bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
pH-taxis drives aerobic bacteria in duodenum to migrate into the pancreas with tumors
Authors: Shirai Hiroaki , Ito Cocoro , Tsukada Kosuke
Published: February 2022

As oral or intestinal bacteria have been found in pancreatic cystic fluid and tumors, understanding bacterial migration from the duodenum into the pancreas via hepato-pancreatic duct is critical. Mathematical models of migration of aerobic bacteria from the duodenum to the pancreas with tumors were developed. Additionally, the bacterial distributions under the pH gradient and those under flow were measured in double-layer flow based microfluidic device and T-shaped cylinders. Migration of aerobic bacteria from the duodenum into pancreas is counteracted by bile and pancreatic juice flow but facilitated by pH-taxis from acidic duodenum fluid toward more favorable slightly alkaline pH in pancreatic juice. Additionally, the reduced flow velocity in cancer patients, due to compressed pancreatic duct by solid tumor, facilitates migration. Moreover, measured distribution of GFP E. coli under the pH gradient in a microfluidic device validated pH-tactic behaviors. Furthermore, Pseudomonas fluorescens in hydrochloride solution, but not in bicarbonate solution, migrated upstream against bicarbonate flow of > 20 μm/s, with an advancement at approximately 50 μm/s.
Non-invasively accuracy enhanced blood glucose sensor using shallow dense neural networks with NIR monitoring and medical features
Authors: Srichan Chavis , Srichan Wachirun , Danvirutai Pobporn , Ritsongmuang Chanachai , Sharma Amod , Anutrakulchai Sirirat
Published: February 2022

Non-invasive and accurate method for continuous blood glucose monitoring, the self-testing of blood glucose is in quest for better diagnosis, control and the management of diabetes mellitus (DM). Therefore, this study reports a multiple photonic band near-infrared (mbNIR) sensor augmented with personalized medical features (PMF) in Shallow Dense Neural Networks (SDNN) for the precise, inexpensive and pain free blood glucose determination. Datasets collected from 401 blood samples were randomized and trained with ten-fold validation. Additionally, a cohort of 234 individuals not included in the model training set were investigated to evaluate the performance of the model. The model achieved the accuracy of 97.8% along with 96.0% precision, 94.8% sensitivity and 98.7% specificity for DM classification based on a diagnosis threshold of 126 mg/dL for diabetes in fasting blood glucose. For non-invasive real-time blood glucose monitoring, the model exhibited ± 15% error with 95% confidence interval and the detection limit of 60–400 mg/dL, as validated with the standard hexokinase enzymatic method for glucose estimation. In conclusion, this proposed mbNIR based SDNN model with PMF is highly accurate and computationally cheaper compared to similar previous works using complex neural network. Some groups proposed using complicated mixed types of sensors to improve noninvasive glucose prediction accuracy; however, the accuracy gain over the complexity and costs of the systems harvested is still in questioned (Geng et al. in Sci Rep 7:12650, 2017). None of previous works report on accuracy enhancement of NIR/NN using PMF. Therefore, the proposed SDNN over PMF/mbNIR is an extremely promising candidate for the non-invasive real-time blood glucose monitoring with less complexity and pain-free.
Study of nuclear modification factors of deuteron and anti-deuteron in Pb–Pb collisions at $$\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} =2.76\,\hbox {TeV}$$
Authors: Liu Feng-Xian , She Zhi-Lei , Xu Hong-Ge , Zhou Dai-Mei , Chen Gang , Sa Ben-Hao
Published: February 2022

The nuclear modification factors ($$R_{AA}$$

R

AA

) of d and $$\bar{d}$$

d

¯

have been studied using the parton and hadron cascade model plus the dynamically constrained phase space coalescence model in peripheral (40–60%) and central (0–5%) Pb–Pb collisions at $$\sqrt{s_{NN}}=2.76\,\hbox {TeV}$$

s

NN

=
2.76

TeV

with $$|y|<0.5, p_T<20.0 \,\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}$$

|
y
|
<
0.5
,

p
T

<
20.0

GeV
/
c

. It is found that the $$R_{AA}$$

R

AA

of $$d, \bar{d}$$

d
,

d

¯

is similar to that of hadrons ($$\pi ^\pm , p, \bar{p}$$

π
±

,
p
,

p

¯

) and the $$R_{AA}$$

R

AA

of antiparticles is the same as that of particles. The suppression effect of d is more significant than that of baryons and mesons in the high-$$p_T$$

p
T

region. The suppression of $$R_{AA}$$

R

AA

at high-$$p_T$$

p
T

strongly depends on event centrality and mass of the particles, i.e., the central collision is more suppressed than the peripheral collision. Besides, the yield ratios and double ratios for different particle species, and the coalescence parameter $$B_2$$

B
2

for ($$d, \bar{d}$$

d
,

d

¯

) in pp and Pb–Pb collisions are discussed, respectively. It is observed that the yield ratios and double ratios of d to p and p to $$\pi $$
π
are similar to those of their anti-particles in three different collision systems, suggesting that the suppressions of matter ($$\pi ^{+}, p, d$$

π
+

,
p
,
d

) and the corresponding antimatter ($$\pi ^{-},\bar{p},\bar{d}$$

π
-

,

p

¯

,

d

¯

) are around the same level.
A specific brain network for a social map in the human brain
Authors: Zhang Lu , Chen Ping , Schafer Matthew , Zheng Senning , Chen Lixiang , Wang Shuai , Liang Qunjun , Qi Qing , Zhang Yichen , Huang Ruiwang
Published: February 2022

Individuals use social information to guide social interactions and to update relationships along multiple social dimensions. However, it is unclear what neural basis underlies this process of abstract “social navigation”. In the current study, we recruited twenty-nine participants who performed a choose-your-own-adventure game in which they interacted with fictional characters during fMRI scanning. Using a whole-brain GLM approach, we found that vectors encoding two-dimensional information about the relationships predicted BOLD responses in the hippocampus and the precuneus, replicating previous work. We also explored whether these geometric representations were related to key brain regions previously identified in physical and abstract spatial navigation studies, but we did not find involvement of the entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus or the retrosplenial cortex. Finally, we used psychophysiological interaction analysis and identified a network of regions that correlated during participants’ decisions, including the left posterior hippocampus, precuneus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and the insula. Our findings suggest a brain network for social navigation in multiple abstract, social dimensions that includes the hippocampus, precuneus, dlPFC, and insula.
Sensory stimulation-based protection from impending stroke following MCA occlusion is correlated with desynchronization of widespread spontaneous local field potentials
Authors: Rasheed Waqas , Wodeyar Anirudh , Srinivasan Ramesh , Frostig Ron D.
Published: February 2022

In a rat model of ischemic stroke by permanent occlusion of the medial cerebral artery (pMCAo), we have demonstrated using continuous recordings by microelectrode array at the depth of the ischemic territory that there is an immediate wide-spread increase in spontaneous local field potential synchrony following pMCAo that was correlated with ischemic stroke damage, but such increase was not seen in control sham-surgery rats. We further found that the underpinning source of the synchrony increase is intermittent bursts of low multi-frequency oscillations. Here we show that such increase in spontaneous LFP synchrony after pMCAo can be reduced to pre-pMCAo baseline level by delivering early (immediately after pMCAo) protective sensory stimulation that reduced the underpinning bursts. However, the delivery of a late (3 h after pMCAo) destructive sensory stimulation had no influence on the elevated LFP synchrony and its underpinning bursts. Histology confirmed both protection for the early stimulation group and an infarct for the late stimulation group. These findings highlight the unexpected importance of spontaneous LFP and its synchrony as a predictive correlate of cerebral protection or stroke infarct during the hyperacute state following pMCAo and the potential clinical relevance of stimulation to reduce EEG synchrony in acute stroke.
Association of neovascular age-related macular degeneration with migraine
Authors: Kuang Tung-Mei , Xirasagar Sudha , Kao Yi-Wei , Ho Jau-Der , Lin Herng-Ching
Published: February 2022

Patients with early onset vascular pathology have been reported to manifest neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). While the blood vessels involved in pathogenesis of migraine remains controversial, it is generally accepted that a major contributor is blood vessel pathology. This study aimed to examine the association between migraine and AMD using a nationwide population-based dataset. Retrospective claims data were collected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. We identified 20,333 patients diagnosed with neovascular AMD (cases), and we selected 81,332 propensity score-matched controls from the remaining beneficiaries in Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system. We used Chi-square tests to explore differences in the prevalence of migraine prior to the index date between cases and controls. We performed multiple logistic regressions to estimate the odds of prior migraine among neovascular AMD patients vs. controls after adjusting for age, sex, monthly income, geographic location, residential urbanization level, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and previous cataract surgery. A total of 5184 of sample patients (5.1%) had a migraine claim before the index date; 1215 (6.1%) among cases and 3969 (4.9%) among controls (p < 0.001), with an unadjusted OR of 1.239 (95% CI 1.160~1.324, p < 0.001) for prior migraine among cases relative to controls. Furthermore, the adjusted OR was 1.201 (95% CI 1.123~1.284; p < 0.001) for AMD cases relative to controls. The study offers population-based evidence that persons with migraine have 20% higher risk of subsequently being diagnosed with neovascular AMD.
Effects of a FCBP gene polymorphism, location, and sex on Young’s modulus of the tenth primary feather in racing pigeons
Authors: Haase Eberhard , Dybus Andrzej , Konieczna Aneta , Kovalev Alexander , Gorb Stanislav
Published: February 2022

Young's modulus (E) is a measure for stiffness of a material and a higher E means a higher stiffness. The respective polymorphism of the feather corneous beta-protein gene causes the replacement of glycine by cysteine. We looked for possible effects of the threeFCBPgenotypes on E in the 10th primaries of racing pigeons. However, we did not find a statistically significant difference of E between the genotypes, even within the sexes and/or within different locations under our test conditions. Our findings do not preclude the possibility that under other conditions (temperature, moisture) an influence of the glycine/cysteine polymorphism on E may exist. Compared to the more proximal locations of the rachis (base and middle) we observed lower values for E in the distal region (tip). The 10th primary constitutes the leading edge of the pigeon wing and this special function may require higher stiffness in the proximal parts of the shaft. We observed significantly higher values of E in females than in males, which result only from statistically significantly higher values in the middle region. The higher stiffness of female primaries may also contribute to the better results of hens compared to cocks in pigeon races.
A new animal model of atrophy–hypertrophy complex and liver damage following Yttrium-90 lobar selective internal radiation therapy in rabbits
Authors: Páramo María , Santamaría Eva , Idoate Miguel A. , Rodríguez-Fraile Macarena , Benito Alberto , Collantes Maria , Quincoces Gemma , Peñuelas Iván , Berasain Carmen , Argemi Josepmaria , Quiroga Jorge , Sangro Bruno , Bilbao José I. , Iñarrairaegui Mercedes
Published: February 2022

Lobar selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) is widely used to treat liver tumors inducing atrophy of the treated lobe and contralateral hypertrophy. The lack of animal model has precluded further investigations to improve this treatment. We developed an animal model of liver damage and atrophy–hypertrophy complex after SIRT. Three groups of 5–8 rabbits received transportal SIRT with Yttrium 90 resin microspheres of the cranial lobes with different activities (0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 GBq), corresponding to predicted absorbed radiation dose of 200, 400 and 800 Gy, respectively. Another group received non-loaded microspheres (sham group). Cranial and caudal lobes volumes were assessed using CT volumetry before, 15 and 30 days after SIRT. Liver biochemistry, histopathology and gene expression were evaluated. Four untreated rabbits were used as controls for gene expression studies. All animals receiving 1.2 GBq were euthanized due to clinical deterioration. Cranial SIRT with 0.6 GBq induced caudal lobe hypertrophy after 15 days (median increase 34% -ns-) but produced significant toxicity. Cranial SIRT with 0.3 GBq induced caudal lobe hypertrophy after 30 days (median increase 82%, p = 0.04). No volumetric changes were detected in sham group. Transient increase in serum transaminases was detected in all treated groups returning to normal values at 15 days. There was dose-dependent liver dysfunction with bilirubin elevation and albumin decrease. Histologically, 1.2 GBq group developed permanent severe liver damage with massive necrosis, 0.6 and 0.3 GBq groups developed moderate damage with inflammation and portal fibrosis at 15 days, partially recovering at 30 days. There was no difference in the expression of hepatocyte function and differentiation genes between 0.3 GBq and control groups. Cranial SIRT with 0.3 GBq of 90Y resin microspheres in rabbits is a reliable animal model to analyse the atrophy–hypertrophy complex and liver damage without toxicity.
Structure-based prediction of HDAC6 substrates validated by enzymatic assay reveals determinants of promiscuity and detects new potential substrates
Authors: Varga Julia K. , Diffley Kelsey , Welker Leng Katherine R. , Fierke Carol A. , Schueler-Furman Ora
Published: February 2022

Histone deacetylases play important biological roles well beyond the deacetylation of histone tails. In particular, HDAC6 is involved in multiple cellular processes such as apoptosis, cytoskeleton reorganization, and protein folding, affecting substrates such as ɑ-tubulin, Hsp90 and cortactin proteins. We have applied a biochemical enzymatic assay to measure the activity of HDAC6 on a set of candidate unlabeled peptides. These served for the calibration of a structure-based substrate prediction protocol, Rosetta FlexPepBind, previously used for the successful substrate prediction of HDAC8 and other enzymes. A proteome-wide screen of reported acetylation sites using our calibrated protocol together with the enzymatic assay provide new peptide substrates and avenues to novel potential functional regulatory roles of this promiscuous, multi-faceted enzyme. In particular, we propose novel regulatory roles of HDAC6 in tumorigenesis and cancer cell survival via the regulation of EGFR/Akt pathway activation. The calibration process and comparison of the results between HDAC6 and HDAC8 highlight structural differences that explain the established promiscuity of HDAC6.
Investigating surgical smoke in otolaryngology operating rooms
Authors: Li Chun-I. , Chou Ying-Hsiang , Pai Jar-Yuan , Chen Chih-Hsuan , Chiang Min-Chi
Published: February 2022

Surgical smoke is a common chemical hazard produced from the use of electrocautery, laser, or ultrasonic scalpels during surgery. It has been proved harmful to medical personnel. Thus, it is important to monitor surgical smoke concentrations in the operating room. In the past decade, many researches regarding surgical smoke were discussed in different professional healthcare fields, but few showed the correlation between surgical smoke and otolaryngology surgery. In this study, the concentrations of particulate matter and formaldehyde were measured during thirty cases of several types of otolaryngology surgery in a regional research hospital in Taiwan. The concentrations of 0.3 µm and 0.5 µm particulate matter raised rapidly in the main knife range at the beginning of the electrocautery knife used, and then decreased by half after 5–10 min of use. The concentrations of formaldehyde were ranged from 1 to 2 ppm during the surgery, which is higher than the permissible exposure limit. While many medical staffs are working in the operating room and are exposed to the smoke hazard, effective strategies for collecting and eliminating the smoke should be taken in all medical facilities.
Advanced sequencing approaches detected insertions of viral and human origin in the viral genome of chronic hepatitis E virus patients
Authors: Papp C.-Patrick , Biedermann Paula , Harms Dominik , Wang Bo , Kebelmann Marianne , Choi Mira , Helmuth Johannes , Corman Victor M. , Thürmer Andrea , Altmann Britta , Klink Patrycja , Hofmann Jörg , Bock C.-Thomas
Published: February 2022

The awareness of hepatitis E virus (HEV) increased significantly in the last decade due to its unexpectedly high prevalence in high-income countries. There, infections with HEV-genotype 3 (HEV-3) are predominant which can progress to chronicity in immunocompromised individuals. Persistent infection and antiviral therapy can select HEV-3 variants; however, the spectrum and occurrence of HEV-3 variants is underreported. To gain in-depth insights into the viral population and to perform detailed characterization of viral genomes, we used a new approach combining long-range PCR with next-generation and third-generation sequencing which allowed near full-length sequencing of HEV-3 genomes. Furthermore, we developed a targeted ultra-deep sequencing approach to assess the dynamics of clinically relevant mutations in the RdRp-region and to detect insertions in the HVR-domain in the HEV genomes. Using this new approach, we not only identified several insertions of human (AHNAK, RPL18) and viral origin (RdRp-derived) in the HVR-region isolated from an exemplary sample but detected a variant containing two different insertions simultaneously (AHNAK- and RdRp-derived). This finding is the first HEV-variant recognized as such showing various insertions in the HVR-domain. Thus, this molecular approach will add incrementally to our current knowledge of the HEV-genome organization and pathogenesis in chronic hepatitis E.
The earliest Pleistocene record of a large-bodied hominin from the Levant supports two out-of-Africa dispersal events
Authors: Barash Alon , Belmaker Miriam , Bastir Markus , Soudack Michalle , O’Brien Haley D. , Woodward Holly , Prendergast Amy , Barzilai Omry , Been Ella
Published: February 2022

The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on their paleobiology and paleoecology. Here we report on the earliest large-bodied hominin remains from the Levantine corridor: a juvenile vertebra (UB 10749) from the early Pleistocene site of ‘Ubeidiya, Israel, discovered during a reanalysis of the faunal remains. UB 10749 is a complete lower lumbar vertebral body, with morphological characteristics consistent with Homo sp. Our analysis indicates that UB-10749 was a 6- to 12-year-old child at death, displaying delayed ossification pattern compared with modern humans. Its predicted adult size is comparable to other early Pleistocene large-bodied hominins from Africa. Paleobiological differences between UB 10749 and other early Eurasian hominins supports at least two distinct out-of-Africa dispersal events. This observation corresponds with variants of lithic traditions (Oldowan; Acheulian) as well as various ecological niches across early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia.
Construction of a femininity score in the UK Biobank and its association with angina diagnosis prior to myocardial infarction
Authors: Levinsson Anna , de Denus Simon , Sandoval Johanna , Lemieux Perreault Louis-Philippe , Rouleau Joëlle , Tardif Jean-Claude , Hussin Julie , Dubé Marie-Pierre
Published: February 2022

Gender captures social components beyond biological sex and can add valuable insight to health studies in populations. However, assessment of gender typically relies on questionnaires which may not be available. The aim of this study is to construct a gender metric using available variables in the UK Biobank and to apply it to the study of angina diagnosis. Proxy variables for femininity characteristics were identified in the UK Biobank and regressed on sex to construct a composite femininity score (FS) validated using tenfold cross-validation. The FS was assessed as a predictor of angina diagnosis before incident myocardial infarction (MI) events. The FS was derived for 315,937 UK Biobank participants. In 3059 individuals with no history of MI at study entry who had an incident MI event, the FS was a significant predictor of angina diagnosis prior to MI (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.10–1.39, P < 0.001) with a significant sex-by-FS interaction effect (P = 0.003). The FS was positively associated with angina diagnosis prior to MI in men (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.19–1.57, P < 0.001), but not in women. We have provided a new tool to conduct gender-sensitive analyses in observational studies, and applied it to study of angina diagnosis prior to MI.
Automated rock mass condition assessment during TBM tunnel excavation using deep learning
Authors: Chen Liang , Liu Zhitao , Su Hongye , Lin Fulong , Mao Weijie
Published: February 2022

Rock mass condition assessment during tunnel excavation is a critical step for the intelligent control of tunnel boring machine (TBM). To address this and achieve automatic detection, a visual assessment system is installed to the TBM and a lager in-situ rock mass image dataset is collected from the water conveyance channel project. The rock mass condition assessment task is transformed into a fine-grain classification task. To fulfill the task, a self-convolution based attention fusion network (SAFN) is designed in this paper. The core of our method is the discovery and fusion of the object attention map within a deep neural network. The network consists of two novel modules, the self-convolution based attention extractor (SAE) module and the self-convolution based attention pooling algorithm (SAP) module. The former is designed to detect the intact rock regions generating the attention map, and the latter is designed to improve the performance of classifier by fusing the attention map that focuses on the intact rock regions. The results of SAFN are evaluated from aspects of interpretability, ablation, accuracy and cross-validation, and it outperforms state-of-the-art models in the rock mass assessment dataset. Furthermore, the dynamic filed test show that our assessment system based on the SAFN model is accurate and efficient for automated classification of rock mass.
Artificial intelligence development races in heterogeneous settings
Authors: Cimpeanu Theodor , Santos Francisco C. , Pereira Luís Moniz , Lenaerts Tom , Han The Anh
Published: February 2022

Regulation of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly important, given the associated risks and apparent ethical issues. With the great benefits promised from being able to first supply such technologies, safety precautions and societal consequences might be ignored or shortchanged in exchange for speeding up the development, therefore engendering a racing narrative among the developers. Starting from a game-theoretical model describing an idealised technology race in a fully connected world of players, here we investigate how different interaction structures among race participants can alter collective choices and requirements for regulatory actions. Our findings indicate that, when participants portray a strong diversity in terms of connections and peer-influence (e.g., when scale-free networks shape interactions among parties), the conflicts that exist in homogeneous settings are significantly reduced, thereby lessening the need for regulatory actions. Furthermore, our results suggest that technology governance and regulation may profit from the world’s patent heterogeneity and inequality among firms and nations, so as to enable the design and implementation of meticulous interventions on a minority of participants, which is capable of influencing an entire population towards an ethical and sustainable use of advanced technologies.
Expression ratio of circular to linear ANRIL in hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease
Authors: Razeghian-Jahromi Iman , Zibaeenezhad Mohammad Javad , Karimi Akhormeh Ali , Dara Mahintaj
Published: February 2022

Atherosclerotic lesions of the coronary arteries are still in charge of significant annual morbidity and mortality despite intense therapeutic advancements. Genome-born elements contribute substantially to the atherosclerosis process. ANRIL is one of the long non-coding RNAs with outstanding functions particularly regulation of genes involved in atherosclerosis development. In this study, we measured ANRIL expression (circular-, linear-, and circular/linear ratio) in hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) compared with peers without CAD. Among hypertensive patients who were candidates of angiography, 25 subjects with CAD and the equal number without CAD were considered as the case and control groups, respectively. Different categories of data were recorded through a predefined questionnaire. Before angiography, blood samples were obtained. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, quantitative PCR was performed using specific primers for circular and linear ANRIL. Age and gender were not different between the groups. Most of the parameters of the lipid profile besides creatinine and blood urea nitrogen were remarkably worse in the case group. Circular ANRIL was significantly lower in the case group while linear counterparts were significantly higher in this group. Circular/linear ratio was also significantly lower in the case group. To overcome growing devastating trend of CAD, scrutinizing different factors involved in the initiation and development of atherosclerosis is a must. Atheroprotective role of circular ANRIL and atheroprogressive role of linear ANRIL were shown in our patients with hypertension.
Combined effects of body posture and three-dimensional wing shape enable efficient gliding in flying lizards
Authors: Khandelwal Pranav C. , Hedrick Tyson L.
Published: February 2022

Gliding animals change their body shape and posture while producing and modulating aerodynamic forces during flight. However, the combined effect of these different factors on aerodynamic force production, and ultimately the animal’s gliding ability, remains uncertain. Here, we quantified the time-varying morphology and aerodynamics of complete, voluntary glides performed by a population of wild gliding lizards (Draco dussumieri) in a seven-camera motion capture arena constructed in their natural environment. Our findings, in conjunction with previous airfoil models, highlight how three-dimensional (3D) wing shape including camber, planform, and aspect ratio enables gliding flight and effective aerodynamic performance by the lizard up to and over an angle of attack (AoA) of 55° without catastrophic loss of lift. Furthermore, the lizards maintained a near maximal lift-to-drag ratio throughout their mid-glide by changing body pitch to control AoA, while simultaneously modulating airfoil camber to alter the magnitude of aerodynamic forces. This strategy allows an optimal aerodynamic configuration for horizontal transport while ensuring adaptability to real-world flight conditions and behavioral requirements. Overall, we empirically show that the aerodynamics of biological airfoils coupled with the animal’s ability to control posture and their 3D wing shape enable efficient gliding and adaptive flight control in the natural habitat.
Parallel evolution of urban–rural clines in melanism in a widespread mammal
Authors: Cosentino Bradley J. , Gibbs James P.
Published: February 2022

Urbanization is the dominant trend of global land use change. The replicated nature of environmental change associated with urbanization should drive parallel evolution, yet insight into the repeatability of evolutionary processes in urban areas has been limited by a lack of multi-city studies. Here we leverage community science data on coat color in > 60,000 eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) across 43 North American cities to test for parallel clines in melanism, a genetically based trait associated with thermoregulation and crypsis. We show the prevalence of melanism was positively associated with urbanization as measured by impervious cover. Urban–rural clines in melanism were strongest in the largest cities with extensive forest cover and weakest or absent in cities with warmer winter temperatures, where thermal selection likely limits the prevalence of melanism. Our results suggest that novel traits can evolve in a highly repeatable manner among urban areas, modified by factors intrinsic to individual cities, including their size, land cover, and climate.
Synthesis and characterization of dendritic compounds containing nitrogen: monomer precursors in the construction of biomimetic membranes
Authors: Guardià Jordi , Zare Alireza , Eleeza John , Giamberini Marta , Reina José Antonio , Montané Xavier
Published: February 2022

In this article, we synthesized a novel dendritic 2-oxazoline, 2-(3,4,5-tris(4-dodecyloxybenzyloxy)phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazole), and its amide precursor N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3,4,5-tris(4-dodecyloxybenzyloxy)benzamide. Of the distinct synthetic routes explored, it was established that the direct amidation of esters with sodium methoxide followed by the dehydrative cyclisation with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone as oxidizing agent and triphenylphosphine was the most efficient route to synthesize the dendritic 2-oxazoline. Besides, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3,4,5-tris(4-dodecyloxybenzyloxy)benzamide exhibited a monotropic columnar mesophase, whilst the dendritic 2-oxazoline does not exhibited a liquid crystalline mesophase. At the end, the first attempts to polymerize the 2-oxazoline monomer via cationic ring opening polymerization showed promising results. Therefore, the dendritic 2-oxazoline could be used as a mesogenic monomer in the synthesis of side-chain liquid-crystalline polyoxazolines that might self-assembly into columnar structures.
The association between elevated lipid profile and liver enzymes: a study on Bangladeshi adults
Authors: Kathak Rahanuma Raihanu , Sumon Abu Hasan , Molla Noyan Hossain , Hasan Mahmudul , Miah Rakib , Tuba Humaira Rashid , Habib Ahsan , Ali Nurshad
Published: February 2022

Dyslipidemia, a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases, is rapidly increasing in Asian countries including Bangladesh. In addition to the cardiovascular system, abnormal lipid levels are also known to cause complications in renal and hepatic systems. The data regarding dyslipidemia and its relationship with liver enzymes are scarce for the Bangladeshi population. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of dyslipidemia and determine the relationship between lipid profile and liver enzymes in Bangladeshi adults. A total of 405 participants (318 males and 87 females) were enrolled in the study. Serum levels of TG, TC, LDL, HDL and liver enzymes including ALT, AST, GGT and ALP were analyzed using standard methods. Dyslipidemia and liver function tests abnormalities were defined according to the international standard guidelines. The association between elevated lipid profile markers and liver enzyme abnormalities was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Overall, the prevalence of elevated TG, TC, LDL and low HDL were 30.9%, 23.7%, 26.2% and 78.8%, respectively. On the other hand, the prevalence of elevated liver enzymes ALT, AST, GGT and ALP were 18.8%, 21.6%, 12.9% and 21.9%, respectively. Dyslipidemia and liver enzyme abnormalities were higher in diabetic and hypertensive participants than in the healthy participants. About 61% of participants with dyslipidemia had at least one or more elevated liver enzymes. In regression analysis, an independent association was observed between serum GGT and all lipid components. In conclusion, a high prevalence of dyslipidemia and liver enzyme abnormalities were observed among the study participants. Of the four liver enzymes, the serum levels of GGT showed an independent association with all lipid components. Moreover, this study indicates that subjects with dyslipidemia often have a higher chance of having liver diseases than subjects with no dyslipidemia. However, large-scale prospective studies are needed to understand the underlying mechanisms of lipid-induced hepatic dysfunction in the Bangladeshi population.
Total and free vitamin D status among apparently healthy adults living in Duhok Governorate
Authors: Abdulrahman Masood Abdulkareem , Alkass Suad Yousif , Mohammed Noor Isam
Published: February 2022

Serum total 25‐OHD is a main marker of vitamin D which represents the intake and sunlight exposure. Free form of 25‐OHD, the small fraction not bound to a transporter protein has been incorporated as a new marker. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the impact of several factors on total and free vitamin D levels in healthy subjects and to find out if the free form of vitamin D could be a better representative of the body’s vitamin D status. Total and free 25‐OHD were analyzed by ELISA method in a blood sample collected from 391 apparently healthy volunteers (219 female and 172 Male) from Duhok Governorate/Iraq population. Total and free 25‐OHD levels were increased proportionally to BMI with lower values seen in the underweight group, also a significant gender differences in total D3 level with higher values in males (23.90 ± 16.41) ng/ml than females (21.24 ± 15.65) ng/ml was observed. Total and Free 25‐OHD levels were significantly associated with ages, their deficiency most frequent occurs in the younger ages between (16–25) years old. Smokers had higher level of Total 25‐OHD (26.95 ± 19.01) ng/ml and Free 25‐OHD (9.47 ± 4.94) pg/ml than nonsmokers (22.14 ± 14.59) ng/ml and (7.87 ± 4.32) pg/ml respectively. A significant increase in Free 25‐OHD level in the veiled women (9.12 ± 4.64) ng/ml than unveiled (6.16 ± 3.73) ng/ml with a significant positive correlation between Free 25‐OHD level and dress style was also seen. 30% and 33% of the participants whom their daily exposure to sunlight for 30 min and > 1 h respectively were severe deficient in total 25‐OHD. 95% of the participants who had Abnormally low level of free D were exposed for ≥ 30 min to sunlight. Daily exposure to sunlight was negatively associated with Free 25‐OHD level.
Immune responses following the first dose of the Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac)
Authors: Jeewandara Chandima , Fernando Suranga , Pushpakumara Pradeep Darshana , Ramu Shyrar Tanussiya , Kamaladasa Achala , Gunasekara Banuri , Aberathna Inoka Sepali , Kuruppu Heshan , Ranasinghe Thushali , Dayarathne Shashika , Dissanayake Osanda , Gamalath Nayanathara , Ekanayake Dinithi , Jayamali Jewantha , Wijesinghe Ayesha , Dissanayake Madushika , Somathilake Gayasha , Harvie Michael , Danasekara Saubhagya , Jayathilaka Deshni , Wijayatilake Helanka Dinesh Kumara , Weerasooriya Nihal , Kekulandara Chinthaka , Schimanski Lisa , Rijal Pramila , Tan Tiong K. , Dong Tao , Townsend Alain , Ogg Graham S. , Malavige Gathsaurie Neelika
Published: February 2022

As the first dose of Gam-COVID-Vac, is currently used as a single dose vaccine in some countries, we investigated the immunogenicity of this at 4 weeks (327 naïve individuals). 88.7% seroconverted, with significantly lower seroconversion rates in those over 60 years (p = 0.004) and significantly lower than previously seen with AZD1222 (p = 0.018). 82.6% developed ACE2 receptor blocking antibodies, although levels were significantly lower than following natural infection (p = 0.0009) and a single dose of AZD1222 (p < 0.0001). Similar titres of antibodies were observed to the receptor binding domain of WT, B.1.1.7 and B.1.617.2 compared to AZD1222, while the levels for B.1.351 were significantly higher (p = 0.006) for Gam-COVID-Vac. 30% developed ex vivo IFNγ ELISpot responses (significantly lower than AZD1222), and high frequency of CD107a expressing T cells along with memory B cell responses. Although single dose of Gam-COVID-Vac was highly immunogenic, administration of a second dose is likely to be beneficial.
Reconstructing the historical expansion of industrial swine production from Landsat imagery
Authors: Montefiore Lise R. , Nelson Natalie G. , Dean Amanda , Sharara Mahmoud
Published: February 2022

In the USA, historical data on the period over which industrial swine farms have operated are usually only available at the county scale and released every 5 years via the USDA Census of Agriculture, leaving the history of the swine industry and its potential legacy effects on the environment poorly understood. We developed a changepoint-based workflow that recreates the construction timelines of swine farms, specifically by identifying the construction years of swine manure lagoons from historical Landsat 5 imagery for the period of 1984 to 2012. The study focused on the Coastal Plain of North Carolina, a major pork-producing state in the USA. The algorithm successfully predicted the year of swine waste lagoon construction (+ /− 1 year) with an accuracy of approximately 94% when applied to the study area. By estimating the year of construction of 3405 swine waste lagoons in NC, we increased the resolution of available information on the expansion of swine production from the county scale to spatially-explicit locations. We further analyzed how the locations of swine waste lagoons changed in proximity to water resources over time, and found a significant increase in swine waste lagoon distances to the nearest water feature across the period of record.
Arterial enhancing local tumor progression detection on CT images using convolutional neural network after hepatocellular carcinoma ablation: a preliminary study
Authors: Lim Sanghyeok , Shin YiRang , Lee Young Han
Published: February 2022

To evaluate the performance of a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) in detecting local tumor progression (LTP) after tumor ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on follow-up arterial phase CT images. The DCNN model utilizes three-dimensional (3D) patches extracted from three-channel CT imaging to detect LTP. We built a pipeline to automatically produce a bounding box localization of pathological regions using a 3D-CNN trained for classification. The performance metrics of the 3D-CNN prediction were analyzed in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and average precision. We included 34 patients with 49 LTP lesions and randomly selected 40 patients without LTP. A total of 74 patients were randomly divided into three sets: training (n = 48; LTP: no LTP = 21:27), validation (n = 10; 5:5), and test (n = 16; 8:8). When used with the test set (160 LTP positive patches, 640 LTP negative patches), our proposed 3D-CNN classifier demonstrated an accuracy of 97.59%, sensitivity of 96.88%, specificity of 97.65%, and PPV of 91.18%. The AUC and precision–recall curves showed high average precision values of 0.992 and 0.96, respectively. LTP detection on follow-up CT images after tumor ablation for HCC using a DCNN demonstrated high accuracy and incorporated multichannel registration.
Fetal heart rate variability is a biomarker of rapid but not progressive exacerbation of inflammation in preterm fetal sheep
Authors: Magawa Shoichi , Lear Christopher A. , Beacom Michael J. , King Victoria J. , Kasai Michi , Galinsky Robert , Ikeda Tomoaki , Gunn Alistair J. , Bennet Laura
Published: February 2022

Perinatal infection/inflammation can trigger preterm birth and contribute to neurodevelopmental disability. There are currently no sensitive, specific methods to identify perinatal infection. We investigated the utility of time, frequency and non-linear measures of fetal heart rate (FHR) variability (FHRV) to identify either progressive or more rapid inflammation. Chronically instrumented preterm fetal sheep were randomly assigned to one of three different 5d continuous i.v. infusions: 1) control (saline infusions; n = 10), 2) progressive lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 200 ng/kg over 24 h, doubled every 24 h for 5d, n = 8), or 3) acute-on-chronic LPS (100 ng/kg over 24 h then 250 ng/kg/24 h for 4d plus 1 μg boluses at 48, 72, and 96 h, n = 9). Both LPS protocols triggered transient increases in multiple measures of FHRV at the onset of infusions. No FHRV or physiological changes occurred from 12 h after starting progressive LPS infusions. LPS boluses during the acute-on-chronic protocol triggered transient hypotension, tachycardia and an initial increase in multiple time and frequency domain measures of FHRV, with an asymmetric FHR pattern of predominant decelerations. Following resolution of hypotension after the second and third LPS boluses, all frequencies of FHRV became suppressed. These data suggest that FHRV may be a useful biomarker of rapid but not progressive preterm infection/inflammation.
Acute effects of low-volume intermittent versus higher-volume continuous exercise on arterial stiffness in healthy young men
Authors: Zhou Zhixiong , Hou Lindong , Cui Mengnan , Mourot Laurent , Zhu Weili
Published: February 2022

To compare the acute effects of low-volume intermittent and higher-volume continuous exercise on arterial stiffness, 20 healthy men (22.4 ± 0.4 years) were randomized to non-exercise control (CON), high-volume Continuous Exercise (CE), lower-volume Intermittent exercise of Long bouts with Long interval (ILL), of Long bouts with Short interval (ILS), and of Short bouts with Short interval trial (ISS). Exercise intensity was 35% heart rate reserve. Arterial stiffness in Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) was measured at baseline (BL), immediately (0 min) and 40 min after exercise. CAVI changes from BL in the same trial (⊿CAVI) were used for analysis. There was no significant ⊿CAVI change in CON. ⊿CAVI decreased significantly at 0 min in all exercise trials, and reverted to baseline at 40 min only in CE and ILL. At 40 min, ⊿CAVI in ILS and ISS remained significantly lower than that of CON and CE. When ILS and ISS were compared with CON at 40 min, only ⊿CAVI in ISS remained significantly lower than that of CON. Despite low volume, the effect of intermittent exercise on arterial stiffness could be either equal or superior to that of higher-volume continuous exercise.
Automated characterisation of microglia in ageing mice using image processing and supervised machine learning algorithms
Authors: Choi Soyoung , Hill Daniel , Guo Li , Nicholas Richard , Papadopoulos Dimitrios , Cordeiro Maria Francesca
Published: February 2022

The resident macrophages of the central nervous system, microglia, are becoming increasingly implicated as active participants in neuropathology and ageing. Their diverse and changeable morphology is tightly linked with functions they perform, enabling assessment of their activity through image analysis. To better understand the contributions of microglia in health, senescence, and disease, it is necessary to measure morphology with both speed and reliability. A machine learning approach was developed to facilitate automatic classification of images of retinal microglial cells as one of five morphotypes, using a support vector machine (SVM). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for this SVM was between 0.99 and 1, indicating strong performance. The densities of the different microglial morphologies were automatically assessed (using the SVM) within wholemount retinal images. Retinas used in the study were sourced from 28 healthy C57/BL6 mice split over three age points (2, 6, and 28-months). The prevalence of ‘activated’ microglial morphology was significantly higher at 6- and 28-months compared to 2-months (p < .05 and p < .01 respectively), and ‘rod’ significantly higher at 6-months than 28-months (p < 0.01). The results of the present study propose a robust cell classification SVM, and further evidence of the dynamic role microglia play in ageing.
Multiview motion tracking based on a cartesian robot to monitor Caenorhabditis elegans in standard Petri dishes
Authors: Puchalt Joan Carles , Gonzalez-Rojo Jose F. , Gómez-Escribano Ana Pilar , Vázquez-Manrique Rafael P. , Sánchez-Salmerón Antonio-José
Published: February 2022

Data from manual healthspan assays of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) can be complex to quantify. The first attempts to quantify motor performance were done manually, using the so-called thrashing or body bends assay. Some laboratories have automated these approaches using methods that help substantially to quantify these characteristic movements in small well plates. Even so, it is sometimes difficult to find differences in motor behaviour between strains, and/or between treated vs untreated worms. For this reason, we present here a new automated method that increases the resolution flexibility, in order to capture more movement details in large standard Petri dishes, in such way that those movements are less restricted. This method is based on a Cartesian robot, which enables high-resolution images capture in standard Petri dishes. Several cameras mounted strategically on the robot and working with different fields of view, capture the required C. elegans visual information. We have performed a locomotion-based healthspan experiment with several mutant strains, and we have been able to detect statistically significant differences between two strains that show very similar movement patterns.
Indolent enhancing spinal lesions mimicking spinal metastasis in pediatric patients with malignant primary brain tumors
Authors: Wu Hsin-Wei , Lin Shih-Chieh , Wu Ching-Lan , Lee Kang-Lung , Wu Chia-Hung , Chen Shu-Ting , Chen Hsin-Hung , Lee Yi-Yen , Chen Yi-Wei , Wu Chih-Chun , Hsu Ting-Rong , Chang Feng-Chi
Published: February 2022

Spinal metastasis from malignant primary brain tumors (MPBTs) in pediatric patients is rare and often appears as enhancing lesions on MRI. However, some indolent enhancing spinal lesions (IESLs) resulting from previous treatment mimic metastasis on MRI, leading to unnecessary investigation and treatment. In 2005–2020, we retrospectively enrolled 12 pediatric/young patients with clinical impression of spinal metastasis and pathological diagnosis of their spinal lesions. Three patients had MPBT with IESL, and 9 patients had malignant tumors with metastases. The histopathologic diagnosis of IESL was unremarkable marrow change. We evaluated their MRI, CT, and bone scan findings. The following imaging findings of IESL vs. spinal metastasis were noted: (1) IESLs appeared round/ovoid (3/3, 100%), whereas spinal metastasis appeared irregular (9/9, 100%) (P = 0.005); (2) target-shaped enhancement was noted in (3/3, 100%) vs. (0/9, 0%) of cases, respectively (P = 0.005); (3) pathologic fracture of the vertebral body was noted in (1/3, 33.3%) vs. (9/9, 100%) of cases, respectively (P = 0.045); (4) expansile vertebral shape was noted in (0/3, 0%) vs. (9/9, 100%) of cases, respectively (P = 0.005); (5) obliteration of the basivertebral vein was noted in (0/3, 0%) vs. (9/9, 100%) of cases, respectively (P = 0.005); and (6) osteoblastic change on CT was noted in (3/3, 100%) vs. (2/9, 22.2%) of cases, respectively (P = 0.034). IESL in pediatric patients with MPBT can be differentiated from metastasis based on their imaging characteristics. We suggest close follow-up rather than aggressive investigation and treatment for IESL.