bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Malnutrition and Inflammatory Status in Cervical Cancer Patients attending Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital
Authors: Assefa Etsegenet , Degef Maria , Tigeneh Wondemagegnhu , Gnanasekaran Ñatesan , Legesse Mezegebu , Lejisa Tadesse
Published: July 2022

Gynecological cancer patients experience malnutrition and Inflammation that play a pivotal role in the progression of cervical cancer. The aim of the present study was to assess malnutrition and inflammatory status in cervical cancer patients through measurement of biochemical markers. Hospital based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 cervical cancer patients and 50 healthy individuals. Blood was collected and analyzed to gather biochemical and hematological data. Demographic and anthropometric data were also collected and data were statistically analyzed.The mean age was participants 52.4 years. Patients had decreased Albumin, Hemoglobin and Lymphocyte to Monocyte ratio and increased Total Protein, Ferritin, Red cell distribution width (RDW), Neutrophils to Lymphocytes ratio and Platelet to Lymphocytes ratio levels than controls group and also those parameters showed in cervical cancer from stage II to stage IV. Albumin negatively correlated with serum ferritin (r=-0.120*, p=0.002) and RDW (r=-0.018*, p= 0.001) in cervical cancer patient and negatively correlated with serum total protein (r=0.943*, P<0.001) in control group. NLR positively correlated with PLR (r=0.764**, p=0.000) and LMR (R=1.000**, P=0.000) in cervical cancer patients.Albumin, Total Protein and Ferritin also Hemoglobin, NLR, RDW LMR and PLR may serve as markers for assessment of malnutrition and inflammation and may also use as a prognostic factor in cervical cancer patients.
Applying genomic approaches to delineate conservation strategies: a case study using the freshwater mussel Margaritifera margaritifera in the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Perea Silvia , Mendes Sofia , Sousa-Santos Carla , Ondina Paz , Amaro Rafaela , Castro Jaime , San-Miguel Eduardo , Lima Cristina , Garcia Maria , Velasquez Victor , Garcia-Roves Pedro , Fernández Diego , Araujo Rafael , Sousa Vitor , Reis Joaquim
Published: July 2022

Effective conservation actions to counteract the current decline of populations and species require a deep knowledge on their genetic structure. We used Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) to infer the population structure of the highly threatened freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera in the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 130 individuals were collected from 26 locations belonging to 16 basins. We obtained 31,692 SNPs through Genotyping by Sequencing (GBS) and used this dataset to infer population structure. Genetic diversity given as observed heterozygosity was low. Pairwise FST comparisons revealed low levels of genetic differentiation among geographically close populations. Up to 3 major genetic lineages were determined: Atlantic, Cantabrian and Douro. This structure suggests a close co-evolutionary process with brown trout (Salmo trutta), the primordial fish host of this mussel in the studied area. Some sub-basins showed some genetic structuring, whereas in others no intrapopulation differentiation was found. Our results show that genetic conservation units do not match individual basins, and that knowledge about the genetic structure is necessary before planning recovery plans that may involve relocation or restocking. The same reasoning should be applied to strictly freshwater species that are sessile or have restricted dispersal abilities and are currently imperiled worldwide.
Temporal Trend Analysis of Climate Data by using Innovative Polygon Trend Analysis method for Hardwar, India
Authors: Sharma Vishal , Ghosh Sanjay Kumar
Published: July 2022

Nowadays, Global warming is one of the important concerns due to which rapid change is occurring in climate throughout the world. This climate change has remarkable effects on living beings as well as on biotic and non-biotic. The climatic parameters, create a never-ending urge for the robust investigation to counter the unwanted harsh effects of change in the climate. As per the past studies, the trend analysis method is considered one of the most common and effective methods. Innovative Polygon Trend Analysis (IPTA) is an innovative, non-parametric technique of analysis for estimating trends in recent years. It almost avoids the difficulties faced in the parametric approach. The unique feature of this method is its dependence on time-series data and correspondingly comparison of data series with each other. Therefore, in this article, the average temperature (monthly) and total rainfall data (monthly) of the district of Hardwar is fetched and analyzed for the period-interval of 40 years (1981 to 2020). The result obtained consist of Polygon graphics (arithmetic and standard deviation) along with trend slope and trend length. According to the results, it is observed that no regular polygon is seen in the graphics of minimum temperature and rainfall data while regular polygon is seen in arithmetic mean of maximum rainfall. This means that minimum temperature and rainfall data varies by years and maximum temperature data has homogenous behavior. Inferring this, reciprocated incremental and decrement trends were observed in some months when the statistical parameters standard deviation and arithmetic mean are analyzed.
Focal venous malformations and risk of muscle involvement: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Zhou Jie , Guo Lei , Song Dan , Wang Liang , Li Jing , Liu Zhuang , Niu Yanli , Sun Jiali , Wu Changhua
Published: July 2022

Background: Venous malformations (VMs) are the most common vascular malformations. VMs can be classified as focal, multifocal, or diffuse types. Focal venous malformations with muscle involvement is not well defined.Objective: The aim of our study was to characterize characteristics of focal VMs and classify them based on position that are associated with invasion of muscle.Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective review of patients treated for focal VMs between February 2021 and February 2022.Results: We assessed 26 patients focal VMs with 47 lesions; 18 (69%) were unifocal, 3 (12%) were dual-focal and 5（19%）were multifocal type VMs, and 29（62%) were intramuscular VMs. Of all focal VMs, 32 (68%) lesions arose in the extremities, 10 (21%) in the head and neck region and 5 (11%) in the torso. The three groups were no statistical difference for the intramuscular VMs, 19 (68%) arose in extremities, 6 (21%) in the head and neck region and 3 (11%) in the torso. But the lower limbs intramuscular VMs had a signifificantly elevated risk of focal VMs(relative risk [RR],1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.148-2.394). Limitations: Retrospective, single-institution study.Conclusion: Intramuscular involvement of the body should be considered in focal VMs. The lower limbs intramuscular VMs had a signifificantly elevated risk of focal VMs.
Ingestion of whey protein and beta-conglycinin exerts opposite effects on intestinal FGF15-mediated hepatic bile acid synthesis in mice.
Authors: Nonogaki Katsunori , Kaji Takao
Published: July 2022

Farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a BA receptor, and fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) regulate enterohepatic circulation of BAs, glucose, and lipid metabolism. Here we show that ingestion of whey protein isolate, a milk protein, significantly increased plasma FGF15 levels and the expression of FXR and FGF15 in mouse ileum. In addition, ingestion of whey protein isolate significantly suppressed the expression of hepatic cholesterol-7α hydroxylase (CYP7A1), which induces BA synthesis, and decreased the primary BAs, including cholic acid, taurocholic acid, glycocholic acid, and taurochenodeoxycholic acid in the liver compared with controls. Moreover, ingestion of whey protein isolate significantly decreased the expression of Takeda G protein-coupled Receptor 5 (TGR5), glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), and tryptophan hydroxylase1 (Tph1) in the small intestine, and plasma serotonin and insulin levels. On the other hand, ingestion of the soy protein β-conglycinin significantly decreased the expression of FGF15 in the ileum and plasma FGF15 levels, leading to increased expression of hepatic CYP7A1 and BA synthesis. Moreover, ingestion of β-conglycinin significantly increased the expression of intestinal TGR5, GLP-1, and Tph1, and plasma 5-HT and insulin levels. These findings suggest that whey protein and β-conglycinin have opposite effects on intestinal FGF15-mediated hepatic BA synthesis and intestinal serotonin secretion in mice.
The Beneficiary of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells primed with oestradiol in alleviating collagen-induced arthritis​
Authors: Jahantigh Monireh , Froushani Seyyed Meysam Abtahi , Ahangaran Nahideh Afzale
Published: July 2022

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the oestradiol (ES)pulsed bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) to treat adjuvant-induced arthritis in Wistar rats. BM-MSCs were pulsed with ES (0, 10,100 and 1000 nM) for 24 hours. RA induced collagen and Freund's Complete Adjuvant into the base of the tail of Wistar rats. In vitro results showed that the least effective concentration of ES that can promote potent anti-inflammatory properties in the MSC population is 100 nM. At this concentration, ES increases the inhibition of the poly-clonal T lymphocyte proliferation, production of IDO, IL-10, Nitric oxide, TGF-β, and expression of CXCR4 and CCR2 mRNA in the MSC population. Based on In vitro results, the RA rats were treated with 2×106 MSCs or ES-pulsed MSCs (100nM) on day 10 when all animals had developed signs of RA. The in vivo results showed that the treatment with ES-pulsed BM-MSCs reduced the severity of the RA more profoundly than treatment with BM-MScs alone. The ability of ES-pulsed BM-MSCs to reduce symptoms and RA markers like CRP, RF, and nitric oxide was comparable to that of prednisolone. Prednisolone was more successful in reducing inflammatory cytokines than treatment with ES-pulsed BM-MSCs. ES-pulsed BM-MSCs were more successful in increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines than treatment with Prednisolone. The ability of ES-pulsed BM-MSCs to decrease the level of nitric oxide was comparable to that of prednisolone. Collectively, ES-pulsed BM-MSCs may be a helpful strategy in controlling RA.
Single-cell Landscape Reveals the Immune Heterogeneity of Bone Marrow Involvement in Peripheral T-cell lymphoma
Authors: Liu Jun , Xia Baijing , Jiang Xinmiao , Cao Lixue , Xi Zhihui , Liang Liting , Zhang Shaojun , Zhang Hui , Li Wenyu
Published: July 2022

Evaluation of Bone marrow involvement (BMI) in Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) patients is quite important for determining the prognosis and the tumor microenvironment of BM in PTCL remains unclear. We collected 11 fresh BM samples from the patients with BMI and performed the single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) analysis to reveal the immune landscape and genetic variation of different prognosis of PTCL. There were more effector T cells, exhausted lymphocyte cells and inflammatory response in AITL compare with PTCL-NOS. The immune heterogeneity in AITL was associated with prognosis. More specific TCR-T cells enriched was observed in patients with better response to anti-CD30 therapy. RHOA mutation associated neoantigen was observed. In those treated with Chidamide, more CD4 + regulate cells resulted in better response. In the progressive group, T cell enrichment progressed to secondary B cells enrichment was found and later developed diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Moreover, the AITL patient with lymphoma-associated hemophagocytic syndrome contained the precursor exhausted cells with the copy number variation in Chr5. Overall, this study revealed the first single cell landscape depicting BM microenvironment heterogeneity in PTCL with BMI. It is innovative in applying the scRNA-seq technology to investigate the immune heterogeneity and the genetic variation of AITL.
Opinions of Turkish medical oncologists about the participation of patients and/or patient caregivers in multidisciplinary tumor boards
Authors: Eren Orhan Onder , Zerey Mehmet Murat , Körez Muslu Kazım , Ata Ozlem
Published: July 2022

Purpose
Multidicplinary tumor board(MTBs) are an an important component of cancer patient care. The participation of patients or caregivers in MTBs is an contentious issue and is uncommon in Turkey. This study aimed to determine what Turkish medical oncologists think about the participation of patients and caregivers in MTBs.
Method
The study was conducted during 8th Turkish Congress Of Medical Oncology in Antalya İn November 2021. The medical oncologists that participated completed a 9-item questionnaire. The relationships between the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and their questionnaire responses concerning MTBs were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-square test or the Fisher-Freeman-Halton test.
Results
No statistically significant correlation was found between the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and the opinions of cancer patients or their relatives about their participation in multidisciplinary tumor boards. 75% of the participants do not approve participation of patient or caregivers in MTBs. 12% of participants approve the participation of both in the MTBs. 3% of participants approve only the participation of caregivers where as only the 6% of medical oncologist approve only the participation of patients in tumor board.
Conclusion
Among 109 Turkish medical oncologists, most didn’t approve of the participation of patients or caregivers in MTBs. The 2 major reasons for this lack of approval are fear that patients and caregivers will not understand medical terminology, and the emotional stress their participation can cause MTB members.
Working with a medical quality register increases nurses’ clinical and organisational competence – a qualitative study
Authors: Bjørngaard Hilde , Koksvik Hege Svean , Jakobsen Bente , Grønning Kjersti
Published: July 2022

Background
RevNatus is a consent-based, nationwide medical quality register that collects data on patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases during pregnancy and one year postpartum. The entering of data takes place in outpatient clinics in rheumatology wards in hospitals. The aim of this study is to explore how rheumatology nurses experience organizing and working with the medical quality register RevNatus in addition to their normal clinical patient-care tasks.
Methods
Qualitative focus group interviews and individual in-depth interviews were conducted to gain insights into how nurses organize performing quality register work and clinical work simultaneously. Data were analysed using systematic text condensation.
Results
The informants represented seven different rheumatology outpatient clinics in Norway. The analyses showed that working with RevNatus increased the nurses’ knowledge about pregnancy and rheumatic diseases, improved the content of their nurse consultations and found the ‘register form’ as a useful template to structure the nurse consultations. The nurses took the main responsibility for RevNatus, but lack of routines and uncoordinated collaboration with the rheumatologists and secretaries made the nurses spend too much time verifying the accuracy of data or post-registering missing data.
Conclusion
The nurses experienced work with RevNatus as time-consuming, but the register work increased both their clinical and organisational competences. Routines and collaboration within the registry team are important to ensure the data quality and reduce the workload.
Characterization of a new anti-LAG3 monoclonal for immuno-oncology
Authors: Warren P. Daniel , Dodson Mark S. , Smith Margaret H. , Landowski Terry H. , Palting John Douglas , Towne Penny
Published: July 2022

Background
Lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG3) (CD223) is a T cell inhibitory receptor that promotes tumor cell immune escape, is associated with signaling pathways in multiple immune disorders and cancer, and is considered as a potential target for cancer diagnostic and immunotherapeutic applications. Targeting LAG3 towards these ends requires developing additional new antibodies. Here we compare the binding characteristics of a new anti-LAG3 rabbit antibody, the SP464 clone, with the thirty-year old and extensively used anti-LAG3 mouse antibody, the 17B4 clone.
Methods
The three orthologous techniques of automated capillary electrophoresis (ACE), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to assess the relative binding properties of each clone for their shared immunogen and its sub-fragments and to map the relative location of their respective epitopes within the immunogen. Alanine scanning substitution of the SP464 epitope was used to further refine the epitope boundaries and to identify amino acids essential for binding.
Results
The rabbit SP464 clone exhibited between 20x to 30x greater binding to the target than did the mouse 17B4 clone. The minimal epitopes of the SP464 and 17B4 clones were localized to separate, but overlapping, sub-fragments within the amino-terminal fifteen acids of the original thirty-mer peptide immunogen used to generate both antibodies. Further application of this orthologous approach towards quantifying the effects of sequential alanine substitutions along the minimal epitope of the rabbit SP464 clone were in close agreement and identified two amino acids within the SP464 epitope that are essential for binding and four additional amino acids that likely contribute towards binding.
Conclusions
Our results show that the combined application of ACE, SPR, and IHC constitute a powerful orthologous approach both for comparing antibody-binding characteristics and for fine mapping of linear epitopes within an immunogen. The results of this approach indicate that the rabbit clone SP464 may serve as an additional useful antibody for assessing LAG3 expression.
The morphological characteristics of paraspinal muscles in young patients with unilateral neurological symptoms of lumbar disc herniation.
Authors: Zhao Xuan , Liang Huiqiang , Hua Zijian , Li Wenshuai , Li Jia , Wang Linfeng , Shen Yong
Published: July 2022

Objective:
The objective of this study was to explore the morphological characteristics of paraspinal muscles in young patients with unilateral neurological symptoms of lumbar disc herniation.
Methods:
This study retrospectively analyzed young patients aged 18–40 years who were hospitalized for lumbar disc herniation in our hospital from June 2017 to June 2020. The data of gender, age, body mass index (BMI), duration of symptoms, degree of lumbar disc herniation, (Visual Analogue Scale) VAS score for LBP, relative cross-sectional area (RCAS) of paravertebral muscles (psoas major, PM, multifidus, MF and erector spinae, ES), and degree of fat infiltration (DFF) of paravertebral muscles were collected. According to whether the VAS score > 4, patients were divided into low back pain (LBP) group and no-low back pain (NLBP) group. The demographic characteristics, bilateral and ipsilateral paravertebral muscles of the two groups were compared and analyzed.
Result:
A total of 129 patients were included in this study, 52 with LBP and 77 with NLBP. There were no significant differences in gender, BMI, and Pfirrmann grade of lumbar disc herniation between the two groups (P > 0.05). The duration of symptoms in the LBP group(9.15 ± 0.31 months) was longer than that in the NLBP group (3.72 ± 0.48 months)(P < 0.05), and the age (33.58 ± 2.98 years) was longer than that in the NLBP group (24.13 ± 2.15 years) (P = 0.002).At L3/4 and L5/S1,there was no significant difference in RCSA and DFF of bilateral and ipsilateral paraspinal muscles between the LBP group and the NLBP group. At L4/5, there was no significant difference in RCSA and DFF of the paraspinal muscles on both sides of the LBP group (P > 0.05); In the NLBP group, the RCSA of the MF muscle on the diseased side was smaller than that on the normal side (P < 0.05), and the DFF of the MF muscle on the diseased side was larger than that on the normal side(P < 0.05), there was no significant difference in the ES and PM muscle on both sides (P > 0.05).At L4/5, the RCSA of the normal side MF muscle was signifcantly smaller in the LBP group than in the NLBP group (P < 0.05), the DFF of the normal side MF muscle was signifcantly larger in the LBP group than in the NLBP group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the ES and PM muscle on the same side between the two groups (P > 0.05).
Conclusion:
In young patients with unilateral neurological symptoms of lumbar disc herniation, symmetrical atrophy of the bilateral MF muscle is more prone to cause low back pain. Longer duration of symptoms, older age, and greater atrophy of the normal side MF muscle could increase the incidence of low back pain in young patients with unilateral neurological symptoms of lumbar disc herniation.
Bioinformatic analysis identifying Arylsulfatase B as a novel biomarker for cancer prognosis with a highlight on stomach adenocarcinoma
Authors: Tian Mengyue , Xue Chaorong , Zhang Shiqi , Yang Yifei , Lin Shizhao , Ao Lu , Li Suyu , Lin Xinjian
Published: July 2022

Arylsulfatases are lysosomal enzymes with important function in the cell metabolism. Studies have demonstrated that the lysosomal protein arylsulfatase B (ARSB) may play roles in tumorigenesis and metastatic potential of tumor cells. However, the relationship between ARSB and stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of ARSB in cancers, particularly STAD and explore the potential underlying mechanisms. Gene expression data and detailed clinical information of cancer cases were obtained from multiple public databases. Subsequently, a series of bioinformatics analyses were used to elucidate the effects of ARSB on malignant tumors including STAD. The results demonstrated that ARSB was up-regulated in 15 cancers including STAD, and down-regulated in 10 cancers. In most cancers, ARSB expression was significantly related with CNA, methylation levels, and overall survival time. In STAD, ARSB was positively related with ESTIMATE Score (r = 0.54, p < 0.001), Immune Score (r = 0.35, p < 0.001), Stromal Score (r = 0.65, p < 0.001), and negatively related with Tumor Purity (r = -0.54, p < 0.001), TMB value (r = -0.13, p = 0.0092) and MSI value (r = -0.16, p = 0.0015). Meanwhile, ARSB are related with 11 tumor-infiltrating immune cells and immune checkpoint genes including LAG3, TIGIT and PDCD1. TNN mutation widely occurred in both high- and low-ARSB expression group. ARSB was found to be related to a variety of drug sensitivities, including lapatinib (r = 0.19, P < 0.001), acetalax (r = 0.18, P < 0.001), osimertinib (r = 0.17, P < 0.001), ABT737 (r = 0.14, P < 0.001), afatinib (r = 0.14, P < 0.001), spitinib (r = 0.13, P < 0.001). Thus, ARSB might be a potential therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker for cancers, especially STAD.
The comorbidities of psoriasis and the effects of long-term exposure to air pollution on psoriasis: an urban population–based retrospective cohort study
Authors: Seo Hyun-Min , Park Se Kwang , Kim Sungyu , Park Ji Hun , Oh Se Uk , Kim Joung Soo
Published: July 2022

Background: To date, the relationship between air pollutants and psoriasis is not well establishedObjective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of long-term exposure to air pollution on psoriasis.Methods: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort (NHIS-HEALS) database, incident cases of psoriasis were calculated from 2008–2015. We collected daily air pollutants from AIRKOREA and the Air Quality Analysis and Control Center in Seoul and climatological variables from the Korean Meteorological Administration.Results: Between 2008–2015, there were 1,502 incident cases with psoriasis among an urban population of 105,800 people. Ischemic heart disease and diabetes as comorbidities were significantly more common in subjects with psoriasis compared to those without psoriasis. After adjusting for age, sex, income, comorbidities, and meteorological variables, long-term exposure to air pollutants, including particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter (hazard ratio [HR], 1.651; for 1 μg/m3), particulate matter <10 μm in diameter (HR, 1.301; for 1 μg/m3), sulfur dioxide (HR, 4.109; for 1 part per billion [ppb]), nitrogen dioxide (HR, 1.683; for 1 ppb), and carbon monoxide (HR, 1.330; for 1 ppb), were significantly associated with increased risk for developing psoriasis.Limitations: The NHIS-HEALS database lacks detailed information on individual subjects. Conclusions: This study suggests that exposure to PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO independently increases the risk of developing psoriasis. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms involved in the role of air pollutants in psoriasis onset.
Category-Aware Deep Multimodal Network with Hybrid Attention Mechanism for Fashion Compatibility Modeling
Authors: Li Yun , Zhang jing , Li Guoxiang , jing peiguang , wang xuejun
Published: July 2022

To address the problem of alignment representation and compatibility prediction in the multimodal feature fusion of fashion items, this paper designs a fashion compatibility prediction model based on a deep attention mechanism and category perception. The model comprises an attention mechanism fusion module and a category-aware module. The former is a fusion model based on the transformer cross-modal attention mechanism, which aligns visual features and text features for feature dimensionality and semantics. To utilize the category information of single products, the potential space of category embedding is constructed for different category pairings based on coarse-grained category partitioning pairs to build different mapping networks, and the compatibility scores between single products are calculated. The experimental simulation results show that compared with existing methods, the accuracy of clothing collocation and the accuracy of the fill-in-the-blank task on the publicly available Polyvore and Polyvore-D datasets are improved.
Screening key marker molecules of osteosarcoma using bioinformatics analysis technology
Authors: Xu Ruiqing , Wan Ningjun , Shi Jiandang
Published: July 2022

BACKGROUND: The most frequent primary bone tumor in children, adults, and elderly individuals over 60 years of age is osteosarcoma (OS), which is most commonly detected in the long bone epiphysis and has a poor prognosis and a high impairment rate. The precise etiology and underlying molecular pathways, however, remain unknown. Using bioinformatics approaches to evaluate the underlying biological mechanisms, this work attempted to discover differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in OS, implicated cell signaling pathways, and associated immune infiltration.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The GSE14359 dataset's expression profiles were downloaded from the GEO database, which contains 20 samples, including 18 OS samples and 2 normal osteoblast control samples. Raw data were collected, DEGs were obtained, and bioinformatics was used to further analyze the data. The gene expression matrix was subjected to WGCNA-weighted gene co-expression network analysis using R (version 4.1.1) software, as well as gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of candidate genes. The STRING database was used to create protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of candidate genes. Core gene network maps were created using the Cytoscape software. The R (version 4.1.1) software was used to rank key genes. Subsequently, plots of individual hub gene survival curves, expression and clinical correlation and promoter methylation and clinical correlation were produced via an online website (http://ualcan.path.uab.edu/). Finally, the infiltration of immune cells in OS was assessed using CIBERSORT.RESULTS: A total of 625 DEGs were identified, of which 314 were up-regulated and 311 were down-regulated. Principal component analysis showed significant differences between the two tissues. WGCNA-weighted gene co-expression showed the highest absolute value of the MEgrey60 module, and a total of 247 genes were listed in the intersection of DEGs and MEgrey60 module genes taken.KEGG pathway analysis showed that these candidate genes mainly involved adherent spots, Rap1, PI3K-Akt, and MAPK, while GO pathway analysis mainly involved cellular processes such as osteogenesis, epithelial cell proliferation, osteoblast differentiation, and molecular functions such as growth factors and fibronectin binding. The 23 most closely related genes among the candidate genes were identified from the PPI network.CONCLUSION: Our study shows that screening for DEGs, pathway enrichment and immune infiltration using bioinformatics analysis not only helps to understand the molecular mechanisms of OS occurrence but also facilitates us to better execute target gene interventions. However, this study still has limitations and subsequent clinical validation of the samples is needed.
Role of Procalcitonin in the Timely Detection of Ischemia and Necrosis in Children With Intestinal Obstruction
Authors: Dominguez-Muñoz Alfredo , Davila-Perez Roberto , Fernandez-Portilla Emilio , Parra-Ortega Israel , Reyes-Lopez Alfonso , Bracho-Blanchet Eduardo
Published: July 2022

Introduction: Procalcitonin (PCT) has been studied for early identification of ischemia and/or necrosis (I/N) in children with intestinal obstruction (IO) secondary to adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO). However, the causes of IO in children are numerous. Purpose: To correlate the level of PCT with the presence of I/N.Results: Fifty-seven patients were analyzed. The incidence of I/N was 36%. PCT median was statistically higher in patients with I/N compared to those patients with normal intestine: 4.13 (13.9) vs 0.11 (0.28) ng/ml, p = <0.001. A PCT threshold >1.17 ng/ml for predicting I/N yielded a sensitivity of 90%, a specificity of 97%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 95%, a negative predictive value (NPV) of 94%, p = <0.001, relative risk (RR) 17.57 (95%CI, 4.54 – 67.90). Similarly, a PCT threshold >1.41 ng/ml for predicting intestinal necrosis yielded a sensitivity of 92%, a specificity of 88%, a PPV of 72%, a NPV of 97%, p = <0.001, RR 28.16 (95%CI, 3.98 – 119.12).Conclusions: This study corroborates the association of PCT with IN in children with IO and expands the evidence of its use in this field. Similarly, suggests a PCT threshold >1.17 ng/ml and >1.41 for predicting IN and intestinal necrosis respectively.
Breast Conservation Therapy Decreased Heart-specific Mortality in Breast Cancer patients Compared with Mastectomy
Authors: Li Zhi , Zhao Ruipeng
Published: July 2022

Aim: To investigate the impacts of breast conservation therapy (BCT) and mastectomy on heart-specific mortality in breast cancer patients.Methods: Patients with primary breast cancer registered in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between Jan 1998 and Dec 2015 were included. Patients were divided into either breast conservation therapy or mastectomy group. To compare mortality caused by heart diseases in breast cancer patients with BCT or mastectomy, univariate and multivariate regression after propensity score matching (PSM) were performed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was also used to evaluate heart-specific survival between two groups. Results: 132,616 patients with breast cancer were enrolled in this study. After PSM, four risk factors including age, race, marital status and types of surgery were identified significantly associated with death from heart diseases. Heart-specific survival analysis further showed that overall, BCT poses a lower risk to heart-specific mortality compared with mastectomy. Conclusion: Compared with mastectomy, BCT significantly decreased heart-specific mortality in breast cancer patients.
SOX9+ malignant cells define a poor prognosis subtype of Glioma with tumor-associated macrophage recruitment
Authors: Yu Shizhe , Ma Chao , Wang Haoren , Yu Bin , Luan Yi , Xia Zongping
Published: July 2022

Background
Gliomas, as the most common aggressive type of primary brain tumors, are highly prevalent and incurable among adults. The dysregulation of transcription factors, including sex determining region Y (SRY)-related high-mobility group (HMG) box (SOX) genes, are considered to be important in cancer development and progression. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of SOX9 in the prognosis of glioma.
Results
We revealed aberrant regulation of most SOX family genes by using 1289 glioma samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) cohorts. We identified 4 critical genes, SOX3, SOX6, SOX8 and SOX9, -based risk signature model through LASSO regression and a specific SOX9 + cell state with more pronounced malignancy through high-quality single-cell RNA sequencing data analysis. The up regulation of SOX9 and the downregulation of SOX3, SOX6, and SOX8 indicate a decrease in overall survival. The SOX9 + cell state represents a greater proliferative capacity and invasive metastatic properties and is a primary source of attraction for infiltration of bone marrow-derived myeloid (BMM) cells, which are also demonstrated by multicolor immunofluorescence analysis.
Conclusions
Our study suggests that SOX9 is an independent prognostic and predictive factor for glioma, and the potential interaction between SOX9 + malignant cells and BMM deserves further investigation.
Perinatal presentations of nonimmune hydrops fetalis due to biallelic pathogenic variants in PIEZO1: underdiagnosed?
Authors: Beneteau Claire , ghesh leïla , Désir Julie , Haye Damien , tanno pauline le , Devillard Françoise , Cogné Benjamin , marangoni martina , tecco laura , Héron Delphine , vaillant claudine le , Joubert Madelein
Published: July 2022

Hydrops fetalis is a rare disorder associated with significant perinatal complications and a high perinatal mortality of at least 50%. Nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) is more frequent and results from a wide variety of etiologies. One cause of NIHF is lymphatic malformation 6 (LMPHM6 or generalized lymphatic dysplasia of Fotiou) due to biallelic loss-of-function (LoF) variants in PIEZO1. Most individuals are diagnosed postnatally and only few clinical data are available on fetal presentations. We report six novel biallelic predicted LoF variants in PIEZO1 identified by exome sequencing in six fetuses and one deceased neonate from four unrelated families affected with LMPHM6: three nonsense variants (NM_001142864.4: c.2604T > A, p.(Cys868*); c.7117C > T, p.(Gln2373*) and c.1965C > G, p.(Tyr655*)), two splice-site variants (c.4775 + 1G > A, c.365-1G > A) and one frameshift (c.6468_6469del, p.(Lys2157Glufs*63)). During the pregnancy, most cases are revealed by isolated NIHF at second trimester of gestation. At post-mortem examination ascites, pleural effusions and telengectasies can guide the etiological diagnosis. We aim to further describe the perinatal presentation of this condition which could be underdiagnosed.
Effect of Nanoclay on Combustion, Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Recycled High Density Polyethylene/Organomodified Montmorillonite/Marula Seed Cake Nanocomposites
Authors: Ogah Anselm Ogah , Ezeani Obumneme Emmanuel
Published: July 2022

The aim of the study was to investigate the suitability of using marula seed cake as filler in recycled polyethylene (R-HDPE) composite manufacturing. In response to the disposal of environmental problematic agricultural and plastic waste, 50:50 wt% of recycled high density polyethylene (R-HDPE)/marula seed cake (MSC) agro-waste filler with varying contents (0, 2, 4, and 6 phc) of organomodified montmorillonite (OMMT) were produced by melt compounding technology. The effects of OMMT on the combustion, mechanical and morphological properties of R-HDPE/MSC/OMMT nanocomposites were investigated. Characterization of composites was performed using cone calorimetry, universal testing machine and scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that tensile and flexural strength and moduli increased with increase in the OMMT content up to 2 phc and then decreased. The optimum tensile and flexural strength and modulus were found to be 45.48 and 4061.52MPa, 30.78 and 3069.38MPa for the composites filled with 2 phc OMMT. Morphological images revealed that samples with 2phc showed no evidence of OMMT aggregation, whereas samples with 4 and 6 phc showed aggregated OMMT which caused reduced mechanical strength. It was found that the OMMT effectively improved flame retardancy of HDPE/MSC/OMMT nanocomposites with increase in the limiting oxygen index (LOI) and remarkably prolonged time to ignition (TTI) and decreasing heat release rate (HRR), as well as strongly reducing mass loss rate (MLR) and burning rate (BR). It can be inferred that MSC content of up to 50wt% and 50wt% R-HDPE with 2 phc of OMMT optimum content could be used in composite production.
Protective role of Codiaeum variegatum against genotoxicity induced by carmustine in somatic and germ cells of male mice
Authors: Fahmy Maha A. , Farghaly Ayman A. , Hassan Entesar E. , Abd-Alla Howaida Ibrahim , Hassan Zeinab M.
Published: July 2022

Carmustine (Cr) is an important chemotherapeutic drug widely used in the treatment of brain tumors. Herein, the genotoxic side effect of Cr was evaluated by using different cytogenetic parameters. Also, the protective role of Codiaeum variegatum leaves ethyl acetate fraction at different doses was determined. The technique HPLC-qTOF-MS/MS was used to identify the constituents in C. variegatum. A total of 90 male mice was used to evaluate micronuclei (MPCEs) in bone marrow, chromosomal aberration (CAs) in the bone marrow and mouse spermatocytes, sperm abnormalities, and gene expression (qRT-PCR). The following groups were included, I: Control negative (ethanol 30%), II: Control positive (i.p injected once with 30 mg/kg Cr), III: Control plant orally treated with C. variegatum at 500 mg/kg, four days). IV-VI: treated with 100, 300, and 500 mg/kg of the plant (4 days) plus a single dose of Cr on the last day of treatment. The results revealed the genotoxic effect of Cr in somatic cells evidenced by increasing in MPCEs and CAs by 3 and 7- folds respectively over the corresponding control. Cr also induced a significant percentage of CAs in spermatocytes in meiosis in the form of univalent (X-Y and autosomal univalent) and also a significant percentage of morphological sperm abnormalities was recorded. A large number of coiled tail abnormalities were detected indicating the effect of Cr in sperm motility. Cr also induced an overexpression of the P53 gene. C. variegatum mitigated all deleterious genotoxic effects of Cr with a dose-related relationship. By using HPLC-qTOF-MS/MS analysis, it was found that flavones (35.21%), phenolic acids (17.62%), flavonols (3.40%), isoflavones (0.53%), constitute mainly the polyphenolic components of the leaves. Other important phytochemicals (8.29–0.49%) such as coumarins, indoles, fatty acids, and amino acids, were also identified. Such components together participate in the obtained protective role of C. variegatum.
Very low incidence of HIV-infection and decreasing incidence of sexually transmitted infections among PrEP users in 2020 after introduction of coverage by health insurance in Germany
Authors: Schmidt Daniel , Kollan Christian , Bartmeyer Barbara , Bremer Viviane , Schikowski Tim , Friebe Martin , Schellberg Sven , Scholten Stefan , Bickel Markus , Hanhoff Nikola , Rüsenberg Robin , Schewe Knud , group NEPOS study
Published: July 2022

IntroductionObjectives of this study, as part of a nation-wide HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) evaluation project, were to determine the incidence of infections with HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis A/B/C in persons using PrEP, and to describe the health care funded PrEP use in Germany. Additionally, factors associated with chlamydia/gonorrhea and syphilis infections were assessed.MethodsAnonymous data of PrEP users were collected at 47 HIV-specialty centers from 09/2019-12/2020. Incidence rates were calculated per 100 person years (py). Using longitudinal mixed models, we analyzed risk factors associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs).Results4620 PrEP users were included: 99.2% male, median age 38 years (IQR 32-45), 98.6% men who have sex with men (MSM). The median duration of observation was 451 days (IQR 357-488), totaling 5132 py.Four HIV infections were diagnosed, incidence rate 0,078/100py (95% CI 0.029-0.208). For two suboptimal adherence was reported and in the third case suboptimal adherence and resistance to emtricitabine was observed. One infection was likely acquired before PrEP start.Incidence rates were 21.6/100py for chlamydia, 23.7/100py for gonorrhea, 10.1/100py for syphilis and 55.4/100py for any STI and decreased significantly during the observation period. 65.5% of syphilis, 55.6% of chlamydia and 50.1% of gonorrhea cases were detected by screening of asymptomatic individuals. In a multivariable analysis among MSM younger age, PrEP start before health insurance coverage and daily PrEP were associated with greater risk for chlamydia/gonorrhea. Symptom triggered testing and a history of STI were associated with a higher risk for chlamydia/gonorrhea and syphilis. A significantly lower risk for chlamydia/gonorrhea and syphilis was found for observations during the covid-19 pandemic period.ConclusionsWe found that HIV-PrEP is almost exclusively used by MSM in Germany. A very low incidence of HIV-infection and decreasing incidence rates of STIs were found in this cohort of PrEP users. The results were influenced by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Rollout of PrEP covered by health insurance should be continued to prevent HIV infections. Increased PrEP availability to people at risk of HIV infection through the elimination of barriers requires further attention. Investigation and monitoring with a longer follow-up would be of value.
Boerhaave’s Syndrome: A Case Presentation
Authors: Saqr Mahmoud , Almasloot Ahmed , Eltawagny Mahmoud , Hawana Osama
Published: July 2022

BackgroundSpontaneous oesophagal rupture is a rare and non-common presentation which requires a high level of clinical suspicion. Case presentationA 39-y-old patient presented with atypical symptoms of severe abdominal pain, constipation, and vomiting. Abdominal pain resolved after initial treatment, thought to have acute abdominal pathology, initial chest X-ray & abdominal X-ray were normal studies with no identified acute pathologies. The patient was kept under observation till deterioration happened, a computed tomography scan (CT scan) was done for suspected intra-abdominal sepsis, and then images showed a ruptured oesophagus. Eventually, the patient was admitted for urgent surgical intervention. ConclusionsThis case report describes a rare Emergency Department (ED) presentation which requires a high index of suspicion, early diagnosis, and urgent management.
Symbiont Genotype Influences Holobiont Response to Increased Temperature
Authors: Moffat Jennica J. , Coffroth Mary Alice , Wallingford Piper D. , terHorst Casey P.
Published: July 2022

As coral reefs face warming oceans and increased coral bleaching, a whitening of the coral due to loss of microalgal endosymbionts, the possibility of evolutionary rescue offers some hope for reef persistence. In tightly linked mutualisms, evolutionary rescue may occur through evolution of one or both partners. Many obligate mutualisms are composed of relatively small, fast-growing symbionts with greater potential to evolve on ecologically relevant time scales than their relatively large, slower growing hosts. We examined the potential for adaptation of the upside-down sea jelly Cassiopea xamachana to increased temperature via evolution of its microalgal endosymbiont, Symbiodinium microadriaticum. We quantified trait variation among five algal genotypes in response to three temperatures and fitness of hosts infected with each genotype. All genotypes had positive growth rates at each temperature, but rates of respiration and photosynthesis decreased with increasing temperature. Responses varied among genotypes but were unrelated to genetic similarity. The effect of temperature on asexual reproduction and the timing of development in the host also depended on the genotype of the symbiont. Natural selection could favor different algal genotypes at different temperatures, affecting host fitness. This eco-evolutionary interaction may be a critical component of understanding species resilience in increasingly stressful environments.
A Comparative Analysis of ARIMA and other Statistical Techniques in Rainfall Forecasting: A Case Study in Kolkata (KMC), West Bengal
Authors: Alam Md Juber , Majumder Arijit
Published: July 2022

Rainfall forecasting in urban environments is an important concern for city planners since it is linked to urban water management. In this study, the ARIMA (auto-regressive integrated moving average) model, as well as several regression approaches such as simple linear and second to sixth-degree polynomial regression equations have been used to forecast the annual rainfall based on 120 years of monthly and annual rainfall from 1901 to 2020 in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), West Bengal. It is a comparison of ARIMA and other regression techniques for forecasting rainfall using r squared and root mean square error (RMSE). The ARIMA model has been implemented through machine language using the python platform and other regression equations have been computed and analyzed in Microsoft Excel 2019. For using ARIMA, all assumptions were tested and the best order of the model was determined using the import auto-Arima package from the pmdarima.arima library and the stepwise model.aic function, which produced 0,1,1 as the best order of the model. The result shows that among all the regression approaches used to forecast rainfall the fifth-degree polynomial equation has the lowest RMSE making it the best model to forecast rainfall in this analysis.