bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and assessment of copper-based nanoparticles as a surface coating agent for antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Purniawan Agung , Lusida Maria Inge , Pujiyanto Royan Wafi , Nastri Aldise Mareta , Permanasari Adita Ayu , Harsono Alfonsus Adrian Hadikusumo , Oktavia Nur Hafidzah , Wicaksono Sigit Tri , Dewantari Jezzy Renova , Prasetya Rima Ratnanggana , Rahardjo Krisnoadi , Nishimura Mitsuhiro , Mori Yasuko , Shimizu Kazufumi
Published: March 2022

To halt the pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), governments around the world have imposed policies, such as lockdowns, mandatory mask wearing, and social distancing. The application of disinfecting materials in shared public facilities can be an additional measure to control the spread of the virus. Copper is a prominent material with antibacterial and antiviral effects. In this study, we synthesized copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) as a surface coating agent and assessed their antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. CuNPs with a mean size of 254 nm in diameter were synthesized from copper sulfate as a source and were predominantly composed of copper oxide. The synthesized CuNPs were mixed with resin-based paint (CuNP/paint) and sprayed on the surface of stainless steel remnants. SARS-CoV-2 lost 97.8% infectivity on the CuNP/paint-coated surface after 30 min of exposure and more than 99.995% infectivity after 1 h of exposure. The inactivation rate was approximately 36-fold faster than that on the paint alone-coated and uncoated surfaces. The CuNP/paint-coated surface showed powerful inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity, although further study is needed to elucidate the inactivation mechanisms. Applications of CuNP/paint coatings to public or hospital facilities and other commonly touched areas are expected to be beneficial.
Implementation and integration of image processing blocks in a real-time bottle classification system
Authors: Nuño-Maganda Marco Aurelio , Jiménez-Arteaga Josué Helí , Barron-Zambrano Jose Hugo , Hernández-Mier Yahir , Elizondo-Leal Juan Carlos , Díaz-Manríquez Alan , Torres-Huitzil Cesar , Polanco-Martagón Said
Published: March 2022

A practical solution to the problems caused by the water, air, and soil pollution produced by the large volumes of waste is recycling. Plastic and glass bottle recycling is a practical solution but sometimes unfeasible in underdeveloped countries. In this paper, we propose a high-performance real-time hardware architecture for bottle classification, that process input image bottles to generate a bottle color as output. The proposed architecture was implemented on a Spartan-6 Field Programmable Gate Array, using a Hardware Description Language. The proposed system was tested for several input resolutions up to 1080 p, but it is flexible enough to support input video resolutions up to 8 K. There is no evidence of a high-performance bottle classification system in the state-of-the-art. The main contribution of this paper is the implementation and integration of a set of dedicated image processing blocks in a high-performance real-time bottle classification system. These hardware modules were integrated into a compact and tunable architecture, and was tested in a simulated environment. Concerning the image processing algorithm implemented in the FPGA, the maximum processing rate is 60 frames per second. In practice, the maximum number of bottles that can be processed would be limited by the mechanical aspects of the bottle transportation system.
Occurrence of a d-arabinose-containing complex-type free-N-glycan in the urine of cancer patients
Authors: Tanaka-Okamoto Miki , Hanzawa Ken , Murakami Hiroko , Mukai Mikio , Takahashi Hidenori , Omori Takeshi , Ikezawa Kenji , Ohkawa Kazuyoshi , Ohue Masayuki , Miyamoto Yasuhide
Published: March 2022

Urinary free-glycans are promising markers of disease. In this study, we attempted to identify novel tumor markers by focusing on neutral free-glycans in urine. Free-glycans extracted from the urine of normal subjects and cancer patients with gastric, colorectal, pancreatic and bile duct were fluorescently labeled with 2-aminopyridine. Profiles of these neutral free-glycans constructed using multidimensional high performance liquid chromatography separation were compared between normal controls and cancer patients. The analysis identified one glycan in the urine of cancer patients with a unique structure, which included a pentose residue. To reveal the glycan structure, the linkage fashion, monosaccharide species and enantiomer of the pentose were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry combined with several chemical treatments. The backbone of the glycan was a monoantennary complex-type free-N-glycan containing β1,4-branch. The pentose residue was attached to the antennal GlcNAc and released by α1,3/4-l-fucosidase. Intriguingly, the pentose residue was consistent with d-arabinose. Collectively, this glycan structure was determined to be Galβ1-4(d-Araβ1-3)GlcNAcβ1-4Manα1-3Manβ1-4GlcNAc-PA. Elevation of d-arabinose-containing free-glycans in the urine of cancer patients was confirmed by selected reaction monitoring. This is the first study to unequivocally show the occurrence of a d-arabinose-containing oligosaccharide in human together with its detailed structure.
Human-level COVID-19 diagnosis from low-dose CT scans using a two-stage time-distributed capsule network
Authors: Afshar Parnian , Rafiee Moezedin Javad , Naderkhani Farnoosh , Heidarian Shahin , Enshaei Nastaran , Oikonomou Anastasia , Babaki Fard Faranak , Anconina Reut , Farahani Keyvan , Plataniotis Konstantinos N. , Mohammadi Arash
Published: March 2022

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction is currently the gold standard in COVID-19 diagnosis. It can, however, take days to provide the diagnosis, and false negative rate is relatively high. Imaging, in particular chest computed tomography (CT), can assist with diagnosis and assessment of this disease. Nevertheless, it is shown that standard dose CT scan gives significant radiation burden to patients, especially those in need of multiple scans. In this study, we consider low-dose and ultra-low-dose (LDCT and ULDCT) scan protocols that reduce the radiation exposure close to that of a single X-ray, while maintaining an acceptable resolution for diagnosis purposes. Since thoracic radiology expertise may not be widely available during the pandemic, we develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based framework using a collected dataset of LDCT/ULDCT scans, to study the hypothesis that the AI model can provide human-level performance. The AI model uses a two stage capsule network architecture and can rapidly classify COVID-19, community acquired pneumonia (CAP), and normal cases, using LDCT/ULDCT scans. Based on a cross validation, the AI model achieves COVID-19 sensitivity of $$89.5\%\pm 0.11$$

89.5
%
±
0.11

, CAP sensitivity of $$95\%\pm 0.11$$

95
%
±
0.11

, normal cases sensitivity (specificity) of $$85.7\%\pm 0.16$$

85.7
%
±
0.16

, and accuracy of $$90\%\pm 0.06$$

90
%
±
0.06

. By incorporating clinical data (demographic and symptoms), the performance further improves to COVID-19 sensitivity of $$94.3\%\pm 0.05$$

94.3
%
±
0.05

, CAP sensitivity of $$96.7\%\pm 0.07$$

96.7
%
±
0.07

, normal cases sensitivity (specificity) of $$91\%\pm 0.09$$

91
%
±
0.09

, and accuracy of $$94.1\%\pm 0.03$$

94.1
%
±
0.03

. The proposed AI model achieves human-level diagnosis based on the LDCT/ULDCT scans with reduced radiation exposure. We believe that the proposed AI model has the potential to assist the radiologists to accurately and promptly diagnose COVID-19 infection and help control the transmission chain during the pandemic.
Human live spermatozoa morphology assessment using digital holographic microscopy
Authors: Kamieniczna Marzena , Stachowska Ewa , Augustynowicz Agata , Woźniak Tomasz , Kurpisz Maciej K.
Published: March 2022

Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) was applied for the morphological assessment of live intact spermatozoa from fertile and infertile men directly after semen liquefaction. This method allowed us to study the sperm population directly from the sample droplet and not only from the focal plane of the microscope as in classical optical microscopy. The newly implemented 3-dimensional sperm morphological parameters (head height, acrosome/nucleus height, head/midpiece height) were included in morphological assessment of semen samples from fertile and infertile individuals. The values of the 3D parameters were less variable in fertile men than for infertile ones. DHM was also used to compare the morphological profiles of spermatozoa after applying the “swim-up” and gradient centrifugation techniques. During selection, the most statistically significant differences were observed after separation with a Percoll gradient of 90% and a 60-min “swim-up” procedure versus ‘native’ unfractionated samples. This shows that the developed methodology can be efficiently used for the selection of morphologically sound spermatozoa. The motility type for each spermatozoon was also assessed. The results indicate that the extension of the number of morphological parameters with new 3D parameters and the simultaneous assessment of sperm motility may be valuable addition to sperm examination.
A flexible piezoresistive strain sensor based on laser scribed graphene oxide on polydimethylsiloxane
Authors: Iqra Maham , Anwar Furqan , Jan Rahim , Mohammad Mohammad Ali
Published: March 2022

Flexible strain sensors are an important constituent in soft robotics, health care devices, and in the defence industry. Strain sensors are characterized by their sensitivity (gauge factor-GF) and sensing range. In flexible strain sensors, simultaneously achieving consistency and high sensitivity has always been challenging. A number of materials and their derivatives have been explored to achieve balanced sensitivity with respect to sensing range with limited results. In this work, a low-cost flexible piezoresistive strain sensor has been developed using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The reduction has been performed using laser scribing, which enables the fabrication of arbitrary structures. After lead-out, the devices were again sandwiched in a layer of PDMS to secure the structures before performing their testing using a locally developed testing rig. Compared to previously reported graphene strain sensors, the devices fabricated in this work show relatively high GF with respect to sensing range. The GF calculated for stretching, bending and torsion was 12.1, 3.5, and 90.3 respectively, for the strain range of 0–140%, 0–130%, and 0–11.1%. A hand test was performed for the detection of joint movement. Change of resistance has been observed indicating muscle motion.
Psychometric investigation of the gamification Hexad user types scale in Brazilian Portuguese
Authors: Santos Ana Cláudia Guimarães , Oliveira Wilk , Altmeyer Maximilian , Hamari Juho , Isotani Seiji
Published: March 2022

Gamification has become a significant direction in designing technologies, services, products, organizational structures, and any human activities towards being more game-like and consequently being more engaging and motivating. Albeit its success, research indicates that personal differences exist with regards to susceptibility to gamification at large as well as to different types of gamification designs. As a response, models and measurement instruments of user types when it comes to gamification have been developed. One of the most discussed related instruments is the Hexad user types scale. However, there has been paucity of research related to the validity and reliability of the Hexad instrument in general but also of its different formulations and language versions. To face this gap, our study focused on analyzing the psychometric properties of the Hexad scale in Brazilian Portuguese by conducting two confirmatory factor analyses and two multi-group confirmatory factor analyses. The survey was answered by 421 Brazilian respondents (52% self-reported women, 47% self-reported men, 0.5% preferred not to provide their gender, and 0.5% checked the option “other”), from the five Brazilian regions (23 different states and the Federal District), and aged between 10 and 60 years old. Findings support the structural validity of the scale as an oblique model and indicate opportunities for small improvements. Further research, both at academy and practice, may use this study as the source of measurement of user types related to gamification (in Brazilian Portuguese), as well as, as a theoretical and practical source for further studies discussing personalized gamification.
Counterfeit fifty Ringgit Malaysian banknotes authentication using novel graph-based chemometrics method
Authors: Hassan Nurfarhana , Ahmad Tahir , Mahat Naji Arafat , Maarof Hasmerya , How Foo Keat
Published: March 2022

Counterfeiting, in particular, the forgery of banknotes is a serious crime problem and has become a great challenge to the global economies. The forensic science experts have been utilizing chemical technique such as infrared spectroscopy to analyze genuine and counterfeit banknotes. Nevertheless, chemometrics techniques are required to further discriminate the banknotes. In this paper, an advanced fuzzy graph chemometrics method is used to discriminate genuine and counterfeit fifty Ringgit Malaysian (RM50) banknotes. The development of the technique, namely chemometrics fuzzy autocatalytic set (c-FACS) is presented in this paper, together with the results and its comparison to principal component analysis (PCA) method. The results from the c-FACS analysis showed distinct patterns and features of the counterfeit banknotes in the c-FACS plot. Furthermore, the new method is faster than PCA in authentication analysis of counterfeit banknotes. Hence, the c-FACS provides better performance in terms of computing time as compared to PCA, and has the potential in assisting the investigation involving counterfeit banknotes.
Polarization and angular insensitive bendable metamaterial absorber for UV to NIR range
Authors: Shuvo Md Mizan Kabir , Hossain Md Imran , Mahmud Sultan , Rahman Sydur , Topu Md Tajmiul Hasan , Hoque Ahasanul , Islam Sikder Sunbeam , Soliman Mohammad S. , Almalki Sami H. A. , Islam Md. Shabiul , Islam Mohammad Tariqul
Published: March 2022

Broadband absorbers are required for solar energy harvesting because they efficiently absorb the incident photon in the wide-ranging solar spectrum. To ensure high absorption of photons, metamaterial absorbers (MMAs) have been a growing area of interest in recent years. In this article, an MMA is proposed using a metal–insulator–metal (MIM) structure (Ni–SiO2–Ni) that shows a near-unity broadband absorption of wavelengths from 300 to 1600 nm, with a 95.77% average absorption and a peak absorption of 99.999% at 772.82 nm. The MMA is polarization insensitive as well as wide incident angle stable. Analysis of the effects of mechanical bending on the absorption of the proposed structure shows that absorption holds satisfactory values at different degrees of mechanical loading. The suggested MMA unit cell structure was computationally simulated using the Finite Integration Technique (FIT) and verified using the Finite Element Method (FEM). To analyze the feasibility of the proposed MMA as a solar cell, it is investigated with the universal AM 1.5 solar spectrum characteristics. Besides solar energy harvesting, the proposed MMA unit cell may be employed in a variety of diverse optical applications, including sensors, detectors, and imaging.
Subretinal fluid disturbs the retinal venous blood flow in central serous chorioretinopathy
Authors: Lim Joon Seo , Moon Cheolwon , Lee Junyeop
Published: March 2022

The significance of subretinal fluid in the retinal blood flow is unclear. Here, we evaluated the association between subretinal fluid (SRF) and retinal blood flow in eyes with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) using a retinal functional imager (RFI) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). In this retrospective case–control study involving 26 eyes from 18 CSC patients and 25 eyes from 21 age- and sex-matched controls, we found that the CSC group showed significant differences from the control group in terms of the retinal venule blood flow velocity (3.60 ± 0.43 vs 3.96 ± 0.56 mm/s; p = 0.030), retinal venule blood flow rate (8.75 ± 2.67 vs 12.51 ± 7.12 nl/s; p = 0.040), and the diameter of retinal venules (118.26 ± 14.25 vs 126.92 ± 35.31 μm; p = 0.045). Linear regression analysis showed that SRF thickness accounted for a 36.9% reduction in venous BFR (p = 0.013). The difference in the O2 saturation between retinal arteries and veins was greater in the CSC group. There was no correlation between SRF thickness and capillary densities in OCTA. Our findings suggest that disturbance in venous return and the associated altered oxygen may be significant changes in the retinal blood flow dynamics in eyes with SRF.
EEG functional connectivity is sensitive for nitrogen narcosis at 608 kPa
Authors: Vrijdag Xavier C. E. , van Waart Hanna , Pullon Rebecca M. , Sames Chris , Mitchell Simon J. , Sleigh Jamie W.
Published: March 2022

Divers commonly breathe air, containing nitrogen. Nitrogen under hyperbaric conditions is a narcotic gas. In dives beyond a notional threshold of 30 m depth (405 kPa) this can cause cognitive impairment, culminating in accidents due to poor decision making. Helium is known to have no narcotic effect. This study explored potential approaches to developing an electroencephalogram (EEG) functional connectivity metric to measure narcosis produced by nitrogen at hyperbaric pressures. Twelve human participants (five female) breathed air and heliox (in random order) at 284 and 608 kPa while recording 32-channel EEG and psychometric function. The degree of spatial functional connectivity, estimated using mutual information, was summarized with global efficiency. Air-breathing at 608 kPa (experienced as mild narcosis) caused a 35% increase in global efficiency compared to surface air-breathing (mean increase = 0.17, 95% CI [0.09–0.25], p = 0.001). Air-breathing at 284 kPa trended in a similar direction. Functional connectivity was modestly associated with psychometric impairment (mixed-effects model r2 = 0.60, receiver-operating-characteristic area, 0.67 [0.51–0.84], p = 0.02). Heliox breathing did not cause a significant change in functional connectivity. In conclusion, functional connectivity increased during hyperbaric air-breathing in a dose-dependent manner, but not while heliox-breathing. This suggests sensitivity to nitrogen narcosis specifically.
The comparison of cytotoxic and genotoxic activities of glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, and indoles
Authors: Kołodziejski Dominik , Koss-Mikołajczyk Izabela , Glatt Hansruedi , Bartoszek Agnieszka
Published: March 2022

Chemopreventive properties of Brassica vegetables are attributed mainly to their characteristic compounds—glucosinolates (GLs) and their main hydrolysis products—isothiocyanates (ITCs) and indoles. In this study, we compared antiproliferative activity (MTT test in HT29 cells) and genotoxic effects (comet assay in HT29 cells and restriction analysis in a cell-free system) of three GLs (sinigrin (SIN), glucotropaeolin (GTL), and glucobrassicin (GLB)) with that of their major degradation products. Intact GLs did not exhibit cytotoxic activity, possibly due to their limited bioavailability. However, in the presence of myrosinase (MYR), GLs gained the ability to inhibit HT29 cells’ growth. The addition of MYR caused the hydrolysis of GLs to the corresponding ITCs or indoles, i.e. compounds that show stronger biological activity than parent GLs. Pure ITC/indole solutions showed the strongest antiproliferative activity. Based on the results of restriction analysis, it was found that GLs to a greater extent than ITCs caused DNA modification in a cell-free system. In the case of GLs, metabolic activation by the S9 fraction increased this effect, and at the same time changed the preferential binding site from the area of base pairs AT to GC base pairs. Of all compounds tested, only benzyl ITC caused DNA damage detectable in the comet assay, but it required relatively high concentrations.
Dynamical modeling of miR-34a, miR-449a, and miR-16 reveals numerous DDR signaling pathways regulating senescence, autophagy, and apoptosis in HeLa cells
Authors: Gupta Shantanu , Panda Pritam Kumar , Hashimoto Ronaldo F. , Samal Shailesh Kumar , Mishra Suman , Verma Suresh Kr. , Mishra Yogendra Kumar , Ahuja Rajeev
Published: March 2022

Transfection of tumor suppressor miRNAs such as miR-34a, miR-449a, and miR-16 with DNA damage can regulate apoptosis and senescence in cancer cells. miR-16 has been shown to influence autophagy in cervical cancer. However, the function of miR-34a and miR-449a in autophagy remains unknown. The functional and persistent G1/S checkpoint signaling pathways in HeLa cells via these three miRNAs, either synergistically or separately, remain a mystery. As a result, we present a synthetic Boolean network of the functional G1/S checkpoint regulation, illustrating the regulatory effects of these three miRNAs. To our knowledge, this is the first synthetic Boolean network that demonstrates the advanced role of these miRNAs in cervical cancer signaling pathways reliant on or independent of p53, such as MAPK or AMPK. We compared our estimated probability to the experimental data and found reasonable agreement. Our findings indicate that miR-34a or miR-16 may control senescence, autophagy, apoptosis, and the functional G1/S checkpoint. Additionally, miR-449a can regulate just senescence and apoptosis on an individual basis. MiR-449a can coordinate autophagy in HeLa cells in a synergistic manner with miR-16 and/or miR-34a.
Short-interval fires increasing in the Alaskan boreal forest as fire self-regulation decays across forest types
Authors: Buma B. , Hayes K. , Weiss S. , Lucash M.
Published: March 2022

Climate drivers are increasingly creating conditions conducive to higher frequency fires. In the coniferous boreal forest, the world’s largest terrestrial biome, fires are historically common but relatively infrequent. Post-fire, regenerating forests are generally resistant to burning (strong fire self-regulation), favoring millennial coniferous resilience. However, short intervals between fires are associated with rapid, threshold-like losses of resilience and changes to broadleaf or shrub communities, impacting carbon content, habitat, and other ecosystem services. Fires burning the same location 2 + times comprise approximately 4% of all Alaskan boreal fire events since 1984, and the fraction of short-interval events (< 20 years between fires) is increasing with time. While there is strong resistance to burning for the first decade after a fire, from 10 to 20 years post-fire resistance appears to decline. Reburning is biased towards coniferous forests and in areas with seasonally variable precipitation, and that proportion appears to be increasing with time, suggesting continued forest shifts as changing climatic drivers overwhelm the resistance of early postfire landscapes to reburning. As area burned in large fire years of ~ 15 years ago begin to mature, there is potential for more widespread shifts, which should be evaluated closely to understand finer grained patterns within this regional trend.
Conditional loss of IKKα in Osterix + cells has no effect on bone but leads to age-related loss of peripheral fat
Authors: Davis Jennifer L. , Pokhrel Nitin Kumar , Cox Linda , Rohatgi Nidhi , Faccio Roberta , Veis Deborah J.
Published: March 2022

NF-κB has been reported to both promote and inhibit bone formation. To explore its role in osteolineage cells, we conditionally deleted IKKα, an upstream kinase required for non-canonical NF-κB activation, using Osterix (Osx)-Cre. Surprisingly, we found no effect on either cancellous or cortical bone, even following mechanical loading. However, we noted that IKKα conditional knockout (cKO) mice began to lose body weight after 6 months of age with severe reductions in fat mass and lower adipocyte size in geriatric animals. qPCR analysis of adipogenic markers in fat pads of cKO mice indicated no difference in early differentiation, but instead markedly lower leptin with age. We challenged young mice with a high fat diet finding that cKO mice gained less weight and showed improved glucose metabolism. Low levels of recombination at the IKKα locus were detected in fat pads isolated from old cKO mice. To determine whether recombination occurs in adipocytes, we examined fat pads in Osx-Cre;TdT reporter mice; these showed increasing Osx-Cre-mediated expression in peripheral adipocytes from 6 weeks to 18 months. Since Osx-Cre drives recombination in peripheral adipocytes with age, we conclude that fat loss in cKO mice is most likely caused by progressive deficits of IKKα in adipocytes.
Cold sensitivity, functional disability and predicting factors after a repaired digital nerve injury
Authors: Frostadottir Drifa , Ekman Linnéa , Zimmerman Malin , Andersson Stina , Arner Marianne , Brogren Elisabeth , Dahlin Lars B.
Published: March 2022

To investigate self-reported cold sensitivity and functional disability after a repaired digital nerve injury. We identified 3204 individuals operated with digital nerve repair in the Swedish national quality registry for hand surgery (HAKIR). Patient-reported symptoms, including cold sensitivity and perceived disability, were examined using two questionnaires (HQ-8 and QuickDASH), three and 12 months postoperatively. Patients with diabetes (n = 48; 3%) were identified in the Swedish National Diabetes Register (NDR). Cold sensitivity (scored 0–100) was the most prominent symptom among 1553 included individuals (998 men, 555 women; median age 41 [IQR 27–54] years). In the regression analysis, flexor tendon injury, hand fracture and injury to multiple structures predicted worsened cold sensitivity (6.9, 15.5 and 25.0 points; p = 0.005, 0.046 and < 0.001) at 12 months. Individuals with moderate (30–70) and severe (> 70) cold sensitivity had higher QuickDASH scores at three and 12 months postoperatively than individuals with mild cold sensitivity (6.0 and 5.5; 19.8 and 21.0 points; p = 0.001). Flexor tendon injury, injuries to multiple structures and diabetes had significant effect on QuickDASH scores at three, but not at 12, months postoperatively. Cold sensitivity is common after a digital nerve repair and impacts self-reported disability. A concomitant injury, particularly multiple injuries, predicts postoperative cold sensitivity.
Dietary methionine source alters the lipidome in the small intestinal epithelium of pigs
Authors: Schermuly Isabel I. , Romanet Stella , Klünemann Martina , Mastrototaro Lucia , Pieper Robert , Zentek Jürgen , Whelan Rose A. , Aschenbach Jörg R.
Published: March 2022

Methionine (Met) as an essential amino acid has key importance in a variety of metabolic pathways. This study investigated the influence of three dietary Met supplements (0.21% L-Met, 0.21% DL-Met and 0.31% DL-2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid (DL-HMTBA)) on the metabolome and inflammatory status in the small intestine of pigs. Epithelia from duodenum, proximal jejunum, middle jejunum and ileum were subjected to metabolomics analysis and qRT-PCR of caspase 1, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), interleukins IL1β, IL8, IL18, and transforming growth factor TGFβ. Principal component analysis of the intraepithelial metabolome revealed strong clustering of samples by intestinal segment but not by dietary treatment. However, pathway enrichment analysis revealed that after L-Met supplementation polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and tocopherol metabolites were lower across small intestinal segments, whereas monohydroxy fatty acids were increased in distal small intestine. Pigs supplemented with DL-HMTBA showed a pronounced shift of secondary bile acids (BA) and sphingosine metabolites from middle jejunum to ileum. In the amino acid super pathway, only histidine metabolism tended to be altered in DL-Met-supplemented pigs. Diet did not affect the expression of inflammation-related genes. These findings suggest that dietary supplementation of young pigs with different Met sources selectively alters lipid metabolism without consequences for inflammatory status.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and influenza vaccination effect in preventing outpatient and inpatient influenza cases
Authors: Martínez-Baz Iván , Casado Itziar , Navascués Ana , Portillo María Eugenia , Guevara Marcela , Ezpeleta Carmen , Castilla Jesús
Published: March 2022

Evidence of influenza vaccine effectiveness in preventing confirmed influenza among persons diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is scarce. We assessed the average effect of influenza vaccination in the current and prior seasons in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza in COPD patients. We carried out a pooled test-negative case–control design in COPD patients hospitalized or presented to primary healthcare centres with influenza-like illness who were tested for influenza in 2015/2016 to 2019/2020 seasons in Navarre, Spain. Influenza vaccination status in the current and 5 prior seasons was compared between confirmed-influenza cases and test-negative controls. Vaccination effect was compared between target patients for vaccination with and without COPD. Out of 1761 COPD patients tested, 542 (31%) were confirmed for influenza and 1219 were test-negative controls. Average effect for current-season vaccination in preventing influenza was 40% (95% CI 20–54%), and for vaccination in prior seasons only was 24% (95% CI –10 to 47%). Point estimates seemed higher in preventing outpatient cases (60% and 58%, respectively) than inpatient cases (37% and 19%, respectively), but differences were no statistically significant. Influenza vaccination effect was similar in target population with and without COPD (p = 0.339). Influenza vaccination coverage in control patients with COPD was 68.3%. A 13.7% of the influenza cases in patients with COPD could be prevented by extending the influenza vaccine coverage. Average effect of current-season influenza vaccination was moderate to prevent influenza in COPD persons. The increase of influenza vaccination coverage can still prevent COPD exacerbations.
Er:YAG laser-induced cavitation can activate irrigation for the removal of intraradicular biofilm
Authors: Nagahashi Taiji , Yahata Yoshio , Handa Keisuke , Nakano Masato , Suzuki Shigeto , Kakiuchi Yusuke , Tanaka Toshinori , Kanehira Masafumi , Suresh Venkataiah Venkata , Saito Masahiro
Published: March 2022

We investigated the biofilm removal effects of laser activated irrigation (LAI) using a pig model, focusing on the impact of the fiber tip position, and used a high-speed camera to observe the occurrence and positioning of the cavitation associated with laser irradiation. A total of 16 roots of deciduous mandibular second premolars from 4 pigs were used. After a pulpectomy, the canals were left open for 2 weeks and sealed for 4 weeks to induce intraradicular biofilm. Root canal irrigation was then performed with Er:YAG laser activation. The fiber tip was inserted at two different positions, i.e., into the root canal in the intracanal LAI group and into the pulp chamber in the coronal LAI group. Intracanal needle irrigation with saline or 5% NaOCl was utilized in the positive control and conventional needle irrigation (CNI) groups. SEM and qPCR were carried out to evaluate treatment efficacy. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and a Tukey–Kramer post-hoc test for qPCR and with a Steel–Dwass test to compare the SEM scores, with α = 0.05. A high-speed camera was used to observe the generation of cavitation bubbles and the movement of the induced bubbles after laser irradiation. The intracanal and coronal LAI groups showed significantly lower amounts of bacteria than either the positive control or CNI groups. There was no significant difference found between the intracanal and coronal LAI groups. SEM images revealed opened dentinal tubules with the destruction of biofilm in both LAI groups. High-speed camera images demonstrated cavitation bubble production inside the root canal after a single pulse irradiation pulse. The generated bubbles moved throughout the entire internal multi-rooted tooth space. Coronal LAI can generate cavitation in the root canal with a simply placed fiber inside the pulp chamber, leading to effective biofilm removal. This method could thus contribute to the future development of endodontic treatments for refractory apical periodontitis caused by intraradicular biofilm.
Concentration-dependent dual effects of exogenous sucrose on nitrogen metabolism in Andrographis paniculata
Authors: Huang Xue-Jing , Jian Shao-Fen , Chen Dong-Liang , Zhong Chu , Miao Jian-Hua
Published: March 2022

The effects of exogenous sucrose (Suc) concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 mmol L−1) on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolisms were investigated in a medicinal plant Andrographis paniculata (Chuanxinlian). Suc application with the concentration of 0.5–5 mmol L−1 significantly promoted plant growth. In contrast, 10 mmol L−1 Suc retarded plant growth and increased contents of anthocyanin and MDA and activity of SOD in comparison to 0.5–5 mmol L−1 Suc. Suc application increased contents of leaf soluble sugar, reducing sugar and trerhalose, as well as isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH) activity, increasing supply of C-skeleton for N assimilation. However, total leaf N was peaked at 1 mmol L−1 Suc, which was consistent with root activity, suggesting that exogenous Suc enhanced root N uptake. At 10 mmol L−1 Suc, total leaf N and activities of glutamine synthase (GS), glutamate synthase (GOGAT), NADH-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (NADH-GDH) and glutamic–pyruvic transaminase (GPT) were strongly reduced but NH4+ concentration was significantly increased. The results revealed that exogenous Suc is an effective stimulant for A. paniculata plant growth. Low Suc concentration (e.g. 1 mmol L−1) increased supply of C-skeleton and promoted N uptake and assimilation in A. paniculata plant, whereas high Suc concentration (e.g. 10 mmol L−1) uncoupled C and N metabolisms, reduced N metabolism and induced plant senescence.
Molecular characterization of strawberry vein banding virus from China and the development of loop‑mediated isothermal amplification assays for their detection
Authors: Ren Junda , Zhang Jiaxing , Wang Qiushi , Zhou Yu , Wang Jingxuan , Ran Ce , Shang Qiaoxia
Published: March 2022

Strawberry vein banding virus (SVBV) is one of the serious viral pathogens infecting strawberry worldwide. To understand the molecular characterization of SVBV from China, complete genome sequences of sixteen SVBV isolates were cloned and sequenced. Sequence comparison showed they shared high nucleotide sequence identity (93.6–99.5%) with isolates from China and Japan (96.6–98.4%), while relatively low identity with the isolates from Canada (91.9–93.7%) and USA (85.5–85.9%). Phylogenetic analyses based on the complete genome sequence or coat protein (CP) gene showed the SVBV isolates clustered into three clades correlated with geographic distribution. Recombination analyses identified 13 recombinants and 21 recombinant events, indicating frequent and multiple recombinations in SVBV evolution. Furthermore, a sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method was developed for rapid detection of SVBV isolates, which could be especially suitable for seedling propagation, virus-free culture and routine diagnostics in field investigation. This study offers new understanding of the molecular evolution and may help to improve the management of SVBV.
Genotype–phenotype correlation in patients with deletional and nondeletional mutations of Hb H disease in Southwest of Iran
Authors: Hamid Mohammad , keikhaei Bijan , Galehdari Hamid , Saberi Alihossein , Sedaghat Alireza , Shariati Gholamreza , Mohammadi-Anaei Marziye
Published: March 2022

We studied the alpha-globin gene genotypes, hematologic values, and transfusion-dependence of patients with Hb H disease. Molecular characterization of alpha-thalassemia was performed. We identified 120 patients with Hb H disease. Of these patients, 35 (29.16%) had deletional form of Hb H disease, and 85 (70.83%) had different form of non-deletional Hb H disease. The most frequently observed Hb H genotypes were --Med/–α3.7in 33 patients (27.5%), αCD19(-G)α/αCD19(-G)α in 25 cases (20.83%), αpolyA2α/αpolyA2α in 15 (12.5%), and αpolyA1α/αpolyA1α in 13 (10.83%) respectively. The probability of receiving at least one transfusion blood in deletional form was observed in 3 of 35 (8.57%) patients which just seen in 3 of 33 (9%) patients with --Med/–α3.7genotype. This form was also observed in 8 of 85 (9.4%) patients in non-deletional Hb H diseases which five of them had Med deletion in compound with alpha globin point mutations. Nondeletional Hb H disease was more severe than deletional Hb H disease requiring more blood transfusions. We can recommend that Med deletion in compound with alpha-globin point mutations, polyA1 and constant spring in homozygous form needs to be taken into consideration when offering counseling to high-risk couples.
Dimensions and forms of artefacts in 1.5 T and 3 T MRI caused by cochlear implants
Authors: Gottfried Timo M. , Dejaco Daniel , Fischer Natalie , Innerhofer Veronika , Chacko Lejo Johnson , Widmann Gerlig , Kremser Christian , Riechelmann Herbert , Schmutzhard Joachim
Published: March 2022

Cochlear implantation is a standard treatment option due to expanding indications. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) has become a widespread diagnostic tool. Therefore, an increased number of cochlear implant (CI) users are undergoing cMRI scans. This study aimed to investigate the issue of the CI magnet impacting MRI quality and artifacts. 1.5 T and 3 T MRI scans with 4 defined sequences (T2-TSE, T2-TIRM, T1-3D-MPRAGE, and TDI) were performed on a phantom with a CI (SYNCHRONY System by MED-EL Austria) in place. The resulting MRI artifacts were retrospectively compared to MRI artifacts observed in patients with a CI. All images were transferred to AMIRA and visualized by manual segmentation. Usable image quality was achieved in three sequences (T2-TSE, T2-TIRM and T1-mprage). Observed artifacts differed in shape and size depending on the sequence. Maximum diameters of signal void areas ranged from 58 × 108 × 98 mm to 127 × 123 × 153 mm. Image distortions were larger. MRI artifacts caused by the SYNCHRONY system are asymmetric with varying shape, depending on the sequence. The phantom artefacts are similar to those in CI users. Considering the observed asymmetry, the hypothesis of varying implantation locations resulting in varying positions of the signal void area needs to be further investigated.
Serum metabolomic responses to aerobic exercise in rats under chronic unpredictable mild stress
Authors: Liu Xiangyu , Han Yumei , Zhou Shi , Tian Junsheng , Qin Xuemei , Ji Cui , Zhao Weidi , Chen Anping
Published: March 2022

This study analyzed the effects of aerobic exercise on endogenous serum metabolites in response to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) using a rat model, aiming to identify the metabolic regulatory pathways involved in the antidepressant effect resulted from a 28-day treadmill aerobic exercise intervention. The animals were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8): normal control, normal with aerobic exercise, CUMS control, and CUMS with aerobic exercise. Body weight, sucrose preference and open field tests were performed weekly during the intervention period for changes in depressant symptoms. Serum metabolic profiles obtained by using the LC–MS/MS metabolomics were analyzed to explore the regulatory mechanism for the effect of the aerobic exercise on depression. Behavior tests showed that the aerobic exercise resulted in a significant improvement in depression-like behavior in the CUMS rats. A total of 21 differential metabolites were identified as being associated with depression in serum metabolic profile, of which the aerobic exercise significantly modulated 15, mainly related to amino acid metabolism and energy metabolism. Collectively, this is the first study that LC–MS/MS techniques were used to reveal the modulatory effects of aerobic exercise on the serum metabolic profile of depressed rats and the findings further enriched our understanding of potential mechanisms of aerobic exercise interventions on depression.
Pre-activation of autophagy impacts response to olaparib in prostate cancer cells
Authors: Cahuzac Maxime , Langlois Patricia , Péant Benjamin , Fleury Hubert , Mes-Masson Anne-Marie , Saad Fred
Published: March 2022

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) plays an essential role in DNA repair and is targeted by anticancer therapies using PARP inhibitors (PARPi) such as olaparib. PARPi treatment in prostate cancer (PC) is currently used as a monotherapy or in combination with standard therapies (hormonotherapy) in clinical trials for patients with DNA damage response mutation. Unfortunately, 20% of these patients did not respond to this new treatment. This resistance mechanism in PC is still not well understood. Here, we report that autophagy affects differently the response of PC cell lines to olaparib depending on its activation status. Pre-activation of autophagy before olaparib resulted in an increase of DNA repair activity by homologous recombination (HR) to repair double-strand breaks induced by olaparib and enhanced cell proliferation. When autophagy was activated after olaparib treatment, or completely inhibited, PC cells demonstrated an increased sensitivity to this PARPi. This autophagy-mediated resistance is, in part, regulated by the nuclear localization of sequestrosome 1 (SQSTM1/p62). Decrease of SQSTM1/p62 nuclear localization due to autophagy pre-activation leads to an increase of filamin A (FLNA) protein expression and BRCA1/Rad51 recruitment involved in the HR pathway. Our results reveal that autophagy basal levels may in part determine amenability to PARPi treatment.
Autonomous design of new chemical reactions using a variational autoencoder
Authors: Tempke Robert , Musho Terence
Published: March 2022

Artificial intelligence based chemistry models are a promising method of exploring chemical reaction design spaces. However, training datasets based on experimental synthesis are typically reported only for the optimal synthesis reactions. This leads to an inherited bias in the model predictions. Therefore, robust datasets that span the entirety of the solution space are necessary to remove inherited bias and permit complete training of the space. In this study, an artificial intelligence model based on a Variational AutoEncoder (VAE) has been developed and investigated to synthetically generate continuous datasets. The approach involves sampling the latent space to generate new chemical reactions. This developed technique is demonstrated by generating over 7,000,000 new reactions from a training dataset containing only 7,000 reactions. The generated reactions include molecular species that are larger and more diverse than the training set.
Nickel-catalyzed alkyl-arylation of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene
Authors: Xu Chang , Wang Ming-Kuan , Zhang Shu , Zhang Xingang
Published: March 2022

Owing to the versatile synthetic utility of its carbon-carbon double bond, low-cost industrial chemical 3,3,3-trifluoropropene (TFP) represents one of the most straightforward and cost-efficient precursors to prepare trifluoromethylated compounds. However, only limited methods for the efficient transformations of TFP have been reported so far. Here, we report a nickel-catalyzed dicarbofunctionalization of TFP. The reaction uses inexpensive NiCl2·6H2O as the catalyst and 4,4’-biMeO-bpy and PCy2Ph as the ligands, allowing the alkyl-arylation of TFP with a variety of tertiary alkyl iodides and arylzinc reagents in high efficiency. This nickel-catalyzed process overcomes the previous challenges by suppressing β-H and β-F eliminations from TFP, rendering this strategy effective for the transformations of TFP into medicinal interest trifluoromethylated compounds.
Towards entanglement distillation between atomic ensembles using high-fidelity spin operations
Authors: Liu Chao , Tu Tao , Li Pei-Yun , Liu Xiao , Zhu Xing-Yu , Zhou Zong-Quan , Li Chuan-Feng , Guo Guang-Can
Published: March 2022

Entanglement distillation is an essential ingredient for long-distance quantum communication. However, owing to their demanding requirements, integrating such entanglement distillation processing in scalable quantum devices remains an outstanding challenge. Here we propose the implementation of the filtering protocol in atomic ensembles, which are promising candidates for building quantum repeater nodes, and analyze the boost entanglement distribution rate considering different scenarios. Moreover, we demonstrate the key step of this approach with a proof-of-principle experiment in a rare-earth-ion-doped crystal (143Nd3+:Y2SiO5). Leveraging its multi-level structure and long-lived coherence, spin manipulations are implemented with an average fidelity exceeding 97.2%, leading to the preparation of entanglement between the electron and nuclear spins with a concurrence of 0.75 with a sample temperature of 100 mK. The versatility, robustness, and potential scalability of our proposal contribute to the construction of quantum repeaters and quantum networks based on atomic ensembles.
Bovine colostrum derived-exosomes prevent dextran sulfate sodium-induced intestinal colitis via suppression of inflammation and oxidative stress
Authors: Han Geonhee , Cho Haeun , Kim Hyosuk , Jang Yeongji , Jang Hochung , Kim Da Eun , Kim Eun Sun , Kim Eun Hye , Hwang Kwang Yeon , Kim Kwangmeyung , Yang Yoosoo , Kim Sun Hwa
Published: March 2022

Colostrum-derived exosomes have a preventive effect on colonic colitis caused by inflammatory bowel disease.
Valorisation of mixtures of linear alkenes using cobalt-mediated isomerisation and hydroformylation chemistries
Authors: Martínez-Carrión Alicia , Romero-Navarro Andrés , Núñez-Rico José Luis , Gutiérrez Albert , Grabulosa Arnald , Vidal-Ferran Anton
Published: March 2022

Active catalysts derived from cobalt and the Xantphos ligand were synthesised, characterised and tested in the hydroformylation of pure linear alkenes or their mixtures.
Emerging investigator series: a comparison of strong and weak-acid functionalized carbon electrodes in capacitive deionization
Authors: Uwayid Rana , Diesendruck Charles E. , Suss Matthew E.
Published: March 2022

Strong-acid functionalized cathode is pH stable and sulfonic groups are stable to charge–discharge cycling.
Multi-omics reveals host metabolism associated with the gut microbiota composition in mice with dietary ε-polylysine
Authors: Zhang Xuelei , Hou Zhenping , Tian Xu , Wu Duanqin , Dai Qiuzhong
Published: March 2022

ε-Polylysine affects the gut bacterial composition at different taxonomic levels with age. It improves the immunity of growing mice, and has a greater effect on the anabolism of nutrients in adult mice.
A first-principles investigation of pressure induced topological phase transitions in half-Heusler AgSrBi
Authors: Dhori Bhautik R. , Sattigeri Raghottam M. , Jha Prafulla K. , Kurzydlowski Dominik , Chakraborty Brahmananda
Published: March 2022

We perform first-principles calculations to investigate pressure induced topological phase transitions in the half-Heusler compound AgSrBi in its bulk and 2D phases. We propose AgSrBi for applications in thermoelectrics, spintronics and nanoelectronics.
A review of graphene derivative enhancers for perovskite solar cells
Authors: Mombeshora Edwin T. , Muchuweni Edigar , Garcia-Rodriguez Rodrigo , Davies Matthew L. , Nyamori Vincent O. , Martincigh Bice S.
Published: March 2022

This review discusses how incorporating graphene derivatives as components of perovskite, charge transport and blocking layers of perovskite solar cells affects substrate coverage, defect passivation, morphology and charge extraction/transport.