bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trochlear Nerve Palsy Caused by a Superior Cerebellar Artery Aneurysm
Authors: Park Jeong Woo , Han Hyo Ji , Chung Yeongu , Han So Young
Published: February 2022

Purpose: We report a case of trochlear nerve palsy caused by a superior cerebellar artery (SCA) aneurysm.Case summary: A 34-year-old woman visited our clinic complaining of distance diplopia and a temporal headache 7 days in duration. She had no previous relevant medical or trauma history. Her visual acuity; intraocular pressure; and pupil, anterior segment, and fundus evaluations were unremarkable. Extraocular muscle examination (EOM) revealed six prism diopters (PD) of right hypertropia in the primary gaze; this worsened when the head was tilted to the right. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a round solid nodule between the temporal lobe and pons; we thus suspected a petrous ridge meningioma. She was referred to our neurosurgery department for meningioma treatment. However, 1 hour later, she visited our emergency room with severe headache and nausea. Brain computed tomography angiography revealed a subarachnoid hemorrhage and a ruptured SCA aneurysm. Emergency coil embolization was successfully performed. Four weeks after surgery, the right hypertropia was slightly decreased. Four months later, the diplopia had disappeared and EOM revealed orthotropia.Conclusions: SCA aneurysms are rare and can be misdiagnosed even after radiological examination. Our case emphasizes that an SCA aneurysm should be considered during the differential diagnosis of patients with diplopia and headache.
Use of Salt-Tolerant Plants and Halophytes as Potential Crops in Saline Soils in China
Authors: Baoshan Wang Jianrong Guo &
Published: February 2022

Soil salinity affects approximately 800 million hectares of arable lands worldwide. As soil salinization increases and farmland decreases globally due to climate change, irrigation and urbanization, a big challenge is to balance the reducing of soils areas for crop cultivation and the increasing of requirement of food and energy. It is considered as a desirable and sustainable strategy to utilize the saline soils by cultivating the salt-tolerant crop varieties or halophytes for agricultural usage. The cultivation of salt-tolerant plants on saline land has obtained a more and more increasing of interest. In the past a few decades, a lot of work has been done in the utilization of salt-tolerant plants and halophytes for agriculture usage in saline soil in China. The usage value according to the food, vegetables supply, saline land remediation, bioenergy production, and other economic value were briefly summarized. Furthermore, a better method to develop and utilize of saline land and the valuable information for future investigation of saline land were provided. This information is helpful for utilization of salt tolerant plants and halophytes in the sustainable development of saline land worldwide.
Achieving Soil Security through Biobased Residues
Authors: Oelbermann Maren
Published: February 2022

The challenges of environmental degradation caused by the human demands and climate change have led to soil degradation. As a way forward, the adoption of water, energy, food, and soil security are viewed as a long-term solution to address these problems. This mini review presents an overview of the capacity of enhancing soil health through the integration of biobased residues (BBR) as a sustainable soil amendment. The perspective of how the use of BBR fits within the concept of soil health and soil security, and how it relates to sustainability indicators was also evaluated. Furthermore, the use of BBR was assessed using criteria considered important for soil and crop performance, and an overall evaluation of sustainable outcomes. We concluded that the application of BBR to agriculture offered a sustainable approach to address current environmental challenges, including the diversion of landfill organic wastes to agricultural land.
Biochar and its Use in Soil: Lessons from Temperate Agriculture
Authors: Oelbermann M
Published: February 2022

Biochar is a carbon-rich product that is obtained when a sustainable source of biomass is heated without oxygen. Biochar is produced in the same way as charcoal, but its intended use differs. Biochar is manufactured with a specific set of properties (e.g. adsorption properties, ion exchange capacity, low bulk density) for its use as soil amendment and/or adsorbent
Going Back to the Well: Women, Agency, and Climate Adaptation
Authors: Huyer Sophia
Published: February 2022

Rising temperatures and more extreme weather associated with climate change are expected to exacerbate existing social and gender inequalities across the globe. Climate change has differential effects on women and men: they are exposed to different climate shocks and experience different impacts related to gender differences in roles, rights, and opportunities. Women’s knowledge, networks, and assets are a significant aspect of resilience, but little attention is given to enabling their capacity as active agents. Instead the focus is on women as vulnerable victims of climate change. Evidence is emerging that adaptation and mitigation approaches in climate-resilient agriculture can and must reduce women’s and men’s vulnerabilities, promote their capacities for resilience, support women to exercise their agency, and, consequently, increase gender equality. Not only do we need to implement climate approaches that benefit women, we need to increase women’s resilience if we are going to effectively address and mitigate climate impacts. If we don’t, we will be on track to miss the 2 degree target – and at same time gender inequality will increase worldwide.
Potentials of Commercialization of Smallholder Farming in Kigoma Region, Tanzania: Gross Profit Margin Analysis of selected Crops in Selected Districts, Kigoma Region
Authors: Avit A Chami
Published: February 2022

Commercialization of smallholder farming (SF) is of paramount importance for African rural economic transformation. This study was undertaken to reveal the less known potentials of commercialization of SF in Kigoma Region. The Gross Profit Margin Analysis of beans, maize and cassava in Kasulu, Kakonko and Kibondo districts from Kigoma Region was performed. Descriptive cross-sectional research design was employed and both primary and secondary data were utilized. The target population of 10,708 smallholder farmers (SFs) resulted to the sample size of 400 SFs (at 95% confidence level and 5% confidence interval (0.05 sampling error)). The study revealed majority of households were male-headed households, 57% of the households had the household size ranging from 6 to 10 members while 96.5% of all respondent’s own land. Through the overall mean yields, the study also revealed Kibondo and Kasulu as capable districts of producing both maize and beans while cassava was highly produced in Kakonko district. The study further revealed majority of SFs were non-users of improved seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. The Gross Profit Margin Analyses of all three crops revealed high profitability under ideal farming conditions compared the prevailing farmers’ traditional practices. The study concludes all opportunities in the ideal farming conditions as the major potentials for commercialization of SF. The study urges SFs, business community and the government to put deliberate efforts towards investing on the agriculture sector to enable ideal farming conditions to majority of farmers, hence enhancing agricultural productivity and profitability among SFs in Kigoma region.
A Call for Holistic Soil Ecology
Authors: J Dilly Barbara
Published: February 2022

The connections between agriculture, soil science, and human health have been well understood for centuries, but the development of state societies and market economies gradually segmented and subverted that knowledge into narrow specializations. Agriculture came under management of nation builders seeking to broaden productive capacities to further influence and power. Soil science was relegated to the laboratories and test plots of biology and chemistry in the adoption of hybrids and chemical fertilizers. Human health sciences compiled volumes of research on disease, which generated still more laboratory research on isolated cures through chemical intrusion.
Process Models of Development of a Triad of Subsystems of Medical and Preventive Institutions: Management, Resources, Potential. Potential
Authors: Niyazov B. , Niyazova S.
Published: February 2022

The process model of the development of the healthcare facility system should be built on a triad basis as the interaction of three subsystems: 1) Effective “management”; 2) The effective volume of “resources”; 3) The effective level of “potential”. On the basis of new principles, scientifically grounded organizational-structural, functional-technological and socio-psychological aspects of the activity of the health care system of the Kyrgyz Republic as a whole have been built.
Medical Efficiency of Cardiological Rehabilitation in Sanatorium-and-Spa and Medical and Health-improving Institutions on the Example of Kyrgyz Research Institute of Balneology and Rehabilitation Treatment
Authors: Bularkieva E.
Published: February 2022

Modern cardiological rehabilitation is carried out as a structured multicomponent program that includes physical activity, patient education, changes in health behavior, psychological and social support. In the countries of the European Union, only 44.8% of patients with coronary heart disease are recommended to participate in any form of rehabilitation and only 36.5% of all patients currently have access to any rehabilitation program. Over the past decade, the Russian Federation has seen a systematic decrease in mortality from coronary heart disease, mainly due to the introduction of modern technologies for the treatment of patients with coronary heart disease. According to medical statistics, cardiovascular diseases occupy the first place in the structure of total mortality in Kyrgyzstan, accounting for almost half (50.4% according to data for 2014) of all deaths. On average, more than 18 thousand people die from heart diseases in Kyrgyzstan every year, about 50 every day. At the same time, these diseases claim up to 17.5 million lives a year in the world.
Analysis of the State of the Russian Economy and Prospects for its Development During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Marchenkova L.
Published: February 2022

At present, during a pandemic, an important role is played by the state and prospects for the development of the Russian economy. An increase in the level of economic development creates conditions for the stability of the national economic system, and also provides the foundation for systematic economic growth, even during a pandemic. The Russian economy is characterized by uneven economic development. So, in 2020, the Russian economy has undergone a severe crisis caused by the corona virus pandemic. The difficult epidemiological situation provoked several notable shocks that hit the economy, especially in certain sectors. In 2020, there was a decrease in Russian GDP by 3.1%. Let us turn to the level of Russia’s GDP for the first half of 2021, it increased by 4.6% in relation to the first half of 2020. According to the Ministry of Economic Development, in June, Russia's GDP reached the level of the fourth quarter of 2019. It should be noted that the economic component plays a crucial role in any state, since all spheres of human activity are linked by economic relations. In our opinion, the development of theoretical provisions and recommendations on promising areas of development of the Russian economy will allow the state to create a powerful economic base necessary for a stable and sustainable development of the economy.
Linguacultural Peculiarities of Universe Concept in Different Language Picture of the World (on the Materials of the Translation From Kyrgyz Into Russian/English)
Authors: Turgunova G.
Published: February 2022

The relevance of research: The Universe concept as a macroconcept has a number of linguocultural features in the language pictures of the world and it is of great interest for different systems language’s translation. The research objectives are to identify the linguoculturological features of the Universe concept in the Kyrgyz and Russian/English languages, based on the etymological origin of the Universe concept; analyze their transmissions in different system languages. The research materials and methods are based on etymological and explanatory dictionaries, in folklore and fiction materials on different languages of the world, especially in Kyrgyz and Russian/English. Research results: finding out the interesting facts of the coincidence and inconsistency of the Universe macroconcept, and the features of the Kyrgyz linguoculturological linguistics in determining the Universe concept, which includes the inner world of a person as part of Big Universe. Conclusions: The term Universe in different linguistic pictures of the world is interpreted differently, but the conceptual core of the Universe concept revolves around the system of a single world of creation, which mankind has not been able to fully explore until now.
Yuanming Yuan's Demise: An attack on Chinese Civilization or the Vengeance Against Chinese Barbarism?
Authors: Page Jerry
Published: February 2022

The article explores the different perspectives the French and English had towards the looting and burning of Yuanming Yuan. It will also explore how the media portrayed the events that occurred at Yuanming Yuan, during the Second Opium War, and how it fits in the scope of how China was perceived as a civilized or barbaric nation. The idea of civilization and barbarism through the Europeans was challenged with the event of Yuanming Yuan’s ultimate controversial destruction. European supremacy called for justifications on race, religion, and the idea of being civilized. Alongside European global supremacy was the pacification of barbaric people who once within history set out to destroy Western civilizations; this was a recent occurrence, which came about in the study of Asian history and using enlightenment ideas to justify European supremacy in Asia.
Att sätta ord på elevers kunnande i teknik
Authors: Stolpe Karin
Published: February 2022

Att sätta ord på elevers kunnande är viktigt för lärares arbete i teknik. I ett klassrum fick elever arbeta med att bygga en fysisk modell av en stad med hjälp av papp och annat material. Läraren kunde då identifiera delar av elevernas tekniska kunnande.
Novel Approach of Multistate Markov Chains to Evaluate Progression in the Expanded Model of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Authors: Attia Iman M.
Published: February 2022

A global increase in the prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is strongly connected to an increased prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) worldwide. In this article, the progression of the NAFLD process is modeled by continuous time Markov chains (CTMCs) with nine states. Maximum likelihood is used to estimate the transition intensities among the states. Once the transition intensities are obtained, the mean sojourn time and its variance are estimated, and the state probability distribution and its asymptotic covariance matrix are also estimated. A hypothetical example based on a longitudinal study assessing patients with NAFLD in various stages is discussed. The mean time to absorption is estimated, and the other abovementioned statistical indices are examined. In this article, the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) function is utilized in a new approach to compensate for the missing values in the follow-up period of patients evaluated in longitudinal studies. A MATLAB code link is provided, at the end of the article, for the estimation of the transition rate matrix and transition probability matrix.
A Prognostic Model Using Immune-Related Genes for Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Feng Wei , Zhang Yongxin , Liu Wenwei , Wang Xiaofeng , Lei Tianxiang , Yuan Yujie , Chen Zehong , Song Wu
Published: February 2022

There is evidence suggesting that immune genes play pivotal roles in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). Colorectal carcinoma patient data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were randomly classified into a training set, a test set, and an external validation set. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analyses, univariate Cox regression, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used to identify survival-associated immune genes and develop a prognosis model. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to evaluate the discrimination of the risk models. The model genes predicted were verified using the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) databases, colorectal cell lines, and fresh CRC and adjacent tissues. To understand the relationship between IRGs and immune invasion and the TME, we analyzed the content of immune cells and scored the TME using CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE algorithms. Finally, we predicted the potential sensitive chemotherapeutic drugs in different risk score groups by the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC). A total of 491 IRGs were screened, and 14 IRGs were identified to be significantly related to overall survival (OS) and applied to construct an immune-related gene (IRG) prognostic signature (IRGSig) for CRC patients. Calibration plots showed that nomograms have powerful predictive ability. PCA and ROC analysis further verified the predictive value of this fourteen-gene prognostic model in three independent databases. Furthermore, we discovered that the tumor microenvironment changed significantly during the tumor development process, from early to middle to late stage, which may be an essential factor for tumor deterioration. Finally, we selected six commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs that have the potential to be useful in the treatment of CRC. Altogether, immune genes were used to construct a prognosis model for CRC patients, and a variety of methods were used to test the accuracy of this model. In addition, we explored the immune mechanisms of CRC through immune cell infiltration and TME in CRC. Furthermore, we assessed the therapeutic sensitivity of many commonly used chemotherapeutic medicines in individuals with varying risk factors. Finally, the immune risk model and immune mechanism of CRC were thoroughly investigated in this paper.
Highly Sensitive Capsaicin Electrochemical Sensor Based on Bimetallic Metal-Organic Framework Nanocage
Authors: Fang Xiao , Duan Rongshuai
Published: February 2022

The content of capsaicin can be used as exotic markers of kitchen recycled oil. In this study, a bimetallic MOF nanocage (FeIII-HMOF-5) was successfully prepared by a one-step solvothermal method and used for electrode modification to prepare a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for rapid detection of capsaicin. Capsaicin could be selectively immobilized onto the FeIII-HMOF-5 surface during infiltrating adsorption, thus exhibiting very excellent sensing performance. The detection conditions of the sensor were optimized. Under optimum conditions, the electrochemical sensor can linearly detect capsaicin in the range between 1–60 μM with a detection limit of 0.4 μM. In addition, the proposed electrochemical sensor showed excellent stability and selectivity. The real sample tests indicated the proposed electrochemical sensor was comparable to conventional UV spectrophotometry.
Gut Microbiota: An Important Player in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Zhou Zheng , Sun Bao , Yu Dongsheng , Zhu Chunsheng
Published: February 2022

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the common metabolic diseases in the world. Due to the rise in morbidity and mortality, it has become a global health problem. To date, T2DM still cannot be cured, and its intervention measures mainly focus on glucose control as well as the prevention and treatment of related complications. Interestingly, the gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of metabolic diseases, especially T2DM. In this review, we introduce the characteristics of the gut microbiota in T2DM population, T2DM animal models, and diabetic complications. In addition, we describe the molecular mechanisms linking host and the gut microbiota in T2DM, including the host molecules that induce gut microbiota dysbiosis, immune and inflammatory responses, and gut microbial metabolites involved in pathogenesis. These findings suggest that we can treat T2DM and its complications by remodeling the gut microbiota through interventions such as drugs, probiotics, prebiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and diets.
Arrhythmias in Patients With Valvular Heart Disease: Gaps in Knowledge and the Way Forward
Authors: Kubala Maciej , de Chillou Christian , Bohbot Yohann , Lancellotti Patrizio , Enriquez-Sarano Maurice , Tribouilloy Christophe
Published: February 2022

The prevalence of both organic valvular heart disease (VHD) and cardiac arrhythmias is high in the general population, and their coexistence is common. Both VHD and arrhythmias in the elderly lead to an elevated risk of hospitalization and use of health services. However, the relationships of the two conditions is not fully understood and our understanding of their coexistence in terms of contemporary management and prognosis is still limited. VHD-induced left ventricular dysfunction/hypertrophy and left atrial dilation lead to both atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. On the other hand, arrhythmias can be considered as an independent condition resulting from a coexisting ischemic or non-ischemic substrate or idiopathic ectopy. Both atrial and ventricular VHD-induced arrhythmias may contribute to clinical worsening and be a turning point in the natural history of VHD. Symptoms developed in patients with VHD are not specific and may be attributable to hemodynamical consequences of valve disease but also to other cardiac conditions including arrhythmias which are notably prevalent in this population. The issue how to distinguish symptoms related to VHD from those related to atrial fibrillation (AF) during decision making process remains challenging. Moreover, AF is a traditional limit of echocardiography and an important source of errors in assessment of the severity of VHD. Despite recent progress in understanding the pathophysiology and prognosis of postoperative AF, many questions remain regarding its prevention and management. Furthermore, life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias can predispose patients with VHD to sudden cardiac death. Evidence for a putative link between arrhythmias and outcome in VHD is growing but available data on targeted therapies for VHD-related arrhythmias, including monitoring and catheter ablation, is scarce. Despite growing evidences, more research focused on the prognosis and optimal management of VHD-related arrhythmias is still required. We aimed to review the current evidence and identify gaps in knowledge about the prevalence, prognostic considerations, and treatment of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias in common subtypes of organic VHD.
Auto-CORPus: A Natural Language Processing Tool for Standardizing and Reusing Biomedical Literature
Authors: Beck Tim , Shorter Tom , Hu Yan , Li Zhuoyu , Sun Shujian , Popovici Casiana M. , McQuibban Nicholas A. R. , Makraduli Filip , Yeung Cheng S. , Rowlands Thomas , Posma Joram M.
Published: February 2022

To analyse large corpora using machine learning and other Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms, the corpora need to be standardized. The BioC format is a community-driven simple data structure for sharing text and annotations, however there is limited access to biomedical literature in BioC format and a lack of bioinformatics tools to convert online publication HTML formats to BioC. We present Auto-CORPus (Automated pipeline for Consistent Outputs from Research Publications), a novel NLP tool for the standardization and conversion of publication HTML and table image files to three convenient machine-interpretable outputs to support biomedical text analytics. Firstly, Auto-CORPus can be configured to convert HTML from various publication sources to BioC. To standardize the description of heterogenous publication sections, the Information Artifact Ontology is used to annotate each section within the BioC output. Secondly, Auto-CORPus transforms publication tables to a JSON format to store, exchange and annotate table data between text analytics systems. The BioC specification does not include a data structure for representing publication table data, so we present a JSON format for sharing table content and metadata. Inline tables within full-text HTML files and linked tables within separate HTML files are processed and converted to machine-interpretable table JSON format. Finally, Auto-CORPus extracts abbreviations declared within publication text and provides an abbreviations JSON output that relates an abbreviation with the full definition. This abbreviation collection supports text mining tasks such as named entity recognition by including abbreviations unique to individual publications that are not contained within standard bio-ontologies and dictionaries. The Auto-CORPus package is freely available with detailed instructions from GitHub at: https://github.com/omicsNLP/Auto-CORPus.
Multipotency and Immunomodulatory Benefits of Stem Cells From Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth
Authors: Guo Rong , Yu Jinhua
Published: February 2022

Stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) are considered a promising cell population for cell-based or cell-free therapy and tissue engineering because of their proliferative, multipotency and immunomodulator. Based on recent studies, we find that SHEDs show the superior ability of nerve regeneration in addition to the potential of osteogenesis, odontogenesis owing to their derivation from the neural crest. Besides, much evidence suggests that SHEDs have a paracrine effect and can function as immunomodulatory regents attributing to their capability of secreting cytokines and extracellular vesicles. Here, we review the characteristic of SHEDs, their multipotency to regenerate damaged tissues, specifically concentrating on bones or nerves, following the paracrine activity or immunomodulatory benefits of their potential for clinical application in regenerative medicine.
Study on Mechanical Properties of Shale Under Different Loading Rates
Authors: Wei Yuanlong , Zhao Lingyun , Yuan Tao , Liu Wei
Published: February 2022

In the process of shale gas development, different drilling, hydro-fracturing, and pumping speeds will produce different productivity effects. This reflects the effect of the loading rate of rock mechanics. Therefore, it is of great scientific significance to study the deformation and failure characteristics of shale under different loading rates. In order to reveal the loading rate effect of the Longmaxi shale, a series of laboratory experiments were carried out, including scanning electron microscope, XRD, and uniaxial compression tests at different loading rates. The results show that 1) the peak strength and elastic modulus of shale increase with the increase in the loading rate, but Poisson’s ratio has no obvious rule with the increase in the loading rate. In contrast, the loading rate causes the peak strength to vary by about 20%, which is larger than that of the elastic modulus. 2) The loading rate has a significant influence on shale failure. A higher loading rate will lead to severe damage but with simple cracks, whereas a lower loading rate will lead to complex damage of cracks. With the decrease in the strain rate, the length of the failure crack increases greatly. Therefore, a lower strain rate is helpful to form more broken fragments in the shale matrix. 3) By analyzing the relationship between elastic strain energy/dissipated energy and the loading rate, it is found that the elastic strain rate has a preliminary increasing and then a decreasing trend with the loading rate, but the dissipated energy has a decreasing trend with the loading rate. A higher loading rate is helpful to increase the brittleness of the shale, but a lower loading rate is beneficial to forming more cracks and a greater degree of fracture in the shale matrix. The effect of the loading rate on the mechanical properties and fracture properties of the shale is discussed. It is suggested that the lower hydro-fracturing rate is useful for generating more complex crack networks in the shale reservoirs.
Comparison of Phenology Estimated From Monthly Vegetation Indices and Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence in China
Authors: Wang Xin , Sun Zhongqiu , Lu Shan , Zhang Zhengxiang
Published: February 2022

Phenology is an important biological indicator for monitoring terrestrial ecosystems and global change. Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) emitted by chlorophyll has been proven to characterize vegetation photosynthesis and phenology. In this study, we used monthly normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and SIF products to qualitatively compare the effectiveness at detecting the phenological characteristics (SOS (start-of-season), EOS (end-of-season), and LOS (length-of-season)) over China during 2007–2013. The phenological characteristics determined by gross primary productivity (GPP) were applied as the reference to validate the phenological characteristics derived from NDVI, EVI, and SIF. The results demonstrated that the phenological characteristics derived from SIF were more consistent with that of GPP than VIs (NDVI and EVI) when considering all latitude grades, different elevation grades, and different land cover types in China. In the middle- and high-latitude regions, SOS derived from the vegetation indices (SOSVIs) did not deviate from those from GPP (SOSGPP) and SIF (SOSSIF), while in low latitudes, SOSVIs were about 20 d later than SOSSIF and SOSGPP. The VIs (EOSVIs) had a severe lag behind those of SIF (EOSSIF) in estimating the EOS at all latitudes. The EOSSIF had a deviation of fewer than 5 d compared with EOS estimated by GPP (EOSGPP), whereas the deviation of EOSVIs from EOSGPP was about 10–31 d across low to high latitude regions. The biases of SIF and VIs were due to the inconsistency between vegetation photosynthesis and leaf greenness. Also, VIs overestimated the LOS at all latitudes, the difference of LOS between estimated by NDVI and estimated by GPP was as long as 39 d in the high-latitude region. Our study suggests that SIF is suitable for estimating the phenological characteristics of vegetation regardless of different latitudes, elevation grades, and land cover types in China, providing a basis for SIF to study the vegetation phenological characteristics in a regional scope.
Comprehensive Analysis of LncRNA AC010789.1 Delays Androgenic Alopecia Progression by Targeting MicroRNA-21 and the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Hair Follicle Stem Cells
Authors: Xiong Jiachao , Wu Baojin , Hou Qiang , Huang Xin , Jia Lingling , Li Yufei , Jiang Hua
Published: February 2022

Background: Androgen alopecia (AGA), the most common type of alopecia worldwide, has become an important medical and social issue. Accumulating evidence indicates that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in the progression of various human diseases, including AGA. However, the potential roles of lncRNAs in hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) and their subsequent relevance for AGA have not been fully elucidated. The current study aimed to explore the function and molecular mechanism of the lncRNA AC010789.1 in AGA progression.

Methods: We investigated the expression levels of AC010789.1 in AGA scalp tissues compared with that in normal tissues and explored the underlying mechanisms using bioinformatics. HFSCs were then isolated from hair follicles of patients with AGA, and an AC010789.1-overexpressing HFSC line was produced and verified. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were performed to verify the molecular mechanisms involved.

Results: AC010789.1 overexpression promoted the proliferation and differentiation of HFSCs. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that AC010789.1 overexpression promotes the biological function of HFSCs by downregulating miR-21-5p and TGF-β1 expression but upregulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Conclusion: These results reveal that overexpression of AC010789.1 suppresses AGA progression via downregulation of hsa-miR-21-5p and TGF-β1 and promotion of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, highlighting a potentially promising strategy for AGA treatment.
High-Grade Endometrial Stromal Sarcoma: Molecular Alterations and Potential Immunotherapeutic Strategies
Authors: Kim Youngah , Kim Dohyang , Sung Woo Jung , Hong Jaewoo
Published: February 2022

Endometrial stromal tumor (EST) is an uncommon and unusual mesenchymal tumor of the uterus characterized by multicolored histopathological, immunohistochemical, and molecular features. The morphology of ESTs is similar to normal endometrial stromal cells during the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle. ESTs were first classified into benign and malignant based on the number of mitotic cells. However, recently WHO has divided ESTs into four categories: endometrial stromal nodules (ESN), undifferentiated uterine sarcoma (UUS), low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LG-ESS), and high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (HG-ESS). HG-ESS is the most malignant of these categories, with poor clinical outcomes compared to other types. With advances in molecular biology, ESTs have been further classified with morphological identification. ESTs, including HG-ESS, is a relatively rare type of cancer, and the therapeutics are not being developed compared to other cancers. However, considering the tumor microenvironment of usual stromal cancers, the advance of immunotherapy shows auspicious outcomes reported in many different stromal tumors and non-identified uterine cancers. These studies show the high possibility of successful immunotherapy in HG-ESS patients in the future. In this review, we are discussing the background of ESTs and the BCOR and the development of HG-ESS by mutations of BCOR or other related genes. Among the gene mutations of HG-ESSs, BCOR shows the most common mutations in different ways. In current tumor therapies, immunotherapy is one of the most effective therapeutic approaches. In order to connect immunotherapy with HG-ESS, the understanding of tumor microenvironment (TME) is required. The TME of HG-ESS shows the mixture of tumor cells, vessels, immune cells and non-malignant stromal cells. Macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells and natural killer cells lose their expected functions, but rather show pro-tumoral functions by the matricellular proteins, extracellular matrix and other complicated environment in TME. In order to overcome the current therapeutic limitations of HG-ESS, immunotherapies should be considered in addition to the current surgical strategies. Checkpoint inhibitors, cytokine-based immunotherapies, immune cell therapies are good candidates to be considered as they show promising results in other stromal cancers and uterine cancers, while less studied because of the rarity of ESTs. Based on the advance of knowledge of immune therapies in HG-ESS, the new strategies can also be applied to the current therapies and also in other ESTs.
Beneficial Impact of Interspecies Chimeric Renal Organoids Against a Xenogeneic Immune Response
Authors: Saito Yatsumu , Matsumoto Naoto , Yamanaka Shuichiro , Yokoo Takashi , Kobayashi Eiji
Published: February 2022

Background

Animal fetal kidneys have the potential to be used as scaffolds for organ regeneration. We generated interspecies chimeric renal organoids by adding heterologous rat renal progenitor cells to single cells from mouse fetal kidneys and applying the renal development mechanism of mouse fetuses to rat renal progenitor cells to examine whether rat renal progenitor cells can differentiate into renal tissues of the three progenitor cell lineages of kidneys between different species. Furthermore, we investigated whether chimeric renal organoids with an increased proportion of recipient cells reduce xenogeneic rejection.

Methods

C57BL/6JJmsSlc mice (B6 mice) and Sprague-Dawley-Tg (CAG-EGFP) rat (GFP rats) fetuses were used as donors, and mature male NOD/Shi-scid, IL-2RγKO Jic mice (NOG mice) and Sprague-Dawley rats (SD rats) were used as recipients. First, fetal kidneys were removed from E13.5 B6 mice or E15.5 GFP rats and enzymatically dissociated into single cells. These cells were then mixed in equal proportions to produce chimeric renal organoidsin vitro. The chimeric organoids were transplanted under the renal capsule of NOG mice, and maturation of the renal tissues in the organoids was observed histologically. Furthermore, chimeric organoids were prepared by changing the ratio of cells derived from mouse and rat fetal kidneys and transplanted under the renal capsule of SD rats subjected to mild immunosuppression to pathologically analyze the strength of the xenogeneic immune response.

Results

The cap mesenchyme was reconstructedin vitro, and nephron progenitor cells and ureteric buds were mosaically comprised GFP-negative mouse and GFP-positive rat cells. In thein vivoenvironment of immunodeficient mice, chimeric renal organoids mosaically differentiated and matured into renal tissues of three lineages. Chimeric renal organoids with high rates of recipient rat cells showed milder rejection than complete xenograft organoids. The vessels of recipient rats entered from the periphery of the transplanted chimeric renal organoids, which might reduce their immunogenicity.

Conclusion

Interspecies chimeric renal organoids may differentiate into mature renal tissues of each renal progenitor cell lineage. Furthermore, they may reduce transplant rejection compared with xenograft organoids.
Evaluating Adherence With Voluntary Slow Speed Initiatives to Protect Endangered Whales
Authors: Morten Jessica , Freedman Ryan , Adams Jeffrey D. , Wilson Jono , Rubinstein Aliya , Hastings Sean
Published: February 2022

Vessel strikes are one of the main threats to large whales globally and to endangered blue, fin, and humpback whales in California waters. For over 10 years, NOAA has established seasonal voluntary Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) zones off of California and requested that all vessels 300 gross tons (GT) or larger decrease speeds to 10 knots or less to reduce the risk of vessel strikes on endangered whales. We offer a comprehensive analysis quantifying cooperation levels of all vessels ≥ 300 GT from 2010 to 2019 within designated VSR zones using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) data. While average speeds of large vessels have decreased across the years studied, cooperation with voluntary 10-knot speed reduction requests has been lower than estimated to be needed to reduce vessel-strike related mortality to levels that do not inhibit reaching and maintaining optimal sustainable populations. A comparison of vessel speeds across inactive and active voluntary VSR time periods show a modest (+ 15%) increase in cooperation from 2017 to 2019. A complementary, incentive-based VSR program that was started in 2014 and scaled up in 2018 within the region likely improved voluntary VSR cooperation levels, as participating container and car carrier vessels traveled at lower speeds during the VSR season than vessels not enrolled in the incentive-based effort. Comparisons of vessel speeds in the incentive-based VSR program across inactive and active time periods showed a significant (+ 41%) increase in cooperation. With cooperation levels for the voluntary VSR hovering around 50%, and the challenge of funding and sustaining an incentive-based VSR program, voluntary VSR approaches may be insufficient to achieve cooperation levels needed to significantly reduce the risk of vessel strike-related mortality for these federally protected whales, suggesting that VSR regulations warrant consideration.
Single-Port Laparoscopic Surgery for Adnexal Mass Removal During Pregnancy: The Initial Experience of a Single Institute
Authors: Han Ling , Wan Qi , Chen Yali , Zheng Ai
Published: February 2022

Objective

Single-port laparoscopy has become a feasible and safe approach for the management of benign adnexal masses during pregnancy. To our knowledge, there are few reports on the feasibility and safety of single-port laparoscopy for adnexal mass removal during pregnancy. Our study reports the use of single-port laparoscopy in adnexal mass removal during pregnancy in our hospital.

Methods

We included 10 cases of single-port laparoscopic surgery for adnexal mass removal during pregnancy in the West China Second University Hospital between January 2017 and March 2020. Median values were found using SPSS20. When the p-value was <0.05, the median and interquartile range were used. All patients provided informed consent.

Results

The following median values were recorded: surgical time, 112.50 min; blood loss, 25 ml; postoperative hospital stay, 3 days; postoperative pain [visual analog scale (VAS)] at 6 h, 3; and postoperative pain (VAS) at 24 h, 2. Our study reported no postoperative spontaneous abortions. There was one preterm birth.

Conclusion

Single-port laparoscopy appears to be safe for both the mother and the fetus.
Quantitative Characterization of Macrophage, Lymphocyte, and Neutrophil Subtypes Within the Foreign Body Granuloma of Human Mesh Explants by 5-Marker Multiplex Fluorescence Microscopy
Authors: Klinge Uwe , Dievernich Axel , Stegmaier Johannes
Published: February 2022

Foreign bodies such as fibers of a surgical mesh induce a typical reaction with an inflammatory infiltrate that forms a surrounding granuloma. This infiltrate is dominated by macrophages, lymphocytes, and neutrophils, whereas its extent of collaboration is widely unknown. In this study, we analyzed 12 samples of surgical meshes explanted from humans by multiplex analyses with three different 5-marker panels – 1. macrophage panel: CD68, CD86, CD105, CD163, and CD206; 2. lymphocyte panel: CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, and CD68; and 3. neutrophil panel: CD15, histone, MPO, NE, and CD68. Measurement of fluorescence intensity within nuclear masks resulting from DAPI nuclear staining allows exact quantification of cells considered “positive” at a user-defined mean intensity threshold of > 100. Obviously, however, there is no natural threshold as a biological criterion for an intensity that separates “positive” stained cells from unstained cells (“negative”). Multiplex staining of 5 markers always reveals a high rate of coexpression for almost all of the 25 possible marker combinations (= 32 combinations, when using 5 markers simultaneously). The present staining results demonstrate that various morphological and functional subtypes of macrophages, lymphocytes, and neutrophils are abundant in the foreign body granuloma (FBG), which were investigated by regions of interest (ROI) with an area of 1 mm2. The widespread coexpression of two or more markers underscores the complex collaboration network of the inflammatory infiltrate. The ability to combine spatial distribution with exact numerical analysis may offer new perspectives for our understanding of the complex interactions in this multidimensional process.
Validation of the International IgA Nephropathy Prediction Tool in the Greek Registry of IgA Nephropathy
Authors: Papasotiriou Marios , Stangou Maria , Chlorogiannis Dimitris , Marinaki Smaragdi , Xydakis Dimitrios , Sampani Erasmia , Lioulios Georgios , Kapsia Eleni , Zerbala Synodi , Koukoulaki Maria , Moustakas Georgios , Fokas Stavros , Dounousi Evangelia , Duni Anila , Papadaki Antonia , Damianakis Nikolaos , Bacharaki Dimitra , Stylianou Kostas , Gakiopoulou Hariklia , Liapis George , Sakellaropoulos Georgios , Papachristou Evangelos , Boletis Ioannis , Papagianni Aikaterini , Goumenos Dimitrios S.
Published: February 2022

Background

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is among the commonest glomerulonephritides in Greece and an important cause of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) with an insidious chronic course. Thus, the recently published International IgAN prediction tool could potentially provide valuable risk stratification and guide the appropriate treatment module. This study aimed to externally validate this prediction tool using a patient cohort from the IgAN registry of the Greek Society of Nephrology.

Methods

We validated the predictive performance of the two full models (with or without race) derived from the International IgAN Prediction Tool study in the Greek Society of Nephrology registry of patients with IgAN using external validation of survival prediction models (Royston and Altman). The discrimination and calibration of the models were tested using the C-statistics and stratified analysis, coefficient of determination (RD2) for model fit, and the regression coefficient of the linear predictor (βPI), respectively.

Results

The study included 264 patients with a median age of 39 (30–51) years where 65.2% are men. All patients were of Caucasian origin. The 5-year risk of the primary outcome (50% reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate or ESKD) was 8%. The RD2 for the full models with and without race when applied to our cohort was 39 and 35%, respectively, and both were higher than the reported RD2 for the models applied to the original validation cohorts (26.3, 25.3, and 35.3%, respectively). Harrel's C statistic for the full model with race was 0.71, and for the model without race was 0.70. Renal survival curves in the subgroups (<16th, ~16 to <50th, ~50 to <84th, and >84th percentiles of linear predictor) showed adequate separation. However, the calibration proved not to be acceptable for both the models, and the risk probability was overestimated by the model.

Conclusions

The two full models with or without race were shown to accurately distinguish the highest and higher risk patients from patients with low and intermediate risk for disease progression in the Greek registry of IgAN.
Maintenance With Hypomethylating Agents After Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Kungwankiattichai Smith , Ponvilawan Ben , Roy Claudie , Tunsing Pattaraporn , Kuchenbauer Florian , Owattanapanich Weerapat
Published: February 2022

Introduction

Hypomethylating agents (HMAs) seem to have a range of properties favorable to post-allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) maintenance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.

Materials and Methods

The Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were independently searched by two investigators to identify relevant studies published inception to 18 November 2021. These trials compared HMA maintenance to observation following allo-SCT for AML or myelodysplastic syndrome.

Results

The meta-analysis eligibility criteria were fulfilled by 14 studies. The overall survival and relapse-free survival of the HMA maintenance group were superior to the observation group, with a pooled risk ratio (RR) of 1.38 and 1.46, respectively. Moreover, the cumulative incidence of relapse was significantly lower in those who received HMAs. The HMA group also had lower non-relapse mortality compared with the observation group. Overall, the incidences of grades III–IV acute graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) and chronic GVHD did not differ in both groups. However, when looking specifically at those receiving decitabine maintenance, the rate of chronic GVHD seemed to be lower compared with observation alone.

Conclusions

The current systematic review and meta-analysis illustrated that AML and MDS patients receiving HMA maintenance after allo-SCT had better outcomes in regards to OS, RFS, NRM, CIR as well as a reduced incidence of chronic GVHD.