bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Homoharringtonine is Synergistically Lethal with BCL-2 inhibitor APG-2575 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Wei Wenwen , Huang Shujuan , Ling Qing , Mao Shihui , Qian Yu , Ye Wenle , Li Fenglin , Pan Jiajia , Lin Xiangjie , Huang Jiansong , Huang Xin , Sun Jie , Jin Jie
Published: April 2022

Background: Despite advances in targeted agents development, effective treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains a major clinical challenge. The BCL-2 inhibitor exhibited well clinical activity in AML treatment, and APG-2575, a novel BCL-2 selective inhibitor, demonstrated anti-tumor activity in hematologic malignancies.Methods: The synergistic effects of APG-2575 and HHT were studied in AML cell lines and primary samples. MTS was used to measure the cell viability. Annexin V/propidium iodide staining was used to measure the apoptosis rate by flow cytometry. We established AML xenograft tumor model to evaluate the anti-leukemic effect of the combination of BCL-2 inhibitor and HHT in vivo. Western blot was used to examine the expression of related proteins level.Results: In this study, we demonstrated that APG-2575, showed comparable anti-leukemic effect to the FDA-approved BCL-2 inhibitor ABT-199, in AML cell lines or primary AML patient samples. However, similar to ABT-199, APG-2575 treated AML cells showed increased MCL-1, which lead to the resistance of AML cells to the BCL-2 inhibitor. Our previous studies found homoharringtonine (HHT) induced AML cells apoptosis by promoting MCL-1 degradation through the PI3K/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway. Herein, we show that combined treatment of HHT with APG-2575 synergistically inhibited AML cell growth and expedited apoptosis by suppressing MCL-1. In addition, APG-2575 combined with HHT had a strong synergistic anti-tumor effect in AML xenograft mouse model.Conclusion: Overall, our results provide an effective AML treatment strategy through a reasonable combination of APG-2575 and HHT, which is worthy of further clinical research.
Design of User Management and security Tools for Centaurus
Authors: Dubey Shreya Mukesh
Published: April 2022

Centaurus is an open source software that facilitates the effective development of distributed computing applications in 5G cloud environment. This is necessary for efficient application development since Kubernetes is lacking multi-tenant capability and also in the provision of security. In this scenario, Centaurus can be used to build these gaps. In this project work, a new user and security management tool has been developed for Kubernetes platform using Centaurus. The major tools developed in this project work are User management tool using login feature, tool for clustering and role creation, Multi-Tenant Management tool, Namespace management and virtual machine management tool and a role based access control tool for enhancing the security of distributed applications. Moreover, for enhancing the security of applications developed using Centaurus, a new Role Based Access Control tool has been developed in this project work. This Role Based Access Control tool provides facilities for creating roles, assigning privileges, securing applications based on user privileges and finally the facility for revoking the privileges in order to enhance the security of the system. The major advantages of the system developed in this project work include the increase in Usability, flexibility and security of the applications.
Evaluation of lung toxicity with bevacizumab using the spontaneous reporting database
Authors: Kanbayashi Yuko , Uchida Mayako , Kashiwagi Misui , Akiba Hitomi , Shimizu Tadashi
Published: April 2022

This study was undertaken to determine the risk of bevacizumab-induced lung toxicity, time to onset, and post hoc outcomes using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report database. We analysed data for the period between April 2004 and March 2021. Data on lung toxicities were extracted, and relative risk of adverse events (AEs) was estimated using the reporting odds ratio. We analysed 5,273,115 reports and identified 20,399 reports of AEs caused by bevacizumab. Of these, 1,679 lung toxicities were reportedly associated with bevacizumab. Signals were detected for nine lung toxicities. A histogram of times to onset showed occurrence from 35 to 238 days, but some cases occurred even more than one year after the start of administration. Approximately 20% of AEs were thromboembolic events. Among these, pulmonary embolism was the most frequently reported and fatal cases were also reported. The AEs showing the highest fatality rates were pulmonary haemorrhage, pulmonary infarction, and pulmonary thrombosis. In conclusion, we focused on lung toxicities caused by bevacizumab as post-marketing AEs. Some cases could potentially result in serious outcomes, patients should be monitored for signs of onset of AEs not only at the start of administration, but also over a longer period of time.
How Do Item Features and User Characteristics Affect Users' Perceptions of Recommendation Serendipity? A Cross-Domain Analysis
Authors: Wang Ningxia , Chen Li
Published: April 2022

Serendipity is one of beyond-accuracy objectives for recommender systems (RSs), which aims to achieve both relevance and unexpectedness of recommendations, so as to potentially address the ``filter bubble'' issue of traditional accuracy-oriented RSs. However, so far most of the serendipity-oriented studies have focused on developing algorithms to consider various types of item features or user characteristics, but are largely based on their own assumptions. Few have stood from users' perspective to identify the effects of these features on users' perceptions of the serendipity of the recommendation. Therefore, in this paper, we have analyzed their effects with two user survey datasets. These are the Movielens Serendipity dataset of 467 users' responses to a retrospective survey of their perceptions of the recommended movie's serendipity, and the Taobao Serendipity dataset of 11,383 users' perceptions of the serendipity of a recommendation received at a mobile e-commerce platform. In both datasets, we have analyzed the correlations between users' serendipity perceptions and various types of item features (i.e., item-driven such as popularity, profile-driven such as in-profile diversity, and interaction-driven including category-level and item-level features), as well as the influence of several user characteristics (including the Big-Five personality traits and curiosity). The results disclose both domain-independent and domain-specific observations, which may be constructive in enhancing current serendipity- oriented recommender systems by better utilizing item features and user data.
Effects of Broad Spectrum Cannabidiol Oil on Behavioral Disturbances in Patients with Dementia: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Hermush Vered , Ore Liora , Stern Noa , Mizrahi Nisim , Fried Malki , Krivoshey Marina , Staghon Ella , Lederman Violeta E. , Schleider Lihi Bar-Lev
Published: April 2022

Background: Almost 90% of patients with dementia suffer from some type of neurobehavioral symptom and there are no approved medications for these symptoms. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Avidekel compared with a placebo for the reduction of behavioral disturbances among patients with dementia.Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in a medical center in northern Israel, male and female patients, aged at least 60, with a diagnosis of major neurocognitive disorder and associated behavioral disturbances were randomized 2:1 to receive either Avidekel oil (30% cannabidiol and 1% tetrahydrocannabinol: 295 mg and 12.5 mg per ml respectively; n=40), or a placebo oil (n=20) three times a day for 16 weeks. The primary outcome was a decrease, as compared to baseline, of four or more points on the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score by week 16. Secondary outcomes included: mean change in the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, the time necessary to achieve a 4-point reduction in Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, mean change in Neuropsychiatric Inventory agitation/aggression sub-score.Results: Among 60 randomized patients (mean age, 79.4 years; 36 women [60.0%]), 52 (86.7%) completed the trial (all eight patients who discontinued treatment were from the investigational group). There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of subjects who had a Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score reduction of ≥4 points at week 16: 24/40 (60.0%) and 6/20 (30.0%) for investigational and control groups, respectively (P<.05). The ANOVA repeated measures analysis demonstrated significantly better improvement in the investigational group compared to the control group in weeks 14 and 16 (P<.05). The Neuropsychiatric Inventory results demonstrated a significant reduction (>29%) in agitation/aggression (P<.05). There were no significant differences in the occurrence of adverse events between the two groups. Conclusions: In this randomized controlled trial, Avidekel oil significantly reduced agitation over placebo in patients suffering from behavioral disorders related to dementia, with minimal side-effects. Further research is required involving various sub-types of dementia and a larger sample size.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03328676. Registered on November 1, 2017.
Bright, dark and breather soliton solutions of the generalized long-wave short-wave resonance interaction system
Authors: Kirane Mokhtar , Seenimuthu Stalin , Muthusamy Lakshmanan
Published: April 2022

In this paper, we consider a generalized long-wave short-wave resonance interaction system, which describes the nonlinear interaction between a short-wave (SW) and a long-wave (LW). The general N -bright and N -dark soliton solutions are derived using the Hirota bilinear method and they are written in a compact way using Gram determinants. Very interestingly, the fundamental bright soliton solution of the generalized LSRI system, in general, behaves like Korteweg-deVries (KdV) soliton. However, under a special condition, it also acts like the nonlinear Schro¨dinger (NLS) soliton. The fundamental dark-soliton solution admits anti-dark, grey, and complete black soliton profiles depending on the choice of wave parameters. The results of asymptotic analysis show that both bright and dark solitons undergo elastic collision with a finite phase shift. In addition to these, we demonstrate the existence of resonance interactions among the bright solitons by tuning the phase shift regime. Furthermore, we illustrate the various types of bright and dark soliton bound states. Also, we demonstrate the different types of profiles associated with the obtained breather solution.
Comparison of experimental and quantum chemical studies of the effect of different functionalities of graphene oxide/polymer composites onto selective CO2 capture
Authors: Stankovic Branislav , Barbarin Iranzu , Sanz Oihane , Tomovska Radmila , Ruipérez Fernando
Published: April 2022

There is a constant need of versatile techniologies to reduce the continuously increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, able to provide effective solutions under different conditions (temperature, pressure) and composition of the flue gas. In this work, a combination of graphene oxide (GO) and functionalized waterborne polymer particles was investigated, as versatile and promising candidates for CO2 capture application, with the aim to develop an easy scalable, inexpensive and environmentally friendly CO2 capture technology. There are huge possibilities of different functional monomers that can be selected to functionalize the polymer particles and to provide CO2-philicity to the composite nanostructures. Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to gain a deeper understanding of the interactions of these complex composite materials with CO2 and N2 molecules, and build a basis for efficient screening for functional monomers. Estimation of the binding energy between CO2 and a set of GO/polymer composites, comprising copolymers of methyl methacrylate, n-butyl acrylate, and different functional monomers, shows that it depends strongly on the polymer functionalities. In some cases, there is a lack of cooperative effect of GO. It is explained by a remarkably strong GO-polymer binding, which induced less effective CO2-polymer interactions. When compared with experimental results, in the cases when the nanocomposite structures presented similar textural properties, the same trends for selective CO2 capture over N2 were attained. Besides novel functional materials for CO2 capture and deeper understanding of the interactions between CO2 molecules with various materials, this study additionally demonstrates that DFT calculations can be a shorter route toward efficient selection of the best functionalization of the composite materials for selective CO2 capture.
Anatomical and physiological responses Aechmea blanchetiana (Bromeliaceae) induced by silicon and sodium chloride during in vitro culture
Authors: Cipriano Rosiane , Martins João Paulo Rodrigues , Conde Lorenzo Toscano , Silva Mariela Mattos da , Silva Diolina Moura , Gontijo Andreia Barcelos Passos Lima , Falqueto Antelmo Ralph
Published: April 2022

Salt stress is one of the most severe abiotic stresses affecting plant growth and development. The application of silicon (Si) is an alternative that can increase the tolerance of plants to various types of biotic and abiotic stresses. The objective was to evaluate the effect of salt stress in vitro and the mitigation potential of Si on Aechmea blanchetiana plants. For this purpose, plants already established in vitro were transferred to a culture medium with 0 or 14 µM of Si (CaSiO3). After growth for 30 days, a stationary liquid medium containing different concentrations of NaCl (0, 100, 200, or 300 µM) was added to the flasks. Anatomical and physiological analyses were performed after growth for 45 days. The plants cultivated with excess NaCl presented reduced root diameter and effective photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII) (ΦPSII) and increased non-photochemical dissipation of fluorescence (qN). Plants that grew with the presence of Si also had greater content of photosynthetic pigments and activity of the enzymes of the antioxidant system, as well as higher values of maximum quantum yield of PSII (FV/FM), photochemical dissipation coefficient of fluorescence (qP) and fresh weight bioaccumulation of roots and shoots. The anatomical, physiological and biochemical responses, and growth induced by Si mitigated the effect to salt stress of the A. blanchetiana plants cultivated in vitro, which can be partly explained by the tolerance of this species to grow in sandbank (Restinga) areas.
Peribronchiolar Metaplasia: A Cigarette Smoke-Induced Small Airway Injury Associated with Interstitial Lung Abnormality, Interstitial Lung Disease and Emphysema
Authors: Sangani Rahul G. , Deepak Vishal , Ghio Andrew J , Patel Zalak , Alshaikhnassir Esra , Vos Jeffrey
Published: April 2022

Background:Peribronchiolar metaplasia (PBM) is a non-specific reaction to bronchiolar injury, characterized by both proliferation of bronchiolar epithelium and fibrosis along the peribronchiolar wall. While an association of PBM with diffuse interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) is recognized, its clinical significance in emphysema and interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) remains unclear.Methods: A retrospective review of a cohort (n=352) undergoing surgical resection for suspected lung nodule/mass at a tertiary medical center between 2017 and 2020 was completed to 1) determine the prevalence of PBM and 2) identify association with clinical, radiographic and histologic characteristics. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: The study cohort was elderly (mean age 66.15±10.19 years), predominantly female (57.1%), Caucasian and overweight (mean BMI 28.35±6.88). Ninety percent of patients were current or ex-smokers with a median pack year of 40 (IQR 32.5). Thirty-two patients (9.1%) were observed to have PBM as a histological finding. Clinical chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was diagnosed in two-thirds of patients with PBM. Comorbid gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was significantly associated with PBM. Conventional measures of pulmonary function tests were not significantly different between the groups with and without PBM. Radiologic and histologic emphysema were observed in all patients with histologic PBM. In addition, radiologic centrilobular ground-glass opacities (CL-GGO) of ILAs, specific ILD patterns, isolated traction bronchiectasis (iTB), histologic fibrosis, desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP), anthracosis and honeycomb changes were associated with PBM. A logistic regression model which included CL-GGO ILA, iTB, histologic fibrosis, DIP and anthracosis strongly predicted PBM in the cohort. Conclusion:A constellation of radiologic and histologic smoking-related abnormalities predicted PBM in our cohort. This supports a co-existence of tissue responses including small airway disease, fibrosis and emphysema as consequence of cigarette smoking. PBM can function as a histologic marker of small-airway injury in a smoking population.
Neolithic hydroclimatic change and water resources exploitation in the Fertile Crescent
Authors: Regattieri Eleonora , Forti Luca , Drysdale Russell N. , Mannella Giorgio , Hellstrom John C. , Conati-Barbaro Cecilia , Bonacossi Daniele Morandi , Zerboni Andrea
Published: April 2022

In the first millennia of the Holocene, human communities in the Fertile Crescent (FC) experienced drastic economic, cultural and technological transformations that modified social and human-environments interactions and ultimately led to the rise of complex societies. The potential influence of climate on this “Neolithic Revolution” has long been debated. Here we present a speleothem record from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, covering from Early Neolithic to Early Chalcolithic periods (⁓11 to 7.3 ka, 9000 to 5300 BC). The record reveals the influence of the Siberian High on regional precipitation amount and length of the wet season. The comparison with the local archaeological framework demonstrates an influence of recorded hydroclimatic changes on settlement patterns (size, distribution, permanent vs. seasonal occupation) and on the exploitation of water resources by Neolithic to Chalcolithic populations. Our record does not show prominent changes at 9.3 and 8.2 ka, thus not supporting direct influence of these widespread events on the process of Neolithization and its cultural dispersal.
Nutrient scoring for the DEGS1-FFQ – from food intake to nutrient intake
Authors: Thieleking Ronja , Schneidewind Lennard , Kanyamibwa Arsene , Hartmann Hendrik , Horstmann Annette , Witte A. Veronica , Medawar Evelyn
Published: April 2022

Background: While necessary for studying dietary decision-making or public health, estimates of nutrient supply based on self-reported food intake are barely accessible or fully lacking and remain a challenge in human research. In particular, detailed information on dietary fiber is limited. In this study we introduce an automated openly available approach to assess self-reported nutrient intake for research purposes for a popular, validated German food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).Methods: To this end, we i) developed and shared a code for assessing nutrients (carbohydrates, fat, protein, sugar, fiber...) for 53 items of the quantitative, validated German DEGS1-FFQ questionnaire implementing expert-guided nutritional values of diverse sources with several raters. In a sample of individuals (nGUT-BRAIN = 61 (21 female) overweight, omnivorous), we ii) cross-validated nutrient intake of the last 7 days and the last 24 hours and iii) computed test-retest reliability across two timepoints. Further, iv) we report newly computed nutrient intake for two independent cross-sectional cohorts with continuous weight status and different dietary habits (nMensa= 134 (79 female, 1 diverse), nGREADT = 76 male). Exploratively, we correlated computed nutrient intake with v) anthropometric and vi) blood-based biomarkers.Results: In overweight adults (n= 61 (21 female), mean age 28.2±6.5 years, BMI 27.4±1.6 kg/m2) nutrient intakes were mostly normally distributed and within or surpassing recommended reference nutrient ranges for both last 7 days and last 24 hours. Reliability between last 7 days and 24 hours per visit was moderate (Pearson’s rall≥ 0.34, pall < 0.001, rmax = 0.54) and absolute agreement across two timepoints was moderate for 7 days (kappaall > 0.40, pall < 0.001) and poor for 24 hours (kappaall> 0.08, pall < 0.001). Associations of dietary components to anthropometric markers showed distinct sex differences, with overall higher intake by males compared to females and opposite associations of fiber intake and BMI in males compared to females. Links between nutrient intake relative to calorie intake and anthropometrics as well as serum markers remain inconclusive.Conclusion: We provide an openly available tool to systematically assess nutrient intake, including fiber, based on self-report by a common German FFQ. The computed nutrient scores resembled overall plausible and reliable measures of nutrient intake given the known limitations of FFQs regarding over- or underreporting. Our open code nutrient scoring can help to examine dietary intake in experimental studies, including dietary fiber and its subclasses, and can be readily adapted to other FFQs. Further validation of computed nutrients with biomarkers and nutrient-specific metabolites in serum, urine or feces will help to interpret self-reported dietary intake.
The role of oxidative damage in cataract etiopathogenesis
Authors: Atalay Enes , Oğurel Tevfik , Derici Mehmet Kürşat
Published: April 2022

Objective: In this study, the effect of oxidative stress on the etiopathogenesis of cataract was investigated through the total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), oxidative stress index (OSI), and arylesterase (ARE) levels in aqueous humor samples of patients with cataract.Methods: This study was conducted on patients who scheduled for cataract surgery between June 2020 and March 2021. The patients were divided into four groups according to their cataract density as grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. TOS, TAS, and ARE levels of aqueous humor samples were measured spectrophotometrically and comparisons were made between groups.Results: A total of 100 eyes of 100 patients were included in this study. TAS levels were found significantly higher in the grade 2 group compared to the grade 4 group (p=0.006). In addition, a significant negative correlation was present between cataract grade and TAS level (r=-0.237; p=0.018). There was no significant difference between diabetic and non-diabetic patients in terms of TAS, TOS, OSI and ARE levels.Conclusions: The aqueous humor of patients with a high degree of cataract is characterized by low antioxidant capacity. Decreased antioxidant capacity has a role in cataract formation and progression.
Microvasculopathy evaluated by Dual-Energy Computed Tomography in Patients with Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Authors: Miwa Keisuke , Taniguchi Yu , Fujii Hiroyuki , Matsuoka Yoichiro , Onishi Hiroyuki , Yanaka Kenichi , Izawa Yu , Tsboi Yasunori , Kono Atsushi , Emoto Noriaki , Hirata Ken-ichi
Published: April 2022

Background: Poor subpleural perfusion (PSP) on dual-energy computed tomography (DE-CT) suggests microvasculopathy in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). However, it remains unclear whether pathological findings of microvasculopathy in CTEPH are equivalent to those in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This study aims to elucidate the characteristics of microvasculopathy in patients with CTEPH compared to PAH. Methods: Subpleural perfusion on DE-CT was classified as poor (subpleural spaces in all segments with little or no perfusion) or normal. We retrospectively reviewed the subpleural perfusion on DE-CT and hemodynamics of 23 patients with PAH and 113 with inoperable CTEPH, diagnosed between January 2014 and December 2020. Results: PSP was observed in 51% of patients with CTEPH and 4% with PAH (p <0.01); patient characteristics and hemodynamics were similar in both groups. Patients with CTEPH and PSP had poorer baseline hemodynamics and lower diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide divided by the alveolar volume (DLCO/VA) than those with CTEPH with normal perfusion (pulmonary vascular resistance [PVR]: 768 ± 445 dynes-sec/cm5 vs. 463 ± 284 dynes-sec/cm5, p <0.01; DLCO/VA, 60.4 ± 16.8% vs. 75.9 ± 15.7%, p <0.001). Hemodynamics improved to nearly normal in both groups (PVR: 270 ± 118 dynes-sec/cm5 vs. 220 ± 88 dynes-sec/cm5, p=0.13) after adequate balloon pulmonary angioplasty.Conclusions: PSP on DE-CT, which is one of the specific imaging findings of CTEPH, might suggest a different mechanism of microvasculopathy from that in PAH. However, the hemodynamics at rest improved to nearly normal after balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA), despite the existence of PSP.
Incidence, treatments, and outcomes of Graves’ disease in Thailand: a single-center study
Authors: Kanokwongnuwat Wasit
Published: April 2022

Background: Treatment patterns and outcomes of Graves’ disease (GD) are various around the world. Studies of the Asian population are lacking. The aim was to evaluate Thai patients with GD.Methods: Patients with new diagnoses of GD between 2014-2018 were retrospectively reviewed in a single center.Results: The age-adjusted incidence of GD was 26.57 per 100,000 per year. The analysis included 355 patients with follow-up at least 12 months and age of at least 15. Antithyroid drug (ATD) was the most popular treatment with 99.7%, followed by radioactive iodine (RAI) with 0.3%. The most effective treatment was RAI with a remission rate of 78.4% and time to failure of 54 months (p = 0.014), compared to ATD and surgery. ATD was the worst effective treatment with a remission rate of 21.5% and time to failure of 43.9 months. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed TSH <0.01 uIU/ml was a significant factor for time to failure (HR 1.42, CI 1.03-1.96).Conclusion: Treatment failure with ATD was frequent in this population. More effective treatment could be preferred to prevent relapse and complications of the disease.
Ant Lion Optimization based inertia weight Optimized KGMO for Mobility Management in Heterogeneous LTE Cellular Networks
Authors: G.K Venkata Narasimha Reddy , T Venkata Naga Jayudu , Komarolu Janardhan , Nichenametla Rajesh , Reddy Narayana
Published: April 2022

A Network densification is understood as a critical process in the development of cellular networks because to the exponentially rising demands of mobile data traffic. One possible technology to fulfil the requirements of exploding data traffic in 5G is the Ultra-dense heterogeneous network (UDHN). 5G networks of the future will feature dense networks that can deliver high data rates in crowded urban areas. As a result, in heterogeneous networks, the amount of interference and the number of handovers (HOs) increases as more small cells are deployed. In this case, mobility management is critical to ensure that the user's communication is uninterrupted while they travel between cells. Kinetic Gas Molecular Optimization (KGMO) and Ant Lion Optimizatio (ALO) are presented in this study as a hybrid optimization-based mobility management strategy for enhancing network performance Initially, the particles of the KGMO such as position and velocity of the gas molecule are calculated based on the kinetic energy. However, KGMO offers faster convergence in large dimensional space and this leads to the hybridization of KGMO. To overcome this issues of KGMO, ALO is used by modifying the inertia weight of KGMO. The simulation setup of proposed KGMO-ALO is done in MATLAB environment and validated with other popular meta-heuristic techniques such as Seagull and monarch butterfly optimizations in terms of throughput, Bit error rate, end-to-end delay and HO.
Dexmedetomidine protects astrocytes from TNFα-induced cell cycle arrest and mitochondrial dysfunction in vitro
Authors: chen yaohua , Qian chunrong , Zhu Dan , li yuping , Qin wanxiang , Cui Jian
Published: April 2022

TNFα-induced systemic inflammation and cell injury play pivotal roles in many chronic nervous system diseases. This study assessed the protective effect of dexmedetomidine (Dex), an agonist of the adenosine α2 receptor, on TNFα-induced astrocyte injury and the underlying mechanism. The 1321N1 astrocyte cell line was pretreated with or without with 1 nM Dex and then cultured with 20 μM TNFα for 24 hours. The effects of Dex against TNFα-induced cell injury were examined by flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry. Our results indicated that Dex attenuated the TNFα-induced arrest of the cell cycle and upregulated the expression of cell cycle-related regulatory proteins, including Ki67 and cyclins A, B, D, and E. Furthermore, Dex significantly suppressed the TNFα-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), prevented the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), and inhibited the upregulation of cleaved caspase 9 but not cleaved caspase 8. Our data suggested that Dex attenuated TNFα-induced cell cycle arrest and the early phase of apoptosis, possibly by improving the function of mitochondria and inhibiting the intrinsic caspase pathway in the early stage of apoptosis through the activation of the α2 receptor.
Data analysis and research reveal the reasons why China still adheres to its “dynamic zero-COVID policy”
Authors: Dai Yeyu , Dai Bingxi
Published: April 2022

A complete and accurate statistical panorama and analysis of cases contracted with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 subvariant are given under the conditions of strict mandatory quarantine and isolation and of a high rate of full vaccination . A deep analysis is also given for the reasons why China has not ended its strict epidemic prevention restrictions. Sars-Cov-2 is still new, and little is known about either its direction of variation or its propagation laws. China has been thumped by its largest outbreaks of COVID-19 since March. Pervasive arguments arose among people in China and around the world. Here we reveal the essential reasons why China has been and will be adhering to its “dynamic zero-COVID policy” including the choice uniqueness, morbidity differences in different cities, unpredictability, worries of sudden impact to medical system, successful zero clearing in some of the main cities and outstanding economy achievements, etc. Our study provides first-hand solitary and valuable information for further research on similar epidemics in the future. It may bring new thoughts for correction of present epidemiological theory and mathematical models, as well as new theoretical supports for the prevention policy making. It may also give other countries time to be better prepared for the coming 6th wave driven by Omicron BA.2.
DFT study about capturing of toxic sulfur gases over cyclic tetrapyrrole
Authors: Jadoon Tabish
Published: April 2022

The development of sensors that can detect hazardous analytes selectively and accurately, particularly sulfur based irritants, is quite essential. The infinite-conjugation in cyclic conducting polymers make them highly sensitive to toxic analytes. We implemented B3LYP-D3/6-311+ G (d, p) level to explore the sensing mechanism of cyclic tetrapyrrole (CTPy) for reliable detection of carbonyl sulfide, carbon disulfide, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide using the DFT practice. The are in physisorption range i.e. –31.7 to –57.6 kJ mol–1 E for 𝑖𝑛𝑡 sulfur gases over CTPy . Charge transfer interactions in complexes are predicted using natural bond orbital (NBO) and charge decomposition (CDA) analysis. The reduced density gradient (RDG) method supports hydrogen bonding and dispersion interactions in the complexes. The decrease in HOMO-LUMO energy gaps, as well as the red shifting of in UV–Visible λ𝑚𝑎𝑥s pectra, demonstrate sensitivity of CTPy towards sulfur gases. The improved conductivity of complexes is owing to production of numerous energy levels in occupied and virtual orbitals closer to the Fermi level in DOS studies. Furthermore, PDOS spectra reveal that CTPy is chiefly contribute to energy of HOMO. The recent findings show that CTPy has a significant sensitivity to sulfur irritants. We hope that the above findings and their implications will give valuable suggestions for an experimentalist in designing extremely sensitive hazardous analyte sensors employing CTPy.
Some Curvature Properties in Almost Parahermitian Manifolds
Authors: ERDOGAN NECİP
Published: April 2022

In this study, the curvature properties are investigated in almost parahermitian manifolds.
Understanding topological phases of matter with statistical methods
Authors:   , Mertz Thomas
Published: April 2022

Topological phases set themselves apart from other phases since they cannot be understood in terms of the usual Landau theory of phase transitions. This fact, which is a consequence of the property that topological phase transitions can occur without breaking symmetries, is reflected in the complicated form of topological order parameters. While the mathematical classification of phases through homotopy theory is known, an intuition for the relation between phase transitions and changes to the physical system is largely inhibited by the general complexity. In this thesis we aim to get back some of this intuition by studying the properties of the Chern number (a topological order parameter) in two scenarios. First, we investigate the effect of electronic correlations on topological phases in the Green's function formalism. By developing a statistical method that averages over all possible solutions of the manybody problem, we extract general statements about the shape of the phase diagram and investigate the stability of topological phases with respect to interactions. In addition, we find that in many topological models the local approximation, which is part of many standard methods for solving the manybody lattice model, is able to produce qualitatively correct phase transitions at low to intermediate correlations. We then extend the statistical method to study the effect of the lattice, where we evaluate possible applications of standard machine learning techniques against our information theoretical approach. We define a measure for the information about particular topological phases encoded in individual lattice parameters, which allows us to construct a qualitative phase diagram that gives a more intuitive understanding of the topological phase. Finally, we discuss possible applications of our method that could facilitate the discovery of new materials with topological properties.
Characteristics of mukoviscisidosis in the southern regions of Russia
Authors: Kondratieva E. I. , Trishina S. V. , Yurieva A. V. , Komlev N. V. , Tanaga V. A. , Terentiev V. A. , Voronkova A. Yu. , Amelina E. L. , Chernyak A. V. , Krasovskiy S. A. , Brisin V. Yu. , Khachiyan M. M. , Vodovozova E. V. , Enina E. A. , Ledeneva L. N. , Yagubyants E. T. , Chepurnaya M. M.
Published: April 2022

Introduction. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a  hereditary disease with genetic heterogeneity and clinical polymorphism. Expanding the range of knowledge about the characteristics of the course of the disease in different regions is important to achieve the goal of improving the quality and life expectancy.

Purpose. Comparative analysis of the features of the course of CF in the subjects of the Southern Federal District, Stavropol Territory.

Methods. Data from the National Register of Patients of the RF MV 2016 were used. Results: there are clinical and genetic features between the regions of the Southern Federal District and the Stavropol Territory of the North Caucasus Federal District and in general with the Russian Federation. Analysis of the data showed differences in indicators: the proportion of patients aged ≥ 18 is the lowest in the Republic of Crimea (14.9%), in the Rostov region the lowest average age of patients (9.0 ± 6.3), and the lowest age of diagnosis 2.2 ± 3.1 years. Late terms of diagnosis were revealed in the Stavropol Territory (4.0 ± 8.0 years), but here there is one of the highest average age of CF patients (14.1 ± 11.5), the proportion of adult patients (23.3%) and the lowest allelic frequency of F508del, which is determined by the high number of patients with a “soft” genotype. There is a high proportion of patients with an undetermined genotype. A low proportion of two identified genetic variants of the CFTR gene is registered in patients of the Republic of Crimea. A low frequency of Burkholderia cepacia complex and Achromobacter spp was revealed, and a high infection with non-tuberculous mycobacteria was revealed in the Rostov region. FEV1 in children and adults was lower in Rostov Region and Stavropol Territory. In all regions, there is a discrepancy between the seeding of flora and azithromycin therapy and the severity of the genotype with the use of pancreatic enzymes.

Conclusions. Analysis of the data of the registry, which allows substantiating the need to study the regional characteristics of the course of CF in order to differentiate the planning of measures to improve the quality of medical care for patients with CF.
The effectiveness of intranasal use of Cyclamen europaeum lyophilisate in the treatment of acute catarrhal rhinosinusitis
Authors: Vladimirova T. Yu. , Chernyshenko I. O. , Kurenkov A. V.
Published: April 2022

Introduction. A large increase in the incidence of catarrhal rhinosinusitis determines the search for new methods of treating these patients. In this regard, the use of herbal preparations for relieving the symptoms of this nosology is of increasing interest. The article discusses the problems of using drugs based on Cyclamen europaeum (CE ) in the treatment of acute catarrhal rhinosinusitis.

Purpose of the study. Evaluation of the effectiveness of CE extract in the complex treatment of acute catarrhal rhinosinusitis.

Materials and methods. A randomized controlled study was carried out to study the efficacy of cyclamen europaeum extract in outpatients with an established diagnosis of acute catarrhal rhinosinusitis (the presence of 2 or more symptoms of acute rhinosinusitis, the presence of radiological signs of acute catarrhal rhinosinusitis.

Results. The results of the study showed that the intranasal use of drugs based on CE in acute catarrhal rhinosinusitis helps to reduce headache, reduces the abundance of nasal discharge, promotes the early restoration of nasal breathing, as well as smell and taste.

Discussion. The study objectively confirmed that the use of drugs based on CE has a positive effect on the dynamics of the course of acute catarrhal rhinosinusitis, promotes the early restoration of the epithelium of the nasal mucosa, olfactory function, and also has a positive effect on the restoration of gustatory function.

Conclusions. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that it is advisable to use drugs based on CE in the treatment of acute catarrhal rhinosinusitis.
Surfactant therapy for pneumonia COVID-19 of obstetric patients
Authors: Shvechkova M. V. , Kukarskaya I. I. , Bautin A. E. , Legalova T. V. , Marchenko R. N. , Shvechkova A. S. , Kukarskaya E. Yu. , Yakovleva E. A.
Published: April 2022

Introduction. Pregnant women may be at increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness. Pregnant women are more likely to be hospitalized at ICU, needed the mechanical ventilation compared to nonpregnant women of childbearing age. Building on the experience of the effective use of the exogenous surfactant for influenza A/H1N1 treatment of pregnant women with COVID-19, the surfactant therapy has also been included in the treatment.

The objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of surfactant therapy in the integrated treatment of severe COVID-19 pneumonia of pregnant women and postpartum women.

Materials and methods. The study included 135 pregnant and postpartum women with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. All of them received antiviral, anticoagulant, anticytokine and anti-inflammatory therapy. 68 patients (main group) with an initially more severe course of the disease and a greater degree of lung damage (p = 0.026) received inhalations with Surfactant-BL, 67 patients (control group) did not receive the  surfactant therapy. Patients received Surfactant-BL through a  mesh-nebulizer at a  dose of 75 mg 2 times a day for 3–5 days.

Result. Patients of the main group showed decreasing risks of requiring the noninvasive ventilation (27.9% vs. 52.2%, р = 0.014) and artificial lung ventilation (2.9% vs. 11.9%, p = 0.047), the length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) was reduced (10.6 vs. 13.1 inpatient days, р = 0.045). Сomplications such as pneumomediastinum and pneumothorax occurred less frequently in the surfactant therapy group (24.2% vs. 52.4%, p = 0.037) with a high extent of lung damage (CT-3–4). With early surfactant therapy in the standard oxygen therapy stage or high-flow oxygenation, gas exchange indicators were restored faster, thus avoiding mechanical ventilation and has reduced the duration of intensive care (р = 0.004) and prevented deaths.

Conclusion. The use of surfactant therapy for pneumonia associated with COVID-19 in pregnant and postpartum women against the background of ongoing complex therapy helps to prevent further lung damage, reduce the mechanical ventilation risk and improve oxygenation earlier, especially with early start of surfactant therapy.
Evaluating the long short-term memory (LSTM) network for discharge prediction under changing climate conditions
Authors: Natel de Moura Carolina , Seibert Jan , Detzel Daniel Henrique Marco
Published: April 2022

Better understanding the predictive capabilities of hydrological models under contrasting climate conditions will enable more robust decision-making. Here, we tested the ability of the long short-term memory (LSTM) for daily discharge prediction under changing conditions using six snow-influenced catchments in Switzerland. We benchmarked the LSTM using the Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV) bucket-type model with two parameterizations. We compared the model performance under changing conditions against constant conditions and tested the impact of the time-series size used in calibration on the model performance. When calibrated, the LSTM resulted in a much better fit than the HBV. However, in validation, the performance of the LSTM dropped considerably, and the fit was as good or poorer than the HBV performance in validation. Using longer time series in calibration improved the robustness of the LSTM, whereas HBV needed fewer data to ensure a robust parameterization. When using the maximum number of years in calibration, the LSTM was considered robust to simulate discharges in a drier period than the one used in calibration. Overall, the HBV was found to be less sensitive for applications under contrasted climates than the data-driven model. However, other LSTM modeling setups might be able to improve the transferability between different conditions.
Spatial heterogeneity of water quality in a small watershed of an ionic rare earth mining area
Authors: Chen Yonglin , Su Yuxin , Li Haitao , Cheng Linxiu , Guo Linfeng , Zhang Leyao , Ling Liying
Published: April 2022

The tailwater of ion-type rare earth mines in southern Jiangxi has caused serious water pollution problems in small watersheds. In this study, seven physical and chemical indicators, namely, pH, TOC, dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, salinity and redox potential were selected and spatial interpolation, principal component analysis, and geographic detector methods, were used to quantitatively analyze and evaluate the spatial heterogeneity of water quality in the small watersheds in this region. Tailwater pollution in the whole basin of the study area is serious. The spatial difference is manifested as east tributary > mainstream and reservoir area > southern tributary. Source pollution is the smallest, and water quality pollution is mainly manifested by excessive ammonia nitrogen, salinity, and TOC. The spatial differences in the physical and chemical properties of water bodies are significant. The distribution of ammonia nitrogen content is consistent with the spatial distribution of soil and water pollution, while nitrate-nitrogen is the opposite. Other indicators also show a certain spatial regularity, and the spatial regularity of dissolved oxygen content is not obvious. Water pollution in mining areas is mainly due to a large amount of ammonia nitrogen ions remaining in the mountains. As a result, the southern tributary ecological pool has an obvious purification effect on water quality. Salinity is extremely affected by ammonia nitrogen and TOC, oxidation-reduction potential is affected by pH and TOC, and TOC is influenced by ammonia nitrogen and pH. Salinity, ammonia nitrogen, and TOC are the potential risk factors of major pollution. The changes in the physical and chemical properties of the pollution index are not independent of each other. From the perspective of macro and micro, the comprehensive water pollution assessment system is adopted to provide a new idea for the prevention and control of rare earth industry tail water pollution, and further make exploratory efforts for the study of industrial wastewater pollution.
Quality of life in patients with diabetes mellitus treated in an outpatient clinic of a hospital in North Lima
Authors:   Image Processing Research Laboratory (INTI-Lab), Universidad de Ciencias y Humanidades, Lima, Perú, et al. Meneses-Claudio
Published: April 2022

Diabetes mellitus is one of the main problems that affect the world, where lifestyle changes play an important role in preventing risks due to the disease, so the research objective is to determine the quality of life in patients with diabetes mellitus treated in the outpatient clinic of a hospital in North Lima. Its research objective is to determine the quality of life in patients with diabetes mellitus treated in the outpatient clinic of a hospital in North Lima. It is a quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional study, made up of a total of 113 study participants who responded to a survey of sociodemographic aspects and the Diabetes 39 instrument. Its research objective is to determine the quality of life in patients with diabetes mellitus treated in the outpatient clinic of a hospital in North Lima in the results, we can observe that the quality of life in patients with diabetes mellitus treated in Outpatient consultation, 18 (15.9%) of the patients have a low quality of life, 67 (59.3%) have a medium quality of life and 28 (24.8%) have a high quality of life. In conclusion, education in diabetes patients should be prioritized in relation to their self-care since this will allow for a healthy lifestyle.