bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Statistical modeling of groundwater geochemistry in northeastern Brazil
Authors: Júnior José Francisco de Francisco Oliveira , Moraes Alex Souza , Pandorfi Héliton , Silva Jhon Lennon Bezerra da , Batista Pedro Henrique Dias , Jardim Alexandre Maniçoba Rosa Ferraz , de Almeida Gledson Luiz Pontes , Santana Taize Calvacante , Mesquita Marcio
Published: February 2022

The objective is to characterize the hydrochemical and qualitative composition of the groundwater of the Beberibe aquifer located in the Northeast of Brazil (NEB) using geostatistical, geoprocessing, and multivariate analysis techniques. The Beberibe aquifer is located in the state of Pernambuco (PE), NEB, and is responsible for supplying water to the northern portion of the Recife Metropolitan Region (RMRE). The data collected came from 34 georeferenced mining and mineral water production units. From this, a Piper diagram was constructed and hydrogeological and hydrochemical spatial maps were generated. The data were submitted to descriptive statistics, geostatistics, and principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the artesian wells near the coast have a porous geological formation. In all artesian wells, the waters are of the mixed bicarbonate type and highly potable for human consumption. The coefficient of variation was medium to high for all hydrochemical variables. The variables showed a better fit to the Gaussian model, in the study of spatial dependence. In PCA, Cl was the one with the highest correlation with nitrate (NO3). The anthropogenic influence on water quality at the center of RMRE, mainly on NO3 concentrations, had a direct impact on water quality for human health.
Co-occurrence and Metabolic Biomarkers of Sensory and Motor Subtypes of Peripheral Neuropathy from Paclitaxel
Authors: Chen Ciao-Sin , Smith Ellen M Lavoie , Stringer Kathleen A , Henry N. Lynn , Hertz Daniel L
Published: February 2022

Purpose: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is the major treatment-limiting toxicity of paclitaxel, which predominantly presents as sensory symptoms, with motor symptoms in some patients. Differentiating CIPN into subtypes has been recommended to direct CIPN research. The objective of this study was to investigate whether sensory and motor CIPN are distinct subtypes with different predictive biomarkers in patients with breast cancer receiving paclitaxel.Methods: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life questionnaire CIPN20 was used to evaluate CIPN. Clusters of the time course of sensory (CIPNS), motor (CIPNM), and the difference between sensory and motor (CIPNS–CIPNM) were identified using k-means clustering on principal component scores. Predictive metabolomic biomarkers of maximum CIPNS and CIPNM were investigated using linear regressions adjusted for baseline CIPN, systemic paclitaxel exposure, and body mass index.Results: More sensory than motor CIPN was found (CIPNS change: mean=10.8, ranged [-3.3, 52.1]; CIPNM change: mean=3.5, range: [-7.5, 35.0]). Three groups were identified with No CIPN, Mixed CIPN, and Sensory-dominant CIPN (maximum CIPNS: mean=12.7 vs. 40.9 vs. 74.3, p<0.001; maximum CIPNM: mean=5.4 vs. 25.5 vs. 36.1, p<0.001; average CIPNS–CIPNM: mean=2.8 vs. 5.8 vs. 24.9, p<0.001). Biomarkers of motor CIPN were similar to previously identified biomarkers of sensory CIPN, including lower serum histidine (p=0.029).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that sensory and motor CIPN co-occur and may not have differentiating metabolic biomarkers. These findings need to be validated in larger cohorts of patients treated with paclitaxel and other neurotoxic agents to determine the optimal approach to predict, prevent, and treat CIPN and improve patients’ outcomes.
Multi-Omics Reveals Microbial Roles and Metabolic Functions at the Spatiotemporal Niche in Pit Mud
Authors: Ren Dongliang , Liu Shuangping , Zhang Suyi , Qin Hui , Han Xiao , Mao Jian
Published: February 2022

Background
Popular distilled Chinese strong-flavoured liquor (CSFL) is produced by solid fermentation in ground pits. Pit mud (PM), as a habitat for microbes, plays an important role in the production of CSFL. However, understanding the taxonomic composition, metabolic potential, and functional diversity of core microbes of PM in spatiotemporal niche remains a major challenge.
Results
Using a multi-omic approach of high-throughput full-length 16S rRNA, ITS sequencing, and metagenomics, we identified bacteria such as Caproiciproducens, Clostridium, Lactobacillus, Bellilinea, Petrimonas, Proteiniphilum, and Prevotella and the archaea Methanobrevibacter and Methanobacterium as the core microbiota in 30-, 100-, and 300-year-old cellars. Significant correlations between microbial communities and environmental factors showed that lactic, caproic, butyric, and acetic acids were the core driving forces for microbiota succession in different spatial locations and were mainly correlated with Caproiciproducens, Clostridium, Lactobacillus, Methanobrevibacter, and Methanobacterium. A total of 982 metabolites were detected using GC/MS and LC/MS, mainly including amino acids, peptides, and fatty acids, and correlations were shown between seven microorganisms and 12 amino acids and fatty acid metabolites. The crucial genes of flavour-relevant and substrate degradation pathways mainly included nine microorganism orders, with the most important being Clostridiales, Bacteroidales, and Methanobacteriales. However, only Clostridiales and Bacillales were potentially involved in alcohol–aldehyde–carboxylate–ester metabolism.
Conclusions
The 30-, 100-, and 300-year-old cellars provided an ideal opportunity to understand the effect of cellar age on the microbial composition and functional diversity of the microorganisms in PM. Our detailed metagenomic analyses across the continuously used cells extend the known diversity of microorganisms involved in flavour generation and substrate degradation over a wide range of environmental conditions. The results indicate that Clostridiales and Bacteroidales are major microbiota orders for flavour generation and substrate degradation pathways, while archaea also play an important role in cooperation with bacteria in various flavour generation pathways. This study helps elucidate the core microbiota composition, different metabolic roles of microorganisms, and the formation mechanism of PM partial functions, thus providing a basic theory to support the regulation of Baijiu production.
The relationship between Nephrotoxic Metals of cadmium, lead and mercury with Urinary Incontinence in Women
Authors: Ni Jinliang , Li Ziye , Lu Yi , Zhang Houliang , Wang Guangchun , Xie Jinbo , Xie Jun , Wang Yidi , Zhang Yifan , Wang Keyi , Mao Weipu , Peng Bo
Published: February 2022

Purpose: Nephrotoxic metals of cadmium, lead and mercury are the common hazardous pollutants existing in surroundings. We examined the relationship between cadmium, lead and mercury with urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women.Materials and Methods: The women older than 20 years from the 2007-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHNES) with the ascertained urinary incontinence through self-report were included. This study conducted the restricted cubic spline analysis to analyze characterize a dose-response relationship between a continuous exposure of different nephrotoxic metals and UUI and SUI.Results: A total of 4,406 women were included in this study, with 2,624 (59.6%) were SUI and 3,177 (72.1) were UUI of the weighted population. The results of multivariate analysis indicated that age, race, marital status, body mass index (BMI) and nephrotoxic metals were risk factors for the odds of UUI and SUI. The odds ratio (OR; 95% confidence interval) of urinary incontinence were positively correlated with cadmium and lead in women. The OR of SUI increased with the increasing blood cadmium, possessing the maximum at 4 μg/L (2.18(1.34-3.58) overall). The odds of UUI increased with the blood and urinary lead, which reached the maximum at 7 μg/dL (2.03 (1.38-3.02) overall) and 5 μg/L (2.24 (1.34-3.75) overall) respectively.Conclusions: Nephrotoxic metals of cadmium and lead were associated the odds of urinary incontinence in women. Excessive exposure to these metals will increase the OR of UUI and SUI in adult women.
Vitamin D Status Presents Different Relationships With Severity In Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease Patients With Or Without Hepatitis B Infection
Authors: Luo Ling , Ye Junzhao , Shao Congxiang , Lin Yansong , Sun Yanhong , Feng Shiting , Wang Wei , Zhong Bihui
Published: February 2022

Background: Whether the associations between serum vitamin D (VitD) and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) vary with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection has not been well established. We aimed to investigate the relationships between serum VitD and metabolism, liver fat content (LFC) and fibrosis among MAFLD patients with and without CHB.Methods: Consecutive subjects (healthy controls: 360, CHB: 684, MAFLD: 521, CHB with MAFLD: 206) were prospectively enrolled between January 2015 and December 2021. Anthropometric, laboratory, imaging and histological evaluations were conducted, with LFC measured with magnetic resonance imaging-based proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF).Results: Serum VitD levels were lower in MAFLD patients than in healthy controls and patients with CHB alone or overlapping with MAFLD (24.4±8.1 vs. 29.0±9.5 vs. 27.4±9.6 vs. 26.8±8.4 ng/mL respectively; P<0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis after adjusting for confounding factors, including season, hypersensitive C-reactive protein, insulin resistance, liver stiffness measurements, sun exposure, exercise and dietary intake, revealed that VitD remained significantly negatively correlated with LFC in MAFLD patients (β= -0.38, P<0.001) but not in CHB with MAFLD patients. Moreover, quantile regression models also demonstrated that lower VitD tertiles were inversely associated with the risk of insulin resistance and moderate-severe steatosis in the MAFLD group (P for trend <0.05) but not in the MAFLD with CHB group.Conclusions: VitD deficiency was associated with the severity of metabolic abnormalities and steatosis independent of lifestyle factors in MAFLD-alone subjects but not in MAFLD-with-CHB subjects.
Deep Learning Can Identify Explainable Reasoning Paths of Mechanism of Drug Action for Drug Repurposing from Multilayer Biological Network
Authors: Yang Jiannan , Li Zhen , Wu William , Yu Shi , Chu Qian , Zhang Qingpeng
Published: February 2022

The discovery and repurposing of drugs require a deep understanding of the mechanism of drug action (MODA). Existing computational methods model these mechanisms with the help of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. However, the molecular interactions of drugs in the human body are far beyond the PPI network, and the lack of interpretability of these models hinders their practical applications. In this study, we propose iDPath, an interpretable deep learning-based path-reasoning framework to identify potential drugs for the treatment of diseases by capturing the MODA based on simulating the paths from drugs to diseases in the human body. We create a multilayer biological network consisting of a gene regulatory layer, a PPI layer, a protein-chemical interaction layer, and a chemical-chemical interaction layer to comprehensively characterize the molecular interactions in the human body. Based on this multilayer biological network, iDPath utilizes a graph convolutional network module to capture the global connectivity information of the human molecular network; and a long short-term memory neural network module to capture the detailed mechanisms of drug action by modeling the sequential dependencies of the MODA-related biological paths between drugs and diseases. Moreover, iDPath applies two attention modules - node attention and path attention - to further enhance its interpretability. Experiments with drug screen data show that iDPath outperforms state-of-the-art machine learning methods on a general drug repurposing task featuring 1,993 drugs and 2,794 diseases. Further investigations demonstrate that iDPath can identify explicit critical paths that are consistent with clinical evidence. To demonstrate the practical value of iDPath, we apply it to identify potential drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer. Results show that iDPath can successfully discover new FDA-approved drugs. This research provides a novel interpretable artificial intelligence perspective on drug discovery.
Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization alone versus combined with microwave ablation for recurrent small hepatocellular carcinoma after resection: A retrospective comparative study
Authors: Ji Jie , Yang Wei , Shi Hai-Bin , Liu Sheng , Zhou Wei-Zhong
Published: February 2022

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with microwave ablation (TACE-MWA) versus TACE alone for the treatment of recurrent small hepatocellular carcinoma (sHCC) after resection.Materials and Methods: From June 2015 to January 2020, a total of 45 patients with recurrent sHCC (size ≤ 3cm) treated by TACE-MWA or TACE were included in this study. The radiological response at 1 month after initial treatment [modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST)], progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and complications were evaluated.Results: The TACE-MWA group showed a better 1-month complete response (CR) rate (82.3% vs. 42.8%, P = 0.013). The corresponding 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS rates were 76.5%, 70.6%, and 70.6% for the TACE-MWA group, and 56.1%, 15.0%, and 15.0% for the TACE group (P = 0.003). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 100.0%, 82.1%, and 61.5% for the TACE-MWA group, and 89.0%, 58.1%, and 50.8% for the TACE group (P = 0.389), respectively. Moreover, no major complications related to treatment were observed in either of the groups. Compared with the TACE group, the TACE-MWA group had a significantly lower number of re-TACE sessions (P = 0.003).Conclusions: Although TACE alone provides equivalent effectiveness for recurrent sHCC in terms of OS rates, TACE-MWA leads to a better tumor response at 1 month and may prolong tumor PFS time.
Different Markov chains modulate visual stimuli processing in a Go-Go experiment in 2D, 3D and augmented reality
Authors: Mugruza-Vassallo Carlos , Granados José L. , Flores-Benites Victor , Córdoba-Berríos Luz
Published: February 2022

The introduction of Augmented Reality (AR) have atracted several developments, although the human answer to AR have not been clearly studied or contrasted with 2D and 3D experience. Here, Posner paradigm was applied in 2D, 3D and AR to find whether are the differences in prediction using context stimulus. Testing of the Posner adapted task paradigm is in Supplementary MaterialResearch question: Are 2D, 3D and AR main differences processed able to predict with Markov chains?Methods: A digital acquisition card attached to the computer was arranged for testing and validating reaction time recording of participants (see Supplementary Material) and the theory of Markov chain probability. On the other hand, was a survey as a pre-assessment, to better interpret the data collected from the user throughout the experiment. Once obtained the participant data, a Markov chain analysis was performed bearing in mind accuracy True-False sequence. Subsequent to this, the influence of certain factors on the Reaction Time on the accuracy of the participants was sought in the three environments provided by video games with ANOVA.Results: Markov chains of order 1 and 2 successfully reproduced the average reaction time by overall participants in 3D and AR tasks, having only 2D task predicting with the current state and different possible regressors for 3D and AR. Moreover, a clear explanation of delayed reaction time at every modality was done and quantified.
Genetic Mapping and Physiological Analysis of Chlorophyll Deficient Mutant in Brassica Napus L.
Authors: Lin Na , Gao Yu min , Ping Xiao ke , Zhou Qing yuan , Liu Lie zhao , Li Jia na , Yin Jia ming
Published: February 2022

Background: Leaf colour mutants have reduced photosynthetic efficiency, which has a severely negative impact on crop growth and economic product yield. There are different chlorophyll mutants in Arabidopsis and crops that can be used for genetic control and molecular mechanism studies of Chl biosynthesis, chloroplast development and photoefficiency.Chlorophyll mutants in Brassica napus are mostly used for mapping and location research,but rarely used for physiological research.The chlorophyll deficient mutants in this experiment were both genetically mapped and physiologically analyzed. Results:In this study, yellow leaf mutants of Brassica napus L. mutated by ethyl methyl sulfone (EMS) had significantly lower chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid contents than the wild type, and the net photosynthetic efficiency, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were all significantly reduced. The mutants had sparse chloroplast distribution and weak autofluorescence. The granule stacks were reduced, and the shape was extremely irregular, with more broken stromal lamella. Transcriptome data analysis enriched the differentially expressed genes mainly in phenylpropane and sugar metabolism. The mutants were mapped to a 2.72 Mb region on A01 by using BSA-Seq and the region was validated by SSR markers.Conclusions: The mutant chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficiency were significantly reduced compared with those of the wild type. Abnormal chloroplasts and thylakoids less connected to the stroma lamella appeared in the mutant. This work on the mutant will facilitate the process of cloning the BnaA01.cd gene and provide more genetic and physiological information concerning chloroplast development in Brassica napus.
Enhancing Medication Risk Communication in Developing Countries: A Mixed Method Survey Among Doctors and Pharmacists in Malaysia
Authors: Panickar Rema , Aziz Zoriah , Kamarulzaman Adeeba
Published: February 2022

Background: Medication risk communication is essential to ensure the safe use of medicines. However, very few nations worldwide have established effective risk communication systems. To date, the effectiveness of risk communication among healthcare professionals in Malaysia has never been evaluated. Our study aimed to (i) evaluate doctors’ and pharmacists’ awareness of risk communication methods; (ii) identify factors predicting the usefulness of these methods; and (iii) compare respondents’ preferences for risk communication to outline suggestions for enhancement. Methods: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey covering four commonly used risk communications, namely a national drug bulletin, safety alerts, Direct Healthcare Professional Communication letters (DHPCs), and educational materials. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between independent variables and the usefulness of risk communication. We performed qualitative analysis to gain insights on respondents’ perspectives on risk communication.Results: Of the 1146 responses received, 650 were from pharmacists (56.7%). Among the four methods surveyed, 71.5% of respondents were aware of educational materials, while awareness of the other three methods ranged from 20.7% to 53.9%. Pharmacists had higher awareness of all four methods compared to doctors. Private sector respondents were more aware of DHPCs compared to those from the public sector. The strongest predictors for finding risk communication useful were being a pharmacist [odds ratio (OR) = 18.2; 95% CI (10.98-30.07); p < 0.001], having ≥30 years’ work experience [OR= 4.9; 95% CI 1.98-12.08; p < 0.001], and working in the pharmaceutical industry [OR= 4.6; 95% CI (1.08-19.72); p = 0.039]. Both doctors and pharmacists preferred risk communication in the English-language and electronic format. However, other preferences differed between the professions and sectors. Analysis of free-text comments revealed five core themes to guide risk communication enhancement strategies.Conclusions: Risk communication awareness differed between public and private sector doctors and pharmacists depending on communication source. Integrating our findings with the theory of effective communication, we provide suggestions for developing strategic plans on enhancing risk communication. Public-private sector collaboration is key in ensuring risk communication effectiveness.
Sex differences in lifting velocity and blood lactate concentration during resistance exercise using different rest intervals
Authors: Mochizuki Yukina , Saito Mika , Homma Hiroki , Inoguchi Takamichi , Naito Takuto , Sakamaki-Sunaga Mikako , Kikuchi Naoki
Published: February 2022

Purpose: In this study, we examined sex differences in lifting velocity and blood lactate concentration during resistance exercise using different rest intervals (RIs).Methods: Twenty-two trained men (n = 11) and women (n = 11) completed different RIs resistance exercise sessions (90s (R90), 150s (R150), and 240s (R240)). All sessions consisted of 3 sets with a 10 repetition at 70% of 1-repetition maximum (1RM). The exercise did parallel squats with free weights. The measurement items are lifting velocity (mean velocity) in each repetition and blood lactate concentration after exercise.Results: There was a significant interaction between changes in the average velocity of 10 repetition in each set (AV10rep) and sex in each protocol, indicating that AV10rep during squat exercise has decreased in men but not in women in each protocol (p=0.002 - 0.03). Blood lactate concentration were significantly higher in men than in women, but there was no interaction. Conclusion: Our results showed that changes in lifting velocity within a set was not affected by RIs in both men and women, and changes in AV10rep between sets and blood lactate concentration after exercise were affected by RIs only in men, but not in women.
Comparison Of Apo B/A1, Lipoprotein (A) And LDL-C/Apo B For Predicting Coronary Atherosclerosis In Patients ≤65 Years With Low LDL-C
Authors: Jung Hae Won , Bae Han Joon , Hong Seung-Pyo
Published: February 2022

Background: High low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and old age are major risk factors for coronary artery disease. However, the risk factors for coronary artery disease in relatively young patients with low LDL-C have not been elucidated. Therefore, we performed this study to evaluate the risk factors of coronary artery disease, in patients under 65 years with low LDL-C.Methods: This study included 622 lipid-lowering agent naive patients ≤65 years with LDL-C <127.5 mg/dL who underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography. We performed multivariate logistic regression analysis to evaluate the risk factors of coronary atherosclerosis, defined as the presence of coronary plaque. In addition to traditional cardiovascular risk factors, the covariate included novel lipid profiles (apolipoprotein (Apo) B/Apo A1) ratio, LDL-C/Apo B ratio, and lipoprotein (a)). Results: Of the total 622 patients, the mean age was 54.4 ± 8.9 and the mean LDL-C was 91.0 ± 23.1 mg/dL. Multivariate regression analysis showed that age, male, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension were independent predictors of coronary atherosclerosis. A high LDL-C/Apo B ratio was a negative predictor of coronary atherosclerosis.Conclusions: A low LDL-C/Apo B ratio is associated with the development of coronary atherosclerosis in patients ≤65 years with low LDL-C levels.
Determination of Molecular Interactions Between Fraser’s Photinia (Photinia X Fraseri) and Its Endophytic Bacterium PGB_Invit
Authors: TÜRKÖLMEZ Nil , KARAKAYA Merve , Ekinci Hamit , LUCAS Stuart J. , AKKAYA Özlem , Şeker Mine Gül , KAYIHAN Ceyhun , Ozden Yelda
Published: February 2022

An endophytic beneficial bacterium, was isolated and characterized from in vitro grown microshoots of Fraser’s Photinia in our previous studies. This bacterium, nominated as PGB_invit (Pseudorhodoplanes sp.), has ability to fix nitrogen and produce plant growth promoting regulators such as indole acetic acid and gibberellic acid. Probably because of all of these features, this specific bacterium promotes in vitro proliferation of Fraser’s Photinia microshoots and enables microshoots to be conserved at 25 ºC for up to 16 months without requiring periodic subculture. Due to its beneficial influence on growth of Fraser’s Photinia, it is aimed to identify physiological, biochemical and molecular influences of this bacterium together with determination of its the localization in plant tissues. Our results showed that inoculation with PGB_invit bacteria (106 cfu/ml) has increased chlorophyll content without causing any severe oxidative stress. Moreover, the genes [gene bank ID XP_008352422.1 (predicted “MID1-Complementing Activity 1”), PWZ54828.1 (Ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2), XP_028948963.1 (predicted “E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase RHA1B-like”), XP_008339965.2 (uncharacterized protein), XP_028948163.1 (4-coumarate--CoA ligase-like 9), and XP_028953023 (methionine aminopeptidase 2B-like)] which are upregulated or downregulated after inoculation of this bacterium according to RNA-seq analysis, were also confirmed with qRT-PCR in order to understand its molecular interaction with its host.
“Struggle at Night – He Doesn’t Let Me Sleep Sometimes”: A Qualitative Analysis of Sleeping Habits and Routines of Hispanic Toddlers at Risk for Obesity
Authors: Gray Megan J. , Vazquez Christian , Agnihotri Ojasvie
Published: February 2022

Background: Hispanic children make up a growing percentage of all children in the U.S. and face disproportionately higher risks for early life obesity and resultant comorbidities such as Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. Feeding and sleep habits are modifiable behaviors that impact early childhood obesity; Hispanic infants have been shown to have less nighttime sleep compared to their white counterparts. Pediatricians can coach families on parents’ nighttime responsive feeding and longer child sleep duration as protective factors against early life obesity, but must understand the family context and potential barriers. This study aimed to discover Hispanic parents’ motivations, goals, and ambivalence around nighttime feeding and sleep practices in infants and toddlers already at elevated risk for childhood obesity. By understanding family and social context, future recommendations can be tailored to the family’s needs to best implement healthy nighttime feeding and sleep behaviors.Methods: This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach. 14 Hispanic parents were recruited from a Federally Qualified Health Center in Central Texas for qualitative interviews regarding their experience raising a small child. Hispanic parents of children aged 6 to 18 months with child weight-for-length ratio ≥ 85% for age were recruited and consented during regular well child visits. Interviews occurred over several months during 2018-2019; Nvivo was used for analysis of qualitative themes. Multiple reviewers coded and used constant comparative methods to identify common themes. Results: Parents diverged from AAP recommended guidelines for infant and toddler feeding and sleep habits. Parents shared their intentions and the real-life barriers to implementing recommended habits. Co-sleeping, feeding to sleep, middle of the night feeding, and lack of structured sleep habits were common interview themes and potentially modifiable factors.Conclusions: Pediatricians need to be sensitive to culture and to the real-world needs of low-income families to determine if best practices are “practical.” Themes from these parent interviews can inform tailored interventions for children at high risk of obesity. Interventions should promote responsive nighttime feeding and structured sleep, working with individual family logistics, to coach families towards optimal healthy environments and healthy child weight.
pvSPS4 is Crucial for the Root Sugar Balance and Proper Tolerance Response in Salt-Tolerant Common Bean Genotype Under Salt Stress
Authors: Niron Harun , Türet Müge
Published: February 2022

Salinity is a stress factor that decreases global agricultural yield. Crops such as rice, tomato, potato, and legumes are susceptible to salt, thus this problem requires urgent attention. Stress-related carbohydrate metabolism is a dynamic network of genetic and metabolic pathways. Disruption in the regulation of soluble sugar content can have negative effects on source-sink partitioning. As source-sink partitioning is connected to the supply, and distribution of energy in the plant, it is critical for stress tolerance. Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) enzymes operate in a key regulatory step in sucrose synthesis. Therefore, they have a significant role in sugar metabolism including the regulation of source-sink sucrose transportation. This study focused on the function of the SPS homolog -pvSPS4- in the roots of legume crop common bean under salinity stress. We previously showed that pvSPS4 expression is root-specific and is upregulated under salt stress in a salt tolerant common bean genotype. This upregulation was accompanied by an accumulation of sugars in the roots. In the current study, using the same genotype, we generated composite common bean plants with wild-type shoot and pvSPS4 knock-down roots. Composite plants exhibited increased sensitivity to salt stress compared to control and mock plants. pvSPS4 knock-down disturbed the root glucose/sucrose ratio and ionic balance which resulted in a reduction in photosynthetic pigments together with osmoregulation and antioxidant capability. Our results imply that pvSPS4 is an important gene for carbohydrate balance regulation as a salt-stress response in the common bean root tissues.
Dynamics of Neutralizing Antibodies and Binding Antibodies to Domains of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in COVID-19 Survivors
Authors: Phakaratsakul Supinya , Manopwisedjaroen Suwimon , Boonarkart Chompunuch , Kupatawintu Pawinee , Chaiwanichsiri Dootchai , Roytrakul Thaneeya , Auewarakul Prasert , Thitithanyanont Arunee
Published: February 2022

Neutralizing antibody level is used to predict immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is a major target for virus-neutralizing antibody. A number of neutralizing epitopes were mapped on receptor binding domain (RBD) and N-terminal domain (NTD) of S1 subunit of the spike. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody usually decreases over time after recovery. Level of neutralizing antibody and binding antibody to several domains from COVID-19 recovered patients were observed longitudinally in this study. Sequentially collected serum samples from 35 patients demonstrated both similar and different trends of neutralizing antibodies versus binding antibodies to each domain. Twenty-three individuals showed similarly decreasing pattern of neutralizing titer, binding antibodies to RBD, NTD, fusion protein (S2) and nucleocapsid (NP). Interestingly, eight individuals had stably high neutralizing titer (≥320) for 3-12 months, while their binding antibodies to RBD, NTD and NP rapidly decreased. Moreover, their binding antibodies to S2 were stable over time similar to the persistence of neutralizing antibody levels. The longer-lasting antibody to S2 suggested an anamnestic response to cross-reactive epitopes from previous infections with other related coronaviruses. These data indicate a difference in kinetics and longevity of antibodies to various domains and epitopes of the SARS-CoV 2 proteins. A better understanding in this difference may help improve vaccine design to induce long-lasting immunity to COVID-19.
Combined Immunodeficiency Caused by a Novel De Novo Gain-of-Function RAC2 Mutation
Authors: Zhao Xiaodong , Zhang Liang , Chen Zhi , Li Wenyan , Liu Qiao , Wang Yanping , Chen Xuemei , Tian Zhirui , Yang Qiuyun , An Yunfei , Zhang Zhiyong , Mao Huawei , Tang Xuemei , Lv Ge
Published: February 2022

Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 2 (RAC2) is a GTPase exclusively expressed in hematopoietic cells, that acts as a pivotal regulator of several aspects of cell behavior via various cellular processes. RAC2 undergoes a tightly-regulated GTP-binding/GTP-hydrolysis cycle, enabling it to function as a molecular switch. Mutations in RAC2 have been identified in 18 patients with different forms of primary immunodeficiency, ranging from phagocyte defects caused by dominant negative mutations to common variable immunodeficiency resulting from autosomal recessive loss-of-function mutations, or severe combined immunodeficiency due to dominant activating gain-of-function mutations. Here, we describe an 11-year-old girl with combined immunodeficiency presenting with recurrent respiratory infections and bronchiectasis. Immunological investigations revealed low T-cell receptor extension circle/K-deleting recombination excision circles numbers, lymphopenia, and low serum immunoglobulin G. Targeted next generation sequencing identified a novel heterozygous mutation in RAC2, c.86C>G (p.P29R), located in the highly-conserved Switch I domain. The mutation resulted in enhanced reactive oxygen species production, elevated F-actin content, and increased RAC2 protein expression in neutrophils, as well as increased cytokine production and a dysregulated phenotype in T lymphocytes. Further, the dominant activating RAC2 mutation led to accelerated apoptosis with augmented intracellular active caspase 3, impaired actin polarization in lymphocytes and neutrophils, and diminished RAC2 polarization in neutrophils. We present a novel RAC2 gain-of-function mutation with implications for immunodeficiency and linked to functional dysregulation, including abnormal apoptosis and cell polarization arising from altered RAC2 expression. Thus, our findings broaden the spectrum of known RAC2 mutations and their underlying mechanisms.
User Fairness and QoS Aware based Effective Resource Allocation for Downlink NOMA Cellular Systems
Authors: GUPTA PRIYA , Ghosh D.
Published: February 2022

Non orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is expected to be the most significant and viable solution for fifth generation (5G) communication system due to its incredible advantage of spectral efficiency. This paper proposes joint channel allocation and power optimization for downlink NOMA system, so as to maximize the system throughput while preserving the minimum data rate of every user equipment necessary to maintain quality of service and successive interference cancellation constraint. The optimization problem so formulated is a joint mixed integer nonlinear programming problem. Hence, two stage solution is proposed that uses mosek solver for channel assignment followed by power allocation across assigned channels. We use the difference between two convex functions (DC) programming technique for modifying the nonconvex optimization problem into a convex subproblem. Thus, we achieve efficient and fair power allocation coefficients across channels by solving the convex subproblem iteratively. Simulation results demonstrate better efficiency of our proposed scheme for resource allocation compared to some of the existing baseline schemes.
Practical Applications of Vitreous Imaging for the Treatment of Vitreous Opacities With YAG Vitreolysis
Authors: Jiang Shangjun , Golding John , Choudhry Netan
Published: February 2022

PurposeTo demonstrate the methodology and efficacy of using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) and dynamic optical coherence tomography (OCT) to identify and treat symptomatic vitreous floaters using yttrium-aluminum garnet laser vitreolysis (YLV).MethodsThis is a case series highlighted from a cross-sectional retrospective study conducted at the Vitreous Retina Macula Specialists of Toronto.40 eyes from 35 patients were treated with YLV between November 2018 – December 2020 for symptomatic floaters and imaged with SLO and dynamic OCT. Patients were re-treated with YLV if they reported ongoing significant vision symptoms during follow-up which correlated to visible opacities on exam and or imaging.Three cases will be highlighted to present the practical applications of SLO and dynamic OCT imaging for YLV treatment. Results 40 treated eyes were enrolled in this study, with 26 eyes (65%) requiring at least one repeat YLV treatment following the first treatment due to ongoing symptomatic floaters. Case 1 demonstrates a dense, solitary vitreous opacity that has been localized with dynamic OCT imaging to track its movements and retinal shadowing with the patient’s eye movements. Case 2 shows the utility of adjusting the fixation target to monitor the movement of vitreous opacities in real-time. Case 3 exhibits an association between decreased symptom burden and vitreous opacity density after YLV.ConclusionImage-guided YLV facilitates the localization and confirmation of vitreous opacities. SLO and dynamic OCT of the vitreous can provide a real-time evaluation of floater size, movement, and morphology, to help clinicians target treatment and monitoring of symptomatic floaters.
Machine Learning Approach for Predicting Production Delays: A Quarry Company case study
Authors: kannan Rathimala , Halim Haq'ul Aqif bin Abdul , Ramakrishnan Kannan , Ismail Shahrinaz , Wijaya Dedy Rahman
Published: February 2022

Predictive maintenance employing machine learning techniques and big data analytics is a benefit to the industrial business in the Industry 4.0 era. Companies, on the other hand, have difficulties as they move from reactive to predictive manufacturing processes. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how data analytics and machine learning approaches may be utilized to predict production delays in a quarry firm as a case study. The dataset contains production records for six months, with a total of 20 columns for each production record for two machines. Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining approach is followed to build the machine learning models. Four predictive models were created using machine learning algorithms such as Decision Tree, Neural Network, Random Forest, and Nave Bayes. The results show that Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network outperforms other techniques and accurately predicts production delays with a sensitivity score of 0.979. The quarry company's improved decision-making reducing potential production line delays demonstrates the value of this study.
Modulatory Effects of Cilostazol; an Nrf2/HO-1 activator against NAFLD in Rats Confirmed by Molecular Docking and FTIR Studies
Authors: A.Sedik Ahmed , A.Amer Asmaa
Published: February 2022

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex hepato-metabolic syndrome with multi-etiological pathways. No effective drugs have been settled for the effective therapy of NAFLD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the modulatory effects of cilostazol (CILO, 50 and 100 mg/kg.p.o.) against NAFLD induced by high fat diet rich in cholesterol (HFD- CH) for 10 weeks. Thirty male Sprague daily rats, were divided into 4 groups (8 rat / group). Normal control group supplied with normal chow diet. Control positive group received high fat diet rich in cholesterol for 10 weeks. In addition, two CILO groups received (CILO, 50 and 100 mg/kg.p.o.). Oral administration of (CILO; 100 mg/kg) showed promising results in reducing fasting glucose and insulin levels. Moreover, CILO could reduce the elevated hepatic lipids, oxidative stress biomarkers and inflammatory cytokines. In addition, CILO succeeded to restore the total protein levels and activate nuclear factor erythroid-related factor 2/ heme oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) activity. Furthermore, administration of CILO for NAFLD rats succeeded to show corrected and normalized FTIR spectra. We also investigated the plausible binding interactions of CILO with various biological targets using a molecular docking approach, and the results showed that CILO had an excellent docking energy score and significant binding interactions with the core amino acids involved in the active pocket for the enzymes studied. This study depicts that CILO exerted new intervention for NAFLD due to its complementary anti-hyperlipdemic, anti-inflammatory effects and antioxidant potential, via Nrf2/HO-1 activation.
Anatomy of Omicron neutralizing antibodies in COVID-19 mRNA vaccinees
Authors: Rappuoli Rino , Andreano Emanuele , Paciello Ida , Marchese Silvia , Donnici Lorena , Pierleoni Giulio , Piccini Giulia , Manganaro Noemi , Pantano Elisa , Abbiento Valentina , Pileri Piero , Benincasa Linda , Giglioli Ginevra , Leonardi Margherita , Maes Piet , De Santi Concetta , Sala Claudia , Montomoli Emanuele , De Francesco Raffaele
Published: February 2022

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, administered to billions of people worldwide, are mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, however little is known about the molecular basis of antibody cross-protection to emerging variants, such as Omicron (B.1.1.529), and other coronaviruses. To answer this question, 276 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (nAbs), previously isolated from seronegative and seropositive donors vaccinated with BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine1, were tested for neutralization against the Omicron variant and SARS-CoV-1 virus. Cross-neutralizing antibodies were isolated from 100% of seropositive and 20% of seronegative vaccinees. Only 14.2% and 4.0% of tested antibodies neutralized the Omicron variant and SARS-CoV-1 respectively. These nAbs recognized mainly the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) and targeted class 3 and class 4 epitope regions on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Antibodies targeting class 1/2 epitope regions only rarely showed cross-neutralization activity. Cross-protective antibodies derived from a variety of germlines, the most frequents of which were the IGHV1-58;IGHJ3-1 and IGHV1-69;IGHV4-1. Only 15.6% and 7.8% of predominant gene-derived nAbs elicited against the original Wuhan virus cross-neutralized Omicron and SARS-CoV-1 respectively. Our data provide evidence of the presence of cross-neutralizing antibodies induced by vaccination and map conserved epitopes on the S protein that can inform vaccine design.
Comparison of the Effect of Sexual Counseling Based on BETTER and PLISSIT Models on Sexual Assertiveness of Women with Breast Cancer after Mastectomy
Authors: shalamzari Kowsar Hakami , Asgharipour Negar , Jamali Jamshid , kermani Ali Taghizadeh , Babazadeh Raheleh
Published: February 2022

Introduction: Sexual changes in breast cancer occur after diagnosis and treatment include mastectomy. Sexual assertiveness is an effective factor in sexual satisfaction that means the ability to convey sexual feelings, beliefs, and thoughts and logically defend sexual rights. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of individual sexual counseling using the BETTER model with individual sexual counseling using the PLISSIT model in terms of increasing sexual assertiveness.Materials and Methods: The present quasi-experimental intervention was conducted in Mashhad in 2021, and 78 mastectomized women with breast cancer were randomly assigned to two groups: BETTER and PLISSIT. Both groups received four individual counseling sessions of 60-90 minutes one week apart. The research tools included demographic information form, female sexual function index (FSFI), and the Hulbert index of sexual assertiveness (HISA). Changes in the mean scores of sexual assertiveness between the two groups were evaluated before and 4 weeks after the intervention, and the mean changes were compared between the groups. Data analysis was conducted using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, independent t-test, paired t-test, and Chi-square tests using SPSS 25 (P<0.05).Results: The mean scores of sexual assertiveness were not significantly different between BETTER (46.7) and PLISSIT (43.07) groups before the intervention (P=0.253); however, the mean scores of sexual assertiveness in the BETTER group (54.8) and the PLISSIT group (48.6) were significantly different 4 weeks after the intervention. (P<0.001)Conclusion: The results indicated that sexual counseling based on the BETTER model was more effective in increasing the sexual assertiveness of mastectomized women with breast cancer than counseling by the PLISSIT method.
Earlier CRRT is Associated with Reduced Mortality in Rhabdomyolysis Patients
Authors: Li Xiayin , Bai Ming , Yu Yan , Ma Feng , Zhao Lijuan , Li Yajuan , Wu Hao , Sun Shiren
Published: February 2022

Background: Continue renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is commonly employed for rhabdomyolysis (RM) patients. However, the optimal initiation timing of CRRT and prognostic factors were not well evaluated for patients with RM. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of CRRT timing on mortality and the risk factors of death in RM patients who accepted CRRT.Methods: RM patients who received CRRT between May 2010 and May 2021 in our center were retrospectively included. The primarily endpoint was 90-day mortality. Univariate and multivariate logistic analyses were performed to identify the risk factors of 90-day mortality.Results: A total of 134 patients were included in our present study. The 90-day mortality rate was 38.06%. Most of the patients (88.81%) reached peak creatine kinase (CK) within 72 hours after admission, and 58 (43.28%) patients received CRRT before the peak CK occurrence (earlier CRRT) and 76 (56.72%) of patients had CRRT after the peak CK occurrence (later CRRT). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that CRRT initiation after the peak CK occurrence (OR = 3.74, 95%CI 1.17-11.95, p = 0.026), the elevated serum cTnI (OR = 1.23, 95%CI 1.02-1.49, p = 0.032), and the need of mechanical ventilation support (OR = 7.18, 95%CI 1.67-30.83, p = 0.008) were independent risk factors of 90-day mortality. Similar results were obtained in a subgroup analysis of patients with acute kidney injury (AKI).Conclusions: Earlier CRRT initiation before the peak CK occurrence was associated with lower 90-day patient mortality.
Modulation instability gain and Modulated wave shape incited by the acoustic longitudinal vibrations in Molecular Chain Model
Authors: Houwe Alphonse , Djorwe Philippe , Saliou Youssoufa , Abbagari Souleymanou , Doka Serge Yamigno
Published: February 2022

The propagation of the modulated wave pattern and its instability in nonlinear medium is an important study from where experimental results are obtained. In this work we use the Nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger Equation (NLSE) with saturation nonlinearity which describes the solitonic waves in molecular chain model. We set our study on the effectiveness of the acoustic longitudinal velocity which is related to the acoustic longitudinal vibration to investigate the behavior of the modulated wave patterns as well as the modulation instability (MI) gain. Its results that the acoustic longitudinal velocity creates instability zones, increases MI bands and shortens the transition regime of the modulated wave pattern. For long time of simulation and great enough value of the acoustic longitudinal velocity the modulated waves feature chaos-like motion. Alongside of these results the acoustic longitudinal velocity obvious itself as tool control of modulated wave as well as an energy source for the propagation of diverse modulated wave shaped in molecular chain.