bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prostate Apoptosis Response-4 (Par-4): A Novel Target in Pyronaridine-Induced Apoptosis in Glioblastoma (GBM) Cells
Authors: Ghosalkar Jeevan , Sonawane Vinay , Pisal Tejal , Achrekar Swati , Pujari Radha , Chugh Ashish , Shastry Padma , Joshi Kalpana
Published: June 2022

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive form of brain tumor with a median survival of approximately 12 months. With no new drugs in the last few decades and limited success in clinics for known therapies, drug repurposing is an attractive choice for its treatment. Here, we examined the efficacy of pyronaridine (PYR), an anti-malarial drug in GBM cells. PYR induced anti-proliferative activity in GBM cells with IC50 ranging from 1.16 to 6.82 µM. Synergistic activity was observed when PYR was combined with Doxorubicin and Ritonavir. Mechanistically, PYR triggered mitochondrial membrane depolarization and enhanced the ROS levels causing caspase-3 mediated apoptosis. PYR significantly decreased markers associated with proliferation, EMT, hypoxia, and stemness and upregulated the expression of E-cadherin. Interestingly, PYR induced the expression of intracellular as well as secretory Par-4, a tumor suppressor in GBM cells, which was confirmed using siRNA. Notably, Par-4 levels in plasma samples of GBM patients were significantly lower than normal healthy volunteers. Thus, our study demonstrates for the first time that PYR can be repurposed against GBM with a novel mechanism of action involving Par-4. Herewith, we discuss the role of upregulated Par-4 in a highly interconnected signaling network thereby advocating its importance as a therapeutic target.
Dual Oxidase, a Hydrogen-Peroxide-Producing Enzyme, Regulates Neuronal Oxidative Damage and Animal Lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Baek Minwoo , Jang Wijeong , Kim Changsoo
Published: June 2022

Reducing the oxidative stress in neurons extends lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster, highlighting the crucial role of neuronal oxidative damage in lifespan determination. However, the source of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) that provoke oxidative stress in neurons is not clearly defined. Here, we identify dual oxidase (duox), a calcium-activated ROS-producing enzyme, as a lifespan determinant. Due to the lethality of duox homozygous mutants, we employed a duox heterozygote that exhibited normal appearance and movement. We found that duox heterozygous male flies, which were isogenized with control flies, demonstrated extended lifespan. Neuronal knockdown experiments further suggested that duox is crucial to oxidative stress in neurons. Our findings suggest duox to be a source of neuronal oxidative stress associated with animal lifespan.
Salmonella Promotes Its Own Survival in B Cells by Inhibiting Autophagy
Authors: Luis Lopez-Bailon , Ana Gonzalez-Telona , Carlos Galán-Enríquez , Abraham García-Gil , Iris Estrada-García , Martha Moreno-Lafont , Vianney Ortiz-Navarrete
Published: June 2022

Salmonella is a Gram-negative bacterium known to be the major cause of gastrointestinal diseases and systemic infections. During infection of murine B cells, Salmonella activates the PI3K/Akt pathway through its effector, SopB. This signaling pathway induces the downregulation of NLRC4 transcription, resulting in reduced secretion of IL-1β. Thus, Salmonella-infected B cells do not progress to pyroptosis; consequently, the bacteria can survive inside these cells. However, the mechanism by which Salmonella evades the control of B cells has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we found that SopB activates mTORC1, which is necessary for bacterial survival, since B cells cultured with the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin and B cells lacking raptor can control Salmonella infection. A similar result was observed in B cells when they were infected with the Salmonella SopB mutant (Δsopb). Salmonella also promoted the phosphorylation of the ULK1 complex at serine 757 (Ser757) by mTORC1, resulting in decreased levels of LC3-II in infected B cells. In this study, we did not observe these results when B cells were infected with Δsopb Salmonella. Our results demonstrated that Salmonella survival within B cells depends on the inhibition of autophagy by mTORC1 activation.
Differences in Antioxidant and Lipid Handling Protein Expression Influence How Cells Expressing Distinct Mutant TP53 Subtypes Maintain Iron Homeostasis
Authors: Cardona Cameron J. , Hermann Evan R. , Kouplen Kate N. , Hartson Steven D. , Montgomery McKale R.
Published: June 2022

The tumor suppressor TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancers, and iron is necessary for cancer cell growth and proliferation, but there is a significant gap in knowledge for how the two cooperate to affect cellular physiology. Elucidating this role is complicated, however, because each TP53 mutation subtype exhibits unique phenotypic responses to changes in iron availability. The goal of this work was to determine how cells expressing distinct TP53 mutation subtypes respond to iron restriction. Utilizing a reverse genetics approach, we generated eight isogenic cell lines that either lacked TP53 expression, expressed wild-type TP53, or expressed one of the six most common TP53 “hotspot” mutations. We then employed isobaric peptide labeling and mass spectrometry to quantitively measure changes in global protein expression, both in response to induction of mutant TP53 expression, and in response to iron chelation. Our findings indicate that mutant TP53-dependent sensitivities to iron restriction are not driven by differences in responsiveness to iron chelation, but more so by mutant TP53-dependent differences in cellular antioxidant and lipid handling protein expression. These findings reinforce the importance of distinguishing between TP53 mutation subtypes when investigating approaches to target mutant TP53. We also identify unique TP53-dependent perturbances in protein expression patterns that could be exploited to improve iron-targeted chemotherapeutic strategies.
Events Occurring in the Axotomized Facial Nucleus
Authors: Nakajima Kazuyuki , Ishijima Takashi
Published: June 2022

Transection of the rat facial nerve leads to a variety of alterations not only in motoneurons, but also in glial cells and inhibitory neurons in the ipsilateral facial nucleus. In injured motoneurons, the levels of energy metabolism-related molecules are elevated, while those of neurofunction-related molecules are decreased. In tandem with these motoneuron changes, microglia are activated and start to proliferate around injured motoneurons, and astrocytes become activated for a long period without mitosis. Inhibitory GABAergic neurons reduce the levels of neurofunction-related molecules. These facts indicate that injured motoneurons somehow closely interact with glial cells and inhibitory neurons. At the same time, these events allow us to predict the occurrence of tissue remodeling in the axotomized facial nucleus. This review summarizes the events occurring in the axotomized facial nucleus and the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with each event.
The Synergistic Effect of Cyclic Tensile Force and Periodontal Ligament Cell-Laden Calcium Silicate/Gelatin Methacrylate Auxetic Hydrogel Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration
Authors: Lee Jian-Jr , Ng Hooi-Yee , Lin Yen-Hong , Lin Ting-Ju , Kao Chia-Tze , Shie Ming-You
Published: June 2022

The development of 3D printing technologies has allowed us to fabricate complex novel scaffolds for bone regeneration. In this study, we reported the incorporation of different concentrations of calcium silicate (CS) powder into fish gelatin methacrylate (FGelMa) for the fabrication of CS/FGelMa auxetic bio-scaffolds using 3D printing technology. Our results showed that CS could be successfully incorporated into FGelMa without influencing the original structural components of FGelMa. Furthermore, it conveyed that CS modifications both the mechanical properties and degradation rates of the scaffolds were improved in accordance with the concentrations of CS upon modifications of CS. In addition, the presence of CS enhanced the adhesion and proliferation of human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLs) cultured in the scaffold. Further osteogenic evaluation also confirmed that CS was able to enhance the osteogenic capabilities via activation of downstream intracellular factors such as pFAK/FAK and pERK/ERK. More interestingly, it was noted that the application of extrinsic biomechanical stimulation to the auxetic scaffolds further enhanced the proliferation and differentiation of hPDLs cells and secretion of osteogenic-related markers when compared to CS/FGelMa hydrogels without tensile stimulation. This prompted us to explore the related mechanism behind this interesting phenomenon. Subsequent studies showed that biomechanical stimulation works via YAP, which is a biomechanical cue. Taken together, our results showed that novel auxetic scaffolds could be fabricated by combining different aspects of science and technology, in order to improve the future chances of clinical applications for bone regeneration.
Associations of Macronutrient Intake Determined by Point-of-Care Human Milk Analysis with Brain Development among very Preterm Infants
Authors: Bell Katherine A. , Cherkerzian Sara , Drouin Kaitlin , Matthews Lillian G. , Inder Terrie E. , Prohl Anna K. , Warfield Simon K. , Belfort Mandy Brown
Published: June 2022

Point-of-care human milk analysis is now feasible in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and allows accurate measurement of macronutrient delivery. Higher macronutrient intakes over this period may promote brain growth and development. In a prospective, observational study of 55 infants born at <32 weeks’ gestation, we used a mid-infrared spectroscopy-based human milk analyzer to measure the macronutrient content in repeated samples of human milk over the NICU hospitalization. We calculated daily nutrient intakes from unfortified milk and assigned infants to quintiles based on median intakes over the hospitalization. Infants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging at term equivalent age to quantify total and regional brain volumes and fractional anisotropy of white matter tracts. Infants in the highest quintile of energy intake from milk, as compared with the lower four quintiles, had larger total brain volume (31 cc, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5, 56), cortical gray matter (15 cc, 95%CI: 1, 30), and white matter volume (23 cc, 95%CI: 12, 33). Higher protein intake was associated with larger total brain (36 cc, 95%CI: 7, 65), cortical gray matter (22 cc, 95%CI: 6, 38) and deep gray matter (1 cc, 95%CI: 0.1, 3) volumes. These findings suggest innovative strategies to close nutrient delivery gaps in the NICU may promote brain growth for preterm infants.
Does Bullying Attitude Matter in School Bullying among Adolescent Students: Evidence from 34 OECD Countries
Authors: Man Xiaoou , Liu Jiatong , Xue Zengxin
Published: June 2022

There is a need to study the relationship between adolescent bullying attitudes and school bullying behavior to reduce instances of bullying in schools. Based on the Program for International Student Assessment 2018 (PISA 2018), this study investigated the relationship between adolescent bullying attitudes towards different roles and school bullying behavior. Among 34 OECD countries, it also studied the mediating roles of student cooperation and competition, and adolescent bullying attitudes based on gender, grade, and whether one was a bullying victim. We adopted the Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) method to control the effects of confounders on evaluation results. Overall, the results showed that bullied adolescents’ attitudes towards bullying followers and non-bullied adolescents’ attitudes towards bullying bystanders and defenders were more positively associated with school bullying behavior. Student cooperation partially mediated this relationship and student competition played the suppressor. The findings also provided fresh insights into anti-school bullying campaigns and practices.
Prevalence and Correlates of Anemia among Adolescents Living in Hodeida, Yemen
Authors: Al-Jermmy Abdulghani Sulaiman Mohammed , Idris Shadia Mohamed , Coulibaly-Zerbo Ferima , Nasreddine Lara , Al-Jawaldeh Ayoub
Published: June 2022

This study assesses the prevalence and correlates of anemia among adolescents living in the war-affected region of Hodeida in Yemen. A secondary objective was to examine the effect of a nutrition education intervention on hemoglobin levels among anemic adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of adolescents aged 15–19 years in Hodeida (n = 400). A questionnaire was administered to inquire about demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle and clinical characteristics. Capillary blood was obtained, anthropometric characteristics were measured and stool samples were collected. As for the secondary objective, anemic adolescents were randomly assigned to an intervention group (nutrition education and iron supplementation) and a control group (iron supplements only). The prevalence of anemia was 37.8%. Female gender, khat chewing, excessive menstruation, and experiencing headaches, fatigue, or dizziness were independent predictors of anemia. In contrast, adolescents who attended private schools, and reported snack consumption or handwashing had a significantly lower risk of anemia. A sample of 116 adolescents participated in the intervention (3 months). Hemoglobin levels were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control. Our findings contribute to the identification of high-risk groups that should be targeted by context-specific interventions. The implemented multicomponent intervention may serve as a prototype for larger-scale preventive programs.
Paediatric Deep Neck Infection—The Risk of Needing Intensive Care
Authors: Perina Vojtech , Szaraz David , Harazim Hana , Urik Milan , Klabusayova Eva
Published: June 2022

Deep neck infections are potentially dangerous complications of upper respiratory tract or odontogenic infections. The pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and potential spreading depend on the complex anatomy of the neck fascia. These infections can lead to severe pathological conditions, such as mediastinitis, sepsis, and especially airway impairment with difficult management. Because of the risk of life-threatening emergency situations and the possible impacts on the overall health status of affected children, their early recognition is of utmost importance. Torticollis, drooling, and stridor are the most common signs of advancing disease. Children presenting with these symptoms should be admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit for vital function monitoring, where the airway could be readily secured if function is compromised.
Clinicians’ Perceptions of Parent-Child Arts Therapy with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Milman Center Experience
Authors: Bitan Michal , Regev Dafna
Published: June 2022

Different types of arts offer a wide variety of modes of nonverbal communication and expressive tools for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The present study was designed to characterize therapists’ perspectives on the implementation of a parent-child arts therapy model for children with ASD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 arts therapists who participated in the study. The thematic analysis (qualitative analysis) approach yielded seven themes: (1) Therapeutic goals. (2) Adjusting the therapeutic intervention. (3) The advantages of parent-child arts therapy. (4) Difficulties in parent-child arts therapy. (5) The unique contribution of the participants to parent-child arts therapy. (6) The different types of arts in the therapy room. (7) The arts therapists’ assessment of the progress of therapy. The discussion focuses on the four central components of parent-child arts therapy room: the child in therapy, the parent, the arts therapist, and the creative arts.
Is Aberrant DNA Methylation a Key Factor in Molar Incisor Hypomineralization?
Authors: Tynior Wojciech , Ilczuk-Rypuła Danuta , Hudy Dorota , Strzelczyk Joanna Katarzyna
Published: June 2022

Molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) is a qualitative disturbance of the enamel of the permanent molars and/or incisors. Its etiology is not clearly defined but is connected with different factors occurring before and after birth. It remains difficult to identify a single factor or group of factors, and the problem is further complicated by various overlapping mechanisms. In this study, we attempted to determine whether DNA methylation—an epigenetic mechanism—plays a key role in the etiology of MIH. We collected the epithelium of the oral mucosa from children with MIH and healthy individuals and analyzed its global DNA methylation level in each child using a 5-mC DNA ELISA kit after DNA isolation. There was no statistically significant difference between the global DNA methylation levels in the study and control groups. Then, we also analyzed the associations of the DNA methylation levels with different prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors, using appropriate statistical methods. Factors such as number of pregnancies, number of births, type of delivery, varicella infection (under 3 years old), and high fever (under 3 years old) were significantly important. This work can be seen as the first step towards further studies of the epigenetic background of the MIH etiology.
Patients with Infections of The Central Nervous System Have Lowered Gut Microbiota Alpha Diversity
Authors: Grochowska Marta , Laskus Tomasz , Paciorek Marcin , Pollak Agnieszka , Lechowicz Urszula , Makowiecki Michał , Horban Andrzej , Radkowski Marek , Perlejewski Karol
Published: June 2022

There are multiple lines of evidence for the existence of communication between the central nervous system (CNS), gut, and intestinal microbiome. Despite extensive analysis conducted on various neurological disorders, the gut microbiome was not yet analyzed in neuroinfections. In the current study, we analyzed the gut microbiome in 47 consecutive patients hospitalized with neuroinfection (26 patients had viral encephalitis/meningitis; 8 patients had bacterial meningitis) and in 20 matched for age and gender health controls. Using the QIIME pipeline, 16S rRNA sequencing and classification into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were performed on the earliest stool sample available. Bacterial taxa such as Clostridium, Anaerostipes, Lachnobacterium, Lachnospira, and Roseburia were decreased in patients with neuroinfection when compared to controls. Alpha diversity metrics showed lower within-sample diversity in patients with neuroinfections, though there were no differences in beta diversity. Furthermore, there was no significant change by short-term (1–3 days) antibiotic treatment on the gut microbiota, although alpha diversity metrics, such as Chao1 and Shannon’s index, were close to being statistically significant. The cause of differences between patients with neuroinfections and controls is unclear and could be due to inflammation accompanying the disease; however, the effect of diet modification and/or hospitalization cannot be excluded.
6-(Methylsulfinyl) Hexyl Isothiocyanate Inhibits IL-6 and CXCL10 Production in TNF-α-Stimulated Human Oral Epithelial Cells
Authors: Shimoyama Masahiro , Hosokawa Yoshitaka , Hosokawa Ikuko , Ozaki Kazumi , Hosaka Keiichi
Published: June 2022

6-(Methylsulfinyl) hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MSITC) is a bioactive substance found in wasabi (Wasabia japonica) and has been reported to have some bioactive effects including anticancer and antioxidant effects. However, there are no reports on its effects on periodontal resident cells, and many points remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether 6-MSITC exerts anti-inflammatory effects on human oral epithelial cells, including effects on signal transduction pathway activation. 6-MSITC inhibited interleukin (IL)-6 and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) production in TNF-α-stimulated TR146 cells, which are a human oral epithelial cell line. Moreover, we found that 6-MSITC could suppress signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3, nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and p70S6 kinase (p70S6K)-S6 ribosomal protein (S6) pathways activation in TNF-α-stimulated TR146 cells. Furthermore, STAT3 and NF-κB inhibitors could suppress IL-6 and CXCL10 production in TNF-α-treated TR146 cells. In summary, 6-MSITC could decrease IL-6 and CXCL10 production in human oral epithelial cell by inhibiting STAT3 and NF-κB activation.
Comparative Spectroscopic Study of Aluminum Nitride Grown by MOCVD in H2 and N2 Reaction Environment
Authors: Hasan Samiul , Jewel Mohi Uddin , Karakalos Stavros G. , Gaevski Mikhail , Ahmad Iftikhar
Published: June 2022

We report a comparative spectroscopic study on the thin films of epitaxial aluminum nitride (AlN) on basal plane sapphire (Al2O3) substrates grown in hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2) gas reaction environments. AlN films of similar thicknesses (~3.0 µm) were grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) for comparison. The impact of the gas environment on the AlN epilayers was characterized using high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman scattering (RS), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), cathodoluminescence (CL), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The study showed that AlN layers grown in a N2 environment have 50% less stress (~0.5 GPa) and similar total dislocation densities (~109/cm2) as compared to the films grown in a H2 environment. On the other hand, AlN films grown in a H2 gas environment have about 33% lesser carbon and 41% lesser oxygen impurities than films grown in a N2 growth environment. The possible mechanisms that influenced the structural quality and impurity incorporation for two different gas environments to grow AlN epilayers in the MOCVD system on sapphire substrates were discussed.
Growth-Promoting and Protective Effect of Trichoderma atrobrunneum and T. simmonsii on Tomato against Soil-Borne Fungal Pathogens
Authors: Natsiopoulos Dimitrios , Tziolias Apostolos , Lagogiannis Ioannis , Mantzoukas Spyridon , Eliopoulos Panagiotis A.
Published: June 2022

Trichoderma fungi are promising candidates for biocontrol agents and plant growth promoters. Trichoderma atrobrunneum and T. simmonsii were evaluated for the control of soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi, in the present study. Dual culture tests with Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici were used to conduct in vitro evaluation. In the presence of Trichoderma, phytopathogen’s growth rate was inhibited up to 59.70% for R. solani and 42.57% for F. oxysporum. Greenhouse trials with potted tomato plants demonstrated that Trichoderma caused a significant increase of stem height and fresh stem weight in pathogen-inoculated plants, compared with the negative control (plants artificially inoculated with the phytopathogen only). Except for T. simmonsii, plant growth was not significantly enhanced by a Trichoderma presence in the positive control (healthy plants). The overall performance of the two Trichoderma species studied was equivalent to that of the T. harzianum T22 commercial strain. All the tested species were found to be effective in suppressing colony growth and disease development of the soil borne pathogens in dual cultures and potted plants, indicating that they could be used as biocontrol agents. Our findings are discussed in the context of enhancing endophytic microorganisms’ application in crop production systems.
Adaptable Cryptographic Primitives in Blockchains via Smart Contracts
Authors: Longo Riccardo , Mascia Carla , Meneghetti Alessio , Santilli Giordano , Tognolini Giovanni
Published: June 2022

Blockchain-based platforms utilise cryptographic protocols to enforce the correct behaviour of users, as well as to guarantee a sufficient level of protection against malicious adversaries. Cryptography is, however, an ever-evolving discipline, and any breakthrough would have immediate consequences on the security of blockchain-based applications. A possible threat currently under investigation is given by the development of quantum computers, since several wide-adopted cryptographic protocols have been proved to be unsafe against quantum-capable adversaries. In this work, we propose a novel approach for the management of cryptographic primitives in smart-contract-based ledgers, discussing how it fits in both a (partially) permissioned and a fully permissionless setting. The cryptographic protocols are managed in a flexible manner via a set of smart-contracts defined on the ledger itself, in this way the choice of algorithms and parameters can change quickly. Among the advantages of this approach, we remark how it allows designing an adaptive post-quantum-based blockchain that keeps up with ongoing technological advances. In general, the introduction of new features and the application of fixes to a blockchain cause forks in the chain, which may cause major disruptions. The use of smart contracts in blockchain management allows to avoid this problem, dynamically introducing new protocols or deprecating old ones without compromising previous data. The Cryptographic Kernel approach has been adopted by Quadrans, an open-source, public, decentralised smart-contract-based blockchain with a specific focus on the needs of industry, complex supply chains, and IOT devices.
A Batch Processing Technique for Wearable Health Crowd-Sensing in the Internet of Things
Authors: Addobea Abigail Akosua , Li Qianmu , Amankona Isaac Obiri , Hou Jun
Published: June 2022

The influx of wearable sensor devices has influenced a new paradigm termed wearable health crowd-sensing (WHCS). WHCS enables wearable data collection through active sensing to provide health monitoring to users. Wearable sensing devices capture data and transmit it to the cloud for data processing and analytics. However, data sent to the cloud is vulnerable to on-path attacks. The bandwidth limitation issue is also another major problem during large data transfers. Moreover, the WHCS faces several anonymization issues. In light of this, this article presents a batch processing method to solve the identified issues in WHCS. The proposed batch processing method provides an aggregate authentication and verification approach to resolve bandwidth limitation issues in WHCS. The security of our scheme shows its resistance to forgery and replay attacks, as proved in the random oracle (ROM), while offering anonymity to users. Our performance analysis shows that the proposed scheme achieves a lower computational and communication cost with a reduction in the storage overhead compared to other existing schemes. Finally, the proposed method is more energy-efficient, demonstrating that it is suitable for the WHCS system.
Concurrent Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome with a Sequent t(10;13)(p13;q22) Translocation
Authors: DeRosa Peter A. , Roche Kyle C. , Nava Victor E. , Singh Sunita , Liu Min-Ling , Agarwal Anita
Published: June 2022

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (WM) are rarely synchronous. Ineffective myelopoiesis/hematopoiesis with clonal unilineage or multilineage dysplasia and cytopenias characterize MDS. Despite a myeloid origin, MDS can sometimes lead to decreased production, abnormal apoptosis or dysmaturation of B cells, and the development of lymphoma. WM includes bone marrow involvement by lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) secreting monoclonal immunoglobulin M (IgM) with somatic mutation (L265P) of myeloid differentiation primary response 88 gene (MYD88) in 80–90%, or various mutations of C-terminal domain of the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) gene in 20–40% of cases. A unique, progressive case of concurrent MDS and WM with several somatic mutations (some unreported before) and a novel balanced reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 10 and 13 is presented below.
Comparative Phylogeography of Phoxinus, Delminichthys, Phoxinellus and Telestes in Dinaric Karst: Which Factors Have Influenced Their Current Distributions?
Authors: Reier Susanne , Bogutskaya Nina , Palandačić Anja
Published: June 2022

The waters of the Dinaric Karst drain into both the Adriatic and the Black Sea basins. Precipitation is high, yet surface waters are scarce, with the exception of sinking streams. Dinaric Karst is a biodiversity hotspot, with diverse speleo- and epigean freshwater fauna. The distribution patterns of taxa in Dinaric Karst have arisen from a combination of vicariance and dispersal and their alteration over time. Within fishes, there are genera that include both species that are widespread and species with restricted ranges (e.g., Phoxinus, Telestes), and genera with only restricted distributions (e.g., Delminichthys, Phoxinellus). Some (Delminichthys, Phoxinellus and Dinaric Telestes) have a similar lifestyle, specialized for dwelling in sinking streams in karst poljes. The present study compares the distribution ranges of Phoxinus, Delminichthys, Phoxinellus and Telestes in Dinaric Karst based upon their mitochondrial genetic lineages, including dating of divergence times and reconstruction of ancestral geographic ranges. The biology of Phoxinus has played a major role in its wider distribution than the other three genera, which exhibit some limited ability to migrate underground, but which cannot disperse along main river courses due to their specific adaptation for dwelling in the sinking streams of karst poljes.
Morphological and Genetic Variability in Radix auricularia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Lymnaeidae) of Lake Baikal, Siberia: The Story of an Unfinished Invasion into the Ancient Deepest Lake
Authors: Schniebs Katrin , Sitnikova Tatiana Ya. , Vinarski Maxim V. , Müller Anke , Khanaev Igor V. , Hundsdoerfer Anna K.
Published: June 2022

This article aims to reconstruct the invasion of the ear-shaped pond snail, Radix auricularia (Linnaeus, 1758), to Lake Baikal, East Siberia. This species is widely distributed in the Palaearctic and Northern America, and since the early 20th century has formed abundant and sustained populations in Lake Baikal. The data provided on the morphological and genetic variability of R. auricularia help to better describe and delineate the species. With an integrative approach involving morphological and molecular data, we improved the knowledge of the intraspecific variability of R. auricularia in the most important characteristics used for its determination. Molecular sequences of nuclear spacer fragment ITS-2 and mitochondrial gene fragment cyt–b were obtained from 32 individuals of Radix (including seven outgroup Radix species) collected from various parts of Lake Baikal and adjacent waterbodies and compared with sequences of 32 individuals of R. auricularia from different regions of the Palaearctic as well as with individuals determinated as R. intercisa from Lake Baikal, R. iturupica from the Kurile Islands, R. ussuriensis from the Khabarovsk region, R. narzykulovi from Tajikistan, and R. schubinae from the Amur region. Molecular genetic analyses revealed that all specimens collected from Lake Baikal belong to R. auricularia. There are no genetically distinct groups of snails that would correspond to two morphospecies previously recorded in Lake Baikal (e.g., R. auricularia s. str. and R. intercisa). Variability of the characteristics that are commonly used for species identification (shell morphology, mantle pigmentation, shape and position of the bursa copulatrix, length and position of the bursa duct, length ratio of preputium to penial sheath) were found in individuals analysed with molecular genetics to be broader than recognised in the current literature. Some shells of R. auricularia collected from Lake Baikal resemble shells of another lymnaeid species, R. balthica, and without molecular assessment can be confused with the latter. Geometric morphometric analysis of more than 250 shells revealed no observed hiatus between Baikalian and non-Baikalian R. auricularia. The probable stages and pathways of R. auricularia invasion to Lake Baikal’s ecosystem are outlined and discussed. Factors such as global climate warming and human activity stimulated and facilitated the ongoing dispersal of ear pond snails within Lake Baikal.
Daily Precipitation Data for the Mexico City Metropolitan Area from 1930 to 2015
Authors: López-Espinoza Erika D. , Fuentes-Mariles Oscar A. , Herrera-Moro Dulce R. , Gómez-Ramos Octavio , Novelo-Casanova David A. , Zavala-Hidalgo Jorge
Published: June 2022

The Metropolitan Zone of Mexico City, as well as the associated basin, includes the territories of Mexico City, some municipalities of the State of Mexico and the state of Hidalgo. In addition, this area is the most densely populated in Mexico. The region is influenced by mid-latitude and tropical weather systems and is vulnerable to extreme hydrometeorological events. In this context, we developed a dataset from the records of 136 geolocated sites that includes daily precipitation data from the CLImate COMputing (CLICOM) project and the Mexico City Water System. The data spans the period from 1930 to 2015 for the rainy months (June–October) from stations with records of 20 or more years. In each recording site, automatic and manual data quality control were performed to verify the consistency of the daily precipitation data. We believe that our highly dense precipitation dataset will be useful for climate, trend and extreme events analysis. Additionally, the data will allow validating simulations of numerical atmospheric models. The dataset is public, and it was previously used in other research to determine areas susceptible to flooding due to heavy rain events and to develop a web mapping application of daily precipitation data.
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Dermatological Conditions: A Novel, Comprehensive Review
Authors: Pendlebury Gehan A. , Oro Peter , Haynes William , Merideth Drew , Bartling Samantha , Bongiorno Michelle A.
Published: June 2022

Background: The earliest cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since the declaration as a pandemic on 11 March 2020, further dermatological conditions continue to be documented. We herein present a novel literature review of dermatological manifestations associated with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To date, this literature review is the first broad-spectrum examination that analyzes a range of dermatological manifestations related to the COVID-19 pandemic: infection, vaccinations, personal protective equipment (PPE), and psychosocial factors. Methods: A detailed literature search was conducted using key terms for cutaneous manifestations associated with the scope of this review. The search retrieved 2199 articles. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a significant range of dermatologic sequela. Etiologies of lesions continue to be investigated. Proposed mechanisms include inflammatory response to spike protein, vitamin D deficiency, ACE2 receptor activation, androgen levels, and increased psychological stress. One prominent mechanism describes viral spike protein invasion into the dermis by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptors in keratinocytes, with a secondary immunological response. Conclusions: Dermatologists play an integral role in the proper diagnosis and treatment of COVID-related lesions. Early treatment regimens and timely prophylaxis have been shown to safely reduce infection-related dermatological sequelae. Additional investigations and data collection can reduce disease burden and improve overall prognosis.
Myelodysplastic Syndrome: Diagnosis and Screening
Authors: Tria Francisco P. , Ang Daphne C. , Fan Guang
Published: June 2022

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are heterogeneous groups of clonal myeloid disorders characterized by unexplained persistent peripheral blood (PB) cytopenia(s) of one or more of the hematopoietic lineages, or bone marrow (BM) morphologic dysplasia in hematopoietic cells, recurrent genetic abnormalities, and an increased risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In the past several years, diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approaches have substantially improved with the development of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) diagnostic testing and new medications. However, there is no single diagnostic parameter specific for MDS, and correlations with clinical information, and laboratory test findings are needed to reach the diagnosis.
Quercetin: A Molecule of Great Biochemical and Clinical Value and Its Beneficial Effect on Diabetes and Cancer
Authors: Michala Aikaterini-Spyridoula , Pritsa Agathi
Published: June 2022

Quercetin belongs to the broader category of polyphenols. It is found, in particular, among the flavonols, and along with kaempferol, myricetin and isorhamnetin, it is recognized as a foreign substance after ingestion in contrast to vitamins. Quercetin occurs mainly linked to sugars with the most common compounds being quercetin-3-O-glucoside or as an aglycone, especially in the plant population. The aim of this review is to present a recent bibliography on the mechanisms of quercetin absorption and metabolism, bioavailability, and antioxidant and the clinical effects in diabetes and cancer. The literature reports a positive effect of quercetin on oxidative stress, cancer, and the regulation of blood sugar levels. Moreover, research-administered drug dosages of up to 2000 mg per day showed mild to no symptoms of overdose. It should be noted that quercetin is no longer considered a carcinogenic substance. The daily intake of quercetin in the diet ranges 10 mg–500 mg, depending on the type of products consumed. This review highlights that quercetin is a valuable dietary antioxidant, although a specific daily recommended intake for this substance has not yet been determined and further studies are required to decide a beneficial concentration threshold.
Sobel Potential Field: Addressing Responsive Demands for UAV Path Planning Techniques
Authors: Fareh Raouf , Baziyad Mohammed , Rabie Tamer , Kamel Ibrahim , Bettayeb Maamar
Published: June 2022

Dealing with the trade-off challenge between computation speed and path quality has been a high-priority research area in the robotic path planning field during the last few years. Obtaining a shorter optimized path requires additional processing since iterative algorithms are adopted to keep enhancing the final optimized path. Therefore, it is a challenging problem to obtain an optimized path in a real-time manner. However, this trade-off problem becomes more challenging when planning a path for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system since they operate in 3D environments. A 3D map will naturally have more data to be processed compared to a 2D map and thus, processing becomes more expensive and time-consuming. This paper proposes a new 3D path planning technique named the Sobel Potential Field (SPF) technique to deal effectively with the swiftness-quality trade-off. The rationale of the proposed SPF technique is to minimize the processing of potential field methods. Instead of applying the potential field analysis on the whole 3D map which could be a very expensive operation, the proposed SPF technique will tend to focus on obstacle areas. This is done by adopting the Sobel edge detection technique to detect the 3D edges of obstacles. These edges will be the sources of the repulsive forces while the goal point will be emitting an attractive force. Next, a proposed objective function models the strength of the attractive and repulsive forces differently to have various influences on each point on the map. This objective function is then optimized using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to find an obstacle-free path to the destination. Finally, the PSO-based path is optimized further by finding linear shortcuts in the path. Testbed experimental results have proven the effectiveness of the proposed SPF technique and showed superior performance over other meta-heuristic optimization techniques, as well as popular path planning techniques such as A* and PRM.
TAaCGH Suite for Detecting Cancer—Specific Copy Number Changes Using Topological Signatures
Authors: Aslam Jai , Ardanza-Trevijano Sergio , Xiong Jingwei , Arsuaga Javier , Sazdanovic Radmila
Published: June 2022

Copy number changes play an important role in the development of cancer and are commonly associated with changes in gene expression. Persistence curves, such as Betti curves, have been used to detect copy number changes; however, it is known these curves are unstable with respect to small perturbations in the data. We address the stability of lifespan and Betti curves by providing bounds on the distance between persistence curves of Vietoris–Rips filtrations built on data and slightly perturbed data in terms of the bottleneck distance. Next, we perform simulations to compare the predictive ability of Betti curves, lifespan curves (conditionally stable) and stable persistent landscapes to detect copy number aberrations. We use these methods to identify significant chromosome regions associated with the four major molecular subtypes of breast cancer: Luminal A, Luminal B, Basal and HER2 positive. Identified segments are then used as predictor variables to build machine learning models which classify patients as one of the four subtypes. We find that no single persistence curve outperforms the others and instead suggest a complementary approach using a suite of persistence curves. In this study, we identified new cytobands associated with three of the subtypes: 1q21.1-q25.2, 2p23.2-p16.3, 23q26.2-q28 with the Basal subtype, 8p22-p11.1 with Luminal B and 2q12.1-q21.1 and 5p14.3-p12 with Luminal A. These segments are validated by the TCGA BRCA cohort dataset except for those found for Luminal A.
Lithium Battery Model and Its Application to Parallel Charging
Authors: Shieh Yueh-Tsung , Wu Chih-Chiang , Liu Ching-Yao , Chieng Wei-Hua , Su Yu-Sheng , Jeng Shyr-Long , Chang Edward-Yi
Published: June 2022

A new SOC (State-Of-Charge)–VOC (Voltage-of-Open-Circuit) mathematical model was proposed in this paper, which is particularly useful in parallel lithium battery modeling. When the battery strings are charged in parallel connection, the batteries can be deemed as capacitors with different capacitances, and the one with larger capacitance always obtains the higher current. According to this mathematical model, the parallel battery charging with different peak capacitances can result in different voltage slew rates on different battery strings during the constant current control. Different parallel battery strings are charged with different currents, of which the battery string under higher current can induce higher power loss and higher temperature. The conventional solution can use this model to switch the constant current charging into the constant voltage charging with the correct timing to avoid overcurrent charging. Other battery pack protection methods including current sense resistor, resettable thermal cutoff device, or resettable fuse can also use this mathematical model to improve the protection. In the experiments, three kinds of batteries including LiFePO4 battery, EV Type-1 battery, and ternary battery were examined. The experiments showed good consistency with the simulation results derived from the mathematical model.
Time-Series Forecasting of a CO2-EOR and CO2 Storage Project Using a Data-Driven Approach
Authors: Iskandar Utomo Pratama , Kurihara Masanori
Published: June 2022

This study aims to develop a predictive and reliable data-driven model for forecasting the fluid production (oil, gas, and water) of existing wells and future infill wells for CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and CO2 storage projects. Several models were investigated, such as auto-regressive (AR), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and long short-term memory (LSTM) networks. The models were trained based on static and dynamic parameters and daily fluid production while considering the inverse distance of neighboring wells. The developed models were evaluated using walk-forward validation and compared based on the quality metrics, span, and variation in the forecasting horizon. The AR model demonstrates a convincing generalization performance across various time series datasets with a long but varied forecasting horizon across eight wells. The LSTM model has a shorter forecasting horizon but strong generalizability and robustness in forecasting horizon consistency. MLP has the shortest and most varied forecasting horizon compared to the other models. The LSTM model exhibits promising performance in forecasting the fluid production of future infill wells when the model is developed from an existing well with similar features to an infill well. This study offers an alternative to the physics-driven model when traditional modeling is costly and laborious.
Optimized Takagi–Sugeno Fuzzy Mixed H2/H∞ Robust Controller Design Based on CPSOGSA Optimization Algorithm for Hydraulic Turbine Governing System
Authors: Li Lisheng , Qian Jing , Zou Yidong , Tian Danning , Zeng Yun , Cao Fei , Li Xiang
Published: June 2022

The hydraulic turbine governing system (HTGS) is a complex nonlinear system that regulates the rotational speed and power of a hydro-generator set. In this work, an incremental form of an HTGS nonlinear model was established and the Takagi–Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy linearization and mixed H2/H∞ robust control theory was applied to the design of an HTGS controller. A T-S fuzzy H2/H∞ controller for an HTGS based on modified hybrid particle swarm optimization and gravitational search algorithm integrated with chaotic maps (CPSOGSA) is proposed in this paper. The T-S fuzzy model of an HTGS that integrates multiple-state space equations was established by linearizing numerous equilibrium points. The linear matrix inequality (LMI) toolbox in MATLAB was used to solve the mixed H2/H∞ feedback coefficients using the CPSOGSA intelligent algorithm to optimize the weighting matrix in the process so that each mixed H2/H∞ feedback coefficients in the fuzzy control were optimized under the constraints to improve the performance of the controller. The simulation results show that this method allows the HTGS to perform well in suppressing system frequency deviations. In addition, the robustness of the method to system parameter variations is also verified.
Electricity Production and Consumption Perspectives in the Opinion of the Youth of South-Eastern Poland
Authors: Woźniak Marian , Kud Krzysztof , Badora Aleksandra , Woźniak Leszek
Published: June 2022

In Poland, in 2021, an increase in demand for electricity was recorded, and hard coal and lignite power plants still had a dominant share in its production. Another source of electricity was renewable energy sources (RES), mainly wind farms. Young people in Poland are aware that electricity is not only its production, but also consumption in households. Therefore, it is also essential to properly educate young people, aiming at a cost-effective, sustainable lifestyle, in relation to electricity consumption. The article presents the current state of the electricity generation sector in Poland along with the proposed changes in this respect, in particular in terms of the development prospects for the use of renewable energy sources and the influence of government administration on the production and consumption of electricity. The aim of this research was to broaden the knowledge of young people’s opinions on energy production and consumption. The research results can be used to create long-term directions of energy policy and to build a social attitude of sustainable energy consumption in Poland. The research was non-probabilistic, based on questionnaires, using the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) technique. The questionnaire was conducted in 2021, and the analysis was made on the basis of 741 correctly completed research questionnaires. The results of the research confirmed the research hypotheses—that the surveyed youth see the need to reduce consumption as a way to counteract climate change and excessive energy consumption. They also expect government support in the energy transformation in Poland, based on a diversified scenario, using both renewable energy sources (RES) and nuclear energy.