bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design, synthesis, and anticancer activity of three novel palbociclib derivatives
Authors: Li Tian , Zhou An-Di , Bai Li-Fei , Zhang Xiao-Yang , Zhou Yu-Ting , Yang Hai-Li , Xu Le-Tian , Guo Xin-Qin , Zhu Xi-Yu , Wang Dong-Jin , Gu Hong-Wei , Wang Xiao-Ming
Published: August 2022

Cancer is one of the most serious diseases threatening human health, so it is particularly important to develop effective tumor-targeting drugs. As the first CDK4/6 inhibitor, palbociclib effectively inhibits tumor proliferation by blocking the cell cycle to the G1 phase. 10-HCPT is a Topo I inhibitor; however, its clinical application has been greatly limited due to its high toxicity. Based on the successful development of double target inhibitors, three novel palbociclib derivatives (HP-1, HP-2, and HP-3) were designed and synthesized from Palbociclib and 10-HCPT, and their biological activities were investigated. At first, the possible binding sites of the three compounds to Topo I and CDK4/6 were predicted by molecular docking. Then, we evaluated the anti-proliferative effects of the three palbociclib derivatives. In general, human lung cancer cells were more sensitive to HP-1, HP-2, and HP-3, especially NCI-H460. In addition, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction were investigated by flow cytometry. The three palbociclib derivatives, especially HP-1, had obvious cell cycle arrest phenomenon on NCI-H460 cells and induced apoptosis of NCI-H460 cells significantly. In the end, it was proved that these three drugs had obvious cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitory activities. In short, all the data showed that HP-1, HP-2, and HP-3 could play anti-cancer roles by acting on dual targets and had the characteristics of high efficiencies and low toxicities, which opened up a new idea for the study of palbociclib derivatives.
Misdiagnosed appendiceal mucinous neoplasms and primary ovarian mucinous tumors present with different pre- and intraoperative characteristics
Authors: Yu Yi , Wang Tao , Yuan Zhen , Lin Wei , Yang Jiaxin , Cao Dongyan
Published: August 2022

Objective

To identify the differences between the pre- and intraoperative characteristics in misdiagnosed appendiceal mucinous neoplasms (AMNs) and those in primary ovarian mucinous tumors (POMTs) and to establish an effective model for differentiating AMNs from pelvic mucinous tumors.

Methods

This study enrolled 70 AMN patients who were misdiagnosed with ovarian tumors and 140 POMT patients who were treated from November 1998 to April 2021 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. The clinical features and operative findings of the two groups of patients were collected and compared.

Results

There were significant differences in age and menopausal status, but no difference in the patients’ clinical manifestations between the two groups. The preoperative serum CA125 and CA199 levels were not different between the two groups. The CEA level (31.04 ± 42.7 vs. 7.11 ± 24.2 ng/ml) was higher in the misdiagnosed AMN group (P < 0.001). The AMNs were smaller than the POMTs that were measured preoperatively by ultrasonography (US) (P<0.05) and measured at surgery (P<0.05). Furthermore, the patients with AMNs more commonly had multinodularity and ascites noted on the preoperative US (P<0.001), on CT (P<0.001), and at surgery (P< 0.001). The two groups also differed in the presence of bilateral disease, in the appendiceal appearance and peritoneal dissemination. Subsequently, a prediction model was developed using multivariable logistic regression, which was evaluated through internal validation.

Conclusions

The suspicion of a nongenital organs originated tumor especially origing from appendiceal should be considered in a patient who is older, tumor size less than 12cm, multinodular, presence of mucinous ascites, and elevated serum CEA levels. Bilateral ovarian involvement, peritoneal dissemination, and an abnormal appendiceal appearance found during surgery were the typical features associated with AMNs.
Parent Satisfaction With Outpatient Telemedicine Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Jones Erin , Kurman Jaime , Delia Elisa , Crockett Jennifer , Peterson Rachel , Thames Jasmin , Salorio Cynthia , Kalb Luther , Jacobson Lisa , Stone Jacqueline , Zabel T. Andrew
Published: August 2022

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of hospital-based telemedicine services had been slow and circumscribed in scope due to insurance and licensure restrictions. As these restrictions were eased during the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate ongoing patient care, the public health emergency facilitated a rapid expansion and utilization of telemedicine services across the ambulatory service sector.

Objectives

The current quality improvement (QI) study utilized this unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the use of telemedicine services across a variety of clinical disciplines and patient groups.

Methods

Caregivers of patients (ages 0–21) who received care through an outpatient specialty center provided experience ratings of telemedicine services delivered during the initial pandemic months (March–June 2020; N = 1311) or during the national “winter surge” in late 2020 (November 2020–February 2021; N = 1395). Questionnaires were distributed electronically following the clinical visits, and ANCOVA was employed (with patient age as the covariate) to determine if caregiver responses differed based on patient demographic characteristics.

Results

Ratings of patient satisfaction with services were very strong at both time points; greater variability in scores was noted when caregivers were asked if they would use telemedicine services again. At both time points, younger patient age (i.e., age 0–5) was associated with decreased caregiver willingness to use telemedicine services in the future. Smaller effects were seen for certain “hands on” therapies (occupational, physical, and speech) during the initial months of the pandemic and for proximity to the hospital during the “winter surge.”

Conclusions

These data suggest a very positive overall caregiver response to telemedicine-based services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several areas of potential improvement/innovation were identified, including the delivery of telemedicine therapies (e.g., occupational, physical, and speech) services to young patients (i.e., aged 0–5).
Comparison of external stents and DJ stents techniques for pediatric pyeloplasty: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Meng Chunyang , Gan Lijian , Li Kangsen , Peng Lei , Li Jinze , Yang Junbao , Li Yunxiang
Published: August 2022

Objective

To evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety between an external stent and a Double J stent for pediatric Pyeloplasty.

Methods

Through a systematical search of multiple scientific databases in July 2022, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the primary outcomes of interest according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), whose protocol was registered with PROSPERO(CRD42021274087).

Results

Eleven studies involving 1,758 patients were included. No significant differences were observed in operative time (MD: 2.26; 95% CI −9.62 to 14.14; P = 0.79), operative success rate (OR: 1.10; 95% CI 0.57 to 2.10; P = 0.780), length of hospital stay (MD: 0.65; 95% CI −0.04 to 1.34; P = 0.063), or complications (OR: 0.87; 95%CI 0.48 to 1.56; P = 0.630) between external stents and DJ stents in pediatric pyeloplasty. According to the subgroup analysis, we found the external stent group had a shorter operative time than the DJ stent group in terms of robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty (MD: −17.13; 95% CI −32.8 to −1.45; P = 0.032).

Conclusions

There were no significant differences in operative time, operative success rate, length of hospital stay, or complications between external stents and DJ stents in pediatric pyeloplasty. The external stented procedure seemed to have less operative time when using robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty. However, due to the limitations of our analysis, more studies are still required to support our conclusion.

Systematic review registration

This systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO, the registration ID is CRD42021274087.
Attitudes and perceptions of mothers towards childhood vaccination in Greece: lessons to improve the childhood COVID-19 vaccination acceptance
Authors: Fakonti Georgia , Hadjikou Andria , Tzira Eleana , Kyprianidou Maria , Giannakou Konstantinos
Published: August 2022

Background

Maternal attitudes and beliefs have been shown to influence childhood vaccination coverage, resulting in under-vaccination, non-vaccination, and vaccination delay. This study aimed to investigate the mothers' attitudes and perceptions about vaccination for their children in Greece.

Methods

This was an online cross-sectional study, conducted from 4 April to 8 June 2020. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information about mothers' and their children's socio-demographic characteristics, previous vaccination behavior, and mothers' attitudes and perceptions about childhood vaccination. Participants included adult mothers with at least one minor child.

Results

One thousand eight hundred eighty-five mothers participated, with the majority (91.7%) believing in the usefulness of vaccines and that vaccines protect children from serious and life-threatening diseases. A larger percentage of mothers with higher educational attainment agreed/absolutely agreed that all vaccinations provided by the National Vaccination Program must be offered to their children (91.6%) (p = 0.02) and that vaccines protect children from serious and life-threatening diseases (92.9%) (p = 0.01). Significant more married/in cohabitation and not single-parent mothers agreed that vaccines are safe (53.5% and 53.4%, respectively). There were also several significant associations between maternal attitudes toward childhood vaccination and previous maternal vaccination practices [(e.g., adherence to recommended vaccination dosages (all p-values < 0.01), vaccination delays (all p-values < 0.05), and vaccination during pregnancy (all p-values < 0.01)].

Conclusion

Maternal attitudes and perceptions toward childhood vaccination are significantly influenced by sociodemographic factors and maternal vaccination practices. Revealing those is essential for public health officials in developing future strategies to improve childhood vaccination coverage and acceptance of new vaccines such as the COVID-19 vaccine.
Parental participation in the care of hospitalized neonates in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Reiter Anna , De Meulemeester Julie , Kenya-Mugisha Nathan , Tagoola Abner , Kabajaasi Olive , Wiens Matthew O. , Duby Jessica
Published: August 2022

Introduction

To determine the effect of parental participation in hospital care on neonatal and parental outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to identify the range of parental duties in the care of hospitalized neonates in LMICs.

Methods

We searched CINAHL, CENTRAL, LILACs, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science from inception to February 2022. Randomized and non-randomized studies from LMICs were eligible if parents performed one or more roles traditionally undertaken by healthcare staff. The primary outcome was hospital length-of-stay. Secondary outcomes included mortality, readmission, breastfeeding, growth, development and parental well-being. Data was extracted in duplicate by two independent reviewers using a piloted extraction form.

Results

Eighteen studies (eight randomized and ten non-randomized) were included from seven middle-income countries. The types of parental participation included hygiene and infection prevention, feeding, monitoring and documentation, respiratory care, developmental care, medication administration and decision making. Meta-analyses showed that parental participation was not associated with hospital length-of-stay (MD −2.35, 95% CI −6.78–2.07). However, parental involvement was associated with decreased mortality (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.22–0.95), increased breastfeeding (OR 2.97 95% CI 1.65–5.35) and decreased hospital readmission (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.16–0.81). Narrative synthesis demonstrated additional benefits for growth, short-term neurodevelopment and parental well-being. Ten of the eighteen studies had a high risk of bias.

Conclusion

Parental participation in neonatal hospital care is associated with improvement in several key neonatal outcomes in middle-income countries. The lack of data from low-income countries suggests that there remains barriers to parental participation in resource-poor settings.

Systematic review registration

[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=187562], identifier [CRD42020187562].
Systematic review and meta-analysis of Chinese herbal formula Tongxie Yaofang for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: Evidence for clinical practice and future trials
Authors: Liang Shi-Bing , Cao Hui-Juan , Kong Ling-Yao , Wei Jia-Li , Robinson Nicola , Yang Si-Hong , Zhu Si-Jia , Li Yu-Qi , Fei Yu-Tong , Han Mei , Liu Jian-Ping
Published: August 2022

Introduction: Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) significantly decreases the quality of life of patients and their families, and affects patients’ mental health. No specific western medications are available. Ancient classical Chinese medical texts have recognized Tongxie Yaofang (TXYF) as a therapy for diarrhea which is widely used in clinical practice. Standard TXYF prescription (S-TXYF) is composed of four herbal medicines: Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. [Asteraceae; Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae.], Paeonia lactiflora Pall. [Ranunculaceae; Paeoniae Radix Alba], Citrus × aurantium L. [Rutaceae; Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium] and Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz. ex Ledeb.) Schischk. [Umbelliferae; Saposhnikoviae Radix]. This review aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects and safety of S-TXYF for IBS-D.

Methods: Eight English and Chinese electronic databases were searched from their inception to 25 December 2021 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing S-TXYF with placebo, western medications or no treatment for IBS-D. The primary outcome was the global improvement of IBS-D symptoms. Data were analyzed using Cochrane’s Revman 5.4 software. Evidence certainty was assessed using the online GRADEpro tool for the primary outcome.

Results: Eleven RCTs involving 985 adults with IBS-D were included. For global improvement of symptoms, S-TXYF was superior to western medication and placebo (moderate evidence by GRADE). Regarding the improvement of stool consistency, stool frequency and abdominal pain, S-TXYF was significantly effective than placebo. In addition, S-TXYF was superior to western medication on improving the quality of life and relieving anxiety. Six trials reported adverse events: five of them reported (non-serious) adverse events occurred in both groups, and one trial reported that 3 cases with adverse events (constipation, elevation in liver-enzyme, nausea) occurred in S-TXYF group and 3 cases with adverse events (abdominal distension, nausea) occurred in placebo group.

Conclusion: Although current results showed that S-TXYF may have potential to treat IBS-D and its use appears to be safe, no a clear and confirmed conclusion can be drawn from our review as the overall inadequate design of the included trials reviewed. So more rigorous trials are warranted to establish confirmed evidence on its benefits and safety.
Isobavachalcone Activates Antitumor Immunity on Orthotopic Pancreatic Cancer Model: A Screening and Validation
Authors: Liu Xuanming , Zhang Hongbo , Cao Jianlin , Zhuo Yuzhen , Jin Jiahui , Gao Qiaoying , Yuan Xiangfei , Yang Lei , Li Dihua , Wang Yan
Published: August 2022

Pancreatic cancer is accompanied by poor prognosis and accounts for a significant number of deaths every year. Since Psoralea corylifolia L. (PCL) possesses a broad spectrum of bioactivities, it is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. The study explored potential antitumor agents of PCL and underlying mechanisms in vitro and vivo. Based on network pharmacology, bioinformatics, and molecular docking, we considered isobavachalcone (IBC) as a valuable compound. The activity and potential mechanisms of IBC were investigated by RT-qPCR, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry. It was confirmed that IBC could inhibit Panc 02 cell proliferation and induce apoptosis via increasing the production of reactive oxygen species. IBC could attenuate the weight of solid tumors, increase CD8+ T cells, and reduce M2 macrophages in the tumor tissue and spleen. Another promising finding was that IBC alleviated the proportion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in the tumor tissue but had no change in the spleen. The study of pharmacological effects of IBC was carried out and suggested IBC restrained M2-like polarization of RAW 264.7 cells by inhibiting the expression of ARG1 and MRC1 and suppressed the expression of ARG1 and TGF-β in bone marrow-derived MDSC. In summary, this research screened IBC as an antineoplastic agent, which could attenuate the growth of pancreatic cancer via activating the immune activity and inducing cell apoptosis. It might be a reference for the antitumor ability of IBC and the treatment of the tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer.
U0126: Not only a MAPK kinase inhibitor
Authors: You Yijie , Niu Yunlian , Zhang Jian , Huang Sheng , Ding Peiyuan , Sun Fengbing , Wang Xuhui
Published: August 2022

U0126, as an inhibitor of the MAPK signaling pathway, is closely related to various biological processes, such as differentiation, cell growth, autophagy, apoptosis, and stress responses. It makes U0126 play an essential role in balancing cellular homeostasis. Although U0126 has been suggested to inhibit various cancers, its complete mechanisms have not been clarified in cancers. This review summarized the most recent and relevant research on the many applications of U0126 and described its role and mechanisms in different cancer cell types. Moreover, some acknowledged functions of U0126 researched in the laboratory were listed in our review. We discussed the probability of using U0126 to restain cancers or suppress the MAPK pathway as a novel way of cancer treatment.
Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides alleviate induced atopic dermatitis in mice by regulating immune response and gut microbiota
Authors: Xie Lingna , Yang Kaiye , Liang Yiheng , Zhu Zhenyuan , Yuan Zhengqiang , Du Zhiyun
Published: August 2022

Atopic dermatitis (AD), characterized by severe pruritus, immune imbalance, and skin barrier dysfunction, has a high incidence worldwide. Recent evidence has shown that the modulation of gut microbiota is crucial for alleviating clinical symptoms of AD. Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides (TFPS) have been demonstrated to have a variety of biological activities such as immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. However, their effects on AD treatment have never been investigated. In this study, we compared the therapeutic effects of topical or oral administration of TFPS on AD in dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced AD mice. Both topical application and oral administration of TFPS led to improvement on transdermal water loss, epidermal thickening, and ear edema in AD mice, but the oral administration showed significantly better efficacy than the topical application. The TFPS treatment increased the proportion of CD4 (+) CD25 (+) Foxp3 (+) regulatory T cells in mesenteric lymph nodes. Additionally, the non-targeted metabolomics and sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons were performed, revealing metabolite modulation in feces and changed composition of gut microbiota in mice, which were induced for AD-like disorder and treated by oral administration of TFPS. Collectively, these data suggest that the oral administration of TFPS may constitute a novel effective therapy for AD, with underlying mechanisms associated with the regulation of immune response, and improvement of both metabolism and the composition of intestinal microbiota.
Discovery of genistein derivatives as potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors by virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulations and ADMET analysis
Authors: Liu Jiawei , Zhang Ling , Gao Jian , Zhang Baochen , Liu Xiaoli , Yang Ninghui , Liu Xiaotong , Liu Xifu , Cheng Yu
Published: August 2022

Background: Due to the constant mutation of virus and the lack of specific therapeutic drugs, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) still poses a huge threat to the health of people, especially those with underlying diseases. Therefore, drug discovery against the SARS-CoV-2 remains of great significance.

Methods: With the main protease of virus as the inhibitor target, 9,614 genistein derivatives were virtually screened by LeDock and AutoDock Vina, and the top 20 compounds with highest normalized scores were obtained. Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out for studying interactions between these 20 compounds and the target protein. The drug-like properties, activity, and ADMET of these compounds were also evaluated by DruLiTo software or online server.

Results: Twenty compounds, including compound 11, were screened by normalized molecular docking, which could bind to the target through multiple non-bonding interactions. Molecular dynamics simulation results showed that compounds 2, 4, 5, 11, 13, 14, 17, and 18 had the best binding force with the target protein of SARS-CoV-2, and the absolute values of binding free energies all exceeded 50 kJ/mol. The drug-likeness properties indicated that a variety of compounds including compound 11 were worthy of further study. The results of bioactivity score prediction found that compounds 11 and 12 had high inhibitory activities against protease, which indicated that these two compounds had the potential to be further developed as COVID-19 inhibitors. Finally, compound 11 showed excellent predictive ADMET properties including high absorption and low toxicity.

Conclusion: These in silico work results show that the preferred compound 11 (ZINC000111282222), which exhibited strong binding to SARS-CoV-2 main protease, acceptable drug-like properties, protease inhibitory activity and ADMET properties, has great promise for further research as a potential therapeutic agent against COVID-19.
Enhancing instantaneous oxygen uptake estimation by non-linear model using cardio-pulmonary physiological and motion signals
Authors: Wang Zhao , Zhang Qiang , Lan Ke , Yang Zhicheng , Gao Xiaolin , Wu Anshuo , Xin Yi , Zhang Zhengbo
Published: August 2022

Oxygen uptake (VO2) is an important parameter in sports medicine, health assessment and clinical treatment. At present, more and more wearable devices are used in daily life, clinical treatment and health care. The parameters obtained by wearables have great research potential and application prospect. In this paper, an instantaneous VO2 estimation model based on XGBoost was proposed and verified by using data obtained from a medical-grade wearable device (Beijing SensEcho) at different posture and activity levels. Furthermore, physiological characteristics extracted from single-lead electrocardiogram, thoracic and abdominal respiration signal and tri-axial acceleration signal were studied to optimize the model. There were 29 healthy volunteers recruited for the study to collect data while stationary (lying, sitting, standing), walking, Bruce treadmill test and recuperating with SensEcho and the gas analyzer (Metalyzer 3B). The results show that the VO2 values estimated by the proposed model are in good agreement with the true values measured by the gas analyzer (R2 = 0.94 ± 0.03, n = 72,235), and the mean absolute error (MAE) is 1.83 ± 0.59 ml/kg/min. Compared with the estimation method using a separate heart rate as input, our method reduced MAE by 54.70%. At the same time, other factors affecting the performance of the model were studied, including the influence of different input signals, gender and movement intensity, which provided more enlightenment for the estimation of VO2. The results show that the proposed model based on cardio-pulmonary physiological signals as inputs can effectively improve the accuracy of instantaneous VO2 estimation in various scenarios of activities and was robust between different motion modes and state. The VO2 estimation method proposed in this paper has the potential to be used in daily life covering the scenario of stationary, walking and maximal exercise.
Different contributions of plant diversity and soil properties to the community stability in the arid desert ecosystem
Authors: Jiang La-Mei , Sattar Kunduz , Lü Guang-Hui , Hu Dong , Zhang Jie , Yang Xiao-Dong
Published: August 2022

As a one of the focuses of ecological research, understanding the regulation of plant diversity on community stability is helpful to reveal the adaption of plant to environmental changes. However, the relationship between plant diversity and community stability is still controversial due to the scale effect of its influencing factors. In this study, we compared the changes in community stability and different plant diversity (i.e., species, functional, and phylogenetic diversities) between three communities (i.e., riparian forest, ecotone community, and desert shrubs), and across three spatial scales (i.e., 100, 400, and 2500 m2), and then quantified the contribution of soil properties and plant diversity to community stability by using structural equation model (SEM) in the Ebinur Lake Basin Nature Reserve of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the NW China. The results showed that: (1) community stability differed among three communities (ecotone community > desert shrubs > riparian forest). The stability of three communities all decreased with the increase of spatial scale (2) species diversity, phylogenetic richness and the mean pairwise phylogenetic distance were higher in ecotone community than that in desert shrubs and riparian forest, while the mean nearest taxa distance showed as riparian forest > ecotone community > desert shrubs. (3) Soil ammonium nitrogen and total phosphorus had the significant direct negative and positive effects on the community stability, respectively. Soil ammonium nitrogen and total phosphorus also indirectly affected community stability by adjusting plant diversity. The interaction among species, functional and phylogenetic diversities also regulated the variation of community stability across the spatial scales. Our results suggested that the effect of plant diversities on community stability were greater than that of soil factors. The asynchronous effect caused by the changes in species composition and functional traits among communities had a positive impact on the stability. Our study provided a theoretical support for the conservation and management of biodiversity and community functions in desert areas.
Genome-wide association for heat tolerance at seedling stage in historical spring wheat cultivars
Authors: Khan Muhammad Ibrar , Kainat Zarnishal , Maqbool Saman , Mehwish Ambreen , Ahmad Suhaib , Suleman Hafiz Muhammad , Mahmood Zahid , Ali Mohsin , Aziz Abdul , Rasheed Awais , Li Huihui
Published: August 2022

Increasing global temperature has adverse effects on crop health and productivity at both seedling and reproductivity stages. It is paramount to develop heat tolerant wheat cultivars able to sustain under high and fluctuating temperature conditions. An experiment was conducted to characterize 194 historical wheat cultivars of Pakistan under high temperature at seedling stage to identify loci associated with heat tolerance using genome-wide association studies (GWAS). A quantitative trait locus, TaHST1, on chr4A was also characterized to identify the haplotypes at this locus associated with heat tolerance in wheat from Pakistan. Initially, the diversity panel was planted under control conditions (25°C/20°C day and night temperature) in a glass house. At three leaf stage, plants were subjected to heat stress (HS) by increasing temperature (40°C/35°C day and night), while one treatment was kept at control condition. After 7 days of HS, data were collected for seedling morphology. Heat stress reduced these traits by 25% (root weight) to 40% (shoot weight), and shoot biomass was largely affected by heat stress. A GWAS model, fixed and random model circulating probability unification (FarmCPU), identified 43 quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) on all chromosomes, except chr7B, were associated under both HS and control conditions. Thirteen QTNs were identified in control, while 30 QTNs were identified in HS condition. In total, 24 haplotypes were identified at TaHST1 locus, and most of the heat tolerant genotypes were assigned to Hap-20 and Hap-21. Eleven QTNs were identified within 0.3–3.1 Mb proximity of heat shock protein (HSP). Conclusively, this study provided a detailed genetic framework of heat tolerance in wheat at the seedling stage and identify potential genetic regions associated with heat tolerance which can be used for marker assisted selection (MAS) in breeding for heat stress tolerance.
Genome-wide identification and comprehensive analyses of NAC transcription factor gene family and expression analysis under Fusarium kyushuense and drought stress conditions in Passiflora edulis
Authors: Yang Qiang , Li Binqi , Rizwan Hafiz Muhammad , Sun Kaiwei , Zeng Jiajing , Shi Meng , Guo Tianxin , Chen Faxing
Published: August 2022

The NAC gene family is one of the largest plant transcription factors (TFs) families and plays important roles in plant growth, development, metabolism, and biotic and abiotic stresses. However, NAC gene family has not been reported in passion fruit (Passiflora edulis). In this study, a total of 105 NAC genes were identified in the passion fruit genome and were unevenly distributed across all nine-passion fruit chromomere, with a maximum of 48 PeNAC genes on chromosome one. The physicochemical features of all 105 PeNAC genes varied including 120 to 3,052 amino acids, 3 to 8 conserved motifs, and 1 to 3 introns. The PeNAC genes were named (PeNAC001–PeNAC105) according to their chromosomal locations and phylogenetically grouped into 15 clades (NAC-a to NAC-o). Most PeNAC proteins were predicted to be localized in the nucleus. The cis-element analysis indicated the possible roles of PeNAC genes in plant growth, development, light, hormones, and stress responsiveness. Moreover, the PeNAC gene duplications including tandem (11 gene pairs) and segmental (12 gene pairs) were identified and subjected to purifying selection. All PeNAC proteins exhibited similar 3D structures, and a protein–protein interaction network analysis with known Arabidopsis proteins was predicted. Furthermore, 17 putative ped-miRNAs were identified to target 25 PeNAC genes. Potential TFs including ERF, BBR-BPC, Dof, and bZIP were identified in promoter region of all 105 PeNAC genes and visualized in a TF regulatory network. GO and KEGG annotation analysis exposed that PeNAC genes were related to different biological, molecular, and cellular terms. The qRT-PCR expression analysis discovered that most of the PeNAC genes including PeNAC001, PeNAC003, PeNAC008, PeNAC028, PeNAC033, PeNAC058, PeNAC063, and PeNAC077 were significantly upregulated under Fusarium kyushuense and drought stress conditions compared to controls. In conclusion, these findings lay the foundation for further functional studies of PeNAC genes to facilitate the genetic improvement of plants to stress resistance.
A systematic PLS-SEM approach on assessment of indigenous knowledge in adapting to floods; A way forward to sustainable agriculture
Authors: Sohail Muhammad Tayyab , Chen Shaoming
Published: August 2022

The present study was conducted in one of the major agriculture areas to check farmers indigenous knowledge about the impacts of floods on their farming lives, food security, sustainable development, and risk assessment. In the current study, primary data was used to analyze the situation. A semi-structured questionnaire was distributed among farmers. We have collected a cross-sectional dataset and applied the PLS-SEM dual-stage hybrid model to test the proposed hypotheses and rank the social, economic, and technological factors according to their normalized importance. Results revealed that farmers’ knowledge associated with adaption strategies, food security, risk assessment, and livelihood assets are the most significant predictors. Farmers need to have sufficient knowledge about floods, and it can help them to adopt proper measurements. A PLS-SEM dual-stage hybrid model was used to check the relationship among all variables, which showed a significant relationship among DV, IV, and control variables. PLS-SEM direct path analysis revealed that AS (b = −0.155;p0.001), FS (b = 0.343;p0.001), LA (b = 0.273;p0.001), RA (b = 0.147;p0.006), and for FKF have statistically significant values of beta, while SD (b = −0.079NS) is not significant. These results offer support to hypotheses H1 through H4 and H5 being rejected. On the other hand, age does not have any relationship with farmers’ knowledge of floods. Our study results have important policy suggestions for governments and other stakeholders to consider in order to make useful policies for the ecosystem. The study will aid in the implementation of effective monitoring and public policies to promote integrated and sustainable development, as well as how to minimize the impacts of floods on farmers’ lives and save the ecosystem and food.
Longitudinal survey of depressive symptoms among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
Authors: Nomura Kyoko , Yamazaki Teiichiro , Maeda Eri , Hirayama Junko , Ono Kyoichi , Fushimi Masahito , Mishima Kazuo , Yamamoto Fumio
Published: August 2022

While changes in response to the different stages of the pandemic remain unknown, this study investigated the longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depressive symptoms in Japanese university students and identified factors associated with new onset of depression and suicidal ideation. Two surveys were conducted at one university in Akita, Japan, during the first COVID-19 outbreak period (T1: May–June 2020) and 1 year later (T2: March–May 2021). Moderate depressive symptoms were defined as a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ≥ 10 and suicide-related ideation score ≥ 1 on question 9 of the questionnaire. Among 985 students who completed surveys in T1 and T2, participants with moderate depressive symptoms and suicide-related ideation increased from 11 to 17% and from 5.8 to 11.8%, respectively. Among 872 students at risk after excluding those with moderate depressive symptoms at T1, 103 students (11.8%) developed moderate depressive symptoms at T2. Among the 928 students at risk, after excluding those who had suicidal ideation at T1, 79 (8.5%) developed suicidal ideation. Multivariate logistic modeling revealed financial insecurity and academic performance as risk factors (ps < 0.01), while having someone to consult about worries was a coping factor for depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation (ps < 0.001). Our findings demonstrated that socioenvironmental factors may determine depressive symptoms of university students.
The impacts of total quality management practices in Algerian higher education institutions
Authors: Yahiaoui Fethia , Chergui Khalil , Aissaoui Nesreddine , Brika Said Khalfa Mokhtar , Lamari Imane Ahmed , Musa Adam Ahmed , Almezher Mohmmad
Published: August 2022

Algerian universities rely on total quality management. TQM is one of the most successful strategic options for improving the quality of higher education. In addition, achieving academic accreditation and progress in international rankings. The study aims to address relevant contemporary issues by examining the impact of total quality management on the quality of higher education. The data were analyzed using a mixed-method approach; the study was done as a survey, with data collected via questionnaires issued to 610 students. The questionnaire included Likert scale items that were quantitatively evaluated and modeled using structural equation modeling (SEM) using Amos to accomplish the path analysis of the research model. Furthermore, qualitative data were acquired through interviews with 24 professors who are members of the Quality Cells, and qualitative data were evaluated using content analysis with NVivo. The study findings revealed that TQM has a direct and significant impact on the quality of graduates, scientific research, and community service in Algerian universities. The main results have been presented, and recommendations for future research are made.
The altered functional connectivity density related to cognitive impairment in alcoholics
Authors: Duan Ranran , Li Yanfei , Jing Lijun , Zhang Tian , Yao Yaobing , Gong Zhe , Shao Yingzhe , Song Yajun , Wang Weijian , Zhang Yong , Cheng Jingliang , Zhu Xiaofeng , Peng Ying , Jia Yanjie
Published: August 2022

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of the most common substance use disorders contributing to both behavioral and cognitive impairments in patients with AUD. Recent neuroimaging studies point out that AUD is a typical disorder featured by altered functional connectivity. However, the details about how voxel-wise functional coordination remain unknown. Here, we adopted a newly proposed method named functional connectivity density (FCD) to depict altered voxel-wise functional coordination in AUD. The novel functional imaging technique, FCD, provides a comprehensive analytical method for brain's “scale-free” networks. We applied resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) toward subjects to obtain their FCD, including global FCD (gFCD), local FCD (lFCD), and long-range FCD (lrFCD). Sixty-one patients with AUD and 29 healthy controls (HC) were recruited, and patients with AUD were further divided into alcohol-related cognitive impairment group (ARCI, n = 11) and non-cognitive impairment group (AUD-NCI, n = 50). All subjects were asked to stay stationary during the scan in order to calculate the resting-state gFCD, lFCD, and lrFCD values, and further investigate the abnormal connectivity alterations among AUD-NCI, ARCI, and HC. Compared to HC, both AUD groups exhibited significantly altered gFCD in the left inferior occipital lobe, left calcarine, altered lFCD in right lingual, and altered lrFCD in ventromedial frontal gyrus (VMPFC). It is notable that gFCD of the ARCI group was found to be significantly deviated from AUD-NCI and HC in left medial frontal gyrus, which changes probably contributed by the impairment in cognition. In addition, no significant differences in gFCD were found between ARCI and HC in left parahippocampal, while ARCI and HC were profoundly deviated from AUD-NCI, possibly reflecting a compensation of cognition impairment. Further analysis showed that within patients with AUD, gFCD values in left medial frontal gyrus are negatively correlated with MMSE scores, while lFCD values in left inferior occipital lobe are positively related to ADS scores. In conclusion, patients with AUD exhibited significantly altered functional connectivity patterns mainly in several left hemisphere brain regions, while patients with AUD with or without cognitive impairment also demonstrated intergroup FCD differences which correlated with symptom severity, and patients with AUD cognitive impairment would suffer less severe alcohol dependence. This difference in symptom severity probably served as a compensation for cognitive impairment, suggesting a difference in pathological pathways. These findings assisted future AUD studies by providing insight into possible pathological mechanisms.
Automatic change detection: Mismatch negativity and the now-classic Rensink, O’Reagan, and Clark (1997) stimuli
Authors: File Domonkos , Petro Bela , Gaál Zsófia Anna , Csikós Nóra , Czigler István
Published: August 2022

Change blindness experiments had demonstrated that detection of significant changes in natural images is extremely difficult when brief blank fields are placed between alternating displays of an original and a modified scene. On the other hand, research on the visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) component of the event-related potentials (ERPs) identified sensitivity to events (deviants) different from the regularity of stimulus sequences (standards), even if the deviant and standard events are non-attended. The present study sought to investigate the apparent controversy between the experience under the change blindness paradigm and the ERP results. To this end, the stimulus of Rensink, O’Reagen, and Clark (1997) was adapted to a passive oddball ERP paradigm to investigate the underlying processing differences between the standard (original) and deviant (altered) stimuli measured in 22 subjects. Posterior negativity within the 280–330 ms latency range emerged as the difference between ERPs elicited by standard and deviant stimuli, identified as visual mismatch negativity (vMMN). These results raise the possibility that change blindness is not based on the lack of detailed visual representations or the deficiency of comparing two representations. However, effective discrimination of the two scene versions requires considerable frequency differences between them.
Bilateral effect of aging population on consumption structure: Evidence from China
Authors: Wang Yue , Zhao Wan , Meng Wanrong
Published: August 2022

The deepening of aging population inevitably in China will exert a far-reaching influence on national consumption and economic transformation. Based on interprovincial panel data in 2000–2018, this paper measured the ratio of five survival and enjoyment consumptions in disposable incomes, reconstructed the indicators for upgrading the consumption structure, used the bilateral stochastic cutting-edge model, and decomposed the aging population to realize the net effect from the positive and negative effects generated by the consumption structure. The findings indicated that (1) aging population played a positive and negative bilateral effect on upgrading the consumption structure, in which the positive effect upgraded 14.04% of the consumption structure while the negative effect degraded 6.18% of the consumption structure. The comprehensive net effect upgraded 7.86% of the consumption structure. (2) From the perspective of the time effect, under the positive and negative effects of aging population, the consumption structure was upgraded 7.861% on average every year. (3) Regarding the regional effect, the promotion role of aging population was the highest in the eastern region, followed by the west. The middle was the lowest. By combining with estimation results of each province, the promotion role brought by aging population in the northeast and southwest was lower. Based on the above-mentioned research results, this paper proposed some advice for positively developing silver hair economy, promoting the improvement on the consumption structure according to circumstances, developing the perfect aging consumption market, exploring the consumption potential of the elderly, accelerating the urbanization development progress, and stimulating consumption growth relying on the Internet.
Lost on the frontline, and lost in the data: COVID-19 deaths among Filipinx healthcare workers in the United States
Authors: Escobedo Loraine A. , Morey Brittany N. , Sabado-Liwag Melanie D. , Ponce Ninez A.
Published: August 2022

Background

Filipinx Americans working in healthcare are at risk for COVID-19 death but lack consistent mortality data on healthcare worker deaths. The lack of disaggregated data for Asian subgroups proliferates anti-Asian structural racism as the needs of high-risk groups are systematically undetected to merit a proper public health response. We work around this aggregated data problem by examining how the overrepresentation of Filipinxs in healthcare contributes to COVID-19 mortality among Asian American populations.

Methods

To overcome the lack of COVID-19 mortality data among Filipinx American healthcare workers, we merged data from several sources: Kanlungan website (the only known public-facing source of systematically reported mortality data on Filipinx healthcare workers nationally and globally), National Center for Health Statistics, and 2014–2018 American Community Survey. We examined county-level associations using t-tests, scatterplots, and linear regression.

Findings

A higher percentage of Filipinxs among Asian Americans was correlated with a higher percentage of COVID-19 decedents who are Asian Americans (r = 0.24, p = 0.01). The percentage of Filipinx in healthcare remained a strong predictor of COVID-19 deaths among Asian Americans even after adjusting for age, poverty, and population density (coef = 1.0, p < 0.001). For every 1% increase in Filipinx among the healthcare workforce, the percentage of Asian American COVID-19 decedents increased by 1%.

Interpretation

Our study shows that the overrepresentation of Filipinxs in healthcare contributes to COVID-19 mortality disparities among Asian Americans. Our findings advocate for systems change by practicing anti-racist data agendas that collect and report on Asian subgroups for effective real-time targeted approaches against health inequities.
Application of machine learning algorithms in predicting HIV infection among men who have sex with men: Model development and validation
Authors: He Jiajin , Li Jinhua , Jiang Siqing , Cheng Wei , Jiang Jun , Xu Yun , Yang Jiezhe , Zhou Xin , Chai Chengliang , Wu Chao
Published: August 2022

Background

Continuously growing of HIV incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as the low rate of HIV testing of MSM in China, demonstrates a need for innovative strategies to improve the implementation of HIV prevention. The use of machine learning algorithms is an increasing tendency in disease diagnosis prediction. We aimed to develop and validate machine learning models in predicting HIV infection among MSM that can identify individuals at increased risk of HIV acquisition for transmission-reduction interventions.

Methods

We extracted data from MSM sentinel surveillance in Zhejiang province from 2018 to 2020. Univariate logistic regression was used to select significant variables in 2018–2019 data (P < 0.05). After data processing and feature selection, we divided the model development data into two groups by stratified random sampling: training data (70%) and testing data (30%). The Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) was applied to solve the problem of unbalanced data. The evaluation metrics of model performance were comprised of accuracy, precision, recall, F-measure, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Then, we explored three commonly-used machine learning algorithms to compare with logistic regression (LR), including decision tree (DT), support vector machines (SVM), and random forest (RF). Finally, the four models were validated prospectively with 2020 data from Zhejiang province.

Results

A total of 6,346 MSM were included in model development data, 372 of whom were diagnosed with HIV. In feature selection, 12 variables were selected as model predicting indicators. Compared with LR, the algorithms of DT, SVM, and RF improved the classification prediction performance in SMOTE-processed data, with the AUC of 0.778, 0.856, 0.887, and 0.942, respectively. RF was the best-performing algorithm (accuracy = 0.871, precision = 0.960, recall = 0.775, F-measure = 0.858, and AUC = 0.942). And the RF model still performed well on prospective validation (AUC = 0.846).

Conclusion

Machine learning models are substantially better than conventional LR model and RF should be considered in prediction tools of HIV infection in Chinese MSM. Further studies are needed to optimize and promote these algorithms and evaluate their impact on HIV prevention of MSM.