bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Solid‒liquid separation and its environmental impact on manure treatment in scaled pig farms - Based on life cycle assessment
Authors: Zhang Yijia , Bo Qinqing , Du Yating , Du Xinyi , Xu Liyang , Yang Yadong
Published: August 2023

Recently, there has been a significant focus on the issue of pollution caused by livestock and poultry rearing, which is recognized as a prominent contributor to nonpoint source pollution in the agricultural sector. This study employed the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate the environmental impact of several pig manure processing scenarios, with the aim of determining the appropriate solid‒liquid separation tool for large-scale pig farms. The findings indicate that the utilization of a screw extruder for solid‒liquid separation in scenario 2 has a lower environmental impact. In contrast to scenario 1, scenario 2 exhibits reduced environmental potential in the areas of global warming, human toxicity, acidification, and eutrophication. Specifically, the global warming, human toxicity, acidification, and eutrophication impacts decreased by 56%, 81%, 83%, and 273%, respectively, due to the implementation of solid‒liquid separation. The type of solid‒liquid separation equipment used during the processing of swine manure, as well as the subsequent treatment, have a significant impact on environmental emissions. Compared to scenario 2, scenario 3, which utilizes a centrifugal microfilter for solid‒liquid separation, exhibits a lower environmental impact in terms of human toxicity, resulting in a reduction of 0.736 kg DCB-eq. In general, solid‒liquid separation is a viable environmentally friendly method for the disposal of waste from large-scale pig farms. The adoption of this method is highly recommended. During its implementation, careful consideration should be given to factors such as separation efficiency and pollution emissions. It is crucial to select appropriate equipment for solid‒liquid separation to effectively process the waste.
A Formal validation of an Entropy-based Artificial Intelligence for Ultrasound Data in Breast Tumors
Authors: Huang Zhibin , Yang Keen , Tian Hongtian , Wu Huaiyu , Tang Shuzhen , Cui Chen , Shi Siyuan , Jiang Yitao , Chen Jing , Xu Jinfeng , Dong Fajin
Published: August 2023

Background: Research on artificial intelligence-assisted breast diagnosis is mainly based on static images or dynamic videos. The acquired images or videos may come from ultrasound probes of different frequencies. It is not clear how frequency-induced image variations affect the diagnosis of artificial intelligence models.
Purpose: To explore the impact of using ultrasound images of variable frequencies on the diagnostic efficacy of artificial intelligence in breast ultrasound screening.
Materials and Methods: Video and entropy-based, using a feature entropy breast network compared the diagnostic performance and average two-dimensional image entropy of the L14-L9 linear array probe and L13-L7 linear array probe.
Results: In testing set 1, the diagnostic efficiency of the L9 dataset is better than L14; In testing set 2, the diagnostic efficiency of the L13 dataset is better than L7; the value of L9, L13 dataset is greater than L14, L7dataset in the average two-dimensional image entropy, respectively.
Conclusion: Ultrasound images obtained with a certain degree of lower frequency probes have a higher average two-dimensional image entropy, which is beneficial for the diagnosis of artificial intelligence models. The higher the average two-dimensional image entropy of the dataset, the superior its diagnostic performance.
Curvature and Chaos in the Defocusing Parameteric Nonlinear Schrödinger System
Authors: Promislow Keith , Ramadan Abba
Published: August 2023

The parametric nonlinear Schrödinger equation models a variety of parametrically forced and damped dispersive waves. For the defocusing regime, we derive a normal velocity for the evolution of curved dark-soliton fronts that represent a π-phase shift across a thin interface. We establish a simple mechanism through which the parametric term transitions the normal velocity evolution from a curvature driven flow to motion against curvature regularized by surface diffusion of curvature. In the former case interfacial length shrinks, while in the later the interface length generically grows until self-intersection followed by a transition to chaotic motion.
Association between the COMMD1 gene polymorphism rs11125908 and rheumatoid arthritis in the Cuban population
Authors: Alvarez Maidel Carpio , Benitez Alberto Cintado , Argudin Tamara Diaz , Cuni Hugo Nodarse , Horta Maria del Carmen Dominguez , Massó Julio Raúl Fernández
Published: August 2023

Introduction: COMMD1 is a pleiotropic protein that is involved in NF-kB regulation. NF-kB signaling is relevant for the evolution and treatment of RA. The minor allele G of the polymorphism rs11125908 in Commd1 has been associated with a higher expression of COMMD1 and a decrease in bone erosions in Japanese patients. Objectives: To evaluate the association of the rs11125908 polymorphism in the Cuban population with RA and its association with important clinical variables. Methods: Allele specific-PCR was used to genotype 150 controls and 161 cases. Association statistical analysis was conducted by adjusting for age and sex using SNPStats. Results: An association of the SNP with the disease was found in overdominant model (P = 0.025; OR = 1.91) for the AG genotype. Our analyses revealed a significant association between rs11125908 and the subgroup of patients with swollen joints < median under codominant model for A/G (P = 0.034; OR = 2.30) and GG genotype (P = 0.034; OR = 0.82) and with the overdominant model (P = 0.01; OR = 2.38). The subgroup of patients with the age of onset lower than the mean, the AG genotype showed association in the overdominant model (P = 0.027; OR = 2.27). DAS28 and Time of disease evolution variables were not associated with the rs11125908 polymorphism. Conclusions: The rs11125908 polymorphism may be associated with RA. In particular, rs11125908 was significantly associated with RA and also in the number of swollen joints and age of onset subgroup analyses. Our study may provide new concepts for individualized treatments of RA based on pharmacological management of COMMD1 expression.
Comprehensive analysis of immunogenic cell death-related gene and construction of prediction model based on WGCNA and multiple machine learning in severe COVID-19
Authors: Li Chunyu , wu ke , yang rui , Liao Minghua , Li Jun , Zhu Qian , Zhang Jiayi , Zhang Xianming
Published: August 2023

Severe Acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 and has caused a pandemic of acute respiratory disease with a high mortality rate. The death of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is primarily due to from critically ill patients, especially from ARDS complications caused by SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, it is essential to contribute an in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and to identify biomarkers for predicting critically ill patients at the molecular level, and thereby reduce COVID-19 mortality. Immunogenic cell death (ICD), as a specific variant of regulatory cell death driven by stress, can induce adaptive immune responses against cell death antigens in the host. Studies have confirmed that both innate and adaptive immune pathways are involved in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In severe COVID-19 patients, a large number of inflammatory mediators are released and cell death occurs, which leads to immune disorders. However, the role of ICD in the pathogenesis of severe COVID-19 has rarely been explored. In this study, we systematically evaluated the role of ICD-related genes in COVID-19. The differential expression of ICD-related genes in COVID-19 samples and healthy control samples, as well in ICU samples and Non-ICU samples were respectively explored. We conducted consensus clustering, immune infiltration analysis, and functional enrichment analysis based on ICD differentially expressed genes. The results showed that immune infiltration characteristics were altered in severe and non-severe COVID-19. In addition, we used multiple machine learning methods to screen for five risk genes (KLF5, BICDL1, APH1B, GRB10, and OLAH), which are used to predict COVID-19 severity. Finally, we constructed a nomogram to predict the risk of severe COVID-19 based on the classification and recognition model, and validated the model with external data sets. This study provides a valuable direction for the exploration of the pathogenesis and progress of COVID-19, and helps in the early identification of severe cases of COVID-19 to reduce mortality.
The causal effect of hypertension, intraocular pressure, and diabetic retinopathy: A Mendelian Randomization study
Authors: wang xiaofang , zhang xiaowen , liu yajun , zheng xinyu , su mengru , sun xinghong , jiang feng , liu zhinan
Published: August 2023

Background: Previous research has indicated a vital association between hypertension, intraocular pressure (IOP), and diabetic retinopathy (DR), however, the relationship has not been elucidated. In this study we aim to investigate the causal association of hypertension, intraocular pressure, and diabetic retinopathy.
Methods: The Genome-wide association study (GWAS) IDs for DR and hypertension and IOP were identified from the Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) Open GWAS database. There were 33,519,037 SNPs and a sample size of 1,030,836 for DR. There were 16,380,466 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 218,754 participants in the hypertension experiment. There were 9,851,867 SNPs and a sample size of 97,465 for IOP. Univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) study was conducted to estimate the risk of hypertension and IOP in DR. Moreover, causality was examined using the inverse variance weighted method, and MR results were verified by numerous sensitivity analyses.
Results: A total of 62 SNPs at the genome-wide significance level were selected as instrumental variables (IVs) for hypertension-DR. The results of univariable MR analysis suggested a causal relationship between hypertension and DR and regarded hypertension as a risk factor for DR (P=0.006, odds ratio (OR) =1.081). A total of 94 SNPs at the genome-wide significance level were selected as IVs for hypertension-DR. Similarly, IOP was causally associated with DR and was a risk factor for DR (P=0.0292, OR=1.0922). The results of multivariate MR analysis revealed that hypertension and IOP were risk factors for DR, which exhibited higher risk scores (P=0.001, OR=1.121 and P=0.030, OR=1.124, respectively) than those in univariable MR analysis. Therefore, hypertension remained a risk factor for DR after excluding the interference of IOP, and IOP was still a risk factor for DR after excluding the interference of hypertension.
Conclusion: This study validated the potential causal relationship between hypertension, IOP, and DR using MR analysis, providing a reference for the targeted prevention of DR.
An Hermite–Obreshkov Method for 2nd order linear initial-value problems for ODE with special attention paid to the Mathieu equation.
Authors: Corless Robert
Published: August 2023

The numerical solution of initial-value problems (IVP) for ordinary differentialequations (ODE) is at this time a mature subject, with many high-quality codes freely available.Second-order linear equations without singularities are an especially simple class ofproblems to solve, even more so if only a single scalar equation such as the Mathieu equation y′′+(a−2qcos2x)y=0 is being considered. Nonetheless, the topic is not yet exhausted, andthis paper considers the case of writing an efficient arbitrary-precision code for the solutionof such equations. For this purpose, an implicit Hermite–Obreshkov method attains nearlyspectral accuracy at at cost only polynomial in the number of bits of accuracy requested.This is interesting for the Mathieu equation in particular because the solutions can be highlyoscillatory of variable frequency and be highly ill-conditioned.
This paper reports on the details of the prototype Maple implementation of the method,and summarizes the approximation theoretic results justifying the choice of a balancedHermite–Obreshkov method including its backward stability and decent Lebesgue constants.This method may be of especial interest for the solution of so-called D-finite equations,for which Taylor series coefficients up to degree m are available at cost only O(m),instead of the more usual O(m2).
This paper celebrates the happy occasion of the 90th birthday of John C. Butcher.
Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 65L04 · 33F05 · 65D15
Capturing Subjective Cognitive Decline with a new combined index in low education patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Huang Juan , Wang Hui , Chen Lin , Hu Binbin , Qin Xin , Yang Qiushuang , Cui Yajing , Chen Shenjian , Huang Wei
Published: August 2023

Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD), refers to self-reported cognitive decline with normal global cognition. We aimed to capture SCD among low educated patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) by a newly established indicator. There were total of 64 PD patients with low education levels (education ≤ 12 years) recruited in this study. The presence of SCD was determined based on a Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part I (1.1) score ≥ 1. The prevalence of SCD in PD patients was 43.75% (28/64). Low educated PD-SCD patients had higher scores on the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS), Parkinson’s Fatigue Scale (PFS), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), as well as higher scores on the UPDRS-I and UPDRS-II, compared to PD patients without SCD. Multivariate binary regression confirmed the significant association between PD-SCD and MoCA-executive abilities/attention/language. A score of 12 or less on the combined index had a sensitivity of 73.9% and a specificity of 76.2% for diagnosing PD-SCD. Most importantly, the newly combined index can help capture these low educated PD-SCD patients, with an AUC of 0.867, and is expected to assist clinicians in earlier identification of PD patients.
Computational Modelling of Cruzioseptin-4 Extracted From the Frog Cruziohyla Calcarifer and Pictuseptin-1 Extracted From the Frog Boana Picturatus
Authors: RENGIFO-LEMA MARÍA JOSÉ , PROAÑO-BOLAÑOS CAROLINA , CUESTA SEBASTIÁN , MENESES LORENA
Published: August 2023

A computational study of the peptides Cruzioseptin-4 and Pictuseptin-1, identified in Cruziohyla calcarifer and Boana picturatus respectively, has been carried out. The studies on cruzioseptin-4 show that it is a cationic peptide with a chain of 23 amino acids that possess 52.17% of hydrophobic amino acids and a charge at pH 7 of + 1.2. Similarly, pictuseptin-1 is a 22 amino acids peptide with a charge at pH 7 of + 3 and 45.45% of hydrophobic amino acids. Furthermore, the predominant secondary structure for both peptides is alpha-helical. Finally, the molecular docking study indicates that the viable mechanism of action for both peptides is through a targeted attack on the cell membrane of pathogens via electrostatic interactions with different membrane components, leading to cell lysis. The physicochemical properties were predicted using Pep Calc and Biosyn; secondary structures using Jpred 4 and Predict Protein; while molecular docking was performed using Autodock VINA. Geometry optimization of the peptides was done using the ONIOM hybrid method with the HF/6-31G basis set implemented in the Gaussian09 program.
Somatic embryogenesis in Euterpe edulis Martius is improved by wounding, explant orientation, and suspension culture
Authors: de Mello Tamyris , Silva Tatiane Dulcineia , Zanardo Tadeu Ériton Caliman , de Almeida Francine Alves Nogueira , Oliveira Luciano Bestete , Hegedus Clovis Eduardo Nunes , Anjos Breno Benvindo dos , Schmildt Edilson Romais , Ferreira Adésio , Ferreira Márcia Flores da Silva , Lopes José Carlos , Aquije Glória Maria de Farias Viégas , Otoni Wagner Campos , Alexandre Rodrigo Sobreira
Published: August 2023

Illegal extraction of the heart of palm is threatening Euterpe edulis Martius with extinction. Here, we investigated the induction of somatic embryogenesis in segments of E. edulis seedlings as a means of propagating this palm species. Immature seeds were harvested from the wild and germinated in vitro. After six months, the seedlings were excised in the middle of the caulicle and cut either transversely into two explants, or longitudinally with the wounded surface face down, up or sideways on the medium. Friable calli formed from upward facing explants were transferred to a suspension culture with different concentrations of picloram (15, 25, 35, and 45 µM) and then matured in the presence of abscisic acid (1, 5, 10, and 20 µM). Explants derived from upward facing segments were placed in culture medium containing L-glutamine or hydrolyzed casein (0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 g L− 1). Induction in medium with 150 µM picloram was strongest for stems with longitudinal wounds positioned upward and/or sideways; while medium with 15 µM picloram enabled strong growth of friable calli. The highest average number of proembryos (16.33) was obtained with 1.0 g L− 1 hydrolyzed casein and differentiation of somatic embryos was greatest with 1 µM abscisic acid. Therefore, somatic embryogenesis of E. edulis is best achieved by placing segments from longitudinally wounded stems face up on medium containing 150 µM picloram, followed by suspension cultivation with 15 µM picloram and maturation with 1 µM abscisic acid.
Improving balance using augmented visual orientation cues
Authors: Albrecht Matthias , Streuber Stephan , Assländer Lorenz
Published: August 2023

Falls are a major health concern, especially for elderly people. Existing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) solutions for fall prevention aim to improve balance in dedicated training sessions. We propose a novel AR prototype as an assistive wearable device to improve balance and prevent falls in daily life. We use a custom head-mounted display toolkit to present augmented visual orientation cues (AVOC) in the peripheral field of view. The cues provide a continuous space-stationary visual reference frame for balance control using the user's tracked head position. In a study, users performed a series of balance trials to test the effect of the displayed visual cues on body sway. Our results showed that body sway can be reduced with our device, indicating improved balance. We also showed that superimposed movements of the visual reference in forward-backward or sideways directions induce respective sway responses. This indicates a direction-specific balance integration of the displayed cues. Based on our findings, we conclude that artificially generated visual orientation cues using AR can improve balance and could possibly reduce fall risk.
WITHDRAWN: Oral chondroitin sulfate functionalized natural polyphenol for targeted therapy of ulcerative colitis
Authors: Chen Yi , Shui Mingju , Yuan Qin , Li Hongyi , Zhou Hefeng , Chen Zhejie , Wang Shengpeng
Published: August 2023

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic, idiopathic and progressive inflammatory condition affecting the colonic mucosa as well as entire gastrointestinal tract. Polyphenols have been well documented to be valuable natural antioxidants and have obvious advantages in the strategy of anti-oxidation treatment of UC. While the low bioavailability, poor water solubility, and unstable nature of polyphenols have hindered their clinical application in treating UC. Macromolecular compounds and polysaccharides are indispensable material bases for realizing oral colon targeting of small molecular agents. In this study, we encapsulated bioactive polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) withpoly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) via intermolecular hydrogen-bonded interactions, and conjugated polysaccharide chondroitin sulfate (CS) with excellent biocompatibility onto the surfaces to achieve colon-targeted delivery (EPC).
Results: The obtained EPC system showed an average diameter of 54 nm, monodisperse size distribution and negatively charged surface. In vitrostudies demonstrated the obvious reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging and anti-inflammatory ability. After oral administration, the nanoparticles locally accumulated in the inflamed colon and effectively alleviated the symptoms in dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS)-induced UC mice. Specifically, the EPC system down-regulated the expression of inflammatory cytokines, up-regulated the expression of tight junction-associated proteins to restore intestinal barrier and modulated the gut microbiota.
Conclusions: This oral drug delivery system with good therapeutic effects may pave new way for polyphenol-based therapy of UC.
Understanding the water quality dynamics in a large tropical reservoir under hydrological drought conditions
Authors: Rocha Maria Aparecida Melo , Barros Mário Ubirajara Gonçalves , Costa Alexandre Cunha , Filho Francisco de Assis Souza , Neto Iran Eduardo Lima
Published: August 2023

Castanhão is a multipurpose reservoir located in the semiarid region of Brazil. From 2012 to 2019, a severe drought occurred in the area, leading to a significant degradation of the water quality in the reservoir, spanning from oligotrophic to eutrophic/hypereutrophic state. In addition, this deterioration resulted in massive fish mortality events and highly-increased water treatment costs. Those negative impacts motivated an in-depth water quality monitoring program of this reservoir, which started in 2016. Although numerous studies have addressed the water quality issue in tropical reservoirs, limited availability of water quality data during drought periods has created a knowledge gap regarding the understanding of water quality dynamics under these conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of water quality in the Castanhão reservoir during a hydrological drought, with the objective of providing scientifically sound references for water management. The findings of this study indicate that total phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in the reservoir follow approximately a complete-mixing pattern on a monthly basis, with temporal variations in nutrient levels being much more significant than spatial variations. This indicates that it is possible to apply a complete-mixing model at a monthly time-step to evaluate the nutrient dynamics of the reservoir. Additionally, the reservoir exhibits stronger chemical stratification of dissolved oxygen compared to thermal stratification, with dissolved oxygen levels decreasing from upstream to downstream. Furthermore, hypoxic conditions are predominant during the rainy season. In summary, this study offers an advance in the knowledge of water quality dynamics in a large tropical reservoir during a hydrological drought period. The findings highlight the vulnerability of tropical reservoirs to water quality deterioration during droughts and provide valuable insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics of water quality in such water bodies. These findings are crucial for improving water quality management in similar tropical reservoirs.
Strontium Ranelate Retards Disc Degradation and Improves Endplate and Bone Microarchitecture in Ovariectomized Rats with Lumbar Fusion Induced – Adjacent Segment Disc Degeneration
Authors: Sun Qi , Liu Fang , Fang Jiakang , Lian Qiangqiang , Hu Yunpeng , Nan Xinyu , Tian Fa-Ming , Zhang Guochuan , Qi Dianwen , Zhang Liu , Zhang Jingwen , Luo Yang , Zhang Zuzhuo , Zhou Zhuang
Published: August 2023

Background:
Adjacent segment disc degeneration (ASDD) is one of the long-term sequelae of spinal fusion, which is more susceptible with osteoporosis. As an anti-osteoporosis drug, strontium ranelate (SR) has been reported to not only regulate bone metabolism but also cartilage matrix formation. However, it is not yet clear whether SR has a reversal or delaying effect on fusion-induced ASDD in a model of osteoporosis.
Methods
Fifth three-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats that underwent L4-L5 posterolateral lumbar fusion (PLF) with spinous-process wire fixation 4 weeks after bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) surgery. Animals were subcutaneously administered vehicle (V) or SR (900 mg/kg/d) for 12 weeks post-PLF as follows: Sham + V, OVX + V, PLF + V, OVX + PLF + V, and OVX + PLF + SR. Manual palpation and X-ray were used to evaluate the state of lumbar fusion. Adjacent-segment disc was assessed by histological (VG staining and Scoring), histomorphometry (Disc Height, MVD, Calcification rate and Vascular Bud rate), immunohistochemical (Col-II, Aggrecan, MMP-13, ADAMTS-4 and Caspase-3), and mRNA analysis (Col-I, Col-II, Aggrecan, MMP-13 and ADAMTS-4). Adjacent L6 vertebrae microstructures were evaluated by microcomputed tomography.
Results
Manual palpation and radiographs showed clear evidence of the fused segment's immobility. After 12 weeks of PLF surgery, a fusion-induced ASDD model was established. Low bone mass caused by ovariectomy can significantly exacerbate ASDD progression. SR exerted a protective effect on adjacent segment intervertebral disc with the underlying mechanism possibly being associated with preserving bone mass to prevent spinal instability, maintaining the functional integrity of endplate vascular microstructure, and regulating matrix metabolism in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus.
Conclusions
Anti-osteoporosis medication SR treatments not only maintain bone mass and prevent fractures, but early intervention could also potentially delay degenerative conditions linked to osteoporosis. Taken together, our results suggested that SR might be a promising approach for the intervention of fusion-induced ASDD with osteoporosis.
Global Genepool Conservation and Use Strategy for Dioscorea (Yam)
Authors: Nduche Michael , Brehm Joana Magos , Abberton Michael , Faloye Benjamin , Maxed Nigel
Published: August 2023

The global genepool conservation and use strategy for yam were developed in this study. Diversity analysis, and in situ and ex situ conservation gap analyses were carried out for the 27 globally priority yam crop wild relatives (CWR) at taxon and ecogeographic levels to determine their representativeness in conservation actions. Hotspots were found in Nzerekore region of Guinea, Nimba and Grand Gedeh regions of Liberia, Montagnes, Sassandra- Marahouse, and Bas – Sassandra regions of Cote d’Ivoire, Volta, Greater Accra and Eastern regions of Ghana, Centrale and Plateau regions of Togo, Donga, Oueme, Athlantique, Littoral and Plateau provinces of Benin, South West zone of Nigeria, Es region of Cameroon, Sangha- Mbaere region of Central Africa Republic. Likouala and Sangha regions of Congo, and Shan province of Myanmar and Thailand. A total of 13 reserve sites were found in 13 countries, with four locations in the network of PA. Out of the 81% of the priority CWR, 7.10% of the taxa were represented in ex situ collections, with 14.8% of the taxa with at least 50 accessions in genebanks, while 66.6% of the priority CWR are underrepresented in genebanks, with less than 50 accessions conserved ex situ, and 18.5% of the species are not represented in ex situ collections. The findings and recommendations of this study will guide the production and implementation of effective long term conservation action and sustainable utilization of globally priority yam CWR. The active conservation of the global yam priority species will underpin food security and mitigate climate change.
Occurrence and characterization of Proteus mirabilis from infected farmed African catfish in Ogun State, Nigeria
Authors: Anifowose Olayinka Remilekun , Oladosu Gbolahanmi Akinola , Omotosho Oladipo Olufemi
Published: August 2023

Background
Bacterial pathogens are the causative agents of some of the most serious disease problems in cultured fish causing mortalities and severe economic losses. This study was conducted to determine the occurrence and characterization of Proteus mirabilis from infected farmed African catfish in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Methodology:
The bacteria were isolated from diseased farmed African catfish (Clarias gariepinus, n = 128) with clinical signs of skin haemorrhages, ulceration, and ascites purposively sampled from farms within three senatorial districts namely Ogun East (OE; n = 76), Ogun Central (OC; n = 30) and Ogun West (OW; n = 22) in Ogun State. The isolates were identified based on morphological characteristics, biochemical tests, and 16S rRNA gene characterisation. The 16S rRNA gene sequences were analysed using BLAST, submitted to the NCBI database, and an accession number was generated. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance at p < 0.05.
Results
The occurrence of Proteus mirabilis in infected Clarias gariepinus was 13.16%, 25%, and 31.25% in OE, OC, and OW, respectively. A significantly higher incidence was recorded in OW compared to other areas. All the Proteus mirabilis isolates were motile, gram-negative, short rod, non-lactose fermenter bacteria that showed positive catalase reactions, negative oxidase, and positive for methyl-red. The Proteus mirabilis isolates (OP 594726.1) were closely related to isolates from Pakistan, Italy, and India
Conclusions
We conclude that Proteus mirabilis colonises farmed Clarias gariepinus in Ogun State, Nigeria and the identified strain showed an evolutionary relationship with known pathogenic NCBI reference strains from other countries.
High moisture permeable cellulose diacetate films by reactive polyethylene glycol plasticizers
Authors: Wu Peipei , Sun Yaozhou , Zhao Yuchang , Zhang Yuwen , Shen Qingyue , Hu Shuaishuai , Chen Shuangjun
Published: August 2023

Cellulose diacetate (CDA) is a bio-based polymer with high hydrophilicity and low crystallinity that is used as an intrinsic moisture conductor. Adding ahydrophilic plasticizer such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) can improve chain mobility and moisture permeability but has the potential to cause damage to materialperformance due to plasticizer migration. Herein, isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) modified PEG 200 (IPEG200), which served as a reactive plasticizer, can significantly enhance the water vapor permeability (WVP) and mechanical properties. Hydrophilic nanometer Al2O3 fillers were also added to improve the all-around performance of CDA films. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to monitor the synthesis of the prepolymers, IPEG200, and their reaction with CDA chains. The gel content indicates the crosslinking reaction. When IPEG200 is 9.66 phr and Al2O3 filler is 5 phr, the WVP is raised to 8.9 × 10−13 g · cm/cm2 · s · Pa. When using IPEG200 as the compatibilizer for PEG and CDA, CDA film can reach WVP 14.2 × 10−13 g · cm/cm2 · s · Pa by adding 60 phr PEG 600 and 25 phr Al2O3. This study provides a simple, feasible, low-cost method for preparing intrinsic moisture permeable film by reactive plasticizers
Ensuring Federated Ownership Verification with FedBack: A Trigger-Based Watermarking Approach
Authors: Wang Yue , Liu Yan , Chen Xingyu
Published: August 2023

Federated learning (FL) has become an emerging distributed framework to build deep learning models through the collaborative efforts from multiple participants without sharing training data across the engaged parties. However, during the whole life cycle of FL models, many unreliable participants may gain access and expose risks to them. Therefore, from the perspective of copyright protection, FedBack, a backdoor watermarking method based on trigger pre-processing is proposed to verify federated ownership on client side. First, clients embed their backdoor watermark information to the global model naturally at model training stage. Subsequently, federated ownership can be preliminarily verified through client detection and gain an outpouring of support through server mediation, without disclosing model privacy. Moreover, Trigger Pre-processing Algorithm is innovatively proposed to study watermark performance by changing watermark levels. Experimental results show that watermark detection rate of any level is high enough to credibly prove ownership verification result, with p-value providing more statistical evidence. This protection mechanism is deployed under two DNN architectures to prove watermark fidelity, significance and robustness. Overall, FedBack can credibly support the ownership verification result, with negligible impact on primitive classification tasks. It is also applicable to various federated training settings and robust to various model attacks.
Solution of Robust Linear Optimization Problems
Authors: Mondal Parthasarathi , Ojha Akshay Kumar
Published: August 2023

Robust optimization(RO) is an important tool for handling optimization problem with uncertainty. The main objective of RO is to solve optimization problems due to uncertainty associated with constraints satisfying all real-izations of uncertain values within a given uncertainty set. The challenge of RO is to reformulate the constraints so that the uncertain optimization problem is transformed into a tractable deterministic form. In this paper, we have given more emphasis to study the robust counterpart(RC) of the RO problems and have developed a mathematical model on the solution strategy for robust linear optimization problems, where the constraints only are associated with uncertainties. The box and ellipsoidal uncertainty sets are considered and some illustrative numerical examples have been solved in each corresponding case for validating our proposed method.
Effect of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy coating on corrosion and corrosive wear resistance of pure magnesium by laser cladding
Authors: Balamurugan Kannan Ganesa , Duraiselvam Muthukannan
Published: August 2023

Magnesium and its alloys are the potential candidates for the bio-implant applications. However, their poor corrosion resistance hampers the wide usage in the real-time applications. Application of protective coating on magnesium improves their corrosion and wear resistance. Bio-implant application requires the biocompatible coatings. Therefore, in this work, the biocompatible Ti6Al4V titanium alloy was used as a coating material for a pure magnesium substrate. The laser cladding process was selected as a coating method. The laser cladding had been performed with the YB:YAG disk laser (Solid state laser), 4kW capacity. Process parameters were laser power of 600 watts and powder feed rate of 5 g/min, and the laser scan speed was 300 mm/min. Microstructures were investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), corrosion resistance was evaluated through potentiodynamic polarization method in simulated body fluid (SBF) environment and wear behavior analysis thorough corrosive wear method in SBF environment. Results indicated that microstructure of the clad material contains the α + β phases and forms a good metallurgical bonding with the substrate. Ti6Al4V titanium coating on magnesium had significantly improves the corrosion rate of the substrate. The corrosive wear resistance had been improved to 98% due to Ti6Al4V cladding.
Causality between cholecystectomy, blood lipids, and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events: a Mendelian randomization analysis
Authors: Liu Fang , Yang Ti , Ke Peifeng , Chen Yufan , Guo Jiafan , Cao Mo , Zeng Xiancheng , He Yifeng , Duan Juan
Published: August 2023

Background
Several studies have provided evidence of changes in lipids and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) after cholecystectomy. However, the results of these studies are controversial. Here, we performed Mendelian randomization (MR) to predict the effects of cholecystectomy on blood lipid levels and MACCE with less confounding.
Methods
Summary data on cholecystectomy, lipid levels, and MACCE were obtained from publicly available genetic databases and analyzed using two sets of genetic instruments. MR analyses were conducted using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW; primary method for causal inference in two-sample MR analysis) method. We performed multivariate MR (MVMR) to screen and prioritize the most likely causal lipids and analyzed the mediated effects of these lipids.
Results
Six types of MACCE, including angina, chronic ischemic heart disease, coronary heart disease, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke, were found to have a negative association with cholecystectomy. Furthermore, we identified a decreased apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A1 (ApoB/ApoA1) ratio with subsequent coronary heart disease with a mediated proportion of 52.9% (95% CI: 21.5–97.5%, P = 0.000), chronic ischemic heart disease with a mediated proportion of 42.6% (95% CI: 23.1–91.6%, P = 0.000), and a reduced risk of myocardial infarction with a mediated proportion of 39.4% (95% CI: 24.8–95.5%, P = 0.000).
Conclusions
The findings present genetic evidence supporting the link between cholecystectomy, blood lipids, and MACCE, which may offer valuable insights into the mechanisms involved in the improvement of blood lipids and the prevention of MACCE following cholecystectomy.
Trends in Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Surgery During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic in Republic of Korea: A National Study Utilizing the National Health Insurance Database
Authors: Yuh Woon Tak , Kim Jinhee , Kim Mi-Sook , Kim Jun-Hoe , Kim Young Rak , Kim Sum , Chung Chun Kee , Lee Chang-Hyun , Park Sung Bae , Kim Kyoung-Tae , Rhee John M. , Ko Young San , Kim Chi Heon
Published: August 2023

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Republic of Korea (ROK) experienced three epidemic waves in February, August, and November 2020. These waves, combined with the overarching pandemic, significantly influenced trends in spinal surgery. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the trends in degenerative lumbar spinal surgery in ROK during the early COVID-19 pandemic, especially in relation to specific epidemic waves. The secondary aim was to compare surgical outcomes, including length of hospital stay (LOH), hospital costs, discharge disposition, the 30-day readmission rate, and the reoperation rate, between periods before and during the pandemic. A retrospective analysis of ROK’s national health information database (NHID) was conducted on all patients who underwent surgery for degenerative lumbar spinal diseases. Two cohorts were established: pre-COVID-19 (January to December 2019) and COVID-19 (January to December 2020). Propensity score matching and joinpoint regression were utilized. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of surgeries decreased following the first and second epidemic waves (p < 0.01 and p = 0.21, respectively), but these were offset by compensatory increases later on (both p < 0.01). However, the third epidemic wave did not lead to a decrease in surgical volume, and the total number of surgeries remained comparable to the period before the pandemic. LOH was reduced by 1 day (p < 0.01), while mean hospital costs increased significantly from 3,472 to 4,042 USD (p < 0.01). Additionally, both the transfer rate and the 30-day readmission rate significantly decreased (both p < 0.01), while the reoperation rate remained stable (p = 0.73). Despite the substantial impact of the early epidemic waves on degenerative lumbar spinal surgery, the overall number of operations and surgical outcomes during the early COVID-19 pandemic were comparable to pre-pandemic levels. These findings suggest that lumbar spinal surgery may not need to halt due to a pandemic. These insights should be widely disseminated to inform and guide future strategies in managing similar health crises.
Characteristics of plasma exosomal RNA profile in obesity-related knee osteoarthritis
Authors: Lun Tao , Zhang Bin , Li Song , Feng Daibo , Gong Yunquan , Xiang Wei , Zhang Tongyi , Huang Bo , Xiong Yan , Ni Zhenhong
Published: August 2023

Background: As the most important risk factors of knee osteoarthritis (OA), obesity is closely related to the clinical symptoms and OA progression of patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of exosomal RNAs in plasma of knee OA patients with obesity and discussed their potential diagnostic and therapeutic value in obese knee OA.
Methods: The 101 participants with knee OA patients were divided into three groups according to BMI class. The corresponding clinical information was recorded and the correlation with obesity was analyzed. Next, we extracted the plasma exosomes from three OA patients with obesity (BMI≥30kg/m2) and three OA patients without obesity (BMI 18.5-24kg/m2). Then, quantitative sequencing of the whole transcriptome exosomal RNAs, including mRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs, was performed and the differential expression of the exosomal RNAs were analyzed. At last, the function of differential RNAs in plasma exosomes between the two groups were discussed via GO enrichment, KEGG pathways and interaction Analysis.
Results: There was a negative relationship between BMI and HSS (Hospital for special surgery) score and a positive relationship between BMI and WOMAC (The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis) index in 101 participants with knee OA. There were 334 mRNAs and 29 lncRNAs showing significant differential expression between obesity OA group and non-obesity OA group, including 189 up-regulated mRNAs, 145 down-regulated mRNAs, 15 up-regulated lncRNAs and 14 down-regulated lncRNAs. Signal pathway analysis showed that metabolism-related changes including metabolism and organismal system, fatty acid metabolism, positive regulation of fatty acid oxidation, adipocytokine signaling pathway, insulin resistance were enriched in obesity-related OA group. Furthermore, 7 differentially expressed lncRNAs related to lipid metabolism process were screened out, including lnc-TAL1-3-2, NONHSAT209148.1, lnc-DLEU2, Inc00969, lnc-CABP4-2, lnc-CHD1L-5 and lnc-ERICH1-19. However, there was no differential expression of cirRNAs between two groups.
Conclusion: Knee OA patients with obesity had more serious clinical symptoms and signs. Compared to the control group, there was obviously differential expression of mRNAs and lncRNAs in plasma exosomes of knee OA patients with obesity. The differential mRNAs and lncRNAs in plasma exosomes may potentially affect synovial inflammation of joint and participate in the pathological injury of OA. Our data suggested that plasma exosomal RNA may be a potential diagnostic and intervention target for OA patients with obesity in the future.
The redox-sensitive R-loop of the carbon control protein SbtB contributes to the regulation of the cyanobacterial CCM
Authors: Mantovani Oliver , Haffner Michael , Walke Peter , Elshereef Abdalla A. , Wagner Berenike , Petras Daniel , Forchhammer Karl , Selim Khaled A. , Hagemann Martin
Published: August 2023

SbtB is a PII-like protein that regulates the carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCM) in cyanobacteria. SbtB proteins can bind many adenyl nucleotides and possess a characteristic C-terminal redox sensitive loop (R-loop) that forms a disulfide bridge in response to the diurnal state of the cell. SbtBs also possess an ATPase/ADPase activity that is modulated by the redox-state of the R-loop. To investigate the R-loop in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, site-specific mutants, unable to form the hairpin and permanently in the reduced state, and a R-loop truncation mutant, were characterized under different inorganic carbon (Ci) and light regimes. Growth under diurnal rhythm showed a role of the R-loop as sensor for acclimation to changing light conditions. The redox-state of the R-loop was found to impact the binding of the adenyl-nucleotides to SbtB, its membrane association and thereby the CCM regulation, while these phenotypes disappeared after truncation of the R-loop. Collectively, our data imply that the redox-sensitive R-loop provides an additional regulatory layer to SbtB, linking the CO2-related signaling activity of SbtB with the redox state of cells, mainly reporting the actual light conditions. This regulation not only coordinates CCM activity in the diurnal rhythm but also affects the primary carbon metabolism.
Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the heterogeneity of tumor-associated macrophage in three subtypes of breast cancer
Authors: Yuan Yan , Zhang Shu , Huang Jian
Published: August 2023

The heterogeneity and the complex cellular interaction of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have a crucial effect on different subtypes of breast cancer (BC) progression and response to treatment. In this work, we combine published single-cell RNA sequencing data from 24 BC patients and co-culture experiments of macrophages with three subtypes of BC to identify heterogeneity of TAMs. We find that TAMs in the three subtypes of BC not only have diverse features and functions, but also emerge to the crosstalk within subtypes. The results of pathway enrichment analysis, cellular communication, and ligand-receptor pair analysis show that heterogeneous TAMs can activate different pathways in cancer cells and epithelial cells by expressing specific ligands and binding to different receptors. We revealed the unique role of heterogeneous TAMs in regulating the biological functions of different tumor microenvironments, and by targeting heterogeneous macrophages in different subtypes of breast cancer may provide a novel insight for the precision immunotherapy of breast cancer.
Evaluation of green development levels of resource-based cities: A case study of typical cities in Anhui Province
Authors: Yu Yao , Duan Chuanqing , Gong Cheng , Hu Shuheng , Ding Zhaogang
Published: August 2023

The green development of resource-based cities is an important method to deal with increasing concerns of resource and the environment. From the perspectives of ecological cities and urban sustainable development, this paper constructs a comprehensive evaluation system of urban green development that integrated supporting force index, traction index, and driving force index. Considering the importance of such indexes and the relationship between the indexes, an optimal combination model of weight determination is constructed based on the organic integration of an entropy weight method and a maximizing deviation method. Five typical resource-based cities in Anhui Province, Hefei, Huainan, Maanshan, Huaibei, and Tongling, were included in the empirical research. The evaluation results showed that the green development level in Hefei was much higher than that of the other four cities. The level of green development in Maanshan was moderate, while the overall situations of Huainan, Tongling, and Huaibei were not satisfying. Accordingly, some targeted countermeasures and suggestions were provided in this paper, hoping to improve the level of green development of resource-based cities in China.