESL application, and UAS use did not affect contrary to expectations stone volume, HU, IPA, and S-ReSC score were among the factors statistically significant affecting the durability of the device. It was observed, Exp(B)values ​​of the affecting factors to be0.984, 0,268, 0.894, and0.607, respectively. we found the most appropriate cutoff value for IPA as41.25 degrees.
ConclusionThe mean stone volume broken by each of the subsequent f-URS may increase, while the mean operative time may decrease as time progresses. This result shows us the importance of mastery of the device, such as the deflection maneuver, and the correct use distance of the laser, which improves with the increase in user experience, and makes us interpret that the operation time is shortened with this self-confidence. Factors including stone volume,HU,IPA,S-ReSC score affect the durability of thef-URS device and the as well as manufacturing features.
Comorbidity burden and health-related quality of life in men with advanced prostate cancer
Authors: Benzo Roberto , Moreno Patricia I. , Fox Rina S. , Silvera Carlos A. , Walsh Emily A. , Yanez Betina , Balise Raymond R. , Oswald Laura B. , Penedo Frank J.
Published: February 2023

Purpose: Identifying clinically relevant comorbidities and their effect on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes among men with advanced prostate cancer (APC) can inform patient care and improve outcomes; however, this is poorly understood. The aim of this observational study was to examine the prevalence of comorbidities, and the relationship of comorbidity burden to HRQoL and other patient-reported outcomes (PROs) among men with APC.
Methods: Participants were 192 men (average age 68.8) with APC (stage III or IV) who completed a psychosocial battery including measures of sociodemographic factors, HRQoL and other PROs, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between CCI, HRQOL, and PROs.
Results: The vast majority (82%) of participants had at least one comorbidity, with the most common being: hypertension (59%), connective tissue disease or arthritis (31%), diabetes (24%), and problems with kidneys, vision, or another organ (24%). After controlling for covariates, regressions showed that a higher CCI score was significantly associated with worse HRQoL (p < 0.001), lower levels of positive affect (p < 0.05), and higher levels of depression (p < 0.05), fatigue (p < 0.001), pain (p < 0.01), stress (p < 0.01), and cancer-specific distress (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Comorbidities were common among men with APC, and a greater CCI score was associated with detriments in several domains of HRQoL and other PROs. Our findings show the need to address comorbidities in the presence of a cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment.
Regional inequalities in single orphanhood, child nutrition and social protection in South Africa: a spatial econometric approach
Authors: Leach Grace , von Fintel Dieter
Published: February 2023

Background: Orphanhood and parental absence are both associated with a range of childhood socioeconomic disadvantages. However, their separate effects on child health are not adequately understood. Absence limits parents’ psychosocial investment in children. In the case of orphans, reduced resource flows to children add an additional layer to the disadvantage. Social protection and extended family networks can compensate for material and psychosocial disadvantages. This paper studies the case of South Africa, where high rates of parental absence, orphanhood and child stunting co-exist. These disadvantages are geographically concentrated in the former homelands, impoverished areas affected by a range of apartheid-era discriminatory legislation. Homelands households typically form around the elderly who take care of children on behalf of absent migrant worker parents, or who adopt orphaned children.
Methods: This paper firstly maps the geography of single orphanhood and child nutrition, establishing whether various disadvantages are concentrated in the same regions. Spatial econometric models accounting for regional spill-over are used to estimate associations between child nutrition, parental absence, orphanhood, state support and household resources.
Results: There are strong overlapping regional inequalities in child nutrition and orphanhood. Disadvantages are concentrated in former homelands. Father absence and paternal orphanhood rates have similar positive associations with local stunting rates. Household resources and access to social services do not moderate this association. By contrast, maternal absence and maternal orphanhood are insignificantly correlated with stunting. However, maternal absence is negatively correlated with child underweight.
Conclusions: Father presence is more strongly associated with child outcomes than material resources, suggesting that fathers also make non-material or psychosocial contributions to child health. Maternal absence and orphanhood rates have smaller associations with chronic health outcomes. In fact, our results support the hypothesis that absent working mothers who migrate to urban areas remit incomes to benefit the acute nutrition status of children. Addressing regional inequalities in orphanhood and child nutrition requires more than the local expansion of public social safety nets in areas of high vulnerability. Rather, the bigger challenge of addressing father presence will make a large contribution to improving children’s health outcomes.
Pediatric HSCT survival rates detection through the application of different ANN model optimizers, BSA, VSA, and GOA
Authors: Javanmehr Nima , Moayedi Hossein , Farokhnia Fahimeh
Published: February 2023

Machine learning (ML) possesses unique characteristics that render it useful in a variety of applications. Thanks to creative approaches to observing complex clinical data through the lens of mathematical coding, researchers have uncovered a crossroad between computer and medical sciences that offers an exciting landscape to improve the current clinical diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Bringing together findings from multiple sources, such as private health information, laboratory, and physical examination, neural networks have yielded novel modeling systems in which different features in the medical dataset dynamically contribute to the maturation of the system's predicting and classifying functions. This potency is commonly attributed to the training function in a neural network, which enables the ANN to autonomously recognize the link between the input and outputs of a particular database. Besides the ANN's groundbreaking promises, a bulk of applications have surfaced its existing limitations, including local minima entrapment and extended processing time. In this context, evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are developed to address the ANN's shortcomings. In the present research, we recruit ANN-based BSA, VSA, and GOA algorithms to optimize the neural network's prediction competence. The proposed models are utilized in a database from UCI databank to predict the outcome of bone marrow transplant in children with hematologic conditions. Root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), ROC, and AUC measures are harnessed to analyze and compare the outcomes of different models. The ANN-BSA model is recognized to bring about the most viable results concerning the relationship between input and output layer data (that is, clinical features and survival rates). This research provides solid proof of the significant assistance of ML systems to healthcare practitioners to estimate an individual-based prognosis.
A Fuzzy Q-learning-based Approach for Auto-scaling and Computation Offloading in Edge/Cloud Computing
Authors: Nikougoftar Elaheh , Ghobaei-Arani Mostafa
Published: February 2023

The fast growth of under developing mobile applications in recent years has emerged a diversity of delay-sensitive applications such as multimedia streaming, virtual reality, augmented reality, and online gaming applications to facilitate daily activities in different aspects of human life. Edge computing has been raised as an Internet-based distributed computing model to enable mobile devices to offload tasks to nearby edge servers rather than transfer them to remote cloud servers. A joint auto-scaling and task offloading approach in edge/cloud computing is proposed in this paper. Due to dynamic changes in usage and access to mobile applications over time, it requires addressing their workload fluctuations as challenging issues. The future workload is predicted using long short-term memory (LSTM) network, supported with the differential evolution (DE) algorithm for selecting the LSTM hyperparameters. A fuzzy Q-learning technique is also utilized to make scaling decisions at runtime, and a learning automata-based technique is used to make decisions on offloading tasks of mobile devices to edge/cloud layers. The proposed approach is validated using the iFogSim simulator under synthetic and real-world patterns. The results show that it achieves better performance in terms of execution time, energy consumption, and delay violation compared to the baseline approaches.
High glucose promotes macrophage switching to M1 phenotype via down-regulating STAT-3 mediated- autophagy
Authors: Zhao Yu , Zhang Ying , Zhu Xiaodong , Liu Yuqiu , Yang Xing , Zhang Xiaoliang
Published: February 2023

Aim
Imbalance of M1/M2 macrophages phenotype activation is a key point in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Macrophages mainly exhibit M1 phenotype, which contributes to the inflammation and fibrosis in DKD. Studies indicate that autophagy plays an important role in M1/M2 activation. However, the mechanism of autophagy regulating macrophage M1/M2 phenotype in DKD is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore whether high glucose induced macrophage switch to M1 phenotype via down-regulating STAT-3-mediated autophagy.
Methods
DKD model rats were established in vivo by intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin (STZ). Rats were sacrificed at 18 weeks for histological and molecular analysis. RAW264.7 cells were cultured in vitro with 30mM glucose in the presence or absence of a STAT-3 activator (Colivelin) and an autophagy activator (Rapamycin). Meanwhile, M1 and M2 macrophage activation models were established as a control group. Immunofluorescence and Western Blot were used to detect the expression of autophagy-related proteins (LC3, Beclin-1), M1 markers (iNOS, TNF-α), and M2 markers (MR, Arg-1).
Results
In DKD, macrophages exhibited an M1 phenotype and showed less autophagy. Under high glucose conditions, RAW264.7 macrophages switched to the M1 phenotype. Autophagy was downregulated in high glucose induced M1 macrophages. Both the STAT-3 activator and the autophagy activator promoted the transition of glucose-induced M1 macrophages to M2 macrophages. Meanwhile, STAT-3 activation increased the expression of autophagy makers (LC3 and Beclin-1). However, autophagy activator had no effect on STAT-3 phosphorylation.
Conclusion
High glucose promotes macrophage switching to M1 phenotype via down-regulating STAT-3-mediated autophagy.
Efficient Algorithms for Joint Approximate Diagonalization of Multiple Matrices
Authors: Bosner Nela
Published: February 2023

Joint approximate diagonalization (JAD) of multiple matrices is a core problem in many applications. In this work we propose two numerical methods for computing JAD, based on constrained optimization on two different matrix manifolds, with emphasis on their numerical properties and efficiency. Our goal is to solve efficiently the following problem: given a set of symmetric matrices A(1) , A(2) , . . . , A(m) ∈ Rn×n, find orthogonal or nonsingular Y ∈ R n×n such that A(p) = Y · D(p) · Y T , for all p = 1, . . . , m, where D(p) are either diagonal, or as diagonal as possible according to some criterion. We were focused on approach that is suitable for efficient parallel implementation, especially for larger dimension n and large number of matrices m. This approach is based on Riemannian optimization by conjugate gradient method on two matrix manifolds: the Stiefel manifold (orthogonal group), when diagonalizing matrix X needs to be orthogonal, and the oblique manifold (matrices with unit column norm), otherwise. The conjugate gradient optimization method requires solution of 1-dimensional optimization problem in each iteration, has superlinear convergence, and is very simple for implementation and suitable for parallelization. Diagonalization or approximate diagonalization is represented by minimization problem m min X ∈ M F (X), where F measures diagonality of transformed input matrices and M is appropriate manifold. In our implementation of the method, all basic steps, such as: evaluation of F (X), grad F (X), and Hess F (X), computing geodesic and solving 1-dimensional optimization problem, are explicitly modified and parallelized in order to decrease operation count and increase efficiency. Numerical experiments confirmed that our modified implementations of the conjugate gradient method on two matrix manifolds are more efficient than the original versions, in particular for large n and m.
MSC Classification: 15A21 , 15A23 , 58C05 , 58C25 , 47J25 , 65J15 , 65K10 , 65Y05 , 65Y20.
Relationship of topography and soil chemistry with species richness in Chandragiri hill, central Nepal
Authors: Gharti Parvati , Dani Ram Sharan , Baniya Chitra Bahadur
Published: February 2023

Species richness in mountain region is governed by topographic, edaphic and climatic factors. The present study aims to find the relationship of topography and soil chemistry with species richness in the study area. The study was carried out in the community forests of Chandragiri hill, central Nepal. Altogether, 35 plots of 100 m2 each were established between 1500-2500 m. Quadrats of 10 m × 10 m, 5 m × 5 m and 1 m × 1 m were established for the assessment of trees, shrubs and herbs respectively. Soil was collected from the four corners of the 10 m × 10 m quadrat and mixed to form a composite soil sample. Soil chemical properties such pH, organic carbon, total N, phosphorus and potassium were determined in the laboratory. Data analysis was carried out using correlation and generalized linear model. Altogether, 180 species recorded from the study site that belonged to 142 genera and 68 families. Among the selected soil variables, only soil pH showed a statistical significant negative relationship with total species richness and richness of shrubs, herbs and climbers. However, the tree showed no significant trend with soil pH. At the local level, soil heterogeneity is the factor determining species richness. Present study provides information about species richness in the study site and hence can be precious for the development of conservation strategies. In addition, it also helps in prioritizing the site on the basis of biodiversity.
Characteristics of 24-hour movement behaviours and their associations with mental health in children and adolescents
Authors: Fairclough Stuart J. , Clifford Lauren , Brown Denver , Tyler Richard
Published: February 2023

Background.
Time-use estimates are typically used to describe 24-hour movement behaviours. However, these behaviours can additionally be characterised by other easily measured metrics. These include sleep quality (e.g., sleep efficiency), 24-hour activity rhythmicity (e.g., between-day rhythm variability), and directly measured acceleration metrics (e.g., intensity gradient). Associations between these characteristics and youth mental health are unclear. This study’s aims were to [1] compare 24-hour movement behaviour characteristics by sex and age groups, [2] determine which movement behaviour characteristics were most strongly associated with mental health outcomes, and [3] investigate the optimal time-use behaviour compositions for different mental health outcomes.
Methods.
An analytical sample of 301 children and adolescents wore accelerometers for 24-hours/day over 7-days. Overall mental health, externalising, and internalising problems were self-reported using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 24-hour movement behaviour characteristics were categorised as time-use, sleep quality, 24-hour activity rhythmicity, and directly measured acceleration. Linear mixed models and compositional data analysis with adjustment for covariates were used to analyse the data in alignment with the study aims.
Results.
Children were significantly more physically active, less sedentary, slept longer (p = .02-.01), and had lower sleep efficiency than adolescents (p = .001). Boys were significantly more active than girls (p < .001) who in turn accrued more time in sleep (p = .02). Children and boys had significantly higher most active 10-hours, mesor and, amplitude values (p = .01-<.001), while timing of acrophase was significantly later among adolescents (p = .047). Overall mental health and externalising problems were significantly associated with sleep, sedentary time, sleep efficiency, amplitude, and inter-daily stability (p = .04-.01). The optimal time-use compositions were specific to overall mental health and externalising problems and were characterised by more sleep, light and vigorous physical activity, and less sedentary time and moderate physical activity than the sample’s mean time-use composition.
Conclusions.
Extracting and examining multiple movement behaviour characteristics from 24-hour accelerometer data can provide a more rounded picture of the interplay between different elements of movement behaviours and their relationships with mental health than single characteristics alone, such as time-use estimates. Applying multiple movement behaviour characteristics to the translation of research findings may enhance the impact of the data for research users.
GIS-based research on the spatial distribution and spatiotemporal evolution of grottoes along the Gansu section of the Silk Road
Authors: Yang Runze , Wei Wenbin
Published: February 2023

The Silk Road is one of the most important cultural heritage corridors connecting China and the West. A large number of grottoes have been formed along the Silk Road, which provides a solid foundation to study the spread and development of Buddhist culture. Here, a geographic information system is used to systematically analyse the spatial distribution characteristics and spatiotemporal evolution of the grottoes in Gansu Province from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Additionally, the main factors affecting their distribution are discussed. Based on the distribution characteristics, the grottoes in Gansu Province are clustered and unevenly distributed, thus forming the primary gathering area in Qingyang–Tianshui city, and the secondary gathering area is dominated by Wuwei and Zhangye cities. Furthermore, the spatiotemporal characteristics show that the number and central location of the excavations and repair of the grottoes in Gansu Province have changed significantly over the past dynasties. The number of grottoes during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the Ming and Qing Dynasties was large, and the number of grottoes during the Wei, Jin and Yuan Dynasties was small. The overall trajectory of the central location shifted from northwest to southeast. Natural factors, such as topography, lithology and hydrology, as well as human factors, such as politics and transportation, have an important impact on the spatial pattern of grottoes in Gansu Province. These results provide a useful reference for the theoretical research and practical management of Buddhist cultural heritage.
Mucinous adenocarcinoma aggravated by long-standing solitary rectal ulcer syndrome: a rare case report
Authors: Tan Rongqi , Zhou Jiaxin , Zhao Ke , Lian Shaoyan , Li Jieying , Huang Yuanyan , Qiu Chuhui , He Jiang , Liu Chaoqun
Published: February 2023

Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome (SRUS) is a chronic infrequent rectal lesion, but SRUS canceration can be found in specific cases. Currently, there is no definite diagnosis for this anomaly. The following is the case of a 29-year-old male patient with long-standing SRUS, who rapidly developed progression to mucinous adenocarcinoma within 5 years. Colonoscopy and pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of SRUS mucinous adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis showed the positive expression in MLH1(+), MSH2(+), MSH6(+), PMS2(+), HER2(+). FOLFOX6 chemotherapy followed by surgery is effective for controlling SRUS-related mucinous adenocarcinoma progression, during the follow-up for the first 2 years. This article suggests that clinicians should pay close attention to canceration in patients with SRUS to improve patient outcomes.
Tsallis, Renyi, and Sharma-Mittal Holographic Dark Energy Models Bouncing Cosmology
Authors: Shaikh A. Y.
Published: February 2023

The bouncing model is investigated in the presence of Tsallis Holographic Dark energy (THDE), Rényi Holographic Dark energy (RHDE), and Sharma-Mittal Holographic Dark energy in a flat FRW world. The ironic behavior of the Universe is described by the equation of state (EoS) parameter for the THDE, RHDE, and SMHDE models. The models' physical and kinematic features are thoroughly examined.
PACS number: 04.50kd.
Tracheal bronchus combined with abnormal anatomical location of the pulmonary vein: A case report and literature review
Authors: Zhou Shao , zhu xiao , xing Fu-bao , song chao , Wang Wei , Li Xiao-jun , tang zhen , Zhang Lei
Published: February 2023

Background:Tracheal bronchus(TB）is originating from trachea or main bronchi and directed toward the upper lobe, most commonly it is about 2 cm or less from the carina. TB is a rare bronchial anomaly, the incidence of which has been reported in a range of 0.1% to 2%. It is more rare that TB combined with abnormal anatomical location of pulmonary veins. This paper reported an extremely rare case of TB combined with abnormal location of right superior lobar vein（RULV）. The right upper lobe was successfully removed and longitudinal lymph node dissection was performed. We also reviewed the relevant literature related to TB and the abnormal anatomical location of the right pulmonary vein. At present, there a few literature on this aspect on the world , so it is reported.Casepresentation:The patient was a 71-year-old women who presented due to computed tomography(CT) results acquired at a local hospital. Preoperative CT of the chest indicated that the soft tissue of the upper lobe of the right lung was occupied. Three-dimensional CT of bronchus depicted TB from the right main bronchus. Intraoperative findings: the anatomical position of the RULV was variable, and it was located behind the right pulmonary artery(RPA). The postoperative pathological determination was right upper lung adenocarcinoma, and all the group of lymph nodes was nagative. The patient’s thoracic drainage tube was removed on the third postoperative day. Three weeks after the operation chest orthography indicated no obvious abnormality, and there has been no discomfort during follow-up.Conclusions: We report an extremely infrequent case of displaced TB combined with abnormal anatomical location of the right pulmonary vein to accentuate the importance of mastering normal chest anatomy and understanding possible anatomical abnormalities to ensure surgical safety. The surgeon should preoperative assessment of the anatomy carefully and required to identify an abnormal vascular or bronchial distribution, and thus safely complete a thoracic surgery. It is also hoped that additional similar cases will be described in the future.
Investigation of the Protective Efficacy of Caesalpina sappan and Spirulina against Ethanol-Induced Experimental Rat Gastritis Model
Authors: Oruç İdris , Karakoç Zelal , Akduman Filiz , Oruç Zeynep , Baksi Nazan , Ketani Muzaffer Aydın
Published: February 2023

Background
Gastritis is a collective name for disorders resulting from inflammatory changes in the gastric mucosa. Caesalpina sappan and Spirulina has various pharmacological activities, including the alleviation of gastritis.The study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of Caesalpina sappan and Spirulina against gastritis and determine changes in the expression of CD8, CD68, and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules.
Methods
Gastritis was induced in 24 female Wistar albino rats on the first day using ethanol. The treatment groups were given C. sappan (250 mg/kg) and Spirulina (400 mg/kg) using oral gavage for 5 days. Blood and stomach tissue samples of the mice were analyzed.
Results
This study was found that C. sappan and Spirulina increased CD8 and CD68 expression levels, thereby decreasing the severity of inflammation. A simultaneous decrease in MHC I and MHC II expressing cells was observed in the treatment group. It was found that superoxide dismutase levels increased, whereas tumor necrosis factor-alpha, malondialdehyde, and myeloperoxidase levels decreased in the treatment group.
Conclusion
This study revealed that C. sappan and Spirulina can protect gastric mucosa by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.
Prevalence of Internet Gaming Addiction and its Association with Social Phobia among Arab Adolescents and Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Shaheen Nour , Shaheen Ahmed , Elmasry Mohamed , Abdelwahab Omar Ahmed , Mohamed Abdelrahman , Swed Sarya , Rababah Ala ’ Abdala , Meshref Mostafa , Zaki Ahmed , Shoib Sheikh
Published: February 2023

Background
Gaming addiction is a compulsive mental health condition that can have severe negative consequences on a person's life. As online gaming has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have shown a heightened risk of mental health issues. This study aims to assess the prevalence of severe phobia and addiction to online gaming among Arab adolescents and identify risk factors associated with these disorders.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted across 11 Arab nations. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling through an online survey distributed on social media platforms in 11 Arab countries. The survey included demographic questions, the Nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9) to measure participants' online gaming addiction, the Social Phobia Scale (SPS), and questions assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of internet gaming addiction. The data were analyzed using SPSS win statistical package version 26.
Results
Out of 2458 participants, 2237 were included in the sample due to non-response and missing data. The average age of the participants was 19.9 ± 4.8, and the majority were Egyptian and unmarried. 69% of the participants reported playing more than usual since the COVID-19 pandemic, as they were confined to their homes. Higher social phobia scores were associated with being single, male, and Egyptian. Participants from Egypt and those who felt that the pandemic significantly increased their gaming time had higher scores for online gaming addiction. Several major criteria, such as playing hours per day and beginning gaming at an early age, were associated with a higher level of online gaming addiction with social phobia.
Conclusion
The study's findings suggest that there is a high prevalence of internet gaming addiction among Arab adolescents and young adults who play online games. The results also indicate a significant association between social phobia and several sociodemographic factors, which may inform future interventions and treatments for individuals with gaming addiction and social phobia.