bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vesicular Formation of Trans-Ferulic Acid: an Efficient Approach to Improve the Radical Scavenging and Antimicrobial Properties
Authors: Rezaeiroshan Anahita , Saeedi Majid , Morteza-Semnani Katayoun , Akbari Jafar , Hedayatizadeh-Omran Akbar , Goli Hamidreza , Nokhodchi Ali
Published: March 2021

Purposes

Reactive oxygen species production is harmful to human’s health. The presence of antioxidants in the body may help to diminish reactive oxygen species. Trans-ferulic acid is a good antioxidant, but its low water solubility excludes its utilization. The study aims to explore whether a vesicular drug delivery could be a way to overcome the poor absorption of trans-ferulic acid hence improving its antimicrobial efficiency and antioxidant effect.

Methods

Niosomal vesicles containing the drug were prepared by film hydration method. The obtained vesicles were investigated in terms of morphology, size, entrapment efficiency, release behavior, cellular cytotoxicity, antioxidant, cellular protection study, and antimicrobial evaluations.

Results

The optimized niosomal formulation had a particle size of 158.7 nm and entrapment efficiency of 21.64%. The results showed that the optimized formulation containing 25 μM of trans-ferulic acid could enhance the viability of human foreskin fibroblast HFF cell line against reactive oxygen species production. The minimum effective dose of the plain drug and the niosomal formulation against Staphylococcus aurous (ATCC 29213) was 750 µg/mL and 375 µg/mL, respectively, and for Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), it was 750 µg/mL and 187/5 µg/mL, respectively. The formulation could also improve the minimum bactericidal concentration of the drug in Staphylococcus aurous, Escherichia coli, and Acinobacter baumannii (ATCC 19606).

Conclusion

These results revealed an improvement in both antibacterial and antioxidant effects of the drug in the niosomal formulation.
Low power thrust measurements of the water electrolysis Hall effect thruster
Authors: Schwertheim Alexander , Knoll Aaron
Published: March 2021

We propose that a Hall effect thruster could be modified to operate on the products of water electrolysis. Such a thruster would exploit the low cost and high storability of water while producing gaseous hydrogen and oxygen in-situ as they are required. By supplying the anode with oxygen and the cathode with hydrogen, the poisoning of the cathode is mitigated. The water electrolysis Hall effect thruster (WET-HET) has been designed to demonstrate this concept. The dimensions of the WET-HET have been optimized for oxygen operation using PlasmaSim, a zero-dimensional particle in cell code. We present the first direct thrust measurements of the WET-HET. A hanging pendulum style thrust balance is used to measure the thrust of the WET-HET while operating in the Boltzmann vacuum facility within the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Laboratory. For this test the beam was neutralized using a filament plasma bridge neutralizer operating on krypton. We find thrust, specific impulse, and thrust efficiency all increase linearly with power for values between 400 and 1050 W. Increasing the mass flow rate from 0.96 to 1.85 mg/s increases thrust at the expense of specific impulse. Changing mass flow rate was found to have little impact on the thrust efficiency over this range. An optimal radial magnetic flux density of 403 G at the exit plane is found. Further increases to the magnetic field beyond this point were found to decrease the thrust, specific impulse and thrust efficiency, whereas the discharge voltage increased monotonically with increasing magnetic field for a given input power. It was found that the experimental thruster performance was lower than the simulation results from PlasmaSim. However, the general trends in performance as a function of power and propellant mass flow rate were preserved. We attribute a portion of this discrepancy to the inability of the simulation to model the energy absorbed by the covalent bond of the oxygen molecule. For the powers and mass flow rates surveyed we measured thrust ranging from 4.52$$\pm 0.18\,$$

±
0.18

to 8.45$$\pm 0.18\,$$

±
0.18

mN, specific impulse between 324$$\pm 12\,$$

±
12

and 593$$\pm 12\,$$

±
12

s, and anode thrust efficiencies between 1.34$$\pm 0.10\,$$

±
0.10

and 2.34$$\pm 0.10\,$$

±
0.10

%.
Optimal Designs for Model Averaging in non-nested Models
Authors: Alhorn Kira , Dette Holger , Schorning Kirsten
Published: March 2021

In this paper we construct optimal designs for frequentist model averaging estimation. We derive the asymptotic distribution of the model averaging estimate with fixed weights in the case where the competing models are non-nested. A Bayesian optimal design minimizes an expectation of the asymptotic mean squared error of the model averaging estimate calculated with respect to a suitable prior distribution. We derive a necessary condition for the optimality of a given design with respect to this new criterion. We demonstrate that Bayesian optimal designs can improve the accuracy of model averaging substantially. Moreover, the derived designs also improve the accuracy of estimation in a model selected by model selection and model averaging estimates with random weights.
A reflection on four impactful Ambio papers: The biotic perspective
Authors: Bjorkman Anne D. , Wulff Angela
Published: March 2021

Climate change represents one of the most pressing societal and scientific challenges of our time. While much of the current research on climate change focuses on future prediction, some of the strongest signals of warming can already be seen in Arctic and alpine areas, where temperatures are rising faster than the global average, and in the oceans, where the combination of rising temperatures and acidification due to increased CO2 concentrations has had catastrophic consequences for sensitive marine organisms inhabiting coral reefs. The scientific papers highlighted as part of this anniversary issue represent some of the most impactful advances in our understanding of the consequences of anthropogenic climate change. Here, we reflect on the legacy of these papers from the biotic perspective.
A multiple camera position approach for accurate displacement measurement using computer vision
Authors: Kromanis Rolands , Kripakaran Prakash
Published: March 2021

Engineers can today capture high-resolution video recordings of bridge movements during routine visual inspections using modern smartphones and compile a historical archive over time. However, the recordings are likely to be from cameras of different makes, placed at varying positions. Previous studies have not explored whether such recordings can support monitoring of bridge condition. This is the focus of this study. It evaluates the feasibility of an imaging approach for condition assessment that is independent of the camera positions used for individual recordings. The proposed approach relies on the premise that spatial relationships between multiple structural features remain the same even when images of the structure are taken from different angles or camera positions. It employs coordinate transformation techniques, which use the identified features, to compute structural displacements from images. The proposed approach is applied to a laboratory beam, subject to static loading under various damage scenarios and recorded using multiple cameras in a range of positions. Results show that the response computed from the recordings are accurate, with 5% discrepancy in computed displacements relative to the mean. The approach is also demonstrated on a full-scale pedestrian suspension bridge. Vertical bridge movements, induced by forced excitations, are collected with two smartphones and an action camera. Analysis of the images shows that the measurement discrepancy in computed displacements is 6%.
Investigation of joints from laser powder fusion processed and conventional material grades of 18MAR300 nickel maraging steel
Authors: Tillmann W. , Wojarski L. , Henning T.
Published: March 2021

Even though the buildup rate of laser powder bed fusion processes (LPBF) has steadily increased in recent years by using more and more powerful laser systems, the production of large-volume parts is still extremely cost-intensive. Joining of an additively manufactured complex part to a high-volume part made of conventional material is a promising technology to enhance economics. Today, constructors have to select the most economical joining process with respect to the individual field of application. The aim of this research was to investigate the hybrid joint properties of LBPF and conventionally casted 18MAR300 nickel maraging steel depending on the manufacturing process and the heat treatment condition. Therefore, the microstructure and the strength of the hybrid joints manufactured by LPBF or vacuum brazing were examined and compared to solid material and joints of similar material. It was found that the vacuum-brazed hybrid joints using a 50.8-μm-thick AuNi18 foil provide a high tensile strength of 904 MPa which is sufficient for a broad field of application. Furthermore, the additively manufactured hybrid samples offered with 1998 MPa a tensile strength more than twice as high but showed a considerable impact of buildup failures to the strength in general.
Some improvements on the Ky Fan theorem for tensors
Authors: Tourang Mohsen , Zangiabadi Mostafa
Published: March 2021

The improvements of Ky Fan theorem are given for tensors. First, based on Brauer-type eigenvalue inclusion sets, we obtain some new Ky Fan-type theorems for tensors. Second, by characterizing the ratio of the smallest and largest values of a Perron vector, we improve the existing results. Third, some new eigenvalue localization sets for tensors are given and proved to be tighter than those presented by Li and Ng (Numer Math 130(2):315–335, 2015) and Wang et al. (Linear Multilinear Algebra 68(9):1817–1834, 2020). Finally, numerical examples are given to validate the efficiency of our new bounds.
Dynamics of reallocation within India’s income distribution
Authors: Sahasranaman Anand , Jensen Henrik Jeldtoft
Published: March 2021

It is well known that inequality has been rising in India in the recent past, but the assumption has been that while the rich benefit more than proportionally from economic growth, the poor are also better off than before. Our modelled outcomes (using the RGBM framework) cast doubt on this proposition. We find that the income share dynamics are consistent with a negative reallocation since the early 2000s, i.e., the Indian income distribution possibly entered a regime of perverse redistribution of resources from the poor to the rich. Our model suggests that the historically low-income shares of the bottom decile (~ 1%) and bottom percentile (~ 0.03%) are possibly due to a decline in real incomes in the 2000s. We find qualified support for these theoretical predictions using income distribution data. We characterize these findings in the context of increasing informalization of the workforce in the formal manufacturing and service sectors as well as the growing economic insecurity of the agricultural workforce in India. Significant structural changes will be required to address this phenomenon.
AgNPs@ZnO hybride nanoparticles infused thermoplastic polyester elastomer and their biocide effect
Authors: Parra Duclerc Fernandes , Marchini Leonardo Guedes , Komatsu Luiz Gustavo Hiroki , de Oliveira Camila Bassetti , Oliani Washington Luiz , Rangari Vijaya Kumar
Published: March 2021

This paper presents research results of biocidal effect of thermoplastic- polyester-elastomer (TPE-E) with incorporation of hybrid Ag/ZnO/SiO2 NPs (silver/Zinc oxide/SiO2 nanoparticles). These results were compared with various gamma-irradiated doses and processing techniques including extrusion, injection molding and compression molding. In all these processing techniques the TPE-E was mixed with mineral oil and Ag/ZnO/SiO2 nanoparticles. The TPE-E nanocomposites were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), Infrared FT spectroscopy (FTIR), surface enhanced Raman technique (SERS), FESEM (Field emission scanning electron microscopy), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), TEM (transmission electronic microscopy) and antimicrobial test. Antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, are reported and these results showed potential application in health care products.
Evaluating the DevOps Reference Architecture for Multi-cloud IoT-Applications
Authors: Bou Ghantous Georges , Gill Asif Qumer
Published: March 2021

DevOps originated in the context of the agile development aims to enable the continuous deployment of software applications in small releases. Most recently, organizations are taking a significant interest in adopting DevOps for automatically deploying IoT applications to multi-cloud. The interest is there; however, the challenge is how to achieve this. A new DevOps reference architecture (DRA) framework has been iteratively developed to address this challenge. This paper presents the updated DRA framework and its empirical evaluation results. The empirical evaluation is composed of two phases: (1) industry case study evaluation conducted in an IT organization, and (2) industry field survey with a cohort of experts in software engineering. The evaluation aims to determine the applicability and novelty of the DRA framework. The evaluation results indicate that the DRA is fit for its intended purpose and is expected to help both researchers and practitioners. The DRA uses can architect complex design models for the purpose of supporting the automated development stage of software applications. Software engineers can implement the DRA models for deploying complex IoT application to the multi-cloud environment in the current organization development parameters.
What are You Lookin’ at? Aerial and Space Observation for Arms Control
Authors: Koplow David A.
Published: March 2021

Effective arms control between rival states requires reconciling three autonomous elements simultaneously: a) politics—the substantive agreement about what military items and activities will be restricted or prohibited; b) technology—the means and methods to monitor compliance with those negotiated limitations; and c) law—the rights and obligations that enable effective international use of the designated verification capabilities. Each of these three variables changes over time; the history of arms control reveals the difficulty of keeping them in sync as international conditions evolve. Today, we are in a period of remarkably rapid revolution regarding all three factors—particularly evident in the air and space domains—which will generate exciting new opportunities and require negotiators to be extraordinarily deft and responsive. This essay reviews some illustrative prior state practice in arms control in harmonizing the three variables and speculates about future adaptations.
Climate, Conflict, and International Law in the Middle East and Beyond
Authors: Natarajan Usha
Published: March 2021

The last time there was this much carbon dioxide in our atmosphere was three and a half million years ago. While our planetary history evidences cyclical climatic shifts, this time injustice is the cause. The lifestyles of the wealthy few are sustained not only by increasing economic inequality but the systemic collapse of ecosystems. The richest 20 percent consumes 80 percent of the world's natural resources and generates over 90 percent of its pollution and waste. For most people, the poorer 80 percent, their grossly unequal access to natural resources is compounded by also bearing the brunt of the pollution generated by the rich.
The Singapore Convention on Mediation: The Right Instrument at the Right Time
Authors: Apter Itai
Published: March 2021

The Singapore Convention on Mediation debuted about a year ago, gaining great success and recognition in a very short time. The past year also presented a major challenge to the international community in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world is finding ways to successfully meet the challenges. This was evidenced by the ASIL online annual meeting, featuring a panel on the Singapore Convention with diverse speakers from around the globe, speaking in their own time zone and from their own office or home. I had the honor to represent Israel on this panel.
Remarks by Adama Dieng
Authors: Dieng Adama
Published: March 2021

My mandate as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide entails four main functions that can be summarized as follows: collect information of violations that if not prevented or halted might lead to genocide; analyze it; alert the Secretary-General when I consider there is a risk of commission of the crime, and work with other partners to mitigate this risk.
Remarks by Alfred Soons
Authors: Soons Alfred
Published: March 2021

Whether or not there are “shortcomings” in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) depends of course on one's view of the adequacy or desirability of the current law, and that in turn depends on one's views of what the current law is. Before I comment on that, it is useful to first summarize what we are talking about, and that is what the consequences are of a rising sea level for the location and extent of maritime jurisdictional areas. And here a distinction must be made between (1) areas that have been delimited between two coastal states by a boundary agreement or a decision by an international court or tribunal, and (2) areas where either there are no adjacent or opposite other coastal states or no delimitation has yet taken place. The first situation in my view does not raise any problems because, in brief, under general international law such boundaries are permanent unless the parties agree to change the existing boundary. Much more can be said about this but there is no time to delve into that area. The second situation is more complicated. Here the international law on “baselines” (in combination with the law on extent and limits of maritime jurisdictional zones) is decisive. A distinction must then be made between the “normal” baseline and artificial baselines (straight baselines, UNCLOS Article 7; and archipelagic baselines, UNCLOS Article 47). I will now concentrate on the “normal” baseline and leave the somewhat more technical issues of straight and archipelagic baselines aside.
Introductory Remarks: Overview of General Research Trends and Topical Focus for 2020: Researching Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Johnson Raisch Marylin
Published: March 2021

There are many current threads in human rights research today; some are extensions of more traditional concerns, and others call upon the application of human rights law as a part of international law that is evoked by recent and changing realities. There is, first, a historical turn in international law that is relevant to human rights even though it is more traditional for legal scholarship to look at such sources. Recently, Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) and discoveries about the role of the women's peace movement (as women endured and challenged the mixed messages about their roles at the time of the founding of the League of Nations) are new perspectives in that they were previously set aside, as were indigenous people's perspectives. Historian Reza Afshari and others have spoken to the focus on structural transformation and lived realities as a more political methodology for human rights, going beyond discourse and its possible Western biases. Third, environmental research has emerged in a new way, using empirical data and big data to track the impact on health and human rights; included here may be the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are also new developments in the law of war, such as drone strikes, which take us toward automated war. The automation of human functions and judgments takes us, finally, to this panel's focus on human rights research: artificial intelligence, or AI. There may arise a theory of agency implicating those who create or operate AI outside a war context, or even within it as alleged war crimes.
Remarks by Hassane Cisse
Authors: Cisse Hassane
Published: March 2021

Question 1: What do you see as the state of play between capture and participation in the global economic and financial governance system? Can you share your diagnostic analysis on this issue with us based on your experience and reflections?

Governance, defined in its simplest form, is about the way in which decisions are made, who makes them, and in whose interests such decisions are made.
“I Can't Breathe”: Connecting COVID-19, Protests, and Global Health
Authors: Sirleaf Matiangai
Published: March 2021

COVID-19 has exposed the underlying racial hierarchy in the United States and elsewhere. Tragically, one study indicates that Black and Latinx people have COVID-19 mortality rates as much as nine times higher than White people in the United States when age is taken into account. Several commentators have attempted to account for these glaring health disparities by pointing to preexisting health conditions like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and the higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease among Black people, which can make for greater and more severe and deadly complications with COVID-19. Yet, structural factors ensure that Black people are “more likely to encounter those things that we know compromise health–like inaccessible or biased health care providers, inadequate schools and education systems, unemployment, hazardous jobs, unsafe housing, and violent, polluted communities.”
Remarks By Cymie Payne, Brian Egan, Lydia Slobodian, and Stefan Kirchner
Authors: Payne Cymie , Egan Brian , Slobodian Lydia , Kirchner Stefan
Published: March 2021

Professor Cymie Payne introduced this session, the final event for the Society's Signature Topic, “Beyond National Jurisdiction,” which examined international law governing the oceans, polar regions, cyberspace, and outer space.
Age culture, school-entry cutoff, and the choices of birth month and school-entry timing in South Korea
Authors: Kim Taehoon
Published: March 2021

This study explores how the distinctive Korean age reckoning, the Confucian age culture, and the school-entry-cutoff date affect the decisions of parents on both birth and school-entry timing for their children in Korea. There is a traditional method of age calculation in Korea that all people get one year older on January 1. Korea also has a distinctive age culture influenced by Confucianism. I find a substantial amount of birth and school-entry timing selections around the Korean age-cutoff date, January 1. The estimation results show that children born in January and February delayed school entry by 18.2–21.2 percentage points more than those born in November and December and 24% of births moved from one week before January 1 to one week after when the school-entry cutoff was March 1. After the school-entry cutoff has changed to January 1, children barely delay school enrollment, while more births are moved from December to January: 42% of births are shifted within the 7-day window. These behaviors are made by two motives: (1) parents want their children to have the same Korean age with their classmates because of the Confucian age culture; (2) they also want their children to be relatively older to have academic advantages.
Domestic and international migration intentions in response to environmental stress: A global cross-country analysis
Authors: Bekaert Els , Ruyssen Ilse , Salomone Sara
Published: March 2021

In light of increasing environmental stress and its likely implications for migration patterns, we conduct a cross-country individual-level analysis of the impact of self-reported exposure to environmental stress on people's migration intentions and their destination choice. We simultaneously model intentions to migrate domestically and internationally for 90 countries worldwide in 2010. We find that self-reported exposure to environmental stress increases the probability to intend to migrate both domestically and internationally in the coming year. In absolute terms, the largest impact is obtained for domestic migration, but controlling for the fact that this is the most common form of migration anyway, environmental stress particularly raises intraregional migration intentions. Overall, the effects on migration intentions to the different destinations are strongest in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, while in high-income countries, and in Europe particularly, environmental stress appears to spur only domestic migration intentions.
Gendered securitisation: Trump's and Putin's discursive politics of the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Kuteleva Anna , Clifford Sarah J.
Published: March 2021

This article presents a study of the discursive politics of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and Russia from its early onset to 30 April 2020. We examine how official securitisation discourses in the two countries draw on gendered constructions of national identity and discuss what linkages and potential implications they have for the state, its policy, and its society. Our analysis shows that both the US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin instrumentalise hierarchical gendered identities to securitise COVID-19. They mobilise gendered narratives, imageries, and practices to affirm particular understandings of the threat and create a homogeneous national ‘we’, portraying themselves as its guardians.
KUMMER COVERINGS AND SPECIALISATION
Authors: Olsson Martin
Published: March 2021

We prove versions of various classical results on specialisation of fundamental groups in the context of log schemes in the sense of Fontaine and Illusie, generalising earlier results of Hoshi, Lepage and Orgogozo. The key technical result relates the category of finite Kummer étale covers of an fs log scheme over a complete Noetherian local ring to the Kummer étale coverings of its reduction.
AI for humanitarian action: Human rights and ethics
Authors: Pizzi Michael , Romanoff Mila , Engelhardt Tim
Published: March 2021

Artificial intelligence (AI)-supported systems have transformative applications in the humanitarian sector but they also pose unique risks for human rights, even when used with the best intentions. Drawing from research and expert consultations conducted across the globe in recent years, this paper identifies key points of consensus on how humanitarian practitioners can ensure that AI augments – rather than undermines – human interests while being rights-respecting. Specifically, these consultations emphasized the necessity of an anchoring framework based on international human rights law as an essential baseline for ensuring that human interests are embedded in AI systems. Ethics, in addition, can play a complementary role in filling gaps and elevating standards above the minimum requirements of international human rights law. This paper summarizes the advantages of this framework, while also identifying specific tools and best practices that either already exist and can be adapted to the AI context, or that need to be created, in order to operationalize this human rights framework. As the COVID crisis has laid bare, AI will increasingly shape the global response to the world's toughest problems, especially in the development and humanitarian sector. To ensure that AI tools enable human progress and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, humanitarian actors need to be proactive and inclusive in developing tools, policies and accountability mechanisms that protect human rights.
Spontaneously coherent orbital coupling of counterrotating exciton polaritons in annular perovskite microcavities
Authors: Wang Jun , Xu Huawen , Su Rui , Peng Yutian , Wu Jinqi , Liew Timothy C. H. , Xiong Qihua
Published: March 2021

Exciton-polariton condensation is regarded as a spontaneous macroscopic quantum phenomenon with phase ordering and collective coherence. By engineering artificial annular potential landscapes in halide perovskite semiconductor microcavities, we experimentally and theoretically demonstrate the room-temperature spontaneous formation of a coherent superposition of exciton-polariton orbital states with symmetric petal-shaped patterns in real space, resulting from symmetry breaking due to the anisotropic effective potential of the birefringent perovskite crystals. The lobe numbers of such petal-shaped polariton condensates can be precisely controlled by tuning the annular potential geometry. These petal-shaped condensates form in multiple orbital states, carrying locked alternating π phase shifts and vortex–antivortex superposition cores, arising from the coupling of counterrotating exciton-polaritons in the confined circular waveguide. Our geometrically patterned microcavity exhibits promise for realizing room-temperature topological polaritonic devices and optical polaritonic switches based on periodic annular potentials.
HuR up-regulates cell surface PD-L1 via stabilizing CMTM6 transcript in cancer
Authors: Liu Yanbin , Li Xingzhi , Zhang Hui , Zhang Mingming , Wei Yanli
Published: March 2021

Despite the well-established role of CMTM6 in the stabilization of cell surface PD-L1 in cancer cells, the mechanisms underlying CMTM6 expression and regulation are still largely unknown. Here we unexpectedly find a strikingly positive correlation between CMTM6 and Hu-Antigen R (HuR) expression in most types of cancer. Mechanistically, we elucidate HuR stabilizes CMTM6 mRNA via direct association with AU-rich elements (AREs) in its 3′UTR and predominantly up-regulates CMTM6, which is readily abolished by HuR-specific inhibitor, MS-444. Phenotypically, we notice abundant cell surface PD-L1 in HuR-high cancer cells, which significantly inhibits immune activation of co-cultured T cells as indicated by IL-2 production. Treatment with MS-444 completely relieves immune suppression imposed by HuR-overexpression and further stimulates immune responses. Ectopic HuR accelerates allograft tumor progression in vivo, which is greatly compromised by simultaneous administration with MS-444. Our study uncovers a novel mechanism in control of CMTM6 and therefore PD-L1 expression, and suggests the potential of combining HuR inhibitor with PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies for cancer immunotherapy.
IL-17B/IL-17RB signaling cascade contributes to self-renewal and tumorigenesis of cancer stem cells by regulating Beclin-1 ubiquitination
Authors: Bie Qingli , Song Hui , Chen Xinke , Yang Xiao , Shi Shuo , Zhang Lihua , Zhao Rou , Wei Li , Zhang Baogui , Xiong Huabao , Zhang Bin
Published: March 2021

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are characterized by robust self-renewal and tumorigenesis and are responsible for metastasis, drug resistance, and angiogenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms for the regulation of CSC homeostasis are incompletely understood. This study demonstrated that the interleukin-17 (IL-17)B/IL-17RB signaling cascade promotes the self-renewal and tumorigenesis of CSCs by inducing Beclin-1 ubiquitination. We found that IL-17RB expression was significantly upregulated in spheroid cells and Lgr5-positive cells from the same tumor tissues of patients with gastric cancer (GC), which was closely correlated with the degree of cancer cell differentiation. Recombinant IL-17B (rIL-17B) promoted the sphere-formation ability of CSCs in vitro and enhanced tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Interestingly, IL-17B induced autophagosome formation and cleavage-mediated transformation of LC3 in CSCs and 293T cells. Furthermore, inhibition of autophagy activation by ATG7 knockdown reversed rIL-17B-induced self-renewal of GC cells. In addition, we showed that IL-17B also promoted K63-mediated ubiquitination of Beclin-1 by mediating the binding of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 to Beclin-1. Silencing IL-17RB expression abrogated the effects of IL-17B on Beclin-1 ubiquitination and autophagy activation in GC cells. Finally, we showed that IL-17B level in the serum of GC patients was positively correlated with IL-17RB expression in GC tissues, and IL-17B could induce IL-17RB expression in GC cells. Overall, the results elucidate the novel functions of IL-17B for CSCs and suggest that the intervention of the IL-17B/IL-17RB signaling pathway may provide new therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer.
Relapsed multiple myeloma demonstrates distinct patterns of immune microenvironment and malignant cell-mediated immunosuppression
Authors: Visram Alissa , Dasari Surendra , Anderson Emilie , Kumar Shaji , Kourelis Taxiarchis V.
Published: March 2021

Immunotherapy has shown efficacy in relapsed multiple myeloma (MM). However, these therapies may depend on a functional tumor immune microenvironment (iTME) for their efficacy. Characterizing the evolution of the iTME over the disease course is necessary to optimize the timing of immunotherapies. We performed mass cytometry, cytokine analysis, and RNA sequencing on bone marrow samples from 39 (13 newly diagnosed [NDMM], 11 relapsed pre-daratumumab exposure [RMM], and 13 triple-refractory [TRMM]) MM patients. Three distinct cellular iTME clusters were identified; cluster 1 comprised mainly of NDMM and RMM patients; and clusters 2 and 3 comprised primarily of TRMM patients. We showed that naive T cells were decreased in clusters 2 and 3, cluster 2 was characterized by increased senescent T cells, and cluster 3 by decreased early memory T cells. Plasma cells in clusters 2 and 3 upregulated E2F transcription factors and MYC proliferation pathways, and downregulated interferon, TGF-beta, interleuking-6, and TNF-αlpha signaling pathways compared to cluster 1. This study suggests that the MM iTME becomes increasingly dysfunctional with therapy whereas the MM clone may be less dependent on inflammation-mediated growth pathways and less sensitive to IFN-mediated immunosurveillance. Our findings may explain the decreased sensitivity of TRMM patients to novel immunotherapies.
Therapeutic outcome of early-phase clinical trials in multiple myeloma: a meta-analysis
Authors: van Nieuwenhuijzen Niels , Frunt Rowan , May Anne M. , Minnema Monique C.
Published: March 2021

Great progress in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) has been made due to the development of novel drugs. Patients with relapsed/refractory MM (RRMM) can be enrolled in early-phase clinical trials, but their performance across the last decade is unknown. We conducted a meta-analysis on the overall response rate (ORR) and toxicity. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched for phase I and phase II trials investigating an experimental compound as a single agent or in combination with dexamethasone, published from January 1, 2010 to July 1, 2020. Eighty-eight articles were included, describing 61 phase I trials involving 1835 patients and 37 phase II trials involving 2644 patients. There was a high degree of heterogeneity. Using a random-effects model, the 95% CIs of the estimated ORR were 8–17% for phase I trials and 18–28% for phase II trials. There were significant subgroup differences in ORR between the years of publication in phase I trials and between drug classes in both phase I and phase II trials. The ORR in early-phase clinical trials in RRMM is substantial, especially in phase II trials, but due to high heterogeneity a general assessment of clinical benefit before participation is difficult to offer to patients.
A guide for kernel generalized regression methods for genomic-enabled prediction
Authors: Montesinos-López Abelardo , Montesinos-López Osval Antonio , Montesinos-López José Cricelio , Flores-Cortes Carlos Alberto , de la Rosa Roberto , Crossa José
Published: March 2021

The primary objective of this paper is to provide a guide on implementing Bayesian generalized kernel regression methods for genomic prediction in the statistical software R. Such methods are quite efficient for capturing complex non-linear patterns that conventional linear regression models cannot. Furthermore, these methods are also powerful for leveraging environmental covariates, such as genotype × environment (G×E) prediction, among others. In this study we provide the building process of seven kernel methods: linear, polynomial, sigmoid, Gaussian, Exponential, Arc-cosine 1 and Arc-cosine L. Additionally, we highlight illustrative examples for implementing exact kernel methods for genomic prediction under a single-environment, a multi-environment and multi-trait framework, as well as for the implementation of sparse kernel methods under a multi-environment framework. These examples are followed by a discussion on the strengths and limitations of kernel methods and, subsequently by conclusions about the main contributions of this paper.
Comparative analysis of long noncoding RNAs in angiosperms and characterization of long noncoding RNAs in response to heat stress in Chinese cabbage
Authors: Song Xiaoming , Hu Jingjing , Wu Tong , Yang Qihang , Feng Xuehuan , Lin Hao , Feng Shuyan , Cui Chunlin , Yu Ying , Zhou Rong , Gong Ke , Yu Tong , Pei Qiaoying , Li Nan
Published: March 2021

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are widely present in different species and play critical roles in response to abiotic stresses. However, the functions of lncRNAs in Chinese cabbage under heat stress remain unknown. Here, we first conducted a global comparative analysis of 247,242 lncRNAs among 37 species. The results indicated that lncRNAs were poorly conserved among different species, and only 960 lncRNAs were homologous to 524 miRNA precursors. We then carried out lncRNA sequencing for a genome-wide analysis of lncRNAs and their target genes in Chinese cabbage at different stages of heat treatment. In total, 18,253 lncRNAs were identified, of which 1229 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs were characterized as being heat-responsive. The ceRNA network revealed that 38 lncRNAs, 16 miRNAs, and 167 mRNAs were involved in the heat response in Chinese cabbage. Combined analysis of the cis- and trans-regulated genes indicated that the targets of DE lncRNAs were significantly enriched in the “protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum” and “plant hormone signal transduction” pathways. Furthermore, the majority of HSP and PYL genes involved in these two pathways exhibited similar expression patterns and responded to heat stress rapidly. Based on the networks of DE lncRNA-mRNAs, 29 and 22 lncRNAs were found to interact with HSP and PYL genes, respectively. Finally, the expression of several critical lncRNAs and their targets was verified by qRT-PCR. Overall, we conducted a comparative analysis of lncRNAs among 37 species and performed a comprehensive analysis of lncRNAs in Chinese cabbage. Our findings expand the knowledge of lncRNAs involved in the heat stress response in Chinese cabbage, and the identified lncRNAs provide an abundance of resources for future comparative and functional studies.
Tracing founder haplotypes of Japanese apple varieties: application in genomic prediction and genome-wide association study
Authors: Minamikawa Mai F. , Kunihisa Miyuki , Noshita Koji , Moriya Shigeki , Abe Kazuyuki , Hayashi Takeshi , Katayose Yuichi , Matsumoto Toshimi , Nishitani Chikako , Terakami Shingo , Yamamoto Toshiya , Iwata Hiroyoshi
Published: March 2021

Haplotypes provide useful information for genomics-based approaches, genomic prediction, and genome-wide association study. As a small number of superior founders have contributed largely to the breeding history of fruit trees, the information of founder haplotypes may be relevant for performing the genomics-based approaches in these plants. In this study, we proposed a method to estimate 14 haplotypes from 7 founders and automatically trace the haplotypes forward to apple parental (185 varieties) and breeding (659 F1individuals from 16 full-sib families) populations based on 11,786 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, by combining multiple algorithms. Overall, 92% of the single-nucleotide polymorphisms information in the parental and breeding populations was characterized by the 14 founder haplotypes. The use of founder haplotype information improved the accuracy of genomic prediction in 7 traits and the resolution of genome-wide association study in 13 out of 27 fruit quality traits analyzed in this study. We also visualized the significant propagation of the founder haplotype with the largest genetic effect in genome-wide association study over the pedigree tree of the parental population. These results suggest that the information of founder haplotypes can be useful for not only genetic improvement of fruit quality traits in apples but also for understanding the selection history of founder haplotypes in the breeding program of Japanese apple varieties.
Characterisation and utilisation of nano-reduced starch from underutilised cereals for delivery of folic acid through human GI tract
Authors: Jhan Faiza , Gani Asir , Noor Nairah , Ashraf Zanoor ul , Gani Adil , Shah Asima
Published: March 2021

Ball milling offers green approach for size reduction of starch granules to nano scale size. In this research work, the starch from two underutilised cereal varieties viz. foxtail starch (FS) and sorghum starch (SS) were milled to achieve the desired nanometric range with mean particle diameter of 467.98 and 271.12 nm for nano foxtail (FSN) and nano sorghum starch (SSN), which were highly stable as revealed by zeta potential analysis. Functional attributes like solubility, swelling index, apparent amylose content, emulsifying and pasting properties were evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) clearly revealed damaged starch granules produed by the process of milling. X-ray diffraction (XRD) displayed decrease in crystallinity upon milling to 16.08% (SSN) and 18.56% (FSN) and disappearance of some peaks. Attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) also revealed reduced crystallinity as confirmed by the decreased absorbance ratio of 1047/1022 cm−1 in nano starch particles. Rheological analysis displayed shear thinning behaviour of nano starch samples as evaluated using Herschel-bulkely model and Power law. The nano starch samples exhibited comparatively low thermal gelatinisation temperatures as compared to native counter particles. Moreover, the nano-encapsulated starch samples offered more resistance to in-vitro digestion and showed control release of folic acid at target sites.
Denitrifying bacterial communities in surface-flow constructed wetlands during different seasons: characteristics and relationships with environment factors
Authors: Wei Jia-ming , Cui Li-juan , Li Wei , Ping Yun-mei , Li Wan
Published: March 2021

Denitrification is an important part of the nitrogen cycle and the key step to removal of nitrogen in surface-flow wetlands. In this study, we explored space–time analysis with high-throughput sequencing to elucidate the relationships between denitrifying bacteria community structures and environmental factors during different seasons. Our results showed that along the flow direction of different processing units, there were dynamic changes in physical and chemical indicators. The bacterial abundance indexes (ACEs) in May, August, and October were 686.8, 686.8, and 996.2, respectively, whereas the Shannon-Weiner indexes were 3.718, 4.303, and 4.432, respectively. Along the flow direction, the denitrifying bacterial abundance initially increased and then decreased subsequently during the same months, although diversity tended to increase. The abundance showed similar changes during the different months. Surface flow wetlands mainly contained the following denitrifying bacteria genus: unclassified Bacteria (37.12%), unclassified Proteobacteria (18.16%), Dechloromonas (16.21%), unranked environmental samples (12.51%), unclassified Betaproteobacteria (9.73%), unclassified Rhodocyclaceae (2.14%), and Rhodanobacter (1.51%). During different seasons, the same unit showed alternating changes, and during the same season, bacterial community structures were influenced by the second genus proportion in different processing units. ACEs were strongly correlated with temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH. Bacterial diversity was strongly correlated with temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, and oxidation reduction potential. Denitrifying bacteria are greatly affected by environmental factors such as temperature and pH.
Tardigrades of Kristianstads Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve with description of four new species from Sweden
Authors: Massa Edoardo , Guidetti Roberto , Cesari Michele , Rebecchi Lorena , Jönsson K. Ingemar
Published: March 2021

Kristianstads Vattenrike Biosphere Reserve [KVBR] is a UNESCO designated area of Sweden possessing high biological value. Although several studies on tardigrades inhabiting Sweden have been performed, the KVBR area has been neglected. The current study investigates the tardigrade fauna of five areas of the biosphere reserve and includes 34 samples of different substrates analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. In total, 33 species of tardigrades were found in the samples, including 22 new records for the Skåne region, 15 new records for Sweden, and four species new to science. Mesobiotus emiliae sp. nov., Xerobiotus gretae sp. nov., Itaquascon magnussoni sp. nov., and Thulinius gustavi sp. nov. were described with an integrative approach (when possible) using morphological characters (light, electron scanning, and confocal laser scanning microscopies) and molecular markers (ITS2, 18S, 28S, cox1). A new protocol to increase morphological data was developed recovering mounted specimens within old slides for SEM analysis. Emended diagnoses for the genus Itaquascon and the transfer of Platicrista itaquasconoide to the genus Meplitumen are proposed. This study enriches the knowledge of the tardigrade biodiversity both within the KVBR and in Sweden and contributes to the rapidly increasing number of tardigrade species reported worldwide. The 33 species identified in the KVBR area represents 28% of all water bear species found in Sweden so far. The restricted study areas and limited number of samples collected suggests that the KVBR is very rich of tardigrades.
Enhancing laser speckle reduction by decreasing the pitch of a chiral nematic liquid crystal diffuser
Authors: Hansford David J. , Jin Yihan , Elston Steve J. , Morris Stephen M.
Published: March 2021

The artefact known as speckle can plague numerous imaging applications where the narrow linewidth of laser light is required, which includes laser projection and medical imaging. Here, we report on the use of thin-film chiral nematic liquid crystal (LC) devices that can be used to mitigate the influence of speckle when subjected to an applied electric field. Results are presented which show that the speckle contrast (a quantitative measure of the presence of speckle) can be significantly reduced by decreasing the pitch of the chiral nematic LC from 2700 to 244 nm. Further reduction in the speckle contrast can be observed by operating the diffuser technology at a temperature close to the chiral nematic to isotropic transition. At such temperatures, we observe a simultaneous improvement in the transmission of light through the device and a decrease in the electric field amplitude required for the minimum speckle contrast value. We conclude by presenting a laser projected image of the 1951 USAF target with and without the LC device to demonstrate the visual improvement as a result of the speckle reduction.