bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anti-racism commitment in early childhood education: The limits of cultural competency
Authors: Azarmandi Mahdis , Delaune Andrea , Surtees Nicola , Te Rongopatahi Kari Moana
Published: December 2023

Racism is pervasive in education in Aotearoa New Zealand, including in early childhood education. The preparedness of early childhood teachers to respond to the Ministry of Education's current anti-racism policy direction is a pressing concern. This is particularly the case, given the early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa offers little guidance to support early childhood teachers to develop anti-racism pedagogies. This primarily theoretical article seeks to contribute to dialogue with early childhood teachers about both racism and anti-racism pedagogies. The theoretical arguments advanced in the article focus on document analysis of Te Whāriki. Analysis includes consideration of the themes of inclusion, equity and social justice. It also includes consideration of what these themes might imply about expectations for early childhood teachers’ uptake of anti-racism approaches in their practice. Document analysis is supplemented by limited preliminary survey data drawn from the initial findings of the Anti-racism Commitment in Early Childhood Education: Pathways to Inclusion, Equity and Social Justice (ARC-ECE) study. Drawing from race-critical scholarship to further advance the theoretical arguments, the article highlights tensions in early childhood teachers’ understandings about racism. The limits of narrow definitions of racism that explain it as the result of ‘cultural difference’ are explored. In making a case for thinking beyond cultural competence and culturally responsive practice, the article calls for an immediate rethinking of racism in (and beyond) the sector.
Exploring users’ desire for transparency and control in news recommender systems: A five-nation study
Authors: Mitova Eliza , Blassnig Sina , Strikovic Edina , Urman Aleksandra , de Vreese Claes , Esser Frank
Published: December 2023

As news organizations increasingly adopt AI-driven technologies like news recommender systems (NRS), notions of responsible artificial intelligence (AI) design have attracted significant scholarly and public attention. Particularly, transparency and user control are crucial for the fulfilment of democratic freedoms and human rights. However, users’ desire for such features in NRS has not yet been sufficiently examined. Therefore, this study set out to comparatively examine how individual-level characteristics contribute to the desirability of transparency and user control in NRS across five nations (Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States; N = 5079). We show that the desire for features of responsible NRS is shaped by individual-level characteristics like NRS-related concerns and algorithmic awareness but does not always manifest equally across different national settings. By considering the audience’s view on features of responsible NRS, our study can be a stepping stone towards responsible journalistic AI.
Night labour, social reproduction and political struggle in the ‘Working Day’ chapter of Marx's Capital
Authors: Apostolidis Paul
Published: December 2023

This essay offers a new reading of Marx's chapter on ‘the working day’ in Capital Volume One by exploring the textual theme of night-time work. Even as Marx emphasises how the lengthening workday enables the super-exploitation of producers’ wage labour, his depictions of nocturnal experiences highlight more forcefully the destruction of workers’ reproductive resources, capacities and relationships. Night comes to represent the contracted time, condensed space, petrified relational bonds and thwarted desires for human reproduction in a free, fulsome sense that includes reinvigorating oneself, caring for others and enjoying experiences apart from work or care. Night's role as a privileged signifier and catalyst of these changes comes through in key passages about women, children and vampires, and in theoretically meaningful variances between Marx's German paraphrasing of English sources and those original texts, which replace Marx's phrases in English translations of Capital. Contemplating Marx's ambivalent reflections on legal-political action to limit workday hours, I argue for making struggles over social reproduction in a capacious sense central to working-class politics today. I demonstrate the power of this Marxian analytic by considering the compression of social-reproductive time among today's microworkers, who fuel the digital economy by performing platform-based ‘tasks’ at all hours for very low wages.
No means no: A case study on respecting patient autonomy
Authors: Doukas David John , Stout Nathan
Published: December 2023

This case study examines the circumstance of a patient who has clearly articulated non-treatment preferences and who then later becomes incapacitated. The patient's wife as well as a consulting physician both expressed a preference for full treatment at the time of this incapacity. The analysis of this circumstance is pertinent given misinformed beliefs by health care providers that once a patient is incapacitated, the family is free to override prior values and preferences. The analysis discusses the autonomy, beneficence, and virtue-based considerations as to why a formerly capacitated patient who has not recanted his non-treatment preferences should be obeyed.
Autocratisation and Peacebuilding in Mozambique (2012–2019): Towards Illiberal Peace?
Authors: Sambo Manuel Francisco
Published: December 2023

In 2012, 20 years after the end of the 16-year war between Renamo and the Frelimo-led government, Mozambique witnessed the resumption of armed confrontations between the two former belligerents. The renewed hostilities ended in 2019 when Renamo and the government signed the Maputo Accord for Peace and Reconciliation, hailed as a ‘global exemplar’ of liberal conflict resolution. Nevertheless, the peace process occurred in the context of increasing autocratisation in the country. Accordingly, this article examines the implications of authoritarian politics for an ostensibly liberal peacebuilding process. It argues that while the ruling elites resist attempts at building liberal peace, authoritarian conflict management has been complicated by state incapacity and the resistance of liberal actors. Therefore, the article concludes that attempts at rebuilding peace in a context of entrenched tensions between liberalisation and autocratisation in Mozambique delivered a precarious peace.
Is leadership the solution to the wicked problem of climate change?
Authors: Grint Keith
Published: December 2023

This media review piece considers the climate change emergency as an example of a Wicked Problem, a problem type which has no clear solution but requires the collective to address, if we are to save the planet. It also provides a mechanism to link the media debates about climate change to leadership. It first sets out a typology of problems and decision styles, and then explores the cultural theory of Mary Douglas as a way of understanding why we have such difficulties addressing Wicked Problems, but what we might do about them. It then proposes we need to focus beyond Leadership as a decision-making category and to consider the role of Management and Command. Finally, it focuses on several elements of the issue to understand where the blocks to action lie, and they include the nature of language, the role of time, and the recognition that ultimately no consensus is likely to emerge.
Responsible AI literacy: A stakeholder-first approach
Authors: Domínguez Figaredo Daniel , Stoyanovich Julia
Published: December 2023

The need for citizens to better understand the ethical and social challenges of algorithmic systems has led to a rapid proliferation of AI literacy initiatives. After reviewing the literature on AI literacy projects, we found that most educational practices in this area are based on teaching programming fundamentals, primarily to K-12 students. This leaves out citizens and those who are primarily interested in understanding the implications of automated decision- making systems, rather than in learning to code. To address these gaps, this article explores the methodological contributions of responsible AI education practices that focus first on stakeholders when designing learning experiences for different audiences and contexts. The article examines the weaknesses identified in current AI literacy projects, explains the stakeholder-first approach, and analyzes several responsible AI education case studies, to illustrate how such an approach can help overcome the aforementioned limitations. The results suggest that the stakeholder-first approach allows to address audiences beyond the usual ones in the field of AI literacy, and to incorporate new content and methodologies depending on the needs of the respective audiences, thus opening new avenues for teaching and research in the field.
Platforms Competition: An Ecosystem-View Analysis Based on Evolutionary Game Theory
Authors: Ma Lina , Zhao Wanying , Dong Longzhu , Du Yushen
Published: December 2023

The competition between platforms supported by digital technology, to a great extent, affects the structure of the whole industry and the fate of individual enterprises in the industry. For related enterprises, it is very important to clarify the influencing factors of platform competition equilibrium. This paper constructs a game model that includes platforms, suppliers, and the final consumers. We analyze the condition and stability of each equilibrium and the impacts of the characteristics of the core and complementary products on the equilibrium by using the method of evolutionary game. Our results show the following: (1) If the two platforms initially have separate advantages in terms of the number of suppliers or consumers, there will be an equilibrium of the coexistence of the two platforms; otherwise, there will be an equilibrium of single platform dominating. (2) The equilibrium of a single platform dominating is more stable than that of the coexistence of multiple platforms. (3) The equilibrium of coexistence is more easily broken by the occasional shock of increasing or decreasing the number of suppliers than by consumers. (4) Platforms with poor core product quality and a high price for core and complementary products can coexist with other superior platforms only if the former has more consumers and suppliers at the beginning of the competition. This paper not only enriches the research content in the field of platform competition, but also provides new ideas for them to develop appropriate competition strategies in combination with their own conditions.
ED-AI Lit: An Interdisciplinary Framework for AI Literacy in Education
Authors: Allen Laura Kristen , Kendeou Panayiota
Published: December 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative force in education. Realizing the full potential of AI in education requires a multidisciplinary and holistic AI literacy framework that can inform research, practice, and policy. This novel ED-AI Lit framework includes six components: Knowledge, Evaluation, Collaboration, Contextualization, Autonomy, and Ethics. This framework stresses the importance of developing a deep understanding of how AI systems function, critically evaluating their implications, and fostering collaborative relationships between individuals and AI.
Psychological Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Nursing Students: Palestinian Perspective
Authors: Abu Liel Farid
Published: December 2023

Introduction

COVID-19 has had an important effect on nursing students, with some having their clinical practice cancelled or suspended and others suffering from the virus.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological status in terms of stress, anxiety, and depression of nursing students during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

The study was cross-sectional, carried out by a convenience sample of 320 participants of nursing students between May and June 2020. Data collection was performed by “Depression Anxiety Stress-21 Scale” (DASS-21).

Results

The results revealed that 78 (24.3%) of participants reported stress; 121 (37.8%) reported anxiety; and 72 (22.5%) reported depression. Also, grade and socioeconomic status had statistically significant effect on anxiety, stress, and depression. In addition, age had statistically significant effect on depression, place of residence had statistically significant effect on anxiety, and gender had statistically significant effect on stress.

Conclusion

The study confirmed an alarming number of nursing students who experienced anxiety, stress, and depression. This study serves as an evidence concerning nursing students’ mental health issues as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Intimate partner homicide in New Zealand, 2004–2019. Risk markers, demographic patterns, and prevalence
Authors: Daly Martin , Perry Gretchen , Gath Megan
Published: December 2023

Intimate partner homicide (IPH) is a worldwide scourge and a topic of great interest in New Zealand, but its patterns and prevalence have not been quantified and compared to those in other comparable countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Using a data set of the 187 IPH cases known to have occurred in New Zealand over 16 years, 174 of which involved current or former marriage (including de facto marriage) partners, we present analyses demonstrating the following. As in other comparable countries, a large majority of IPH victims are women, and the wife's youth, spousal age disparity, and de facto marriage are all associated with elevated risk. New Zealand is also unexceptional with respect to gross IPH rates, a very high incidence of recent marital separation as a trigger for male violence, a substantial incidence of offender suicide when the perpetrators are men but not when they are women and an overrepresentation of stepfamilies among the spousal cases. Despite frequent claims that New Zealand is exceptional in the magnitude of its intimate partner violence problem, the true picture is strikingly similar to that in other comparable countries.
Wood-off-cuts as a creative resource: A metaphorical reflection on “The Ruler and The Ruled” sculpture project
Authors: Akabuike Chikelue Chris
Published: December 2023

As a process-oriented studio exploration, “The Ruler and the Ruled” is a generic name of a body of work that engages a joinery method to upcycle wood-off-cuts. It creates visual imagery that metaphorically interprets the consequences of Nigeria’s socio-political settings. Genesis of Disintegration is an art piece selected for discussion. It conceptually addresses the plights of the downtrodden. The use of wood offcuts effectively exploits upcycle in a creative interpretation of joinery processes distinct as practised by other artists. This reflection attempts to validate how wood offcuts form part of the ongoing dialogue of the downtrodden. Focusing on joinery and its aesthetic effects, emerging forms are metaphorically interpreted while their formal features are conceptually analyzed using theories and models of visual social semiotics. Significant socio-political issues were raised that addressed the plight of the downtrodden and its implications.
Imperfections-as-Practice: Projects as Becoming Processes of Imperfections
Authors: Xu Sunny Mosangzi , Bogers Marcel L. A. M.
Published: December 2023

This article provides an alternative conceptualization of a project as a series of becoming processes of imperfections. Through a longitudinal ethnography of a Research and Innovation Project, our study uncovers that imperfections emerged as uncertainty, ambiguity, unknown, and emergence over time. These emerging imperfections enacted project managers to focus on retaining, reframing, exploring, and embracing the project in time. Our findings advocate an imperfections-as-practice approach, which extends the projects-as-practice perspective by focusing on emerging imperfections. Following this, we suggest imperfect project management thinking, which allows project actors to embrace imperfections and make a project become successful.
A practical approach to the diagnosis and management of malignant pleural effusions in resource-constrained settings
Authors: Shaw Jane A. , Louw Elizabeth H. , Koegelenberg Coenraad F.N.
Published: December 2023

No pleural intervention in a patient with confirmed malignant pleural effusion (MPE) prolongs life, but even the recommended interventions for diagnosis and palliation can be costly and therefore unavailable in large parts of the world. However, there is good evidence to guide clinicians working in low- and middle-income countries on the most cost-effective and clinically effective strategies for the diagnosis and management of MPE. Transthoracic ultrasound-guided closed pleural biopsy is a safe method of pleural biopsy with a diagnostic yield approaching that of thoracoscopy. With the use of pleural fluid cytology and ultrasound-guided biopsy, ≥90% of cases can be diagnosed. Cases with an associated mass lesion are best suited to an ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration with/without core needle biopsy. Those with diffuse pleural thickening and/or nodularity should have an Abrams needle (<1 cm thickening) or core needle (≥1 cm thickening) biopsy of the area of interest. Those with insignificant pleural thickening should have an ultrasound-guided Abrams needle biopsy close to the diaphragm. The goals of management are to alleviate dyspnoea, prevent re-accumulation of the pleural effusion and minimise re-admissions to hospital. As the most cost-effective strategy, we suggest early use of indwelling pleural catheters with daily drainage for 14 days, followed by talc pleurodesis if the lung expands. The insertion of an intercostal drain with talc slurry is an alternative strategy which is noninferior to thoracoscopy with talc poudrage.

Educational aims

To provide clinicians practising in resource-constrained settings with a practical evidence-based approach to the diagnosis and management of malignant pleural effusions.

To explain how to perform an ultrasound-guided closed pleural biopsy.

To explain the cost-effective use of indwelling pleural catheters.
TIM-3 regulates the proliferation by BDNF-mediated PI3K/AKT axis in the process of endometriosis
Authors: Tian Wei , Liu Min , Liu Yuqiu , Lv Qingfeng , Cheng HuaFeng , Gu Yanling , Li Mingjiang
Published: December 2023

Background

T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing molecule-3 (TIM-3) initially discovered on the surface of Th1 cells, negatively regulates immune responses and mediates apoptosis of Th1 cells. An increasing number of studies have since shown that TIM-3 is crucial in the genesis and development of immune diseases, cancers, and chronic infectious illnesses. However, the effect of TIM-3 on endometriosis is still unknown.

Methods

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry were used to measure TIM-3 levels in endometriosis. Cell Counting Kit-8, 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine, colony-forming, Transwell® migration, Matrigel® invasion, and flow cytometry assays were used to explore the function of TIM-3 in vitro, and xenograft experiments in nude mice were used to assess its role in vivo. According to the RNA seq, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was screened. The involvement of specific proliferation-related signaling molecules was determined by transfecting a plasmid and adding an inhibitor in vivo and in vitro.

Results

TIM-3 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly higher in eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues than in normal endometrial tissues. By examining the effects of TIM-3 overexpression and knockdown on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro, and lesions formation in vivo, we found that the expression of TIM-3 was positively correlated with cell proliferation and clone formation in vitro, as well as lesions growth in nude mice. By adding the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/AKT) pathway inhibitor LY294002 and knocking down PI3K, we further verified that TIM-3 promotes proliferation in vivo and in vitro via the PI3K pathway. By transfecting the plasmid into ESC cells and gave inhibitors to endometriotic rats models, we tested that TIM-3 regulates the proliferation by BDNF-mediated PI3K/AKT axis.

Conclusion

TIM-3 can promote the proliferation of endometriosis by BDNF-mediated PI3K/AKT axis in vivo and in vitro, which may provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of endometriosis.
GPDRP: a multimodal framework for drug response prediction with graph transformer
Authors: Yang Yingke , Li Peiluan
Published: December 2023

Background

In the field of computational personalized medicine, drug response prediction (DRP) is a critical issue. However, existing studies often characterize drugs as strings, a representation that does not align with the natural description of molecules. Additionally, they ignore gene pathway-specific combinatorial implication.

Results

In this study, we propose drug Graph and gene Pathway based Drug response prediction method (GPDRP), a new multimodal deep learning model for predicting drug responses based on drug molecular graphs and gene pathway activity. In GPDRP, drugs are represented by molecular graphs, while cell lines are described by gene pathway activity scores. The model separately learns these two types of data using Graph Neural Networks (GNN) with Graph Transformers and deep neural networks. Predictions are subsequently made through fully connected layers.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that Graph Transformer-based model delivers superior performance. We apply GPDRP on hundreds of cancer cell lines’ bulk RNA-sequencing data, and it outperforms some recently published models. Furthermore, the generalizability and applicability of GPDRP are demonstrated through its predictions on unknown drug-cell line pairs and xenografts. This underscores the interpretability achieved by incorporating gene pathways.
Pair bonding and disruption impact lung transcriptome in monogamous Peromyscus californicus
Authors: Naderi A. , Liles K. , Burns T. , Chavez B. , Huynh-Dam K-T. , Kiaris H.
Published: December 2023

Social interactions affect physiological and pathological processes, yet their direct impact in peripheral tissues remains elusive. Recently we showed that disruption of pair bonds in monogamous Peromyscus californicus promotes lung tumorigenesis, pointing to a direct effect of bonding status in the periphery (Naderi et al., 2021). Here we show that lung transcriptomes of tumor-free Peromyscus are altered in a manner that depends on pair bonding and superseding the impact of genetic relevance between siblings. Pathways affected involve response to hypoxia and heart development. These effects are consistent with the profile of the serum proteome of bonded and bond-disrupted Peromyscus and were extended to lung cancer cells cultured in vitro, with sera from animals that differ in bonding experiences. In this setting, the species’ origin of serum (deer mouse vs FBS) is the most potent discriminator of RNA expression profiles, followed by bonding status. By analyzing the transcriptomes of lung cancer cells exposed to deer mouse sera, an expression signature was developed that discriminates cells according to the history of social interactions and possesses prognostic significance when applied to primary human lung cancers. The results suggest that present and past social experiences modulate the expression profile of peripheral tissues such as the lungs, in a manner that impacts physiological processes and may affect disease outcomes. Furthermore, they show that besides the direct effects of the hormones that regulate bonding behavior, physiological changes influencing oxygen metabolism may contribute to the adverse effects of bond disruption.
Evaluation of noninvasive biospecimens for transcriptome studies
Authors: Martorella Molly , Kasela Silva , Garcia-Flores Renee , Gokden Alper , Castel Stephane E. , Lappalainen Tuuli
Published: December 2023

Transcriptome studies disentangle functional mechanisms of gene expression regulation and may elucidate the underlying biology of disease processes. However, the types of tissues currently collected typically assay a single post-mortem timepoint or are limited to investigating cell types found in blood. Noninvasive tissues may improve disease-relevant discovery by enabling more complex longitudinal study designs, by capturing different and potentially more applicable cell types, and by increasing sample sizes due to reduced collection costs and possible higher enrollment from vulnerable populations. Here, we develop methods for sampling noninvasive biospecimens, investigate their performance across commercial and in-house library preparations, characterize their biology, and assess the feasibility of using noninvasive tissues in a multitude of transcriptomic applications. We collected buccal swabs, hair follicles, saliva, and urine cell pellets from 19 individuals over three to four timepoints, for a total of 300 unique biological samples, which we then prepared with replicates across three library preparations, for a final tally of 472 transcriptomes. Of the four tissues we studied, we found hair follicles and urine cell pellets to be most promising due to the consistency of sample quality, the cell types and expression profiles we observed, and their performance in disease-relevant applications. This is the first study to thoroughly delineate biological and technical features of noninvasive samples and demonstrate their use in a wide array of transcriptomic and clinical analyses. We anticipate future use of these biospecimens will facilitate discovery and development of clinical applications.
Reduction of UreB and CagA expression level by siRNA construct in Helicobacter pylori strain SS1
Authors: Motamedi Hamid , Abiri Ramin , Salari Farhad , Jalili Cyrus , Alvandi Amirhoushang
Published: December 2023

Background

Two important virulence factors, urease and cagA, play an important role in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastric cancer. Aim of this study was to investigate the expression level and function of ureB and cagA using small interfering RNAs (siRNA).

Methods

SS1 strain of H. pylori was considered as host for natural transformation. siRNA designed for ureB and cagA genes were inserted in pGPU6/GFP/Neo siRNA plasmid vector to evaluate using phenotypic and genotypic approaches. Then, qPCR was performed for determining inhibition rate of ureB and cagA gene expression.

Results

The expression levels of siRNA-ureB and siRNA-cagA in the recombinant strain SS1 were reduced by about 5000 and 1000 fold, respectively, compared to the native H. pylori strain SS1. Also, preliminary evaluation of siRNA-ureB in vitro showed inhibition of urea enzyme activity. These data suggest that siRNA may be a powerful new tool for gene silencing in vitro, and for the development of RNAi-based anti-H. pylori therapies.

Conclusion

Our results show that targeting ureB and cagA genes with siRNA seems to be a new strategy to inhibit urease enzyme activity, reduce inflammation and colonization rate.
Dynamics of chromatin accessibility and genome wide control of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant Haberlea rhodopensis
Authors: Mladenov Petko , Wang Xiaohua , Yang Zhaolin , Djilianov Dimitar , Deng Xin
Published: December 2023

Background

Drought is one of the main consequences of global climate change and this problem is expected to intensify in the future. Resurrection plants evolved the ability to withstand the negative impact of long periods of almost complete desiccation and to recover at rewatering. In this respect, many physiological, transcriptomic, proteomic and genomic investigations have been performed in recent years, however, few epigenetic control studies have been performed on these valuable desiccation-tolerant plants so far.

Results

In the present study, for the first time for resurrection plants we provide evidences about the differential chromatin accessibility of Haberlea rhodopensis during desiccation stress by ATAC-seq (Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin with high-throughput sequencing). Based on gene similarity between species, we used the available genome of the closely related resurrection plant Dorcoceras hygrometricum to identify approximately nine hundred transposase hypersensitive sites (THSs) in H. rhodopensis. The majority of them corresponds to proximal and distal regulatory elements of different genes involved in photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, synthesis of secondary metabolites, cell signalling and transcriptional regulation, cell growth, cell wall, stomata conditioning, chaperons, oxidative stress, autophagy and others. Various types of binding motifs recognized by several families of transcription factors have been enriched from the THSs found in different stages of drought. Further, we used the previously published RNA-seq data from H. rhodopensis to evaluate the expression of transcription factors putatively interacting with the enriched motifs, and the potential correlation between the identified THS and the expression of their corresponding genes.

Conclusions

These results provide a blueprint for investigating the epigenetic regulation of desiccation tolerance in resurrection plant H. rhodopensis and comparative genomics between resurrection and non-resurrection species with available genome information.
A core root bacteria contribute to plant growth and anisodine accumulation of Anisodus tanguticus
Authors: Wang Bo , Chen Chen , Xiao Yuanming , Chen Kaiyang , Wang Juan , Wang Lingling , Li Jianan , Kang Zongxiu , Zhou Guoying
Published: December 2023

Background

Although it is well recognized that core root microorganisms contribute to plant health and productivity, little is known about their role to the accumulation of secondary metabolites. The roots of Anisodus tanguticus, a traditional herbal medication utilized by Tibetan medicine, are rich in tropane alkaloids. We collected wild A. tanguticus populations throughout a 1500 km transect on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Results

Our results showed that despite sampling at a distance of 1500 km, the root of A. tanguticus selectively recruits core root bacteria. We obtained 102 root bacterial core OTUs, and although their number only accounted for 2.99% of the total, their relative abundance accounted for 73% of the total. Spearman correlation and random forest analyses revealed that the composition of core root microbiomes was related to anisodine contents, aboveground biomass and nitrogen contents of Anisodus tanguticus. Among them, the main role is played by Rhizobacter, Variovorax, Polaromonas, and Mycobacterium genus that are significantly enriched in roots. Functional prediction by FAPROTAX showed that nitrogen-cycling microorganisms and pathogenic bacteria are strongly associated with anisodine contents, aboveground biomass and nitrogen contents of Anisodus tanguticus.

Conclusions

Our findings show that the root selectively recruits core root bacteria and revealed that the core microbiomes and microbial functions potentially contributed to the anisodine contents, aboveground biomass and nitrogen contents of the plant. This work may increase our understanding of the interactions between microorganisms and plants and improve our ability to manage root microbiota to promote sustainable production of herbal medicines.
Bicarbonate ringer’s solution could improve the intraoperative acid-base equilibrium and reduce hepatocellular enzyme levels after deceased donor liver transplantation: a randomized controlled study
Authors: Li Qingkai , Liu Ying , Wang Yanan , Shan Xin , Liu Chunxiao , Li Zhihua , Cao Jinglin , Dou Jian , Xu Guanjie , Wang Qiujun , Qie Xiaojuan
Published: December 2023

Background

Bicarbonate Ringer’s (BR) solution is a direct liver and kidney metabolism-independent HCO3− buffering system. We hypothesized that BR solution would be more effective in improving acid-base equilibrium and more conducive to better liver function than Acetate Ringer’s (AR) solution in conventional orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) patients.

Methods

Sixty-nine adult patients underwent OLT. Patients in the bicarbonate and acetate groups received BR solution or AR solution as infused crystalloids and graft washing solution, respectively. The primary outcome was the effect on pH and base excess (BE) levels. The secondary outcome measures were the incidence and volume of intraoperative 5% sodium bicarbonate infusion and laboratory indicates of liver and kidney function.

Results

The pH and absolute BE values changed significantly during the anhepatic phase and immediately after transplanted liver reperfusion in the bicarbonate group compared with the acetate group (all P < 0.05). The incidence and volume of 5% sodium bicarbonate infusion were lower in the bicarbonate group than in the acetate group (all P < 0.05). The aspartate transaminase (AST) level at 7 postoperative days and the creatine level at 30 postoperative days were significantly higher in the acetate group than in the bicarbonate group (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Compared with AR solution, BR solution was associated with improved intraoperative acid-base balance and potentially protected early postoperative liver graft function and reduced late-postoperative renal injury.
ABO blood types may affect transient neurological events after surgical revascularization in patients with moyamoya disease: a retrospective single center study
Authors: Qian Mei-Ping , Dong Mei-Rong , Han Ming-Ming , Li Juan , Kang Fang
Published: December 2023

Background

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a cerebrovascular disease with unknown cause. Patients with MMD disease usually experience transient neurological events (TNEs) after revascularization surgery. This retrospective single-center study was aimed to explore the risk factors of postoperative TNEs after surgical revascularization in patients with MMD.

Methods

We selected 324 patients who underwent surgical revascularization between January 2017 and September 2022 in our center. The perioperative characteristics of the patients were recorded and the outcome was TNEs after surgery. An analysis of risk factors contributing to postoperative TNEs by using logistic regression model.

Results

Three hundred twelve patients were enrolled, and the incidence of postoperative TNEs was 34% in our study. Males were more likely to suffer from postoperative TNEs (OR = 2.344, p = 0.002). Preoperative ischemic presentation (OR = 1.849, p = 0.048) and intraoperative hypotension (OR = 2.332, p = 0.002) were associated with postoperative TNEs. Compared to patients with blood type O, patients with blood type A (OR = 2.325, p = 0.028), B (OR = 2.239, p = 0.027) and AB (OR = 2.938, p = 0.019) had a significantly higher incidence of postoperative TNEs. A risk prediction model for postoperative TNEs was established, and the established risk prediction area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of the model was 0.741.

Conclusions

Males, preoperative ischemic presentation and intraoperative hypotension were associated with postoperative TNEs. We also found a possible link between postoperative TNEs and ABO blood types after surgical revascularization for moyamoya patients.
Ultrasound imaging findings in primary biliary cholangitis
Authors: Zhang Yuan , Hu Xing , Chang Jing , Li Weihua , Huang Chunyang , Zhang Haiping , Shen Jianjun , Shang Ning , Meng Fankun
Published: December 2023

Background

Our study aimed to analyze the characteristics of ultrasound images corresponding to each histological stage of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).

Methods

We prospectively analyzed 75 confirmed cases of PBC and used liver biopsy as the gold standard to determine the disease stage.

Results

The typical ultrasound images of patients with PBC were characterized by a thickening of the portal vein wall (PVW) and periportal hypoechoic band (PHB) width with increasing histological stages, and significant increases in the left hepatic lobe diameter (LHLD) in stage II (by 64.0%) and stage III (by 69.2%). PHB width (r = 0.857, p < 0.001), PVW thickness (r = 0.488, p < 0.001), and spleen area (r = 0.8774, p < 0.001) were positively correlated with the histological stage. Significant changes were noted in the liver surface, echo texture, and edge between different stages. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of composite indicators were 0.965 for predicting progressive PBC(≥ stage 2), and 0.926 for predicting advanced PBC(≥ stage 3).

Conclusions

The ultrasound imaging characteristics of patients with PBC varied according to the histological staging. LHLD, PVW thickness, and PHB width were significantly correlated with the histological stage. A combination of high- and low-frequency ultrasound imaging can provide relevant cues regarding the degree of PBC progression and important clinical reference values. The application of all the ultrasound image findings as the composite indicators can better predict progressive and advanced PBC, providing important clinical reference values.
Screening and verification of antiviral compounds against HSV-1 using a method based on a plaque inhibition assay
Authors: Yin Yingxian , Li Jiahui , Su Ling , Ou Zhiying , Lv Qingqun , Xiao Misi , Wang Changbing , Zeng Dan , Gu Yiling , Yang Fengxia , Chen Minxia , Feng Shaojuan , Hu Wanming , Bu Fengling , Zhu Bing , Xu Yi
Published: December 2023

Background

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection is a common viral disease that mainly causes oral lesions, but can also cause genital lesions in some instances. Current treatments with nucleoside analogs are limited by the emergence of drug resistance. Therefore, novel anti-HSV-1 drugs are urgently needed.

Methods

In this study, we screened a library of 2080 compounds for anti-HSV-1 activity using a plaque formation assay. We selected 11 potential inhibitors of HSV-1 and further evaluated their antiviral effects by plaque reduction assay and real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Results

Five compounds, namely ginsenoside Rd, brassinolide, rosamultin, 3’-hydroxy puerarin, and clinafloxacin HCl, showed potent anti-HSV-1 activity and completely suppressed plaque formation at a concentration of 10 µM. Among them, clinafloxacin HCl, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, exhibited a high selectivity index for HSV-1.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that these five compounds have potential antiviral properties against HSV-1 and may have different mechanisms of action. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the antiviral mechanisms of these compounds and to explore their therapeutic potential for HSV-1 infection.
Machine learning models to predict end-stage kidney disease in chronic kidney disease stage 4
Authors: Takkavatakarn Kullaya , Oh Wonsuk , Cheng Ella , Nadkarni Girish N , Chan Lili
Published: December 2023

Introduction

End-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Identifying patients with stage 4 CKD (CKD4) at risk of rapid progression to ESKD remains challenging. Accurate prediction of CKD4 progression can improve patient outcomes by improving advanced care planning and optimizing healthcare resource allocation.

Methods

We obtained electronic health record data from patients with CKD4 in a large health system between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2016. We developed and validated four models, including Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression, random forest, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and artificial neural network (ANN), to predict ESKD at 3 years. We utilized area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) to evaluate model performances and utilized Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) values and plots to define feature dependence of the best performance model.

Results

We included 3,160 patients with CKD4. ESKD was observed in 538 patients (21%). All approaches had similar AUROCs; ANN yielded the highest AUROC (0.77; 95%CI 0.75 to 0.79) and LASSO regression (0.77; 95%CI 0.75 to 0.79), followed by random forest (0.76; 95% CI 0.74 to 0.79), and XGBoost (0.76; 95% CI 0.74 to 0.78).

Conclusions

We developed and validated several models for near-term prediction of kidney failure in CKD4. ANN, random forest, and XGBoost demonstrated similar predictive performances. Using this suite of models, interventions can be customized based on risk, and population health and resources appropriately allocated.
Adenine model of chronic renal failure in rats to determine whether MCC950, an NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor, is a renopreventive
Authors: Sabra Mahmoud S. , Hemida Fahmy K. , Allam Essmat A. H.
Published: December 2023

Background

Chronic renal failure (CRF) is defined by a significant decline in renal function that results in decreased salt filtration and inhibition of tubular reabsorption, which ultimately causes volume enlargement. This study evaluated the potential renopreventive effects of the NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 in adenine-induced CRF in rats due to conflicting evidence on the effects of MCC950 on the kidney.

Methods

Since the majority of the kidney tubular abnormalities identified in people with chronic renal disease are comparable to those caused by adding 0.75 percent of adenine powder to a rat's diet each day for four weeks, this method has received broad approval as a model for evaluating kidney damage. Throughout the test, blood pressure was checked weekly and at the beginning. Additionally, oxidative stress factors, urine sample examination, histological modifications, and immunohistochemical adjustments of caspase-3 and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1) levels in renal tissues were carried out.

Results

Results revealed that MCC950, an inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome, had a renopreventive effect, which was demonstrated by a reduction in blood pressure readings and an improvement in urine, serum, and renal tissue indicators that indicate organ damage. This was also demonstrated by the decrease in neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin tubular expression (NGAL).

The NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 was found to significantly alleviate the worsening renal cellular alterations evidenced by increased expression of caspase-3 and IL-1, according to immunohistochemical tests.

Conclusion

The NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 demonstrated renopreventive effects in the CRF rat model, suggesting that it might be used as a treatment strategy to stop the progression of CRF.
Learning curve of robotic-assisted splenic vessel-preserving spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy by one single surgeon: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Huang Xi-Tai , Xie Jin-Zhao , Cai Jian-Peng , Chen Wei , Chen Liu-Hua , Yin Xiao-Yu
Published: December 2023

Aim

Splenic vessel-preserving spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (SVP-SPDP) has a lower risk of splenic infarction than the splenicvessel-sacrificing SPDP, but it is more technically demanding. Learning curve of robotic-assisted SVP-SPDP (RSVP-SPDP) remains unreported. This study sought to analyze the perioperative outcomes and learning curve of RSVP-SPDP by one single surgeon.

Methods

Seventy-four patients who were intended to receive RSVP-SPDP at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between May 2015 and January 2023 were included. The learning curve were retrospectively analyzed by using cumulative sum (CUSUM) analyses.

Results

Sixty-two patients underwent RSVP-SPDP (spleen preservation rate: 83.8%). According to CUSUM curve, the operation time (median, 318 vs. 220 min; P < 0.001) and intraoperative blood loss (median, 50 vs. 50 mL; P = 0.012) was improved significantly after 16 cases. Blood transfusion rate (12.5% vs. 3.4%; P = 0.202), postoperative major morbidity rate (6.3% vs. 3.4%; P = 0.524), and postoperative length-of-stay (median, 10 vs. 8 days; P = 0.120) improved after 16 cases but did not reach statistical difference. None of the patients had splenic infarction or abscess postoperatively.

Conclusion

RSVP-SPDP was a safe and feasible approach for selected patients after learning curve. The improvement of operation time and intraoperative blood loss was achieved after 16 cases.
Postoperative pain of single-visit endodontic treatment with gutta-percha versus MTA filling: a randomized superiority trial
Authors: Khabiri Masoud , Kamgar Sahel , Iranmanesh Pedram , Khademi Abbasali , Torabinejad Mahmoud
Published: December 2023

Background

Postoperative pain has remained a challenge for clinicians. This randomized superiority trial compared the levels of postoperative pain following the use of gutta-percha (GP) and sealer or mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) as root canal filling materials in teeth with asymptomatic apical periodontitis.

Methods

A total of 119 patients were initially evaluated in this two-arm, parallel-group, single-blind, superiority randomized trial. The inclusion criteria were participants aged 18–65 years with single-canal premolars diagnosed with asymptomatic apical periodontitis. The participants were finally divided into two groups using the permuted block randomization method. In the GP group (N = 46), the cleaned and shaped root canals were filled with gutta-percha and AH Plus sealer, while in the MTA group (N = 48), the cleaned and shaped root canals were filled with an MTA apical filling and a coronal gutta-percha and sealer. Patient pain level was measured 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h postoperatively using a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS). The data were analyzed by the chi-square, independent t, Friedman, and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Results

The mean of VAS scores decreased significantly over time in both groups (P < 0.001). The mean VAS scores were significantly lower in the MTA filling group than in the other group (P < 0.05). Female patients reported higher VAS scores at 6- and 12-hour periods in both groups (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

MTA as a root canal filling material might be a valuable option for clinicians due to its low postoperative pain.

Trial registration

The trial protocol was registered at the Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20191104045331N1).