bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New insights into the prognosis of intraocular malignancy: Interventions for association mechanisms between cancer and diabetes
Authors: Gu Lingwen , Ma Guofeng , Li Cui , Lin Jing , Zhao Guiqiu
Published: August 2022

The intraocular malignancies, which mostly originate from the retina and uvea, exhibit a high incidence of blindness and even death. Uveal melanoma (UM) and retinoblastoma (RB) are the most common intraocular malignancies in adults and children, respectively. The high risks of distant metastases lead to an extremely poor prognosis. Nowadays, various epidemiological studies have demonstrated that diabetes is associated with the high incidence and mortality of cancers, such as liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer. However, the mechanisms and interventions associated with diabetes and intraocular malignancies have not been reviewed. In this review, we have summarized the associated mechanisms between diabetes and intraocular malignancy. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by prolonged periods of hyperglycemia. Recent studies have reported that the abnormal glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, and the activation of the IGF/insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) signaling axis in diabetes contribute to the genesis, growth, proliferation, and metastases of intraocular malignancy. In addition, diabetic patients are more prone to suffer severe complications and poor prognosis after radiotherapy for intraocular malignancy. Based on the common pathogenesis shared by diabetes and intraocular malignancy, they may be related to interventions and treatments. Therefore, interventions targeting the abnormal glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, and IGF-1/IGF-1R signaling axis show therapeutic potentials to treat intraocular malignancy.
The quantum leap in therapeutics for advanced ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer and pursuit to cure with precision medicine
Authors: Itchins Malinda , Pavlakis Nick
Published: August 2022

Since the discovery 15 years ago, we have seen a quantum leap in the treatment and survival for individuals diagnosed with ALK+ lung cancers. Unfortunately however, for most, the diagnosis is made in an incurable circumstance given the late presentation of symptoms. Through a revolutionary wave of therapeutics, individuals may remarkably live over a decade, however many fall short of this milestone, as the molecular profile of this disease is very heterogeneous, reflected in variable survival outcomes. Despite a significant improval in survival and quality of life with ALK-inhibitor monotherapies, now available across multiple-generations, drug resistance and disease relapse remains inevitable, and treatment is offered in an empiric, stepwise, non personalised biomarker informed fashion. A proposed future focus to treating ALK to improve the chronicity of this disease and even promote cure, is to deliver a personalised dynamic approach to care, with rational combinations of drugs in conjunction with local ablative therapies to prevent and constantly proactively alter clonal selection. Such an approach would be informed by precision imaging with MRI-brain and FDG-PETs sequentially, and by regular plasma sampling including for circulating tumour DNA sequencing with personalised therapeutic switches occurring prior to the emergence of radiological and clinical relapse. Such an approach to care will require a complete paradigm shift in the way we approach the treatment of advanced cancer, however evidence to date in ALK+ lung cancers, support this new frontier of investigation.
Diagnosis and treatment of solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas in children: A report of 18 cases
Authors: Maimaijiang Ayiguzaili , Wang Haiyun , Li Wanfu , Wang Yaqi
Published: August 2022

Purpose

To explore the incidence, imaging and treatment of solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas in children, and Summarize the experience of treatment.

Methods

The clinical data of 18 children with a solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas treated in our hospital from January 2012 to June 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. The age range was 8–16 years old, the average age was 11.67 years old, and the median age was 11.5 years old, namely, three boys with an average age of 10 years old and 15 girls with an average age of 12 years old. In total, two cases were admitted to the hospital because of trauma, seven cases were found in physical examination, and nine cases were admitted with the abdominal pain as the main complaint. Enhanced CT examination was performed before operation, nuclear magnetic resonance examination and abdominal ultrasound examination were performed in some children, and plain CT scan was performed after operation.

Results

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas can occur in all parts of the pancreas, especially in the body and tail of the pancreas. Among the 18 cases, SPN occurred in the head of pancreas in 5 cases (27.78%), the neck of pancreas in 2 cases (11.11%), and the body and tail of pancreas in 11 cases (61.11%). All the 18 children were treated by operation. among them, 4 cases underwent choledochal pancreatico duodenectomy (1 case), 4 cases underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy combined with splenectomy (3 cases), 6 cases underwent spleen-preserving pancreatectomy / tail pancreatectomy (1 case), 3 cases underwent enucleation of pancreatic tumor due to exogenous growth, 1 case underwent laparoscopic partial pancreatectomy and pancreaticoenterostomy. Laparotomy was performed in 12 cases and endoscopic surgery in 6 cases. Postoperative pathology confirmed solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. None of the patients received radiotherapy and chemotherapy after operation and were followed up for 6 months to 2 years. There was no recurrence, metastasis or pancreatic dysfunction.

Conclusion

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas in children is a rare, low-grade malignant solid tumor with no specific clinical manifestations and laboratory examinations. Preoperative diagnosis mainly depends on enhanced CT. Surgical resection of tumor is a reliable treatment, and the specific operation is mainly based on the experience of the chief surgeon, the location of the tumor and the invasion of surrounding tissue. At present, there is no evidence of the effectiveness of other treatment options, and surgical resection of the tumor has a good prognosis.
Computer-assisted design model to evaluate the outcome of combined osteotomies in Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease
Authors: Li Hao , Zhang Zhiqiang , Li Changyou , Liang Zhenpeng , Liu Zhu , Li Hai , Zhang Ziming
Published: August 2022

Objective

The current study aims to conduct a quantitative dynamic analysis of hip morphology using a computer-assisted design (CAD) model to evaluate the combined pelvic and femoral osteotomies in the treatment of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD).

Materials and methods

CAD models of patients with unilateral LCPD treated by combined pelvic and proximal femoral osteotomies were established based on the data of CT scan, on which morphological parameters were measured. Shape difference analysis of normal hips was adopted to locate the most apparent displacement and the main strain on the surface of the proximal femur.

Results

Fifteen patients were included, and the mean age of receiving operation was 6.63 years old. There were 10 hips rated as Herring type C, and the rest were type B. Compared with the normal side, the affected hip joints have a longer distance between femoral head and acetabular sphere. The difference of coverage area of the femoral head surface and femoral head volume between the affected and normal sides was bigger compared with the preoperative model, respectively. The changes in the acetabular radius and the area of the surface were not apparent, pre-, and post-operatively. The displacement was mainly on superior and lateral superior portions of the femoral head where the stresses were concentrated.

Conclusion

Combined pelvic and femoral osteotomies could effectively improve the superior and superior–posterior area of acetabulum containment with increased femoral head volume. CAD model and shape difference analysis can provide a better understanding of deformations of LCPD and more information for surgical planning and evaluation of treatment outcomes.
Global research status and hot trends in stem cells therapy for Intervertebral disc degeneration: A bibliometric and clinical study analysis
Authors: Wang Nan , Chen Shuang , Zhang Xiaoyu , Xi Zhipeng , Fang Xiaoyang , Xue Congyang , Li Jingchi , Xie Lin
Published: August 2022

Background: Stem cells (SCs) therapy for intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) has been studied for nearly 20 years and it is an important part of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering research, as well as a current research hotspot and challenge. Although the volume of literature has shown an annual growth trend, there is no literature available for bibliometric and clinical analysis of the content of multiple databases in this field.

Methods: The articles were obtained from the WOSCC, Scopus, Pubmed, and ClinicalTrials on 27 December 2021. Three scientometric software (VOSviewer 1.6.17, CiteSpace 5.8.R.1 and Scimago Graphica) were used to perform bibliometric and knowledge-map analysis.

Results: We included 867 articles from WOSCC, 716 articles from Scopus and 6 clinical studies from ClinicalTrials for literature analysis. Our results showed that China was the country with the highest number of publications, with the United States (US) being the leader in terms of international collaborations and the number of citations. Sakai D, Grad S and Hoyland JA had made outstanding contributions for their high productivity and the quality articles. Spine was the most published and most cited journal, in addition to Spine Journal and Biomaterials, which were also more authoritative journals and had received high citations. All of them had received high citations. Keyword co-occurrence studies suggested that the current hotspots were in mechanistic studies, including inflammation, apoptosis, exosome, autophagy, and others. Some studies had also investigated tissue-engineered scaffolds of SCs to better repair degenerated discs. Clinical studies were relatively scarce. Direct injection of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) into degenerated discs for the treatment of Degenerative disc disease (DDD) was the current direction of research.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the global research hotspots, trends and clinical use of SCs in the treatment of IDD. It can help scholars to quickly understand the current status and hotspots of research in this field, and also provide some guidance and reference for those who are currently researching in this area.
Phenotypic screening of low molecular weight compounds is rich ground for repurposed, on-target drugs
Authors: Lipinski Christopher A. , Reaume Andrew G.
Published: August 2022

A target-based drug discovery strategy has led to a bias away from low molecular weight (MWT) drug discovery. Analysis of the ACS chemistry registration system shows that most low MWT drugs were first made in the time era before target-based drug discovery. Therapeutic activity among most low MWT drugs was identified in the era of phenotypic drug discovery when drugs were selected based on their phenotypic effects and before in vitro screening, mechanism of action considerations and experiences with fragment screening became known. The common perception that drugs cannot be found among low MWT compounds is incorrect based on both drug discovery history and our own experience with MLR-1023. The greater proportion of low MWT compounds that are commercially available compared to higher MWT compounds is a factor that should facilitate biology study. We posit that low MWT compounds are more suited to identification of new therapeutic activity using phenotypic screens provided that the phenotypic screening method has enough screening capacity. On-target and off-target therapeutic activities are discussed from both a chemistry and biology perspective because of a concern that either phenotypic or low MWT drug discovery might bias towards promiscuous compounds that combine on-target and off-target effects. Among ideal drug repositioning candidates (late-stage pre-clinical or clinically-experience compounds), pleiotropic activity (multiple therapeutic actions) is far more likely due to on-target effects arising where a single target mediates multiple therapeutic benefits, a desirable outcome for drug development purposes compared to the off-target alternative. Our exemplar of a low MWT compound, MLR-1023, discovered by phenotypic screening and subsequently found to have a single mechanism of action would have been overlooked based on current era medicinal chemistry precedent. The diverse therapeutic activities described for this compound by us, and others arise from the same pleiotropic lyn kinase activation molecular target. MLR-1023 serves as a proof-of-principle that potent, on target, low MWT drugs can be discovered by phenotypic screening.
Network pharmacology and molecular docking to elucidate the mechanism of pulsatilla decoction in the treatment of colon cancer
Authors: Liu Huan , Hu Yuting , Qi Baoyu , Yan Chengqiu , Wang Lin , Zhang Yiwen , Chen Liang
Published: August 2022

Objective: Colon cancer is a malignant neoplastic disease that seriously endangers the health of patients. Pulsatilla decoction (PD) has some therapeutic effects on colon cancer. This study is based on the analytical methods of network pharmacology and molecular docking to study the mechanism of PD in the treatment of colon cancer.

Methods: Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database, the main targets and active ingredients in PD were filtered, and then, the colon cancer-related targets were screened using Genecards, OMIM, PharmGKB, and Drugbank databases. Then, the screened drug and disease targets were Venn analyzed to obtain the intersection targets. Cytoscape software was used to construct the “Components–Targets–Pathway” map, and the String database was used to analyze the protein interaction network of the intersecting targets and screen the core targets, and then, the core targets were analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses. Molecular docking was implemented using AutoDockTools to predict the binding capacity for the core targets and the active components in PD.

Results: Sixty-five ingredients containing 188 nonrepetitive targets were screened and 180 potential targets of PD anticolon cancer were identified, including 10 core targets, namely, MAPK1, JUN, AKT1, TP53, TNF, RELA, MAPK14, CXCL8, ESR1, and FOS. The results of GO analysis showed that PD anticolon cancer may be related to cell proliferation, apoptosis, energy metabolism, immune regulation, signal transduction, and other biological processes. The results of KEGG analysis indicated that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, proteoglycans in cancer, IL-17 signaling pathway, cellular senescence, and TNF signaling pathway were mainly involved in the regulation of tumor cells. We further selected core targets with high degree values as receptor proteins for molecular docking with the main active ingredients of the drug, including MAPK1, JUN, and AKT1. The docking results showed good affinity, especially quercetin.

Conclusion: This study preliminarily verified that PD may exert its effect on the treatment of colon cancer through multi-ingredients, multitargets, and multipathways. This will deepen our understanding of the potential mechanisms of PD anticolon cancer and establish a foundation for further basic experimental research.
The Combination of Tamarindus indica and Coenzyme Q10 can be a Potential Therapy Preference to Attenuate Cadmium-Induced Hepatorenal Injury
Authors: Abdelnaby Amany , Abdel-Aleem Nabila , Mansour Ayman , Abdelkader Afaf , Ibrahim Amany N. , Sorour Safwa M. , Elgendy Enas , Bayoumi Heba , Abdelrahman Shaymaa M. , Ibrahim Samah F. , Alsaati Ilhaam , Abdeen Ahmed
Published: August 2022

Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous environmental pollutant that menaces human and animal health and induces serious adverse effects in various organs, particularly the liver and kidneys. Thus, the current study was designed to look into the possible mechanisms behind the ameliorative activities of Tamarindus indica (TM) and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) combined therapy toward Cd-inflicted tissue injury. Male Wistar rats were categorized into seven groups: Control (received saline only); TM (50 mg/kg); CoQ (40 mg/kg); Cd (2 mg/kg); (Cd + TM); (Cd + CoQ); and (Cd + TM + CoQ). All the treatments were employed once daily via oral gavage for 28 consecutive days. The results revealed that Cd exposure considerably induced liver and kidney damage, evidenced by enhancement of liver and kidney function tests. In addition, Cd intoxication could provoke oxidative stress evidenced by markedly decreased glutathione (GSH) content and catalase (CAT) activity alongside a substantial increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in the hepatic and renal tissues. Besides, disrupted protein and lipid metabolism were noticed. Unambiguously, TM or CoQ supplementation alleviated Cd-induced hepatorenal damage, which is most likely attributed to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory contents. Interestingly, when TM and CoQ were given in combination, a better restoration of Cd-induced liver and kidney damage was noticed than was during their individual treatments.
Preparation and pharmacological effects of minor ginsenoside nanoparticles: a review
Authors: Ke Yue , Huang Lei , Song Yu , Liu Zhenxin , Liang Linshuang , Wang Linmao , Wang Taoyun
Published: August 2022

Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to Panax genus of Araliaceae. Ginsenosides are a kind of important compounds in ginseng and minor ginsenosides are secondary metabolic derivatives of ginsenosides. Studies have shown that minor ginsenosides have many pharmacological effects, such as antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-platelet aggregation, and neuroprotective effects. However, the therapeutic effects of minor ginsenosides are limited due to poor solubility in water, short half-life, and poor targeting accuracy. In recent years, to improve the application efficiency, the research on the nanocrystallization of minor ginsenosides have attracted extensive attention from researchers. This review focuses on the classification, preparation methods, pharmacological effects, and action mechanisms of minor ginsenoside nanoparticles, as well as existing problems and future direction of relevant research, which provides a reference for the in-depth research of minor ginsenoside nanoparticles.
Porous Silicon–Based Microring Resonator for Temperature and Cancer Cell Detection
Authors: Gangwar Rahul Kumar , Qin Jun , Wang Xingjun
Published: August 2022

In this article, a microring resonator sensor based on porous silicon is proposed for temperature and cancer cell detection, simultaneously. The porous behavior of silicon with a large internal surface area allows external materials to interact directly with the guided modes. The resonance wavelength in the transmission spectrum of the microring resonator is very sensitive to external environmental properties such as refractive index and temperature. The transmission characteristics of the proposed sensor were numerically determined by full vectorial finite element analysis. The achieved maximum sensitivity of the proposed sensor with optimized parameters was 150 pm/°C for an operational temperature range of 20–100°C and 284.0306 nm/RIU for operational cancer cell detection, respectively. The results presented here suggest the microring resonator sensor can be used in the fields of environment sensing, temperature sensing, chemical sensing, and biosensing.
An Optimization Method for Critical Node Identification in Aviation Network
Authors: Zhang Haixia , Zhao Jingjie , Wang Jiaxin , Zhu Peican
Published: August 2022

Air transport involves a long-distance journey; it is the main method of transnational travel, which is also an important connection channel between countries/regions. The aviation network is one of the core national transportation networks, whose importance is self-evident. To improve the management efficiency of the aviation network, this study studies the topological characteristics of the global aviation network in detail. The findings show that the global aviation network is a scale-free heterogeneous network, and the aviation network is tolerant of random faults. However, if key nodes are deliberately attacked, the network structure can easily be destroyed into fragments. To further explore the importance of nodes, combined with the background of airport mergers or unions, the node shrinkage method is improved by weighing network edges with the number of edges and ranking the importance of each node in the aviation network. This study compares the results of the node importance calculation by the node shrinkage method and improved weighted node shrinkage method, respectively. The results show that the ranking results obtained from the weighted node shrinkage method are better than those obtained from the traditional node shrinkage method. To further verify the validity of the weighted node shrinkage method, this study conducts a sensitivity analysis by calculating the weights of nodes and edges with different values. The results imply that the rank changes of node importance in the top 20 global aviation networks are the same. Therefore, it is important to find the key nodes in the aviation network and take corresponding protective measures to protect the stability of the global aviation network and improve the efficiency of the management of the aviation network.
Atmospheric turbulence forecasting using two-stage variational mode decomposition and autoregression towards free-space optical data-transmission link
Authors: Li Yalin , Li Lang , Guo Yingchi , Zhang Hongqun , Fu Shiyao , Gao Chunqing , Yin Ci
Published: August 2022

Free space optical communication (FSOC) is a promising technology for satellite-to-earth communication systems, where vector beams, especially orbital angular momentum (OAM), can further increase the capacity of the optical link. However, atmospheric turbulence along the path can introduce intensity scintillation, wavefront aberrations and severe distortion of spatial patterns, leading to data degradation. Forecasting atmospheric turbulence allows for advanced scheduling of satellite-to-earth data transmission links, as well as the use of adaptive optics (AO) to compensate for turbulence effects and avoid data transmission link performance degradation. Therefore, atmospheric turbulence forecasting is critical for practical applications. In this work, we proposed a hybrid atmospheric turbulence forecasting model based on a two-stage variational mode decomposition (TsVMD) and autoregression model. The variational mode decomposition (VMD) algorithm is first used, to our best knowledge, to denoise the observed atmospheric turbulence dataset, and then is used again to decompose the datasets into several intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Finally, the autoregression model is used to predict each IMF independently. And the predictions of each IMF are combined to obtain the final atmospheric turbulence predictions. Experiments employing the observed turbulence datasets and two additional methodologies were carried out to verify the performance of the proposed model. The experimental results show that the performance of the proposed model is much superior to that of the comparative methods.
Immunological mechanisms of exercise therapy in dyslipidemia
Authors: Krüger Karsten , Tirekoglou Paulos , Weyh Christopher
Published: August 2022

Numerous studies demonstrated the strong link between dyslipidemia and the cardiovascular risk. Physical activity and exercise represent effective prevention and therapy strategies for dyslipidemia and at the same time counteract numerous comorbidities that often accompany the disease. The physiological mechanisms are manifold, and primary mechanisms might be an increased energy consumption and associated adaptations of the substrate metabolism. Recent studies showed that there are bidirectional interactions between dyslipidemia and the immune system. Thus, abnormal blood lipids may favor pro-inflammatory processes, and at the same time inflammatory processes may also promote dyslipidemia. Physical activity has been shown to affect numerous immunological processes and has primarily anti-inflammatory effects. These are manifested by altered leukocyte subtypes, cytokine patterns, stress protein expression, and by reducing hallmarks of immunosenescence. The aim of this review is to describe the effects of exercise on the treatment dyslipidemia and to discuss possible immunological mechanisms against the background of the current literature.
A miniaturized phenotyping platform for individual plants using multi-view stereo 3D reconstruction
Authors: Wu Sheng , Wen Weiliang , Gou Wenbo , Lu Xianju , Zhang Wenqi , Zheng Chenxi , Xiang Zhiwei , Chen Liping , Guo Xinyu
Published: August 2022

Plant phenotyping is essential in plant breeding and management. High-throughput data acquisition and automatic phenotypes extraction are common concerns in plant phenotyping. Despite the development of phenotyping platforms and the realization of high-throughput three-dimensional (3D) data acquisition in tall plants, such as maize, handling small-size plants with complex structural features remains a challenge. This study developed a miniaturized shoot phenotyping platform MVS-Pheno V2 focusing on low plant shoots. The platform is an improvement of MVS-Pheno V1 and was developed based on multi-view stereo 3D reconstruction. It has the following four components: Hardware, wireless communication and control, data acquisition system, and data processing system. The hardware sets the rotation on top of the platform, separating plants to be static while rotating. A novel local network was established to realize wireless communication and control; thus, preventing cable twining. The data processing system was developed to calibrate point clouds and extract phenotypes, including plant height, leaf area, projected area, shoot volume, and compactness. This study used three cultivars of wheat shoots at four growth stages to test the performance of the platform. The mean absolute percentage error of point cloud calibration was 0.585%. The squared correlation coefficientR2was 0.9991, 0.9949, and 0.9693 for plant height, leaf length, and leaf width, respectively. The root mean squared error (RMSE) was 0.6996, 0.4531, and 0.1174 cm for plant height, leaf length, and leaf width. The MVS-Pheno V2 platform provides an alternative solution for high-throughput phenotyping of low individual plants and is especially suitable for shoot architecture-related plant breeding and management studies.
A Berberine Bridge Enzyme-Like Protein, GmBBE-like43, Confers Soybean's Coordinated Adaptation to Aluminum Toxicity and Phosphorus Deficiency
Authors: Chen Qianqian , Li Jifu , Liu Guoxuan , Lu Xing , Chen Kang , Tian Jiang , Liang Cuiyue
Published: August 2022

Phosphorus (P) deficiency and aluminum (Al) toxicity often coexist and are two major limiting factors for crop production in acid soils. The purpose of this study was to characterize the function of GmBBE-like43, a berberine bridge enzyme-like protein-encoding gene, in soybean (Glycine max) adaptation to Al and low P stresses. Present quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays confirmed the phosphate (Pi)-starvation enhanced and Al-stress up-regulated expression pattern of GmBBE-like43 in soybean roots. Meanwhile, the expression of a GmBBE-like43-GFP chimera in both common bean hairy roots and tobacco leaves demonstrated its cell wall localization. Moreover, both transgenic Arabidopsis and soybean hairy roots revealed the function of GmBBE-like43 in promoting root growth under both Al and low P stresses. GmBBE-like43-overexpression also resulted in more H2O2 production on transgenic soybean hairy root surface with oligogalacturonides (OGs) application and antagonized the effects of Al on the expression of two SAUR-like genes. Taken together, our results suggest that GmBBE-like43 might be involved in the soybean's coordinated adaptation to Al toxicity and Pi starvation through modulation of OGs-oxidation in the cell wall.
Halophyte Nitraria billardieri CIPK25 mitigates salinity-induced cell damage by alleviating H2O2 accumulation
Authors: Lu Lu , Wu Xinru , Wang Pengkai , Zhu Liming , Liu Yuxin , Tang Yao , Hao Zhaodong , Lu Ye , Zhang Jingbo , Shi Jisen , Cheng Tielong , Chen Jinhui
Published: August 2022

The plant-specific module of calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) and CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) play a crucial role in plant adaptation to different biotic and abiotic stresses in various plant species. Despite the importance of the CBL-CIPK module in regulating plant salt tolerance, few halophyte CIPK orthologs have been studied. We identified NbCIPK25 in the halophyte Nitraria billardieri as a salt-responsive gene that may improve salt tolerance in glycophytes. Sequence analyses indicated that NbCIPK25 is a typical CIPK family member with a conserved NAF motif, which contains the amino acids: asparagine, alanine, and phenylalanine. NbCIPK25 overexpression in salt-stressed transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings resulted in enhanced tolerance to salinity, a higher survival rate, longer newly grown roots, more root meristem cells, and less damaged root cells in comparison to wild-type (WT) plants. H2O2 accumulation and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were both deceased in NbCIPK25-transgenic plants under salt treatment. Furthermore, their proline content, an important factor for scavenging reactive oxygen species, accumulated at a significantly higher level. In concordance, the transcription of genes related to proline accumulation was positively regulated in transgenic plants under salt condition. Finally, we observed a stronger auxin response in salt-treated transgenic roots. These results provide evidence for NbCIPK25 improving salt tolerance by mediating scavenging of reactive oxygen species, thereby protecting cells from oxidation and maintaining plant development under salt stress. These findings suggest the potential application of salt-responsive NbCIPK25 for cultivating glycophytes with a higher salt tolerance through genetic engineering.
Legacy effect of microplastics on plant–soil feedbacks
Authors: Lozano Yudi M. , Rillig Matthias C.
Published: August 2022

Microplastics affect plants and soil biota and the processes they drive. However, the legacy effect of microplastics on plant–soil feedbacks is still unknown. To address this, we used soil conditioned from a previous experiment, where Daucus carota grew with 12 different microplastic types (conditioning phase). Here, we extracted soil inoculum from those 12 soils and grew during 4 weeks a native D. carota and a range-expanding plant species Calamagrostis epigejos in soils amended with this inoculum (feedback phase). At harvest, plant biomass and root morphological traits were measured. Films led to positive feedback on shoot mass (higher mass with inoculum from soil conditioned with microplastics than with inoculum from control soil). Films may decrease soil water content in the conditioning phase, potentially reducing the abundance of harmful soil biota, which, with films also promoting mutualist abundance, microbial activity and carbon mineralization, would positively affect plant growth in the feedback phase. Foams and fragments caused positive feedback on shoot mass likely via positive effects on soil aeration in the conditioning phase, which could have increased mutualistic biota and soil enzymatic activity, promoting plant growth. By contrast, fibers caused negative feedback on root mass as this microplastic may have increased soil water content in the conditioning phase, promoting the abundance of soil pathogens with negative consequences for root mass. Microplastics had a legacy effect on root traits: D. carota had thicker roots probably for promoting mycorrhizal associations, while C. epigejos had reduced root diameter probably for diminishing pathogenic infection. Microplastic legacy on soil can be positive or negative depending on the plant species identity and may affect plant biomass primarily via root traits. This legacy may contribute to the competitive success of range-expanding species via positive effects on root mass (foams) and on shoot mass (PET films). Overall, microplastics depending on their shape and polymer type, affect plant–soil feedbacks.
Are fearful boys at higher risk for anxiety? Person-centered profiles of toddler fearful behavior predict anxious behaviors at age 6
Authors: Zhou Anna M. , Trainer Austen , Vallorani Alicia , Fu Xiaoxue , Buss Kristin A.
Published: August 2022

Dysregulated fear (DF), the presence of fearful behaviors in both low-threat and high-threat contexts, is associated with child anxiety symptoms during early childhood (e.g., Buss et al., 2013). However, not all children with DF go on to develop an anxiety disorder (Buss and McDoniel, 2016). This study leveraged the data from two longitudinal cohorts (N = 261) to (1) use person-centered methods to identify profiles of fearful temperament, (2) replicate the findings linking DF to anxiety behaviors in kindergarten, (3) test if child sex moderates associations between DF and anxiety behaviors, and (4) examine the consistency of findings across multiple informants of child anxiety behaviors. We identified a normative fear profile (low fear in low-threat contexts; high fear in high-threat contexts), a low fear profile (low fear across both low- and high-threat contexts) and a DF profile (high fear across both low- and high-threat contexts). Results showed that probability of DF profile membership was significantly associated with child self-reported overanxiousness, but not with parent-reported overanxiousness. Associations between DF profile membership and overanxiousness was moderated by child sex such that these associations were significant for boys only. Additionally, results showed that probability of DF profile membership was associated with both parent-reported social withdrawal and observations of social reticence, but there were no significant associations with child self-report of social withdrawal. Results highlight the importance of considering person-centered profiles of fearful temperament across different emotion-eliciting contexts, and the importance of using multiple informants to understand associations with temperamental risk for child anxiety.
A whirlpool of emotion: How entrepreneurs’ empathy affects employees‘ emotional exhaustion
Authors: Xu Jiang , Dong Baobao , Wang Yinong , Jiang Na , Gao Yue
Published: August 2022

Drawing upon upper echelons and self-determination theories, we hypothesize and test a mediating process linking entrepreneurs’ empathy to employees‘ emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of psychological empowerment. Based on a dyadic-survey study of entrepreneurs and their employees in high-tech new ventures in China, we conducted the empirical test by using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and found that entrepreneurs’ empathy has a negative effect on employees‘ emotional exhaustion, and psychological empowerment not only partially mediates the relationship between entrepreneurs’ empathy and employees‘ emotional exhaustion but also positively moderates the above relationship. This study frames an integrative perspective of emotions and psychologies and sheds a nuanced understanding of the mechanisms linking empathy with emotional exhaustion. Limitations and future directions are addressed.
Analysis of school support: Systematic literature review of core Chinese- and English-language journals published in 2000–2021
Authors: Li Jun , Hu Ziao , Pan Ling
Published: August 2022

School support is of great significance to students' academic quality and overall physical and psychological development. However, there is still ambiguity in the English and Chinese studies on the concept and measurement tools of school support. The data for this study were sourced from the literature on school support included in the China National Knowledge Network (CNKI) and Web of Science (WOS) from 2000 to 2021. A systematic literature review was conducted through literature inclusion and data extraction according to the PRISMA guidelines. Finally, 36 core-journal articles with high academic reference value and authority are identified, including seven in Chinese and 29 in English. The following results were obtained: (1) Related research in both Chinese and English showed an overall increasing trend. (2) The concepts and measurement tools of school support were not clear, and most studies used concepts and measurement tools of “social support” or “school climate” as substitutes for school support. (3) Most of the previous studies were based on social support theory, ecological system theory, and school climate theory. (4) The research mainly adopts quantitative research methods and focuses on special student populations or students below the high school level. Overall, previous studies indicated that school support has a positive impact on student development. Therefore, future research should be broadly extended to the knowledge system in higher education. On the basis of clarifying the concept of school support, it is necessary to try to develop and validate school support measurement tools with great reliability, validity, and general applicability to provide a practical reference for educators around the world.
Acquisition of turn-taking in sign language conversations: An overview of language modality and turn structure
Authors: Horton Laura , Singleton Jenny
Published: August 2022

The task of transitioning from one interlocutor to another in conversation – taking turns – is a complex social process, but typically transpires rapidly and without incident in conversations between adults. Cross-linguistic similarities in turn timing and turn structure have led researchers to suggest that it is a core antecedent to human language and a primary driver of an innate “interaction engine.” This review focuses on studies that have tested the extent of turn timing and turn structure patterns in two areas: across language modalities and in early language development. Taken together, these two lines of research offer predictions about the development of turn-taking for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) acquiring sign languages. We introduce considerations unique to signed language development – namely the heterogenous ecologies in which signed language acquisition occurs, suggesting that more work is needed to account for the diverse circumstances of language acquisition for DHH children. We discuss differences between early sign language acquisition at home compared to later sign language acquisition at school in classroom settings, particularly in countries with national sign languages. We also compare acquisition in these settings to communities without a national sign language where DHH children acquire local sign languages. In particular, we encourage more documentation of naturalistic conversations between DHH children who sign and their caregivers, teachers, and peers. Further, we suggest that future studies should consider: visual/manual cues to turn-taking and whether they are the same or different for child or adult learners; the protracted time-course of turn-taking development in childhood, in spite of the presence of turn-taking abilities early in development; and the unique demands of language development in multi-party conversations that happen in settings like classrooms for older children versus language development at home in dyadic interactions.
Situation aware intelligent reasoning during disaster situation in smart cities
Authors: Saleem Kiran , Akhtar Salwa Muhammad , Nazir Makia , Almadhor Ahmad S. , Zikria Yousaf Bin , Ahmad Rana Zeeshan , Kim Sung Won
Published: August 2022

Investigating prior methodologies, it has come to our knowledge that in smart cities, a disaster management system needs an autonomous reasoning mechanism to efficiently enhance the situation awareness of disaster sites and reduce its after-effects. Disasters are unavoidable events that occur at anytime and anywhere. Timely response to hazardous situations can save countless lives. Therefore, this paper introduces a multi-agent system (MAS) with a situation-awareness method utilizing NB-IoT, cyan industrial Internet of things (IIOT), and edge intelligence to have efficient energy, optimistic planning, range flexibility, and handle the situation promptly. We introduce the belief-desire-intention (BDI) reasoning mechanism in a MAS to enhance the ability to have disaster information when an event occurs and perform an intelligent reasoning mechanism to act efficiently in a dynamic environment. Moreover, we illustrate the framework using a case study to determine the working of the proposed system. We develop ontology and a prototype model to demonstrate the scalability of our proposed system.
Cognitive deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders: Toward an integrative approach combining social and non-social cognition
Authors: Hajri Melek , Abbes Zeineb , Yahia Houda Ben , Jelili Selima , Halayem Soumeyya , Mrabet Ali , Bouden Asma
Published: August 2022

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with neurocognitive impairment, including executive dysfunctioning and social cognition (SC) deficits. Cognitive remediation (CR) is a behavioral training-based intervention aiming to improve cognitive processes. Its first use in psychiatry interested patients with schizophrenia, in whom promising results have been shown. Integrated CR programs targeting both social and non-social cognition have demonstrated to be effective in improving both cognitive domains and functional outcomes. CR studies in children and adolescents with ASD are still new, those regarding CR approaches combining social and executive functioning remediation are scares. One study examining the efficacy of cognitive enhancement therapy (CET) for improving cognitive abilities in ADS adults, showed significant differential increases in neurocognitive function and large social-cognitive improvements. Therefore, taking into account the overlap between ASD and schizophrenia, and considering the close link between executive functions (EF) and SC, we suggest that integrative approach in ASD could result in better outcomes. The present perspective aimed to highlight cognitive remediation (CR) programs contributions in ASD (especially in children and adolescents), and to discuss the value of combining social and non-social programs.
Establishment of in vitro Calibration Curve for 60Co-γ-rays Induced Phospho-53BP1 Foci, Rapid Biodosimetry and Initial Triage, and Comparative Evaluations With γH2AX and Cytogenetic Assays
Authors: Chaurasia Rajesh Kumar , Shirsath Kapil B. , Desai Utkarsha N. , Bhat Nagesh N. , Sapra B. K.
Published: August 2022

A rapid and reliable method for biodosimetry of populations exposed to ionizing radiation in the event of an incident or accident is crucial for initial triage and medical attention. DNA-double strand breaks (DSBs) are indicative of radiation exposure, and DSB-repair proteins (53BP1, γH2AX, ATM, etc.) are considered sensitive markers of DSB quantification. Phospho-53BP1 and γH2AX immunofluorescence technique serves as a sensitive, reliable, and reproducible tool for the detection and quantification of DSB-repair proteins, which can be used for biological dose estimations. In this study, dose-response curves were generated for60Co-γ-rays induced phospho-53 Binding Protein 1 (phospho-53BP1) foci at 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 h, post-irradiation for a dose range of 0.05–4 Gy using fluorescence microscopy. Following ISO recommendations, minimum detection limits (MDLs) were estimated to be 16, 18, 25, 40, 50, and 75 mGy for dose-response curves generated at 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 h post-irradiation. Colocalization and correlation of phospho-53BP1 and γH2AX were also measured in irradiated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) to gain dual confirmation. Comparative evaluation of the established curve was made by γH2AX-immunofluorescence, dicentric chromosome assay (DCA), and reciprocal translocation (RT) assays by reconstructing the dose of 6 dose-blinded samples. Coefficients of respective in-house established dose-response curves were employed to reconstruct the blind doses. Estimated doses were within the variation of 4.124%. For lower doses (0.052 Gy), phospho-53BP1 and γH2AX assays gave closer estimates with the variation of −4.1 to + 9% in comparison to cytogenetic assays, where variations were −8.5 to 24%. For higher doses (3 and 4 Gy), both the cytogenetic and immunofluorescence (phospho-53BP1 and γH2AX), assays gave comparable close estimates, with −11.3 to + 14.3% and −10.3 to −13.7%, variations, respectively.
Hearing loss and its associated factors among metal workshop workers at Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Melese Mihret , Adugna Dagnew Getnet , Mulat Bezawit , Adera Ayechew
Published: August 2022

Introduction

Noise-induced hearing loss is a permanent sensorineural deficiency, which is caused by exposure to excessive noise sound. Although noise-induced hearing loss due to industrialization is a main public health problem in Ethiopia, studies on the prevalence and associated factors of hearing loss are scarce.

Objectives

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of hearing loss among workers at a metal workshop in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was employed among 300 participants using a stratified sampling technique. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were conducted. In the multivariable logistic regression model, adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a p < 0.05 were computed to determine the level of significance.

Results

The prevalence of hearing loss among metal workshop workers was 30.7% [95% CI: (25.7, 35.7)]. Age between 30 and 44 years [AOR = 2.9; 95% CI: 1.2, 7.1], age between 45 and 65 years [AOR = 3.8; 95% CI (1.5, 9.5)], cigarette smoking [AOR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2, 4.5], working area noise level >85 dB [AOR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1, 6.5], working experience of 6–10 years [AOR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.4, 6.0], working experience >10 years [AOR = 3.5; 95% CI: 1.3, 4.3], and using ear protection devices [AOR = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.6] were significantly associated with hearing loss.

Conclusion

The prevalence of hearing loss was considerably high. This study revealed that advanced age, cigarette smoking, increased working area noise level, and working experiences were found to increase the odds of having hearing loss. Therefore, it is important to emphasize metal workshop workers that are at high risk of hearing loss and develop preventive strategies to reduce the burden of this problem. Besides, minimizing working area noise levels, proper utilization of ear protection devices, and creating awareness about the impact of hearing loss are recommended.