bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ANALISIS PENERAPAN METODE SAW PADA PERANCANGAN SISTEM PENDUKUNG KEPUTUSAN PEMILIHAN JUDUL SKRIPSI BERDASARKAN PENJURUSAN
Authors: Fryda Fatmayati
Published: December 2021

Sistem pendukung keputusan menghasilkan suatu solusi permasalahan dari kriteria-kriteria, alternatif dan bobot yang digunakan. Pada penelitian ini menggunakan studi kasus pemilihan judul skripsi berdasarkan jurusan yang dapat menghasilkan solusi penentuan judul skripsi. Metode yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah metode Simple Additive Weighting. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa penentuan judul skripsi didasarkan pada penjurusan MTU002 bidang Manajemen Perusahaan dengan nilai 0,786.
PENGEMBANGAN VIDEO PEMBELAJARAN PADA MATA PELAJARAN DASAR DESAIN GRAFIS KELAS X SMK NEGERI 40 JAKARTA
Authors: Ahmad Zainuri Fachri  , Hamidillah Ajie  , Vina Oktaviani
Published: December 2021

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan video pembelajaran pada mata pelajaran Dasar Desain Grafis kelas X SMK Negeri 40 Jakarta.  Dengan dibuatnya video pembelajaran ini diharapkan mampu membuat peserta didik dapat lebih mudah memahami fungsi-fungsi dasar tools pada toolbox Adobe Photoshop. Banyaknya tools pada Adobe Photoshop membuat proses pembelajaran yang membahas tentang Adobe Photoshop membutuhkan waktu lama. Oleh karna itu dikembangkanlah media pembelajaran berupa video pembelajaran yang dapat diakses dimanapun sehingga peserta didik dapat mempelajarinya diluar pembelajaran sekolah. Pengembangan video pembelajaran ini dilakukan melalui beberapa tahap yaitu: (1) perencanaan produk, (2) desain produk, (3) perencanaan konsep, (4) perancangan desain, (5) pengumpulan bahan, (6) pembuatan, (7) pengujian, dan (8) pendistribusian. Pada tahap pengujian oleh ahli materi hasil persentase nilai yang didapat yaitu 100% dan pada tahap pengujian oleh ahli media hasil persentase nilai yang didapat yaitu 89,3%. Setelah dinyatakan layak oleh ahli materi dan ahli media, selanjutnya video pembelajaran diuji kepada responden yaitu peserta didik bidang keahlian Multimedia kelas X SMK Negeri 40 Jakarta dan mendapatkan hasil persentase nilai 91,85%. Berdasarkan hasil pengujian tersebut, dapat disimpulkan bahwa video pembelajaran pengenalan dan pengguanaan dasar toolbox pada Adobe Photoshop layak digunakan dalam pembelajaran pada mata pelajaran Dasar Desain Grafis kelas X SMK Negeri 40 Jakarta.
Improving winter traction for vehicles in northern operations
Authors: Shoop Sally , Witte Clifford , Karwaczynski Sebastian , Ellis Clifton , Matthews Eoghan , Bishel Steven , Bomier Barry , McCullough Ronald , Parker Michael , Martin Scott , Kamprath Nathan , Welling Orian , Elder Bruce
Published: December 2021

As part of the campaign to increase readiness in northern regions, a near commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution was identified for the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV); and used to assess the suitability of commercially available winter tires for operational deployment. Initial performance evaluations conducted during the winters of 2020 and 2021 demonstrated and quantified significant improvements to traction and handling on a variety of winter surfaces. User feedback from United States Army Alaska (USARAK) Soldiers confirmed these results in an operational environment. Results of this study provide new winter tire specifications for the Army and justify the procurement of a HMMWV winter tire for improved safety and capability for US Soldier and vehicle fleet needs. The data and Soldier evaluations support attaining a National Stock Number (NSN) and provide data to develop models of winter vehicle performance that include the impact of winter tires and chains. This work also paves the way for future development and procurement of winter tires for vehicles where COTS solutions are unavailable. The motivation is to provide Soldiers with state-of-the-art winter tires to increase safety, capability, and operational compatibility with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partners in the European Theater of Operations, and mobility superiority in all environments.
Genital Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Adverse Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes in Children and Women in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Armstrong-Mensah Elizabeth Afibah , Ebiringa David-Praise , Whitfield Kaleb , Coldiron Jake
Published: December 2021

Genital Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) has adverse health outcomes for women and children. In pregnant women, the infection causes adverse obstetric outcomes including pelvic inflammation, ectopic pregnancy, and miscarriage. In children, it causes adverse birth outcomes such as skin rash, lesions, limb abnormalities, conjunctivitis, neurological damage, and even death. This article discusses genital CT prevalence, risk factors, and adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes among women and children in sub-Saharan Africa as well as challenges associated with the mitigation of the disease. A comprehensive search of databases including PubMed, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar was conducted using keywords such as genital chlamydia trachomatis, adverse pregnancy outcomes, adverse birth outcomes, and sub-Saharan African. We found that genital CT prevalence rates in some sub-Saharan Africa countries were higher than others and that risk factors such as the lack of condom use, having multiple sexual partners, and low educational levels contribute to the transmission of the infection. We also found that negative cultural practices, illiteracy among women, and the lack of access to screening services during pregnancy are some of the challenges associated with CT mitigation in sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce genital CT transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, efforts must be made by country governments to eliminate negative cultural practices, promote female literacy, and provide access to screening services for pregnant women.
 
Copyright © 2021 Armstrong-Mensah et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.
Predictive Modeling of Uniaxial Compressive Strength of Rocks for Protecting Environment Using Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Shahani Niaz Muhammad , Zheng Xigui
Published: December 2021

Sedimentary rocks provide information on previous environments on the surface of the earth. As a result, they are the principal narrators of former climate, life, and important events on the surface of the earth. Complexity and expensiveness of direct destructive laboratory tests are adversely affects the data scarcity problem, making the development of intelligent indirect methods an integral step in attempts to address the problem faced by rock engineering projects. This study established artificial neural network (ANN) approach to predict uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) in MPa of soft sedimentary rocks using different input parameters i.e. dry density (ρd) in g/cm3; Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) in MPa; point load index (Is(50)) in MPa. The developed ANN models M1, M2 and M3 were divided into the overall dataset; 70% training dataset and 30% testing dataset; and 60% training dataset and 40% testing dataset respectively. In addition, multiple linear regression (MLR) was performed to compare with the proposed ANN models to verify the accuracy of the predicted values. The performance indices were also calculated by estimating the established models. The predictive performance of the M3 ANN model with the highest coefficient of correlation (R2), the smallest root mean squared error (RMSE), the highest variance accounts for (VAF) and reliable a10-index was 0.99, 0.00060, 0.99 and 0.99 respectively at the testing dataset revealing ideal results and proposed as the best-fit prediction model for UCS of soft sedimentary rocks at the Thar Coalfield, Pakistan, among other developed models in this study. Moreover, by performing sensitivity analysis, it was determined that the BTS and Is(50) were the most influential parameters in predicting UCS.
Characterization of Biological Aerosols Over Northeast India: A Metagenomic Approach
Authors: Pathak Binita , Khataniar Ankita , Das Barlin , Upadhyaya Sristisri , Medhi Ankita , Bhuyan Pradip Kumar , Buragohain Alak Kumar , Borah Debajit
Published: December 2021

Northeast India is considered as one of the major biodiversity hotspots in the world but the region is underexplored for their microbial biodiversity. Extensive characterization of biological aerosol (bioaerosol) samples collected from various locations of Northeast India was carried out for all the four seasons in a year. These were characterized in terms of particulate matters (inhalable, thoracic, and alveolic), their constituents (pollens, fungal spores, animal debris, and non-biological components), and finally the bacterial diversity was determined by DNA based metagenomic approach. The non-biological (non-viable) component of aerosols is found to vary from 30- 89% in pre-monsoon season which coexists with pollens (4-20%), animal debris (1-24%) and fungal spores (1-17%). The highest number of culturable microbial population in terms of CFU count was observed in the samples collected in pre-monsoon season (i.e., 125.24-632.45 CFU/m3) and the lowest CFU was observed in monsoon season (i.e., 20.83- 319.0 CFU/m3). The metagenomic approach with the samples collected during pre-monsoon season showed a total of bacterial 184 OTUs (operational taxonomic units) with 28,028 abundance count comprising with 7 major phylum, 6 classes, 10 orders, 15 families, 13 genus, and 8 species of bacteria. The species level distribution clearly shows the presence of Gammaproteobacteria (52%) most abundantly followed by Bacilli (21%), Alphaproteobacteria (14%), Betaproteobacteria (5%, Flavobacteria (5%), and Sphingobacteria (3%). It is the first report from entire Northeast India to uncover bacterial diversity in aerosol samples through DNA based metagenomic approach.
A New Method for On-line Measurement of the Straightness Error of Machine Tools Using an Acceleration Sensor
Authors: Liu Kuo , Cui Yiming , Liu Zhisong , Wu Jiakun , Wang Yongqing
Published: December 2021

In order to improve the poor efficiency in the measurement of the geometric error of machine tools’ linear axes, this paper has presented a method to measure and restructure the geometric error of linear axes that is based on accelerometers. This method takes advantage of the phenomenon that when acceleration is measured under different measuring speeds, different frequencies and amplitudes are produced. The measurement data of the high signal-to-noise ratio for various velocities was fused together and the straightness error of the measured axis was obtained by integrating the acceleration twice. In order to remove the trend terms error in the integration, a zero phase IIR Butterworth filter was designed, which guarantees the signal’s phase invariance after filtering. The data was continued with the AR model to eliminate the endpoints’ effect in the filtering. The proposed method was verified by numerical values and experiments. The results showed that the proposed method has better robustness, a wider bandwidth and a higher efficiency than the methods of measuring by laser interferometer. It is also able to measure the geometric error of linear axes with an accuracy that reaches the micron scale.
Clinical Potential of HOTAIR, MALAT1, and UCA1 lncRNAs As a Biomarker to Achieve More Accurate Prognostic Predictions for Liver Cancer
Authors: Mahmoudi Esmaeil , Ebrahimi Mona , Chermahini Fatemeh Amini , Lazarjani Eskandar Hoseinnezhad , Kabiri Hamidreza , Jamshidian Hassan , Arshi Asghar , Sharifi Fatemeh Sadat , Raeisi Farzaneh
Published: December 2021

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major worldwide health concern and is the third leading cause of cancer death. Recent studies have focused on the association between long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and cancer, lncRNAs showed to have an important role in the prognosis, diagnostic, and investigation of liver cancer. Therefore, this study focuses on the expression profiles of HOTAIR, MALAT1, and UCA1 lncRNAs considering the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with liver tumors. Methods and Results: The expression profiles of HOTAIR, MALAT1, and UCA1 lncRNAs were evaluated using qRT-PCR in the paired liver tumor and the adjacent non-tumor samples. After RNA extraction from tissue samples, cDNA synthesis and the RT-qPCR method were performed. Livak method (2-ΔΔCt) was used for calculating the expression level of lncRNAs. Principal-component analyses followed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to evaluate the diagnostic potential of the selected lncRNAs. Our results showed that HOTAIR, MALAT1, and UCA1 were overexpressed significantly in patients with liver cancer compared to the healthy groups (P < 0.001). Moreover, the expression of HOTAIR was enhanced significantly compared to the expression of MALAT1 and UCA1 in patients with liver cancer (P < 0.001). This study showed that there were no significant associations between lncRNAs expression and the clinical characteristics (P > 0.05). Significantly elevated circulating lncRNAs were found to be liver cancer-specific and showed differentiation of liver cancer samples from the controls. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no significant correlations between the lncRNAs expression and overall survival. Conclusion: Based on our findings, the studied lncRNAs were not correlated with clinicopathological characteristics of the liver cancer patients although the overexpression of these lncRNAs might provide novel molecular biomarkers in HCC cases.
Does Inter-Border Conflict Influence the Views of Task Sharing Among Community Health Volunteers in Nigeria? a Qualitative Study
Authors: Lar Luret Albert , Stewart Martyn , Isiyaku Sunday , Dean Laura , Ozano Kim , Mpyet Caleb , Theobald Sally
Published: December 2021

Background: Volunteer community health workers are increasingly being engaged in Nigeria, through the World Health Organization’s task sharing strategy. This strategy aims to address gaps in human resources for health, including inequitable distribution of health workers. Recent conflicts in rural and fragile border communities in northcentral Nigeria create challenges for volunteer community health workers to meet their communities increasing health needs. This study aimed to explore the perception of volunteers involved in task sharing to understand factors affecting performance and delivery in such contexts.Methods: Eighteen audio recorded, semi-structured interviews with volunteers and supervisors were conducted. Their perceptions on on how task sharing and allocation affect performance and delivery were elucidated. The transactional social framework was applied during the thematic analysis process to generate an explanatory account of the research data.Results: Promotive and preventive tasks were shared among the predominantly agrarian respondents. There was a structured task allocation process that linked the community with the health system and mainly cordial relationships were in place. However, there were barriers related to ethnoreligious crises and current conflict, timing of task allocations, gender inequities in volunteerism, shortage of commodities, inadequate incentives, dwindling community support and negative attitudes of some volunteers.Conclusion: The perception of task sharing was mainly positive, despite the challenges, especially the current conflict. In this fragile context, reconsideration of non-seasonal task allocations within improved community-driven selection and security systems should be encouraged. Supportive supervision and providing adequate and timely renumerations will also be beneficial in this fragile setting.
Upregulation of P2Y12 Inhibits Chondrocyte Apoptosis in Lumbar Osteoarthritis Through PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway
Authors: Wu Guanyin , Xue Pengfei , Zhang Mo , Gui Chao , Bao Guofeng , Xu Guanhua , Jiang Jiawei , Zhang Jinlong , Cui Zhiming , Jinhu rich , Cui Shengyu , Sun Yuyu
Published: December 2021

Lumbar facet osteoarthritis (FJOA) is one of the major causes of severe low back pain and disability worldwide. However, the underlying mechanism of cartilage degeneration in FJOA remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of P2Y12 in FJOA and its possible role. Changes of chondrocytes in rat facet joints with degenerative changes were observed by HE and ferro red solid green staining. The expression changes of P2Y12, MMP13 and COL2 in FJOA were observed by immunohistochemistry. In vitro, human SW1353 chondrosarcoma cells were stimulated with IL-β to establish chondrocyte apoptosis model. Western blot analysis showed that P2Y12 and cleaved caspase-3 were significantly expressed in SW1353 cells. Co-localization of P2Y12-cleaved Caspase-3 in apoptosis model was detected by double-standard immunofluorescence staining. We demonstrated that P2Y12 may have an anti-apoptotic effect in FJOA chondrocytes apoptosis by inhibiting the expression of P2Y12 by siRNA. In addition, flow cytometry showed that P2Y12 gene knockout enhanced apoptosis induced by P2Y12. Our data suggest that P2Y12 has a chondroprotective effect on FJOA.
Temporal Monitoring and Predicting of the Abundance of Malaria Vectors Using Time Series Analysis of Remote Sensing Data through Google Earth Engine
Authors: Youssefi Fahimeh , Zoej Mohmmad Javad Valadan , Hanafi-Bojd Ahmad Ali , Darian Alireza Borhani , Khaki Mehdi , Nezhad Alireza Safdari
Published: December 2021

Background: In many studies in the field of malaria, environmental factors have been acquired in single-time, multi-time or a short time series using remote sensing and meteorological data. Selecting the best periods of the year to monitor the habitats of Anopheles larvae can be effective in better and faster control of malaria outbreak.Methods: In this article, high-risk times for three regions in Iran, including Qaleh-Ganj, Sarbaz and Bashagard counties with history of malaria prevalence had been estimated. For this purpose, a series of environmental factors affecting the growth and survival of Anopheles had been used over a seven-year period through the GEE. Environmental factors used in this study include NDVI and LST extracted from Landsat-8 satellite images, daily precipitation data from PERSIANN-CDR, soil moisture data from NASA-USDA Enhanced SMAP, ET data from MODIS sensor, and vegetation health indices included TCI and VCI extracted from MODIS sensors. All these parameters were extracted on a monthly average for seven years and, their results were fused at the decision level using majority voting method to estimate high-risk time in a year.Results: The results of this study indicated that there were two high-risk times for all three study areas in a year to increase the abundance of Anopheles mosquitoes. The first peak occurred from late winter to late spring and the second peak from late summer to mid-autumn. If there is a malaria patient in the area, after the end of the Anopheles larvae growth period, the disease will spread throughout the region. Further evaluation of the results against the entomological data available in previous studies showed that the high-risk times predicted in this study were consistent with the increase in the abundance of Anopheles mosquitoes in the study areas. Conclusions: The proposed method is very useful for temporal prediction of the increase of the abundance of Anopheles mosquitoes and also the use of optimal data with the aim of monitoring the exact location of Anopheles habitats. This study extracted high-risk time based on the analysis of the time series of remote sensing data.
High Expression of EIF4G2 Mediated By the TUG1/hsa-miR-26a-5p Axis Is Associated With Poor Prognosis and Immune Infiltration of Gastric Cancer
Authors: Fu Liu , Wang Zhe , Jiang Fengxiang , Wei Guohua , Sun Longe , Guo Chuanyong , Wu Jianye , Zhu Jianhuan
Published: December 2021

Background: Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4 gamma 2 (EIF4G2) is involved in the occurrence and development of various tumors. However, the effect of EIF4G2 in gastric cancer (GC) has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study was to explore the function and mechanism of EIF4G2 in GC.Methods: The Tumor Immune Estimation Resource 2.0 database was used to analyze EIF4G2 expression in various cancers and the relationship between EIF4G2 expression and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis was utilized to assess the EIF4G2 expression level and its effect on survival in GC. UALCAN was conducted to analyze EIF4G2 expression in various sub-groups of GC. The Kaplan–Meier plotter was employed for survival analysis. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to evaluate the diagnostic role of EIF4G2 in GC. LinkedOmics was used to identify the co-expressed genes and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. The Tumor-Immune System Interaction database was employed to analyze the correlation between EIF4G2 expression and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. The starBase web platform was used to predict the upstream microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs.Results: EIF4G2 expression was upregulated in GC tissues compared to normal controls. High expression of EIF4G2 indicated poor prognosis in GC. ROC analysis revealed that EIF4G2 had good diagnostic ability to distinguish GC from normal tissues. Immune infiltration analysis indicated that EIF4G2 expression may be involved in the modulation of tumor immune infiltration in GC. Finally, we determined that the Taurine Up-Regulated 1 (TUG1)/hsa-miR-26a-5p/EIF4G2 axis was the most likely regulatory pathway involved in GC development.Conclusions: EIF4G2 was upregulated in GC and elevated expression of EIF4G2 indicated unfavorable prognosis. Moreover, EIF4G2 expression may be involved in the regulation of tumor immune cell infiltration. The TUG1/hsa-miR-26a-5p axis is a likely upstream regulatory mechanism of EIF4G2 in GC. EIF4G2 may thus serve as a prognosis biomarker and present a new therapeutic target.
Visual LAMP Method for Detection of Vibrio vulnificus in Aquatic Products and Environmental Water
Authors: Tian Zhuo , Yang Lili , Qi Xin , Zheng Qiuyue , Shang Dejing , Cao Jijuan
Published: December 2021

Background A visualized, rapid, simple method was developed based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to detect Vibrio vulnificus in aquatic products and aquaculture waters.Results Genomic DNA was extracted from Vibrio vulnificus using the boiling and column extraction methods and optimized primers were used to detect the gyrB gene using a visual LAMP method. The sensitivity of the assay was 10 fg/μL, and the results were stable and reliable. Of 655 aquatic product samples and 558 aquaculture waters samples, the positive rates of Vibrio vulnificus detection were 9.01% and 8.60%, respectively, which is markedly higher than that of the traditional culture identification methods. Conclusion The relatively simple technical requirements, low equipment costs, and rapid detection time make the visual LAMP method for detection of Vibrio vulnificus a convenient choice for field diagnosis in the aquaculture industry.
Semiconductor Two-Dimensional PdQ2 (Q=S, Se) Monolayer: Strain Modulating Electronic Band Gaps and SQ Efficiencies
Authors: Gajjar P , Raval Dhara , Gupta Sanjeev , Ahuja Rajeev
Published: December 2021

We studied the physical, electronic transport and optical properties of a unique pentagonal PdQ2 (Q= S, Se) monolayers. The dynamic stability of 2D - wrinkle like - PdQ2 is proven by positive phonon frequencies in the phonon dispersion curve. The optimized structural parameters of wrinkled pentagonal PdQ2 are in good agreement with the available experimental results. The ultimate tensile strength (UTHS) was calculated and found that, penta-PdS2 monolayer can withstand up to 16% (18%) strain along x (y) direction with 3.44 GPa (3.43 GPa). While, penta-PdSe2 monolayer can withstand up to 17% (19%) strain along x (y) dirrection with 3.46 GPa (3.40 GPa). It is found that, the penta-PdQ2 monolayers has the semiconducting behavior with indirect band gap of 0.94 and 1.26 eV for 2D-PdS2 and 2D-PdSe2, respectively. More interestingly, at room temperacture, the hole mobilty (electron mobility) obtained for 2D-PdS2 and PdSe2 are 67.43 (258.06) cm2 V-1 s-1 and 1518.81 (442.49) cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively. In addition, I-V characteristics of PdSe2 monolayer show strong negative differential conductance (NDC) region near the 3.57 V. The Shockly-Queisser (SQ) effeciency prameters of PdQ2 monolayers are also explored and the highest SQ efficeinciy obtained for PdS2 is 33.93% at -5% strain and for PdSe2 is 33.94% at -2% strain. The penta-PdQ2 exhibits high optical absorption intensity in the UV region, up to 4.04 × 105 (for PdS2) and 5.28 × 105 (for PdSe2), which is suitable for applications in optoelectronic devices. Thus, the ultrathin PdQ2 monolayers could be potential material for next-generation solar-cell applications and high performance nanodevices.
Biogenic Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Mediated by the Consortium Comprising the Marine Fungal Filtrates of Penicillium Oxalicum and Fusarium Hainanense Along With Their Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Larvicidal Potency
Authors: Thakor Rashmi , Mistry Harsh , Patel Hitesh , Bariya Himanshu S
Published: December 2021

The silver nanoparticles were biosynthesized using fungal isolates as well as their mixed cell free filtrate acting as a consortium namely, DS-2 (Penicillium oxalicum), DW-8 (Fusarium hainanense) and DSW-28, respectively. The UV-Visible spectra determined the surface plasmon resonance at 438, 441 and 437 nm for the silver nanoparticles synthesized by DS-2, DW-8 and DSW-28, respectively. The Tauc’s plot analysis disclosed the band gap energy between 2.21 eV to 2.24 eV which depicted their ability to act as a semiconductor. The TEM imaging revealed the spherical shape along with the average particle size of DS-2 as 11.14 ± 2.39 nm and DW-8 as 7.59 ± 1.31 nm whereas that of DSW-28 as 5.73 ± 0.4 nm. Thus, the silver nanoparticles synthesized by DSW-28 were smaller in size than the individual isolates. The XRD pattern of the silver nanoparticles exhibited the crystalline structure corresponding to their peaks. The FTIR spectra indicates the presence of different functional groups on the surface of the synthesized silver nanoparticles. The broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity was exhibited by silver nanoparticles synthesized by DSW-28 against Gram positive, Gram negative bacteria and plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum than the individual fungal isolates. The DSW-28 synthesized silver nanoparticles also acts as an effective antioxidant by depicting their radical scavenging activity against DPPH. Moreover, the silver nanoparticles synthesized by DSW-28 also inhibited the growth of 4th instar larvae of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus more efficiently than DS-2 and DW-8 in a dose-dependent method. The impressive bioactivity of the silver nanoparticles synthesized by the mixture of cell free filtrate of various fungi acting as a consortium recommends their prospective use in agriculture as well as in biomedical as an antimicrobial, antioxidant and larvicidal agents in future.
Nano-Fe (Magnetic-Fe) and Se Foliar Application Tranquilize the Salinity Adverse-Effects on Satureja Mutica Fisch and Satureia Spicigera (C. Koch) Boiss
Authors: Hassanpouraghdam Mohammad Bagher , Mehrabani Lamia Vojodi , Masoumpour Zahra , Soltanbeigi Amir , Egamberdieva Dilfuza
Published: December 2021

Background: The secondary metabolites from savory species are widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries. Salt accumulation in the growing medium adversely affects the growth and yield of plants. The hyper-availability of Na+ and Cl- triggers nutrient imbalances, leading to secondary ionic stress. Under salinity exposure, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) over-generation drives oxidative stress in cells. Moreover, when facing environmental stress factors; the availability of essential nutrients and especially micro-elements strongly declines. Foliar application of micro-nutrients principally as nano-form is a promising strategy in meeting the nutritional demands of plants under stress environments with progressive nutrient shortages. Nano-materials and the supply of nutrients as foliar treatments meliorate the growth, biochemical reactions, and nutrient use efficiency of plants under salinity. The idea with the present experiment was to assay the effects of nano-Fe (magnetized-Fe) and selenium foliar application on the growth and some physiological responses of two Satureja species under saline-sodic conditions.Results: When studying the foliar application of Se and nano-Fe (0 and 3 mg L-1) on Satureja mutica and Satureia spicigera via two separate experiments, under normal no-saline conditions; the highest catalase activity was recorded in magnetized-Fe treated plants in both species. Independent effects of foliar application and plant species influenced total phenolics and Mg content of leaves. Foliar sprays reduced MDA content in plant tissue. In the second experiment, foliar applications were evaluated under salinity conditions. No-saline × Se and magnetized-Fe treated plants attained the highest data for aerial parts biomass in S. spicigera.Conclusion: The results demonstrated that salinity adversely influenced the growth and physiological responses, nevertheless, foliar spray with Se and magnetized-Fe partially ameliorated the salinity depression on Satureja species.
The therapeutic effects of larval excretion/secretion of Lucilia sericata on Leishmania major under in vitro and in vivo conditions
Authors: Sherafati Jila , Dayer Mohammad Saaid , Ghaffarifar Fatemeh
Published: December 2021

Background

Leishmaniasis is a neglected infectious disease caused by a kinetoplastid protozoan. The disease generally manifests as characteristic skin lesions. Due to the lack of definitive treatment and drugs without side effects, many studies have focused on natural compounds as promising drugs for its treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of larval excretion/secretion products (ES) of Lucilia sericata in crude and fractionated forms on Leishmania parasites under both in vitro and in vivo conditions.
Methods

In vitro experiments involved evaluation of ES products on both promastigotes and amastigotes inside infected macrophages, whereas in vivo experiments included comparative treatments of Leishmanial lesions of mice using Eucerin-formulated ES products and glucantime.
Results

The IC50 values were 38.7 µg/ml, 47.6 µg/ml, 63.3 µg/ml, and 29.1 µg/ml for crude ES, over 10 kDa ES-fraction, under 10 kDa ES-fraction, and glucantime respectively. Significant differences were observed between viability percentages of promastigotes treated with crude ES and its fractions compared to negative control (p < 0.0001). Crude ES was more effective on amastigote than other two ES fractions at 300 µg/ml concentration. Macroscopic measurement of lesion sizes revealed that the reduction of lesion size in mice treated with crude ES followed quicker cascades of healing than in those treated with glucantime and fractionated ES.
Conclusion

The present study showed that larval ES of Lucilia sericata in both crude and fractionated forms are effective on both intracellular and extracellular forms of L. major. It also provided evidence that the larval ES exerts both topical and systemic therapeutic effects on leishmanial lesions of the model animal.
Class I HDAC Inhibitor Rescues Synaptic Damage and Neuron Loss in APP-Transfected Cells and APP/Ps1 Mice through the GRIP1/AMPA Pathway
Authors: Han Ying , Chen Le , Liu Jingyun , Wang Chunyang , Guo Yu , Yu Xuebin , Zhang Chenghong , Chu Haiying , Ma Haiying
Published: December 2021

As a neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer's disease (AD) seriously affects the health of older people. It is now known that changes in synapses occur first in the course of disease, perhaps even before the formation of Aβ plaques. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) can mediate the damage of Aβ oligomers to dendritic spines. Therefore, we examined the relationship between HDAC activity and synaptic defects by using an HDACI, BG45 in Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line with stable overexpression of Swedish mutant APP (APPsw) and in APP/Ps1 transgenic mice during this study. The cells were treated with 15µM BG45 and the APP/Ps1 mice 30mg/kg BG45. We detected the level of synapse-related proteins, HDACs, tau phosphorylation and AMPA receptors by western bloting and immunohistochemistry. We also measured the expression of cytoskeletal proteins in the cell model. The mRNA level of GRIK2, SCN3B, SYNPR, Grm2, Grid2IP, GRIP1,GRIP2 were. to explore the effects of HDACi on regulating the synaptic proteins and AMPA receptors. Our studies demonstrated that the expression of HDAC1、HDAC2 and HDAC3 was increased, which was accompanied by the downregulation of the synapse-related proteins synaptophysin (SYP), postsynaptic dendritic protein (PSD-95) and spinophilin as early as 24 h after transfection with APPsw gene. BG45 upregulated the expression of synapse-related proteins and repaired cytoskeletal damage. In vivo, BG45 alleviated the apoptotic loss of hippocampal neurons, upregulated synapse-related proteins, reduced Aβ deposition and phosphorylation of tau and increased the level of the synapse-related genes GRIK2, SCN3B, SYNPR, Grm2, and Grid2IP. BG45 increased the expression of the AMPA receptor subunits GluA1, GluA2 and GluA3 on APPsw-transfected cells and increased GRIP1 and GRIP2 expression and AMPA receptor phosphorylation in vivo. These results suggest that HDACs are involved in the early process of synaptic defects of AD and that BG45 may rescue synaptic damage and loss of hippocampal neurons by specifically inhibiting HDAC1、HDAC2 and HDAC3, thereby modulating AMPA receptor transduction, increasing synapse-related gene expression and finally improving excitatory synapses. BG45 may be considered as a potential drug for the treatment of early AD for further study.
New behaviors of α-particle preformation factors near doubly magic 100Sn
Authors: Deng Jungang , Sun Xiaodong , Zhang Hongfei
Published: December 2021

The α-particle preformation factors of nuclei above doubly magic nuclei 100Sn and 208Pb are investigated.The results show that the α-particle preformation factors of nuclei near self-conjugatedoubly magic 100Sn are larger significantly than those of analogous nuclei just above 208Pb, andthey will be enhanced as the nuclei move towards the N = Z line. The correlation energy of theproton-neutron Ep-n and two protons-two neutrons E2p-2n of nuclei near 100Sn also exhibit similarsituations indicating that the interactions between protons and neutrons occupying similar single-particleorbitals could enhance the α-particle preformation factors and result in the superallowedα decay. It also provides evidence of the significant role of proton-neutron interaction on α-particlepreformation. Besides, the linear relationship between α-particle preformation factors and the productof valence protons and valence neutrons for nuclei around 208Pb is broken in the 100Sn regionbecause the α-particle preformation factor is enhanced when the nucleus near 100Sn moves towardsthe N = Z line. Furthermore, the calculated decay half-lives can well reproduce the experimentaldata including the recent observed self-conjugate nuclei 104Te and 108Xe [Phys. Rev. Lett. 121,182501 (2018)].
Optimising the Photothrombotic Model of Stroke in the C57BI/6 and FVB/N Strains of Mouse
Authors: Knezic Adriana , Broughton Brad , Widdop Robert , McCarthy Claudia
Published: December 2021

The photothrombotic stroke model relies on the interaction between photosensitive-dye and light for clot formation. Interestingly, the relationship between the length of light exposure and stroke-outcome has never been examined. This model has yet to be established in the FVB/N strain, even though stroke-outcomes are strain-specific. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of different lengths of light exposure in two strains of mice on photothrombotic stroke. Male FVB/N and C57Bl/6 mice were subjected to stroke using 15, 18, or 20-mins light exposure. Mice underwent functional testing for up to 7 days. Infarct volume was assessed with thionin staining, and cellular responses to injury analysed via immunofluorescence. Blood brain barrier (BBB) breakdown was assessed using Evans blue dye. Increasing light exposure from 15 to 20-minutes increased infarct volume but not functional deficit. Interestingly, there were strain-specific differences in functional outcomes, with FVB/N mice having less deficit on the hanging wire test than C57BI/6 after 15-minutes of light exposure. The opposite was seen in the adhesive removal test. There was no difference in number of neurons, astrocytes, microglia, macrophages, and T cells between the strains, despite FVB/N mice demonstrating greater BBB breakdown and an enlarged spleen post-stroke. Increasing light exposure systematically increases infarct volume but does not worsen functional outcomes. FVB/N and C57Bl/6 mice exhibit subtle differences in functional outcomes post stroke, which highlights the need to choose tests which are appropriate for the mouse strain being used.
Search and Characterization of ITM2A as a New Potential Target for Brain Delivery
Authors: Cegarra Céline , Chaves Catarina , Déon Catherine , Do Tuan Minh , Dumas Bruno , Frenzel André , Kuhn Philip , Roudieres Valérie , Guillemot Jean-Claude , Lesuisse Dominique
Published: December 2021

Background

Integral membrane protein 2A (ITM2A) is a transmembrane protein whose function is not well described. This target was identified as highly enriched in human brain vs peripheral endothelial cells by transcriptomic and proteomic studies during the European Collaboration on the Optimization of Macromolecular Pharmaceutical Innovative Medicines Initiative (COMPACT IMI) consortium. The object of the present paper is to report the work we have undertaken to characterize this protein as a potential brain delivery target.
Methods

A series of ITM2A constructs, cell lines and specific anti-human and mouse ITM2A antibodies were generated. Binding and internalization in Human Embryonic Kidney 293 (HEK293) cells overexpressing ITM2A and in brain microvascular endothelial cells from mouse and non-human primate (NHP) were performed with these tools. The best antibody was evaluated in an in vitro human blood brain barrier (BBB) model and in a mouse in vivo pharmacokinetic study to validate blood brain barrier crossing.
Results

Antibodies specifically recognizing extracellular parts of ITM2A or tags inserted in its extracellular domain showed selective binding and uptake in ITM2A-expressing cells. However, despite high RNA expression in mouse and human microvessels, this protein, is rapidly downregulated upon endothelial cells culture, probably explaining why transcytosis could not be evidenced in vitro. An attempt to directly demonstrate in vivo transcytosis in mice turned out unconvincing, using a cross reactive anti ITM2A antibody on one hand and in vivo phage panning of an anti ITM2A phage library on the other hand.
Conclusions

The present article describes the work we have undertaken to explore the potential of ITM2A as target to mediate transcytosis through BBB. This work highlights the multiple challenges linked to the identification of new brain delivery targets.
A New Strategy for Specific Qualities of Waxy Rice Breeding by Analyzing Physicochemical Properties Between Five Waxy Mutants and Corresponding Their Wild Types
Authors: Fu Yuhao , Luo Tingting , Zhu Zizhong , Liu Yiping , Liu Xu , Zhang Baoli , Liu Rui , Zhu Jun
Published: December 2021

Waxy rice is an essential mutant type of rice, which quality is controlled by amylopectin fine structure and apparent amylose content (AAC). The influence of amylopectin structure and AAC on quality and the waxy rice can be obtained by editing the Waxy (Wx) gene have been elucidated. However, the quality of waxy rice cannot be predicted before breeding, especially how to determine the quality of waxy (wx) mutants by wild types (WT) quality remains unclear. Herein, the quality of waxy rice has been successfully predicted through analyzing the association in physicochemical properties before and after Wx gene knockout. We demonstrated that the higher amylose WT would obtain higher amylose wx mutants, and wx mutants were endowed gelatinization temperature, amylopectin chain ratio and agronomic traits similar to WT. These data indicate that the quality of wild varieties played a decisive role in waxy rice breeding. Overall, we provide a new strategy for the specific quality breeding of waxy rice, which can get waxy rice of prescribed quality and contribute to expanding the particular type of waxy rice germplasm resources.
Dissecting the Single-Cell Transcriptome Network in Superficial/Deep Tumor Tissues of Diffuse Gastric Cancer
Authors: Ren Yili , Zhang Beibei , Xu Chenkai , Zhang Lei
Published: December 2021

Background and purpose: Gastric cancer is a type of highly heterogeneous malignant tumor and the prognosis of gastric cancer is hard to be improved due to limited knowledge on the molecular mechanism of heterogeneity. Single-cell sequencing technology is recently widely used for the investigation of both inter-tumoral heterogeneity and intra-tumoral heterogeneity. The present study aims to explore the potential oncogene by analyzing the single-cell data in the GSE167297 dataset.Methods: The GSE167297 dataset was downloaded from the GEO database, followed by quality control to remove data with lower quality. The division on cell subtypes was determined by the characteristic marker expressed in each cell subpopulation. Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to screen out differentially expressed genes. Survival analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of G-protein subunit g 11 (GNG11) gene which was significantly overexpressed in deep tumor tissues of diffuse gastric cancer.Results: In both normal tissues and tumor tissues, subtypes of immune cells and stromal cells were identified, with a higher proportion of infiltrated macrophages observed in deep tumor tissues. EPCAM was found significantly highly expressed in a cell subpopulation from gastric tumor tissues. 515 differentially expressed genes (| log2FC | > 2 and FDR < 1e-5) were screened out between normal tissues and tumor tissues. 86 differentially expressed genes (| log2FC | > 1 and FDR < 0.01) were screened out between superficial and deep tumor tissues, in which GNG11 was most highly expressed in deep tumor tissues (mean expression value: 0.1247, FC value: 52.2109). Disease-specific survival analysis on GNG11 results showed that the HR [95%CI] in the constructed univariate Cox proportional risk model was 4.419 [1.399-13.96] and the P-value in the log-rank test was 0.0056.Conclusion: Differentially expression profiles were provided both extratumorally and intratumorally, indicating a higher infiltration of macrophages in deep tumor tissues. Additionally,GNG11 was screened out to be a significant risk factor in STAD patients.
Association Between Maternal Weight Gain in Different Periods of Pregnancy and the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism: A Retrospective Matched Case-Control Study
Authors: Wu Yuelin , Pei Jindan , Dong Lingling , Zhou Zheying , Zhou Tianfan , Zhao Xiaobo , Che Ronghua , Han Zhimin , Hua Xiaolin
Published: December 2021

Background Although the rate of maternal mortality has declined over the past few decades, pulmonary embolus (PE) remains an important cause of maternal deaths. Little is known about the associations of specific periods of gestational weight gain with detailed PE and deep venous thrombosis (DVT). We explored the incidence of pregnancy-related venous thromboembolism (VTE) in China and assessed the associations of maternal weight gain in different periods of pregnancy with VTE.Methods In a retrospective case-control study conducted in in Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital from January 1st, 2017 to July 31th, 2021, 151 cases (11.7 per 10000) of venous thromboembolism (VTE) within pregnancy or the first 6 postnatal weeks were identified. 302 controls without VTE who gave birth at the same time as the cases were selected. Maternal pre-pregnancy weight, weight in early, mid and late pregnancy and other maternal pregnancy and newborn characteristics were obtained. GWG was standardized into gestational age-specific z-scores stratified by body mass index (BMI) and categorized as low (z score <-1), normal (-1 to 1), and high (>1). The adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated through log-binomial regression models. Interaction effects between gestational weight gain (GWG) and some other adjustment factors were tested, further stratified analyses were performed separately where interaction terms were significant. Results There were 65.6% (99 of 151) of pulmonary embolus (PE) alone and 34.4% (52 of 151) of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) alone or combined with PE. For all pre-pregnancy BMI categories (underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese), there was no statistical association between maternal weight gain of all gestational intervals and DVT or all VTE in this study. However, for PE, there was observed protective effects of low weight gain (aOR 0.79; 95% CI 0.37–1.68) and significantly increased risks of high weight gain (aOR=1.47; 95% CI: 1.03-2.09) among normal-weight women in early pregnancy. Similarly, a tendency towards decreased risk at lower weight gain throughout pregnancy (aOR 0.79; 95% CI 0.37–1.68) and significantly increased risk at higher values (aOR=1.52; 95% CI: 1.01-2.31) for PE was observed in normal-weight women. As for underweight and overweight women, results from the categorical model for early, late or total pregnancy weight gain indicated an increased risk in PE at both low and high weight gain, but confidence intervals were wide.Conclusion Chinese women have a higher risk of PE than the foreigner counterparts. Maternal weight gain in total or early pregnancy is an important risk factor for PE. In order to effectively improve maternal and child outcomes, intensive weight management that continues through pregnancy may be indispensable.
Does Latent Tuberculosis Lead to a Spurious Correlation between BCG and COVID-19 Mortality?
Authors: Raham Tareef Fadhil
Published: December 2021

Background: Many factors have been suggested to confound coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) studies, and BCG studies have been criticized for not adjusting for many confounders. We conducted this study to analyze the presumed effectiveness of the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine in decreasing the COVID-19 mortality rate, and to answer the question of whether this is confounded by latent tuberculosis (LTB) prevalence.Materials and methods: We chose sixty-nine malaria-free countries with different BCG vaccination policies. TB prevalence was considered as a proxy for LTB. The BCG, TB prevalence, and COVID-19 mortality data are publically available. Contingency coefficients (C.C.) and a ROC analysis were used to assess the relationship between TB prevalence and BCG status, and identify cutoff points in each BCG group category. A stem–leaf plot was also used to explore the data’s apparent behavior concerning COVID-19 in relation to the BCG groups.Results: TB prevalence was significantly associated with BCG status. The BCG vaccination status apparently had a relationship with BCG status.Conclusions: TB is suggested to have a confounding effect on BCG results, leading to a spurious correlation between BCG and COVID-19 mortality.