bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of survival outcomes among lung cancer patients at the National and Referral Hospital in Kenya
Authors: Said Nur Swaleh , Degu Amsalu
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Lung cancer has a low overall survival rate linked to late diagnosis and metastasis. Unfortunately, comprehensive data within the African continent are limited due to the lack of a registry, low public awareness of lung cancer, financial constraints, and inadequate screening and treatment facilities. In addition, there was a lack of conclusive data in our setting. Therefore, this study aimed to assess survival outcomes among lung cancer patients at Kenyatta National Hospital.

Methods

A hospital‐based retrospective cohort study was performed to examine the survival outcomes of 151 lung cancer patients. All eligible lung cancer patients diagnosed and treated in the facility between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020, were included. The patients were retrospectively followed from the date of primary cancer diagnosis until death or the last follow‐up period. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 statistical software was used to enter and analyze the data. Kaplan–Meier survival and Cox regression analysis were employed to determine median survival and predictors of mortality, respectively.

Results

The mean and median follow‐time was 18.2 and 17.5 months, respectively. Most (98%) of the patients had non‐small cell lung cancer. The 2‐year survival rate was 66.7%, with 59.6% of patients having developed distant metastasis during the follow‐up, while 25.1% were deceased. The median cancer‐specific survival time among the study population was 18.0 ± 3.40 months. Cox regression analyses showed that patients with distant metastasis had five times more risk of dying (AHR: 4.74, 95% CI: 2.1–10.8, p < 0.001) than patients without distant metastasis.

Conclusions

The overall two‐year survival rate of lung cancer patients at the Kenyatta National Hospital was 66.7%, with most patients developed distant metastasis during the follow‐up period. Distant metastasis was the only significant predictor of mortality among lung cancer patients in our setting.
Challenges in management of Bartholin gland leiomyoma: A case report
Authors: Vinturache Angela Elena , Ismail Lamiese , Damato Stephen , Soleymani Majd Hooman
Published: January 2023

Leiomyomas are uncommon vulvar neoplasms often misdiagnosed as other Bartholin gland pathology. This case report describes a case of accelerating growth of a vulvar mass, initially diagnosed as Bartholin cyst. Surgical excision led to a histopathologic diagnosis of vulvar leiomyoma. The postoperative recovery was complicated by secondary hematoma and dehiscence of the surgical site. There was no recurrence at 2 years follow‐up.
Rare presentation of retroperitoneal leiomyosarcoma mimicking a myoma in a 46‐year‐old woman: A case report
Authors: Akhavan Setareh , Sheikhhasani Shahrzad , Peydayesh Mohades , Alizadeh Shima , Zamani Fatemeh , Zamani Narges
Published: January 2023

Retroperitoneal sarcoma is relatively uncommon. We share our experience in encountering retroperitoneal sarcoma with vascular and urethral adhesion in a 46‐year‐old woman. Given the rarity of these tumors, evaluation and management should ideally be performed in a center equipped with multidisciplinary expertise in treating sarcomas.
Self‐Supporting Iron‐Modified Nickel Phosphide Electrode Realizing Superior Bifunctional Performance for Water Splitting
Authors: Chen Pengzuo , Li Kaixun , Ye Yutong , Wu Doufeng , Tong Yun
Published: January 2023

Utilizing non‐noble metal‐based materials to design highly active and low‐cost bifunctional electrocatalysts play a vital role in oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for the overall water splitting. Herein, a self‐supporting nickel phosphide electrode with the decoration of FeOOH species is successfully prepared by a simple electrodeposition and maceration drying process. This kind of electrode exhibits superior bifunctional activity for both HER and OER. Benefiting from the more exposed catalytic active sites, open hierarchical structure, and better reaction kinetics. At the current density of 100 mA cm−2, the optimal Ni2P−FeOOH/NF delivers the small overpotentials of 200 mV and 235 mV for HER and OER in an alkaline solution, respectively. After further assembling into the electrolyzer, the Ni2P−FeOOH/NF‐based device shows a lower cell voltage of 1.5 V and 1.66 V to reach the current density of 10 mA cm−2 and 100 mA cm−2, along with superior stability. This work outlines a promising strategy for the facile preparation of self‐supporting electrodes for practical application in hydrogen generation by overall water splitting.
Bioinformatics analysis of miRNA and its associated genes to identify potential biomarkers of oral submucous fibrosis and oral malignancy
Authors: Mohanan Ezhuthachan Mithu , Jhala Dhwani , More Chandramani B. , Patel Amrutlal K. , Joshi Chaitanya
Published: January 2023

Background

MicroRNAs are a group of non‐coding RNA that controls the gene expression. The interaction between miRNA and mRNA is thought to be dynamic. Oral cancer “The cancer of mouth” is quite prevailing in developing countries. miRNA has been found associated with oral cancer targeting tumor growth, cell proliferation, metastasis, invasion. The significant association of miRNA with genes could be used as a remarkable tool for diagnosis as well as prognostic analysis of oral cancer.

Aim

The aim of the present study is to evaluate common upregulated and downregulated miRNAs in oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) and oral malignancy (OM) patients that can be used as diagnostic biomarkers, and to find out their interactions with target genes to establish associated networks in cancer pathways.

Methods and Results

Using miRDeep2 and DESeq analysis, the upregulated and downregulated miRNA in OSMF (Oral Submucous Fibrosis) and OM (Oral Malignancies) samples were compared to GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) control dataset. There were 50 common downregulated miRNAs and 13 common upregulated miRNAs in OSMF and OM samples. miRNet analysis of common upregulated miRNA and common downregulated miRNA identified 1295 and 5954 genes, respectively connected with cancer pathways. From analysis of Hub genes, HRAS, STAT3, TP53, MYC, PTEN, CTNNB1, CCND1, JUN, VEGFA, KRAS were found associated with downregulated miRNA and VEGFA, TP53, MDM2, PTEN, MYC, ERBB2, CDKN1A, HSP90AA1, CCND1, AKTI were found associated with upregulated miRNA. The gene enrichment analysis of these hub genes were associated with cell communication, metabolic process, cell proliferation, and cellular component organization. Hub Genes linked with upregulated miRNA had an enrichment ratio of 11.828, whereas hub genes linked with downregulated miRNA had an enrichment ratio of 45.912.

Conclusion

We identified common deregulated miRNAs between OSMF and OM patients, which were further analyzed to find out associations with the genes correlated to cancer pathways. The hub genes identified in this study were found to have a significant impact on tumor growth and carcinogenesis. Also, the enrichment of these genes has revealed that the genes are associated with cellular communication, metabolic processes and various biological regulation. These deregulated miRNAs can be used to make a panel of biomarkers to diagnose oral cancer from blood even before its onset.
Analyzing the performance of long short‐term memory architectures for malware detection models
Authors: Avci Cigdem , Tekinerdogan Bedir , Catal Cagatay
Published: January 2023

Malicious software forms a threat to many software‐intensive systems and as such several malware detection approaches have been introduced, often based on sequential data analysis. Long short‐term memory (LSTM) is an artificial recurrent neural network (RNN) architecture that is effective for sequential data analysis, however, no study has yet analyzed the performance of different LSTM architectures for the application of malware detection. In this article, we aim to evaluate and benchmark the performance of LSTM‐based malware detection approaches on specific LSTM architectures to provide insight into malware detection. Our method builds LSTM‐based malware prediction models and performs experiments using different LSTM architectures including Vanilla LSTM, stacked LSTM, bi‐directional LSTM, and CNN‐LSTM. We evaluated the performance of each of these architectures and different configurations. Our study, as a contribution, shows that Bidirectional LSTM with hyperparameter optimization is found to be overperforming other selected LSTM architectures. This study shows that different LSTM approaches and architectures are applicable to the malware detection problem. Quality attributes such as efficiency and accuracy, and the software system architecture adopted for the implementation impact the selection of the LSTM approach.
Genome‐wide Association Study of Methotrexate‐Induced Liver Injury in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
Authors: Eektimmerman Frank , Swen Jesse J. , den Broeder Alfons A. , Hazes Johanna M. W. , Kurreeman Fina S. , Verstappen Suzanne M. M. , Nair Nisha , Pawlik Andrzej , Nurmohamed Mike T. , Dolžan Vita , Böhringer Stefan , Allaart Cornelia F. , Guchelaar Henk‐Jan
Published: January 2023

Hepatotoxicity is a serious adverse drug reaction related to methotrexate (MTX). However, the cause of drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) is still unclear and unpredictable. Genetic risk factors may predispose for MTX‐DILI. Therefore, we conducted a nested case‐control genome‐wide association study to explore genetic risk factors associated with MTX‐DILI. Seven international groups contributed blood samples and data of patients with rheumatoid arthritis who used MTX. MTX‐DILI was defined as an alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level of at least three times the upper limit of normal (ULN), to increase contrast controls ALT levels did not raise above two times the ULN. Per study site, control subjects and patients with MTX‐DILI (ratio 3:1) were matched for age, gender, and duration of MTX use. Patients were genotyped using Illumina GSA MD‐24v1‐0 and data were imputed using the 1000 Genomes reference panel. Single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed using an additive genetic model, corrected for sex, country, and age. A P‐value of ≤ 5 × 10−8 was considered significant, whereas a  P‐value of ≤ 5 × 10−6 was considered suggestive. A total of 108 MTX‐DILI cases and 311 controls were included for association analysis. None of the SNPs were significantly associated with MTX‐DILI. However, we found seven suggestive genetic variants associated with MTX‐DILI (P‐values 7.43 × 10−8 to 4.86 × 10−6). Of those, five SNPs were in the intronic protein‐coding regions of FTCDNL1, BCOR, FGF14, RBMS3, and PFDN4/DOK5. Investigation of candidates SPATA9 (rs72783407), PLCG2 (rs60427389), RAVER2 (rs72675408), JAK1 (rs72675451), PTPN2 (rs2476601), MTHFR C677T (rs1801133), and into the HLA region did not show significant findings. No genetic variants associated with MTX‐DILI were found, whereas suggestive SNPs need further investigation.
Zeta diversity patterns in metabarcoded lotic algal assemblages as a tool for bioassessment
Authors: Simons Ariel Levi , Theroux Susanna , Osborne Melisa , Nuzhdin Sergey , Mazor Raphael , Steele Joshua
Published: January 2023

Assessments of the ecological health of algal assemblages in streams typically focus on measures of their local diversity and classify individuals by morphotaxonomy. Such assemblages are often connected through various ecological processes, such as dispersal, and may be more accurately assessed as components of regional‐, rather than local‐scale assemblages. With recent declines in the costs of sequencing and computation, it has also become increasingly feasible to use metabarcoding to more accurately classify algal species and perform regional‐scale bioassessments. Recently, zeta diversity has been explored as a novel method of constructing regional bioassessments for groups of streams. Here, we model the use of zeta diversity to investigate whether stream health can be determined by the landscape diversity of algal assemblages. We also compare the use of DNA metabarcoding and morphotaxonomy classifications in these zeta diversity‐based bioassessments of regional stream health. From 96 stream samples in California, we used various orders of zeta diversity to construct models of biotic integrity for multiple assemblages of diatoms, as well as hybrid assemblages of diatoms in combination with soft‐bodied algae, using taxonomy data generated with both DNA sequencing as well as traditional morphotaxonomic approaches. We compared our ability to evaluate the ecological health of streams with the performance of multiple algal indices of biological condition. Our zeta diversity‐based models of regional biotic integrity were more strongly correlated with existing indices for algal assemblages classified using metabarcoding compared to morphotaxonomy. Metabarcoding for diatoms and hybrid algal assemblages involved rbcL and 18S V9 primers, respectively. Importantly, we also found that these algal assemblages, independent of the classification method, are more likely to be assembled under a process of niche differentiation rather than stochastically. Taken together, these results suggest the potential for zeta diversity patterns of algal assemblages classified using metabarcoding to inform stream bioassessments.
Emissions trading in China: New political economy dynamics
Authors: Wang Zexiang , Paavola Jouni
Published: January 2023

China has pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and to become carbon neutral by 2060. Achieving the targets would need great improvement of its emissions trading scheme (ETS) that covers half of the country's emissions. Lessons from the European Union have shown that the ETS is not only a product of the changing circumstances, but its implementation and revisions are also continuously affected by the evolving context. Using a political economy perspective, we examine whether the changing environment is also affecting China's ETS. Our analysis centres on two recent contextual dynamics with relevance to the ETS: (1) the change in the ETS authority in 2018; and (2) the impacts of the deteriorating economic environment on the climate‐energy policy complex. We find that China's ETS and its broad climate ambitions are still constrained by the tensions between the long‐term socio‐economic benefits of low‐carbon policies and the short‐term economic interests behind the government's policy motives, which led to conflicting interests and priorities among regulatory agencies and local governments. The analysis contributes to the political economy debates on emissions trading and China's environmental governance. It also provides practical insights to the policymakers with an in‐depth inquiry into the structural barriers to China's net‐zero targets.
Heterogeneity in cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure benefits with flozins is linked to weight
Authors: Ghosal Samit , Sinha Binayak , Mukherjee Rik
Published: January 2023

Aims

Cardiovascular outcome trials with sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT‐2is) have documented a positive impact on micro‐ and macrovascular complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Most analyses suggest that these benefits are independent of achieving metabolic control. This meta‐regression analysis was undertaken to explore the relationship between metabolic components positively influenced by SGLT‐2is and a reduction in cardiovascular death (CV death) or hospitalization due to heart failure (hHF).

Methods and results

A database search was conducted using the Cochrane Library to identify relevant studies. Analysis was conducted using CMA and RStudio (2022.07.1) software. The hazard ratios of the individual studies were used to compute the random effects model mean effect size for CV death or hHF, and the prediction interval was used to identify the uncertainty in the summary treatment effect. Heterogeneity was quantified using Q statistics. A pooled population of 46 969 patients from five studies was included for analysis. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. There was a significant 23% reduction in CV deaths or hHFs in the SGLT‐2i arm compared with the placebo arm [hazard ratio (HR): 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70–0.85]. However, the prediction interval (0.57–1.05) and the Q statistics [8.06 > degrees of freedom (df) of 4] were indicative of uncertainty in the true effect or heterogeneity. Nearly 50% of the variance of the observed effects were related to the true effects (I2 = 50%). Among the moderators selected, a significant correlation of the outcomes was found with the weight variable (P < 0.01). Weight differential could explain the entire variance in true effect size (R2 = 1.00) ruling out any sampling error.

Conclusions

The results of this meta‐regression analysis suggest that the beneficial effects of SGLT‐2is in reducing CV deaths and hHFs are related to the weight variable.
Conductive coating, cation‐intercalation, and oxygen vacancies co‐modified vanadium oxides as high‐rate and stable cathodes for aqueous zinc‐ion batteries
Authors: Tan Shandong , Sang Zhiyuan , Yi Zhehan , Guo Jingdong , Zhang Xueqi , Li Pinxiang , Si WenPing , Liang Ji , Hou Feng
Published: January 2023

Layered vanadium oxides are promising cathode materials for zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) owing to their high capacity, but the sluggish electron/ion migration kinetics and structural collapse/dissolution severely limit their Zn2+‐storage performance. Herein, poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) coated and Mn2+‐intercalated vanadium oxides with rich oxygen vacancies (MnVOH@PEDOT) are prepared as the cathodes for ZIBs. The PEDOT coating, synergistic with oxygen vacancies, tailors the electron conductivity, and the Mn2+‐intercalation enlarges the interlayer spacing for rapid Zn2+‐ions diffusion. In addition, the pre‐intercalated Mn2+‐ions act as “pillars” to stabilize the structure, and the PEDOT coating prevents the direct contact of vanadium oxides with electrolyte to inhibit its dissolution during cycling. Thus, the MnVOH@PEDOT cathode exhibits superior discharge capacity, favorable rate capability (336.0 mAh g−1 at 8 A g−1), and satisfying cyclic durability (84.8% capacity retention over 2000 cycles). This work offers a facile and synergistic design strategy for achieving favorable cathodes for ZIBs.

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Adaptive geometric multigrid for the mixed finite cell formulation of Stokes and Navier–Stokes equations
Authors: Saberi S. , Meschke G. , Vogel A.
Published: January 2023

The unfitted finite element methods have emerged as a popular alternative to classical finite element methods for the solution of partial differential equations and allow modeling arbitrary geometries without the need for a boundary‐conforming mesh. On the other hand, the efficient solution of the resultant system is a challenging task because of the numerical ill‐conditioning that typically entails from the formulation of such methods. We use an adaptive geometric multigrid solver for the solution of the mixed finite cell formulation of saddle‐point problems and investigate its convergence in the context of the Stokes and Navier–Stokes equations. We present two smoothers for the treatment of cutcells in the finite cell method and analyze their effectiveness for the model problems using a numerical benchmark. Results indicate that the presented multigrid method is capable of solving the model problems independently of the problem size and is robust with respect to the depth of the grid hierarchy.
Analysis of changing United States Practice Advisory guidelines on COVID‐19 vaccine uptake in pregnancy
Authors: Rodriguez Gabriella F. , Vilariño Valerie , Agasse Eva , Galli Johnny , Potter JoNell
Published: January 2023

Synopsis

The rate of COVID‐19 vaccine uptake in pregnant individuals approximately doubled following the release of a US Practice Advisory recommending COVID‐19 immunization in pregnancy.
Type and timing of antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy: Impact on risk of preterm delivery and small‐for‐gestational age births in Canada, a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Schneidman Jillian , Lee Terry , Sauve Laura , Brophy Jason , Bitnun Ari , Singer Joel , Money Deborah , Kakkar Fatima , Boucoiran Isabelle ,   for the Canadian Perinatal HIV Surveillance Program (CPHSP)
Published: January 2023

Objective

To evaluate the impact of type and timing of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the risk of preterm delivery (PTD) and small‐for‐gestational age (SGA) birth among pregnant women and people living with HIV in Canada.

Methods

Data for this retrospective cohort study were analyzed from the Canadian Perinatal HIV Surveillance Program from 1990 to 2020. The association between ART and risk of PTD (<37 weeks) and SGA birth (<10th percentile) was explored using mixed effects logistic regression and time‐dependent Cox proportional hazards models.

Results

Overall, there were 14.9% (654 of 4379) PTD and 18.5% (732 of 3947) SGA cases. A higher risk of PTD was observed with nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor–(adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.73; P = 0.019) and boosted protease inhibitor– (aHR, 186; P = 0.007) based regimens compared with integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)–based regimens. ART initiation prior to conception was associated with a lower risk of SGA birth compared with ART initiation after conception at 1 to 14 weeks (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.69; P = 0.024) and > 14 weeks (aOR, 0.70; P = 0.005).

Conclusion

INSTI‐based ART regimens were associated with lower risk of PTD compared with other regimens, and ART initiation before conception was associated with a lower risk of SGA birth. These findings, with overall safety data, should be considered when providing pregnancy counseling to people living with HIV.
Need for approval from others and face concerns as predictors of interpersonal conflict outcome in 29 cultural groups
Authors: Lun Vivian Miu‐Chi , Smith Peter B. , Grigoryan Lusine , Torres Claudio , Papastylianou Antonia , Lopukhova Olga G. , Sunar Diane , Easterbrook Matthew J. , Koc Yasin , Selim Heyla A. , Chobthamkit Phatthanakit , Chaleeraktrakoon Trawin , Gul Pelin , Perez Floriano Lorena , Diaz‐Loving Rolando , Kwantes Catherine T. , Yuki Masaki , Ogusu Natsuki , van Osch Yvette , Mendes Texeira Maria Luisa , Hu Ping , Abbas Ammar , Tripodi Doriana , Lay Siugmin , Efremova Maria , Hassan Bushra , Ahmad Abd Halim , al‐Bayati Ahmed , Anderson Joel , Cross Susan E. , Delfino Gisela Isabel , Gamsakhurdia Vladimer , Gavreliuc Alin , Gavreliuc Dana , Gunsoy Ceren , Díaz Rivera Paola Eunice , Hakobjanyan Anna
Published: January 2023

The extent to which culture moderates the effects of need for approval from others on a person's handling of interpersonal conflict was investigated. Students from 24 nations rated how they handled a recent interpersonal conflict, using measures derived from face‐negotiation theory. Samples varied in the extent to which they were perceived as characterised by the cultural logics of dignity, honour, or face. It was hypothesised that the emphasis on harmony within face cultures would reduce the relevance of need for approval from others to face‐negotiation concerns. Respondents rated their need for approval from others and how much they sought to preserve their own face and the face of the other party during the conflict. Need for approval was associated with concerns for both self‐face and other‐face. However, as predicted, the association between need for approval from others and concern for self‐face was weaker where face logic was prevalent. Favourable conflict outcome was positively related to other‐face and negatively related to self‐face and to need for approval from others, but there were no significant interactions related to prevailing cultural logics. The results illustrate how particular face‐threatening factors can moderate the distinctive face‐concerns earlier found to characterise individualistic and collectivistic cultural groups.
Development of the crop coefficient for vertically trained cucumber vines grown in soilless media under naturally ventilated greenhouse conditions
Authors: Goyal Pooja , Sharda Rakesh , Siag Mukesh , Biwalkar Nilesh
Published: January 2023

In the wake of climate change and water scarcity issues, protected cultivation combined with precise irrigation management allows effective water resource utilization. This research was intended to find the actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc) of vertically trained cucumber vines in a soilless medium and develop crop coefficients (Kc) under greenhouse conditions. Experiments were performed in three micro‐lysimeters (volume 0.015 m3) placed inside a naturally ventilated greenhouse from April to June 2018 (season I) and September to December 2019 (season II) with a planting density of 0.32 m2/plant. The FAO‐56 Penman–Monteith equation was used to calculate reference evapotranspiration (ETo), and lysimeters were used to calculate the actual ETc. The average actual ETc of cucumber vines in season II (147.81 mm) was almost half of the ETc in season I (275.24 mm). The higher ETc in season I was due to a higher ETo of 493 mm during season I compared to 150 mm in season II inside the greenhouse. Kc values for season I were 0.3, 0.74, 1.11 and 0.68 compared to 0.3, 0.77, 1.38 and 0.79 in season II during the initial development, mid and end stages of cucumber vines, respectively, under greenhouse conditions.
Rapid and accurate screening of cystic echinococcosis in sheep based on serum Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy combined with machine learning algorithms
Authors: Dawuti Wubulitalifu , Dou Jingrui , Zheng Xiangxiang , Lü Xiaoyi , Zhao Hui , Yang Lingfei , Lin Renyong , Lü Guodong
Published: January 2023

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) in sheep is a serious zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.). Presently, the screening technology for CE in sheep is time‐consuming and inaccurate, and novel screening technology is urgently needed. In this work, we combined machine‐learning algorithms with Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy of serum to establish a quick and accurate screening approach for CE in sheep. Serum samples from 77 E. granulosus s.s.‐infected sheep to 121 healthy control sheep were measured by FT‐IR spectrometer. To optimize the classification accuracy of the serum FI‐TR method for the E. granulosus s.s.‐infected sheep and healthy control sheep, principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis, and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms were used to analyze the data. Among all the bands, 1500–1700 cm−1 band has the best classification effect; its diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of PCA‐SVM were 100%, 95.74%, and 96.66%, respectively. The study showed that serum FT‐IR spectroscopy combined with machine learning algorithms has great potential for rapid and accurate screening methods for the CE in sheep.
Scaffolds containing GAG‐mimetic cellulose sulfate promote TGF‐β interaction and MSC Chondrogenesis over native GAGs
Authors: Menezes Roseline , Sherman Lauren , Rameshwar Pranela , Arinzeh Treena Livingston
Published: January 2023

Cartilage tissue engineering strategies seek to repair damaged tissue using approaches that include scaffolds containing components of the native extracellular matrix (ECM). Articular cartilage consists of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) which are known to sequester growth factors. In order to more closely mimic the native ECM, this study evaluated the chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a promising cell source for cartilage regeneration, on fibrous scaffolds that contained the GAG‐mimetic cellulose sulfate. The degree of sulfation was evaluated, examining partially sulfated cellulose (pSC) and fully sulfated cellulose (NaCS). Comparisons were made with scaffolds containing native GAGs (chondroitin sulfate A, chondroitin sulfate C and heparin). Transforming growth factor‐beta3 (TGF‐β3) sequestration, as measured by rate of association, was higher for sulfated cellulose‐containing scaffolds as compared to native GAGs. In addition, TGF‐β3 sequestration and retention over time was highest for NaCS‐containing scaffolds. Sulfated cellulose‐containing scaffolds loaded with TGF‐β3 showed enhanced chondrogenesis as indicated by a higher Collagen Type II:I ratio over native GAGs. NaCS‐containing scaffolds loaded with TGF‐β3 had the highest expression of chondrogenic markers and a reduction of hypertrophic markers in dynamic loading conditions, which more closely mimic in vivo conditions. Studies also demonstrated that TGF‐β3 mediated its effect through the Smad2/3 signaling pathway where the specificity of TGF‐β receptor (TGF‐ βRI)‐phosphorylated SMAD2/3 was verified with a receptor inhibitor. Therefore, studies demonstrate that scaffolds containing cellulose sulfate enhance TGF‐β3‐induced MSC chondrogenic differentiation and show promise for promoting cartilage tissue regeneration.
Incorporating nanoconfined chitin‐fibrils in poly (ε‐caprolactone) membrane scaffolds improves mechanical and chemical properties for biomedical application
Authors: Saudi Sheikh , Jun Sunghyun , Fialkova Svitlana , Surendran Vikram , Chandrasekaran Arvind , Bhattarai Shanta R. , Sankar Jagannathan , Bhattarai Narayan
Published: January 2023

Engineered composite scaffolds composed of natural and synthetic polymers exhibit cooperation at the molecular level that closely mimics tissue extracellular matrix's (ECM) physical and chemical characteristics. However, due to the lack of smooth intermix capability of natural and synthetic materials in the solution phase, bio‐inspired composite material development has been quite challenged. In this research, we introduced new bio‐inspired material blending techniques to fabricate nanofibrous composite scaffolds of chitin nanofibrils (CNF), a natural hydrophilic biomaterial and poly (ɛ‐caprolactone) (PCL), a synthetic hydrophobic‐biopolymer. CNF was first prepared by acid hydrolysis technique and dispersed in trifluoroethanol (TFE); and second, PCL was dissolved in TFE and mixed with the chitin solution in different ratios. Electrospinning and spin‐coating technology were used to form nanofibrous mesh and films, respectively. Physicochemical properties, such as mechanical strength, and cellular compatibility, and structural parameters, such as morphology, and crystallinity, were determined. Toward the potential use of this composite materials as a support membrane in blood–brain barrier application (BBB), human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured, and transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) was measured. Experimental results of the composite materials with PCL/CNF ratios from 100/00 to 25/75 showed good uniformity in fiber morphology and suitable mechanical properties. They retained the excellent ECM‐like properties that mimic synthetic‐bio‐interface that has potential application in biomedical fields, particularly tissue engineering and BBB applications.
Advanced Glycation End Products and Bone Metabolism in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Quadros Kélcia R. S. , Roza Noemi A. V. , França Renata A. , Esteves André B. A. , Barreto Joaquim , Dominguez Wagner V. , Furukawa Luzia N. S. , Caramori Jacqueline Teixeira , Sposito Andrei C. , de Oliveira Rodrigo Bueno
Published: January 2023

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulation may be involved in the progression of CKD‐bone disorders. We sought to determine the relationship between AGEs measured in the blood, skin, and bone with histomorphometry parameters, bone protein, gene expression, and serum biomarkers of bone metabolism in patients with CKD stages 3 to 5D patients. Serum levels of AGEs were estimated by pentosidine, glycated hemoglobin (A1c), and N‐carboxymethyl lysine (CML). The accumulation of AGEs in the skin was estimated from skin autofluorescence (SAF). Bone AGEs accumulation and multiligand receptor for AGEs (RAGEs) expression were evaluated by immunohistochemistry; bone samples were used to evaluate protein and gene expression and histomorphometric analysis. Data are from 86 patients (age: 51 ± 13 years; 60 [70%] on dialysis). Median serum levels of pentosidine, CML, A1c, and SAF were 71.6 pmol/mL, 15.2 ng/mL, 5.4%, and 3.05 arbitrary units, respectively. AGEs covered 3.92% of trabecular bone and 5.42% of the cortical bone surface, whereas RAGEs were expressed in 0.7% and 0.83% of trabecular and cortical bone surfaces, respectively. AGEs accumulation in bone was inversely related to serum receptor activator of NF‐κB ligand/parathyroid hormone (PTH) ratio (R = −0.25; p = 0.03), and RAGE expression was negatively related to serum tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase‐5b/PTH (R = −0.31; p = 0.01). Patients with higher AGEs accumulation presented decreased bone protein expression (sclerostin [1.96 (0.11–40.3) vs. 89.3 (2.88–401) ng/mg; p = 0.004]; Dickkopf‐related protein 1 [0.064 (0.03–0.46) vs. 1.36 (0.39–5.87) ng/mg; p = 0.0001]; FGF‐23 [1.07 (0.4–32.6) vs. 44.1 (6–162) ng/mg; p = 0.01]; and osteoprotegerin [0.16 (0.08–2.4) vs. 6.5 (1.1–23.7) ng/mg; p = 0.001]), upregulation of the p53 gene, and downregulation of Dickkopf‐1 gene expression. Patients with high serum A1c levels presented greater cortical porosity and Mlt and reduced osteoblast surface/bone surface, eroded surface/bone surface, osteoclast surface/bone surface, mineral apposition rate, and adjusted area. Cortical thickness was negatively correlated with serum A1c (R = −0.28; p = 0.02) and pentosidine levels (R = −0.27; p = 0.02). AGEs accumulation in the bone of CKD patients was related to decreased bone protein expression, gene expression changes, and increased skeletal resistance to PTH; A1c and pentosidine levels were related to decreased cortical thickness; and A1c levels were related to increased cortical porosity and Mlt. © 2023 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Ab initio calculations of the interaction potentials and thermodynamic functions for ArN and ArN+
Authors: Maltsev Maxim A. , Aksenova Svetlana A. , Morozov Igor V. , Minenkov Yury , Osina Evgenia L.
Published: January 2023

Argon compounds play an important role in the mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma and other applications. At the same time, there is a little knowledge of their electronic terms and thermodynamic functions due to the complexity of experimental observations. In this work, the ab initio simulations are performed to obtain the interatomic interaction potentials for the ground and excited states of ArN and ArN+. Using these potentials, the vibrational‐rotational partition functions and thermodynamic properties in the gas phase are calculated for these molecules at the temperature range of 298.15–10,000 K. The errors of the thermodynamic functions associated with the approximation of interatomic interaction potentials are estimated.
Understanding the mechanism and regio‐ and stereo selectivity of [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions between substituted azomethine ylide and 3,3,3‐trifluoro‐1‐nitroprop‐1‐ene, within the molecular electron density theory
Authors: Sobhi Chafia , Merzoud Lynda , Bouasla Souad , Nacereddine Abdelmalek Khorief , Morell Christophe , Chermette Henry
Published: January 2023

The selectivity and the nature of the molecular mechanism of the [3 + 2] cycloaddition (32CA) reaction between 2‐(dimethylamino)‐1H‐indene‐1,3(2H)‐dione (AY11) and trans(E)‐3,3,3‐trifluoro‐1‐nitroprop‐1‐ene(FNP10) has been studied, in which the molecular electron density theory using density functional theory methods at the MPWB1K/6‐31G(d) computational level was used. Analysis of the global reactivity indices permits us to characterizeFNP10as a strong electrophile andAY11as a strong nucleophile. Four reactive pathways associated with the ortho/meta regioselective channels and endo/exo stereoselective approaches modes have been explored and characterized in the gas phase and in the benzene solvent. The analysis of the relative energies associated with the different reaction pathways indicates that the 32CA reactions of the azomethine ylide (AY)with the nitroalkene (FNP) is meta regioselective with high endo stereoselectivity. This result is in good agreement with the experimental observations. electron localization function topological analysis of the most favored reactive pathways allows for characterizing the mechanism of this 32CA reactions as a non‐concerted two‐stage one‐step mechanism. Finally, non‐covalent interactions and quantum theory of atoms in molecule analyses at the meta/endo transition state structure indicate that the presence of different several weak interactions, namely, CF and NH contributed in favoring the formation of a meta‐endo cycloadduct.
Association of handgrip strength and/or walking pace with incident chronic kidney disease: A UK biobank observational study
Authors: He Panpan , Ye Ziliang , Liu Mengyi , Li Huan , Zhang Yuanyuan , Zhou Chun , Wu Qimeng , Zhang Yanjun , Yang Sisi , Liu Chengzhang , Qin Xianhui
Published: January 2023

Background

The individual and combined relations of handgrip strength and walking pace with the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) remain uncertain. We aimed to investigate the relationship of handgrip strength and/or walking pace with incident CKD, using data from the large‐scale, observational UK Biobank.

Methods

A total of 417 504 participants free of prior kidney diseases were included from UK Biobank. Handgrip strength was assessed by dynamometer. The walking pace was self‐reported as slow, average, or brisk. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident CKD.

Results

The average age of the study population was 56.3 (SD, 8.1) years. 192 012 (46.0%) of the participants were male. The mean handgrip strength was 23.5 (SD, 6.2) and 40.0 (SD, 8.8) kg for females and males, respectively. Over a median follow‐up duration of 12.1 years, 11 064 (2.7%) participants developed incident CKD. Handgrip strength was significantly inversely associated with the risk of incident CKD in both males and females (both P for trend <0.001). When handgrip strength was assessed as sex‐specific quartiles, compared with those in the first quartile, the adjusted HRs (95% CI) of incident CKD in participants in the second, third and fourth quartiles were 0.84 (0.79, 0.89), 0.76 (0.71, 0.81) and 0.72 (0.67, 0.77), respectively. Compared with those with slow walking pace, participants with average (HR, 0.64; 95% CI: 0.60–0.68) or brisk (HR, 0.53; 95% CI: 0.49–0.57) walking pace had significantly lower risks of incident CKD. Compared with those with both lower handgrip strength (the first quartile) and slow walking pace, the lowest risk of incident CKD was observed in participants with both higher handgrip strength (the 2–4 quartiles) and average or brisk walking pace (HR, 0.51; 95% CI: 0.46–0.55).

Conclusions

Handgrip strength and walking pace were significantly inversely associated with incident CKD in the general population.
RETRACTED: The role of biofield energy treatment on psychological symptoms, mental health disorders, and stress‐related quality of life in adult subjects: A randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: Trivedi Mahendra Kumar , Branton Alice , Trivedi Dahryn , Mondal Sambhu , Jana Snehasis
Published: January 2023

Background

Western and Eastern cultures have practiced biofield energy therapy for thousands of years, but empirical research on effectiveness of this therapy is relatively nascent. Study was aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of biofield therapy on psychological symptoms and mental health disorders in adult subjects.

Methods

Seventy‐seven participants (39 male and 38 female) underwent clinical trial. This trial was simple randomized, placebo‐controlled, parallel‐group, open‐label, and single‐center with subjects, who have one or more psychological symptoms. Two sessions of biofield energy attunement were given in‐person at day 0 and 90 for 3 min (treatment group, n = 35) and others allocated to naive attunement (placebo group, n = 42). Subjects were assessed psychological questionnaire scoring using standard scale of assessment and levels of physiological biomarkers in serum were determined by parameter‐specific ELISA.

Results

Perceived psychological symptoms/scores (asthenia, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, stress, confusion, future fearness, sexual desireness, motivation, confidence, emotional trauma, etc.) were significantly (p ≤ 0.0001) improved in the treatment group than placebo control group. Furthermore, physiological biomarkers: vitamins (B12, C, and D3 metabolites), immune biomarker (CD8+CD28−), neurotransmitters (acetylcholine, noradrenaline, and dopamine), hormones (oxytocin, 17‐β‐estradiol, and insulin), and antiaging protein (klotho) levels were significantly (p ≤ 0.001) increased in treatment group than placebo. Proinflammatory cytokines (TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, and IL‐8) and oxidative stress biomarkers (isoprostane and oxidized LDL) were reduced in treatment group compared with placebo.

Conclusions

Results suggest that experimenter's biofield energy plays a significant role in information transfer processes that contribute to individual's state of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well‐being as well as improved overall health and quality of life.
Pathological survey of precursor lesions in cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Nakanuma Yasuni , Sugino Takashi , Kakuda Yuko , Nomura Yoshikatsu , Watanabe Hiroyuki , Terada Takuro , Sato Yasunori , Ohnishi Yoshifumi , Fukumura Yuki
Published: January 2023

Background

To clarify the pathological significance of two precursors (high‐grade biliary intraepithelial neoplasm [BilIN] and intraductal papillary neoplasm of bile duct [IPNB]) in cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs).

Methods

Ninety‐one cases of CCA (47 distal CCAs [dCCAs], 31 perihilar CCAs [pCCAs] and 13 intrahepatic CCAs of large duct type [LD‐iCCAs]) were examined for their association with precursors. Neoplastic intraepithelial lesions without underlying infiltrating carcinoma in the surrounding mucosa of CCAs were considered to reflect high‐grade BilIN. High‐grade BilIN and IPNB were subdivided into gastric, biliary, intestinal and oncocytic subtypes, while CCAs were subdivided into gastrobiliary, intestinal and oncocytic subtypes. The postoperative overall survival (OS) was examined.

Results

Fifty‐four and 8 of 91 CCAs were associated with high‐grade BilIN and IPNB, respectively, while these precursors were unidentifiable in the remaining CCAs. A majority of CCAs were of the gastrobiliary subtype, while the intestinal subtype was occasionally detected, and the oncocytic subtype was rare. CCAs with high‐grade BilIN showed a similar postoperative OS to CCAs without precursors, while CCAs with IPNB showed a favorable postoperative OS compared to CCAs without precursors.

Conclusions

CCAs were frequently associated with precursors; high‐grade BilIN may be a major precursor and IPNB a minor one. CCAs with IPNB showed a favorable postoperative OS compared to CCAs with high‐grade BilIN.
Impact of very early introduction of everolimus on liver regeneration after partial liver transplantation in rats
Authors: Hirata Masaaki , Yagi Shintaro , Ito Takashi , Masano Yuki , Miyachi Yosuke , Yao Siyuan , Sonoda Mari , Masuda Satohiro , Haga Hironori , Hatano Etsuro
Published: January 2023

Background/Purpose

This experimental study in rats aimed to investigate the impact of very early introduction (within 3 h) of everolimus (EVR) + reduced‐tacrolimus (TAC) after partial liver transplantation (LT) on liver regeneration, rejection, and survival.

Methods

Based on appropriate dose of EVR + reduced‐TAC in 70% hepatectomy (Experiment 1), allogeneic 30% partial LT (Experiment 2) and whole LT (Experiment 3) were performed.

Results

After partial LT in EVR + reduced‐TAC therapy, restoration of liver graft weight (to that of the whole liver) was delayed compared with standard dose TAC monotherapy (standard‐TAC) on day 3 (59.3% vs. 72.9%; p < .001) and 14 (88.1% vs. 95.5%; p = .01). Survival was 75%, which was not as high as the value of 100% observed for standard‐TAC, because neither infection nor rejection could be prevented. By contrast, survival after whole LT was 100% as neither infection nor rejection occurred.

Conclusions

The very early introduction of EVR + reduced‐TAC after partial LT delayed liver regeneration, and made it difficult to manage the dose required to suppress both infection and rejection. On the other hand, EVR + reduced‐TAC could be introduced safely very early after whole LT.
Molecular evolution of the human monkeypox virus
Authors: Wolf Jonas Michel , Wolf Lucas Michel , Fagundes Pamela Pereira , Tomm Dalila Mabel Schmidt , Petek Helena , Brenner Aline , Maccari Juçara Gasparetto , Nasi Luiz Antonio
Published: January 2023

Recently, in 2022, new cases of human monkeypox virus (hMPXV) occurred in Europe and North America. The first case was reported in Europe in May 2022, and subsequently, more than 50 000 new cases were confirmed in 100 countries. Currently, the classification of hMPXV according to the nextstrain occurs in five big clades (1A, A.1, A.2, A.1.1, and B.1). According to the resurgence of smallpox‐like disease caused by hMPXV and the spread of the virus to the European and American continents, in the present study, we review and summarize the molecular evolution of the hMPXV, determining the molecular evolution of the main clades. A total of 442 hMPXV whole‐genome sequences with available information from the country and sampling date (between October 2017 and 2022), were obtained and evaluated using the Bayesian method. The clade B.1 which is currently circulating was the most frequent (n = 415; 93.9%). The other clades presented the following frequencies: 1A (n = 13; 2.9%), A.1 (n = 10; 2.3%), A.2 (n = 3; 0.7%) and A.1.1 (n = 1; 0.2%) The overall nucleotide divergence of hMPXV was 5.590e‐5. The 1A clade was detected between 2017 and 2020. A.1 was observed, and between 2019 and 2022 some A.2 sequences were detected. In 2022, the great predominance of B.1 was observed. The common ancestor of the hMPXV belongs to the clade 1A and the time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (tMRCA) was 2017‐04‐04 (Highest Posterior Density 95% (HPD95%): 2017‐03‐09; 2017‐08‐04) on the West African continent. The tMRCA of A.1 was 2018‐05‐21 (HPD95%: 2018‐05‐20; 2018‐07‐04) with divergence of 6.885e‐5 substitutions per site per year. This clade was of West African origin but was eventually detected in European countries. Also, A.2 was detected with sequences of North America and showed tMRCA of 2019‐07‐15 (HPD95%: 2018‐11‐18; 2020‐02‐24). A.1.1 showed tMRCA from 2021 to 06‐05 (HPD95%: 2021‐06‐05; 2021‐11‐26) and this clade was detected in North America and was the precursor for the globally spreading B.1 which tMRCA was 2022‐04‐26 (HPD95%: 2022‐02‐27; 2022‐04‐26). hMPXV has been spread from West Africa to the United Kingdom, Israel, Singapore, the USA, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, the Republic Czech, Sweden, and Finland. hMPXV also reached countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Australia, and Taiwan. The common ancestor of the hMPXV belongs to the clade 1A with origin in the West African continent. Clade B.1 was responsible for the recent widespread worldwide. Immunization to prevent the spread of hMPXV is not yet available to the public, future studies should focus on the development of effective vaccines to contain the spread of this virus.