bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EFFECTS OF EXERCISE THERAPY WITH THE BOBATH METHOD ON BALANCE IN A CHILD WITH SPASTIC DIPLEGIC CEREBRAL PALSY: A CASE REPORT
Authors: Salsabilla Alifia Husnun , Rahman Farid
Published: February 2023

ABSTRACT

The overall birth prevalence of cerebral palsy is about 2 per 1000 live births. Weakness in balance control is one of the most common problems encountered in children with CP. One of the most widely used physiotherapy approaches for children with CP is Bobath therapy. Exercise with the Bobath method can improve postural control and balance in children with CP. This study aims is to determine the effect of exercise therapy with the Bobath method for balance in a child with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. This study using a single-subject research conducted on a child with a diagnosis of spastic diplegic cerebral palsy who was given exercise therapy using the Bobath method 4 times a week for 4 weeks. Measurement of balance using the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) which was carried out before exercise therapy was given (A1), follow-up (A2), and evaluation of the final outcome (A3). The results showed that the patient had an increase in the PBS score, which means that there was an increase in functional balance. The conclusion of this study is that exercise therapy with the Bobath method which has been carried out 4 times a week for 4 weeks improves functional balance in a child with a diagnosis of spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, Balance, Bobath Method
KANDUNGAN NITRAT DAN FOSFAT SEDIMEN PADA KAWASAN PADANG LAMUN DI PERAIRAN KOLESE KOTA BAUBAU
Authors: Indriyani Rinda , Nurgayah Wa , Ira Ira
Published: February 2023

Nutrien seperti nitrat dan fosfat penting dalam proses pertumbuhan dan perkembangan sumber daya hayati laut. Pengambilan data dilaksanakan pada bulan Oktober-November 2021 di Perairan Kelurahan Kolese, Kota Baubau. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui persentase tutupan lamun,  kandungan nitrat dan fosfat dalam sedimem, serta hubungan kandungan nitrat dan fosfat dalam sedimen terhadap tutupan lamun. Tutupan lamun pada tiga stasiun pengamatan diambil menggunakan transek kuadrat.  Pengambilan data lamun sebanyak 3 kali ulangan pada setiap stasiun pengamatan. Sampel sedimen untuk mengukur nitrat dan fosfat sedimen diambil disemua  stasiun pengamatan. Hubungan kandungan nitrat dan fosfat pada sedimen terhadap persentase tutupan lamun diuji menggunakan analisis regresi berganda. Hasil analisis menunjukkan kandungan nitrat dalam sedimen pada stasiun pengamatan berkisar 1,22-1,41 mg/L, sedangkan kandungan fosfat disedimen berkisar  0,052-0,067 mg/L. Tutupan lamun tertinggi ditemukan pada Stasiun I yaitu 64,1%, sedangkan tutupan lamun terendah pada stasiun II yaitu 22,8%. Terdapat hubungan yang kuat antara  kandungan nitrat dan fosfat terhadap persentase tutupan lamun, dengan nilai korelasi 0,800. Nilai determinasi regresi (R) sebesar 0,639 menunjukkan  kandungan nitrat dan fosfat memberikan pengaruh sebesar 63,9% terhadap persentase tutupan lamun dan sisanya dipengaruhi oleh faktor lingkungan perairan lainnya.Kata kunci: Padang lamun,Fosfat, Nitrat, Sedimen, Kelurahan Kolese.
STUDI KEANEKARAGAMAN JENIS DAN KEPADATAN MEGABENTOS DI KAWASAN TERUMBU KARANG DESA PADAI LAUT KECAMATAN MENUI KEPULAUAN KABUPATEN MOROWALI SULAWESI TENGAH
Authors: Syahrul Syahrul , Emiyarti Emiyarti , Rahmadani Rahmadani
Published: February 2023

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui keanekaragaman jenis dan kepadatan megabentos di Kawasan Terumbu Karang Desa Padei Laut. Pengambilan data dilaksanakan pada bulan Desember 2020 bertempat di Kawasan Terumbu Karang Desa Padei Laut, Kecamatan Menui Kepulauan, Kabupaten Morowali. Analisis sampel substrat dilakukan di Laboratorium Mekanika Tanah, Fakultas Teknik Universitas Halu Oleo. Pengambilan data megabentos dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode belt transect dengan panjang teransek 70 m dengan lebar observasi 1 m ke kiri dan kanan garis transek, sehingga luas pemantauan menjadi 140 m2. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang dilakukan di Kawasan Terumbu Karang Padei Laut, keanekaragaman jenis megabentos yang tertinggi berada pada stasiun II dengan jumlah 6 jenis spesies dengan total keseluruhan 62 organisme. Sedangkan yang terendah berada pada stasiun III dengan jumlah 6 jenis spesies dengan total keseluruhan 46 organisme.Hasil penelitian rata-rata kepadatan megabentos yang didapatkan pada Kawasan Terumbu Karang Padei Laut sebesar 0,187 ind/m² dengan kepadatan tertinggi terdapat pada stasiun II (0,221 ind/m²), dan kepadatan megabentos terendah terdapat pada stasiun III (0,164 ind/m²). Kondisi tutupan terumbu karang tertinggi terdapat pada stasiun II dengan nilai persentase 74,38 % sedangkan yang terendah pada stasiun III dengan nilai persentase 22,03 %. Hasil analisis regresi kelimpahan relatif karang hidup dengan kepadatan megabentos menunjukkan nilai koefisien korelasi (r) sebesar 0,9349 yang berarti hubungannya keduanya sangat kuat.Kata kunci : Megabentos, Keanekaragam, Kepadatan, Karang, Desa Padei Laut
Reflect on Thyself: Interns' Reflection upon Their Strengths and Weaknesses
Authors: Jenkins Clinton , Wiley Susan , McQueen Shannon , Bond Patrick
Published: February 2023

Political science internships are a valuable tool through which interns are able to gain relevant work experience while also gaining hands-on experience with material from their course work. One key element to a successful internship is an interns' ability to meet the needs of the sponsoring organization in terms of the skills and tools they hold. Previous research has focused on those skills that make interns more valuable to sponsoring organizations, we know little about interns' ability to evaluate themselves on those skillsets. In this paper we use data from on-site supervisor evaluations of interns' performance and interns' own evaluations of their performance to investigate how accurately interns evaluate their performance in their internship. Interns' ability to accurately reflect upon their performance is critical for their ability to improve and adapt to changing desires. Findings from this research may suggest potential interventions to help interns' further improve their performance.
Transient dystonia correlates with parkinsonism after 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6- tetrahydropyridine in non- human primates
Authors: Norris S. A. , Tian L. , Williams E. L. , Perlmutter J. S.
Published: February 2023

Unilateral internal carotid artery 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) infusion in non-human primates produces transient contralateral hemi-dystonia followed by stable contralateral hemi-parkinsonism; the relationship between dystonia and parkinsonism remains unclear. We hypothesized that transient dystonia severity following MPTP correlates with parkinsonism severity. In male Macaca nemestrina (n = 3) and M. fascicularis (n = 17) we administered unilateral intra-carotid MPTP, then correlated validated blinded ratings of transient peak dystonia and delayed parkinsonism. We also correlated dystonia severity with post-mortem measures of residual striatal dopamine and nigral neuron counts obtained a mean 53 ± 15 days following MPTP, after resolution of dystonia but during stable parkinsonism. Median latency to dystonia onset was 1 day, and peak severity 2.5 days after MPTP; total dystonia duration was 13.5 days. Parkinsonism peaked a median of 19.5 days after MPTP, remaining nearly constant thereafter. Peak dystonia severity highly correlated with parkinsonism severity (r[18] = 0.82, p < 0.001). Residual cell counts in lesioned nigra correlated linearly with peak dystonia scores (r[18] = −0.68, p=<0.001). Dystonia was not observed in monkeys without striatal dopamine depletion (n = 2); dystonia severity correlated with striatal dopamine depletion when residual nigral cell loss was less than 50% ([11]r = −0.83, p < 0.001) but spanned a broad range with near complete striatal dopamine depletion, when nigral cell loss was greater than 50%. Our data indicate that residual striatal dopamine may not reflect dystonia severity. We speculate on mechanisms of transient dystonia followed by parkinsonism that may be studied using this particular NHP MPTP model to better understand relationships of transient dystonia to nigrostriatal injury and parkinsonism.
Growth performance and nutrient digestibility of broiler chickens as affected by a novel protease
Authors: Vieira Sergio Luiz , de Freitas Camila Rodrigues , Horn Raquel Moreira , Favero Andre , Kindlein Liris , Sorbara Jose Otavio Berti , Umar-Faruk Murtala
Published: February 2023

Two experiments evaluated the addition of an exogenous sfericase protease in broiler diets. Experiments were run (Exp1 and Exp2) with 1,848 and 2,100 one-day-old male chicks being allocated into 84 floor pens with 14 replicates of 22 and 25 birds each, respectively. The studies were conducted in completely randomized designs. In Exp1, Standard diets were formulated with energy and AA at marginally lower levels than usual by the Brazilian integration such that broilers were expected to grow at comparatively reduced rates to the industry whereas in Exp2, the Standard diets were formulated using energy and AA as usual by the Brazilian integrations such that broilers were expected to grow comparable to industry rates. Standard diets had ideally balanced amino acids (AA). Matrix diets, in contrast, had reductions of 6% digestible lysine and of 20 kcal AME/kg compared to the Standard. Matrix diets were supplemented with an sfericase protease at 0, 10,000, and 30,000 New Feed Protease units (NFP)/kg. Outcomes showed no interaction between diet and protease in any of the experiments. However, broilers fed Standard diets had higher cumulative body weight gain (BWG) to 35 and 42 d when compared to Matrix fed birds whereas FCR were worse for birds fed the Matrix diets at 35 d in EXP1 and at 35 and 42 d in EXP2. Improvements in FCR were observed when the sfericase protease was added throughout all ages in EXP1 with a beneficial trend (P<0.067) observed in the cumulative FCR at 42 d in EXP2. The ileal digestible crude protein (IDCP) was significantly higher for birds fed Standard feeds in EXP1 with no other differences in digestibility found in any of the experiments. Protease addition led to improvements in ileal digestibility of dry matter (IDM) and IDCP (P < 0.05) compared to no protease addition in EXP1 as well as in ileal digestibility of energy (IDE) when 30,000 protease units were added. The present report demonstrates that the novel sfericase protease was successful in compensate broiler performance when reductions of 6% digestible Lys and 20 kcal/kg AME were imposed. This compensation, however, seemed more notable when birds were fed diets formulated to support moderate rather than maximum growth and having animal protein in the feed formula.
Cancer metabolic features allow discrimination of tumor from white blood cells by label-free multimodal optical imaging
Authors: Mangini Maria , Ferrara Maria Antonietta , Zito Gianluigi , Managò Stefano , Luini Alberto , De Luca Anna Chiara , Coppola Giuseppe
Published: February 2023

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are tumor cells that have penetrated the circulatory system preserving tumor properties and heterogeneity. Detection and characterization of CTCs has high potential clinical values and many technologies have been developed for CTC identification. These approaches remain challenged by the extraordinary rarity of CTCs and the difficulty of efficiently distinguishing cancer from the much larger number of white blood cells in the bloodstream. Consequently, there is still a need for efficient and rapid methods to capture the broad spectrum of tumor cells circulating in the blood. Herein, we exploit the peculiarities of cancer metabolism for discriminating cancer from WBCs. Using deuterated glucose and Raman microscopy we show that a) the known ability of cancer cells to take up glucose at greatly increased rates compared to non-cancer cells results in the lipid generation and accumulation into lipid droplets and, b) by contrast, leukocytes do not appear to generate visible LDs. The difference in LD abundance is such that it provides a reliable parameter for distinguishing cancer from blood cells. For LD sensitive detections in a cell at rates suitable for screening purposes, we test a polarization-sensitive digital holographic imaging (PSDHI) technique that detects the birefringent properties of the LDs. By using polarization-sensitive digital holographic imaging, cancer cells (prostate cancer, PC3 and hepatocarcinoma cells, HepG2) can be rapidly discriminated from leukocytes with reliability close to 100%. The combined Raman and PSDHI microscopy platform lays the foundations for the future development of a new label-free, simple and universally applicable cancer cells’ isolation method.
Obesity impacts placental function through activation of p-IRE1a-XBP1s signaling
Authors: Shen Wei-Bin , Wang Bingbing , Yao Ruofan , Goetzinger Katherine R. , Wu Sheng , Gao Haijun , Yang Peixin
Published: February 2023

Maternal obesity is associated with a variety of obstetrical outcomes including stillbirth, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes, and increases the risk of fetuses for congenital heart defects. Obesity during pregnancy represents a major contribution to metabolic dysregulation, which not only plays a key role in the pathogenesis of adverse outcome but also can potently induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. However, the mechanism associating such an obesogenic metabolic environment and adverse pregnancy outcomes has remained poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the ER stress pathways (also named unfolded protein response (UPR)) were activated in the placenta by obesity. We collected placenta from the obese pregnancy (n = 12) and non-obese pregnancy (n = 12) following delivery by Caesarean-section at term. The specimens were assessed with immunocytochemistry staining and RT-QPCR. Our results revealed that in the obese placenta, p-IRE1α and XBP1s were significantly increased, CHOP and nine UPR chaperone genes were upregulated, including GRP95, PDIA6, Calnexin, p58IPK, SIL-1, EDEM, Herp, GRP58 and Calreticulin. However, Perk and BiP are not activated in the obese placenta. Our data suggest that upregulated p-IRE1α and XBP1s signaling, and UPR chaperone genes may play an important role in maternal obesity-induced placental pathology. In conclusion, this is the first report on ER stress and UPR activation in the placenta of maternal obesity. Our findings represent the first step in the understanding of one of the key ER signaling pathways, also referred to IRE1α-XBP1, in placental pathophysiology affected by obesity, which may be an important mechanism accounting for the observed higher maternal and perinatal risks.
TGFβ3, dibutyryl cAMP and a notch inhibitor modulate phenotype late in stem cell-derived dopaminergic neuron maturation
Authors: Sibuea Shanti , Ho Joan K. , Pouton Colin W. , Haynes John M.
Published: February 2023

The generation of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (mDAs) from pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) holds much promise for both disease modelling studies and as a cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Generally, dopaminergic neuron differentiation paradigms rely on inhibition of smad signalling for neural induction followed by hedgehog signalling and an elevation of β-catenin to drive dopaminergic differentiation. Post-patterning, differentiating dopaminergic neuron cultures are permitted time for maturation after which the success of these differentiation paradigms is usually defined by expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate limiting enzyme in the synthesis of dopamine. However, during maturation, culture media is often supplemented with additives to promote neuron survival and or promote cell differentiation. These additives include dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate (dbcAMP), transforming growth factor β3 (TGFβ3) and or the γ-secretase inhibitor (DAPT). While these factors are routinely added to cultures, their impact upon pluripotent stem cell-derived mDA phenotype is largely unclear. In this study, we differentiate pluripotent stem cells toward a dopaminergic phenotype and investigate how the omission of dbcAMP, TGFβ3 or DAPT, late in maturation, affects the regulation of multiple dopaminergic neuron phenotype markers. We now show that the removal of dbcAMP or TGFβ3 significantly and distinctly impacts multiple markers of the mDA phenotype (FOXA2, EN1, EN2, FOXA2, SOX6), while commonly increasing both MSX2 and NEUROD1 and reducing expression of both tyrosine hydroxylase and WNT5A. Removing DAPT significantly impacted MSX2, OTX2, EN1, and KCNJ6. In the absence of any stressful stimuli, we suggest that these culture additives should be viewed as mDA phenotype-modifying, rather than neuroprotective. We also suggest that their addition to cultures is likely to confound the interpretation of both transplantation and disease modelling studies.
A validation study of a consecutive interpreting test using many-facet Rasch analysis
Authors: Zhao Nan
Published: February 2023

Validation is the process of conducting a validity study on a test, gathering evidence to support inferences made based on test scores. Using many-facet Rasch analysis this paper validates the result of a consecutive interpreting test from four aspects: rating scale, raters, examinees and interpreting tasks. The study also identifies factors that affect the test results through bias analysis. The results of this analysis show that: (1) this analytical rating scale and task design can effectively reflect the examinees' interpreting competence, thus making it suitable for validating interpreting assessments; (2) one of the sub-scales: interpreting skills and manners, has a slightly negative effect on the overall validity of the assessment, making further revision on this sub-scale desirable.
High fibrinogen and mixed proximal and distal thrombosis are associated with the risk of residual venous thrombosis in patients with posttraumatic deep vein thrombosis
Authors: Liu Yating , Deng Xiaozhi , Zhu Fang , Zhu Wenhui , Wang Zheng
Published: February 2023

Background

The risk factors for residual venous thrombosis (RVT) in patients with post-trauma deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are unknown.

Methods

We evaluated 127 patients with DVT after trauma, all of whom were treated with conventional anticoagulation and assessed for the presence of RVT with venous compression ultrasound (CUS), using an internal diameter of the venous lumen ≥ 4 mm after compression as the criterion.

Results

RVT was present in 59 (46%) patients, and complete thrombus dissolution was present in 68 (54%) patients. Among them, mixed proximal and distal thrombosis (OR, 4.292; 95% CI, 1.253–14.707), diabetes (OR, 6.345; 95% CI, 1.125–35.786), fibrinogen > 4.145 g/L (OR, 2.858; 95% CI, 1.034–7.897), the time between detection of thrombus and initiation of antithrombotic therapy > 2.5 days (OR, 3.470; 95% CI, 1.085–11.094) was an independent risk factor for RVT in patients with posttraumatic DVT.

Conclusion

A mixed proximal and distal thrombosis, diabetes mellitus, late initiation of antithrombotic therapy, and high fibrinogen levels increase the risk of RVT in patients with posttraumatic DVT. Therefore, treatment regimens for patients with posttraumatic DVT can be adjusted according to the site of thrombosis, the presence of diabetes mellitus, and the level of fibrinogen, and antithrombotic therapy can be started as early as possible after the detection of thrombosis to prevent the development of RVT and its serious complications.
Online and on-campus transfer students experienced different impacts from the pandemic
Authors: Ardissone Alexandria N. , Galindo Sebastian , Triplett Eric W. , Drew Jennifer C.
Published: February 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic caused extensive disruption to higher education, highlighting the negative impacts of emergency shift to online instruction. As a result, advantages of intentionally designed, online programs in higher education were overshadowed during the pandemic. Furthermore, socioeconomic disparities were exacerbated during the pandemic which extended to STEM undergraduate transfer students, who are more likely to be low-income, from historically underrepresented groups, older, and first generation in their family to attend college. To better understand the impact of the pandemic on STEM undergraduates, including those in an intentionally designed online program, ordinal regression analysis of 352 student survey respondents enrolled in a life sciences major at a large, R1 institution in the United States spring 2020 through fall 2021 was performed. Three student types are compared: on-campus, first-time in college (FTIC); on-campus transfer (OC-TR); and online transfer (ONL-TR) students. The latter group receives all course delivery online, whereas on-campus student groups received predominately in-person course delivery prior to the pandemic. ONL-TR students were over six times less likely to report negative educational impact compared to on-campus students, FTIC and OC-TR, while controlling for parent education, income, gender, race/ethnicity, and GPA. Additional survey items further explored this result and were validated with academic records and thematic analysis of students’ text responses. A pre−/post-pandemic comparison revealed that students maintained a similar course load and GPA, despite increased perceptions of a lower GPA during the pandemic. OC-TR students were over two times more likely to express increased concern related to delayed graduation and higher frequency of feeling stress compared to FTIC and ONL-TR students. Meanwhile, low-income students were more likely to report stressors due to the pandemic’s impact on daily life, independent of student type. Taken together, students in this intentionally designed online program were more resilient to the educational and emotional impacts of the pandemic compared to on-campus students. The differences between student groups warn against generalization of student impacts and suggest further research into the positive role of online learning, not just for delivery of educational content and expanding access, but for academic and emotional stability for different student populations.
Boosting soil literacy in schools can help improve understanding of soil/human health linkages in Generation Z
Authors: Johnson Karen L. , Stone Wendy , Dominelli Lena , Chivasa Stephen , Clarke Catherine E. , Gwandu Tariro , Appleby Joanne
Published: February 2023

Soil health underpins ecosystem services like food security and therefore underpins human health. Poor soil health is a global problem which is hindering attempts to deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We focus on goals 3 (human health), 13 (climate change) which are intimately linked to goal 15 (soil health). Soil health is arguably most fragile in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where aged soils are characterised by poor nutrient and water holding capacity, and are largely deficient in micronutrients such as Zinc. Poor soil health coupled with the largely cereal-based diets can mean that micronutrient malnutrition is high in the region. In sub-Saharan Africa, where much of the population is too poor to purchase mineral supplements, poor soil health (SDG15) can therefore negatively impact on human health (SDG3). We surveyed 3661 school children aged 13–15 in three African countries, Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, for their ‘Attitudes, Behaviours and Competencies’ of soil, which we termed ‘ABC’. The ‘ABC’ survey results showed significant soil illiteracy. The survey showed that although students were generally equipped with a good attitude to (overall 52% positive) and behaviour towards soil (overall 60% engagement), they had little competency as to how to improve soil health (overall 23% knowledge). For example, less than 35% of respondents across all countries know that soil is living. Less than 13% of students are aware of the important role of soil in climate change mitigation. We believe that these two knowledge gaps must be addressed for Generation Z to understand the important linkages between climate change, soil and human health. We propose a hands-on ‘ethics of care’ approach to engage society with soil, piggybacking on existing climate change educational resources by building terrariums with living soil can empower children to learn about soil, plant, human and planetary health. The future of food security depends on Generation Z having soil literacy. Our survey clearly shows that students who think farming is a good way to make money have significantly higher levels of overall soil literacy. We propose that the future of human health depends on soil literacy.
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and diverse potential invertebrate vectors predominantly interact opportunistically
Authors: Petersen Carola , Krahn Alexandra , Leippe Matthias
Published: February 2023

Some small animals migrate with the help of other, more mobile animals (phoresy) to leave short-lived and resource-poor habitats. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans lives in ephemeral habitats such as compost, but has also been found associated with various potential invertebrate vectors. Little research has been done to determine if C. elegans is directly attracted to these invertebrates. To determine whether C. elegans is attracted to compounds and volatile odorants of invertebrates, we conducted chemotaxis experiments with the isopods Porcellio scaber, Oniscus asellus, and Armadillidium sp. and with Lithobius sp. myriapods, Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, and Arion sp. slugs as representatives of natural vectors. Because phoresy is an important escape strategy in nature, especially for dauer larvae of C. elegans, we examined the attraction of the natural C. elegans isolate MY2079 in addition to the laboratory-adapted strain N2 at the dauer and L4 stage. We found that DMSO washing solution of Lithobius sp. and the odor of live D. melanogaster attracted C. elegans N2 L4 larvae. Surprisingly, the natural isolate MY2079 was not attracted to any invertebrate during either the dauer or L4 life stages and both C. elegans strains were repelled by various compounds from O. asellus, P. scaber, Armadillidium sp., Lithobius sp., and Arion sp. feces. We hypothesize that this is due to defense chemicals released by the invertebrates. Although compounds from Lithobius sp. and D. melanogaster odorants were mildly attractive, the lack of attraction to most invertebrates suggests a predominantly opportunistic association between C. elegans and invertebrate vectors.
Monoculture plantations impede forest recovery: Evidence from the regeneration of lowland subtropical forest in Hong Kong
Authors: Zhu Huiling , Zhang Jinlong , Cheuk Mang Lung , Hau Billy C. H. , Fischer Gunter A. , Gale Stephan W.
Published: February 2023

Anthropogenic disturbance has led to widespread clearance and degradation of tropical forests, and tree planting has been promoted as an effective solution for recovery. However, trees have been overwhelmingly planted in monocultures or low-diversity mixes and this is expected to have profound, lasting impacts on forest structure, diversity, and functioning. In this study, we tested the extent to which historical vegetation transition types (VTTs) constrain forest recovery in a secondary tropical landscape in Hong Kong, South China. To do so, we overlaid vegetation types (forest, shrubland, pine plantation, grassland) identified in aerial photographs taken in 1956 and 1963 of a 20-ha plot situated in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, allowing us to define six historic VTTs, namely: FF (forest to forest), GP (grassland to plantation), GS (grassland to shrubland), SS (shrubland to shrubland), SF (shrubland to forest), and SP (shrubland to plantation). We compared present-day forest structure and species diversity among these VTTs, as determined from a census conducted in 2015, using incidence- and abundance-based rarefaction and extrapolation, and we assessed species’ association within VTTs using a torus translation test. Our results reveal that stem density and species diversity in naturally regenerated forests were more similar to those of old-growth forest, whereas species diversity in areas occupied by pine plantations was significantly lower as compared with naturally regenerated areas. Despite 60 years of recovery, pine plantations were characterised by a significantly greater proportion of negatively associated species, and late-seral species were still predominantly confined to old-growth patches. Present-day species distribution is chiefly explained by the combined effects of topography and VTT (17.1%), with VTT alone explaining 4.4%. Our study demonstrates that VTT has a significant long-term impact on forest regeneration and community assembly and, importantly, that monocultural plantations (forest plantation) can greatly impede forest recovery. Remnant old-growth forest patches merit priority protection, and active restoration, including thinning and enhancement planting, is necessary to facilitate forest succession.
Genomic heritability and correlation between carcass traits in Japanese Black cattle evaluated under different ceilings of relatedness among individuals
Authors: Rostamzadeh Mahdabi Elaheh , Tian Rugang , Li Yuan , Wang Xiao , Zhao Meng , Li Hui , Yang Ding , Zhang Hao , Li SuFan , Esmailizadeh Ali
Published: February 2023

The investigation of carcass traits to produce meat with high efficiency has been in focus on Japanese Black cattle since 1972. To implement a successful breeding program in carcass production, a comprehensive understanding of genetic characteristics and relationships between the traits is of paramount importance. In this study, genomic heritability and genomic correlation between carcass traits, including carcass weight (CW), rib eye area (REA), rib thickness (RT), subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), yield rate (YI), and beef marbling score (BMS) were estimated using the genomic data of 9,850 Japanese Black cattle (4,142 heifers and 5,708 steers). In addition, we investigated the effect of genetic relatedness degree on the estimation of genetic parameters of carcass traits in sub-populations created based on different GRM-cutoff values. Genome-based restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) analysis was applied to estimate genetic parameters. Using all animal data, the heritability values for carcass traits were estimated as moderate to relatively high magnitude, ranging from 0.338 to 0.509 with standard errors, ranging from 0.014 to 0.015. The genetic correlations were obtained low and negative between SFT and REA [−0.198 (0.034)] and between SFT and BMS [−0.096 (0.033)] traits, and high and negative between SFT and YI [−0.634 (0.022)]. REA trait was genetically highly correlated with YI and BMS [0.811 (0.012) and 0.625 (0.022), respectively]. In sub-populations created based on the genetic-relatedness ceiling, the heritability estimates ranged from 0.212 (0.131) to 0.647 (0.066). At the genetic-relatedness ceiling of 0.15, the correlation values between most traits with low genomic correlation were overestimated while the correlations between the traits with relatively moderate to high correlations, ranging from 0.380 to 0.811, were underestimated. The values were steady at the ceilings of 0.30–0.95 (sample size of 5,443–9,850) for most of the highly correlated traits. The results demonstrated that there is considerable genetic variation and also favorable genomic correlations between carcass traits. Therefore, the genetic improvement for the traits can be simultaneously attained through genomic selection. In addition, we observed that depending on the degree of relationship between individuals and sample size, the genomic heritability and correlation estimates for carcass traits may be different.
Host-pathogen interaction in arthropod vectors: Lessons from viral infections
Authors: Perveen Nighat , Muhammad Khalid , Muzaffar Sabir Bin , Zaheer Tean , Munawar Nayla , Gajic Bojan , Sparagano Olivier Andre , Kishore Uday , Willingham Arve Lee
Published: February 2023

Haematophagous arthropods can harbor various pathogens including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and nematodes. Insects possess an innate immune system comprising of both cellular and humoral components to fight against various infections. Haemocytes, the cellular components of haemolymph, are central to the insect immune system as their primary functions include phagocytosis, encapsulation, coagulation, detoxification, and storage and distribution of nutritive materials. Plasmatocytes and granulocytes are also involved in cellular defense responses. Blood-feeding arthropods, such as mosquitoes and ticks, can harbour a variety of viral pathogens that can cause infectious diseases in both human and animal hosts. Therefore, it is imperative to study the virus-vector-host relationships since arthropod vectors are important constituents of the ecosystem. Regardless of the complex immune response of these arthropod vectors, the viruses usually manage to survive and are transmitted to the eventual host. A multidisciplinary approach utilizing novel and strategic interventions is required to control ectoparasite infestations and block vector-borne transmission of viral pathogens to humans and animals. In this review, we discuss the arthropod immune response to viral infections with a primary focus on the innate immune responses of ticks and mosquitoes. We aim to summarize critically the vector immune system and their infection transmission strategies to mammalian hosts to foster debate that could help in developing new therapeutic strategies to protect human and animal hosts against arthropod-borne viral infections.
CAR and TCR form individual signaling synapses and do not cross-activate, however, can co-operate in T cell activation
Authors: Barden Markus , Holzinger Astrid , Velas Lukas , Mezősi-Csaplár Marianna , Szöőr Árpád , Vereb György , Schütz Gerhard J. , Hombach Andreas A. , Abken Hinrich
Published: February 2023

In engineered T cells the CAR is co-expressed along with the physiological TCR/CD3 complex, both utilizing the same downstream signaling machinery for T cell activation. It is unresolved whether CAR-mediated T cell activation depends on the presence of the TCR and whether CAR and TCR mutually cross-activate upon engaging their respective antigen. Here we demonstrate that the CD3ζ CAR level was independent of the TCR associated CD3ζ and could not replace CD3ζ to rescue the TCR complex in CD3ζ KO T cells. Upon activation, the CAR did not induce phosphorylation of TCR associated CD3ζ and, vice versa, TCR activation did not induce CAR CD3ζ phosphorylation. Consequently, CAR and TCR did not cross-signal to trigger T cell effector functions. On the membrane level, TCR and CAR formed separate synapses upon antigen engagement as revealed by total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) and fast AiryScan microscopy. Upon engaging their respective antigen, however, CAR and TCR could co-operate in triggering effector functions through combinatorial signaling allowing logic “AND” gating in target recognition. Data also imply that tonic TCR signaling can support CAR-mediated T cell activation emphasizing the potential relevance of the endogenous TCR for maintaining T cell capacities in the long-term.
The immunomodulation role of Th17 and Treg in renal transplantation
Authors: Huang Dan-Lei , He Yi-Ran , Liu Yu-Jing , He Hong-Yu , Gu Zhun-Yong , Liu Yi-Mei , Liu Wen-Jun , Luo Zhe , Ju Min-Jie
Published: February 2023

Kidney transplantation (KT) is an ultimate treatment of end-stage chronic kidney disease, which can meet a lot of complications induced by immune system. With under-controlled immunosuppression, the patient will obtain a good prognosis. Otherwise, allograft disfunction will cause severe organ failure and even immune collapse. Acute or chronic allograft dysfunction after KT is related to Th17, Treg, and Th17/Treg to a certain extent. Elevated Th17 levels may lead to acute rejection or chronic allograft dysfunction. Treg mainly plays a protective role on allografts by regulating immune response. The imbalance of the two may further aggravate the balance of immune response and damage the allograft. Controlling Th17 level, improving Treg function and level, and adjusting Th17/Treg ratio may have positive effects on longer allograft survival and better prognosis of receptors.
Influence of active cooling on microstructure and mechanical properties of wire arc additively manufactured mild steel
Authors: Dash Aruntapan , Squires Lile , Avila Jose D. , Bose Susmita , Bandyopadhyay Amit
Published: February 2023

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metals attracts attention because it can produce complex structures in a single step without part-specific tooling. Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), a welding-based method that deposits metal layer by layer, is gaining popularity due to its low cost of operation, feasibility for large-scale part fabrication, and ease of operation. This article presents the fabrication of cylindricalshaped mild steel (ER70S-6) samples with a gas metal arc (MIG)—based hybrid WAAM system. A mechanism for actively cooling the substrate is implemented. Deposition parameters are held constant to evaluate the impact of active cooling on deposition quality, inter-pass cooling time, and internal defects. Surface and volume defects can be seen on the cylindrical sample fabricated without an active cooling setup. Defect quantification and phase analysis are performed. The primary phase formed was α-iron in all samples. Actively cooled deposition cross section showed a 99% decrease of incomplete fusion or porosity, with temperature measured 60 s after deposition averaging 235°C less than non-cooled. Microstructural analysis revealed uniformity along the build direction for actively cooled deposition but non-uniform microstructures without cooling. Hardness decreased by approximately 22HV from the first layer to the final layer in all cases. Property variation can be attributed to the respective processing strategies. The current study has demonstrated that active cooling can reduce production time and porosity while maintaining uniform microstructure along the build direction. Such an approach is expected to enhance the reliability of WAAM-processed parts in the coming days.
Clinical risk score for early prediction of recurring SARS-CoV-2 positivity in non-critical patients
Authors: Li Anni , Wang Chao , Cui An , Zhou Lingyu , Hu Wei , Ma Senlin , Zhang Dian , Huang Hong , Chen Mingquan
Published: February 2023

Introduction

Recurrent positive results in quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (qRT-PCR) tests have been commonly observed in COVID-19 patients. We aimed to construct and validate a reliable risk stratification tool for early predictions of non-critical COVID-19 survivors’ risk of getting tested re-positive within 30 days.

Methods

We enrolled and retrospectively analyzed the demographic data and clinical characters of 23,145 laboratory-confirmed cases with non-critical COVID-19. Participants were followed for 30 days and randomly allocated to either a training (60%) or a validation (40%) cohort. Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to identify possible risk factors with the SARS-CoV-2 recurrent positivity and then incorporated into the nomogram.

Results

The study showed that the overall proportion of re-positive cases within 30 days of the last negative test was 24.1%. In the training cohort, significantly contributing variables associated with the 30-day re-positivity were clinical type, COVID-19 vaccination status, myalgia, headache, admission time, and first negative conversion, which were integrated to build a nomogram and subsequently translate these scores into an online publicly available risk calculator (https://anananan1.shinyapps.io/DynNomapp2/). The AUC in the training cohort was 0.719 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.712–0.727] with a sensitivity of 66.52% (95% CI, 65.73–67.30) and a specificity of 67.74% (95% CI, 66.97–68.52). A significant AUC of 0.716 (95% CI, 0.706–0.725) was obtained for the validation cohort with a sensitivity of 62.29% (95% CI, 61.30–63.28) and a specificity of 71.26% (95% CI, 70.34–72.18). The calibration curve exhibited a good coherence between the actual observation and predicted outcomes.

Conclusion

The risk model can help identify and take proper management in high-risk individuals toward the containment of the pandemic in the community.
Frailty modifies the effect of polypharmacy and multimorbidity on the risk of death among nursing home residents: Results from the SHELTER study
Authors: Zazzara Maria Beatrice , Villani Emanuele Rocco , Palmer Katie , Fialova Daniela , Corsonello Andrea , Soraci Luca , Fusco Domenico , Cipriani Maria Camilla , Denkinger Michael , Onder Graziano , Liperoti Rosa
Published: February 2023

Background

Frailty, disability, and polypharmacy are prevalent in nursing home (NH) residents, often co-occurring with multimorbidity. There may be a complex interplay among them in terms of outcomes such as mortality. Aims of the study were to (i) assess whether nursing home residents with polypharmacy (5–9 medications) or hyperpolypharmacy (≥10 drugs), have an increased risk of death and (ii) whether any association is modified by the co-presence of frailty or disability.

Methods

Cohort study with longitudinal mortality data including 4,023 residents from 50 European and 7 Israeli NH facilities (mean age = 83.6 years, 73.2% female) in The Services and Health for Elderly in Long Term care (SHELTER) cohort study. Participants were evaluated with the interRAI-LongTerm Care assessment tool. Frailty was evaluated with the FRAIL-NH scale. Hazard ratio (HR) of death over 12 months was assessed with stratified Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for demographics, facilities, and cognitive status.

Results

1,042 (25.9%) participants were not on polypharmacy, 49.8% (n = 2,002) were on polypharmacy, and 24.3% (n = 979) on hyperpolypharmacy. Frailty and disability mostly increased risk of death in the study population (frailty: HR = 1.85, 95%CI 1.49–2.28; disability: HR = 2.10, 95%CI 1.86–2.47). Among non-frail participants, multimorbidity (HR = 1.34, 95%CI = 1.01–1.82) and hyperpolypharmacy (HR = 1.61, 95%CI = 1.09–2.40) were associated with higher risk of death. Among frail participants, no other factors were associated with mortality. Polypharmacy and multimorbidity were not associated with mortality after stratification for disability.

Conclusions

Frailty and disability are the strongest predictors of death in NH residents. Multimorbidity and hyperpolypharmacy increase mortality only in people without frailty. These findings may be relevant to identify patients who could benefit from tailored deprescription.
NAMPT and NAPRT serum levels predict response to anti-TNF therapy in inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Colombo Giorgia , Caviglia Gian Paolo , Ravera Alberto , Tribocco Elisa , Frara Simone , Rosso Chiara , Travelli Cristina , Genazzani Armando A. , Ribaldone Davide Giuseppe
Published: February 2023

Background

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) and nicotinic acid phosphoribosyl transferase (NAPRT) are key intracellular enzymes that participate in the biosynthesis on NAD but have also been shown to be released as proinflammatory cytokines. A number of reports have shown that circulating NAMPT is increased in serum of patients with inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), while nothing is known regarding circulating NAPRT and the presence of both cytokines in IBD patient stools. In the present study, we evaluated eNAMPT and eNAPRT levels in a large cohort of IBD patients not on biological therapy and in a subset that then was prescribed biologics.

Methods

We conducted a retro-perspective study on 180 patients, of which 111 underwent subsequent biological treatment (adalimumab, vedolizumab, and ustekinumab). We analyzed eNAMPT and eNAPRT concentrations in serum and faces of IBD patients, correlating them with response to biologics.

Results

We now report that eNAMPT and eNAPRT are significantly increased in both serum and stools of IBD patients. NAMPT and NAPRT levels correlate with disease severity, with C reactive protein and with serum IL-6 levels. Importantly, levels of NAMPT in patients starting treatment with adalimumab correlate with response failure at three months: patients with levels above 4 ng/ml were significantly less likely to obtain benefit. Serum NAMPT as a biomarker of response yields a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 100%.

Conclusion

The present work strongly suggests that a prospective trial evaluating eNAMPT and eNAPRT levels in relation to response to biologicals in IBD should be initiated.
Enhancing chemical and biological diversity by co-cultivation
Authors: Selegato Denise M. , Castro-Gamboa Ian
Published: February 2023

In natural product research, microbial metabolites have tremendous potential to provide new therapeutic agents since extremely diverse chemical structures can be found in the nearly infinite microbial population. Conventionally, these specialized metabolites are screened by single-strain cultures. However, owing to the lack of biotic and abiotic interactions in monocultures, the growth conditions are significantly different from those encountered in a natural environment and result in less diversity and the frequent re-isolation of known compounds. In the last decade, several methods have been developed to eventually understand the physiological conditions under which cryptic microbial genes are activated in an attempt to stimulate their biosynthesis and elicit the production of hitherto unexpressed chemical diversity. Among those, co-cultivation is one of the most efficient ways to induce silenced pathways, mimicking the competitive microbial environment for the production and holistic regulation of metabolites, and has become a golden methodology for metabolome expansion. It does not require previous knowledge of the signaling mechanism and genome nor any special equipment for cultivation and data interpretation. Several reviews have shown the potential of co-cultivation to produce new biologically active leads. However, only a few studies have detailed experimental, analytical, and microbiological strategies for efficiently inducing bioactive molecules by co-culture. Therefore, we reviewed studies applying co-culture to induce secondary metabolite pathways to provide insights into experimental variables compatible with high-throughput analytical procedures. Mixed-fermentation publications from 1978 to 2022 were assessed regarding types of co-culture set-ups, metabolic induction, and interaction effects.