bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Test-retest reliability and agreement of lower-extremity kinematics captured in squatting and jumping preschool children using markerless motion capture technology
Authors: Harsted Steen , Holsgaard-Larsen Anders , Hestbæk Lise , Andreasen Ditte Lundsgaard , Lauridsen Henrik Hein
Published: December 2022

The clinimetric properties of new technology should be evaluated in relevant populations before its implementation in research or clinical practice. Markerless motion capture is a new digital technology that allows for data collection in young children without some drawbacks commonly encountered with traditional systems. However, important properties, such as test-retest reliability, of this new technology have so far not been investigated. We recorded 63 preschool children using markerless motion capture (The Captury GmbH, Saarbrüken, Germany) while they performed squats and standing broad jumps. A retest session was conducted after 1 week. Recordings from the test session were processed twice to estimate the software-driven instrumental variability. Recordings from the first and second test sessions were compared to evaluate the week-to-week test-retest reliability. Statistical tests included 95% limits of agreement and intraclass correlations of absolute agreement (ICC). Jump length performance and four kinematic variables demonstrated acceptable instrumental variability (ICC > 0.76). The week-to-week reliability was excellent for jump length performance (ICC = 0.90) but poor to moderate (ICC < 0.55) for the kinematic variables. Our results indicate that preschool children exhibit considerable intra-individual kinematic variation from week-to-week during jump landings and squats. Consequently, we suggest that future work should explore individuals with persistent extreme kinematics over multiple test-sessions.
Thermodynamic and kinematic structure of tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific based on ACARS/AMDAR
Authors: Ito Kosuke , Yamamoto Ren
Published: December 2022

Meteorological variables are often reported by commercial aircraft flying around tropical cyclones (TCs). They are archived in Aircraft Communications, Addressing, and Reporting System/Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (ACARS/AMDAR). Therefore, they are potentially useful for constructing a composite mean structure of TCs based on in-situ measurements. The number of temperature and wind observations are 4.0 × 106 and 1.0 × 104 within the radius of 1,200 km and 100 km from the TC center during 2010–2020, respectively. The warm-core potential temperature anomaly with respect to the climatology is 6.4 K, 9.1 K, and 14.4 K maximized around 300 hPa for weak, moderate, and strong TCs, respectively. The composite of the potential temperature anomaly potentially extends more than 1,000 km from the TC center in the upper troposphere, cautioning the typical definition of the environment. The region of significant upper-level positive potential temperature anomalies extends broadly with increasing TC intensity. Moreover, large TCs tend to have a broad and deep upper-level warm core for a given intensity. In addition, we ensured that a single observation of potential temperature around 300 hPa could be used as a proxy for minimum sea level pressure. Low-level inflow and upper-level outflow were detected in the ACARS/AMDAR data.
The impact of hyperglycaemic crisis episodes on long-term outcomes for inpatients presenting with acute organ injury: A prospective, multicentre follow-up study
Authors: Duan Zixiao , Song Peiyang , Yang Cheng , Deng Liling , Jiang Youzhao , Deng Fang , Jiang Xiaoyan , Chen Yan , Yang Gangyi , Ma Yu , Deng Wuquan
Published: December 2022

Background

The long-term clinical outcome of poor prognosis in patients with diabetic hyperglycaemic crisis episodes (HCE) remains unknown, which may be related to acute organ injury (AOI) and its continuous damage after hospital discharge. This study aimed to observe the clinical differences and relevant risk factors in HCE with or without AOI.

Methods

A total of 339 inpatients were divided into an AOI group (n=69) and a non-AOI group (n=270), and their differences and risk factors were explored. The differences in clinical outcomes and prediction models for evaluating the long-term adverse events after hospital discharge were established.

Results

The mortality among cases complicated by AOI was significantly higher than that among patients without AOI [8 (11.59%) vs. 11 (4.07%), Q = 0.034] during hospitalization. After a 2-year follow-up, the mortality was also significantly higher in patients with concomitant AOI than in patients without AOI after hospital discharge during follow-up [13 (21.31%) vs. 15 (5.8%), Q < 0.001]. The long-term adverse events in patients with concomitant AOI were significantly higher than those in patients without AOI during follow-up [15 (24.59%) vs. 31 (11.97%), Q = 0.015]. Furthermore, Blood β-hydroxybutyric acid (P = 0.003), Cystatin C (P <0.001), serum potassium levels (P = 0.001) were significantly associated with long-term adverse events after hospital discharge.

Conclusions

The long-term prognosis of HCE patients complicated with AOI was significantly worse than that of HCE patients without AOI. The laboratory indicators were closely correlated with AOI, and future studies should explore the improvement of clinical outcome in response to timely interventions.
Identification of potential functions of polo-like kinase 1 in male reproductive development of the oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense) by RNA interference analysis
Authors: Jin Shubo , Zhang Wenyi , Wang Pengchao , Jiang Sufei , Qiao Hui , Gong Yongsheng , Wu Yan , Xiong Yiwei , Fu Hongtuo
Published: December 2022

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) has multiple functions in the cell cycle, including in the maturation of centrosomes during the G2/M transition, the separation of centrosomes, and the activation of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 expression and spindle assembly. In this study, we investigated the potential regulatory roles of Plk1 in the reproductive development of the male oriental river prawn (Machrobrachium nipponense). The full cDNA sequence of Mn-Plk1 was 2360 base pairs long, with an open reading frame of 1836 base pairs encoding 611 amino acids. Protein sequence alignment identified a conserved serine/threonine kinase domain and two Polo-boxes. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that Mn-Plk1 had the closest evolutionary distance with Plk1s of freshwater prawns and then with those of crustacean species, whereas the evolutionary distance with mollusks was much more distant. Quantitative PCR analysis predicted that Mn-Plk1 plays essential roles in the regulation of gonad development. RNA interference analysis and histological observations showed that expression of insulin-like androgenic gland hormone decreased as the expression of Mn-Plk1 decreased, and fewer than 5% of cells were sperm cells at day 14 in the dsPlk1 injected prawns. This result indicated that Plk1 positively regulated testis development in M. nipponense by affecting the expression of this hormone. Our results highlight the functions of Plk1 in M. nipponense and provide valuable information that can be applied to establish artificial techniques to regulate testis development in this species.
Strategic reserves in Oregon’s forests for biodiversity, water, and carbon to mitigate and adapt to climate change
Authors: Law Beverly E. , Berner Logan T. , Mildrexler David J. , Bloemers Ralph O. , Ripple William J.
Published: December 2022

Creating strategic forest reserves is essential for stemming the loss of biodiversity and contributing to climate mitigation and adaptation. Meeting preservation targets of 30% protection by 2030, and 50% by 2050 would lead to greater protection of animal taxa and tree species habitat, carbon stocks and accumulation, and forests that are important sources of drinking water. Here, we develop a regional framework to specifically identify at a fine resolution (30 m) high priority forestlands for preservation in Oregon, USA. We include a resilience metric that represents connectivity and topographic diversity, and identify areas within each ecoregion that are ranked high priority for carbon, biodiversity, resilience and drinking water. Oregon has less than 10% of its forestlands protected at the highest levels, yet its temperate forests are among those with the highest carbon densities in the world. Reserves for surface drinking water sources and forest habitat for birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles could increase to 50–70% protection at the highest levels by 2050. Protected aboveground biomass carbon could triple to 635 teragrams of carbon by 2050. The ownership of the high preservation priority lands for carbon and biodiversity is primarily federal (67% by 2050) followed by private (28% by 2050), with much less in the other ownerships. Forest reserves could be established on federal lands through executive action, regulation and rule-making, while private landowners could be incentivized to store more carbon, limit harvest in certain areas and transfer ownership to land trusts. Protecting mature and old forests on federal lands fulfills an urgent need for protection and provides a low-cost way to simultaneously meet national and international goals. This study provides a flexible, dynamic framework for identifying areas that are high priority to protect for climate mitigation and adaptation at regional and sub-regional scales.
IRF2 is required for development and functional maturation of human NK cells
Authors: Persyn Eva , Wahlen Sigrid , Kiekens Laura , Van Loocke Wouter , Siwe Hannah , Van Ammel Els , De Vos Zenzi , Van Nieuwerburgh Filip , Matthys Patrick , Taghon Tom , Vandekerckhove Bart , Van Vlierberghe Pieter , Leclercq Georges
Published: December 2022

Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic and cytokine-producing lymphocytes that play an important role in the first line of defense against malignant or virus-infected cells. A better understanding of the transcriptional regulation of human NK cell differentiation is crucial to improve the efficacy of NK cell-mediated immunotherapy for cancer treatment. Here, we studied the role of the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor (IRF) 2 in human NK cell differentiation by stable knockdown or overexpression in cord blood hematopoietic stem cells and investigated its effect on development and function of the NK cell progeny. IRF2 overexpression had limited effects in these processes, indicating that endogenous IRF2 expression levels are sufficient. However, IRF2 knockdown greatly reduced the cell numbers of all early differentiation stages, resulting in decimated NK cell numbers. This was not caused by increased apoptosis, but by decreased proliferation. Expression of IRF2 is also required for functional maturation of NK cells, as the remaining NK cells after silencing of IRF2 had a less mature phenotype and showed decreased cytotoxic potential, as well as a greatly reduced cytokine secretion. Thus, IRF2 plays an important role during development and functional maturation of human NK cells.
Citrullinated glucose-regulated protein 78 is a candidate target for melanoma immunotherapy
Authors: Brentville Victoria Anne , Symonds Peter , Chua JiaXin , Skinner Anne , Daniels Ian , Cook Katherine Wendy , Koncarevic Sasa , Martinez-Pinna Roxana , Shah Sabaria , Choudhury Ruhul Hasan , Vaghela Poonam , Weston Daisy , Al-Omari Abdullah , Davis James , Durrant Lindy G.
Published: December 2022

Introduction

Post translational modification of proteins plays a significant role in immune recognition. In particular the modification of arginine to citrulline which is mediated by PAD enzymes is increased during cellular stress (autophagy) which permits the presentation of modified epitopes upon MHC class II molecules for recognition by CD4 T cells. Citrullination also occurs in tumour cells as a result of continuous environmental stresses and increased autophagy. We have shown in animal models the efficient stimulation of citrullinated epitope specific CD4 T cells resulting in dramatic elimination/regression of tumours. The ER chaperone glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) is known to also be required for stress-induced autophagy and is directly linked to autophagosome formation. GRP78 is known to be highly expressed by many tumour types. In this study we investigate the potential of targeting citrullinated GRP78 for cancer therapy.

Methods

A citrullinated GRP78 specific antibody was used to assess citrullinated GRP78 expression in murine and human tumour cells by flow cytometry. Five peptides were selected and used to vaccinate HLA transgenic mice and immune responses were characterised by ex vivo cytokine ELISpot assay. T cell repertoire in humans was assessed through proliferation assays and cytokine ELISpot assay. Citrullinated peptide was identified in murine B16 melanoma by mass spectrometry and the peptide vaccine was assessed for tumour therapy in a mouse melanoma model.

Results

We show the identification CD4 T cell responses to one citrullinated GRP78 epitope that are restricted through HLA DP*0401 and HLA-DR*0101 alleles. This peptide is detected by mass spectrometry in B16 melanoma grown in vivo and citrulline specific CD4 responses to two peptides spanning this epitope mediate efficient therapy of established B16 melanoma tumours in HHDII/DP4 (p<0.0001) transgenic mouse model. Finally, we demonstrate the existence of a repertoire of responses to the citrullinated GRP78 peptide in healthy individuals (p=0.0023) with 13/17 (76%) individuals showing a response to this peptide.

Conclusion

We propose that citrullinated GRP78 is a candidate tumour antigen and vaccination against citrullinated GRP78 may provide a promising tumour therapy approach.
Milestones in acute GVHD pathophysiology
Authors: Socie Gerard , Michonneau David
Published: December 2022

In the past 65 years, over 25 000 referenced articles have been published on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Although this included clinically orientated papers or publications on chronic GVHD, the conservative estimate of scientific publications still contains several thousands of documents on the pathophysiology of acute GVHD. Thus, summarizing what we believe are prominent publications that can be considered milestones in our knowledge of this disease is a challenging and inherently biased task. Here we review from a historical perspective what can be regarded as publications that have made the field move forward. We also included several references of reviews on aspects we could not cover in detail.
Assessment of underwater navigation safety based on dynamic Bayesian network facing uncertain knowledge and various information
Authors: Li Ming , Zhang Ren , Chen Xi , Liu Kefeng
Published: December 2022

As ocean environment is complicated and varied, underwater vehicles (UVs) are facing great challenges in safe and precise navigation. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the underwater ocean environment safety for the UV navigation. To deal with the uncertain knowledge and various information in the safety assessment, we present an evaluation model based on the dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) theory. Firstly, characteristic indicators are extract from marine environment systems and discretized with Cloud model. Then, the DBN is constructed through structure learning and parameter learning based on Dempster-Shafer (DS) evidence theory. Finally, the dynamic evaluation and risk zoning of the navigation safety is realized based on Bayesian probabilistic reasoning. The DBN-based assessment model fully considers the uncertainty of influence relationships between marine environment and UV navigation, and effectively fuses expert knowledge and quantitative data for assessment modeling. The experimental results show the proposed model has high reliability and good value of application.
Antifungal susceptibility profiles and drug resistance mechanisms of clinical Candida duobushaemulonii isolates from China
Authors: Chen Xin-Fei , Zhang Han , Jia Xin-Miao , Cao Jin , Li Li , Hu Xin-Lan , Li Ning , Xiao Yu-Ling , Xia Fei , Ye Li-Yan , Hu Qing-Feng , Wu Xiao-Li , Ning Li-Ping , Hsueh Po-Ren , Fan Xin , Yu Shu-Ying , Huang Jing-Jing , Xie Xiu-Li , Yang Wen-Hang , Li Ying-Xing , Zhang Ge , Zhang Jing-Jia , Duan Si-Meng , Kang Wei , Wang Tong , Li Jin , Xiao Meng , Hou Xin , Xu Ying-Chun
Published: December 2022

Candida duobushaemulonii, type II Candida haemulonii complex, is closely related to Candida auris and capable of causing invasive and non-invasive infections in humans. Eleven strains of C. duobushaemulonii were collected from China Hospital Invasive Fungal Surveillance Net (CHIF-NET) and identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF), VITEK 2 Yeast Identification Card (YST), and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing. Whole genome sequencing of C. duobushaemulonii was done to determine their genotypes. Furthermore, C. duobushaemulonii strains were tested by Sensititre YeastOne™ and Clinical and Laboratory Institute (CLSI) broth microdilution panel for antifungal susceptibility. Three C. duobushaemulonii could not be identified by VITEK 2. All 11 isolates had high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to amphotericin B more than 2 μg/ml. One isolate showed a high MIC value of ≥64 μg/ml to 5-flucytosine. All isolates were wild type (WT) for triazoles and echinocandins. FUR1 variation may result in C. duobushaemulonii with high MIC to 5-flucytosine. Candida duobushaemulonii mainly infects patients with weakened immunity, and the amphotericin B resistance of these isolates might represent a challenge to clinical treatment.
Altered gut fungi in systemic lupus erythematosus – A pilot study
Authors: Li Bao-Zhu , Wang Hua , Li Xian-Bao , Zhang Qian-Ru , Huang Rong-Gui , Wu Hong , Wang Yi-Yu , Li Kai-Di , Chu Xiu-Jie , Cao Nv-Wei , Zhou Hao-Yue , Fang Xin-Yu , Leng Rui-Xue , Fan Yin-Guang , Tao Jin-Hui , Shuai Zong-Wen , Ye Dong-Qing
Published: December 2022

Objective

Gut fungi, as symbiosis with the human gastrointestinal tract, may regulate physiology via multiple interactions with host cells. The plausible role of fungi in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is far from clear and need to be explored.

Methods

A total of 64 subjects were recruited, including SLE, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), undifferentiated connective tissue diseases (UCTDs) patients and healthy controls (HCs). Fecal samples of subjects were collected. Gut fungi and bacteria were detected by ITS sequencing and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, respectively. Alpha and beta diversities of microbiota were analyzed. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis was performed to identify abundance of microbiota in different groups. The correlation network between bacterial and fungal microbiota was analyzed based on Spearman correlation.

Results

Gut fungal diversity and community composition exhibited significant shifts in SLE compared with UCTDs, RA and HCs. Compared with HCs, the alpha and beta diversities of fungal microbiota decreased in SLE patients. According to principal coordinates analysis results, the constitution of fungal microbiota from SLE, RA, UCTDs patients and HCs exhibited distinct differences with a clear separation between fungal microbiota. There was dysbiosis in the compositions of fungal and bacterial microbiota in the SLE patients, compared to HCs. Pezizales, Cantharellales and Pseudaleuria were enriched in SLE compared with HCs, RA and UCTDs. There was a complex relationship network between bacterial and fungal microbiota, especially Candida which was related to a variety of bacteria.

Conclusion

This study presents a pilot analysis of fungal microbiota with diversity and composition in SLE, and identifies several gut fungi with different abundance patterns taxa among SLE, RA, UCTDs and HCs. Furthermore, the gut bacterial-fungal association network in SLE patients was altered compared with HCs.
Drug repositioning for SARS-CoV-2 by Gaussian kernel similarity bilinear matrix factorization
Authors: Wang Yibai , Xiang Ju , Liu Cuicui , Tang Min , Hou Rui , Bao Meihua , Tian Geng , He Jianjun , He Binsheng
Published: December 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is currently spreading rapidly around the world. Since SARS-CoV-2 seriously threatens human life and health as well as the development of the world economy, it is very urgent to identify effective drugs against this virus. However, traditional methods to develop new drugs are costly and time-consuming, which makes drug repositioning a promising exploration direction for this purpose. In this study, we collected known antiviral drugs to form five virus-drug association datasets, and then explored drug repositioning for SARS-CoV-2 by Gaussian kernel similarity bilinear matrix factorization (VDA-GKSBMF). By the 5-fold cross-validation, we found that VDA-GKSBMF has an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.8851, 0.8594, 0.8807, 0.8824, and 0.8804, respectively, on the five datasets, which are higher than those of other state-of-art algorithms in four datasets. Based on known virus-drug association data, we used VDA-GKSBMF to prioritize the top-k candidate antiviral drugs that are most likely to be effective against SARS-CoV-2. We confirmed that the top-10 drugs can be molecularly docked with virus spikes protein/human ACE2 by AutoDock on five datasets. Among them, four antiviral drugs ribavirin, remdesivir, oseltamivir, and zidovudine have been under clinical trials or supported in recent literatures. The results suggest that VDA-GKSBMF is an effective algorithm for identifying potential antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2.
Gene-centric coverage of the human liver transcriptome: QPCR, Illumina, and Oxford Nanopore RNA-Seq
Authors: Ilgisonis Ekaterina V. , Ponomarenko Elena A. , Tarbeeva Svetlana N. , Lisitsa Andrey V. , Zgoda Victor G. , Radko Sergey P. , Archakov Alexander I.
Published: December 2022

It has been shown that the best coverage of the HepG2 cell line transcriptome encoded by genes of a single chromosome, chromosome 18, is achieved by a combination of two sequencing platforms, Illumina RNA-Seq and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT), using cut-off levels of FPKM > 0 and TPM > 0, respectively. In this study, we investigated the extent to which the combination of these transcriptomic analysis methods makes it possible to achieve a high coverage of the transcriptome encoded by the genes of other human chromosomes. A comparative analysis of transcriptome coverage for various types of biological material was carried out, and the HepG2 cell line transcriptome was compared with the transcriptome of liver tissue cells. In addition, the contribution of variability in the coverage of expressed genes in human transcriptomes to the creation of a draft human transcriptome was evaluated. For human liver tissues, ONT makes an extremely insignificant contribution to the overall coverage of the transcriptome. Thus, to ensure maximum coverage of the liver tissue transcriptome, it is sufficient to apply only one technology: Illumina RNA-Seq (FPKM > 0).
Understanding protein diffusion on force-induced stretched DNA conformation
Authors: Mondal Anupam , Bhattacherjee Arnab
Published: December 2022

DNA morphology is subjected to environmental conditions and is closely coupled with its function. For example, DNA experiences stretching forces during several biological processes, including transcription and genome transactions, that significantly alter its conformation from that of B-DNA. Indeed, a well-defined 1.5 times extended conformation of dsDNA, known as Σ-DNA, has been reported in DNA complexes with proteins such as Rad51 and RecA. A striking feature in Σ-DNA is that the nucleobases are partitioned into triplets of three locally stacked bases separated by an empty rise gap of ∼5 Å. The functional role of such a DNA base triplet was hypothesized to be coupled with the ease of recognition of DNA bases by DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) and the physical origin of three letters (codon/anti-codon) in the genetic code. However, the underlying mechanism of base-triplet formation and the ease of DNA base-pair recognition by DBPs remain elusive. To investigate, here, we study the diffusion of a protein on a force-induced stretched DNA using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Upon pulling at the 3′ end of DNA by constant forces, DNA exhibits a conformational transition from B-DNA to a ladder-like S-DNA conformation via Σ-DNA intermediate. The resulting stretched DNA conformations exhibit non-uniform base-pair clusters such as doublets, triplets, and quadruplets, of which triplets are energetically more stable than others. We find that protein favors the triplet formation compared to its unbound form while interacting non-specifically along DNA, and the relative population of it governs the ruggedness of the protein–DNA binding energy landscape and enhances the efficiency of DNA base recognition. Furthermore, we analyze the translocation mechanism of a DBP under different force regimes and underscore the significance of triplet formation in regulating the facilitated diffusion of protein on DNA. Our study, thus, provides a plausible framework for understanding the structure–function relationship between triplet formation and base recognition by a DBP and helps to understand gene regulation in complex regulatory processes.
Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for reducing cognitive dysfunction in lumbar spine surgery: A randomized, controlled trail
Authors: Wang Li-feng , Liang Wei-dong , Wang Bing-yu , Guo Ming-ling , Zhou Jian-shun , Chen Li , Zhong Mao-lin , Ye Jun-ming
Published: December 2022

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of perioperative transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in older patients with lumbar spine surgery.

Methods

Older patients (aged 60–80 years old) receiving lumbar spine surgery under general anesthesia were randomly divided into group A, 3-day intervention group; group B, 7-day intervention group; control group C, sham TEAS group, selected “Baihui” (GV 20) and “Dazhui” (GV 14) point was intervened once 30 min before operation with “HANS” transcutaneous electrical stimulation device, and then once a day after operation for 30 min each time. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative cognitive impairment assessed by the use of the Mini Mental Rating Scale (MMSE), patients developed POCD according to the Z score method. The secondary outcome was serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor Necrosis factor α (TNF-α), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and S100β protein levels.

Results

Three days after surgery, the incidence of POCD in groups A((22.4%)) and B ((18.3%)) were lower than those in group C ((42.9%)) (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between groups A and B (P > 0.05). Seven days after surgery, the incidence of POCD in group B (18.3%) was lower than that in groups A (26.5%) and B (42.9%), and the comparison between groups B and C was statistically significant (P < 0.05). On the 3rd and 7th days after surgery, the levels of IL-6, TNF-α, NSE, and S100β in the two TEAS groups were lower than those in the sham TEAS group (P < 0.01), but higher than the preoperative levels in the three groups (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

It seems that Perioperative TEAS intervention could reduce the level of inflammatory factors IL-6, TNF-α in the blood of older patients with lumbar spine surgery, and reduce the incidence of POCD.

Clinical trial registration

www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR2200063030.
Maternal blood inflammatory marker levels increased in fetuses with ventriculomegaly
Authors: Li Qiang , Ju Xin-Wei , Xu Jing , Jiang Jiuhong , Lu Chang , Ju Xing-Da
Published: December 2022

Background

Fetal ventriculomegaly (VM) is one of the most common abnormalities of the central nervous system (CNS), which can be significantly identified by brain anomalies prenatally by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Aberrant white blood cells (WBCs) levels indicate that the maternal is suffering from the infection. Previous studies have confirmed that prenatal infection can affect fetal brain structure, but there is no research revealed the association between maternal blood parameters with fetal VM until now.

Methods

We measured the width of the lateral ventricle of 142 fetuses, which were divided into the fetal VM group (n = 70) and the normal lateral ventricle group (n = 72). We compared maternal blood cell levels between the two groups and investigate potential biomarkers of fetal VM.

Result

High levels of maternal WBC and neutrophil (NE#) levels were observed in fetuses with VM (p < 0.001), while lymphocyte percentage, monocytes (MO#), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet were also increased in the fetal VM group (p = 0.033, 0.027, 0.034, and 0.025, respectively). receiver–operator curve (ROC) analysis suggested that WBC and NE# counts might be useful to distinguish fetuses with enlarged lateral ventricles (AUC = 0.688, 0.678, respectively).

Conclusion

The current study emphasizes the importance of maternal infection for fetal brain growth, which could provide important information for prenatal diagnosis of CNS anomalies. Future research needs longitudinal analysis and exploration of the influence of maternal blood inflammatory marker levels on fetal brain development.
Anticarcinogenic potentials of tea catechins
Authors: Li Xiao-Xiang , Liu Chang , Dong Shu-Ling , Ou Can-Song , Lu Jian-Liang , Ye Jian-Hui , Liang Yue-Rong , Zheng Xin-Qiang
Published: December 2022

Catechins are a cluster of polyphenolic bioactive components in green tea. Anticarcinogenic effects of tea catechins have been reported since the 1980s, but it has been controversial. The present paper reviews the advances in studies on the anticarcinogenic activities of tea and catechins, including epidemiological evidence and anticarcinogenic mechanism. Tea catechins showed antagonistic effects on many cancers, such as gynecological cancers, digestive tract cancers, incident glioma, liver and gallbladder cancers, lung cancer, etc. The mechanism underlying the anticarcinogenic effects of catechins involves in inhibiting the proliferation and growth of cancer cells, scavenging free radicals, suppressing metastasis of cancer cells, improving immunity, interacting with other anticancer drugs, and regulating signaling pathways. The inconsistent results and their causes are also discussed in this paper.
CT-based deep learning radiomics signature for the preoperative prediction of the muscle-invasive status of bladder cancer
Authors: Chen Weitian , Gong Mancheng , Zhou Dongsheng , Zhang Lijie , Kong Jie , Jiang Feng , Feng Shengxing , Yuan Runqiang
Published: December 2022

Objectives

Although the preoperative assessment of whether a bladder cancer (BCa) indicates muscular invasion is crucial for adequate treatment, there currently exist some challenges involved in preoperative diagnosis of BCa with muscular invasion. The aim of this study was to construct deep learning radiomic signature (DLRS) for preoperative predicting the muscle invasion status of BCa.

Methods

A retrospective review covering 173 patients revealed 43 with pathologically proven muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and 130 with non–muscle–invasive bladder cancer (non- MIBC). A total of 129 patients were randomly assigned to the training cohort and 44 to the test cohort. The Pearson correlation coefficient combined with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) was utilized to reduce radiomic redundancy. To decrease the dimension of deep learning features, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was adopted. Six machine learning classifiers were finally constructed based on deep learning radiomics features, which were adopted to predict the muscle invasion status of bladder cancer. The area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were used to evaluate the performance of the model.

Results

According to the comparison, DLRS-based models performed the best in predicting muscle violation status, with MLP (Train AUC: 0.973260 (95% CI 0.9488-0.9978) and Test AUC: 0.884298 (95% CI 0.7831-0.9855)) outperforming the other models. In the test cohort, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the MLP model were 0.91 (95% CI 0.551-0.873), 0.78 (95% CI 0.594-0.863) and 0.58 (95% CI 0.729-0.827), respectively. DCA indicated that the MLP model showed better clinical utility than Radiomics-only model, which was demonstrated by the decision curve analysis.

Conclusions

A deep radiomics model constructed with CT images can accurately predict the muscle invasion status of bladder cancer.
Case report: Hematologic malignancies concomitant diagnosis of hairy cell leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A rare association
Authors: Valvano Luciana , D’Auria Fiorella , Grieco Vitina , Statuto Teodora , Nozza Filomena , Pietrantuono Giuseppe , Villani Oreste , D’Arena Giovanni , Lamorte Daniela
Published: December 2022

A case of concomitant hairy cell leukemia (HCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in a 50- year-old man was reported. Flow cytometry and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) were used to detect the B-Raf proto-oncogene (BRAF) V600E mutation. The HCL population was the predominant component. The patient was first treated with cladribine and then with rituximab and achieved HCL partial remission. Importantly, the high sensitivity of our flow cytometric approach allowed the detection of a small population “P3,” in addition to the typical HCL and CLL clones. The P3 clone changed over time, from an HCL-like to a CLL-like immunophenotype. This case is added to the few other cases of synchronous HCL and CLL already reported in the literature and underlines the importance of analyzing chronic lymphoproliferative disorders by highly sensitive diagnostic techniques, like the multicolor flow cytometry and ddPCR, to evaluate the possible association between HCL and CLL at diagnosis.
Risk of paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PIMS-TS) during the SARS-CoV-2 alpha and delta variant waves: National observational and modelling study, 2020–21, England
Authors: Shingleton Joseph , Burton Lucy , Williams Hannah E. , Finnie Thomas J. R. , Bennett Emma , Birrell Paul , Kenny Simon , Watson-Koszel Tiffany , Viner Russell , Arditi Moshe , DeAngelis Daniela , Gent Nick , Ladhani Shamez N.
Published: December 2022

Objectives

Paediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (PIMS-TS) is a rare life-threatening complication that typically occurs several weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and young people (CYP). We used national and regional-level data from the COVID-19 pandemic waves in England to develop a model to predict PIMS-TS cases.

Methods

SARS-CoV-2 infections in CYP aged 0–15 years in England were estimated using the PHE-Cambridge real-time model. PIMS-TS cases were identified through the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit during (March-June 2020) and through Secondary Uses Services (SUS) from November 2020. A predictive model was developed to estimate PIMS-TS risk and lag times after SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Results

During the Alpha wave, the model accurately predicted PIMS-TS cases (506 vs. 502 observed cases), with a median estimated risk of 0.038% (IQR, 0.037–0.041%) of paediatric SARS-CoV-2 infections. For the Delta wave, the median risk of PIMS-TS was significantly lower at 0.026% (IQR, 0.025–0.029%), with 212 observed PIMS-TS cases compared to 450 predicted by the model.

Conclusions

The model accurately predicted national and regional PIMS-TS cases in CYP during the Alpha wave. PIMS-TS cases were 53% lower than predicted during the Delta wave. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms of the observed lower risk with the Delta variant.
Channa striatus in inflammatory conditions: A systematic review
Authors: Lee Vanessa Lin Lin , Choo Brandon Kar Meng , Norazit Anwar , Noor Suzita Mohd , Shaikh Mohd Farooq
Published: December 2022

Channa striatus (CS), or snakehead murrel, is an obligate air-breathing freshwater fish. Besides its wound healing properties, CS has also been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory effects in multiple studies. While there are anti-inflammatory medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), their long-term use is associated with an increased risk of peptic ulcers, acute renal failure, stroke, and myocardial infarction. Thus, it is essential to look at natural methods such as CS extract. While there is an abundant number of investigative studies on the inflammatory properties of CS, the quality of these studies has not been evaluated effectively. Thus, this review aims to summarise, evaluate, and critically appraise currently available literature regarding the anti-inflammatory properties of CS extract. This is done by performing a search using four databases, namely Google Scholar, Embase via Elsevier, Scopus, and Web of Science, with the following terms: Channa striatus AND inflammation. From our review, CS has been experimentally shown to positively affect inflammatory conditions such as gastric ulcers, dermatitis, osteoarthritis, and allergic rhinitis. Beneficial effects were also found on inflammation in the presence of tuberculosis and in situations that involve inflammation, such as wound healing. While CS clearly has potential for treating inflammatory conditions, much work needs to be done on identifying and isolating the active constituents before exact mechanisms of action can be worked out to develop future anti-inflammatory medications.
The mechanism of Renshen-Fuzi herb pair for treating heart failure—Integrating a cardiovascular pharmacological assessment with serum metabolomics
Authors: Chen Xiaofei , Chen Yulong , Xie Shiyang , Wang Xiaoyan , Wu Yali , Zhang Hui , Zhao Ya , Jia Jinhao , Wang Bin , Li Weixia , Tang Jinfa , Xiao Xiaohe
Published: December 2022

Background: Renshen-Fuzi herb pair (RS-FZ) is often used in the clinical treatment of heart failure (HF) and has a remarkable therapeutic effect. However, the mechanism of RS-FZ for treating HF remains unclear. In our study, we explored the mechanism of RS-FZ for treating HF.

Methods: Evaluation of RS-FZ efficacy by cardiovascular pharmacology. Moreover, Global metabolomics profiling of the serum was detected by UPLC-QTOF/MS. Multivariate statistics analyzed the specific serum metabolites and corresponding metabolic pathways. Combining serum metabolomics with network pharmacology, animal experiments screened and validated the critical targets of RS-FZ intervention in HF.

Results: RS-FZ significantly ameliorated myocardial fibrosis, enhanced cardiac function, and reduced the serum HF marker (brain natriuretic peptide) level in rats with HF. Through topological analysis of the “Metabolite-Target-Component” interaction network, we found that 79 compounds of RS-FZ directly regulated the downstream specific serum metabolites by acting on four critical target proteins (CYP2D6, EPHX2, MAOB, and ENPP2). The immunohistochemistry results showed that RS-FZ observably improved the expression of CYP2D6 and ENPP2 proteins while decreasing the expression of EPHX2 and MAOB proteins dramatically.

Conclusion: The integrated cardiovascular pharmacological assessment with serum metabolomics revealed that RS-FZ plays a crucial role in the treatment of HF by intervening in CYP2D6, EPHX2, MAOB, and ENPP2 target proteins. It provides a theoretical basis for RS-FZ for treating HF.
Generation of phase-only holograms with high-diffraction-order reconstruction by a U-Net-based neural network: A phase grating perspective
Authors: Liu Xinlei , Yan Xingpeng , Wang Xi , Jing Tao , Li Pei , Song Cheng , Qu Qiang , Jiang Xiaoyu
Published: December 2022

Implicit periodic structure in phase-only holograms will result in many diffraction orders in the diffraction field. We analyzed the diffraction pattern from a phase gratings point of view and proved that the diffraction orders were jointly influenced by the phase factor, the single-beam diffraction factor, and the multibeam interference factor. According to the analysis, we proposed the high-diffraction-order angular spectrum method (HDO-ASM) for the numerical reconstruction of high diffraction orders. Different from the conventional methods of removing high diffraction orders, we chose to reconstruct target images in high diffraction orders with HDO-ASM and a U-Net-based neural network. Finally, the 4 K phase-only holograms with high-diffraction-order reconstruction were generated in 0.09s and had a mean reconstruction quality of 34.3 dB (PSNR) in the DIV2K valid dataset. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrated that there are few speckle noises and fringes in the reconstructed images of holograms generated by the proposed method.
Effects of compression running pants and treadmill running stages on knee proprioception and fatigue-related physiological responses in half-marathon runners
Authors: Chang Lin , Fu Silin , Li Jianghua , Wu Sam , Adams Roger , Han Jia , Han Chunying
Published: December 2022

Background: Knee injury is common in half-marathon runners, however, the effect of compression running pants on fatigue and knee proprioception remains unclear.

Objectives: The study aims to investigate whether wearing compression running pants (CRP) and treadmill running stages affect knee proprioception and fatigue-related physiological responses during half-marathon running.

Methods: Eighteen half-marathon runners completed two self-paced 21 km treadmill running trials, once wearing CRP and once wearing loose running shorts (LRS). For each 21 km run, RPE, heart rate, blood lactic acid, and knee flexion proprioception were assessed before starting, and after each 7 km stage.

Results: Data analysis revealed no difference between CRP and LRS conditions in heart rate, RPE, or blood lactic acid. Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant garment condition main effect whereby wearing CRP was associated with higher knee proprioceptive acuity (p = 0.006). Polynomial trend analysis showed a significant linear downwards trend in proprioceptive acuity across the four measurement occasions (p = 0.048). Stage analysis showed that wearing CRP was associated with better knee proprioception at running distances of 14 km (p = 0.007, 95%CI = -0.054, -0.010) and 21 km (p = 0.016, 95%CI = -0.051, -0.006).

Conclusion: Compression running pants provide an overall positive effect on knee proprioception, particularly after 14 km and 21km, which may reduce the probability of knee injury. CRP had no significant effect on physiological measures in half-marathon running.
Effects of follicle-stimulating hormone on fat metabolism and cognitive impairment in women during menopause
Authors: Mao Liwei , Wang Lian , Bennett Samuel , Xu Jiake , Zou Jun
Published: December 2022

Lipid metabolism disorder is a common pathological manifestation of menopausal women, and is also an important risk factor for many diseases at this stage of life. Epidemiological studies have shown that high levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in menopausal women are closely associated with changes in body composition, central obesity, and cognitive decline. Exogenous FSH causes growth and proliferation of adipose, whereas blockage of the FSH signaling pathway leads to decline in adipose. Mechanistically, FSH, FSH receptor (FSHR), G protein coupling, gene mutation and other pathways are involved in adipogenesis and cognitive impairment. Here, we review the critical role and potential interactions of FSH in adipogenesis and cognitive impairment in menopausal women. Further understanding of the exact mechanisms of FSH aggravating obesity and cognitive impairment may provide a new perspective for promoting healthy aging in menopausal women.
Air travel demand forecasting based on big data: A struggle against public anxiety
Authors: Liang Xiaozhen , Hong Chenxi , Zhou Wenkun , Yang Mingge
Published: December 2022

It is of great significance to accurately grasp the demand for air travel to promote the revival of long-distance travel and alleviate public anxiety. The main purpose of this study is to build a high-precision air travel demand forecasting framework by introducing effective Internet data. In the age of big data, passengers before traveling often look for reference groups in search engines and make travel decisions under their informational influence. The big data generated based on these behaviors can reflect the overall passenger psychology and travel demand. Therefore, based on big data mining technology, this study designed a strict dual data preprocessing method and an ensemble forecasting framework, introduced search engine data into the air travel demand forecasting process, and conducted empirical research based on the dataset composed of air travel volume of Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The results show that effective search engine data is helpful to air travel demand forecasting. This research provides a theoretical basis for the application of big data mining technology and data spatial information in air travel demand forecasting and tourism management, and provides a new idea for alleviating public anxiety.
Mediator role of presence of meaning and self-esteem in the relationship of social support and death anxiety
Authors: Huang Yuxin , Guan Ziyao , Yan Fang , Wiley James A. , Reynolds Nancy R. , Tang Siyuan , Sun Mei
Published: December 2022

Introduction

Death anxiety has increased following the COVID-19 pandemic. Although terror management theory has suggested social support, presence of meaning and self-esteem functioned as death anxiety buffers, few existing works have explored the mechanism of how social support, presence of meaning, and self-esteem buffer death anxiety. To identify these mechanisms is the aim of this study.

Methods

Our cross-sectional study was conducted with 1167 people in China from 19 May 2020 to 1 June 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak. The average age of participants was 26 years. Data were by questionnaire, including demographic information, the Templer's Death anxiety scale, the multidimensional scale of perceived social support, the presence of meaning scale, and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale.

Results

Results using structural equation modeling showed presence of meaning and self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between social support and death anxiety, respectively and sequentially. The proposed model showed good fit of indices: χ2 = 243.384, df = 58, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.968, TLI = 0.954, RMSEA = 0.052, SRMR = 0.044.

Discussion

This study demonstrates significant mediator roles of presence of meaning and self-esteem in the relationship of social support and death anxiety. Multi-component interventions are needed to manage death anxiety by targeting increasing social support, presence of meaning and self-esteem and increasing presence of meaning and self-esteem when social support is diminished in the pandemic.