bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gut Microbiota-derived 3-hydroxybutyrate blocks GPR43-mediated IL6 signaling to ameliorate radiation proctopathy
Authors: Ge Zhenhuang , Chen Chun , Chen Junyi , Jiang Zhou , Chen Lingming , Wei Yingqi , Chen Haiyang , Wang Huaiming , Wang Hui , Lu Yong-jun
Published: January 2023

Radiation proctopathy (RP) is a common complication of pelvic radiotherapy but lacking effective treatment. RP accompanies by microbial dysbiosis. However, how the gut microbiota affects the disease remains unclear. Here, we reveal that the fecal and serous concentrations of microbiota-derived 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) are significantly reduced in RP mice and radiotherapeutic patients. Moreover, the concentration of 3HB is negatively associated with the expression of proinflammatory IL6 that is increased along with the severity of radiation damage. 3HB treatment significantly downregulates IL6 expression and alleviates IL6-mediated radiation damage. Such a radioprotection of 3HB is mediated by GPR43. Akkermansia muciniphila, with a significant reduction in RP mice and patients, is associated with lower 3HB concentration. Treatment of A. muciniphila significantly increases 3HB concentration, downregulates GPR43 and IL6 expression, and ameliorates radiation damage in mice. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the gut microbiota, including A. muciniphila, induce higher concentrations of 3HB to block the GPR43-mediated IL6 signaling, thereby conferring radioprotection in RP mice. Our findings reveal a novel implication of the gut-immune axis in radiation pathophysiology, with potential therapeutic applications.
Bias assessment of a test-negative design study of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness used in national policymaking
Authors: Graham Sophie , Tessier Elise , Stowe Julia , Bernal Jamie Lopez , Parker Edward , Nitsch Dorothea , Miller Elizabeth , Andrews Nick , Walker Jemma (L) , McDonald Helen
Published: January 2023

National test-negative-case-control (TNCC) studies are used to monitor COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) in the UK. A questionnaire was sent to participants from the first published TNCC COVID-19 VE study conducted by the UK Health Security Agency, to assess for potential biases and changes in behaviour related to vaccination.
The original study included symptomatic adults aged ≥70 years testing for COVID-19 between 8 December 2020 and 21 February 2021. The questionnaire was sent to cases and controls tested from 1-21 February 2021.
8,648 individuals responded to the questionnaire (36.5% response). Self-reported timing of vaccination and infection onset was consistent with routinely recorded data. Additional adjustment of vaccine effectiveness estimates for high-risk conditions and household size or type found no evidence of confounding by these factors. Self-reported behaviour demonstrated some deferral of vaccination while unwell, but no or minimal evidence of riskier behaviour after vaccination. These findings offer reassurance to policy makers and clinicians making decisions based on COVID-19 VE TNCC studies.
Hospital clinical pharmacists’ perspectives on suboptimal pharmaceutical care: a qualitative study.
Authors: McLean Amanda , Paudyal Vibhu , Cunningham Scott , Stewart Derek
Published: January 2023

Background
While clinical pharmacists are responsible for medicines optimisation and provision of pharmaceutical care, there is a lack of literature focusing on what constitutes ‘suboptimal’ pharmaceutical care.
Aim
To explore the perceptions and experiences of hospital clinical pharmacists of the delivery of suboptimal pharmaceutical care, and the determinants influencing their behaviours.
Method
This study adopted a phenomenological qualitative design. Participants from one health board in Scotland were recruited purposively, and interviewed until data saturation was reached. The semi-structured interview schedule focused on behaviours associated with participant’s experiences and perceptions of suboptimal pharmaceutical care. Behavioural determinant items were derived from the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Transcripts were analysed using a thematic approach.
Results
Ten participants were interviewed to achieve data saturation. Behaviours were observed in different phases of the process: identifying, responding to, reporting and reflecting on suboptimal pharmaceutical care. The themes from the analysed data showed potential influences from environmental context and resource factors such as time management and prioritisation which influenced both the identification and reporting of suboptimal pharmaceutical care, and social and professional role and identity factors including professional embarrassment and hierarchical barriers which influenced reporting on suboptimal pharmaceutical care.
Conclusion
This study suggests that the concept of suboptimal pharmaceutical care can be used to describe events and episodes that pharmacists perceived as being less than the desired standard of care for patients. Factors such as time management, prioritisation and system related barriers often prevented pharmacists reporting suboptimal pharmaceutical care.
An Interpretable Deep Learning Optimized Wearable Daily Monitoring System for Parkinson's Disease Patients
Authors: Su Fei , Chen Min , Sun Zhanfang , Xin Tao , Bu Degang , Chen Yan
Published: January 2023

Walking monitoring in the daily life of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is of great significance for tracking the progress of the disease. This study aims to implement an accurate, objective, and long-term walking monitoring algorithm optimized by the interpretable deep learning architecture, and explore the most representative spatiotemporal motor features. Five inertial measurement units attached to the wrist, ankle, and waist are used to collect motion data from 100 subjects during a 10-meter walking test. The raw data of each sensor are subjected to the continuous wavelet transform before training in the constructed deep learning architecture based on a 6-channel convolutional neural network (CNN). The results show that the sensor located at the waist has the best classification performance with an accuracy of 98.01% ± 0.85% and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.9981 ± 0.0017 under ten-fold cross-validation. The gradient-weighted class activation mapping shows that the feature points with greater contribution to PD were concentrated in the lower frequency band (0.5~3Hz) compared with healthy controls. The visual maps of 3D CNN show that only three out of six time series have a greater contribution, which is used as a basis to further optimize the model input, and the raw data processing cost is reduced by 50% while the classification performance (AUC = 0.9929 ± 0.0019) is still maintained. As far as we know, this is the first study that considers visual interpretation-based optimization of an intelligent classification model in the objective diagnosis of PD.
Neural Epidermal Growth Factor–Like 1 Protein is a novel target antigen in membranous lupus nephritis of Chinese patients
Authors: Rao Qingqing , Cheng Yuan , Yue Shuling , Song Haiying , Qi Dongli , Chen Jia , Guan Mijie , Cao Tao , Zhe Wei , Wan Qijun , Li Wangyang
Published: January 2023

Neural Epidermal Growth Factor–Like 1（NELL-1）Protein may be the second most common target antigen of membranous nephropathy after PLA2R and more likely expressed in patients with secondary membranous nephropathy（sMN) . However, there are no relevant studies on the clinical characteristics of NELL-1 positive sMN in Chinese individuals,which is the focus of this study.A total of 100 patients with sMN were enrolled in our study.Immunofluorescence staining for PLA2R, THSD7A and NELL-1 were performed in their renal tissue samples. There are 13 cases of PLA2R-MN, 5 cases of NELL-1 association MN, and 82 cases of triple antigen-negative MN.The median age of NELL-1 associated sMN was 41 years, 80% are women,median urine protein 5.73 g/24 h ,median eGFR 42 mL/min/1.73 m2.It is noteworthy that all NELL-1 positive sMN patients in our cohort had a history of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE), which accounted for 8.9% of SLE patient.there are four of five NELL-1 associated sMN patients pathologically manifested as IV/V lupus nephritis,and two patients entered ESRD within 1 year. So we supposed that NELL-1 related MN may be a special subgroup of membranous lupus nephritis(LMN) which may have a poor renal prognosis.
Study on pulp metabolism in patients with pulpitis via ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Orbitrap mass spectrometry
Authors: Guo Ke , Xu Xiaodong , Gao Jianfang , Zhang Ying , Wang Yu , Zhu Yonggan , Zhou Zhenfeng , Chen Xuzhuo , Zhang Zhongxiao , Wei Wenjia
Published: January 2023

Background
Pulpitis, a pulp disease caused by several factors, including caries and trauma, has a high clinical incidence. In this study, our aim was to identify possible metabolic biomarkers in individuals with pulpitis and analyze the associated metabolic pathways to the end of providing a theoretical basis for pulpitis diagnosis and prevention.
Methods
Pulp samples from 12 individuals (six patients with pulpitis and six individuals with normal teeth) were analyzed via serum metabolomics based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)/Orbitrap mass spectrometry. Thereafter, to identify important biomarkers, we performed multivariate analysis and also established an orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis model. Further, we performed correlation analysis as well as biomarker pathway enrichment analysis to determine the associations between the differentially expressed biomarkers as well as their association with different biological pathways.
Results
22 biomarkers (13 upregulated and nine downregulated) we found to be significantly associated with 18 metabolic pathways in pulpitis. Specifically, the major biomarkers included ascorbic acid, inosine, allopurinol riboside, and L-asparagine, and among these, ascorbic acid and inosine were most significantly downregulated and showed the strongest correlation with pulpitis. Additionally, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis and retrograde endocannabinoid signaling showed positive correlation with pulpitis.
Conclusions
These identified pulpitis-associated biomarkers and metabolic pathways may serve as a theoretical basis for further clarifying the pathogenesis of pulpitis and can be applied in the development of preventive drugs.
Women and authorship in an international journal dedicated to cardiovascular diseases: analysis of the last decade
Authors: Dominguez-Rodriguez Alberto , Gonzalez Julia , Baez-Ferrer Nestor , Diaz Rocio , Avanzas Pablo , Dominguez-Gonzalez Virginia , Hernandez-Baldomero Idaira F , Davo-Jimenez Maria , Garcia-Baute Maria del Carmen , Hernandez-Vaquero Daniel
Published: January 2023

The Revista Española de Cardiología (REC) is an international journal dedicated to cardiovascular diseases. The present study analyzes the authorship gender differences of the studies published in the REC over the last decade. A cross-sectional study was made of the REC issues published between January 2011 and December 2020, with a gender-based analysis of the number of authors, the type and year of publication and preferential authorship (first author, corresponding author or last author). Female participation was calculated from the female/male ratio, with an analysis of the trend observed over the years. A total of 2859 articles were documented, and the total signing authors corresponded to 4275 women and 12,061 men. In 1035 articles a woman held at least one preferential authorship. In 699 articles a woman was the first author, while in 548 articles a woman was the corresponding author, and in 481 articles a woman was the last author. The number of articles in which a woman was the first author or the corresponding author was seen to increase (p = 0.008 and p = 0.002, respectively), while no significant changes were observed in relation to last authorship (p = 0.09). The percentage of articles in which at least one woman held at least one of the three preferential authorship positions tended to increase over time (p = 0.056). In conclusion, although the participation of female authors in the scientific production of the REC has increased during the last decade, authorship gender inequalities persist.
Sipping as a nutritional supplement in ambulatory palliative oncology care – A pilot study with non-invasive methods.
Authors: Ticha Alena , Hyspler Radomir , Molnarova Veronika , Priester Peter , Tomasova Adela , Filip Stanislav
Published: January 2023

Objective. The implementation of nutritional support is a basic need of patients in palliative oncological care. This pilot study optimized the use of sipping to improve the nutritional status of cancer patients in palliative care.
Method. The pilot study included 63 patients, aged 61.3 years on average (range: 32 – 82 years of age). The patients were assigned to either group A (no nutritional support n=39 patients) or group B (sipping as nutritional support n=24 patients). The latter consisted of one nutridrink (12g protein, 36.8g saccharide, 11.6g fat, and 300kcal) per day, for at least three weeks. The patients were evaluated through by non-invasive methods, i.e. body weight, waist and arm circumference, and triceps skinfold, all of which were measured during the patients’ visit to the clinic. The body fat and fat-free mass ratio were evaluated with a bioimpedance analysis. Voluntary muscle strength was determined using dynamometry. Quality of life was assessed through modified questionnaires.
Results. In contrast with group A, group B did not have a significant weight loss, i.e. A: 81.9±15.8 kg - 80.5±15.8 kg (p=0.028); B: 73.9±14.9 kg - 73±16 kg. BMI A: 29±5 kg/m2 - 28.5±5 kg/m2 (p=0.007); B: 25.3±4.7 kg/m2 - 25±4.9 kg/m2 (p=0.614). Waist circumference A: 93.5±15.1 cm – 92.5±14.8 cm (p=0.008); B: 80.1 ± 13.2 cm – 80.6 ± 12.3 cm (p=0.234). Triceps skinfold A: 12.3±7.2 mm - 11±6.7 mm (p=0.001); B: 8.2±6.1 mm - 7.9±5.7 mm (p=0.207). Fat free mass A: 54.8 ±11.5 kg -52.8 ±11.6 kg (p=0.018); B: 54.7±10.9 - 52.8±11.5 kg (p=0.207). Significantly lower dynamometer values were recorded in both groups A: 25.6±10.4 kg – 23.1±10.3 kg (p=0.010); B: 27.4±9.9 kg – 24.3±9.1 kg (p=0.009). In contrast to group B, the patients in group A showed slight variations in their health status, thus decreasing their scores into the significance limit (p= 0.072).
Conclusion. Our results suggest that providing nutritional support in the form of sipping (~12g proteins, 300 kcal) on a daily basis prevents the loss of active tissue mass in palliative oncology patients. Based on these results, we recommend the inclusion of this simple nutritional support to prevent malnutrition in cancer patients in palliative care.
WITHDRAWN: PLK1 is a prognostic marker that inhibits immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma through necroptosis
Authors: Zhang Pengcheng , Zhang Xinglong , Zhu Yongfu , Cui Yiyi , Xu Jing , Zhang Weiping
Published: January 2023

Background
Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is essential for cell mitosis division and has been associated with necroptosis. Although PLK1 and necroptosis are implicated in a variety of cancers, their function in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is still not fully understood.
METHODS
The differential expression of PLK1 in LUAD was investigated utilizing Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases, and its prognostic significance was determined using the Kaplan-Meier test. Potential signaling pathways and biological activities were investigated using functional analysis. The overall survival (OS) of LUAD patients at 1, 3, and 5 years was predicted using multivariate Cox regression and validated using independent datasets. PLK1 was studied for its connection to immunological infiltration. Finally, the PLK1 impact on proliferation and apoptosis of LUAD cells was detected by overexpression and silencing PLK1. PLK1 impact on LUAD cell proliferation was verified by Western blot and in a xenograft model.
Result
PLK1 overexpression in LUAD was associated with TNM pathological staging, and residual tumor/smoking. High PLK1 expression correlated with lower OS, DFS, and DFI. PLK1 was determined as a significant predictor of LUAD by multivariate Cox regression. Functional analyses indicated PLK1 function was related to cell mitosis, neurotransmitter transmission and drug metabolism. Immune infiltration analysis showed that PLK1 was upregulated in cold tumors and inversely correlated to T cells, B cells and CD8+ T cells. Cellular assays demonstrated that PLK1 was significantly overexpressed in A549 and NCI-H1299 cell lines. Silencing PLK1 reduced proliferation and significantly increased LUAD cell apoptosis. Western Blot showed that the expression of necroptosis-related pathway proteins RIPK3, RIPK1, and MLKL was significantly increased after silencing PLK1. Finally, silencing PLK1 decreased LUAD cell proliferation in the xenograft model.
Conclusion
PLK1 may be a prognostic biomarker and suppresses LUAD immune infiltration by inhibiting necroptosis to promote LUAD cell proliferation.
Controlling Transition Photonic Band with
Synthetic Moiré Sphere
Authors: Liu Hui , Liu Zhinan , Zhao Xueqian , Yao Jie , Zhang Chi , Xu Jinlong , Zhu Shining
Published: January 2023

In recent years, twisted bilayer graphene has become a hot topic and inspired the research upsurge of photonic moiré lattice. Here, we designed a photonic moiré superlattice with two synthetic twist angles and constructed a synthetic moiré sphere based on these two angles. Thus, we have more degrees of freedom to modulate the band structure flexibly. A new type of transition photonic bands (TPBs) can be produced in such a moiré superlattice. We investigate the influence of two twist angles on TPBs and find a series of magic angle pairs with optimal band compression of TPB. The interesting optical properties of TPBs are experimentally demonstrated, including pulse delay, nonlinear optical enhancement and pulse width compression. Our work introduces a new path to explore multi-twist angles moiré superlattices and reveals that the reported photonic moiré superlattice based on moiré spheres has broad application prospects including nonlinear optics processes and other light-matter interactions.
Therapeutic Efficacy of Pyronaridine-artesunate (Pyramax ® ) Against Uncomplicated Plasmodium Falciparum Infection at Hamusit Health Center, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Alebachew Mihreteab , Gelaye Woyneshet , Alemu Megbaru , Sime Heven , Hailegeorgies Henok , Gidey Bokretsion , Haile Mebrahtom , Assefa Gudissa , Bekele Worku , Belay Habtamu , Parr Jonathan B , Tasew Geremew , Mohammed Hussein , Assefa Ashenafi
Published: January 2023

Background
Malaria remains a major public health problem in the world. Early detection of cases and prompt treatment are the major malaria control strategies implemented in many endemic countries, including Ethiopia. Artemisinin-based combination therapy is currently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the management of uncomplicated P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria cases. However, resistance to antimalarial drugs is a major challenge to the emergence and rapid spread of drug-resistant Plasmodium strains. Pyronaridine-artesunate (Pyramax) is an artemisinin combination therapy that has shown good efficacy for uncomplicated malaria in large-scale clinical trials conducted in Asia and Africa. This study reports the first therapeutic efficacy profile of Pyronaridine-artesunate against uncomplicated P. falciparum in Ethiopia.
Methods
A single-arm, prospective study with a 42-day follow-up period was conducted from March to May 2021 at Hamusit health center, according to the WHO protocol. A total of 90 adult P. falciparum mono-infection malaria cases (age ≥ 18 years) consented and were enrolled in the study. A standard single-dose regimen of Pyronaridine-artesunate was administered daily for 3 days, and clinical and parasitological outcomes were assessed at 42 days follow-up. Thick and thin blood films were prepared from capillary blood and examined by microscopy. Hemoglobin was measured using HemoCue® and dried blood spots were collected on day 0 and on the day of failure.
Results
Out of 90 patients, 86 (95.6%) had completed the 42-day follow-up study period. The overall PCR-corrected cure rate (adequate clinical and parasitological response) was very high at 98.9% (95% CI: 92.2–99.8%) with no serious adverse events. The parasite clearance rate was high with fast resolution of clinical symptoms; 95.6% and 100% of the study participants cleared parasitemia and fever on day 3, respectively. The mean hemoglobin concentration was significantly increased (p < 0.001) on day 14 compared to that on day 0.
Conclusion
Pyronaridine-artesunate was highly efficacious and safe against uncomplicated P. falciparum in the study population.
Semantic Segmentation of Nasal Septum Based on Parameter-Free Attention U-Net
Authors: Shulin Cui , xing Wang , yifan Wang , weibo Song
Published: January 2023

Accurate segmentation of nasal septum plays a key role in assisting doctors in nasal surgery. However, this practice is still a great challenge due to the variety in the shapes of nasal septum of different people. This paper brought forward an effective parameter-free attention U-Net for accurate segmentation of nasal septum. This attention module is an energy function, which is used to identify the importance of each pixel and provide three-dimensional attention weight for feature map inference in the layer without any additional parameters. On this basis, a new loss function of poly-diceloss was introduced, which regarded the diceloss as a linear combination of polynomial functions and significantly improved the segmentation performance by introducing a super parameter. In this paper, a data set named “nasal septum” was constructed. Based on this data set, a comparison was made with the most advanced network and the experimental results showed that the indexes of SAMU-Net proposed in this paper were: \(TPR\) 98.47%, \(PPV\) 83.57%, \(JAC\) 82.37%, \(Dice\) 90.23%, respectively, using the least network parameters.
Analysis on the salt tolerance of Nitraria sibirica Pall. based on Pacbio full-length transcriptome sequencing
Authors: Zhang Panpan , Wu Zhiheng , Su Naer , Zhang Fengxiang , Yan Yongqing , Liu Wei
Published: January 2023

N. sibirica, as a typical halophyte, can not only effectively repair saline-alkali land, but also has high economic value. However, the analysis on its salt tolerance at combining the molecular and physiological levels was little studied. Hence, in this study, the salt tolerance of N. sibirica was analyzed based on Pacbio full-length transcriptome sequencing, and the salt tolerance in the physiological levels was verified by key genes. The results found that 89,017 full-length transcripts were obtained, of which 84,632 sequences were annotated. The 86,482 coding sequence (CDS) sequences were predicted. In total, 6561 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. DEGs were significantly enriched in “response to salt stress”, “sodium ion homeostasis”, “response to osmotic stress”, “reactive oxygen species metabolic process”, “defense response by cell wall thickening” and “signal transduction”, et al. A total of 69 key genes were screened, of which 33 were not reported on salt tolerance. The NsRabE1c gene with the highest expression was selected to verify salt tolerance. The results showed that the gene regulates plant growth to resist salt stress. Results in the present study deepen the understanding of salinity resistance in N. sibirica and provide resources for further breeding projects under such stress conditions.
Economic Efficiency of an Open-Source National Medical Lab Software in Canada
Authors: Peplinski Jack E. , Pearce Joshua M.
Published: January 2023

Although the Canada federal government has invested over $2.6 billion developing health information technology (HIT), all 10 provinces still have their own separate HIT systems, which are non-interoperable, expensive, and inconsistent. After first reviewing how these systems operate, this paper analyzes the costs and savings of integrating the common billing, lab results, and diagnostic imaging (BLD) functions of these separate systems using free and open-source software and proposes a system for this, HermesAPI. Currently, 8 provincial governments representing over 95% of Canada’s population allow private companies to create their own electronic medical records (EMR) system and integrate with provincial BLD systems. This study found the cost to develop and maintain HermesAPI would be between CAD$610,000 to CAD$740,000, but would prevent CAD$120,000 per company per province in development costs for a total savings of $6.4 million. HermesAPI would lower barriers to entry for the HIT industry to increase competition, improve the quality of HIT products, and ultimately patient care. The proposed open-source approach of the HermesAPI is one option towards building a more interoperable, less expensive, and more consistent HIT system for Canada.
CircRNA-mTOR Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression and Lenvatinib Resistance via PSIP1/c-Myc Axis Nuclear Translocation and Partially through Increasing EGFR Expression
Authors: Tang Yongchang , Yuan Feng , Cao Mingbo , Li Yuxuan , Ren Yupeng , Yang Gaoyuan , Zhong Zhaozhong , He Zhiwei , Nan Lin , Deng Meihai , Yao Zhicheng
Published: January 2023

Background
Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major malignant tumors threatening human health. Lenvatinib resistance seriously restricts the efficacy of HCC, but the specific mechanism is not clear. Circular RNA (circRNA) plays an important role in the regulation of tumor drug resistance.
Methods
Key circRNA was screened by bioinformatics methods, and further identified by relevant validation experiments and HCC tissue samples. And, circRNA was evaluated as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for HCC progression at the clinical level. After then, through in vivo and in vitro experiments, the specific mechanism of the circRNA on the progression of HCC and lenvatinib resistance was explored at the molecular level.
Results
circRNA_0009792 (circRNA-mTOR) was highly expressed in HCC and is closely related to the prognosis of patients, which has good diagnostic value and clinical significance. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that circRNA-mTOR could promote the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and promote lenvatinib resistance by improving the stemness of HCC cells. Mechanismly, circRNA-mTOR could affect RNA-binding protein (PSIP1) nuclear translocation by specifically binding to it, and then which enhanced the stemness of HCC cells through PSIP1/c-Myc axis, hence promoting the progression of HCC and lenvatinib resistance. And furthermore, circRNA-mTOR at least partially induce lenvatinib resistance by increasing the expression of EGFR in HCC.
Conclusions
In conclusion, this study suggests that circRNA-mTOR can affect PSIP1/c-myc axis nuclear translocation, to make progress of HCC and the maintenance of steness of liver cancer cell to aggravate lenvatinib resistance, And partially increased EGFR over-expression to making chemo-resistance worse. CircRNA-mTOR has the potential to be a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC. This study provides a certain experimental basis for the targeted drug therapy of HCC, and puts forward new ideas, new insights and new methods in understanding the occurrence and development of HCC, and it is of great significance to seek new markers and targets for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC and reduce drug resistance.
Mendelian randomization shows depression increase the risk of type 2 diabetes
Authors: Won Sungho , Jin Heejin , Lee Jeewon , Lee Sanghun , Oh Sohee
Published: January 2023

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with severe mental illnesses (SMIs), such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. However, causal relationships between SMIs and T2D remain unclear owing to potential bias in observational studies. We aimed to characterize the causal effect of SMI liability on T2D using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). The causality between liability to SMI and T2D was investigated using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, MR-Egger with a simulation extrapolation, weighted median, and the MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier method. Similarly, we performed additional MR which can detect the reverse causation effect by switching exposure and outcome for T2D liability for SMI. To further consider pleiotropic effects between SMIs, multivariable MR analysis was performed after accounting for the other traits. In the univariable IVW method, depression showed a causal effect on T2D (odds ratio [OR]: 1.128, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.024–1.245, P = 0.014). Multinomial MR more strongly supported these results (IVW OR: 1.197, 95% CI: 1.069, 1.340, P = 0.002; MR-Egger OR: 1.198, 95% CI: 1.062, 1.349, P = 0.003). Bidirectional MR showed reverse-causality absence between depression and T2D. However, causal relationship of bipolar and schizophrenia on T2D was not detected. Careful attention is needed for patients with depression regarding T2D prevention and treatment.
Using degradable oxidizing additives in manufacturing of drip irrigation tapes to prevent environmental problems
Authors: Mohammadi Mohammadhadi , Khaledian Mohammadreza , Olfati Jamalali
Published: January 2023

Lack of water resources in the world and especially in Iran, as well as the effect of climate change has led to savings in water consumption and increased productivity, especially in the agricultural sector. Pressurized irrigation is one of the ways to increase water productivity and reduce water consumption in agriculture. Tape drip irrigation is a pressurized irrigation method that is more justifiable than other methods both in terms of water productivity and water consumption. On the other hand, the use of these tapes is associated with the fact that due to their consumption for a maximum of one or two growing seasons, environmental problems arise due to their accumulation in agricultural areas. Farmers either leave them on the fields or burn them or bury them. All three of these methods pose dangerous environmental hazards. To address this issue, it is recommended to produce them from or with biodegradable materials. In this study, biodegradable additive was used as a degradation accelerator in the production of tapes. After the production of these tapes, they were used in real conditions and during a growing season and in two treatments: below and on the soil surface, along with the canopy and without shade (beans and radishes). After 6 and 11 months, the tapes were sampled to investigate their degradation. The results showed that tapes made with oxo additive began to degrade more and faster than conventional tapes. Reduction of properties such as weight, turbidity, and mechanical properties such as tensile strength at rupture point, elongation at rupture point, Young's modulus, and toughness in tapes produced with oxo additive show more and faster degradation than conventional tapes. Therefore, it can be said that the use of oxo masterbatches in the production of tapes has been possible and useful. Of course, this should be considered from environmental aspects in future research.
Determination of Aflatoxins M1, M2, B1, B2, G1, G2 and Ochratoxin A in Infant Formulas from Brazil Using an Modified QuEChERS Method and UHPLC-MS/MS
Authors: Sartori André Victor , Moraes Maria Heloísa Paulino , Santos Rosana Pereira dos , Souza Yuri Pereira , Candido Felipe Stanislau , Nóbrega Armi Wanderley
Published: January 2023

The aim of this study was to determine the contamination levels by aflatoxins M1, M2, G1, G2, B1 and B2 and Ochratoxin A in 123 infant formula powder samples from the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A sensitive method using a modified Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) method and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was validated for application in sample analyses. Ochratoxin A and aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 were not detected in the analyzed samples. Aflatoxin M1 was detected in 18 (14.6%) of the analyzed samples and quantified in eight (6.5%), at concentration levels ranging from 0.016 to 0.057 µg kg-1 and an average concentration of 0.031 µg kg-1. The aflatoxin M1 concentrations found in three of the analyzed samples (0.040, 0.044 and 0.057 µg kg-1) exceed the limit established by European Union regulations (0.025 µg kg-1). The estimate daily intake (EDI) of aflatoxin M1 for infants up to 12 months ranged from 0.39 to 1.53 ng kg-1 body weight day-1.
Within-day and between-day reliability of a novel test to evaluate back extensor strength in healthy individuals.
Authors: Algarni Nizar , Alshammari Abdullah , Marwan Yousef , Alzakri Abdulmajeed A. , Addar Abdullah , Alaseem Abdulrahman , Albishi Waleed , Alshaygy Ibrahim , Alageel Musab , Fortin Maryse , Jarzem Peter
Published: January 2023

Background
Proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) is a common complication of long spinal fusion. The prevalence of PJK ranges between 6 and 41% and frequently requires reoperation. One of the potential causes is thought to be posterior muscle dissection within the fused range at the time of posterior fusion. Various measurement protocols have been tested to evaluate extensor muscle strength, endurance and power in adults. However, it is not universally accessible and is rarely used clinically due to the high cost, requirement for considerable user expertise, demands on the functional capacities of the patient and protracted testing time. Currently, the Biering–Sørensen test is the most widely used isometric test for assessing extensor muscle endurance. But, it was deemed unsuitable and difficult for older patients with chronic low back pain undergoing spine surgery.
In this study, we designed a simple method that allows us to perform lumbar spine extensor strength tests in a comfortable seated position. This study aimed to assess the within-day and between-day reliability of this novel test for evaluating back extensor strength in healthy individuals.
Methods
In this study, we examined 79 healthy subjects (33 males and 46 females), who were 25–63 years of age. The subjects were placed in a seated position on the novel chair and secured tightly with a lap belt. In each session, the subjects were asked to extend their backs against the force transducer at maximum capacity, maintaining the extension for 5 seconds. The maximal force delivered over that period was recorded. The subjects had a practice trial followed by three forceful extensions with pausing intervals of 30 seconds. Measurements were obtained by one of three trained raters, and the average force of all three trials was recorded. A follow-up session was carried out within 14 days. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to assess within-day and between-day reliability.
Results
The mean force in the initial session was 314.6±118.3 N, and it was 318.6±123.6 N in the follow-up session. The ICCs for within-day reliability and between-day reliability were 0.89 [95%CI: 0.83–0.92] and 0.88 [95% CI: 0.81–0.93], respectively. There was a strong correlation between the average measures of the initial and follow-up sessions (r = 0.80; p < 0.001; R2 = 0.62).
Conclusion
The use of the static dynamometer chair is a reliable, non-invasive, cost-effective test that facilitates the assessment of the strength of lumbar spine extensors in healthy adults.
Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score is a predictor of postoperative delirium in hemodialysis patients: preliminary study
Authors: Watanabe Kimio , Ieiri Tamaki , Fujikura Emi , Yamamoto Tae , Okamoto Koji , Miyazaki Mariko , Tanaka Tetsuhiro
Published: January 2023

Preoperative risk assessment for delirium after major surgery is important, because postoperative delirium prolongs the duration of hospital stay and is associated with an increased risk of death. However, no reports have assessed risk factors for the development of postoperative delirium in hemodialysis patients. Here, we investigated whether preoperative mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score is a predictor of delirium after major surgery in hemodialysis patients. A total of 47 hemodialysis patients who underwent major surgery under general anesthesia were included. MMSE was assessed preoperatively and analyzed for an association with the development of postoperative delirium. Evaluation showed that 23.4% of patients developed postoperative delirium, and the postoperative delirium group (n = 11) had significantly lower MMSE scores than the non-delirium group (n = 36) (26.3±3.2 vs 22.7±4.7, p = 0.006). Multivariate analysis adjusted for age, past history of cerebrovascular disease, serum albumin, hemoglobin and C-reactive protein showed that low MMSE score was an independent risk factor for postoperative delirium development (exp (β) = 0.690, 95% CI: 0.514 to 0.927, p = 0.014). Although further accumulation of cases is needed, our data suggests that preoperative MMSE score is a predictor of delirium after major surgery in hemodialysis patients.
Unitary representations for toroidal extended affine Lie algebras
Authors: Chen Hongjia , Li Zheng
Published: January 2023

In this article, we give a class of representations of toroidal extended affine Lie algebras on Fock spaces based on a special subset of roots. Several properties of these roots are discussed. Then with these properties we find the singular vectors in the representations. After that we construct anti-linear anti-involutions of these Lie algebras and hermitian forms on the representations. At last, we find the sufficient and necessary conditions to guarantee that the representations are unitarizable.
2020 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary: 17B67, 17B10; Secondary: 17B05, 17B22.
Research on the construction method of command and Control Network based on edge weighting
Authors: Wang Jianwei , Pan Chengsheng , Shi Jianfeng
Published: January 2023

Aiming at the problem that the traditional command and control network model is difficult to reflect the complex structure of the command and control network, the complex network theory is used to describe the hierarchical structure and correlation between the elements of the command and control network, and an edge weighting method of the command and control network based on the combination of the node's attributes and network attributes is proposed. In this method, the node's attributes mainly consider the factors such as node information transmission capability, task coordination capability between nodes, node distance, and response time. The network attributes are mainly represented by command hierarchy and betweenness, and the three types of nodes in the traditional command and control network model are expanded into five types of nodes. According to the edge weighting method, the commanding edge inside the command and control network, the cooperative edge between the command and control network, and the overstepping command edge are generated. The simulation results show that the characteristic parameters of the command and control network model are better than those of the traditional command and control network, which is more in line with reality. It has small-world and scale-free characteristics, enhances the command coordination ability, and effectively improves the command efficiency of the network.
Efficacy and Safety Analyses of Cytoreductive Non-Regional Lymph Node Radiotherapy in Addition to Prostate-Directed Local Therapy in Low Metastatic Burden Prostate Cancer
Authors: Mai Lixin , Liu Ruiqi , Pan Qiwen , Cai Lingling , Cao Wufei , Huang Sijuan , Lin Maosheng , Li Yonghong , Zhou Fangjian , Liu Yang , He Liru
Published: January 2023

Background
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cytoreductive non-regional lymph node radiotherapy (NRLNRT) in addition to prostate-directed local therapy (PDLT) in low metastatic burden prostate cancer (LMBPC).
Methods
From August 2009 to February 2021, 88 LMBPC patients with NRLN metastasis were identified. Patients receiving cytoreductive NRLN RT in addition to PDLT (NRLN RT group) were matched by one-to-one propensity score to patients without cytoreductive NRLN radiotherapy (control group). Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were used for prognostic analyses.
Results
The median follow-up was 43.3 months. PSA response after NRLN RT was 70.6%, and the median PFS after NRLN RT was 29.5 months. The 4-year OS for NRLN RT group and control group was 62% and 46%, respectively (P = 0.037). NRLN RT (HR 0.22, P = 0.001), HSPC (HR 0.32, P = 0.003), bone metastases (HR 3.79, P = 0.000) and androgen-receptor-axis-targeted agents (HR 0.40, P=0.007) were independent prognostic factors of OS. Subgroup analyses showed HSPC at the time of NRLNM and patients with ＜5 NRLNM had greater magnitude of benefit than the counterpart (HR 0.28, 95% CI 0.08-0.94, P= 0.039; HR 0.16, 95% CI 0.04-0.69, P = 0.014). After PSM, NRLN RT was still associated with improved OS (HR 0.39, 95% CI 0.16-0.96, P = 0.040). NRLN RT related AEs were 11 cases (32.4%) of acute gastrointestinal AEs, 3 cases (8.8%) of acute skin AEs, 10 cases (29.4%) of acute bone marrow suppression (BMS) and 5 cases (14.7%) of chronic BMS. All were grade 1-2 AEs.
Conclusions
It was beneficial and safe to apply cytoreductive NRLN radiotherapy in addition to PDLT in LMBPC. HSPC at the time of NRLNM and patients with < 5 NRLNM may be the potential beneficiaries. Prospective studies were needed for verification.
Magnetic anchor technique-assisted endoscopic submucosal dissection for treatment of early-stage colorectal cancer
Authors: Pan Min , Zhang Miaomiao , Lyu Yi , Yan Xiaopeng
Published: January 2023

The incidence of colorectal cancer is high. Early detection, diagnosis and treatment are particularly important. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is used to treat early-stage cancer, and the ESD-assisted magnetic anchor technique (MAT) has greatly changed the operating experience of endoscopists. The present study aimed to determine the feasibility of MAT-assisted ESD for the treatment of early-stage colorectal cancer. We designed and manufactured a magnetic anchor device consisting of a target magnet (TM), an anchor magnet (AM), and a soft-tissue clip. The TM was fixed on the diseased mucosa by means of the soft-tissue clip, and the AM was located exterior to the colorectal sample. By changing the position of the AM, the TM was pulled to fully expose the mucosal surface and maintain sufficient tissue tension to assist the ESD. MAT-assisted ESD was successfully completed in all 12 isolated colorectal samples. During the operation, there were no instances of TM detachment or mucosal tears. The interaction between the magnets provided sufficient mucosal tissue tension and a clear mucosal dissection surface, which greatly changed the ESD experience. MAT-assisted ESD is a feasible procedure for the treatment of early-stage colorectal cancer and has great potential for clinical application.
Impact of adjuvant chemotherapy for radically resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A propensity score matching analysis
Authors: Chen Shao-bin , Liu Di-tian , Chen Yu-ping
Published: January 2023

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with radically resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
Methods: Patients with esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy at our hospital from 2010 to 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Only patients with radically resected ESCC who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy or adjuvant radiotherapy were enrolled in this study. Propensity score matching (1:1) was used to balance the baseline.
Results: A total of 1249patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in the study, and 263 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. After matching, 260 pairs were analyzed. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 93.4%, 66.1% and 59.6%, respectively, for patients with adjuvant chemotherapy compared with 83.8%, 58.4% and 48.8%, respectively, for patients with surgery alone (P=0.003). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 82.3%, 58.8% and 51.3%, respectively, for patients with adjuvant chemotherapy compared with 68.0%, 48.3% and 40.8%, respectively, for patients with surgery alone (P = 0.002). In multivariateanalyses, adjuvant chemotherapy was found to be an independent prognostic factor. In subgroup analyses, only the patients in certain subgroups were found to benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, such as patients who underwent right thoracotomy, pT3 diseases, pN1-pN3 diseases, or pTNM stage III and IVA diseases.
Conclusions: Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy can improve the OS and DFS of ESCC patients after radical resection but may only work for patients in certain subgroups.
Fabrication, Characterization and Application of The Water Hyacinth Biochar- Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite as an Advantageous Sound Absorber Material
Authors: Wibawa Pratama Jujur , Grafiana Nur Farida , Gunawan Gunawan
Published: January 2023

The research was aiming to investigate the potency of water hyacinth (WH) biochar as the most advantageous sound absorber composite when it was blended with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Analysis and characterization of the produced WH biochar were essentially performed using N2 absorption-desorption, FTIR spectrophotometer, and SEM methods. While the capability of the sound absorber material was technically conducted using a polyvinylchloride (PVC) impedance tube of about 95 cm in length with internal and outer diameters of about 9.5 cm and 9.8 cm respectively. The materials that would be tested for their capability of sound absorber were prepared in a disk-like form with about 9.5 cm in diameter and 0.5 cm in thickness. The sound source was continuously turned on for 2 minutes and transmitted wirelessly through the impedance tube, and the decreasing intensity of the sound was recorded every 5 seconds. The results showed that the sound absorption coefficient (SAC) of the WH biochar-PVA composite was about 6.50% (0.0650) up to 21.03% (0.2103), while the SAC of the Styrofoam was just about 4.37% (0.0437). This research concluded that the WH biochar produced by the thermal energy of 500oC indicated it could be the best sound absorber composite when it was blended with PVA, especially for a low frequency of about 440 Hz.
HIF-1α-PPARγ-mTORC1 signalling pathway mediated autophagy induces inflammatory response of pancreatic cells in rats with hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis
Authors: Ma Yumei , Li Xiaolin , Ma Yingcai , Liu Zhilan , Xue Xiaohong , Wang Yaping
Published: January 2023

Objective: The incidence of hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis (HLAP) has been increasing rapidly in recent years in China. Autophagy has been implicated in the inflammatory response of pancreatic cells in HLAP, but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear.
Methods: In this study, the role of the HIF-1α-PPARγ-mTORC1 pathway-mediated autophagy in the inflammatory response of pancreatic cells and the molecular mechanism are investigated in a rat model of HLAP using immunohistochemistry, ELISA, electron microscope and Western blot analysis.
Results: The results reveal that autophagy is significantly increased and pancreatic injury is exacerbated in HLAP rats, and the inflammatory response is further exacerbated by treatment with rapamycin but relieved by treatment with 3-MA. Hyperlipidemia induces up regulation of HIF-1α but down regulation of PPARγ, which in turn leads to an increase in autophagy and consequently exacerbation of inflammatory response of pancreatic cells.
Conclusions: It is concluded that the HIF-1α-PPARγ- mTORC1 pathway-mediated autophagy plays a critical role in the inflammatory response of pancreatic cells in HLAP, and interference with the HIF-1α- PPARγ-mTOR pathway can provide new targets for prevention and treatment of HLAP.