bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Literacy, Women’s Empowerment, and the Moderating Effect of Early Marriage in Afghanistan: Findings from the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey
Authors: Bond Laura , Klein Elizabeth K. , Sharifi Farhad , Alemi Qais
Published: April 2022

Background: Women in Afghanistan have been historically disadvantaged in regards to accessing education. Although significant amounts of funding and political will have focused on women’s education over the past two decades, many barriers for achieving literacy remain. An examination of the relevant protective and risk factors can provide guidance to humanitarian agencies offering community-based education or other education programming to young women in Afghanistan.Methods: We used (weighted and unweighted) data from Afghanistan’s 2015 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) to examine protective factors against illiteracy. We hypothesized that women’s empowerment, as measured by their autonomy in making household decisions across various domains, would be associated with greater odds of being literate, after controlling for salient demographic characteristics along with provincial levels of conflict. We also used predicted probabilities and marginal effects to examine how age married moderates the impact of empowered decision-making on literacy. Results: In model 1, women who were empowered had 46% higher odds of being literate (95% C.I. 27% to 68%). An interaction term between age married and empowered household-decision making was added in model 2. In model 2, the odds of being literate increased to 234% (95% C.I. 51% to 639%). Results from multiple linear combinations indicate that age married moderates the impact of empowered decision-making on the odds of literacy for women who have median to higher levels of empowered decision-making. Conclusions: Young women who reported greater empowered household-decision making are more likely to be literate in Afghanistan. When women who are less empowered in their households marry at older ages, their odds of becoming literate are much higher. As women’s education remains threatened in Afghanistan, community-based programs may provide supportive services for women throughout the country. Educational initiatives in the country must not only prioritize literacy, but also work through community-based methods to support empowerment and work towards eliminating child marriage in order to support their literacy goals.
Quality of life and functional dependence in oncology patients: a comparative study
Authors: Meneguin Silmara , Camargo Heloiza Thaís Felipe , Honorio Heitor Marques , de Oliveira Cesar
Published: April 2022

Objectives: To compare quality of life and functioning of oncology patients under palliative care to patients in treatment and those with no evidence of disease. Methods:A cross-sectional and comparative study was carried out in an outpatient oncology of the public hospital in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Participants were divided into three groups: patients under palliative care, those in treatment for the disease and those in post treatment follow-up with no evidence of disease. Data collection involved the use of a questionnaire addressing sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as well as the Palliative Performance Scale and McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire. Results: The sample was composed of 300 patients, with a predominance of the female sex (51.3%), individuals with a partner (68%) and catholics (62%). The Palliative Performance Scale revealed a predominance of stable patients (score: ≥ 70 points) in all three groups. Overall, participants under palliative care had lower quality of life scores (median: 6.5points) compared to the other groups (p< 0.01). Age, palliative care, income, the male sex and pain control independently exerted influence on quality-of-life scores (p < 0.05). Age, time since diagnosis, being under palliative care, belonging to the Spiritism religion and income exerted an influence on palliative performance (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Quality of life was poorer among the participants under palliative care. Functionally stable patients predominated in all three groups. An advanced age, being palliative care and low income exerted a negative influence on functioning and the perception of quality of life.
Identification of a VEGFR-3 binding peptide TMVP1 for enhancing drug delivery efficiency and therapeutic efficacy against tumor lymphangiogensis
Authors: Fan Liangsheng , Cheng Teng , Li Fei , Zhang Zhenzhong , Dong Qingjian , Yuan Yuan , Chen Xi , Zhou Ying , Zhu Xiaohua , Ma Ding , Xi Ling , Luo Danfeng , Ma Xiangyi
Published: April 2022

VEGFR-3 plays an indispensable role in lymphangiogenesis. Previous findings suggest that blocking the VEGFR-3 signaling pathway can inhibit lymph node metastasis effectively, thus reduce the incidence of distant metastasis. The development of new VEGFR-3 targeting drugs for early detection and effective treatments is, therefore, urgently requied. Here, in vitro biopanning of a phage-displayed peptide library was used to identify specific peptides binding to the extracellular domain of VEGFR-3. We obtained a novel VEGFR-3 targeting peptide TMVP1 (LARGR), our combined immunofluorescence and radiopharmaceutical studies revealed that FITC-TMVP1 and 99mTc-labeled TMVP1 specifically accumulated in VEGFR-3 positive lymphatic vessels of tumors after i.v administration in tumor xenograft models in vivo. The accumulation of the TMVP1 in lymphatic vessels was specific, because this accumulation can be significantly reduced by blocking experiments. To enhance the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer drugs, we fused TMVP1 to a proapoptotic peptide D(KLAKLAK)2, the fusion peptide strongly inhibited tumor lymphangiogenesis in vitro and in vivo, and specifically suppressed lung metastasis in a 4T1 breast cancer xenograft model. Our results suggest that TMVP1 is a promising therapeutic strategy for the development of new diagnostic tracers or alternative anticancer agents for tumor lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis.
High Solid Alkyd Resin Coatings based on Soya Beans Fatty Acid with Improved Coating Performance; The Beneficial Effects of Fatty Acid Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes on their Water-Proofing and Biodegradability
Authors: Rafiemanzelat Fatameh , Shirini Ziba
Published: April 2022

The environmental influence of the coating industry has led to the progress of lots of environmentally friendly products based on high solid alkyds. The problem of increasing viscosity in high solid coatings has tried to resolve by decreasing their molecular weight. However, this results in resins with inadequate properties. In our paper, we have tried to avoid this issue without changes in the chemistry of resin by the assisting of modified nano-materials in coatings. Thus a new medium oil alkyd resin based on soya beans fatty acid was synthesized. Then two differently surface modified Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) functionalized with renewable soya-bean & stearic fatty acids were incorporated into the alkyd resin. Different properties of these nanocomposites including heat resistance, drying time, gel content, hardness, chemical resistance, contact angle, hydrophobicity and biodegradability were improved comparing with the pristine resin. Coatings prepared from the modified resins dried quickly, were waterproof and their characteristic were satisfactory for decorative applications. Their improved properties designate effective reinforcement of these high solid resins using bio-based modified CNTs. Interestingly in spite of their good hydrophobicity and improved waterproofness they showed increased hydrolyze-ability and biodegradability because of the presence of bio-based modified CNTs.
Evaluation of the anal canal using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with fiber tractography: prospective study of treated perianal fistula
Authors: Knaub Elies , Giraudeau Céline , Molière Sébastien , Venkatasamy AÏna , Gallix Benoit , Roy Catherine
Published: April 2022

Background:To prospectively evaluate the post-therapeutic aspects of the anal canal on MRI using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with tractography in healed perianal fistula.Methods:From September 2019 to August 2021, we included 21 patients referred for follow-up MRI of post-therapeutic anal fistulas. All patients were imaged at 3T including an additional DTI sequence. Our cohort was divided between normal and abnormal sphincters based on T2-weighted images. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were measured for four different muscular components. For the qualitative data, interobserver concordance was determined using quadratic Cohen weighted kappa statistics. For quantitative data we used the Mann-Whitney test for two independent groups and Kruskall-Wallis for several independent groups, with a significance level p<0.05. Results:The quality score of the 3D representation was satisfying with a substantial interobserver concordance. On the 3D color coded representation, we did not observe any disruption of fibers in the abnormal group. The circular configuration of the internal sphincter and puborectalis was clearly demonstrated. In both groups, there was no significant different between internal sphincter and puborectalis/external sphincters, (ADC values (p=0.38 and p=0.24; FA values (p=0.73 and p=0.27), respectively. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of DTI values between the normal and abnormal segments.Conclusion:In healed perianal fistula, minor sequalae (on T2-weighted images) did not appear to modify the DTI parameters or the 3D tractography. However, further studies with larger cohorts are required to confirm the potential clinical impact of this new noninvasive imaging method. Trial registration : This study was approved by the National Ethical Committee (CPP 19 04) and the Institutional Review Board of the US National Library of Medicine -ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier : NCT03881436 ; first posted registration date : 19/03/2019
A case of epithelioid fibrous histiocytoma in the lung harboring EML4-ALK Fusion
Authors: Sun Ting , Wang Bo , Sun Ke
Published: April 2022

Background: Epithelioid fibrous histiocytoma (EFH) is a rare benign fibrohistiocytic tumor, has traditionally been considered a morphologic variant of cutaneous fibrous histiocytoma with prominent epit helioidcytomorphology. Indeed, besides characteristic epithelioid cytomorphology, several protein-expression and molecular genetic differences suggest that EFH may differ biologically from other variants. Most previously reported EFH caused by SQSTM1-ALK or VCL-ALK fusion gene. Herein, we report an EFH case of the lung harboring a rare EML4-ALK rearrangement other than in reported EFH.Methods: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test were operated on formalin-fixation and paraffin-embedding (FFPE) tissues to help for pathological diagnosis. RNAseq was conducted to find out the partner gene of ALK.Results: Immunostaining showed that ALK staining of the lesional tumor cells were diffuse positive in a cytoplasmic and cell membrane staining and were also positive for histiocytic markers CD68 and CD163. While SMA, CK(pan), Desmin and CD4 were negative for staining. RNAseq further revealed that the tumor harbored an EML4-ALK fusion gene. FISH analysis demostrated that ALK gene breaked apart and fused with EML4 gene.Conclusion: In conclusion, this is the first EFH localized in the lung. And the oncogenic driver of the EFH was rare EML4-ALK fusion gene other than in reported EFH. In. This enriches the spectrum of EFH and enlarges the horizon for the study of EFH. ALK expression is not seen in other variants of fibrous histiocytoma, thus, IHC and FISH tests of ALK provide a useful diagnostic tool to distinguish epithelioid fibrous histiocytoma from most histologic mimics in our case. We recommend that every fibrous histiocytoma, no matter the location of lesions, should be tested for ALK expression and gene rearrangement because of the helpness of pathological diagnosis and potential efficacy of ALK inhibitor therapy in case of recurrence or metastasis.
An atomic frequency comb memory in rare-earth doped thin-film lithium niobate
Authors: Dutta Subhojit , Zhao Yuqi , Saha Uday , Farfurnik Demitry , Goldschmidt Elizabeth , Waks Edo
Published: April 2022

Atomic frequency combs memories that coherently store optical signals are a key building block for optical quantum computers1 and quantum networks2. Current atomic frequency combs typically use bulk materials or waveguides with large cross-sections3–5, or rely on fabrication techniques not easily adaptable to wafer scale processing6. Integrating such memories into compact and chip-scale devices is essential for scalable quantum technology. We demonstrate a compact chip-integrated atomic frequency comb in rare earth doped thin-film lithium niobate. Our optical memory exhibits a broad storage bandwidth exceeding 100 MHz, and optical storage time of over 250 ns. The enhanced optical confinement in this device leads to three orders of magnitude reduction in optical power required for coherent control as compared to ion-diffused waveguides 7. These compact atomic frequency comb memories pave the way towards scalable, highly efficient, electro-optically tunable quantum photonic systems that can store and manipulate light on a compact chip3.
Differences in personality, cognitive abilities, illicit drug use, and white matter structural integrity between hallucinogen users and matched controls
Authors: Aharon-Almagor Aviv , Barrett Frederick S.
Published: April 2022

Recent research has demonstrated potential therapeutic effects of hallucinogens, but little is known regarding enduring effects of hallucinogens on human brain structure. Preclinical findings suggest micro-scale structural neuroplastic changes after hallucinogen administration. The current study sought to investigate the association between hallucinogen use, macroscale brain structure, personality, cognitive ability, and illicit drug use in a naturalistic sample. Data from 53 subjects reporting ever having used hallucinogens and 53 approximately hallucinogen-naïve matched controls were drawn from the Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample database. Participants had completed diffusion tensor imaging, psychological, behavioral, and psychiatric assessments. Groups were compared on measures of personality, cognitive ability, history of illicit drug use, and the density of white matter tracts determined from probabilistic tractography. Hallucinogen users reported greater lifetime use of illicit drugs than controls and scored higher on measures of openness to new experiences and cognitive ability. Hallucinogen users also had greater density of structural connectivity in white matter tracts that are thought to support cognition, emotion, and creativity. These findings are consistent with reports that hallucinogen use may lead to shifts in personality as well as multiple cognitive domains. These novel findings provide clues to potential neural mechanisms underlying therapeutic effects of hallucinogens.
Oncologist Approaches to Communicating Uncertain Disease Status in Pediatric Cancer: A qualitative study
Authors: Porter Amy S. , Woods Cameka , Stall Melanie , Velrajan Srilakshmi , Baker Justin N. , Mack Jennifer W. , Kaye Erica C.
Published: April 2022

Background: Most patients with cancer and their caregivers desire honest, clear prognostic communication, yet oncologists often disclose prognosis inconsistently. Prognostic communication becomes even more challenging when disease progression is unclear or equivocal. Presently, oncologist approaches for discussing uncertain disease findings are poorly understood. Methods: In this prospective, longitudinal study, we audio-recorded serial disease reevaluation conversations between children with high-risk cancer, their families, and their primary oncologists over 24 months and conducted content analysis at recorded timepoints when oncologists categorized disease progression as equivocal.Results: A total of 40 recorded discussions took place at equivocal timepoints, comprising >500 minutes of medical dialogue. Prognosis talk encompassed <3% of dialogue and was absent in nearly half of equivocal discussions (17/40, 42.5%). Curability statements were identified in only two conversations. Inductive content analysis of dialogue revealed four distinct patterns for communicating equivocal disease status: (1) up-front reassurance, (2) softening the message, (3) describing possible disease progression without interpretation, (4) expressing uncertainty without context.Conclusions: Oncologists rarely discuss prognosis with children with high-risk cancer and their families at timepoints when disease progression is not definitive. Formal guidance is needed to better support oncologists in navigating uncertainty while sharing honest, person- and family-centered information about prognosis.
Production and evaluation of a novel multi-epitope bivalent vaccine against Echinococcus multilocaularis metacestode
Authors: Li Runle , Xin Mingyuan , Liu Kunmei , Hu Bingwen , Ma Jingwei , Zhou Pei , Feng Lin , Pang Mingquan , Ge Ri-li , Fan Haining , Guo Le , Tang Feng
Published: April 2022

Alveolar Echinococcosis is a globally widespread zoonotic disease caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus multilocularis (E.m.) and is seriously harmful to human health. In our previous studies, we found that Em-EMY162 has good protective and therapeutic effects against E.m. and the dominant epitopes of Em-EMY162 and Em-TSP3 were also identified. In this study, a mucosal immunity multi-epitope vaccine LTB-ETBM targeting both Em-EMY162 and Em-TSP3 was designed and constructed. Furtherly the immunogenicity and immunoprotection were evaluated in E.m. infected mice model. LTB-ETBM could induce the mice generating high levels of specific IgG against Em-EMY162 and Em-TSP3. Furtherly a Th1/Th2 mixed lymphocyte responses to LTB-ETBM was identified. Moreover, the LTB-ETBM significantly inhibited the formation of cysts in mice challenged with 1000 E.m. protoscoleces. In a therapeutic mouse model injected intraperitoneally with 1000 protoscoleces, vaccination with LTB-ETBM using either Freund's or CpG as an adjuvant significantly decreased the growth of protoscoleces and the formation of cysts. LTB-ETBM may be efficacious for activating the immune system and for use as a prophylactic or therapeutic agent against E.m. infection.
Flood Risk: Evolution and Analysis in a Mediterranean area
Authors: Flores M. Julia , Ropero Rosa F. , Rumí Rafael
Published: April 2022

Natural disasters, especially those related with water-like storms and floods-have been increased over the last decades both in number and intensity. According to Insurance Federation data, storms and floods comprise more than 75% of economic losses with respect to the total of natural disasters. Firstly, this paper aims to analyze how the flood risk analysis has been studied and evaluated through a literature review. It shows an evolution from a technical vision (dams, dikes an retention systems constructions) to a more complex risk management framework. Despite their importance, risk studies in water area hardly achieves the 3% of the total published papers. Under the current Climate Change framework, several reports predict an increase of these extreme events at a global scale. However, regional studies often find trends that do not match with the global behavior. So, a second goal of the paper is to study flood events evolution on both Spain and Andalusian Mediterranean region using National and regional dataset. The analysis shows a positive tendency in the number of annual events.
Comparative study on treatment satisfaction of low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy versus on-demand sildenafil for erectile dysfunction in young men and their partners
Authors: wang Dong , Wang Shijun , Li Yingjie , Liu Chunhui , Li Yongqiang , Zhang Yinsheng , Yan Su
Published: April 2022

Background: Recently, it is reported that erectile dysfunction (ED) is very prevalent among young males that has a great impact on patients' and their partners' sexual satisfaction. PDE5is and other more invasive options merely provide symptom relief rather than a permanent improvement of the condition, while the lasting improvement of low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT) on ED has been confirmed. We aimed to compare treatment satisfaction rates in young men and their partners who received treatment for with sildenafil and Li-ESWT.Methods: Patients complaining of ED during a consultation at our andrology and urology outpatient clinic between April 2019 and April 2020 were considered candidates for study. Participants choose to enter one of 2 active treatment groups according to their treatment intention after a 4-week washout period of past ED treatment, either 9-week Li-ESWT or 100mg on-demand sildenafil. The erectile function was evaluated by the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaires (IIEF-EF), while the treatment satisfaction in patients and their partners was evaluated by the Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction questionnaires (EDITS) of patient version and partner version respectively.Results: 72 participants completed the study (42 in the Li-ESWT group and 30 in the sildenafil group). Patients in both groups are young men. 4-week after the last session, the score of IIEF-EF for Li-ESWT and sildenafil was 16.3± 5.5 and 18.3± 6.5 (P>0.05) respectively. The total EDITS index of patient version and partner version are similar in the two groups. Among EDITS questions measuring overall satisfaction and efficacy lasting time, the score was higher in the Li-ESWT group.Conclusions: We found that Li-ESWT may have better satisfaction than on-demand sildenafil for young ED patients. However, Further studies are needed to determine the factors influencing satisfaction.Trial registration: This is a non-randomized clinical trial, registered at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR, http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=36572&htm=4), number ChiCTR1900021685, date 05/03/2019.
WITHDRAWN: Double layer polarization insensitive rGO absorber for side lobe suppression of two-dimensional antenna array
Authors: Rani Surekha , Marwaha Anupma , Marwaha Sanjay
Published: April 2022

Reduced graphene oxides based double layer polarization insensitive electromagnetic absorber has been integrated with two-dimensional antenna array to reduce the interference from side lobes and to decrease the bit error rate of array signal which ultimately leads to enhanced antenna array performance. 2×8 elements antenna array has been designed on aluminium oxide substrate having dielectric constant εr = 9.8 used for advanced radio function conceptual based multi-function X-band radar applications. Reduced graphene oxides based microwave absorber consists of matched layer and lossy layer having 16 GHz effective wide bandwidth from 2 GHz to 18 GHz at normal incident angle for transverse electric mode. The frequency compatible absorber when integrated with antenna array on same substrate leads to reduction in number of side lobes as well as side lobe levels of array and from results, it has been authenticated that antenna array gain and directivity has been greatly improved.
Predictive performance of PD-L1 tumor proportion score for nivolumab response evaluated using archived specimens in patients with non-small cell lung cancer experiencing a postoperative recurrence
Authors: Shima Yusuke , Sato Yuki , Morimoto Takeshi , Hara Shigeo , Hirabayashi Ryosuke , Nagata Kazuma , Nakagawa Atsushi , Tachikawa Ryo , Hamakawa Hiroshi , Takahashi Yutaka , Tomii Keisuke
Published: April 2022

Objectives
Postoperative recurrence in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is a major issue for life expectancy. Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression on tumor cells is important in the prognosis of NSCLC. However, the predictive ability of PD-L1 evaluated with archived surgical specimens for nivolumab treatment have remained unknown. This study was aimed to analyze the predictive ability of the PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) for nivolumab response in patients with NSCLC experiencing a postoperative recurrence using archived surgical specimens.
Materials and methods
This retrospective cohort study involved patients with advanced NSCLC (N = 78) treated with nivolumab between April 2016 and September 2018. They were categorized into postoperative recurrence (N = 24) and non-postoperative recurrence (N = 54) groups. The predictive ability of PD-L1 TPS for response to nivolumab treatment in these two groups was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Additionally, we evaluated the predictive ability of PD-L1 TPS using rebiopsy specimens collected from the recurrent lesions in six patients of the postoperative recurrence group.
Results
PD-L1 TPS exhibited lower predictive performance in the postoperative recurrent group (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.58) compared with that in the non-post operative recurrent group (AUC = 0.81). Furthermore, PD-L1 TPS was significantly increased in rebiopsy specimens. The predictive performance of PD-L1 TPS in these specimens was higher (AUC = 0.90) than that in the archived surgical specimens.
Conclusions
The study revealed that archived surgical specimens are inadequate for assessing the predictive ability of PD-L1 for nivolumab response, while rebiopsy specimes are adequate.
Hyperbranched polyglycerol coated vascular stents – a non-pharmacological approach to reducing device-triggered thrombosis and restenosis
Authors: Moore Eli , Cockshell Michaelia , Nankivell Victoria , Burzava Anouck , Tondl Markus , Benveniste Glen , Finnie John , Psaltis Peter , Greisser Hans , Bursill Christina , Voelcker Nicolas , Simula Tony , Bonder Claudine
Published: April 2022

Synthetic materials with an innate ability to avoid the foreign-body-response remain an unrealized goal that would transform the medical device industry. The balance of bulk material properties, that enable a device to perform as intended, with surface properties, that provide bio- and hemocompatibility, has always required the former to be prioritized. While all materials used in modern devices have an acceptable level of biocompatibility, imperfection remains, ultimately leading to device failure, or requiring pharmacological intervention for it to be tolerated. Where such devices cause damage or place strain on the normal architecture of the surrounding tissue, these impacts may initiate inflammatory responses that can also led to failure. This is most evident in the treatment of vessels in the lower extremity in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), where in-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a significant challenge for vascular surgeons. Blood-contacting devices, such as stents and artificial grafts, are considered particularly difficult to shield from the foreign-body-response due to the immediate and direct exposure to blood and therefore, the full gamut of the body’s immune responses. Pharmacological treatment is currently paramount to successful percutaneous vascular intervention (PVI) with antiplatelet therapies being prescribed to manage the risk of thrombosis and cytotoxic drug-eluting coatings to reduce restenosis. Here, we present data that indicate a nano-thin coating of hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) can greatly improve the safety and durability of endovascular metal stents. The HPG coating successfully prevents the binding and activation of platelets and greatly reduces the thrombogenicity of nitinol stents when studied ex vivo, using fresh human blood. In vivo, HPG-coated stainless-steel stents remained patent after 28 days in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) knockout mice while control stents all became completely occluded, highlighting the HPG coating’s ability to reduce restenosis. Together, these properties could help alleviate the industry’s dependence on blood-thinning and antiproliferative drugs to resolve device compatibility issues; thereby greatly improve patients’ quality of life through faster recovery, fewer complications and fewer repeat interventions. Furthermore, this coating technology is compatible with a range of materials commonly used in the production of implantable medical devices, such as stainless steel, nitinol, silicone, and polytetrafluoroethylene, while being highly scalable, cost effective and stable. Taken together, HPG presents itself as an alternative coating suitable for a broad range of vascular devices including stents and grafts.
METTL1 promotes Neuroblastoma development through m 7 G tRNA modification and selective oncogenic gene translation
Authors: Huang Ying , Ma Jieyi , Yang Cuiyun , Wei Paijia , Yang Minghui , Han Hui , Chen HuaDong , Yue Tianfang , Xiao Shu , Chen Xuanyu , Li Zuoqing , Tang Yanlai , Luo Jiesi , Lin Shuibin , Huang Libin
Published: April 2022

BackgroundNeuroblastoma (NBL) is a common but aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis in childhood. Despite existing therapy approaches, the 5-year survival rate for patients with advanced NBL remains below 30%, emphasizing urgent necessary for novel therapeutic strategies. Studies have shown that epigenetic disorders play an essential role in the pathogenesis of NBL. However, the function and mechanism of N7-methylguanosine (m7G) methyltransferase in NBL remains unknown.MethodsThe expression levels of m7G tRNA methyltransferase METTL1 (Methyltransferase-like 1) were analyzed by querying the GEO database and further confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay. The prognostic role of METTL1 were analyzed by the R2 genomics analysis and visualization platform. Function studies were performed to evaluate how METTL1 works in proliferation, apoptosis and migration in cell lines and xenograft mouse models. The role of METTL1 on NBL cells mRNA translation activity was measured using puromycin intake assay and polysome profiling assay. The m7G modified tRNAs were identified by tRNA reduction and cleavage sequencing (TRAC-seq). Ribosome nascent-chain complex-bound mRNA sequencing (RNC-seq) was utilized to analyzed genes with alterative translation efficiency. Analyzed the codon frequency decoded by m7G tRNA in genes to clarify the mechanism of m7G modification in translation regulation.ResultsThis study found METTL1 was significantly upregulated in advanced NBL and was associated with a poor prognosis. Further in vitro and in vivo assays showed METTL1 played a crucial role in promoting NBL progression. Furthermore, m7G profiling and translation analysis revealed downregulation of METTL1 inhibited puromycin intake efficiency of NBL cells, indicating the crucial METTL1 did count in regulation of NBL cell translation. With all tRNAs with m7G modification identified in NBL cells, METTL1 knockdown significantly lowered both m7G modification level and m7G tRNAs expressions. RNC-seq revealed 339 overlapped genes with impaired translation in NBL cells upon METTL1 knockdown. Further analysis revealed these genes contained higher frequency of codons decoded by m7G-modified tRNAs and were enriched in oncogenic pathways.ConclusionThis study revealed the critical role and mechanism of METTL1-mediated tRNA m7G modification in regulating NBL progression, providing new insights for developing therapeutic approaches for NBL patients.
T cell maturation and senescence after HCV cure in HIV-HCV coinfected patients: a prospective study
Authors: Martínez-Román Paula , Cortegano Isabel , Millares Daniel Valle , Crespo-Bermejo Celia , Rallón Norma , Benito José Miguel , Lara-Aguilar Violeta , Arca-Lafuente Sonia , Martín-Carbonero Luz , Domínguez-Domínguez Lourdes , Ryan Pablo , Santos Ignacio de los , Coiras Mayte , Palladino Claudia , Gaspar María Luisa , Fernández-Rodríguez Amanda , Briz Verónica
Published: April 2022

Previously, we identified a stabilization of the HIV reservoir size in HIV + monoinfected and HIV+/HCV + coinfected patients who eliminated HCV with DAAs as well as a decrease in HIV reservoir size in HIV+/HCV- spontaneously clearers. However, variations in the distribution of memory CD4 + T cell subpopulations in coinfected patients after HCV clearance remains unclear. To analyze the expression pattern of T cell maturation (CD45RA and CD27) and senescence (CD28 and CD57) markers by flow cytometry in those patients. Longitudinal study (52 weeks follow-up) of 49 HIV+/HCV+, 38 HIV+/HCV- and 59 HIV + subjects, all of them aviremic. A generalized increase in expression of CD28 was observed for CD8 + and in CD4 + CD27 + cells. The proportion of both CD4 + TEM TH1 and TH2 cells decreased significantly in HIV+/HCV- while remained stable in HIV + and HIV+/HCV + individuals. The general decline in cell senescence of cytotoxic lymphocytes may be due to reduced antigenic stimulation of HIV-specific and HCV-specific lymphocytes. The dynamic of HIV viral reservoir in HIV+/HCV- patients matches the dynamic of CD4 + cells with a TH1 phenotype, which could mean a decrease in the number of circulating TFH1 lymphocytes after an improvement in generalized inflammation state.
Supporting Dynamic Update Scheme for Assured Deletion Based-Multi-Copy Association Tree
Authors: Tian Junfeng , Bai Ruxin , Zhang Tianfeng
Published: April 2022

As one of the most important cloud computing services, cloud storage provides storage resources for resource-constrained users, which reduces their local overhead and computing cost. As an extension of cloud computing, fog computing introduces a fog layer between the cloud and users to deploy computing, storage, and other types of equipment, allowing users to operate outsourced data conveniently. Although cloud storage brings many conveniences to users, assured data deletion is still one of the crucial security challenges. In addition, since cloud servers usually store data in a decentralized manner, it is difficult for users to centrally and securely operate data blocks. This paper proposes an efficient and secure cloud data deletion scheme (SDUS-AD) that supports dynamic data updates in multi-copy scenarios. In this scheme, a new dynamic structure is designed, which improves the traditional Merkle hash tree, thereby realizing the dynamic update of outsourced data efficiently and safely. A cloud-fog-user layer structure is used to meet the needs of resource-constrained users (such as mobile users) to update data, and a secure and trusted fog cluster is constructed using the trusted cloud platform management model based on TPM alliance to ensure the confidentiality of data privacy. Security analysis shows that SDUS-AD meets real-world security requirements. Detailed performance analysis and simulation experiments show that SDUS-AD is efficient, safe, and feasible.
Benzoylpaeoniflorin activates anti-inflammatory mechanisms to mitigate sepsis in cell-culture and mouse sepsis models
Authors: Kim Chaeyeong , Sim Hyunchae , Kim Nayeon , Bae Jong-Sup
Published: April 2022

Background: Xuebijing injection (XBJI) (comprising of five herbs) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine for sepsis treatment. However, the bioactive components of XBJI and the mechanisms responsible for its sepsis-mitigating action have not been experimentally determined. One of the main bioactive compounds in XBJI- benzoylpaeoniflorin (BPF) - inhibits the expressions of key mediators of inflammation such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and COX-2. However, its effects on sepsis are not determined yet. Therefore, here, we investigated the immunomodulatory effect of BPF on severely inflamed endothelial cells, THP-1 macrophages, peritoneal macrophages, and mice.Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and THP-1-macrophages were activated using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) after pretreatment with BPF. Subsequently, changes in expression profiles of pro-inflammatory cytokines including inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6 were determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot analysis. Further, we monitored the phosphorylation of NF-kB and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) to determine their activation levels. Using LPS-induced mouse model of sepsis we studied the effects of BPF on inflammatory cytokine production, pulmonary histopathology, and survival rates. Finally, we evaluated if BPF protects against cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis, as it closely mimics human sepsis.Results: BPF pretreatment inhibited LPS-induced increase in mRNA and protein levels of iNOS, TNF-α, and IL-6 in HUVECs and THP-1-macrophages. It also suppressed LPS-mediated phosphorylation p65, p38, JNK, and ERK. Mice with LPS-induced-sepsis who were treated with BPF had lower serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, CXCL1, and CXCL2 than the control mice treated with BPF. Histopathology revealed that BPF treatment alleviated LPS-induced lung damage. In addition, in mice given a lethal dose of LPS, BPF treatment showed a dose-dependent improvement in survival rates. BPF treatment dose-dependently inhibited the LPS-induced IL-6, TNF-α, and CXCL1 production in peritoneal macrophages. BPF treatment also dose-dependently improved the survival rates in mice with CLP-induced sepsis. Conclusion: These results show that BPF alleviates LPS-stimulated septic conditions and protects mice from CLP-induced sepsis. Our research marks BPF as a potential drug in the treatment of sepsis and various inflammatory diseases.
Clinical features, therapeutic outcomes and recovery period of long COVID
Authors: Takakura Kazuki , Suka Machi , Kajihara Mikio , Koido Shigeo
Published: April 2022

To characterize the clinical features of long COVID, 286 patients who received care in our outpatient clinic for long COVID from May 2021 through December 2021 were surveyed. The recovery periods of each symptom and the key factors contributing to early recovery were statistically analysed. The median age of the patients was 35.8 years, with 137 men and 149 women. The median number of symptoms was 2.8. The most frequent symptoms were respiratory manifestations (52.1%), followed by fatigue (51.4%). Respiratory symptoms, fatigue and headache/arthralgia were major complaints in the initial phase, whereas hair loss was a major complaint in the late phase, suggesting that the chief complaint of patients with long COVID may vary temporally. The best treatment outcome was observed for pulmonary symptoms, and hair loss had the worst outcome. COVID-19 severity, the number of manifestations and delay in starting treatment exerted a negative effect on the recovery period of long COVID. In addition, a smoking habit was an independent risk factor for slowing the recovery period from long COVID. This study provides insights into the clinical course of each manifestation and therapeutic options with a futuristic overview of long COVID to meet the unmet medical needs.
Streptococcus suis is a lethal pathogen in snakeskin gourami, Trichopodus pectoralis
Authors: Dinh-Hung Nguyen , Dong Ha Thanh , Taengphu Suwimon , Soontara Chayanit , Rodkhum Channarong , Senapin Saengchan , Chatchaiphan Satid
Published: April 2022

The objective of this study was to determine the causative agent of an outbreak with clinical signs similar to those of piscine streptococcosis in farmed snakeskin gourami (Trichopodus pectoralis). Initial microscopic examination revealed the predominance of a Gram-positive, cocci bacteria in the brain and kidney of the diseased fish. This bacterium was successfully isolated and identified as Streptococcus suis based on nucleotide homology of 16S rDNA and species-specific PCR. This isolate tested negative for serotype 2, a major zoonotic serotype. Experimental infection was then performed to investigate the pathogenicity of the bacterium and its histopathological manifestation. Naïve juvenile and adult snakeskin gourami were injected intraperitoneally with a low dose (1.2×105 CFU/fish) and a high dose (1.2×107 CFU/fish) of S. suis. Cumulative mortality appeared to be dose- and size-dependent. Experimentally diseased fish exhibited clinical signs consistent with naturally diseased fish. Severe histopathological changes in multiple organs were observed in both juvenile and adult fish, including meningitis, severe congestion in the brain and eyes, thickened stromal layers of the retina, severe hepatic lipidosis and tissue degeneration. Notably, numerous granulomas containing massive bacterial cells in the necrotic core were observed in the infected fish. Relatively pure colonies of S. suis were recovered from tissues of experimentally diseased fish. Taken together, this study fulfilled Koch’s postulates, indicating that S. suis is a new piscine pathogen. Although this is a case report, public awareness and biosecurity measures should be considered to prevent the spread of the disease. Further surveillance of the pathogen's distribution and research into the underlying causes of fish-host adaptation will provide insights into the genuine impact and appropriate disease control strategies.
Prevalence of Complications and Pericoronitis in Third Molar Surgery: a Cross-sectional Study Using a Brazilian Population Sample of 3455 Teeth. Part 1: the Mandible
Authors: CYPRIANO Rafael Vago , CANCADO Renata Pittella , CARLETTE Caroline Arantes Simmer
Published: April 2022

INTRODUCTION: Extraction of third molars is one the most common procedures carried out by Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the potential complications of such intervention are well-documented.PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to find the associations between these complications and variables related either to the teeth or the patients and thus help surgeons to predict and prevent them.METHODS: Our study evaluate the prevalence of complications in extractions of the lower third molars using a Brazilian population sample over a period of 10 years to establish the probability of these complications and their association with variables such as age, sex and tooth position in the arch. The same variables were used to determine previous pericoronitis. This is a retrospective cross-sectional observational study, following the STROBE guidelines.RESULTS and CONCLUSIONS: One thousand and nine patients had 1,822 third molars extracted, with no associations detected between systemic conditions and complications, although these patients are 1.9 times more likely to have pericoronitis. Pericoronitis was more prevalent in healthy patients, with Pell & Gregory classification A and III and distoangular position. These findings corroborate the current literature when comparing Pell and Gregory classification and the higher prevalence of complications.
Case Report: Relapse in Malaria With Cerebral Involvement
Authors: R Alberto González , Duran Silvia Juliana , Chaparro Estefania Barrios
Published: April 2022

Malaria is an endemic parasitosis in more than 80 countries and with a record of reported cases by 2020 of more than 200 million. Recent literature has been emphatic in increasingly demonstrating the economic impact and severity of disease caused by Plasmodium vivax. This case report decribes a A 19-year-old colombian male patient, active soldier, previously healthy, resident for 6 months in the city of Bogotá, reporting a clinical picture of 4 days of evolution characterized by quantified febrile spikes of up to 39 degrees, headache, arthralgia and several diarrheal episodes with non-dysenteric water content. Associated with the above, the patient presented a seizure of 3 minutes of duration with generalized tonic-clonic movements, superelevation of the gaze without relaxation of the sphincters, drowsiness and total amnesia of the event. He refers as the only relevant pathological history the presence of Malaria treated 6 months before while residing in the Amazon Department. In consideration of the referred history of malaria, it is decided to take a thick blood smear to search for haemoparasites whose result was positive for Plasmodium vivax. With the above findings, management began with intravenous artesunate under the consideration of complicated malaria by P. vivax with cerebral involment secondary to a relapse.
Model-based investigation of elasticity and spectral exponent from atomic force microscopy and electrophysiology in normal versus Schizophrenia human cerebral organoids
Authors: Dutta Anirban , Biber John , Bae Yongho , Augustyniak Justyna , Liput Michal , Stachowiak Ewa , Stachowiak Michal K.
Published: April 2022

The physiological origin of the aperiodic signal present in the electrophysiological recordings, called 1/f neural noise, is unknown; nevertheless, it has been associated with health and disease. The power spectrum slope, -a in 1/fa, has been postulated to be related to the dynamic balance between excitation (E) and inhibition (I). Our study found that human cerebral organoids grown from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from Schizophrenia patients (SCZ) showed structural changes associated with altered elasticity compared to that of the normal cerebral organoids. Furthermore, mitochondrial drugs modulated the elasticity in SCZ that was found related to the changes in the spectral exponent. Therefore, we developed an electro-mechanical model that related the microtubular-actin tensegrity structure to the elasticity and the 1/fa noise. Model-based analysis showed that a decrease in the number and length of the constitutive elements in the tensegrity structure decreased its elasticity and made the spectral exponent more negative while thermal white noise will make a=0. Based on the microtubular-actin model and the cross-talk in structural (elasticity) and functional (electrophysiology) response, aberrant mitochondrial dynamics in SCZ are postulated to be related to the deficits in mitochondrial-cytoskeletal interactions for long-range transport of mitochondria to support synaptic activity for E/I balance.
Radicals scavenging potentials and mosquito vectors’ bio-control measures from bioactive principles of the marine red algae Porteria hornemannii
Authors: Arumugam Maruthupandian , Karuppannan Saranya , Govindasamy Balasubramani , Palaniappan Nithya , Lakshmanan Archana , Maluventhan Viji
Published: April 2022

This study investigated the presence of phytochemicals, yield of extract, total phenol and flavonoids content of the red seaweed Porteria hornemannii. For the extraction of metabolites from P. hornemannii, two different solvents like methanol and chloroform were used. In the phytochemical test, the methanol extract of P. hornemannii (MEPH) showed superior results in comparison with chloroform. After the crude methanol extract is purified by 86%, it is subjected to a quantitative method which, respectively, determined the total phenol content to be (1.60 ± 0.13 mg.GAE/g) and flavonoid content to be (1.302 ± 0.4 mg.GAE/g). The GC-MS analyses of MEPH revealed 20 compounds, in which, n-hexadeconic acid (Rt-27.385; peak area − 41.88%) and 9, 12, Octadecadienoic acid (Z, Z) (Rt-29.879; peak area − 19.49%) were the major ones. Based on the concentration of MEPH, both the ABTS and the hydroxyl radical scavenging assays showed increased activity. The larvicidal activity of MEPH tested against three mosquito larvae and found that only Culex quinquefasciatus larvae was highly sensitive (100% mortality) with the LC50 and LC90 value of 2.476 ppm and 13.207 ppm, respectively. Finally, the seaweed P. hornemannii could be considered for the future nutraceutical and bio-control agents, which may also be impervious to cancer and vector-borne diseases in human.