bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Imbalance in ALR ubiquitination accelerates the progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis to hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: An Wei , Zheng Mingzhe , Ai Ziwei , Chen Yujiao , xie ping
Published: July 2022

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of primary liver cancer. Accumulating evidence indicates that non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a key predisposing factor for HCC occurrence. However, the precise mechanisms driving NASH transition to HCC remain largely obscure. Augmenter of liver regeneration (ALR) is a sulfhydryl oxidase and cytochrome c reductase that functions as an important regulator of mitochondrial dynamics. In this study, we focused on ALR ubiquitination-mediated degradation and its potential contribution to NASH-driven HCC progression at the mitochondrial level. Hepatic ALR expression in HCC patients was determined using immunohistochemical analysis. Mice with liver-specific deletion of ALR (ALRCKO) and ALRWT mice were fed a western diet (WD) and high-sugar solution for induction of NASH. HCC in animals was induced via peritoneal administration of CCl4. ALR expression was markedly decreased in liver tissues of patients with NASH and HCC compared with non-NASH and non-tumor tissues. Similarly, in ALRWT mice, the ALR level in tumor tissue was reduced relative to that in para-tumor tissue. In the ALRCKO group, mice fed WD plus CCl4 developed HCC starting at week 12 while ALRWT mice fed WD plus CCl4 developed HCC at week 24. Analysis of protein posttranslational modifications revealed ubiquitylation (Ub) and deubiquitination (DUb) of ALR by murine double minute 2 (MDM2) and ubiquitin-specific protease 36 (USP36), respectively. Imbalance between Ub and DUb of ALR resulted in profound ALR degradation, which appeared to be reversibly associated with Edmondson-Steiner tumor grade. Rescue of ALR levels via gene transfection abolished tumor malignant features to a certain extent in vitro. Notably, ALR deletion substantially enhanced mitochondrial fission by activating Drp1 phosphorylation, thus disrupting the balance of mitochondrial dynamics between fission and fusion and severely impairing oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and ATP synthesis, instead enhancing anaerobic metabolism, which might be attributed to steatotic hepatocyte transition into the malignant HCC phenotype. Hepatic ALR depletion via dysregulation of ubiquitination is a critical aggravator of NASH-HCC progression and represents a promising therapeutic target for related liver diseases.
Treatment of renal interstitial fibrosis with an agonistic Tie2 monoclonal antibody via amelioration of peritubular capillary lesions in a mouse model of nephropathy
Authors: Jiang Lu , Hu Xiaohan , Feng Yajun , Wang Zhen , Tang Hanyun , Lin Qiang , Shen Yunyan , Zhu Yun , Xu Qinying , Li Xiaozhong
Published: July 2022

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) eventually manifests as renal interstitial fibrosis, and loss of peritubular capillaries in the fibrotic area is the main marker of disease progression. Tie2, as the main functional receptor of angiopoietin, is characteristically expressed in vascular endothelial cells. This study aimed to evaluate the effect and mechanism of an agonistic Tie2 monoclonal antibody on folic acid (FA)-induced renal fibrosis (FAN) in mice.Methods: Mice were randomly divided into wild-type mice, FAN model mice, and FAN model mice treated with the agonistic Tie2 antibody. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells with lipopolysaccharide-induced injury were treated with the agonistic Tie2 antibody in vitro.Results: FA-induced renal tubulointerstitial lesions could be prevented with the agonistic Tie2 antibody. The extent of renal fibrosis induced by FA was suppressed by treatment with the agonistic Tie2 antibody. The level of fibroblast-specific protein 1 was reduced in mice that were administered the agonistic Tie2 antibody. Further, the agonistic Tie2 antibody inhibited FA‐induced vascular inflammation by downregulating vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. In addition, peritubular capillary density was upregulated by agonistic Tie2 antibody treatment, as evidenced by an increase in the level of cluster of differentiation 31. These findings were verified by the in vivo results, which showed that the levels of VCAM-1, Bax, and α-smooth muscle actin were downregulated after treatment with the agonistic Tie2 antibody.Conclusions: Based on all these findings, it appears that the agonistic Tie2 antibody attenuated renal interstitial fibrosis in FAN model mice by promoting peritubular capillary regeneration, inhibiting inflammation, and improving peritubular capillary lesions, and therefore, it may have promise for the treatment of CKD.
Cerebrovascular Complications of COVID-19 on Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
Authors: Zaaqoq Akram M. , Griffee Matthew J , Kelly Thu-Lan , Fanning Jonathon , Heinsar Silver , Suen Jacky , Mariani Silvia , Bassi Gianluigi Li , Jacobs Jeffrey , White Nicole , Fraser John F , Lorusso Roberto , Peek Giles , Cho Sung-Min ,   COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium (COVID Critical) N/A
Published: July 2022

Background: Evidence of cerebrovascular complications in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) is limited. The aim of our study is to characterize the prevalence and risk factors of stroke secondary to COVID-19 in patients on V-V ECMO. Methods: We analyzed prospectively collected observational data of adults from 380 institutions of 53 countries in the COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium (COVID Critical) registry. We used univariable and multivariable survival modeling to identify risk factors for stroke during ECMO. Cox proportional hazards and Fine-Gray models were used, with death and discharge treated as competing risks. Results: 595 patients (median age [IQR]: 51 years [42-59]; male: 70.8%) had V-V ECMO support. Forty-three patients (7.2%) suffered strokes, 83.7% of which were hemorrhagic. In multivariable survival analysis, obesity [adjusted Hazard Ratio (aHR)=2.19, 95% CI=1.05–4.59] and use of vasopressors before ECMO (aHR=2.37, 95% CI =1.08–5.22) were associated with an increased risk of stroke. Relative ΔPaCO2 of negative 26% and relative ΔPaO2 of positive 24% at 48-hours of ECMO initiation were observed in stroke patients in comparison to relative ΔPaCO2 of negative 17% and relative ΔPaO2 of positive 7% in the non-stroke group. Patients with acute stroke had a 79% in-hospital mortality compared with a 45% mortality for stroke-free patients.Conclusion: Our study highlights the association of obesity and pre-ECMO vasopressor use with the development of stroke in COVID-19 patients on V-V ECMO. Also, the importance of relative decrease in PaCO2 and moderate hyperoxia within 48-hours after ECMO initiation were additional risk factors.
Clinical and aesthetic outcomes of different papillae width following modified coronally advanced tunnel technique: A retrospective study
Authors: Chen Huiwen , Dong Jiachen , Wu Sicheng , Song Zhongchen
Published: July 2022

ObjectiveThis study was to investigate whether the width of the interdental papillae could contribute to clinical and aesthetic outcomes of the modified coronally advanced tunnel technique (MCAT).Materials and MethodsA total of 28 patients with 70 class RT1 single and multiple gingival recessions (GRs) were treated by MCAT between March 2017 and March 2021. The apex angle of the mesial and distal papillae adjacent to the involved tooth were recorded at baseline. Clinical outcomes (mean root coverage (mRC) and complete root coverage (CRC)) were recorded at 12 months after surgery. Periodontal clinical parameters (keratinized tissue width (KTW), gingival index (GI), plaque index (PLI), periodontal probing depth (PPD), and clinical attachment loss (CAL)) were recorded at baseline and 12 months after surgery. Aesthetic evaluation was carried out using the root coverage esthetic score (RES) and patients’ visual analogue scale (VAS). The possible relationship between papilla width and clinical and/or aesthetic outcomes was discerned by multiple linear regression and logistic regression.ResultsThe mean width of papilla ranged from 22.6° to 74.65° with a median of 42.32° (IQR: 16.98°). For single GRs, the papilla width was not significantly correlated to mRC, RES, CRC, VAS gain, CAL gain, and KTW gain. The RES and CRC were only associated with papilla width in multiple GRs (P = 0.012). At 12 months, 95.79 ± 10.17% and 92.94 ± 10.64% of mRC were obtained for multiple GRs and single GRs, respectively. Better results in terms of CRC were obtained from multiple GRs compared with single GRs (78.94% vs. 66.67%). For aesthetic outcomes, 8.84 ± 1.54 and 9.16 ± 1.53 of RES were observed at single and multiple GR defects.ConclusionsThe CRC and RES of multiple GRs following MCAT is significantly correlated to papillae width. Relatively wide gingival papillae tend to have a greater chance to achieve complete root surface coverage.Clinical relevance:The width of the gingival papilla helps to speculate on the clinical outcome of root surface coverage. Although the findings are not yet highly predictable, the MCAT can yield better results in the wider gingival papilla area.
Complexation between aluminum ion and glycolic acid under acidic condition
Authors: Etou Mayumi , Taketatsu Toshifumi , Okaue Yoshihiro , Inoue Takanori , Yokoyama Takushi
Published: July 2022

The complexation between Al3+ ([Al(H2O)6]3+) and glycolic acid (GA, C2H4O3) which has a carboxyl group and a hydroxyl group in a molecule was investigated under acidic condition using 27Al NMR, 13C NMR and ESI-MS techniques. The five peaks including a peak due to Al3+ were observed in 27Al NMR spectra for the mixed solution of Al3+ and GA, suggesting the existence of at least four Al-GA complexes. The results of NMR and ESI-MS measurements revealed that GA and Al3+ can form one monodentate complex (AlGA2+) and three bidentate complexes (AlGA+, AlGA2−, and AlGA33−) complexes. From the deconvolution of 27Al NMR spectra and pKa value of GA, the conditional formation constants (log K) of each complex (GA/Al molar ratio of 25 in mixed solution) can be determined to be 0.94 (AlGA2+), -0.96 (AlGA+), -0.77 (AlGA2-) and − 2.21 (AlGA33-), respectively. In addition, the overall formation constant of three bidentate complex at pH 3 was also calculated to be -1.65.
First record of black spot bandfish: Acanthocepola limbata (Valenciennes, 1835) from Northern Bay of Bengal
Authors: Kumar J. S. Yogesh , Panda Pradip , Sen Arya
Published: July 2022

Acanthocepola limbata (Valenciennes, 1835) is reported for the first time from Northern Bay of Bengalon the basis of specimens collected from Petuaghat fish landing, West Bengal coast and this species reported from Karnataka, Maharastra, Kerala, west coast of India and Gulf of Mannar, east coast of India. In this manuscript, details on the morphological characters have been provided and discussed with all the reported species in the genus found in India.
Direct method for the determination of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA ) in human milk: optimization by factorial design
Authors: Kus-Yamashita Mahyara Markievicz Mancio , Cano Cristiane Bonaldi , Monteiro Vânia Claudia Barros , Catarino Regina Maria
Published: July 2022

Human milk provides all the nutrients required by babies during the first six months of their life. Human milk lipids represent the main source of energy, contributing almost 50% of the total energy content. Additionally, fatty acids ensure the correct development of children in the prenatal, postnatal, and infant phases. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is essential for visual and cognitive development, and its presence during childhood can affect long-term health. This study aimed to optimize and validate a methodology for the direct determination of DHA in human milk. We used 20 samples of human milk from lactating women living in the city of Itu, São Paulo, who attended Basic Health Units from September 2019 to September 2020, and a sample of certified reference material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The proposed methodology consists of a validated mixed transesterification process without prior lipid extraction, optimized by factorial design. This methodology can be successfully used in human milk samples, as it is both precise and accurate. The values of DHA in the sampled milks were similar to those in other European countries and lower than those in Asian countries due to diet.
Stable response of tree growth to climate variations over the last five centuries
Authors: Trevino Aleyda , Stine Alexander , Huybers Peter
Published: July 2022

Changes in the environmental limitations upon tree-ring growth have been documented during the instrumental periods, but it is more difficult to examine whether environmental change altered dendroclimatological responses over the longer timescales applicable to paleoclimate reconstructions. We present a method to evaluate changes in the relationship between temperature and tree-ring growth over the last five centuries that leverages nonlinear growth relationships between individuals trees within a stand as suggested by Liebig's Law of the Minimum. Furthermore, using this method, we show that regional tree growth was more sensitive to temperature during colder climates over the last five centuries at global and regional scales. These results provide strong confirmation that climate variations alter dendrochronological sensitivity to temperature over the last five centuries. Change in sensitivity is small, however, with an average stand-level increase in sensitivity of 2.7% per °C warming. Our results thus also demonstrate that dendroclimatological reconstructions are generally stable over at least the last five centuries. It may also be possible to use the nonlinear inter-relationships among tree growth within a stand as an independent proxy of low-frequency fluctuations in climate.
Association analysis of social support and poverty in older adults
Authors: Liao Hui , Li Sangsang , Han Dan , Zhang Mei , Zhao Jie , Wu Yunyi , Ma Ying , Yan Chaoyang , Wang Jing
Published: July 2022

Background: With population aging becoming a pressing global concern, social support is more meaningful for older adults. In particular, financial supports, such as health insurance and financial assistance derived from family, all play great role in assistance affairs. Research shows social support possibly has an impact on poverty, but the association between formal and informal supports is unclear. We are aimed at verifying the association between distinct social supports and exploring whether this association would affect poverty alleviation for older adults.Methods: A total of 2,683 individuals aged 60 years or older who have medical expenses were included in a survey conducted by the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2018. A chi-square analysis and an independent samples T test all were used to explore the differences of social supports among old people with different economic condition. A binary logistic regression was aimed at analyzing the association between social supports and poverty for older adults. The structural equation model was established to evaluate the association between formal support and informal support and the mechanism(s) of social supports affecting poverty.Results: The overall average rate of reimbursement for outpatient care was 0.20 with standard deviation 0.22, and the average reimbursement rate of inpatient care for the poor older adults is nearly 5% lower than the average of the non-poor older adults. We found that having private health insurance and higher reimbursement rate of inpatient care were associated with lower likelihood of living in poverty for older adults. Formal support would directly affect poverty, but its impact on poverty through informal support is insignificant even if formal support is negatively associated with informal support. Conclusion: A dilemma in reducing the economic burden of disease and receiving family assistance for older adults was revealed, and a more complete health security and higher level of medical expenses compensation would be beneficial to prevent poverty. Optimizing the primary healthcare and increasing the percentage of insurance compensation, policies that focus on the specific cultural values and strengthening the role of supplementary insurance are advantaged for alleviating poverty among older adults.
The G nucleotide guides codon usage bias in genes associated with depression
Authors: Khandia Rekha , Puranik Nidhi , Pandey Megha , Dhama Kuldeep , Khan Azmat Ali , Alexiou Athanasios , Batiha Gaber El-Saber , Elsayad Mohamed
Published: July 2022

Depression or major depressive disorder is a psychiatric disorder affecting mood, behavior, and mental and physical health. Depression runs in families, suggestive of the genetic basis of the disease. Much research is going to understand the molecular basis of depression. In the present work, we tried to envisage the codon usage pattern analysis of genes involved in depression. The investigation revealed that all the genes were highly expressed, and codon usage bias (CUB) is influenced by the length of the gene, nucleotide disproportion, nucleotide compositional constraints, and CAI. The detailed investigation related to the effect of codon composition of CUB revealed that out of 20 compositional constraints, only G nucleotide showed a relationship at overall %G, %G2, %G3 and %GC2 positions. E of composition is further evidenced by the relationship between CUB and nucleotide skew. Neutrality, parity, P2 analysis, suppression of CpG, and TpA dinucleotide and over-representation of TpG dinucleotide followed by under abundance of TpA and CpG encompassing codons and over-representation of CTG and GTG codons all indicated towards the selectional force in shaping codon usage in genes linked to depression. The genes showed a significant positive correlation with each other based on RSCU value indicative of similar codon usage. Based on protein properties, all genes correlated with each other except for the CYP3A4 gene. The association is suggestive of identical protein properties also of genes involved. The analysis helps unveil the compositional features and various forces affecting codon usage of the gene.
Two missense variants of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene are associated with non small cell lung carcinoma in the Iraqi population
Authors: Lawi Zahraa K , Al-Shuhaib Mohammed Baqur S , Amara Ibtissem Ben , Alkhammas Ahmed H
Published: July 2022

Background Lung carcinoma is a foremost cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Variable genetic factors are associated with the development of lung malignancy. This study was performed to evaluate the possible association between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene polymorphisms and non small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in Iraqi population. Methods DNA samples were extracted from 100 patients and 100 controls. Four PCR fragments were designed to amplify four high-frequency variants within EGFR, namely rs1050171, rs2072454, rs2227984, and rs2227983. The PCR fragments were genotyped by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method, and each genotype was exposed to direct sequencing. Results Genotyping experiments confirmed the variability of three targeted variants, and logistic regression analysis showed that two of these variants (rs1050171 and rs2227983) exhibited a significant association with NSCLC. Individuals with rs1050171:GA genotype showed a significant association with the increased risk of NSCLC (P=0.0110; OD 5.2636; Cl95% 1.4630 to 18.9371). Individuals with rs2227983:GG genotype exhibited a highly significant association with NSCLC (P=0.0037; OD 5.2683; Cl95% 1.7141 to 16.1919). Linkage disequilibrium analysis showed that the effects of the investigated variants are independent of each other. Conclusions Our collective data indicated that EGFR-rs1050171G/A and EGFR-rs2227983G/G SNPs exerted significant and independent association with the increased risk of NSCLC. This study suggests employing both rs1050171 and rs2227983 SNPs as informative diagnostic markers for the early detection of NSCLC in the study population.
Adaptations of anatomical teaching during Covid 19 at the University Complutense of Madrid
Authors: ARRAEZ-AYBAR LUIS-A. , Garcia-de-Pereda-Notario CM , Maldonado-Bautista E. , Catón J , Martinez-Sanz E , Garcia-Gómez S , Murillo-González JA , Barrio-Asensio C , Virto-Ruiz L , García-Serradilla M , Mérida-Velasco JR
Published: July 2022

Purpose: To present the activities carried out in the Department of Anatomy and Embryology at the University Complutense of Madrid on the occasion of the experience accumulated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the results of the students' evaluation about the material designed after the experience.Introduction: The restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic meant the transition to online procedures through the MOODLE platform, for the theoretical teaching, practical teaching and final evaluation of some of the subjects taught by our Department in several degrees; as Medicine, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Podiatry. In anticipation that the following academic year 2020-21 would be fully affected, a series of own teaching materials were developed, such as the elaboration of theory and practice scripts that incorporated images of anatomical models, prosections, radiological anatomy and ultrasound anatomy. The scopes of this innovation were evaluated by studentsMethods: An online survey was created through Google Forms. The students' perception about the usefulness of the innovated material was evaluated using a Likert-type scale with a maximum of ‘5 points’. Results and Discussion: Three hundred and forty six students participated in a variable number according to degrees. The highest average scores corresponded to Podiatry and Occupational Therapy, both presented significant differences with the other three students’ subgroups (p<.0001). The lowest average score corresponded to Medicine second-academic year which presented significance with the other four students’ subgroups (p<.0001). The shortcomings of the educational system at the University Complutense of Madrid revealed by the Covid19 pandemic were also analyzed.
Developing virtual fingerprint: identifying trustworthy interaction behaviors of web users
Authors: Li Jiajia , Yi Qian , Yi Shuping , Zhu Pengxing
Published: July 2022

Trustworthy interaction refers to the interaction process between human and network information systems that is believable and credible. In recent years, network security events frequently happened caused by human-web interaction lacking trustworthiness, which brings about some security risks such as private information leakage, resource abuse, property or reputation loss, etc. It is a significant network security concern threatening people. The problem is typically approached from the viewpoint of identifying the trustworthiness of the credentials submitted by interactors. There are little few studies that have addressed it in terms of the trustworthiness of the interaction behavior by interactors. We propose that the interaction behavior pattern of interactors on the website is a virtual fingerprint (VF) to discriminate the trustworthiness of the identity based on relevant psychological and behavioral theories. Using 481,838 weblog data from a travel service website, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed VF. First, the individual differences in interaction behavior of interactors on the website are characterized by numerical analysis and statistical inference. Then, 15 interaction behavior features are constructed from weblogs to create a VF, which can discriminate the trustworthiness of the identity by identifying the interaction behaviors of the interactors on the website. Of these, a machine learning algorithm (i.e., the eXtreme gradient boosting) is applied to build the identification model for interaction behaviors. The results show that the VF proposed in this study has better discrimination of trustworthiness compared to those approaches that use other kinds of behavior features. And, the eXtreme gradient boosting used performs more efficiently than the algorithm of Decision Tree and Random Forest. Specifically, the errors of discriminating both untrustworthy and trustworthy identities are as low as 0.19% and 3.30%, respectively. Also, the accuracy of identifying interaction behaviors is as good as 99.63%.
Observed and projected changes in urbanization and nature conservation in a typical fast growing city of Ethiopia, Jimma
Authors: Aticho Abebayehu , Beyene Abebe , Zelelew Shimelis Aynalem , Nigussie Abebe , Gutema Tariku Mekonnen , Bakkestuen Vegar , Chala Desalegn
Published: July 2022

Urbanization threatens biodiversity mostly in developing nations where rural-urban migration is high and urban planning is poor to consider nature conservation. Lacks of adequate information on how to integrate urban expansion and nature conservaion is aggravating environmental problems and making mitigatory actions difficult. Here we quantified how Jimma city, a typical fast growing city in Ethiopia, expanded over the past 35 years, predicted change for the next 50 years and mapped priority areas for conservation. Landsat satellite images of 1985 and 2020 were used to map major land cover types and to quantify temporal changes during this period. We used Markov chain model to predict changes over the next 50 years and GIS-based multi-criteriato identify conservation priority areas. Our finding showed adverse effect of urban expansion on the natural habitats. Over the past three decades, built-up areas were expanded by sevenfold (721%; 2227 ha) while croplands were expanded by 34% (4155 ha). In contrast, a substantial shrinking noticed to the natural habitats: forest cover declined by 39% (5209 ha), grass land by 20% (655 ha) and wetland by 28% (638 ha). Our projection of the current trend to the next 50 years indicated the built-up areas may further increase by fourfold (436%; 13565 ha). However, open water, wetland, natural forest and cropland are predicted to decline by 81% (120 ha), 40% (660 ha), 42% (3455 ha) and 55% (8848 ha), respectively. Under current rate of population growth and rural-urban migrations, urban expansion is inevitable. Our study indicated the importance of delineating at least 9040 ha (28%) of the land within city administration which we categorized as high and very high priority areas for conservation of biodiversity. To build inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities, the urban administrations in developing nations are in need of sound policy, strategies, and planning that support the integration of urban development and nature conservation especially maintaining the existing key biodiversity areas.
COVID-19 vaccines breakthrough infection and adverse reactions in medical students: A nationwide survey in Iran
Authors: Allahgholipour Amirreza , Rosstami-Nejad Mohammad , Safavi-Naini Seyed Amir Ahmad , Rostami Hossein Nazary , Honarvar Mohamad Javad , Mohammadi Mohammad , Khalili Parnian , Ilaghi Mehran , Afshar Hossein , Baghbadorani Ali Amini , Moghimi Hamid Reza , Goorabi Alireza Chamani , Mehrparvar Amirreza , Safari Mehdi , Nakhli Ashraf Sadat , Mahmoudabadi Mohammad , Seifadini Adib , Shaikhansari Sobhan , Khojastehfar Sadaf , Mahdavi Parisa , Mohammadi Maede , Barzideh Siyamak Ashrafi , Akbarzadeh Nadia , Ahmadigol Adel , Zali Alireza , Moghadam Seyed Hosein Delavarpour , Barary Mohammad , Emamhadi MohammadAli
Published: July 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the rate of COVID-19 breakthrough infection and adverse events in medical students.Methods: Iranian medical students receiving two doses of COVID-19 vaccines were included in this retrospective cohort study. The medical team gathered the demographic characteristics, comorbidities, type of vaccine, adverse events following vaccination, and history of COVID-19 infection data through a phone interview. The frequency of adverse events and breakthrough infection was stratified by vaccine type (ChAdOx1-S, Gam-COVID-Vac, and BIBP-CorV).Results: A total of 3591 medical students enrolled in this study, of which 57.02% were females, with a mean age of 23.31 + 4.87. A PCR-confirmed and suspicious-for-COVID-19 breakthrough infection rate of 4.51% and 7.02% was detected, respectively. There was no significant relation between breakthrough infection and gender, BMI, blood groups, and comorbidities. However, there was a significant difference in breakthrough infection rate among different types of vaccines (P=0.001) and history of COVID-19 infection (P=0.001). A total of 16 participants were hospitalized for COVID-19 infection, and no severe infection or death was observed in the studied population.Conclusion: Vaccination prevented severe COVID-19 infection, although a high breakthrough infection rate was evident among Iran medical students during the Delta variant’s peak. Vaccine effectiveness may be fragile during emerging new variants and in high-exposure settings. Moreover, adverse events are rare, and the benefits of vaccination outweigh the side effects. However, many limitations challenged this study, and the results should be cautious.
Polygenic risk scores associated with tumor immune infiltration in common cancers
Authors: Choi Jungyoon , Kim Jung Sun , Sung Hwa Jung , Chen Yu-Wei , Chen Zhishan , Wen Wanqing , Shu Xiao-ou , Zheng Wei , Guo Xingyi
Published: July 2022

Purpose
It is largely unknown whether genetic susceptibility contributes to tumor immune infiltration in common cancers. We systematically investigated the association between polygenic risk scores (PRS) and tumor immune infiltration in common cancers.
Methods
We constructed PRS for common cancers using the risk variants identified in previous genome-wide association studies. We analyzed 139 immune traits predicted by previous studies by examining gene expression data in tumor tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We applied multivariable regression analyses to evaluate the associations between PRS and immune traits for each cancer overall and stratified by intrinsic molecular subtypes for breast cancer and stage.
Results
We included 2,160 pathologically confirmed cases of breast, colorectal, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers in the White population. At a nominal (P < 0.05) significance level, we identified 31 significant associations between PRS and immune traits in prostate cancer (14), colorectal cancer (5), breast cancer (4), lung squamous cell carcinoma (4), lung adenocarcinoma (2), ovarian cancer (1), and pancreatic cancer (1). In the analyses stratified by intrinsic molecular subtypes for breast cancer, we identified 35 significant associations, including 31 associations that were undetected by the overall analysis. In the analyses stratified by stage for breast, colorectal, lung adenocarcinoma, and lung squamous cell carcinoma, we identified 65 significant associations, including 56 associations that were undetected by the overall analysis.
Conclusions
This study shows the evidence of PRS affecting immune infiltration and provides novel insights into the role of genetic susceptibility in the immune responses underlying cancer development and prognosis.
Bartonella Neuroretinitis Following Dog Bite: an Uncommon Case of Non- Feline Related Cat Scratch Disease and Review of Literature
Authors: Rahim Fadzilah Hanim , Tajunisah Iqbal , Kamalden Tengku A , Lott Pooi Wah
Published: July 2022

Background: Neuroretinitis is the most common form of ocular Cat Scratch Disease (CSD), caused by bacterium Bartonella Henselae, commonly transmitted to human via cat’s scratch or bite. We describe a case of Bartonella neuroretinitis with occlusive vasculitis without history of feline exposure. Case Presentation: A healthy 28 year-old man presented with unilateral acute visual loss following a dog bite and diagnosed as bartonella neuroretinitis with occlusive vasculitis, with subsequent recurrence. Retinal imaging included colour fundal photography and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Patient improved upon commencement of oral azithromycin combined with prednisolone. Our literature review revealed 9 cases of serology confirmed Bartonella-associated neuroretinitis following direct contact with non-feline mammals (dog, guinea pig, ferret, hedgehog, raccoon), tick and bull ant.Conclusion: Due to its variable mode of transmission, the diagnosis of Cat Scratch Disease and Bartonella-associated neuroretinitis should be considered despite absence of feline exposure.
Statistical optimization of media composition and fermentation conditions for improved production of novel antimicrobial compound by Geotrichum candidum OMON-1
Authors: Omeike S. O. , Kareem S. O. , Bamigbade G. B.
Published: July 2022

Optimization of fermentation conditions is important for increased compound production and use of statistical designs could improve efficiency of the process. Optimization of nutritional and environmental requirements for increased GP-2B production by Geotrichum candidum OMON-1 in tryptose soy broth (TSB) at flask level using two-level factorial tool in Design Expert (DE) software was investigated. Using 1/8th factorial and design resolution IV, pre-determined low and high levels of tryptone, pH, peptone, sodium chloride, dextrose, agitation, fermenter volume and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate were considered in 16 randomized experimental runs. Antimicrobial activity (Response) of bioextract from each experimental run against Staphylococcus aureus was determined via agar well-diffusion. Fermentation proceeded in both DE-optimized and standard TSB medium and concentration (peak height) of HPLC-purified GP-2B compared. Highest antimicrobial activity (21 mm) was achieved at Run 13 (high tryptone (25 g/L), peptone (8 g/L), NaCl (25 g/L), agitation (150 rpm); low pH (5.5), dextrose (2 g/L), K2HPO4 (2 g/L), fermenter volume (40%)). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Half-normal plot described tryptone (48.04%), tryptone-agitation interaction (19.85%), dextrose (-1.75; 12.01%) and pH (8.82%) as significant contributors to fermentation, while tryptone (+ 3.5) and dextrose (-1.75) had best and most detrimental influence respectively. A curved 3D response surface plot was obtained, with concentration and activity against S. aureus of GP-2B from optimized conditions (3.143 x 108; 21 mm) higher than at normal conditions (2.869 x 108; 19.5 mm). The two factorial design successfully improved fermentation requirements for increased GP-2B production by G. candidum OMON-1.
MFVT: Multilevel Feature Fusion Vision Transformer and RAMix Data Augmentation for Fine-grained Visual Categorization
Authors: Lv Xinyao , Xia Hao , Li Na , Li Xudong , Bai Chengjie
Published: July 2022

The introduction and application of the Vision Transformer (ViT) has promoted the development of fine-grained visual categorization (FGVC). However, there are some problems with directly applying ViT to FGVC tasks. ViT only classifies using the class token in the last layer, ignoring the local and low-level features necessary for FGVC. We propose a ViT-based multilevel feature fusion transformer (MFVT) for FGVC tasks. In this framework, with reference to ViT, the backbone network adopts 12 layers of Transformer blocks, divides it into four stages, and adds multilevel feature fusion (MFF) between Transformer layers. We also design RAMix, a CutMix-based data augmentation strategy that uses the resize strategy for crop-paste images and label assignment based on attention. Experiments on the CUB-200-2011, Stanford Dogs, and iNaturalist 2017 datasets gave competitive results, especially on the challenging iNaturalist 2017, with an accuracy rate of 72.6%.
The Alzheimer risk factor CD2AP causes dysfunction of the brain vascular network
Authors: Vandal Milene , Institoris Adam , Korin Ben , Gunn Colin , Suzie Lee , Lee Jiyeon , Bourassa Philippe , Mishra Ramesh , Peringod Govind , Jiang Yulan , Hirai Sotaro , Belzil Camille , Reveret Louise , Tremblay Cyntia , Hashem Mada , Meilandt William , Foreman Oded , Rouse-Girma Meron , Nicola Wilten , Körbelin Jakob , Dunn Jeff F. , Braun Andrew , Bennett David , Gordon Grant , Calon Frédéric , Shaw Andrey , Nguyen Minh Dang
Published: July 2022

Genetic variations in CD2-associated protein (CD2AP) predispose to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we show that a cerebrovascular loss of CD2AP in AD is associated with cognitive decline and genetic downregulation of CD2AP in brain microvessels impairs memory function in two distinct mouse models. The memory deficits are linked to reduced cerebral blood flow during resting state and altered neurovascular coupling in pial vessels, arterioles and capillaries. In brain endothelial cells, CD2AP regulates the levels and signaling of ApoE receptor 2 (ApoER2). Activation of the CD2AP-ApoER2 pathway with Reelin glycoprotein mitigates the toxic effects of Aβ on capillary blood flow and on vasomotion of arterioles depleted of CD2AP. We propose that deregulation of CD2AP perturbs distinct segments of the brain vascular network, and harnessing the biology of specific brain vessel types may offer refined therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AD.
Breaking the bandwidth limit of a high-quality-factor ring modulator based on thin-film lithium niobate
Authors: Xue Yu , Gan Ranfeng , Chen Kaixuan , Chen Gengxin , Ruan Ziliang , Zhang Junwei , Liu Jie , Dai Daoxin , Guo Changjian , Liu Liu
Published: July 2022

Growing global data traffic requires high-performance modulators with a compact size, a large bandwidth, a low optical loss, and a small power consumption. A careful trade-off among these parameters usually has to be made when designing such a device. Here, we propose and demonstrate an electro-optic ring modulator on the thin-film lithium niobate platform without compromising between any performances. The device exhibits a low on-chip loss of about -0.15dB with a high intrinsic Q-factor of 7.7×105. Since a pure coupling modulation is employed, the photon life-time is no longer a limiting factor for the modulation speed. A large electro-optic bandwidth is obtained without any roll-off up to 67 GHz. The device, with a footprint of 3.4 mm×0.7 mm, also exhibits a low half-wave voltage of 1.75 V, corresponding to a half-wave voltage length product of 0.35 V∙cm considering the 2-mm long modulation section. Driverless data transmission up to 240 Gb/s is also demonstrated.
Green synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial activity, and in vitro antiproliferative effect of Ru/Ag/Pd nanocomposite
Authors: Hussein Shaimaa , Mahmoud Ayman M. , Elgebaly Hassan A. , Hendawy Omnia M. , Hassanein Emad H. M. , Moustafa Shaima M. N. , Alotaibi Nasser F. , Nassar Amr M.
Published: July 2022

Green synthesis of nanocomposite ruthenium/silver/palladium (Ru/Ag/Pd)-Np was carried out using garlic leaves extract for the reduction of equal quantities of ruthenium nitrate, silver nitrate, and palladium acetate. Some physico-chemical approaches were used to characterize the Nps, including infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). XRD revealed that the crystal size of the nanocomposite was 15.67 nm. After removing all of the precursor's anionic portions, TGA revealed a straight line, confirming the creation of a composite metallic form. Due to metal-metal interactions and the absence of typical bands of acetate and nitrate groups, IR spectra revealed faint multiple bands in the far infrared range. The antimicrobial efficacy of the nanocomposite was examined against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillu niger, Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus. The results showed a potent antimicrobial activity toward all tested microorganisms. UV irradiation greatly improved the antiproliferative efficacy of the nanocomposite against HepG2, Caco2, and K562 cancer cell types. After UV exposure, (Ru/Ag/Pd)-Np also caused Caco2 cells' cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and necrosis. In conclusion, Ru/Ag/Pd-Np exhibits potent antimicrobial activity and antiproliferative efficacy against different cancer cell lines. The antiproliferative potential of Ru/Ag/Pd-Np was significantly improved following UV irradiation.
Tasks Scheduling in Cloud environment using PSO-BATS
Authors: Shaheen Anwar R , kumar Sundar Santhosh
Published: July 2022

Cloud computing plays an important role in the IT industry to deliver scalable resources as a service. Cloud users can virtually access resources over the internet. One of the most important factor to increase the performance and efficiency of the cloud server by maximizing resource utilization as task scheduling. The performance of the cloud mainly depends on resource management and optimally job scheduling. Task scheduling is a technique that defines the choosing of most appropriate resources for the execution of tasks which means the distribution of tasks on available resources by taking some parameters. The main advantage of this scheduling is to maximize the performance and minimize the time loss. There are various researchers are examined numerous scheduling methods to achieve QoS (Quality of Service) and to reduce execution time. However, it had the disadvantages of low throughput and high response time. The main objective of the proposed system is to schedule the task efficiently and to eliminate the faults in scheduling the tasks to the VMs. This research proposed the novel PSO-BATS with MLRHE (Multi-Layered Regression Host Employment) to sort out the issues of task scheduling and ease the scheduling operation with balancing of the load. The proposed efficient scheduling provides benefits to both cloud users and servers. The performance evaluation was done in terms of Makespan, cost, and PIR and found that the proposed method surpassed the other taken methods. In a comparative analysis, the proposed method proved that the best performance compared to existing methods.
Cluster-based routing scheme for wireless sensor network using PSO and Firefly algorithms
Authors: Khalilnasl Hossein , Ghaffari Ali
Published: July 2022

Energy efficiency is one of the most important challenges in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) as the sensor nodes are battery-operated devices. Due to inherent resource constraints in WSNs, energy-efficient data transmission and routing to the sink is an important challenge. On the other hand, the clustering mechanism is an important scheme which can significantly enhance network lifetime. Hence, an energy efficient routing scheme with optimal path selection is essential for WSNs. Since clustering is an NP-Hard problem, this paper proposes a cluster-based routing scheme using particle swarm optimization (PSO) and firefly algorithms for WSNs. In the proposed method, the firefly optimization algorithm was aimed to select appropriate and optimal cluster head (CH) nodes based on the residual energy, free buffer, and distance. PSO was employed to create proper clusters based on the minimum distance and higher residual energy. The optimal path between the CHs and Sink node is selected based on a minimum Euclidean distance. The proposed method is analyzed in terms of packet delivery rate (PDR), throughput, number of alive nodes, end-to-end delay, and average routing overhead. The proposed method is tested extensively on different scenarios, varying number of nodes, packet size, and the number of packets and position of sink node. The results are compared with traditional schemes and some extant algorithms to illustrate the excellence of the proposed scheme.
Analysis of the results of complex processing of technological wells to restore their serviceability
Authors:   Zabaikalsky State University, post graduate student, Chita, Mikhailov А. , Ovseychuk V. ,   Zabaikalsky State University, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Chita
Published: July 2022

Laboratory tests to establish the influence of the material and particle size distribution composition of hydrogenous ores on the intensity of sedimentation of colmatants during in-situ leaching have established that the main reason for loss of productivity of technological wells during in-situ leaching of hydrogenous ores of the Khiagda ore field deposits is colmatation of their near-filter zone. The greatest influence is exerted by mechanical and chemical colmatation, in the process of which fine mechanical suspensions accumulate in the near-filter zone and products of chemical reactions occurring during leaching [4; 9–12]. It has been determined that the most effective way to eliminate mechanical bridging is pneumatic-pulse processing of the filter zone of technological wells, and the use of processing wells with hydrochloric acid and ammonium bischofite allows to remove most of the chemical bridging agents deposited on the structural elements of the well reinforcement [2, 3]. The conducted research makes it possible to improve the regulation of repair and restoration works when treating technological wells in the process of carrying out production works at the hydrogenous deposits of the Khiagda ore field. The results of applying technical solutions to restore the serviceability of injection and injection wells are given in this article
THE FIRST DATA FROM UYTENBOGAАRDITE IN THE ORE OF THE TASEYEVSKOYE GOLD-SILVER DEPOSIT IN EASTERN TRANSBAIKALIA (RUSSIA)
Authors:   Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Cryology SB RAS, Chita, Yurgenson G.
Published: July 2022

The relevance lies in the need to have complete data on the features of the mineralogy of the unique in terms of gold and silver content ores of shallow gold-silver formation deposits, one example of which is the Taseevskoye deposit in the Baleisky ore field in Eastern Transbaikalia. The purpose of the study is to determine the mineral composition of the rich gold-silver ores of the Taseevsky deposit. The object of the study is a hessite-uytenbogaardite-electrum-chalcopyrite-calcite-quartz mineral association. The subject of the study is the chemical composition and forms of isolation of uytenbogaardite. Method and methodology used are optical and electron microscopy with the determination of forms of precipitation and variations in the chemical composition of uytenbogaardite. The results are the following: for the first time, the rare Au and Ag sulfide uytenbogaardite was identified in the gold-silver ore of the Taseevskoye deposit, its chemical composition was determined, and it was found that it is in association with electrum, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, hessite, quartz, acanthite, cervelite, and petzite. Subspherical forms of aggregates predominate, less often lenticular and veinlets. The size of its crystals and their intergrowths is 0.005 - 0.5 mm. All crystals are nonstoichiometric. The content of the main chemical elements varies within (wt.%): Ag 52.43 - 64.76; Au 22.57 - 37.35; S 7.32 - 12.84. Among the studied individuals of uytenbogardite, three contain from 2.98 to 5.18% Te. Low grade Au, which is associated with uytenbogardite, contains from 43.32 to 56.42% Ag and is electrum by their ratio. Uytenbogaardite was found only in the upper part of the ore zone of the Taseevskoe deposit. This may be a typomorphic feature for determining whether the chalcedony-like quartz containing it belongs to the supra-ore zone of a deposit of a shallow gold-silver formation