bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE EFFECT OF SCHOOL BAG WEIGHT ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH: AN URGENT CALL FOR ACTION
Authors: Ali Farhad
Published: October 2023

In recent years, the issue of school bag weight and its impact on the health of children has gained significant attention from health experts, educators, and concerned parents alike. The consensus among experts is clear: a heavy backpack can have detrimental effects on a child’s physical well-being. The repercussions of lugging around an overloaded bag are far-reaching, with potential consequences ranging from headaches and shoulder pain to lower back pain, neck discomfort, and even arm pain. It is an issue that demands immediate attention and action, as it directly affects the health and well-being of our future generations.

One might wonder why this issue persists when governments, like that of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, have taken steps to address it. In 2020, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government introduced the School Bags Limitation of Weight Act, aiming to regulate the weight of school bags and protect the health of young students. Under this act, specific weight limits were established for school bags based on grade levels, with the intention of preventing excessive loads. For instance, nursery class children were advised not to carry bags weighing more than 1.5kg, while class one students were recommended to limit their bags to 2.4kg. The weight limits increased incrementally as students advanced in grade, with students in class 11 and 12 advised to carry bags not exceeding 7kg. The introduction of such legislation was a significant step toward ensuring the well-being of young students.

However, despite these commendable efforts by the government, the implementation of these regulations remains a challenge. Reports from parents, educators, and students suggest that many schools have yet to adhere to these guidelines effectively. This raises the question of whether the regulations are being enforced rigorously and whether the well-being of children is truly being prioritized. It is crucial for both government and private schools to take this issue seriously and implement the weight limits as stipulated by the law.
Efektivitas Ekstrak Wasabi (Wasabia japonica) sebagai Antibakteri terhadap Eschericia coli dan Aplikasinya pada Daging Ayam Segar
Authors: Maghfiroh Khoirin , Mahmudah Daimatul
Published: October 2023

Wasabi (Wasabia japonica) adalah tanaman asal jepang yang digunakan sebagai bumbu pelengkap masakan. Tanaman ini mengandung senyawa alil isotiosianat yang memiliki sifat antibakteri. Sehingga tanaman wasabi berpotensi dikembangkan menjadi bahan pengawet makanan alami. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan 2 tahap, yaitu uji zona hambat metode difusi cakram dan dilanjutkan dengan uji masa simpan untuk mengetahui pengaruh perendaman ekstrak terhadap Angka Lempeng Total, nilai pH, dan organoleptik daging ayam segar selama penyimpanan. Rancangan percobaan yang digunakan adalah rancangan acak lengkap 1 faktorial  dengan 4 perlakuan yang diulang sebanyak 5 kali yaitu perlakuan konsentrasi ekstrak 0% (kontrol), konsentrasi ekstrak 1% (F1), konsentrasi ekstrak 2% (F2), dan konsentrasi ekstrak 3% (F3). Data yang diperoleh dianalisa dengan one-way ANOVA dan dilanjutkan dengan uji BNT pada taraf 5%. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya pengaruh nyata konsentrasi ekstrak (p<0,05) terhadap luas zona hambat. Sementara perendaman ekstrak wasabi juga berpengaruh terhadap ALT, nilai pH, dan organoleptik daging ayam segar.
Rancang Bangun Alat Monitoring Notifikasi Pintu Rumah Menggunakan Bot Telegram Berbasis IoT
Authors: Yulendra Refizal Daffa , Indrawati Elsanda Merita , Maulidina Miftakhul , Suwardono Agus
Published: October 2023

Sistem pemantauan dan menampilkan notifikasi ini berbasis mikrokontroler ESP8266 dengan memanfaatkan IoT sebagai back-end-nya. Sensor magnetic switch akan mengaktifkan buzzer ketika pintu terbuka lebih dari 1 menit serta mengirimkan notifikasi dan ESP32Cam akan mengambil gambar saat pintu terbuka. Penelitian ini menggunakan model prosedural yang merupakan implementasi model deskriptif yang menyajikan langkah-langkah dari bentuk prosedur yang dibuat untuk menghasilkan suatu produk. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memaksimalkan sistem keamanan pintu rumah. Sistem kerja alat ini sama dengan kamera cctv yang dimana harganya relatif lebih mahal dan yang membedakan dengan cctv pada umumnya ada pada pemberitahu notifikasi dan gambar yang dikirim secara langsung ketika terhubung dalam wifi. Hasil uji coba alat menunjukkan hasil yang baik dan sesuai program yang diinginkan dimana ketika koneksi wifi sudah terhubung makan alat akan mulai bekerja, jika pintu dalam keadaan tertutup maka buzzer akan mati dan tidak ada pesan sedangkan jika pintu terbuka minimal 1 cm maka buzzer akan berbunyi disertai dengan pesan dan gambar yang terkirim melalui telegram kepada pengguna.
Measurement of IT Security Governance Capabilities Using COBIT 2019 at Indonesian Business Sector
Authors: Christiadi Robertus Nanda , Sutomo Rudi
Published: October 2023

IT governance implementation in companies has occurred in the enterprise sector up to the BUMN scale. As stated in the Regulation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Number 2 of 2013, Article 2(1) binds the business world. In the corporate sector, there are IT security issues. The measurement process uses the COBIT 2019 framework. The measurements taken will provide an analysis of the capacity level and gaps. Data was collected using quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (documentary studies and interviews) methods. The three relevant subdomains to measure are APO12 – Risk Management, APO13 – Managed Security, and DSS05 – Managed Security Services. The results of the capacity measurement show that the APO12 subdomain is at level 2, APO13 is at level 2, and DSS05 is stopped at level 2. These results indicate that there is a gap in the DSS05 subdomain. The results obtained show recommendations for improvement and level increase, especially in the DSS05 subdomain. The enterprise sector needs improvements in endpoint security policies, access policies, and event logs in IT incidents.
Sistem Informasi Bank Sampah Berbasis Web untuk Manajemen Pengelolaan Sampah di Desa Sumurjomblangbogo Kabupaten Pekalongan
Authors: Muhardono Ari , Susilo Dwi , Sahara Fitri Nalda Raist , Khasanah Mazidatul
Published: October 2023

Permasalahan sampah merupakan suatu kondisi yang harus dihadapi oleh masyarakat pada masa sekarang ini. Jika sampah tidak bisa ditangani dengan baik maka terjadi pencemaran lingkungan. Bank Sampah adalah suatu program yang bertujuan untuk mengelola sampah dengan cara mengumpulkan, memilah, dan mengolah sampah menjadi bahan yang memiliki nilai ekonomi. Konsep Bank Sampah didasarkan pada prinsip bahwa sampah dapat diubah menjadi sumber daya yang bernilai jika dikelola dengan baik. Bank sampah membutuhkan suatu aplikasi komputerisasi yang dapat membantu pekerjaan pengelola bank sampah tentang laporan terkait data sampah yang diterima dari nasabah dan informasi tabungan nasabah. Tujuan Penelitian ini adalah membuat rancangan sistem informasi bank sampah berbasis website untuk memudahkan manajemen pengelolaan sampah. Jenis Penelitian yang digunakan adalah Penelitian Research and Development (R&D). Hasil penelitian ini adalah rancangan Sistem Informasi Bank Sampah berbasis Web untuk manajemen pengelolaan sampah di Desa Sumurjomblangbogo.
COMPARISON OF PORTERS STEMMING ALGORITHM AND NAZIEF & ADRIANI'S STEMMING ALGORITHM IN DETERMINING INDONESIAN LANGUAGE LEARNING MODULES
Authors: Tuhpatussania Siti , Utami Ema , Hartanto Anggit Dwi
Published: October 2023

One of the methods used to improve the performance of text summarization to obtain complete information in a learning module is by transforming the words in a module into basic words or, in other words, through a steaming process. The steaming process in Indonesian language texts is more complicated/complex because there are word affixes that must be removed to get the root word (root word) of a word, so this research will compare the two stemming algorithms of Porter and stemming Nazief & Adriani in the learning module at Mataram University of Technology. The test results of the Nazief & Adriani stemming algorithm on an average process duration of 51.8 seconds with an average accuracy of 74.175%. In Porter's Algorithm, the average processing time is 16.875 seconds, with an accuracy of 73.225%.
Pemilihan E-Commerce Menggunakan Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Sebagai Sistem Pendukung Keputusan
Authors: Hardini Indah Sri , S.T Khamaludin , Rahayu Monita
Published: October 2023

Tren berbelanja online semakin populer dikalangan masyarakat, Salah satu bukti yang terjadi yaitu, banyak toko offline yang lebih memilih berganti menjadi toko online dengan media aplikasi e-commerce. Dari tren diatas muncul banyak aplikasi belanja online. Oleh karenanya dengan adanya penelitian ini diharapkan memudahkan konsumen memilih aplikasi yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan konsumen. Dari data statistik diperoleh lima e-commerce terpopuler di Indonesia yaitu, Shopee, Tokopedia, Lazada, Bukalapak dan Blibli. Penelitiaan ini mengaplikasikan metode Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) dengan enam responden. Untuk membantu mengambil keputusan dalam memilih e-commerce. Analisis data dilakukan secara kualitatif. Dan untuk perhitungan data dilakukan dengan cara kuantitatif. Dari hasil pengolahan data diperoleh peringkat pertama pada setiap kriteria. Peringkat pertama kriteria Promo= Tokopedia 37,66%.  Kriteria Harga Produk= Lazada 39,25%. Kriteria Cara pembayaran= Shopee 26,52%. Kriteria Diskon= Lazada 27,68%. Kriteria Kelengkapan Varian= Lazada 27,82%. Jika dilihat dari point diatas aplikasi lazada dipilih sebanyak 3 kali oleh karena itu untuk peringkat umum pertama diraih oleh Lazada.
Kata Kunci: Belanja Online, E-Commerce, Pengambilan Keputusan.
Uji Kemampuan Partikel KMnO4 Teremban Dalam Karbon Aktif Tempurung Kelapa Sawit Terhadap H2S Dalam Reaktor Biogas Unggun Tetap
Authors: SUHIRMAN Suhirman -
Published: October 2023

Biogas merupakan bahan bakar kaya gas metana yang dihasilkan dari kegiatan mikroorganisme an-aerob yang berbahan organik seperti biomassa. Salah satu biomassa yang dapat dimanfaatkan adalah limbah sayuran dan buah-buahan seperti yang ada di pasar Gamping Yogyakarta-Indonesia. Salah satu permasalahan dalam biogas adalah kandungan gas H2S yang dalam jumlah tertentu bersifat toksik, menyebabkan korosi pada alat biogas, menurunkan efesiensi pembakaran dan menyebabkan hujan asam. Tujuan penelitian adalah penghilangan gas H2S di dalam reaktor biogas unggun tetap menggunakan 20% KMnO4 yang diembankan ke dalam Karbon aktif tempurung kelapa sawit dikenai pra-perlakuan oksidasi menggunakan H2O2 (20%2KMnO4-KATKS- H2O2). Biogas berbahan limbah sayuran dan buah-buahan dari pasar Gamping dialirkan ke dalam reaktor unggun tetap yang berisi partikel 20%KMnO4-KATKS- H2O2 untuk diokasidasi gas H2S. Variasi pertama pada reaktor unggun tetap dialirakan H2S bercampur nitrogen pada 3 suhu yaitu 30Â°C, 40Â°C dan 50Â°C. Variasi kedua yaitu massa KMnO4 dalam reaktor biogas unggun tetap divariasikan 4 gram, 4,5 gram dan 5 gram. Hasil penelitian gas H2S di dalam reaktor unggun tetap dengan temperatur tidak dikontrol; 30Â°C; 40Â°C; 50Â°C   konsentrasinya menurun secara berturut turut 98,48%; 98,7%; 98,45% dan 98,36%. Gas H2S yang konsentrasinya 20 ppm dalam reaktor biogas unggun tetap mengalami penurunan dengan variasi 4 gram, 4,5 gram dan 5 gram secara berturut-turut yaitu 70%; 85%; 90%. Penelitian ini memiliki kebaharuan yaitu material pengemban KMnO4 berupa karbon aktif tempurung kelapa sawit, menggunakan reaktor unggun tetap kontinyu dan bahan masuk berupa biogas.
 
Kata kunci: Biogas; Limbah buah; Gas H2S; KMnO4; KATKS; H2O2, Unggun tetap
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY, MIGRATION AND REFUGEE POLITICS: THE CASE OF TURKEY
Authors: ÇİÇEK Ali , TURAN Abdullah
Published: October 2023

Public diplomacy, which is a candidate to replace the classical understanding of diplomacy, is based on the idea of explaining the ideas, ideals, values, institutions, culture, and policies of a country or nation to the public opinion of other countries. The aim here is to create a sphere of influence on other peoples and win their hearts and minds. Through public diplomacy, which is based on strategic communication logic, countries' foreign policies can find a wider area of legitimacy. Türkiye has a strong soft power reserve with its ancient history, culture, language, political system, geography, various TV series, and movies. It is also among the most generous countries in the world in terms of humanitarian diplomacy, which is a sub-dimension of public diplomacy. After the civil war in Syria, Türkiye has hosted more than 3.5 million Syrians and has been hosting more than a million irregular migrants and refugees from different countries. Türkiye's migration policies based on humanitarian values are supported by a kind of public diplomacy. Turkey has been hosting millions of Syrian refugees for more than 12 years. During this endless process of hosting Syrians, Turkey has been faced with significant economic, political, social and cultural problems. Turkey, which has to bear the economic, political and social costs of migrants and refugees on its own, has to create public opinion both for the global sharing of this burden and for the establishment of a peaceful environment in Syria and the repatriation of refugees. Public diplomacy activities are a holistic approach that includes the aforementioned public opinion building. This study analyzes Türkiye's migration and refugee policy from a public diplomacy perspective.
Material science: biomimetic surface enhancement
Authors: Ishihara K. , Papas E. , Pruitt J. , Kunnen C. , Mack C. , Bauman E. , Hong Ye
Published: October 2023

Approximately 60% of individuals who use contact lenses prefer to use frequent replacement lenses. Despite various improvements in contact lens technology, there has been minimal progress in weekly/monthly lenses. Meeting the requirements of patients who prefer frequent replacement lenses demands new technological advancements. Experts analyse the concept of biomimicry and its role in enhancing the relationship between contact lenses and the ocular surface.
Iago’s Orientalism: Imperial Discourse in Othello
Authors: Campbell Charles
Published: October 2023

The debate about how Othello treats race, imperialism, and Arabs has gone
on from Rymer in the Seventeenth Century until the present day. This essay surveys the
critical heritage on this theme and then focuses its analysis on the language of the play,
considered in terms of Edward Said’s theories in Orientalism and Culture and
Imperialism, to determine whether Shakespeare himself held racist and Orientalist
views. This analysis finds the source of the play’s Orientalist and imperialist language
and attitudes in one character, Iago. The criticism then turns to examine the operation
of Iago’s Orientalism and finds the play very conscious of the textual nature of such
distortion and control of discourse. Othello’s tragedy results, in this analysis, from
directed misreading and consequent misinterpretation of internal texts like the
handkerchief. Further, Iago’s imperial discourse about blacks and Arabs is seen to
connect to his misogynistic attitudes towards women, while Othello’s misreadings
connect him to the play’s women (for example, when he shares his misreading of the
handkerchief, which represents his Arab heritage, with the play’s most maligned woman,
Bianca). The study concludes by showing how one women-- Emilia, Iago’s wife--speaks
back to the reductive and exploitative discourse that causes the tragedy..
English Grammar Problems Encountered by Advanced EFL Learners
Authors: Al-Shehabi Najib
Published: October 2023

This paper investigates English grammar errors made by advanced Arab Open University students majoring in English Language and Literature at Kuwait-Branch. A representative sample of 25 students’ Tutor Marked Assignments (TMAs) comprised the corpus of the study. These TMAs (take-home assignments) are long essays whose length ranges between 1,500 words for ordinary assignments, and 4,000-5,000 words for the final projects. The corpus is based on assignments for a senior level, 16-credit-hour course entitled E300: English Language and Literacy. This course is the last language course studied by students before graduation. It was selected because the study is aimed at finding residual errors made by senior English majors who had previously passed courses meant to eradicate their more discrete language errors. The data were analyzed, tabulated and interpreted to mark the learning difficulties which persisted in the grammatical structure of the target students. The research findings are expected to help teachers and syllabus designers to be more informed about the areas that need to be addressed and the most adequate teaching methods to be adopted. .
Palestinian and Irish Women in War Literature: A Case of Sorority?
Authors: Tahboub Dima
Published: October 2023

This paper is situated where a number of discourses, feminism, nationalism, and commitment merge, converge and diverge. It tries to set a comparative-contrastive framework between Palestinian and Irish women in war literature, based on some sociopolitical similarities and differences. It examines the nature of war literature as a unique genre inspired by nationalism. It also explains the restrictive nature of war literature guided by principles of social realism and commitment. It presents a definition of feminism in relation to nationalism and war in Palestine and Ireland. It discusses the imagery of Palestinian and Irish women in war literature, with focus on the image of motherhood and the role of the mother. The conclusion validates the particularity of war literature, and the depiction of Palestinian and Irish women in the field, confirming the peculiarity of the subject which evokes interest in trying to present a theoretical framework to ground its features..
The Importance of Grammar in ELT
Authors: Lakhoua Leila
Published: October 2023

With the advent of the Communicative Approach in ELT, grammar has been marginalized as the focus has shifted from accuracy to communicative competence. Yet an obvious decline in written proficiency has been noticed due basically to poor grammar. If a high written proficiency is required at the academic level, could this be achieved without grammar instruction in the foreign language? This paper will investigate on this issue by addressing the following questions: (i) To Teach or Not to Teach Grammar: a Controversy? (ii) How to Teach Grammar: Is there a miraculously effective method? What are the implications on the Grammar-Writing interdependence?.
Formulasi Dan Evaluasi Sediaan Serum Gel Ekstrak Bunga Melati (Jasminum sambac L.)
Authors: Hikmah Fitria Noor , Malahayati Siti , Nugraha Dyan Fitri
Published: October 2023

Latar belakang: Serum memiliki konsentrasi yang tinggi tetapi dengan viskositas yang rendah. serum wajah yang memiliki kemampuan penyerapan pada kulit yang cukup baik, pelepasan dari zat aktif serum baik dan mudah untuk di aplikasikan pada wajah. bunga melati memiliki kandungan yang dapat menghambat bakteri staphylococcus epidermidis dan bakteri shigella flexneri dengan konsentrasi sebesar 12% yang merupakan salah satu bakteri yang dapat menyebabkan terjadinya jerawat.

Tujuan: Mengetahui formulasi dari sediaan serum gel ekstrak bunga melati (jasminum sambac L.) yang sesuai dan mengetahui pengaruh dari variasi konsentrasi hydroxyethyl celullose terhadap evaluasi fisik formulasi sediaan serum gel ekstrak bunga melati  (jasminum sambac L.)

Metode:Penelitian yang digunakan dengan metode desain quasi experimental dengan variasi konsentrasi pada hydroxyethyl celullose 1 gram ,2 gram, dan 2,5 gram. serum gel dilakukan evaluasi fisik organoleptis, homogenitas, daya sebar, waktu kering, daya lekat, ph, dan viskositas.

Hasil:  Hasil pengamatan pada uji organoleptis cair kental dan pada uji homogenitas sediaan homogen. hasil uji daya sebar yang paling optimal adalah formulasi 1, waktu kering yang paling optimal formulasi 1. hasil uji daya lekat paling optimal formulasi 1, hasil uji pH yang paling optimal formula 2, dan uji viskositas semua memasuki kriteria optimal.

Kesimpulan:  Serum gel ekstrak bunga melati yang paling optimal adalah formulasi 1 yaitu dengan konsetrasi 1 gram.
Associations of serum alkaline phosphatase level with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the general population
Authors: Yan Wei , Yan Ming , Wang Hui , Xu Zilong
Published: October 2023

Background and aims

There are few population studies on the associations of serum alkaline phosphatase (AlkP) with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. We aimed to investigate the relevancy of serum AlkP with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the general population.

Methods and results

Our research included 34,147 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2014. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the associations of serum AlkP with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Mediation analysis was used to analyze mechanisms that might link serum AlkP to all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. After 139.7 ± 57.8 months of follow-up, 5413 participants experienced all-cause death and 1820 participants experienced cardiovascular death. Mortality rates per 1000 person-years from various diseases increased with increasing serum concentrations of AlkP, especially all-cause death, cerebrovascular disease and cardiovascular death. High serum AlkP level significantly increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. After multivariate adjustment, the highest AlkP group had the highest risk to experience all-cause (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.30, P < 0.001) and cardiovascular mortality (HR = 1.39, P < 0.001) than the lowest AlkP group. γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) (13.33% and 15.79%), followed by Vitamin D (8.33% and 7.14%) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (7.69% and 10.35%) were identified as possible major mediators.

Conclusion

Higher AlkP concentrations were associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, largely related to mediated factors such as GGT, Vitamin D, and CRP. These findings suggest that lower serum AlkP level may reduce all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in general population.
Identification of biomarkers associated with immune scores in diabetic retinopathy
Authors: Zhang Yi , Zhu Weidong , Wang Jianming , Zuo Yi
Published: October 2023

Background

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) causes irreversible visual impairment in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. Immunity played a crucial role in DR. Nevertheless, the triggering mechanism of DR was not yet thorough enough. Herein, we aim to identify the immune-associated genes as biomarkers associated with immune scores that can distinguish early DR from DM without DR.

Methods

In this study, total RNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples from 15 non-proliferative DR patients and 15 DM patients without DR were collected and the transcriptome sequencing data were extracted. Firstly, the target genes were obtained by intersecting the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were screened by “limma”, and the module genes (related to immune scores), which were screened by “WGCNA”. In order to screen for the crucial genes, three machine learning algorithms were implemented, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to obtain the diagnostic genes. Moreover, the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to understand the function of diagnostic genes, and analysis of the proportions of immune cells and their association with diagnostic genes was performed to analyze the pathogenesis of DR. Furthermore, the regulatory network of TF–mRNA–miRNA was built to reveal the possible regulation of diagnostic genes. Finally, the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to verify the mRNA level of diagnostic genes.

Results

A total of three immune-associated diagnostic genes, namely, FAM209B, POM121L1P, and PTGES, were obtained, and their expression was increased in PBMC samples of DR, and qRT-PCR results confirmed these results. Moreover, the functions of these genes were associated with immune response. The expression of POM121L1P and PTGES was significantly negatively associated with naive B cells, and the expression of FAM209B was significantly negatively associated with immature dendritic cells. Moreover, ESR1 could regulate both FAM209B and PTGES.

Conclusion

This study identified three immune-associated diagnostic genes, FAM209B, POM121L1P, and PTGES, as biomarkers associated with immune scores in DR for the first time. This finding might proffer a novel perspective of the triggering mechanism of DR, and help to understand the role of immune-associated genes in the molecular mechanism of DR more deeply.
Gamma-glutamyl transferase to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio is a more powerful marker than TyG index for predicting metabolic syndrome in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Gong Shijun , Gan Shenglian , Zhang YuHua , Zhou HaiFeng , Zhou Quan
Published: October 2023

Purpose

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing globally and has become a global and national public health problem that cannot be ignored as an independent predictor of cardiovascular events, cancer and all-cause mortality. γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are associated with insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and oxidative stress. This study was designed to explore the relationship and predictive performance between γ-glutamyl transferase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (GGT/HDL-C) and MetS.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study. MetS was diagnosed from biochemical and anthropometric data in subjects with T2DM. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyses the relationship between GGT/HDL-C ratio, TyG index and HOMA-IR and MetS in subjects with T2DM. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn and the areas under the curve (AUC) were used to assess the ability of these indexes in screening MetS in subjects with T2DM. Statistical differences between the AUC values of these indexes were compared. In addition, we performed subgroup analyses and interactions.

Results

769 (70.55%) patients with T2DM were defined as having MetS. patients with MetS had higher anthropometric values and biochemical indicators compared to those without MetS. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of GGT/HDL-C ratio was an independent risk factor for MetS (Per 1 SD increase, OR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.51, 4.10). According to ROC curve analysis, the value of GGT/HDL-C ratio in predicting MetS in subjects with T2DM was superior to that of TyG index and HOMA-IR. The best cut-off value for GGT/HDL-C prediction was 19.94.

Conclusions

GGT/HDL-C ratio may be an important predictor of MetS in subjects with T2DM, and its predictive power is stronger than that of TyG index and HOMA-IR. The risk of MetS in subjects with T2DM is increased in the presence of a higher GGT/HDL-C ratio.
Thyroid hormone action during GABAergic neuron maturation: The quest for mechanisms
Authors: Richard Sabine , Ren Juan , Flamant Frédéric
Published: October 2023

Thyroid hormone (TH) signaling plays a major role in mammalian brain development. Data obtained in the past years in animal models have pinpointed GABAergic neurons as a major target of TH signaling during development, which opens up new perspectives to further investigate the mechanisms by which TH affects brain development. The aim of the present review is to gather the available information about the involvement of TH in the maturation of GABAergic neurons. After giving an overview of the kinds of neurological disorders that may arise from disruption of TH signaling during brain development in humans, we will take a historical perspective to show how rodent models of hypothyroidism have gradually pointed to GABAergic neurons as a main target of TH signaling during brain development. The third part of this review underscores the challenges that are encountered when conducting gene expression studies to investigate the molecular mechanisms that are at play downstream of TH receptors during brain development. Unravelling the mechanisms of action of TH in the developing brain should help make progress in the prevention and treatment of several neurological disorders, including autism and epilepsy.
TextNetTopics Pro, a topic model-based text classification for short text by integration of semantic and document-topic distribution information
Authors: Voskergian Daniel , Bakir-Gungor Burcu , Yousef Malik
Published: October 2023

With the exponential growth in the daily publication of scientific articles, automatic classification and categorization can assist in assigning articles to a predefined category. Article titles are concise descriptions of the articles’ content with valuable information that can be useful in document classification and categorization. However, shortness, data sparseness, limited word occurrences, and the inadequate contextual information of scientific document titles hinder the direct application of conventional text mining and machine learning algorithms on these short texts, making their classification a challenging task. This study firstly explores the performance of our earlier study, TextNetTopics on the short text. Secondly, here we propose an advanced version called TextNetTopics Pro, which is a novel short-text classification framework that utilizes a promising combination of lexical features organized in topics of words and topic distribution extracted by a topic model to alleviate the data-sparseness problem when classifying short texts. We evaluate our proposed approach using nine state-of-the-art short-text topic models on two publicly available datasets of scientific article titles as short-text documents. The first dataset is related to the Biomedical field, and the other one is related to Computer Science publications. Additionally, we comparatively evaluate the predictive performance of the models generated with and without using the abstracts. Finally, we demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed approach in handling the imbalanced data, particularly in the classification of Drug-Induced Liver Injury articles as part of the CAMDA challenge. Taking advantage of the semantic information detected by topic models proved to be a reliable way to improve the overall performance of ML classifiers.
Role of NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetes and COVID-19 role of NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathogenesis and treatment of COVID-19 and diabetes NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetes and COVID-19 intervention
Authors: Zhang Jiayu , Ma Xuejing , Liu Fuwei , Zhang Deju , Ling Jitao , Zhu Zicheng , Chen Yixuan , Yang Pingping , Yang Yanlin , Liu Xiao , Zhang Jing , Liu Jianping , Yu Peng
Published: October 2023

2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). A “cytokine storm”, i.e., elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the bloodstream, has been observed in severe cases of COVID-19. Normally, activation of the nucleotide-binding oligomeric domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3) inflammatory vesicles induces cytokine production as an inflammatory response to viral infection. Recent studies have found an increased severity of necrobiosis infection in diabetic patients, and data from several countries have shown higher morbidity and mortality of necrobiosis in people with chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes. In addition, COVID-19 may also predispose infected individuals to hyperglycemia. Therefore, in this review, we explore the potential relationship between NLRP3 inflammatory vesicles in diabetes and COVID-19. In contrast, we review the cellular/molecular mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 infection activates NLRP3 inflammatory vesicles. Finally, we propose several promising targeted NLRP3 inflammatory vesicle inhibitors with the aim of providing a basis for NLRP3-targeted drugs in diabetes combined with noncoronary pneumonia in the clinical management of patients.
Inguinal draining-lymph node in 18F-FDG PET/CT images could be a new indicator for the diagnosis of fracture-related infection in the lower extremities
Authors: Wang Yanbing , Sun Zhenkui , Liang Xiao , Shen Chentian
Published: October 2023

Purpose

The imaging diagnosis of fracture-related infection is often challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of 18F-FDG PET/CT for the diagnosis of fracture-related infection (FRI) with internal fixation after orthopedic surgery in lower extremities.

Methods

A total of 254 consecutive patients who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT scans with suspected FRI with internal fixation in lower extremities were retrospectively investigated 18F-FDG PET/CT images were semiquantitatively evaluated with multiple metabolic parameters. Additionally, morphological information of the inguinal draining lymph nodes (DLN) with the highest SUV value was also collected and analyzed.

Results

Patients were divided into two groups according to final diagnosis: the infected (N=197) and the non-infected group (N=57). The differences in the inguinal DLN-related parameters, including the long diameter, short diameter, maximum cross-sectional area, maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic volume (MV) 60%, MV70%, MV80%, total lesional glycolysis (TLG) 60%, TLG70%, TLG80%, and the infection suspected area related parameters, including SUVmax, MV25%, MV30%, MV35%, MV40%, MV50%, and TLG70%, between the two groups were statistically significant. We then compared the highest area under the curves (AUCs) among the morphological parameters of DLN, metabolic parameters of DLN, and metabolic parameters of the suspected infection area. The result demonstrated that SUVmax of the inguinal DLN showed the best diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.939 (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Semiquantitative analysis (especially SUVmax) of the inguinal DLN in 18F-FDG PET/CT images could be a promising method for the diagnosis of suspected FRI with internal fixation after orthopedic surgery in lower extremities.
Altered sphingolipid pathway in SARS-CoV-2 infected human lung tissue
Authors: Khan Rabisa J. , Single Sierra L. , Simmons Christopher S. , Athar Mohammad , Liu Yuelong , Bodduluri Sandeep , Benson Paul V. , Goliwas Kayla F. , Deshane Jessy S.
Published: October 2023

Introduction

The SARS-CoV-2 mediated COVID-19 pandemic has impacted millions worldwide. Hyper-inflammatory processes, including cytokine storm, contribute to long-standing tissue injury and damage in COVID-19. The metabolism of sphingolipids as regulators of cell survival, differentiation, and proliferation has been implicated in inflammatory signaling and cytokine responses. Sphingosine-kinase-1 (SK1) and ceramide-synthase-2 (CERS2) generate metabolites that regulate the anti- and pro-apoptotic processes, respectively. Alterations in SK1 and CERS2 expression may contribute to the inflammation and tissue damage during COVID-19. The central objective of this study is to evaluate structural changes in the lung post-SARS-CoV-2 infection and to investigate whether the sphingolipid rheostat is altered in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods

Central and peripheral lung tissues from COVID-19+ or control autopsies and resected lung tissue from COVID-19 convalescents were subjected to histologic evaluation of airspace and collagen deposisiton, and immunohistochemical evaluation of SK1 and CERS2.

Results

Here, we report significant reduction in air space and increase in collagen deposition in lung autopsy tissues from patients who died from COVID-19 (COVID-19+) and COVID-19 convalescent individuals. SK1 expression increased in the lungs of COVID-19+ autopsies and COVID-19 convalescent lung tissue compared to controls and was mostly associated with Type II pneumocytes and alveolar macrophages. No significant difference in CERS2 expression was noted. SARS-CoV-2 infection upregulates SK1 and increases the ratio of SK1 to CERS2 expression in lung tissues of COVID-19 autopsies and COVID-19 convalescents.

Discussion

These data suggest an alteration in the sphingolipid rheostat in lung tissue during COVID-19, suggesting a potential contribution to the inflammation and tissue damage associated with viral infection.
Intracellular Salmonella delivery of an exogenous immunization antigen refocuses CD8 T cells against cancer cells, eliminates pancreatic tumors and forms antitumor immunity
Authors: Raman Vishnu , Howell Lars M. , Bloom Shoshana M. K. , Hall Christopher L. , Wetherby Victoria E. , Minter Lisa M. , Kulkarni Ashish A. , Forbes Neil S.
Published: October 2023

Introduction

Immunotherapies have shown great promise, but are not effective for all tumors types and are effective in less than 3% of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). To make an immune treatment that is effective for more cancer patients and those with PDAC specifically, we genetically engineered Salmonella to deliver exogenous antigens directly into the cytoplasm of tumor cells. We hypothesized that intracellular delivery of an exogenous immunization antigen would activate antigen-specific CD8 T cells and reduce tumors in immunized mice.

Methods

To test this hypothesis, we administered intracellular delivering (ID) Salmonella that deliver ovalbumin as a model antigen into tumor-bearing, ovalbumin-vaccinated mice. ID Salmonella delivers antigens by autonomously lysing in cells after the induction of cell invasion.

Results

We showed that the delivered ovalbumin disperses throughout the cytoplasm of cells in culture and in tumors. This delivery into the cytoplasm is essential for antigen cross-presentation. We showed that co-culture of ovalbumin-recipient cancer cells with ovalbumin-specific CD8 T cells triggered a cytotoxic T cell response. After the adoptive transfer of OT-I CD8 T cells, intracellular delivery of ovalbumin reduced tumor growth and eliminated tumors. This effect was dependent on the presence of the ovalbumin-specific T cells. Following vaccination with the exogenous antigen in mice, intracellular delivery of the antigen cleared 43% of established KPC pancreatic tumors, increased survival, and prevented tumor re-implantation.

Discussion

This response in the immunosuppressive KPC model demonstrates the potential to treat tumors that do not respond to checkpoint inhibitors, and the response to re-challenge indicates that new immunity was established against intrinsic tumor antigens. In the clinic, ID Salmonella could be used to deliver a protein antigen from a childhood immunization to refocus pre-existing T cell immunity against tumors. As an off-the-shelf immunotherapy, this bacterial system has the potential to be effective in a broad range of cancer patients.
Novel therapies for graft versus host disease with a focus on cell therapies
Authors: Zeiser Robert , Ringden Olle , Sadeghi Behnam , Gonen-Yaacovi Gil , Segurado Oscar G.
Published: October 2023

Graft versus host disease (GVHD) can occur at any period post allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a common clinical complication contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. Acute GVHD develops in approximately 30-50% of patients receiving transplants from matched related donors. High doses of steroids are used as first-line treatment, but are unsuccessful in around 40% of patients, resulting in the diagnosis of steroid-refractory acute GVHD. Consensus has yet to develop for the management of steroid-refractory acute GVHD, and prognosis at six months has been estimated at around 50%. Thus, it is critical to find effective treatments that increase survival of steroid-refractory acute GVHD. This article describes the currently known characteristics, pathophysiology, and treatments for GVHD, with a special focus on recent advances in cell therapies. In particular, a novel cell therapy using decidua stromal cells (DSCs) was recently shown to have promising results for acute GVHD, with improved effectiveness over previous treatments including mesenchymal stromal cells. At the Karolinska Institute, severe acute GVHD patients treated with placenta-derived DSCs supplemented with either 5% albumin or 10% AB plasma displayed a one-year survival rate of 76% and 47% respectively. Furthermore, patients with steroid-refractory acute GVHD, displayed survival rates of 73% with albumin and 31% with AB plasma-supplemented DSCs, compared to the 20% survival rate in the mesenchymal stromal cell control group. Adverse events and deaths were found to be attributed only to complications of hematopoietic stem cell transplant and GVHD, not to the study intervention. ASC Therapeutics, Inc, in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute, will soon initiate a phase 2 multicenter, open-label study to further assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous DSC treatment in sixty patients with Grade II-IV steroid-refractory acute GVHD. This novel cell therapy represents a promising treatment to combat the poor prognosis that steroid-refractory acute GVHD patients currently face.
A five-antigen Esx-5a fusion delivered as a prime-boost regimen protects against M.tb challenge
Authors: Stylianou Elena , Pinpathomrat Nawamin , Sampson Oliver , Richard Alexandre , Korompis Marcellus , McShane Helen
Published: October 2023

The development of tuberculosis (TB) vaccines has been hindered by the complex nature of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) and the absence of clearly defined immune markers of protection. While Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is currently the only licensed TB vaccine, its effectiveness diminishes in adulthood. In our previous research, we identified that boosting BCG with an intranasally administered chimpanzee adenovirus expressing the PPE15 antigen of M.tb (ChAdOx1.PPE15) improved its protection. To enhance the vaccine’s efficacy, we combined PPE15 with the other three members of the Esx-5a secretion system and Ag85A into a multi-antigen construct (5Ag). Leveraging the mucosal administration safety of ChAdOx1, we targeted the site of M.tb infection to induce localized mucosal responses, while employing modified vaccinia virus (MVA) to boost systemic immune responses. The combination of these antigens resulted in enhanced BCG protection in both the lungs and spleens of vaccinated mice. These findings provide support for advancing ChAdOx1.5Ag and MVA.5Ag to the next stages of vaccine development.
Actin cytoskeleton remodeling at the cancer cell side of the immunological synapse: good, bad, or both?
Authors: Ockfen Elena , Filali Liza , Pereira Fernandes Diogo , Hoffmann Céline , Thomas Clément
Published: October 2023

Cytotoxic lymphocytes (CLs), specifically cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells, are indispensable guardians of the immune system and orchestrate the recognition and elimination of cancer cells. Upon encountering a cancer cell, CLs establish a specialized cellular junction, known as the immunological synapse that stands as a pivotal determinant for effective cell killing. Extensive research has focused on the presynaptic side of the immunological synapse and elucidated the multiple functions of the CL actin cytoskeleton in synapse formation, organization, regulatory signaling, and lytic activity. In contrast, the postsynaptic (cancer cell) counterpart has remained relatively unexplored. Nevertheless, both indirect and direct evidence has begun to illuminate the significant and profound consequences of cytoskeletal changes within cancer cells on the outcome of the lytic immunological synapse. Here, we explore the understudied role of the cancer cell actin cytoskeleton in modulating the immune response within the immunological synapse. We shed light on the intricate interplay between actin dynamics and the evasion mechanisms employed by cancer cells, thus providing potential routes for future research and envisioning therapeutic interventions targeting the postsynaptic side of the immunological synapse in the realm of cancer immunotherapy. This review article highlights the importance of actin dynamics within the immunological synapse between cytotoxic lymphocytes and cancer cells focusing on the less-explored postsynaptic side of the synapse. It presents emerging evidence that actin dynamics in cancer cells can critically influence the outcome of cytotoxic lymphocyte interactions with cancer cells.
Marine spatial planning for connectivity and conservation through ecological corridors between marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures
Authors: Podda Cinzia , Porporato Erika M. D.
Published: October 2023

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) promotes the sustainable human activities development and uses in the marine space, playing a role in their effective management. The enhancement of connectivity is crucial for the conservation of biodiversity and landscape planning. Ecological Corridors (ECs) are an important type of connectivity for biodiversity conservation in fragmented habitats. The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 includes ECs into the network of protected areas and allows for the creation of additional protected areas. MSP studies considering ECs remain still lacking, especially for the design of networks between Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs). In this paper, knowledge, and tools for investigating marine ECs were reviewed, with a systematic bibliometric analysis to summarize the current scientific research. Previous studies integrating ecological connectivity into planning for marine conservation have focused on models of larval dispersal, adult movements, and dispersal of single species by using benthic habitat proxies. Few studies were found on ECs in marine environments: in the coral Caribbean reef systems in the Gulf of Mexico; within benthic habitats along the Pacific coast of Canada; between MPAs in British Columbia (Canada); and by analyzing migratory species in the Yangtze estuary (China). Commonly used approaches to project and map ECs in marine environments are least-cost and circuit theories allowing to incorporate movement with cost or resistance to movement, depending on species and preferred habitats. The systematic bibliometric analysis returned 25 studies, most of which were from North America (40%) and European countries (36%) and the largest share of papers (68%) from 2018 to 2022. This review pinpointed the need of integrating different disciplines to investigate connectivity and the need by policymakers and practitioners to recognize the importance of ecological connectivity, even there are significant challenges for integrating connectivity into policies, planning, and conservation.
Dual trigger for final oocyte maturation in expected normal responders with a high immature oocyte rate: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Yan Meng-Han , Sun Zhen-Gao , Song Jing-Yan
Published: October 2023

Objective

To evaluate whether dual trigger could improve reproductive outcomes in women with low oocyte maturation rates compare to human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) trigger.

Methods

This study included expected normal ovarian responders younger than 40 years old whose immature oocyte rate in the previous cycle was more than 50% at the reproductive center from July 2021 to November 2022. A total of 73 patients were enrolled at trigger, including 34 in the hCG trigger group and 39 in the dual trigger group (co-administration of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist and hCG, 40 and 34 h prior to oocyte retrieval, respectively). The primary outcome was oocyte maturation rate.

Results

There was no significant difference in the number of oocytes retrieved between the two study groups, but the oocyte maturation rate was higher in dual trigger group (84.0% [14.0%] vs. 55.5% [19.8%], p < 0.001). Moreover, there were also higher cumulative pregnancy rate (69.4% vs. 40.0%, p = 0.035) and cumulative live birth rate (66.7% vs. 36.0%, p = 0.022) in dual trigger group.

Conclusion

For normal responders with low oocyte maturation rates, the dual trigger may be more effective than the conventional hCG trigger.

Clinical trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier ChiCTR2100049292.