bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Achieved High Energy Density and Excellent Thermal Stability in (1-x)(Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3-xBi(Mg0.5Ti0.5)O3 Relaxor Ferroelectric Thin Films
Authors: Yan Hao , Song Baijie , Zhu Kun , Xu Liuxue , Shen Bo , Zhai Jiwei
Published: March 2021

In this work, lead-free (1-x)(Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3-xBi(Mg0.5Ti0.5)O3 (abbreviated as BNBT-xBMT, x = 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using sol-gel method. The microstructures, dielectric and energy storage properties were investigated. The results showed that the addition of BMT disrupted the long-range ferroelectric order and enhanced the relaxor behavior of BNBT-xBMT thin films. In addition, the leakage current density of thin films was also reduced by the doping of moderate amount of BMT. A high recoverable energy density of 34.36 J/cm3 with an efficiency of 56.63% was achieved in the BNBT-0.5BMT thin film under the electric field of 2149 kV/cm. Furthermore, BNBT-0.5BMT thin film exhibited superior stability in the temperature range of 30°C − 145°C and frequency range of 500 Hz − 5 kHz, as well as long-term fatigue durability after 1 × 105 cycles. These results suggest that BNBT-0.5BMT thin film may be a promising material for lead-free dielectric energy storage applications.
Fostering Learning Capacities for Meaningful, Healthy and Efficient Studying in Undergraduate Medical Education - Evaluation of a Longitudinal Learning Workshop
Authors: Thye Miriam , Tauschel Diethard
Published: March 2021

Background:Medical studies place high demands on the development of learning capacities. Learning environment, self-regulation, self-determination and self-care play a major role in this context. Impaired health of students in particular has a negative impact on learning and subsequent professional life. Learning life can be defined as the sum of all the factors influencing the students’ entire life; this includes physical, physiological, psychological and mental dimensions of learning. This study describes and evaluates a longitudinal learning workshop for undergraduate medical students which aims to foster academic learning life with an anthropologically grounded holistic approach.Methods:Fifty evaluations by medical students underwent a qualitative analysis of open-ended questions concerning their experienced changes in their learning life. In addition, general satisfaction with the learning workshop was measured quantitatively.Results:Qualitative results revealed an impact on five core dimensions of medical students´ learning: knowledge, awareness, action, experience and regulation. Quantitative results demonstrated good overall satisfaction.Conclusions:Taking students’ physiology, body, psychology and mentality into account within a seven weeks longitudinal learning workshop, impact on the fields of knowledge, awareness, action, experience and regulation can be achieved. To support the multidimensional learning life of medical students, a holistic approach could be considered as an enhancement to foster healthy, meaningful and efficient ways of learning. Thus, this learning workshop seems to be a useful and transferable tool to support medical students’ learning.
Development and validation of a Nomogram for predicting the Overall Survival of Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Head of the Pancreas
Authors: Liu Zhilong , Yu Haohui , Cao Mingrong , Li Jiexing , Huang Yulin , Feng Bin , Xing Liubo , Cai Ke
Published: March 2021

Background: The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) of patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Head of the Pancreas (PDAC-HP).Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, we collected patients with PDAC-HP in the United States between 2004 and 2015. Patients were randomly divided into training set and validating set at a ratio of 7:3. The training set is used to develop a nomogram for predicting OS. These indicators such as the C index, the area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC), calibration plots and the net reclassification improvement (NRI) and the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were used to evaluate the prediction accuracy of the nomogram.Results: A total of 33,893 patients with PDAC-HP over 20 years old were diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 were collected from the SEER database. Using multivariable Cox regression analysis, we identified eight risk factors that were associated with OS, such as age at diagnosis, sex, marital status at diagnosis, race, AJCC staging, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. A nomogram was constructed based on these variables. Compared with the AJCC staging system, the nomogram has a better C index and AUC in the training set and validatiing set. The calibration plots indicated that the nomogram was able to accurately predict the OS of patients with PDAC-HP at 1, 3, and 5 years.Conclusions: We developed and validated a nomogram, and predicted the OS of patients with PDAC-HP at 1, 3, and 5 years. Compared with the AJCC staging system, the nomogram we constructed has better performance. It shows that our nomogram could be served as an effective tool for prognostic evaluation of patients with PDAC-HP.
Potential of Cold Plasma to Control Callosobruchus chinensis (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in Chickpea Cultivars during Four Year Storage
Authors: Pathan F , Deshmukh R. , Annapure U.
Published: March 2021

Cold plasma has proven itself as a promising method of food preservation by controlling food spoilage bacteria at very low temperatures. It is showing potential for insect control. Synthetic pesticides are mostly used to control Callosobruchus chinensis to which it has developed resistance. The prospective potential of cold plasma treatment to control pulse beetle infestation of chickpea in the storage for about 4 years of plasma treatment was studied. The four chickpea cultivars were treated with cold plasma at different power 40, 50, and 60 W each for 10, 15, 20 min. Plasma treated and untreated chickpeas were stored in an airtight ziplock pouch. At regular intervals, the grains were observed for infestation. It was found most effective in controlling the pulse beetle infestation of treated chickpea samples. While plasma untreated chickpeas were attacked and damaged mostly by pulse beetle within the first quarter of the storage study. To avoid the problems created by the use of pesticides cold plasma treatment is found to be the best alternative in the protection of chickpea invasion by pulse beetle during a longer storage period. The findings in the present research may be used for the preparation of legumes which may also soak and cook faster like quick-cooking legumes and preserved for years without invasion of pulse beetle.
Design and Analysis of Imaging Chip Using High-Speed AXI-Interface for MPSOC Applications on FPGA Platform
Authors: R Archana H , Reddy C R Byra
Published: March 2021

The recent innovations in real-time video and image enhancements are allowing much advancement in a wide range of diverse applications. These innovations and advancements provide a new hardware architecture which aims to improve the image visualization, processing speed, and complexity reduction in hardware. The imaging chip concept is introduced in this article to support the Multiprocessing system on chip (MPSoC) applications in real-time scenarios on a single chip. The imaging chip model is designed using high-speed interface protocol, which includes different image enhancement algorithms acts as a master model, Advanced Extensible Interface (AXI)-4 as an interface model, and dual-port memory as a slave model. The image enhancement algorithm includes mainly, Brightness control, contrast stretching, Adaptive median filtering (AMF), Edge-detection techniques, image Thresholding, and Image Histogram method. The AXI-4 provides a high-speed interface for communicating master and slave modules. The proposed model work based on the modes of the operation to process the enhanced image output in MPSoC. The design supports multiple masters and multiple slave modules with reconfigurable nature. The imaging chip is a module on the Xilinx ISE environment and implemented on Artix-7 FPGA, along with the performance metrics like chip Area, time, power, and memory utilization are analyzed with improvements. The model offers low latency and high throughput architecture for real-time Multimedia applications.
An Effective S-Box Construction Based on Linear Recurrences With Constant Co-Efficient
Authors: Iftikhar wajeeha , SIDDIQUI NASIR , Haq Muhammad Ehtisham ul
Published: March 2021

In this paper, we propose an algorithm for the construction of substitution-box through a linear recurrence relation. S-box is considered as the building block of block ciphers; here we present a technique to construct Substitution-boxes by using linear recurrence relation to comply with the standards of good quality S-boxes. We have witnessed that the latest research relies more on improving already existing techniques, rather than developing wholly new methods. We use linear recurrence in an entirely new way. Real initial and obtained values are concealed by converting it into new numbers to avoid any pattern to follow. The obtained S-boxes are analyzed through performance tests to check the strength and quality of our S-boxes. Later we will encrypt an image and also perform encryption and decryption in noise channels to make it more applicable in low profile applications.
DNA Preparation in Vitis Vinifera L. For Third Generation Sequencing
Authors: Bibi Androniki C. , Kollias Anastasios , Astrinaki Maria , Vassou Despoina , Kafetzopoulos† Dimitris , Kalantidis Kriton , Moschou Panagiotis N.
Published: March 2021

Background: There have been several attempts to sequence the genome of Vitis vinifera L. (grapevine), utilizing low-resolution second-generation platforms. Nevertheless, the characterization of the grapevine genetic resources and its adaptation to vulnerable conditions could be better addressed through extensive and high-resolution genome sequencing.MinION is a third-generation sequencer preferred by many laboratories due to its relatively low cost, ease of use and small size. Even though this long-read technology has been rapidly improving, to reach its full potential requires high-quality DNA.Results: Here we establish a workflow for DNA extraction suitable for MinION sequencing long reads from grapevine. This protocol was tested with leaf samples from different positions on annual growing branches of grapevine, Purified nuclei from fresh young leaves that led to high quality, long DNA fragments, suitable for long-read sequencing were successfully generated. It is evident that longer reads in grapevine associate with both fresh tissue and adjusted conditions used for nuclei purification.Conclusions: We propose that this workflow presents a significant advancement for long-read quality DNA isolation for grapevine and likely other plant species.
Haar Algorithm for The Analysis of Fractional Order Calculus Based Computation Problems Associated With Electromagnetic Waves
Authors: kumar Arun , Hashmi Mohammad Shabi , Ansari Abdul Quaiyum , Arzykulov Sultangali
Published: March 2021

This paper proposes a haar algorithm with the phase wise flow for three distinct cases of fractional order calculus-based electromagnetic wave machine problem. The numerical solution to these programming problems was presented in tabular and graphic form using precise, approximate analysis and haar schema for comparative analysis. Convergence research was also carried out to validate the accuracy and efficacy of the system suggested. The proposed scheme is suited for the numerical solution of the addressed type of computational problem due to its uncomplicated and easy-to-implement, professional, fastness and high convergence rate.
Association of Syndemic Conditions and Quality of Life among People Living with HIV/AIDS
Authors: Gomes Mariana Oliveira , Castro Rodolfo , Mota Jurema Corrêa , Boni Raquel B. De
Published: March 2021

Background

The syndemics theory seeks to understand the effect of multiple synergic problems in promoting poor health outcomes. To disentangle which and how syndemic conditions affect quality of life (QoL) may be important to improve well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study evaluates the association between syndemic conditions and quality of life among people living with HIV/AIDS.
METHODS

This was a secondary analysis from data obtained between 2014 and 2017 among PLWHA under care in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The outcomes were the six QoL domains (physical, psychological, level of independence, social relationships, environmental, and spirituality) measured through the World Health Organization Quality of Life in HIV infection scale, abbreviated version (WHOQOL-HIV-BREF). The independent variables were demographic and clinical characteristics, syndemic conditions (binge drinking, compulsive sexual behavior, polysubstance use, intimate partner violence, and depression), and syndemics (two or more syndemic conditions simultaneously). Bivariate analysis (t-test and ANOVA) and linear regressions were performed for each quality-of-life domain.
RESULTS

The analytical sample comprised 1530 participants, mostly male at birth (64%) and with median age of 43 years. The syndemic conditions most frequently observed were binge drinking (56%), IPV (13%), and depression (9%). Both individual syndemic conditions and syndemics were associated with worse QoL. In the multivariate analysis, positive screening for depression was associated with worse QoL in all domains. Polysubstance users presented worse QoL at social and environmental domains. Intimate partner violence was associated with worse QoL at environment domain while binge drinking was associated with worse scores in the physical domain. The presence of syndemics increased the likelihood of worse scores in the psychological, social, and environment domains.
CONCLUSIONS

Our study expands the understanding of QoL in PLWHA, as it considers a holistic/integral, multifactorial, and synergistic approach to the determinants of QoL. Seeking strategies that target syndemics may be important to improve patient-centered outcomes in health.
miR-3934 suppresses basophil apoptosis and secretion of inflammatory cytokines by targeting RAGE in asthma
Authors: Han Kaiyu , Dou Liyan , Wang Junwei , Wang Wenyu , Chen Hong , Zhang Xiaofei , Zhao Shuai , Yu Baiquan , Yu Yao , Hu Xiaoman , Zheng Weili , Wu Yuhan , Lv Fuzhen , Wang Guangyou
Published: March 2021

Background Several miRNAs are now known to have clear connections to the pathogenesis of asthma. The present study focused on the potential role of miR-3934 during asthma development. Results miR-3934 was down-regulated in the basophils of asthmatic patients. The expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8 and IL-33 was enhanced in basophils from asthmatic patients, and this effect was partially reversed by transfection of miR-3934 mimics. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristics analysis showed that miR-3934 levels can be used to distinguish asthma patients from healthy individuals. miR-3934 partially inhibited advanced glycation end products-induced increases in basophil apoptosis by suppressing expression of RAGE. Conclusion Our results indicate that miR-3934 acts to mitigate the pathogenesis of asthma by targeting RAGE and suppressing TGF-β/Smad signaling.
MOG Antibody Positive Optic Perineuritis: an Observational Study in Han Chinese
Authors: MENG CHAO , Wang Jia-wei , Liu Lei , Wei Wen-jing , Tao Jian-hua , Li Yong , Yang Qing-lin , Lai Chun-tao
Published: March 2021

ObjectiveTo shed light on the clinical characteristics, magnet resonance imaging(MRI) changes, and prognosis of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody (MOG-IgG) positive OPN in Han Chinese.MethodsWe observed 39 MOG-IgG positive patients in our ward from January 1, 2017 , to December 31, 2019. Twenty patients met OPN inclusion criteria included contrast enhancement surrounding the optic nerve, and at least one of the following clinical symptoms: 1) reduction of visual acuity, 2) impairment of visual field, and 3) eye pain. Single course group(n=11) and recurrence group(n=9) were used for comparison. Outcome variables included Wingerchuk visual acuity classification.Results Of the 20 patients with MOG-IgG positive OPN, 12(60%) were women. Ten cases (50%) presented with bilateral and 17 eyes (56.67%) with severe visual loss (SVL,≤ 0.1). Twenty-one(70.00%) eyes showed edema of optic disc. Twenty-five eyes (83.3%) had longitudinally extensive perineural enhancement. At follow-up, 4 (13%) eyes still had SVL, while 26 (87%) eyes had no SVL, and of the 19 ON patients, 3 (9%) eyes still had SVL. Seven patients (35.00%) experienced at least a relapse(median interval 13.5 months ), and of the 19 ON cases, 4 (21%) patients experienced relapse. The relapse occurred more often in younger patients than the older (mean year: 38.00 vs. 45.54 years; P = 0.025). There were no optic chiasm and brainstem lesions.ConclusionsMOG-IgG positive OPN in Han Chinese often causes severe bilateral visual loss and longitudinally extensive perineural lesion. Younger patients are more likely to relapse. Optic chiasm and brainstem lesions were relatively rare.
A reconfigurable high-gain metal-graphene printed dipole antenna for Wi-Fi and LTE applications
Authors: Ebadzadeh Roghaye , Mohammadi Pejman , Zavvari Mahdi
Published: March 2021

This study presents the design of a reconfigurable c-shaped dipole antenna for Wi-Fi and LTE bands. It consists of two nested c-shape resonators located inside each of the wings of the c-dipole patch antennas. The mentioned resonators have been used due to their inductive and capacitive effects. The reconfigurable property of the proposed antenna has been achieved with two graphene layers which are deposited on two gaps over the patch antennas.The graphene layers adjust the return loss of the proposed antenna into the desired band. These graphene layers are examined with different chemical potentials, so that the antenna return loss changes over the. The simulation results show that the gain of the antenna is higher than 5dB for both LTE and Wi-Fi applications.
Distributed Reed-Muller Coded-Cooperative Spatial Modulation
Authors: Mughal Shoaib , Umar Rahim , Yang Fengfan , Xu Hongjun , Iqbal Rizwan
Published: March 2021

This paper proposes the distributed Reed-Muller coded spatial modulation (DRMC-SM) scheme based on Kronecker product (KP) construction. This special construction enabled an effective distribution of classical Reed-Muller (RM) code along source and relay nodes. The proposed DRMC-SM scheme not only offers robustness in bit error rate (BER) performance but also enhances the spectral efficiency due to additional antenna index transmission inculcated by spatial modulation (SM). The usefulness of KP construction over classical Plotkin (CP) construction in coded-cooperation is analysed with and without incorporating SM. An efficient criteria for selecting the optimum bits is adopted at relay node which eventually results in better weight distribution of mutually constructed (source and relay) RM code under proposed KP construction. The numerical results show that proposed KP construction outperforms CP construction by gain of 1 dB in signal to noise ratio (SNR) at bit error rate (BER) of 7 x 10 -7 . Moreover, the proposed DRMC-SM scheme outperforms its non-cooperative Reed-Muller coded spatial modulation (RMC-SM) scheme as well as distributed turbo coded spatial modulation (DTC-SM) scheme in similar conditions. This prominent gain in SNR is evident due to path diversity, efficient selection of bits at relay node and the joint soft-in-soft-out (SISO) RM decoder deployed at the destination node.
“I enjoy sex more without condoms": revisiting barriers and facilitators of consistent condom use among adolescents and young adults in South Africa
Authors: Ajayi Anthony , Omonaiye Olumuyiwa , Nwogwugwu Charlotte
Published: March 2021

Background

Previous studies have examined consistent condom use correlates in South Africa, focusing on sociodemographic factors, HIV risk perceptions, relationship conflict, multiple sexual partners, and masculinity. However, the effect of family financial support, HIV testing, partner communication and self-efficacy for HIV prevention is less studied. We drew from a cross-sectional survey to address this gap and highlight the key barriers and facilitators of consistent condom use among young people.

Methods

We analysed data obtained from 631 unmarried sexually active male and females students selected using stratified sampling from a university in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Consistent condom use was defined as regular use of condoms in all sexual encounters in the past year. We used an open-ended question to probe the reasons for inconsistent condom use. Adjusted and unadjusted regression analysis were fitted to examine factors associated with consistent condom use.

Results

The prevalence of consistent condom use was 39.3% (CI: 35.5%-43.2%), with no significant gender and age differences. After adjusting for relevant covariates, living with foster parents (AOR; 1.80 95% CI; 1.09-2.97), adequate family financial support (AOR; 2.49 95% CI; 1.71-3.62), partner knew status (AOR; 1.91 95% CI; 1.09-3.37) and feeling confident in one's ability to prevent HIV (AOR; 1.77 95% CI; 1.09-2.86) were associated with increased odds of consistent condom use. However, self-report of low condom self-efficacy (AOR; 0.58 95% CI; 0.40-0.85) and alcohol use (AOR; 0.83 95% CI; 0.58-1.19) were associated with lower odds of consistent condom use. Young people who inconsistently used condoms reiterated that sex is often unplanned and condoms are not always available. The desire for maximum pleasure, partner's objection, trust, and use of hormonal contraceptives were further reasons others inconsistently use condoms.

Conclusions

Inconsistent condom use remains a challenge among unmarried sexually active young people in South Africa. Education of young people on the need for partner communication about HIV, HIV testing uptake, and condom use should happen more rigorously in school and through the media to improve their consistent use of condoms.
The analysis of Taiwan emergency physician’s core competencies base on the ACGME idea
Authors: Hsu Kuo-Fang , Huang Ping-Lung , Lee Tian-Shyug , Lee Bruce C.Y.
Published: March 2021

The development of the core competence of physicians is related to the practice of medical quality. As the most important field for cultivating the core competence of physicians, how to achieve the construction and evaluation of core competence is an important issue for medical education and management. This study uses the large core competence framework proposed by the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education), and use Fuzzy AHP (FAHP) and DEMANTEL method to analyze the weight and priority, and the cause and effect cluster. Study result shows that the FAHP’s importance factor ranking is (1).patient care (C1) (27.83%), (2).medical knowledge (C2) (20.77%), (3).professionalism (C5) (17.93%), (4). Interpersonal and communication skills (C4) (17.41%), (5). practice-based learning and improvement (C3) (15.52%), and (6). systems-based practice (C6) (8.233%). In terms of DEMANTEL, the effect cluster include Patient Care (C1), Professionalism (C5) and Systems-based practice (C6), and the cause cluster includes Medical Knowledge (C2), Practice-based learning and improvement (C3) and Interpersonal and Communication skills (C4). According to finding, the patient care (C1) is the result of attitude, patience, and other five ACGME Core Competence Items. Therefore, the development of emergency physicians’ also needs humanities and ethics training and practice to follows the practice-based learning (C3). This study demonstrates to show on importance factor in emergency physician’s core competencies cultivate. Furthermore, the current findings can serve as a reference for future research in the other specialists physicians cultivate.
E-waste polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure lead to child gut-mucosal inflammation and adaptive immune response
Authors: Chen Guangcan , Huo Xia , Luo Xiuli , Cheng Zhiheng , Zhang Yuling , Xu Xijin
Published: March 2021

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure alters immunological responses. Research concerning PAH exposure on intestinal immunity of children in electronic waste (e-waste) areas is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollutants on intestinal mucosal immunity of children in e-waste areas. Results showed higher hydroxylated PAH (OH-PAH) concentrations in e-waste-exposed children, accompanied with higher sialyl Lewis A (SLA) level, absolute lymphocyte and monocyte counts, decreased of percentage of CD4+ T cells, and had a higher risk of diarrhea. OH-PAH concentrations were negative with child growth. 1-OHNap mediated through WBCs, along with 1-OHPyr were both correlated with an increase SLA concentration. 2-OHFlu, 1-OHPhe, 2-OHPhe, 1-OHPyr and 6-OHChr were positively correlated with secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) concentration. Our results indicated that PAH pollutants caused inflammation, affected the intestinal epithelium, and led to transformation of microfold cell (M cell). M cells initiating mucosal immune responses and the subsequent increasing sIgA production might be an adaptive immune respond of children in the e-waste areas. To our knowledge, this is the first study of PAH exposure on children intestinal immunity in e-waste area, showing that PAH exposure plays a negative role in child growth and impairs the intestinal immune function.
A previously undescribed highly prevalent phage identified in a Danish enteric virome catalogue
Authors: Espen Lore Van , Bak Emilie Glad , Beller Leen , Close Lila , Deboutte Ward , Juel Helene Bæk , Nielsen Trine , Sinar Deniz , Coninck Lander De , Frithioff-Bøjsøe Christine , Fonvig Cilius Esmann , Jacobsen Suganya , Kjærgaard Maria , Thiele Maja , Fullam Anthony , Kuhn Michael , Holm Jens-Christian , Bork Peer , Krag Aleksander , Hansen Torben , Arumugam Manimozhiyan , Matthijnssens Jelle
Published: March 2021

Background: Gut viruses are important players in the complex human gut microbial ecosystem. Recently, the number of human gut virome studies is steadily increasing, however we are still only scratching the surface of the immense viral diversity as many wet lab and bio-informatics challenges remain. In this study, 254 virus-enriched faecal metagenomes from 204 Danish subjects were used to generate a Danish Enteric Virome Catalogue (DEVoC) of 12,986 non-redundant viral genome sequences encoding 190,029 viral genes, which formed 67,921 orthologous groups. The DEVoC was used to characterize the composition of the healthy DEVoC gut viromes from 46 children and adolescents (6-18 years old) and 45 adults (40 -73 years old).Results: The majority of DEVoC viral sequences (67.3 %) and proteins (61.6 %) were not present in other (human gut) viral genome databases. Gut viromes of healthy Danish subjects mostly consisted of phages. While 39 phage genomes (PGs) were present in more than 10 healthy subjects, the degree of viral individuality was high. Among the 39 prevalent PGs, one was significantly more prevalent in the paediatric cohort, whereas two were more prevalent in adults. In 1,880 gut virome samples of 27 studies from across the world, the 39 prevalent PGs reveal several age-, geography- and disease-related prevalence patterns. Two PGs also showed a remarkably high prevalence worldwide – a crAss-like phage (20.6% prevalence), belonging to the tentative AlphacrAssvirinae subfamily, genus I; and a previously undescribed circular temperate phage (14.4% prevalence), named LoVEphage (because it encodes Lots of Viral Elements). A de novo assembly of selected public datasets generated an additional 18 circular LoVEphage-like genomes (67.9-72.4 kb). CRISPR spacer analysis suggested Bacteroides as a host genus for the LoVEphage, and a closely related prophage was identified in Bacteroides dorei, further confirming the host.Conclusions: The DEVoC, the largest human gut virome catalogue generated from consistently processed faecal samples, facilitated analysis of healthy Danish human gut viromes and we foresee that it will benefit future analysis on the roles of gut viruses in human health and disease. The identification of a previously undescribed prevalent phage illustrates the usefulness of developing a virome catalogue.
Prognostic value and biological significance of GUCY1A2 in gastric cancer: a bioinformatics analysis
Authors: Huang Shan , Wei Min , Zhu Mengyuan , Pan Xiaofen
Published: March 2021

Background: Guanylate cyclase 1 soluble subunit alpha 2 (sGCα2), also known as GUCY1A2, was reported to be upregulated and promoted tumorigenesis in some cancers. But whether GUCY1A2 was abnormally expressed and the prognostic value in gastric cancer was unknown. The current study aimed to find out the prognostic value of GUCY1A2 in gastric cancer by analyzing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Methods: Wilcoxon signed-rank test, cox regression analysis and multivariant analysis were used to analyze the relationship between clinical characteristic and GUCY1A2 expression level. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the association of GUCY1A2 and overall survival. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to identify GUCY1A2-related signaling pathway. Results: Compared to normal tissue, expression of GUCY1A2 was significantly increased in gastric cancer (p=0.000). Increased GUCY1A2 was associated with advance T stage (p=0.012) and poor survival (p=0.022). Univariate analysis showed that high GUCY1A2 expression was associated with a poor overall survival (HR:1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-2.02, p=0.03). Multivariate analysis indicated that GUCY1A3 remained an independent prognostic predictor of overall survival (HR:1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-2.56, p=0.00). GSEA revealed that calcium signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, TGF-β signaling pathway and Wnt signaling pathway were enriched in GUCY1A2 high expression phenotype. Conclusions: GUCY1A2 maybe a potential prognostic predictor of poor survival in gastric cancer. Calcium signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, TGF-β signaling pathway and Wnt signaling pathway may be the key signaling pathway regulated by GUCY1A2.
Evaluation of mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA integrity in Catfish Pseudoplatystoma magdaleniatum, when exposed for prolonged times to different concentrations of ibuprofen.
Authors: Ríos Sara E. Gallego , Peñuela Gustavo A.
Published: March 2021

There are few studies to date that determine the effects of ibuprofen on mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨM) and DNA integrity in neotropical fish. The objective of this study is to determine if four months’ exposure to ibuprofen in different concentrations (25 and 50 µg/L) produces effects on ΔΨM and alters the integrity of DNA in striped catfish Pseudoplatystoma magdaleniatum. For this study, the fish were placed in tanks with water at constant concentrations of 0 (control), 25, and 50 µg/L of ibuprofen for four months. Subsequently, blood samples were taken for analysis of ΔΨM and DNA integrity, using a flow cytometer LSRFortessa BD Biosciences. After four months of exposure to ibuprofen at different concentrations, the results showed no increase in Low ΔΨM, indicating that there are no alterations in the mitochondrial membrane potential. On the other hand, the percentages of DNA damage were below 0.39, which indicates that there were no alterations in DNA integrity. It is possible that under the conditions in which this study was conducted (ibuprofen levels, exposure time), they are not sufficient to demonstrate the effects caused by this drug. Higher ibuprofen levels and/or longer exposures may be required to determine alteration in ΔΨM and DNA integrity. Flow cytometric analysis for these types of samples is a fast, specific, and reliable technique, compared to traditional methods.
Unplanned 30-Day Readmissions: Hospital Data Warehouse Modelling.
Authors: Dhalluin Thibault , Bouzillé Guillaume , Bannay Aurélie , Lemordant Pierre , Sylvestre Emmanuel , Grammatico-Guillon Leslie , Cuggia Marc
Published: March 2021

Background: Unplanned hospital readmissions are a major healthcare and economic burden. This study compared statistical methods and machine learning algorithms for predicting the risk of all-cause 30-day hospital readmission in two French academic hospitals.Methods: The dataset included hospital stays selected from the clinical data warehouses (CDW) of the two hospitals (Rennes and Tours Academic Hospitals) using the criteria of the French national methodology to measure the 30-day readmission rate (i.e. ≥18-year-old patients, geolocation, no iterative stays, and no hospitalization for palliative care). Then, the prediction performance of Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes, Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, and Neural Networks were compared separately for the two hospitals but using the same CDW data pre-processing for all algorithms. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated for the 30-day readmission prediction performance of each model as well as the time to train the algorithm.Results: In total, 259,092 and 197,815 stays were included from the Rennes and Tours Academic Hospital CDWs, respectively, with readmission rates of 8.8% (Rennes) and 9.5% (Tours). The AUC of the regression models for the two hospitals ranged from 0.61 to 0.64, with computation times exceeding 18 hours. The AUC of the machine learning models ranged from 0.61 to 0.69 with computation times below 13 hours.Conclusions: Better performance and shorter computation times are obtained with machine learning methods. It is still necessary to compare different algorithms to identify the most efficient model.
Developing Threshold Parameters to Administer Live Vaccines in Cellular Immunodeficiency: A Survey of Practicing Clinical Immunologists
Authors: Ade Justine M. , Joshi Avni
Published: March 2021

Live vaccines are contraindicated in patients with severe cellular immunodeficiencies while guidelines regarding the administration of live vaccines in patients with more mild disease are ill-defined. We sought to decipher different parameters used by practicing immunologists for the administration of live vaccines in cellular immunodeficiency patients. A 27-question survey assessing clinical and laboratory threshold parameters used in the administration of live vaccines to immunodeficient patients was distributed to practicing clinicians specializing in immune deficiencies. There were 83 survey respondents, 65% identified as female, and 71% were based in the United States. Allergy / Immunology and Immunodeficiency were the most common identified specialties, accounting for 84% of respondents. Most clinicians did administer live vaccines to patients with humoral (54/67; 80.6%), cellular (41/67; 61.2%), and combined diseases (37/67; 55.2%) . Most clinicians who reported giving live vaccines to patients with immune deficiencies considered a threshold CD4 count of ≥ 400 cells/mm3 (MMR 48/60 [80%], Varicella 42/53 [79%], Rotavirus 40/45 [88.89%]), a CD8 count of ≥ 250 cells/mm3 (MMR 30/39 [76.92%], Varicella 29/37 [78.34%], Rotavirus 27/34 [79.41%]), and normal mitogen function (MMR 44/53 [83.02%], Varicella 40/48 [83.33%], Rotavirus 37/40 [92.5%]). Using these survey results, we propose a treatment threshold of using CD4 count of ≥ 400 cells/mm3, a CD8 count of ≥ 250 cells/mm3, and normal lymphocyte proliferative responses to mitogen. Future studies are needed to determine clinical efficacy and safety using these thresholds.
DeepLC can predict retention times for peptides that carry as-yet unseen modifications
Authors: Martens Lennart , Bouwmeester Robbin , Gabriels Ralf , Hulstaert Niels , Degroeve Sven
Published: March 2021

The inclusion of peptide retention time prediction promises to remove peptide identification ambiguity in complex LC-MS identification workflows. However, due to the way peptides are encoded in current prediction models, accurate retention times cannot be predicted for modified peptides. This is especially problematic for fledgling open modification searches, which will benefit from accurate retention time prediction for modified peptides to reduce identification ambiguity. We here therefore present DeepLC, a novel deep learning peptide retention time predictor utilizing a new peptide encoding based on atomic composition that allows the retention time of (previously unseen) modified peptides to be predicted accurately. We show that DeepLC performs similarly to current state-of-the-art approaches for unmodified peptides, and, more importantly, accurately predicts retention times for modifications not seen during training. Moreover, we show that DeepLC’s ability to predict retention times for any modification enables potentially incorrect identifications to be flagged in an open modification search of CD8-positive T-cell proteome data. DeepLC is available under the permissive Apache 2.0 open source license and comes with a user-friendly graphical user interface, as well as a Python package on PyPI, Bioconda, and BioContainers for effortless workflow integration.
Genome-enabled discovery of evolutionary divergence in brains and behavior
Authors: Patil Chinar , Sylvester Jonathan , Abdilleh Kawther , Norsworthy Michael W. , Pottin Karen , Malinsky Milan , Bloomquist Ryan F. , Johnson Zachary V. , McGrath Patrick T. , Streelman Jeffrey T.
Published: March 2021

Lake Malawi cichlid fishes exhibit extensive divergence in form and function built from a relatively small number of genetic changes. We compared the genomes of rock- and sand-dwelling species and asked which genetic variants differed among the groups. We found that 96% of differentiated variants reside in non-coding sequence but these non-coding diverged variants are evolutionarily conserved. Genome regions near differentiated variants are enriched for craniofacial, neural and behavioral categories. Following leads from genome sequence, we used rock- vs. sand- species and their hybrids to (i) delineate the push-pull roles of BMP signaling and irx1b in the specification of forebrain territories during gastrulation and (ii) reveal striking context-dependent brain gene expression during adult social behavior. Our results demonstrate how divergent genome sequences can predict differences in key evolutionary traits. We highlight the promise of evolutionary reverse genetics – the inference of divergence in phenotype from genome sequencing in natural populations.
Timosaponin Aiii Disrupts Morphological Plasticity and Migration of Breast Adenocarcinoma Through Inhibition of Integrin Internalisation
Authors: Terabayashi Takeshi , Hanada Katsuhiro , Matsuoka Shigeru , Sasaki Takako , Katoh Akira , Akamine Takahiro , Ishizaki Toshimasa
Published: March 2021

Cell migration is a critical step in tumour invasion and metastasis. To acquire invasive properties, cancer cells use their surrounding environment through dynamic and bidirectional interactions and change their morphology and mode of migration. Thus, inhibition of morphological plasticity regulated by paracrine interactions may be a promising approach for anti-cancer therapy. In this study, we found that timosaponin AIII (TAIII), a steroidal saponin isolated from the roots of Anemarrhena asphodeloides, disrupted the morphological changes and migratory activity of breast adenocarcinoma cells promoted by paracrine interactions with mammary epithelium-derived cells. TAIII suppressed lamellipodia formation of MDA-MB-231 cells in response to exogenous stimuli from MCF10A cells, thereby inhibiting morphological changes and migration. TAIII also attenuated membrane spreading and induced contraction of HeLa cells, followed by expansion of intercellular gaps. Furthermore, we analysed the intracellular dynamics of TAIII labelled with a fluorescent dye and found that labelled TAIII was internalised in a manner dependent on dynamin. We also found that TAIII blocked internalisation of cell surface proteins including integrin b1. These results provide a novel aspect to understand how TAIII exerts pharmacological activities in suppression of cancer cell migration.
CRISPR/Cas9-based Knockout of miR-487b-3p Accelerates The Cell Proliferation of Primary Goat Myoblast by Relieving Its Inhibition of IRS1
Authors: Lyu Ming , Wang Xu , Qian Hongrun , Ma Jinrong , Sun Yongsen , Meng Xiangyu , Zhang Wenqiang , Zhang Zhiying , Xu Kun
Published: March 2021

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenously expressed small noncoding RNAs with a length of about 22 nucleotides and play critical roles in the regulation of posttranscriptional gene expression. miR-487b-3p has been recently identified as a key regulator in skeletal muscle growth and development. However, the function of miR-487b-3p on goat skeletal muscle remains to be investigated.Results: In this study, we found that miR-487b-3p was widespread in goat different tissues, with a significantly higher expression in muscle, especially in lamb. The results demonstrated that the expression of miR-487b-3p was gradually up-regulated during myoblast proliferation. Then, miR-487b-3p knockout primary goat myoblast cells clones were obtained by using CRISPR/Cas9 system and our RPG surrogate reporter-based screening. Further investigation uncovered that the knockout of miR-487b-3p significantly accelerated primary goat myoblast proliferation, which was accompanied by up-regulation of cell cycle-related genes, such as PCNA, Cyclin E and CDK2. What’s more, we found that miR-487b-3p targets directly the 3'UTR of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) gene and IRS1 knockdown by siRNA was able to down-regulate the expression of the cell cycle-related genes.Conclusions: Collectively, these founding demonstrated miR-487b-3p as a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation which functions by targeting IRS1 gene in primary goat myoblast.
Evaluation of Lablab Purpureus (L.) Sweet Germplasm Using Yield and Quality Traits
Authors: S VISHNU V , RADHAMANY P.M.
Published: March 2021

The crops that are not commercially grown or widely traded are known as underutilized or unusable crops. Most of the legumes have come under these categories. Giving importance to such neglected and underutilized crops is an effective way to maintain a diverse and healthy diet and to combat micronutrient deficiencies. Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet is one of the most important underutilized legume vegetable crops, which exhibits broad genetic variability in multiple characteristics such as the habit, pigmentation of the stem, and color of the pod. In the past, researchers paid very little attention to the systematic crop improvement of L.purpureus. In the present study, fifty accessions of L. purpureus were collected from different places of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and analyzed for yield, yield contributing characters, and biochemical factors. Nutritional and anti-nutritional factors were analyzed using the standard protocol. The accessions exhibited significant variations for all the characters tested. The nutritional content of all the accessions were found to be high, whereas anti-nutritional factors were very low. The differences in phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation was compared for different traits, and it was found to be very narrow for almost all the characters studied. The fifty genotypes involved in the study varied in the number of pod/ inflorescence, length and width of the pod, number of flower/ inflorescence, and length of the peduncle. So these observations can be used as a baseline data for the selection of parental lines for future improvement of Lablab purpureus.
Laser-Assisted 3D Printing of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic Parts With Sandwiching Fibres Between Plastic Layers
Authors: Nakagawa Yuki , Mori Ken-ichiro , Yoshino Masahiko
Published: March 2021

A laser-assisted 3D printing process of carbon fibre reinforced plastic parts with sandwiching fibres between plastic layers was developed to improve the bond strength of the fibres to the plastic layers. In this process, the bunded carbon fibres were placed on the 3D-printed lower layer, then the upper plastic layer was deposited on the fibres, and the two layers with sandwiching the fibres were laser-heated. The heating temperature at the interface between the fibres and the plastic layer was changed by the colour of the plastic layer because of the transmittance and absorption of laser beam, and the translucent layer was most appropriate. Not only the strength but also the rigidity of the 3D-printed carbon fibre reinforced plastic part was improved by laser heating. Carbon fibre reinforced plastic parts having closed cross-section was manufactured, and strengthened by optimisation sandwiched fibre orientation. A tailored part locally reinforced by carbon fibres was 3D-printed.
Flaxseed Oil Attenuates Trimethyltin-induced Neurodegeneration via Down-regulation of Inflammatory Activity of Astrocytes
Authors: Mitrović Nataša , Dragić Milorad , Zarić Marina , Nedeljković Nadežda , Grković Ivana
Published: March 2021

Trimethyltin chloride (TMT) is an organotin neurotoxicant that selectively targets the hippocampus, and induces selective and progressive neuronal loss, gliosis, neuroinflammation and cognitive deficits, thus resembling critical features of Alzheimer’s diseases (AD). Flaxseed oil (FSO) is anti-inflammatory agent with potent neuroprotective properties. Therefore, the presented study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of flaxseed oil (FSO) continuous pretreatment to alleviate TMT- (8 mg/kg) induced neurodegeneration. Ovariectomized (OVX) female rats were pretreated with FSO (1 ml/kg, orally) for two weeks. At day 14, part of animals received single dose of TMT (8 mg/kg, i.p.) and application of FSO continued for seven more days. Data have convincingly shown that FSO counteracted TMT effects. Specifically, daily administration of FSO improved TMT- induced behavioral manifestations manifested as hyper-excitability, and hyper-responsiveness, reduced neuronal loss, ameliorated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-10, and IL-6), alleviated astrogliosis and A1-like astrocytes conversion which was related to down-regulation of aromatase/estrogen receptor α signaling, and microgliosis. Together, these findings support beneficial neuroprotective properties of FSO against TMT-induced neurotoxicity and hint at a promising preventive use of FSO in hippocampal degeneration and dysfunction.
Combining Molecular Docking and Graph Convolutional Network to Discover Potential Selective Limk1 Inhibitors
Authors: Zhong Weihe , Zhao Lu , Chen Calvin Yu-Chian
Published: March 2021

The LIM kinase 1 (Limk1) has been demonstrated to be considered a therapeutic target and selective inhibitors of Limk1 rather Rho-associated kinase 2 (ROCK2) are considered of interest for the treatment of several indications such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and cancer migration/invasion. Here, we utilized molecular docking to screen potential compounds of Limk1 from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) database. Meanwhile, we performed a three-dimensional graph convolutional network (3DGCN), based on 3D molecular graph, to predict the inhibitory activity of Limk1 and ROCK2. Compared with the baseline models (RF, GCN and Weave), the 3DGCN achieved higher accuracy and the averaged RMSE values on test sets for Limk1 and ROCK2 were 0.721 and 0.852 respectively. In 3DGCN, above 80% of the test-set molecules from both two datasets were predicted within absolute error of 1.0 and the feature visualization suggested that it could automatically learn relevant structure features including 3D molecular information from a specific task for prediction. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations within 100 ns were employed to verify the stability of ligand-protein complexes and reveal the binding modes of the potential selective lead compounds of Limk1. Finally, integrating docking results, the predicted values by the 3DGCN and the MD analysis, we found that 7549, 2007_15649 and 3519 might be the potential and selective inhibitors for Limk1 receptor rather than ROCK2.