bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of TACE combined with sorafenib on survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma based on ALBI grades and tumor load layers And Establishment of prognosis prediction model
Authors: Qie Qianying , Shi Jianfei , Zhao Man , Yin Xiaolei , Han Xin , Yin Xiaonan , Li Ning , Mi Lili , Yin Fei
Published: September 2022

Background
Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth most common malignant tumor in China and the second leading cause of cancer-related death. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and targeted therapy are widely used in the treatment of HCC. To make a better treatment strategy from many treatment options, this study analyzed the survival of patients with liver cancer based on Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) grades and tumor load layer, and established a nomogram model.
Methods
The clinical data of 354 patients with unresectable HCC and recurrent HCC after radical resection who received TACE combined with or without sorafenib(SORA) in our hospital from 2017 to 2020 were investigated retrospectively.After 1:2 propensity score matching (PSM), eighty-one cases in TACE + SORA group and 162 cases in TACE group were included.
Results
The survival benefit of TACE combined with sorafenib is better than that of TACE alone in patients with advanced liver cancer and recurrent primary liver cancer after radical surgery. Compared with TACE alone, patients with good liver function reserve (ALBI grade 1_5 points) can benefit significantly from TACE combined with SORA (median PFS: 11.8 months vs 7.0 months, P=0.000; median OS: 27.6 months vs 23.0 months, P=0.019). For patients with poor liver function (such as ALBI grade 1_ grade B), combined therapy can not significantly prolong the survival of patients with liver cancer(median PFS: P=0.370; median OS: P=0.131). ALBI grades is superior to Child-Pugh grades in predicting the prognosis of HCC. The prognosis of patients with large tumor burden ((layer 2 and layer 3) is better than that of patients with TACE alone(layer 2: 24.5 months vs 18.5 months, layer 3: 15.0 months vs 12.2 months; P<0.05). The nomogram prediction model can predict the prognosis of patients with unresectable liver cancer and patients with recurrence of liver cancer(C-index and AUC: 0.846 and 0.703, respectively)(C index range in predicting OS in 1, 2 and 3 years: 0.707-0.928), and it is also a good risk stratification model. Nomograph model based on ALBI grades is better than nomograph model based on Child-Pugh grades (0.844 vs 0.839).
Conclusions
Compared with TACE alone, the combination of TACE and sorafenib could improve the prognosis of patients, especially the patients with better liver function (ALBI grade 1_5points) and the patients with higher tumor load,such as layer 2 and 3. The nomogram model established in this study performed well in predicting prognosis, and the model could be used for risk stratification of patients.
Survival and causes of death of the Bonelli's Eagle released in Navarra, North of Spain.
Authors: Giralda Gloria , Llamas Alfonso , Almarcegui Itziar , Palacios Julia , Zaldua Aritz , Torrea Janet , Zufiaurre Aitziber , Mateo-Moriones Ainhoa , Villanúa Diego
Published: September 2022

The Bonelli's eagle is one of the rarest and most threatened birds of prey in Europe, which means that great efforts are being made to guarantee its conservation. One of the lines of work is the reintroduction of specimens in areas where the species has recently become extinct and those in which the factors that caused its disappearance have been corrected. The present study presents the results of one of these reintroduction projects carried out in Navarra, Northern Spain, between 2011 and 2021. Forty-seven individuals (36 born in captivity and 11 from wild nests) were released in five places close to historical territories. After those 11 years of work, the occupation of two of the historical and the creation of a new one has been achieved. 44.68 % of the birds died in the first year after their release and 19.14%, during the first month in the field. No significant differences were found associated with the sex or the origin of the specimens in survival during the first month or during the first year after release. 48 % of deaths were related to anthropogenic causes (electrocution, wind farm collision, indeterminate trauma, shooting and poisoning), while 44% were due to predation by mammals or big raptors. This last result had not been described until now and suggests that, when the causes of death of human origin are corrected, those of natural origin appear. The application of this type of actions as a conservation tool for the species is discussed.
Plasmonic Metamaterial Absorber Based on MIM Structure for THz Detection
Authors: Bigbaghlou Reza Ghahramani , Salahandish Mohammad , Pourziad Ali
Published: September 2022

In this paper, the absorber is designed and analyzed based on Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) structure and the main idea of this design is to create a different geometric structure on the upper metal layer to create absorption resonance at different frequencies and bring these resonances closer to each other to have an absorption spectrum. The absorber of the studied materials is composed of metal-dielectric-metal layers, in which gold is used in the upper and lower metal layers and alumina is used for the dielectric material between them. The thickness of the bottom, dielectric and top layers is 1600 nm, 560 nm, and 600 nm, respectively, and the unit cell dimensions of this adsorbent are 9800 nm. The general purpose of studying this structure was to generalize it to the terahertz frequency range and to create an absorption of nearly 100% in the frequently used frequency range below 100 Terahertz., we used the Meander line structure, which is essentially a Nanoantenna structure to amplify and intensify the magnetic field in the absorber.
Dental anxiety and oral health following stroke
Authors: Nangle Matthew R. , Adams Alexandra G. , henry Julie
Published: September 2022

Background: Oral health is often poorer in people living with acquired brain injury (ABI) relative to non-clinical controls. However, although anxiety disorders become more common following stroke, with the nature of this disturbance predominantly phobic in presentation, no study to date has tested whether dental anxiety might contribute to stroke survivors’ increased vulnerability to poorer oral health. This study reports the first test of whether the anxiety disturbances that commonly present following stroke extend to dental anxiety, and if dental anxiety in this group is linked to poorer oral health.
Materials and Methods: First-time stroke survivors (N = 35) and demographically matched controls (N = 35) completed validated measures of dental anxiety, oral health, negative affect, and life satisfaction.
Results: Stroke survivors did not differ from controls in their overall levels of dental anxiety or oral health, but uniquely for the stroke group, dental anxiety was strongly associated with poorer oral health, and this effect remained significant even after controlling for negative affect and life satisfaction.
Conclusions: Stroke survivors who have higher levels of dental‑related anxiety may be at increased risk of poorer oral health.
Hemidystonia secondary to pediatric thalamic glioblastoma: a case report
Authors: Fernandes Filipe Wolff , Saryyeva Assel , Ertl Philipp , Krauss Joachim K.
Published: September 2022

Introduction: Thalamic tumors are rare and uncommonly manifest as movement disorders, including hemidystonia. Despite this association, little is known about the evolution of hemidystonia.
Case description: We report on a 11-year-old boy who complained of hypaesthesia and fine motor problems in the left hand. A magnetic resonance imaging showed a large mass in the right thalamus. Stereotactic biopsy revealed a WHO grade 4 astrocytoma, and the patient underwent normofractioned radiochemotherapy with proton-beam radiation and temozolomide. Three months later, a spastic hemiparesis developed on the left side, which progressed over months. Over the following months, the hemiparesis slowly improved, but hemidystonia in the same side developed. This was accompanied with radiological evidence of tumor regression, showing a persistent lesion in the ventral posterolateral and the intralaminar thalamus.
Conclusion: This case illustrates the unusual and complex temporal course of appearance and disappearance of hemidystonia along with the regression and growth in glioblastoma involving the thalamus.
Ultrasound-guided glenohumeral joint injections for shoulder pain in ALS: A Case Series
Authors: Burke Katherine M. , Ellrodt Amy S. , Joslin Benjamin C. , Sanpitak Pia P. , MacAdam Claire , Deo Prabhav , Ozment Kevin , Shea Cristina , Johnson Stephen A. , Ho Doreen , Chu Samuel K. , Franz Colin K. , Babu Ashwin N. , Paganoni Sabrina
Published: September 2022

INTRODUCTION: Shoulder pain is a common secondary impairment for people living with ALS (PALS). Decreased range of motion (ROM) from weakness can lead to shoulder pathology, which can result in debilitating pain. Shoulder pain may limit PALS from participating in activities of daily living and may have a negative impact on quality of life. This case series explores the efficacy of glenohumeral joint injections for management of shoulder pain due to adhesive capsulitis in PALS.
METHODS: PALS with shoulder pain were referred to sports medicine certified physiatrists for diagnostic evaluation and management. They completed the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale and a questionnaire asking about their pain levels and how it impacts sleep, function, and quality of life at baseline pre-injection, one-week post-injection, one-month and three-months post-injection.
RESULTS: We present 5 cases of PALS who were diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis and underwent glenohumeral joint injections. Though only one PALS reported complete symptom resolution, all had at least partial symptomatic improvement during the observation period. No complications were observed.
CONCLUSIONS: PALS require a comprehensive plan to manage shoulder pain. Glenohumeral joint injections are safe and effective for adhesive capsulitis in PALS, but alone may not completely resolve shoulder pain. Additional therapies to improve ROM and reduce pain should be considered.
Effect of Landscape Pattern Changes and Environmental Indices on Land Surface Temperature in a Fragile Ecosystem in Southeastern Iran
Authors: Saleh Sajjad Karbalaei , Sanaei Akram , Amoushahi Solmaz , Ranjbar Saeedeh
Published: September 2022

Environmental indices and landscape pattern changes alter Land Surface Temperature (LST). Thus, the accurate evaluation of the relationship between these factors and LST is considered as important for managing ecosystems, especially the fragile ones under high stress. In the present study, Landsat TM5 satellite images (1989), Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS ones (2019), and Google Earth Engine (GEE) system were used to prepare the maps of temporal-spatial LST changes, Land Use/Land Cover (LULC), and selected environmental indices including Normalized Difference Vegetation (NDVI), Built-up (NDBI), Water Indices (NDWI), Land Surface Moisture (LSM) and albedo. Then, their correlation with LST was assessed. The results represented an 8.67-degree increase in the mean LST during 1989–2019. Urban and built-up areas had a significant effect on increasing the temperature of the region. Additionally, water bodies and vegetation cover in the region were the most crucial parameters in LST reduction. All of the applied indices were strongly related to LST (> 0.70), while some exhibited more correlation in each year. Further, the highest correlation of LST was observed with LSM and NDBI in 1989, as well as with NDVI and NDWI during 2019. Finally, the region rehabilitation based on the sustainable development principles played an important role in the direct and indirect decrease in LST.
Assessment of stent change after symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis using 3D high-resolution vessel wall imaging: A comparative study
Authors: Tian Bing , Xu Bing , Kang Qinqin , Tian Xia , shao Chengwei , Lu Jianping , Saloner David
Published: September 2022

Purpose
This study aimed to assess stent lumen and vessel wall changes using 3D high-resolution vessel wall imaging (HR-VWI) in patients with intracranial atherosclerotic arterial stenosis after stenting.
Patients and Methods:
We followed up 33 patients after stenting for symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis using 3D HR-VWI (pre- and post-contrast T1 weighted images [T1WI]), time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), and digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Two neuroradiologists measured the in-stent restenosis degree on three modalities. The linear association of stenosis measurements obtained by three different modalities was determined through Spearman’s correlation analysis. Between-reviewer agreement regarding the stenosis degree on HR-VWI was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Further, we evaluated stent wall characteristics, including wall changes and enhancement on pre- and post-contrast T1WI images, respectively.
Results
All patients presented signal loss on TOF MRA at the stenting location. Eleven patients showed in-stent stenosis, with the stenosis degree ranging from 19–100% (occlusion). There was a strong correlation between the in-stent stenosis degrees on HR-VWI and DSA. There was excellent between-reviewer agreement in the stenosis degree (ICC: 0.97). Among the 11 patients, 9 patients presented with vessel wall thickness and enhancement while 2 patients showed intraluminal thrombosis with high-signal filling in the lumen on 3D HR-VWI.
Conclusions
The stenosis degree measured on 3D HR-VWI was consistent with the gold standard DSA. In patients with in-stent stenosis, 3D HR-VWI can reveal the restenosis cause to guide subsequent treatment.
Operation performance of an ultralow temperature cascade refrigeration freezer with environmentally friendly refrigerants R290-R170
Authors: Tan Haihui , Xu Lingfei , Yang Linlin , Bai Minkai , Liu Zhan
Published: September 2022

In the present study, the operation performance of an ultralow temperature cascade refrigeration freezer is experimentally measured. The natural refrigerants R290-R170 are adopted as high temperature and low temperature fluid. The experimental test is conducted in a Type laboratory with a dry bulb temperature of 32.0oC and wet bulb temperature of 26.5oC. Different state monitors are set to display the system performance variation, and several temperature monitors are arranged to study the pull-down and temperature variation in freezer. Based on established experimental rig, three freezing temperatures, including − 40oC, -80oC and − 86oC, are measured and compared. It is found that for different freezing temperatures, most of space in freezer can be pulled down to the target temperature. With some new findings achieved, the present work is significant to enrich the ultralow temperature refrigeration experiment data and supply some suggestions on optimism of ultralow temperature cascade refrigeration system.
A preventive maintenance scheme for rotary ultrasonic vibration EDM machine tool based on particle swarm optimization algorithm under reliability constraints.
Authors: Xu Minggang , Wang Zhe , Fu Hao , Ma Mingyue , Tian Wang
Published: September 2022

In this paper, a preventive maintenance scheme for a rotary ultrasonic vibration-assisted EDM machine is investigated. A preventive maintenance cost optimization model for machine tools was developed under the constraint of reliability. The model is simple and efficient and can be applied to rotary ultrasonic vibration-assisted EDM machine tool. The mathematical model is based on Particle swarm optimization, which is solved by MATLAB to compare the differences in optimization results under different iterations, and the optimal preventive maintenance interval for the machine tool is 417 hours according to the constraints, corresponding to a minimum maintenance cost of ¥24088, which effectively reduces the downtime loss and maintenance cost caused by the failure of machine tools, and provides a theoretical basis for the preventive maintenance plan of machine tools.
Modal balancing of the nonlinear rotor-bearing system based on nonlinear normal modes
Authors: Wang Tianzhu , Ding Qian
Published: September 2022

The basis of rotor dynamic balancing procedures relies on the linearization hypothesis of the system. However, some mechanical elements constituting a rotor system behave in various types of nonlinearities. Therefore, the balancing method must be extended to the nonlinear rotor systems. Nonlinear normal modes (NNMs) can provide valuable insight into nonlinear dynamics. So, this paper innovatively integrates NNMs into the modal balancing. There are three main procedures. First, express the unbalance response and the nonlinear mode shape as complex amplitude vectors using complex Fourier series. Second, calculate the correction coefficients of each order of harmonics, considering the harmonic resonance and internal resonance. Third, superimpose the corrections of each harmonic to form the total unbalance corrections. Several cases with different nonlinearities and eccentricities are discussed. The responses after balancing with NNMs are presented and compared with the linear modal method to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method. Simulation results show that balancing with NNMs is significantly better than the linear modal method.
Formation of specific bacterial assemblages on sterile polyethylene microplastic particles added to a marine aquaria system
Authors: Franco Angel , Hardt Martin , Reichert Jessica , Schubert Patrick , Kämpfer Peter , Wilke Thomas , Glaeser Stefanie P
Published: September 2022

Microplastics (MP) represent an anthropogenic surface for bacterial colonization in marine ecosystems. In order to determine if MP act as vectors of specific bacterial communities, which might include non-native and potential pathogens for the marine biota, bacterial assemblages formed on sterile polyethylene MP particles after 12 weeks of incubation in marine aquaria were characterized. These assemblages were compared to those formed at the same time on sterile sandy sediments and present in detritus and particulate and particle-free water fractions of the studied system. Scanning electron microscopy and bacterial 16S rRNA gene-based community fingerprinting indicated the development of specific bacterial biofilms on MP surfaces. Most abundant genera determined exclusively in high relative abundance on MP were Jejudonia, Roseivivax, Marinobacter, and Erythrobacter. The potential pathogenic genus Vibrio was detected in low relative abundances on microplastics in the amplicon dataset which was confirmed by quantitative PCR using a new designed Vibrio-specific primer system. Identifying the specific communities formed on MP surfaces is pivotal in order to understand the effects that these particles as well as the associated microbiota, have on the health of marine ecosystems.
Analysis of Electrocardiogram Signals Using Fourier Decomposed Method Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Azmy Mohamed
Published: September 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Thoracic injuries in trauma patients Epidemiology and its influence on mortality
Authors: Lundin Andrea , Akram Shahzad K , Berg Lena , Göransson Katarina E , Enocson Anders
Published: September 2022

Background
Thoracic injuries are common among trauma patients. Studies on trauma patients with thoracic injuries have reported considerable differences in morbidity and mortality, and there is limited research on comparison between trauma patients with and without thoracic injuries, particularly in the Scandinavian population. Thoracic injuries in trauma patients should be identified early and need special attention since the differences in injury patterns among patient population are important as they entail different treatment regimens and influence patient outcomes.
The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiology of trauma patients with and without thoracic injuries and its influence on 30-day mortality.
Methods
Patients were identified through the Karolinska Trauma Register. The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) system was used to find patients with thoracic injuries. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors (age, gender, ASA class, GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale), NISS (New Injury Severity Score) and thoracic injury) associated with 30-day mortality.
Results
A total of 2397 patients were included. Of those, 768 patients (32%) had a thoracic injury. The mean (± SD, range) age of all patients (n=2397) was 46 (20, 18-98) years, and the majority (n=1709, 71%) of the patients were males. There was a greater proportion of patients with rib fractures among older (≥ 60 years) patients, whereas younger patients had a higher proportion of injuries to the internal thoracic organs. The 30-day mortality was 11% (n=87) in patients with thoracic injury and 4.3% (n=71) in patients without. After multivariable adjustment, a thoracic injury was found to be associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-3.0); as was age ≥ 60 years (OR 3.7, 95% CI 2.3-6.0), ASA class 3-4 (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.4-3.6), GCS 1-8 (OR 21, 95% CI 13-33) and NISS >15 (OR 4.2, 2.4-7.3).
Conclusion
Thoracic injury was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality after adjustment for relevant key variables. We also found a difference in injury patterns with older patients having a higher proportion of rib fractures, whilst younger patients suffered more internal thoracic organ injuries.
Energy Efficient Resource Allocation in Heterogeneous Computing Environments
Authors: Ahmed Waqas , Ahmad Saima Gulzar , Nisar Muhammad Wasif , Munir Ehsan Ullah , Ramzan Naeem
Published: September 2022

The increased users of cloud services has led to the exponential rise in the energy consumption of data centers that causes enormous amount of CO2 emission. It is negatively impacting green house effects, global warming, and other environmental changes. Therefore, the scientific community is focusing on green computing to reduce the carbon footprints of the data centers. Energy optimization by resource allocation is one of the methods to reduce the energy consumption. In this paper, Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) technique is exploited to reduce the energy consumption that ultimately reduces the operating cost of data centers. We propose Standard Deviation based Energy optimized (SDEO) algorithm, which runs in two phases. In the first phase, a priority queue is generated based on the standard deviation of expected time of tasks on particular resources. In the second phase, resources are allocated using DVFS to minimize the energy consumption and makespan. The randomized task graphs are used in the simulations for the performance evaluation. Furthermore, for performance evaluation, the well known heuristics, Heterogeneous Earliest Finish Time (HEFT), Critical Path on Processor (CPOP), and Predict Earliest Finish Time (PEFT) are modified to Energy Efficient Scheduling (EES) algorithms i.e., HEFT-EES, CPOP-EES, and PEFT-EES. The comparison of simulation results validate the performance of SDEO by saving up to 40% of energy on average while significantly reducing the makespan of task graphs.
The Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uniporter channel synergizes with fluid shear stress to induce mitochondrial Ca2+ oscillations
Authors: Patel Akshar , Simkulet Matthew , Maity Soumya , Venkatesan Manigandan , Matzavinos Anastasios , Madesh Muniswamy , Alevriadou B. Rita
Published: September 2022

The mitochondrial calcium (mCa2+) uniporter (MCU) channel is responsible for mCa2+ influx. Its expression was found to be upregulated in endothelial cells (ECs) under cardiovascular disease conditions. Since the role of MCU in regulating cytosolic Ca2+ (cCa2+) homeostasis in ECs exposed to shear stress (SS) is unknown, we studied mCa2+ dynamics (that is known to decode cCa2+ signaling) in sheared ECs. To understand cause-and-effect, we ectopically expressed MCU in ECs. A higher percentage of MCU-transduced ECs exhibited mCa2+ transients/oscillations, and at higher frequency, under SS compared to sheared control ECs.Transients/oscillations correlated with mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) flashes and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) flickers, and depended on activation of the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel and the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). A positive feedback loop composed of mCa2+ uptake/mROS flashes/ΔΨm flickers and endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release, in association with Piezo1 and eNOS, provided insights into the mechanism by which SS, under conditions of high MCU activity, may shape vascular EC energetics and function.
Antimicrobial Properties of Snail Mucus Against Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Authors: Takyi-Attobrah Desmond
Published: September 2022

Background: Antibiotic resistance has escalated worldwide without proportionate production of new antibiotics. One of the new ways is to explore natural sources of treating bacterial infections without acquiring bacterial resistance. Snail type Achatina fulica in Japan, the mucus extract has demonstrated immense antibacterial activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial pathogens. The type of snail used in this study, Achatina achatina is commonly found in West Africa particularly, Ghana can be explored for its antibacterial activity against the fastidious bacterium,Neisseria gonorrhoeae which is fast becoming resistant in most hospital settings.
Place of study: The study lasted for six months and was conducted at the Microbiology laboratory of the School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences
Aim: The main aim of this study is to assess the possible antibacterial activity of mucus secretions from Achatina achatinaagainst Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Methods: The test strain Neisseria gonorrhoeae ATCC 49226 was subjected to susceptibility testing using sterile mucus of Achatina achatina to perform both well and disc diffusion techniques. Gram stain, catalase, oxidase and fermentation tests were used to assess the identity of the test strain in this study.
Results: The mucus of Achatina achatina showed no inhibition against the tested control strain Neisseria Gonorrhoeae ATCC 49226 while the reference discs, ciprofloxacin 5 µg and penicillin 1 µg were susceptible for both the wells made by cork-borer and prepared filter paper discs, respectively.
Conclusion: The zones of inhibition from the mucus of Achatina achatina demonstrated no activity with the test strain Neisseria gonorrhoeae ATCC 49226. The study seems to suggest that the mucus from Achatina achatina snail-type used may have an insignificant antibacterial activity to inhibit the test organism used.
Can technical and tactical football performance be used to qualify home advantage and how to apply it?
Authors: Huang Tinghuai , Li Meng , Wu Yangming , Tang Lu
Published: September 2022

The quantification of home advantage is the key to understanding the home advantage. Most studies on the quantification of home advantage focus on home winning percentage, while little has been done on quantifying home advantage using technical and tactical performance. This study analyzed 480 matches from four seasons of the UEFA Champion League from 2016 to 2020, and used quantitative differences (QD) to evaluate teams’ overall performance. Both total shots and dribbles had a significant association with home winning percentage (HWP) when home total shot (HTS) was higher than away total shots (ATS), and the difference was in (9,10], and home dribbles (HD) was higher than away dribbles (AD) and in (2,4]. Besides, a significant association existed between aerial duel won and HWP when home aerial success (HADS) was lower than away aerial success (AADS), and the difference was in (0,2] and (3,4]. Besides, total shots and overall QD had a significant association with the same historical outcomes when HTS>ATS and was in (4,5] and (9,10], and summary of home performance (SHP) was higher than summary of away performance (SAP) and in (0.4,0.5], (0.6,0.7] and (0.9,1.1]. In conclusion, total shots, dribbles and aerial duel won could qualify the home advantage and elevate HWP. Meanwhile, a team has a high possibility of obtaining the same results when the difference in total shots and overall QD reaches certain intervals, which can be used to predict game outcomes in the future.
Aloysia triphylla essential oil decreases biomarkers of renal and hepatic damage in silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) feed with an ochratoxin A- contaminated diet
Authors: de Camargo Flávia Constância de Los Santos , Zeppenfeld Carla Cristina , Baldissera Matheus Dellaméa , Souza Carine de Freitas , de Andrade Gabriela Monteiro , Pimentel Viviane Tavares , Cunha Mauro Alves da
Published: September 2022

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether use of Aloysia triphylla essential oil (EOAT) (2 mL/kg feed) was able to prevent or reduce the plasma biomarkers of renal and hepatic damage in silver catfish Rhamdia quelen fed with ochratoxin-A (OTA)-contaminated diet. In this study, 126 juvenile silver catfish (six treatments with three repetitions, seven fish per repetition), as follow: control (basal diet, i.e., without EOAT and OTA), EOAT 2 mL/Kg feed, OTA 200 (200 µg OTA/kg feed), OTA 400 (400 µg OTA/kg feed), OTA 200 + EOAT 2 mL/Kg feed (200 µg OTA/kg feed + EOAT 2 mL/Kg feed) and OTA 400 + EOAT 2 mL/Kg feed ( 400 µg OTA/kg feed + EOAT 2 mL/Kg feed), that were fed during 32 days. On the last day of the experiment the animals were weighed and slaughtered, and blood was collected for processing and plasma was obtained for analysis of enzymes and metabolites that could indicate liver and kidney damage. Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) were significantly higher in fish feed with OTA compared to control group, while no significant difference was observed between these groups regarding creatinine, protein and lactate levels. The use of EOAT 2 mL/Kg feed was able to prevent the increase on GPT levels elicited by OTA-diet, but not exerted significant effects on GOT levels. This result indicated that EOAT can be an alternative to prevent/reduce OTA-induced liver damage in silver catfish.
Configurational Forces in Variable-Length Beams for Flexible Multibody Dynamics
Authors: Han Shilei , Bauchau Olivier
Published: September 2022

This paper addresses the problem of sliding beams or beams with sliding appendages, with special emphasis on situations where the axial motion of the beam or appendage is not prescribed a priori. Hamilton’s varia-tional principle is used to derive the weak and strong forms of governing equations based on the systematic use of Reynolds’ transport theorem. The strong form of the governing equations involve the mechanical and configurational momentum equations, together with the proper boundary conditions. It is shown that the configurational momentum equations are linear combinations of their mechanical counterparts and hence, are redundant. A weak form of the same equations is also developed; the configurational and mechanical momentum equations become independent because they combine in an integral form the strong mechanical and configurational momentum equations with their respective natural boundary conditions. The domain-and boundary-based formulations, stemming from these two forms of the governing equations, are proposed and numerical examples are presented to contrast their relative performances. The predictions of both formulations are found to be in good agreement with those obtained from an ABAQUS model using contact pairs. The domain-based formulation presents a higher convergence rate than the boundary-based formulation. Clearly, the proper treatment of the configurational forces impacts the accuracy of the model significantly.
Etanercept for patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: drug levels and influence of concomitant methotrexate
Authors: Levälampi Tiina , Kärki Johanna , Rebane Katariina , Vähäsalo Paula , Malin Merja , Kröger Liisa , Grönlund Minna-Maija , Backström Maria , Pohjankoski Heini , Kautiainen Hannu , Jokiranta Sakari , Aalto Kristiina
Published: September 2022

Purpose
Etanercept (ETN) is widely used tumour necrosis factor (TNF) blocker in the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) when traditional sDMARD therapy is not sufficient. There is limited information about the effects of methotrexate (MTX) on serum ETN concentration in children with JIA. We aimed to investigate whether ETN dose and concomitant MTX affect ETN serum trough levels in JIA patients and whether concomitant MTX affects clinical response in patients with JIA receiving ETN.
Methods
This study collected the medical records data of 180 JIA patients from eight Finnish paediatric rheumatological centres. All these patients were treated with ETN monotherapy or combination therapy, with or without sDMARD. To evaluate the ETN concentrations, blood samples of the patients were collected between injections right before the subsequent drug. Free ETN level was measured from serum.
Results
Ninety-seven (54%) of the patients used concomitant MTX, and 83 (46%) received either ETN monotherapy or used sDMARDs other than MTX. A significant correlation was noted between ETN dose and drug level [r = 0.45 (95% CI: 0.33–0.56)]. The ETN dose and serum drug level were correlated (p = 0.030) in both subgroups— in MTX group [r = 0.35 (95% CI: 0.14–0.52)] and in non– MTX group [r = 0.54 (95% CI: 0.39–0.67)].
Conclusion
In the present study, a significant correlation was observed between ETN dose and ETN concentration. We also found that concomitant MTX had no effect on serum ETN concentration or on clinical response.
Cash Transfer Program and Food Security: a Comparative Study Between Quilombola Communities and the General Population of Alagoas, Brazil
Authors: Santos Ewerton Amorim dos , Barbosa Lídia Bezerra , Vasconcelos Nancy Borges Rodrigues , Santos Tamara Rodrigues dos , Ferreira Haroldo Silva , Gurgel Ricardo Queiroz
Published: September 2022

Background: The Cash Transfer Program (CTP) is one of the main strategies to combat Food and Nutritional Insecurity (FNI) in the world and is primarily aimed at population groups subject to greater social vulnerability. Alagoas is one of the Brazilian states that has the worst socioeconomic indicators in the country. However, within its population, there are groups of people who are even more vulnerable due to a historical process of discrimination and social exclusion, such as the remaining quilombo communities, which make them more susceptible to FNI and its consequences.
Objective: Compare the Quilombola people with the non-Quilombola population regarding the association between the condition of users of the Cash Transfer Program and the occurrence of Food and Nutritional insecurity and its associated factors.
Methods: Data from two cross-sectional studies were used; the first completed in 2015 with a probabilistic sample representative of families of the state of Alagoas, and the second completed in 2018 with families from Quilombola communities in that state. The Brazilian Scale of Nutritional Insecurity was used to define the FNI situation of the families. Both studies were approved by the research ethics committee. Ajusted prevalence ratios were estimated by Poisson regression with robust variance.
Results: A total of 5,764 families were investigated (n = 3299 in 2015; n = 2465 in 2018). FNI was identified in 58.4% of non-Quilombola and 67.4% in Quilombola families. FNI was associated with participation in the CTP, lower economic classes, per capita family income ≤1 minimum wage, rooms in the household ≤4, families with children under 18 years of age, no home of their own, and households with four or more people.
Conclusion: FNI frequency was higher among Quilombola families and, in general, among families using the CTP. Despite the correct targeting of the CTP, which assists a large contingent of the population in poverty, it is necessary to link structural actions to it to ensure socioeconomic increases that can reverse the scenario of low education and professional training, low income, and, consequently, less access to goods and services in a sustainable way.
Avatars help measure, predict, and improve interpersonal effectiveness
Authors: Nagendran Arjun , Compton Scott , Follette William , Golenchenko Artem , Compton Anna , Grizou Jonathan
Published: September 2022

Experiential learning has been known to be an engaging and effective modality for personal and professional development. In this work, we introduce a novel interpersonal effectiveness improvement framework (ELAINE) that combines Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality to create a highly immersive and efficient learning experience using avatars. We present findings from a study that uses this framework to measure and improve the interpersonal effectiveness of individuals interacting with an avatar. Results reveal that individuals with deficits in their interpersonal effectiveness show a significant improvement (p < 0.02) after multiple interactions with an avatar. The results also reveal that individuals interact naturally with avatars within this framework, and exhibit similar behavioral traits as they would in the real world. We use this as a basis to analyze the underlying audio and video data streams of individuals during these interactions. We extract relevant features from these data and present a machine-learning based approach to predict interpersonal effectiveness during human-avatar conversation. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings to build beneficial applications for the real world.
B7H6 silencing enhanced MKN-45 cancer cells' chemosensitivity to 5-fluorouracil
Authors: dolatkhah katayoun , alizadeh nazila , Mohajjel-Shoja Haniyeh , Aghebati-Maleki Leili , Baghbanzadeh Amir , Ahangar Noora Karim , Baradaran Behzad
Published: September 2022

Background
Gastrointestinal cancers are a serious health threat on a global scale. Immunotherapeutic methods are also being investigated in this circumstance, and early data from ongoing studies with checkpoint inhibitors such as B7H6 inhibitors is impressive. As a result, we studied the effects of B7H6 suppression on the MKN-45 cancer cell line using particular siRNA and underlying processes when 5-fluorouracil is used (5-FU).
Methods
B7H6 siRNA and 5-FU were used alone or in combination to treat MKN-45 cells. Following that, the MTT test was used to determine the IC50 of 5-FU and cell viability. The apoptotic induction (using Annexin V / PI) and cell cycle activity were investigated through flow cytometry. The migration of cells was determined with a wound healing test, accordingly. Additionally, we evaluated the clonogenic potential of MKN-45 cells and assessed gene expression in treated groups using qRT-PCR.
Results
Our findings indicate that silencing B7H6 sensitizes MKN-45 cells to 5-FU treatment by inducing apoptosis and modulating the expression of genes such as Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, and MMP3, which are the key mediators of apoptosis. Additionally, both B7H6 silencing and 5-Fu therapy decreased cell migration cooperatively. Moreover, combination treatment stopped the MKN-45 cells' ability to form colonies by stopping the cell cycle in the sub-G1 stage.
Conclusion
Silencing B7H6 enhanced MKN-45 cells' chemosensitivity to 5-Fu and exerted anti-tumor effects. After completing studies, this technique may be considered an effective therapy option for this malignancy.
Deep pairwise learning for user preferences via dual graph attention model in location-based social networks
Authors: Gong Weihua , Zheng Kechen , Zhang Shubin , Hu Ping
Published: September 2022

The rapid growth of location-based social networks (LBSN) has generated massive multi-mode entities such as users, locations and social topics, as well as multi-relationships among them. Learning deep user preferences over POIs and social topics in LBSN has attracted more and more attentions. However, most of the previous studies have failed to incorporate the severely sparse and multi-dimensional relational data of heterogeneous LBSN, which plays a vital role to enhance the prediction performance. Toward this challenge, in this paper, we propose a unified pairwise relationship prediction framework based on graph neural networks combined with dual attention mechanism model, dubbed GE2AT, which has fully considered to incorporate three types of user behavioral relations to better capture user preference over different entities. Specifically, we first model LBSN as one user social graph only including social relations, and other two bipartite graphs involved user-location check-in relations and user-social topics following relations respectively. Then, we propose dual graph attention networks to jointly learn deep latent representations of different entities by aggregating features from neighbors with different importance weights. After that, we adopt two MLPs to output the pairwise preferences of users over POIs and social topics. In addition, to alleviate data sparsity problem, on the basis of MLPs output results, we further leverage social relationships as social-aware influence for similar user preferences so as to enhance the pairwise prediction performance. Extensive experiments on two real-world datasets have demonstrated that our proposed framework GE2AT significantly outperform the state-of-the-art baselines on both prediction tasks for user preferences on POIs and social topics.
Cathepsin V plays a crucial role in the metastasis and growth of lung cancer
Authors: Wang Wen , Xiao Mei , Shi Shan , Liu Xiaoli , Qiu Yeqing , Chen Nan , Chen Hongtao , Zhu Lifei , Cheng Zhixue , Huang Xiaodan , Zhang Hongyu
Published: September 2022

Cathepsin V (CTSV) is a cysteine cathepsin protease located in lysosome and plays crucial role in extracellular matrix degradation. It is reported that CTSVis correlated with poor prognosis with multiple cancers, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify the molecular mechanism of how CTSV functions in lung cancer. Here, we identified that CTSV is upregulated in high metastatic property lung cancer cells. Depletion of CTSV inhibited the metastasis and growth of lung cancer. Mechanistic studies showed that CTSV functions by cleaving fibronectin, E-cadherin and N-cadherin and remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM) of lung cancer. Our data showed that CTSV is an essential component of lysosome, reduction of CTSV increased pH value of lysosome and led to lysosome dysfunction. Together, our findings reveal a molecular mechanism of how CTSV drive metastasis and growth of lung cancer, suggesting that CTSV-targeting approach is a promising strategy for lung cancer.
Ethanol tolerance of Clostridium thermocellum: the role of chaotropicity, temperature and pathway thermodynamics on growth and fermentative capacity
Authors: Kuil Teun , Yayo Johannes , Pechan Johanna , Küchler Jan , Maris Antonius J. A.
Published: September 2022

BACKGROUND
Clostridium thermocellum is a promising candidate for consolidated bioprocessing of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol. The low ethanol tolerance of this microorganism is one of the remaining obstacles to industrial implementation. Ethanol inhibition can be caused by end-product inhibition and/or chaotropic-induced stress resulting in increased membrane fluidization and disruption of macromolecules. The highly reversible glycolysis of C. thermocellum might be especially sensitive to end-product inhibition. The chaotropic effect of ethanol is known to increase with temperature. This study explores the relative contributions of these two aspects to investigate and possibly mitigate ethanol-induced stress in growing and non-growing C. thermocellum cultures.
RESULTS
To separate chaotropic from thermodynamic effects of ethanol toxicity, a non-ethanol producing strain AVM062 (Pclo1313_2638::ldh* ∆adhE) was constructed by deleting the bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase gene, adhE, in a lactate-overproducing strain. Exogenously added ethanol lowered the growth rate of both wild-type and the non-ethanol producing mutant. The mutant strain grew quicker than the wild-type at 50 and 55 °C for ethanol concentrations ≥ 10 g L-1 and was able to reach higher maximum OD600 at all ethanol concentrations and temperatures. For the wild-type, the maximum OD600and relative growth rates were higher at 45 and 50 °C, compared to 55 °C, for ethanol concentrations ≥ 15 g L-1. For the mutant strain, no positive effect on growth was observed at lower temperatures. Growth-arrested cells of the wild-type demonstrated improved fermentative capacity over time in the presence of ethanol concentrations up to 40 g L-1 at 45 and 50 °C compared to 55 °C.
CONCLUSION
Positive effects of temperature on ethanol tolerance were limited to wild-type C. thermocellum and are likely related to mechanisms involved in the ethanol-formation pathway and redox cofactor balancing. Lowering the cultivation temperature provides an attractive strategy to improve growth and fermentative capacity at high ethanol titres in high-cellulose loading batch cultivations. Finally, non-ethanol producing strains are useful platform strains to study the effects of chaotropicity and thermodynamics related to ethanol toxicity and allow for deeper understanding of growth and/or fermentation cessation under industrially relevant conditions.
Chemometrics integrated with in silico pharmacology to reveal antioxidative and anti-inflammatory markers of dandelion for its quality control
Authors: Liu Feng-Jie , Yang Jiao , Chen Xu-Yan , Yu Ting , Ni Hui , Feng Liang , Li Ping , Li Hui-Jun
Published: September 2022

Background
Dandelion is an herb with high nutritional and medicinal values, which has been listed in Chinese Pharmacopeia, European Pharmacopoeia and British Pharmacopoeia, gaining increasing acceptance around the world. However, the current quality control of dandelion is poor. Only in Chinese Pharmacopeia, cichoric acid, is applied as a marker compound for its quality evaluation, which can not comprehensively reflect the bioactivity of dandelion.
Methods
This study developed a strategy by integrating chemometrics with in silico pharmacology to reveal the bioactive markers of dandelion for its quality control. First, HPLC-DAD-MS/MS was applied to profile the major chemicals in dandelion. Second, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated in vitro. Third, the active components were screened by grey relational assay and partial least squares regression analysis and were then subjected to a validation. Fourth, in silico pharmacology was utilized to evaluate the contribution of active components to efficacy.
Results
A total of 22 phenolic compounds were characterized. Among them, cichoric acid, caffeic acid and luteolin were identified as quality markers, which showed good correlation with the bioactivities of dandelion. The three markers were quantified in frequently used dandelion species, viz. Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz. (TAM) and T. officinale F. H. Wigg. (TAO). TAM contained significantly higher cichoric acid and caffeic acid, showing better antioxidant activity than TAO. While TAO included higher content of luteolin, presenting a slight advantage on anti-inflammatory effect.
Conclusions
This study provide not only a useful strategy for the quality marker discovery, but also more knowledge for the quality evaluation of dandelion.