bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tripartite evolutionary game analysis and simulation research on zero-carbon production supervision of marine ranching against a carbon-neutral background
Authors: Liang Jinshui , Zhang Maomao , Yin Zengqiang , Niu Keru , Li Yuan , Zhi Kaiting , Huang Shengnan , Yang Jun , Xu Min
Published: February 2023

Introduction

Theoretically and practically, studying the zero-carbon production supervision of marine ranching is crucial to the attainment of my country’s fishery carbon peak and carbon neutral goals.

Methods

This study introduces a third-party detection agency to construct a tripartite evolutionary game model based on the possibility of problems such as a lack of government supervision and imperfect detection mechanisms, through an analysis of the evolution stability and evolution path of each participant’s strategy choice, the mechanism of each element’s influence on the tripartite strategy choice is revealed, as well as the evolution law of the tripartite game.

Results

① The change in strategic choice of each participant is significantly influenced by the change in strategic choice of the other participants, and the comprehensive consideration of the maximization of the comprehensive value of each participant is conducive to the development of all three parties. ② Government efforts to increase low-carbon subsidies and penalties will aid in promoting the normative behavior of zero-carbon production by marine ranching businesses and the rejection of rent-seeking by third parties. ③The accountability of higher-level governments for the dereliction of duty of regulatory agencies is particularly important to enhance the robustness of zero-carbon production of marine ranching enterprises.

Discussion

In this study, the ideal state of carbon balance of Marine ranching enterprises is taken as the condition to establish a tripartite evolutionary game, and the numerical simulation analysis results based on the model’s evolutionary stable equilibrium put forward countermeasures and suggestions for the government to improve the supervision mechanism of zero-carbon production of Marine ranching. In order to provide reference for the development of the marine ranching industry and promote the realization of zero emissions in the production activities of the marine ranching industry.
Comprehensive investigating of mismatch repair genes (MMR) polymorphisms in participants with chronic hepatitis B virus infection
Authors: Ma Ning , Sun Yucheng , Kong Yanan , Jin Yiyao , Yu Fengxue , Liu Lianfeng , Yang Lei , Liu Wenxuan , Gao Xia , Liu Dianwu , Zhang Xiaolin , Li Lu
Published: February 2023

Background and aim: In this study, we focused on the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms in MMR genes and the occurrence and development of HBV infection.

Materials and methods: A total of 3,128 participants were divided into five groups: negative control group (NeC), spontaneous clearance group (SC), chronic hepatitis B group (CHB), liver cirrhosis group (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma group (HCC), CHB, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma constitute HLD. We conducted three case-control studies: NeC (840 cases) vs. HLD (1792 cases), SC (486 cases) vs. HLD (1792 cases) and CHB + LC (1,371 cases) vs. HCC (421 cases). 11 polymorphic loci in MLH1, MLH3, MSH5, PMS1 and PMS2 were involved in genotyping by Sequenom MassArray. The SNPStats performed Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test. Linkage disequilibrium patterns were visualized using Haploview4.2. The GMDR (v0.9) was conducted to generalized multifactor dimension reduction analysis. The correlation, multiplicative interaction and additive interaction analyses were calculated by Logistic Regression through SPSS21.0. Matrix and programmed excel were also involved in the calculation of additive interaction.

Results: In NeC vs. HLD group, MSH5-rs1150793(G) was a risk base to HBV susceptibility (nominal p = 0.002, OR = 1.346). We found multiplicative interaction between MLH1-rs1540354 (AA + AT) and PMS1-rs1233255 (AA) (nominal p = 0.024, OR = 1.240). There was additive interaction between PMS1-rs1233255 (AA) and PMS1-rs256554(CA + CC). In SC vs. HLD group, MLH1-rs1540354 (TT) was a risk genotype (nominal p < 0.05, OR>1). Through haplotype analysis, we found the linkage disequilibrium of three loci in MLH1. The results of GMDR showed the optimal five-locus model about the spontaneous clearance of HBV. In CHB + LC vs. HCC group, PMS2-rs12112229(A) was related to the cancerization of liver.

Conclusion: We found rs1150793(G), rs1540354(T) and rs12112229(A) were significantly related to HBV susceptibility, spontaneous clearance of HBV and cancerization after infection, respectively.
The chromosome-level genome assembly of lance asiabell (Codonopsis lanceolata), a medicinal and vegetable plant of the Campanulaceae family
Authors: Jang Woojong , Kang Ji-Nam , Jo Ick-Hyun , Lee Si-Myung , Park Gyu-Hwang , Kim Chang-Kug
Published: February 2023

Codonopsis lanceolata (2n = 2x = 16) belongs to the Campanulaceae family and is a valuable medicinal and vegetable plant primarily found in East Asia. Several studies have demonstrated its excellent pharmacological effects, for example in bronchial treatment. However, genomic information of C. lanceolata is scarce, hindering studies on crop improvement of the species. Here, we report a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly of C. lanceolata based on a hybrid method using Nanopore long-read, Illumina short-read, and Hi-C data. The assembled genome was completed as 1,273 Mb (84.5% of the estimated genome size), containing eight pseudo-chromosomes, ranging from 101.3 to 184.3 Mb. The genome comprised of 71.3% repeat sequences and 46,005 protein-coding genes, of which 85.7% genes were functionally annotated. Completeness of the assembled genome and genes was assessed to be 97.5% and 90.4%, respectively, by Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs analysis. Phylogenetic and synteny analysis revealed that C. lanceolata was closely related to Platycodon grandiflorus in the Campanulaceae family. Gene family evolution revealed significant expansion of related genes involved in saponin biosynthesis in the C. lanceolata genome. This is the first reference genome reported for C. lanceolata. The genomic data produced in this study will provide essential information for further research to improve this medicinal plant and will broaden the understanding of the Campanulaceae family.
Geochemical characteristics of soil selenium and evaluation of selenium-rich land resources in Guiyang area
Authors: Pan Ziping , Feng Yanfei , Wang Minzi , Meng Wei , Chen Ju
Published: February 2023

Selenium concentration in soil is of great importance for the production of selenium-rich crops. In this article, we studied the geochemical characteristics of soil selenium and evaluated selenium-rich land resources in the Guiyang city area using results from a Guizhou multi-purpose regional geochemical survey. The results indicate that 1) the selenium content in topsoil in the Guiyang area ranges from 0.11 to 4.12 mg kg−1, with an average value of 0.70 mg kg−1, which is 2.4 times and 3.5 times the national and world soil background values, respectively, while the selenium content in deep soil ranges from 0.11 to 4.10 mg kg−1, with an average value of 0.42 mg kg−1, which is 1.4 and 2.1 times the national and world soil background values, respectively; in the vertical profile, the selenium content in soil decreases with the increase in soil depth. 2) The main factors affecting the distribution of selenium in soil include soil parent material, soil physical and chemical properties, and other components, such as soil type and land use, among which the soil parent material (rock) plays a decisive role. The selenium in soil mainly comes from the soil parent rock, increasing accordingly with the increase of the selenium background value of the parent rock; the physical and chemical properties of the soil and other components impose certain influences on the selenium content. Selenium presents a significant linear positive correlation with sulfur and organic carbon, while it has a negative correlation with the pH value; there is no significant difference in the selenium content in different soil types, following the distribution order of paddy soil >yellow soil> skeletal soil> lime soil> purple soil; land use has a certain effect on selenium in soil, following the distribution order of garden land > construction land > grassland > farmland > rocky hills > forest land. 3) The area of selenium-enriched soil in the study region is 11,408 km2, with 91.76% of selenium-enriched soil and 8.24% of general soil or extremely little excess-selenium soil. Therefore, the vast majority of soil in Guiyang is selenium-enriched. The city has large and abundant selenium-enriched areas, which are domestically and internationally rare and provides particularly favorable resource conditions for developing selenium-enriched efficient mountain agriculture to expedite rural revitalization.
Ginsenoside Rg1 as a promising adjuvant agent for enhancing the anti-cancer functions of granulocytes inhibited by noradrenaline
Authors: Zhu Yuqian , Chen Jingyao , Li Jun , Zhou Chenqi , Huang Xin , Chen Bingdi
Published: February 2023

Introduction

In recent years, numerous studies have confirmed that chronic stress is closely related to the development of cancer. Our previous research showed that high levels of stress hormones secreted in the body during chronic stress could inhibit the cancer-killing activity of granulocytes, which could further promote the development of cancer. Therefore, reversing the immunosuppressive effect of stress hormones on granulocytes is an urgent problem in clinical cancer treatment. Here, we selected noradrenaline (NA) as a representative stress hormone.

Methods and results

After screening many traditional Chinese herbal medicine active ingredients, a promising compound, ginsenoside Rg1, attracted our attention. We verified the immunoprotective effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on granulocytes in vitro and ex vivo, and attempted to understand its potential immunoprotective mechanism. We confirmed the immunoprotective effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on granulocytes using cell and animal experiments. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and ex vivo experiments were performed to investigate the immunoprotective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on the anti-cancer function of granulocytes inhibited by NA. Transcriptome sequencing analysis and qRT-PCR showed that NA elevated the mRNA expression of ARG2, MMP1, S100A4, and RAPSN in granulocytes, thereby reducing the anti-cancer function of granulocytes. In contrast, ginsenoside Rg1 downregulated the mRNA expression of ARG2, MMP1, S100A4, and RAPSN, and upregulated the mRNA expression of LAMC2, DSC2, KRT6A, and FOSB, thereby enhancing the anti-cancer function of granulocytes inhibited by NA. Transwell cell migration experiments were performed to verify that ginsenoside Rg1 significantly enhanced the migration capability of granulocytes inhibited by NA. Tumor-bearing model mice were used to verify the significant immunoprotective effects in vivo. Finally, CCK-8 and hematoxylin and eosin staining experiments indicated that ginsenoside Rg1 exhibited high biosafety in vitro and in vivo.

Discussion

In future clinical treatments, ginsenoside Rg1 may be used as an adjuvant agent for cancer treatment to alleviate chronic stress-induced adverse events in cancer patients.
Biomarkers (mRNAs and non-coding RNAs) for the diagnosis and prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Jiang Yong , Zhong Shuxin , He Shenghua , Weng Juanling , Liu Lijin , Ye Yufeng , Chen Hanwei
Published: February 2023

In recent years, diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have continued to improve. However, in the advanced stages of the disease, patients are unable to achieve long-term clinical remission and often suffer from systemic multi-organ damage and severe complications. Patients with RA usually have no overt clinical manifestations in the early stages, and by the time a definitive diagnosis is made, the disease is already at an advanced stage. RA is diagnosed clinically and with laboratory tests, including the blood markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and the autoantibodies rheumatoid factor (RF) and anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA). However, the presence of RF and ACPA autoantibodies is associated with aggravated disease, joint damage, and increased mortality, and these autoantibodies have low specificity and sensitivity. The etiology of RA is unknown, with the pathogenesis involving multiple factors and clinical heterogeneity. The early diagnosis, subtype classification, and prognosis of RA remain challenging, and studies to develop minimally invasive or non-invasive biomarkers in the form of biofluid biopsies are becoming more common. Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecules are composed of long non-coding RNAs, small nucleolar RNAs, microRNAs, and circular RNAs, which play an essential role in disease onset and progression and can be used in the early diagnosis and prognosis of RA. In this review of the diagnostic and prognostic approaches to RA disease, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on the subject, focusing on recent advances in mRNA–ncRNA as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers from the biofluid to the tissue level.
Engineering a microbiosphere to clean up the ocean – inspiration from the plastisphere
Authors: Alnahdi Khulood A. , Alali Laila W. , Suwaidan Mezna K. , Akhtar M. Kalim
Published: February 2023

Plastic is a ubiquitous material that has become an essential part of our lives. More than one hundred million tons of plastic has accumulated in the world’s oceans as a result of poor waste management. This plastic waste gradually fragments into smaller pieces known as microplastics and nanoplastics. These small plastic particles can cause significant damage to marine ecosystems, and negatively impact human health. According to a recent review of international patents, the majority of ocean-cleaning inventions are limited to microplastics larger than 20 μm. Furthermore, such technologies are ineffective for nanoplastics, which measure less than 1000 nm, or even fibrous plastics. Alternative solutions need to be considered for the large-scale in situ removal of microplastics and nanoplastics from the ocean. In this perspective, we present the concept of engineering a microbial ecosystem, which we term the microbiosphere. The concept is based on key observations that have been made for natural plastic-based ecosystems known as plastispheres. These observations relate to the solid support material, self-sustainability, attachment to plastic, degradation of plastic, and risk of pathogenicity. Inspiration can be taken from the plastisphere whereby a novel microbial ecosystem could be designed and engineered as a bioremediation tool to rid the ocean of micro- and nanoplastics. Such an engineered system could outcompete pathogens for marine plastic waste and potentially reduce the risk of infectious diseases.
Xenia umbellata (Octocorallia): A novel model organism for studying octocoral regeneration ability
Authors: Nadir Elinor , Lotan Tamar , Benayahu Yehuda
Published: February 2023

Climate change is leading to phase shifts in coral reefs worldwide. In many biogeographic regions, octocorals are now becoming the most abundant benthic components, due to their environmental resilience and ability to rapidly colonize reef surfaces. Regeneration abilities and asexual reproduction are highly important for this ability and probably contribute to the successful spread of certain octocorals, including invasive species. Regeneration, however, has been little investigated in octocorals. To achieve a deeper understanding of octocoral regeneration, we employed Xenia umbellata, a common octocoral in the Red Sea, as a novel experimental model for laboratory studies. Using single-polyp modules, we investigated its regeneration ability and polyp asexual reproduction (budding). Excised polyps successfully reattached to tissue-culture plates within 2-3 days and started budding within 10 days. Amputation of the oral disc led to full regeneration within 7-10 days, with budding continuing throughout this period. Moreover, amputated tentacles developed into polyps within 21 days, demonstrating an unusual capacity for whole-body regeneration. The regeneration abilities of this species imply high totipotency of all polyp parts and are likely important for its life cycle. Further research using this model is expected to enhance the ecological and molecular understanding of octocoral development and provide insights into phase shifts currently occurring in coral reefs. Our study also suggests that X. umbellata has potential as a model organism for integrative studies on regeneration, physiology, developmental biology, and more, encouraging its adoption as a novel colonial cnidarian model organism.
Evaluation of multiplex nanopore sequencing for Salmonella serotype prediction and antimicrobial resistance gene and virulence gene detection
Authors: Wu Xingwen , Luo Hao , Ge Chongtao , Xu Feng , Deng Xiangyu , Wiedmann Martin , Baker Robert C. , Stevenson Abigail E. , Zhang Guangtao , Tang Silin
Published: February 2023

In a previous study, Multiplex-nanopore-sequencing based whole genome sequencing (WGS) allowed for accurate in silico serotype prediction of Salmonella within one day for five multiplexed isolates, using both SISTR and SeqSero2. Since only ten serotypes were tested in our previous study, the conclusions above were yet to be evaluated in a larger scale test. In the current study we evaluated this workflow with 69 Salmonella serotypes and also explored the feasibility of using multiplex-nanopore-sequencing based WGS for antimicrobial resistance gene (AMR) and virulence gene detection. We found that accurate in silico serotype prediction with nanopore-WGS data was achieved within about five hours of sequencing at a minimum of 30× Salmonella genome coverage, with SeqSero2 as the serotype prediction tool. For each tested isolate, small variations were observed between the AMR/virulence gene profiles from the Illumina and Nanopore sequencing platforms. Taking results generated using Illumina data as the benchmark, the average precision value per isolate was 0.99 for both AMR and virulence gene detection. We found that the resistance gene identifier – RGI identified AMR genes with nanopore data at a much lower accuracy compared to Abricate, possibly due to RGI’s less stringent minimum similarity and coverage by default for database matching. This study is an evaluation of multiplex-nanopore-sequencing based WGS as a cost-efficient and rapid Salmonella classification method, and a starting point for future validation and verification of using it as a AMR/virulence gene profiling tool for the food industry. This study paves the way for the application of nanopore sequencing in surveillance, tracking, and risk assessment of Salmonella across the food supply chain.
Fungal diversities and community assembly processes show different biogeographical patterns in forest and grassland soil ecosystems
Authors: Wang Min , Wang Can , Yu Zhijun , Wang Hui , Wu Changhao , Masoudi Abolfazl , Liu Jingze
Published: February 2023

Soil fungal community has been largely explored by comparing their natural diversity. However, there is a relatively small body of literature concerned with fungal community assembly processes and their co-occurrence network correlations carried out across large spatial–temporal scales with complex environmental gradients in natural ecosystems and different habitats in China. Thus, soil fungal community assembly processes were assessed to predict changes in soil function in 98 different forest and grassland sites from the Sichuan, Hubei, and Hebei Provinces of China using high-throughput sequencing of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2). The 10 most abundant fungal phyla results showed that Ascomycota was the most abundant phylum in forests from Sichuan province (64.42%) and grassland habitats from Hebei province (53.46%). Moreover, core fungal taxa (487 OTUs) represented 0.35% of total fungal OTUs. We observed higher fungal Shannon diversity and richness (the Chao1 index) from diverse mixed forests of the Sichuan and Hubei Provinces than the mono-cultured forest and grassland habitats in Hebei Province. Although fungal alpha and beta diversities exhibited different biogeographical patterns, the fungal assembly pattern was mostly driven by dispersal limitation than selection in different habitats. Fungal co-occurrence analyses showed that the network was more intense at Saihanba National Forest Park (SNFP, Hebei). In contrast, the co-occurrence network was more complex at boundaries between forests and grasslands at SNFP. Additionally, the highest number of positive (co-presence or co-operative) correlations of fungal genera were inferred from grassland habitat, which led fungal communities to form commensalism relationships compared to forest areas with having higher negative correlations (mutual exclusion or competitive). The generalized additive model (GAM) analysis showed that the association of fungal Shannon diversity and richness indices with geographical coordinates did not follow a general pattern; instead, the fluctuation of these indices was restricted to local geographical coordinates at each sampling location. These results indicated the existence of a site effect on the diversity of fungal communities across our sampling sites. Our observation suggested that higher fungal diversity and richness of fungal taxa in a particular habitat are not necessarily associated with more complex networks.
Repeated exposure to kairomone-containing coffee odor improves abnormal olfactory behaviors in heterozygous oxytocin receptor knock-in mice
Authors: Osada Kazumi , Kujirai Riyuki , Hosono Akira , Tsuda Masato , Ohata Motoko , Ohta Tohru , Nishimori Katsuhiko
Published: February 2023

The oxytocin receptor (OXTR) knockout mouse is a model of autism spectrum disorder, characterized by abnormalities in social and olfactory behaviors and learning. Previously, we demonstrated that OXTR plays a crucial role in regulating aversive olfactory behavior to butyric acid odor. In this study, we attempted to determine whether coffee aroma affects the abnormal olfactory behavior of OXTR-Venus knock-in heterozygous mice [heterozygous OXTR (±) mice] using a set of behavioral and molecular experiments. Four-week repeated exposures of heterozygous OXTR (±) mice to coffee odor, containing three kairomone alkylpyrazines, rescued the abnormal olfactory behaviors compared with non-exposed wild-type or heterozygous OXTR (±) mice. Increased Oxtr mRNA expression in the olfactory bulb and amygdala coincided with the rescue of abnormal olfactory behaviors. In addition, despite containing the kairomone compounds, both the wild-type and heterozygous OXTR (±) mice exhibited a preference for the coffee odor and exhibited no stress-like increase in the corticotropin-releasing hormone, instead of a kairomone-associated avoidance response. The repeated exposures to the coffee odor did not change oxytocin and estrogen synthetase/receptors as a regulator of the gonadotropic hormone. These data suggest that the rescue of abnormal olfactory behaviors in heterozygous OXTR (±) mice is due to the coffee odor exposure-induced OXTR expression.
From perception to behavior: The neural circuits underlying prey hunting in larval zebrafish
Authors: Zhu Shuyu I. , Goodhill Geoffrey J.
Published: February 2023

A key challenge for neural systems is to extract relevant information from the environment and make appropriate behavioral responses. The larval zebrafish offers an exciting opportunity for studying these sensing processes and sensory-motor transformations. Prey hunting is an instinctual behavior of zebrafish that requires the brain to extract and combine different attributes of the sensory input and form appropriate motor outputs. Due to its small size and transparency the larval zebrafish brain allows optical recording of whole-brain activity to reveal the neural mechanisms involved in prey hunting and capture. In this review we discuss how the larval zebrafish brain processes visual information to identify and locate prey, the neural circuits governing the generation of motor commands in response to prey, how hunting behavior can be modulated by internal states and experience, and some outstanding questions for the field.
Correlation between percutaneous patent foramen ovale closure and recurrence of unexplained syncope
Authors: Wang Xianwen , Liu Xiangwei , Zheng Lulu , Liu Yubo , Guan Zhengyan , Dai Jingyi , Chen Xiaobin
Published: February 2023

Background

The relationship between patent foramen ovale (PFO) and unexplained syncope remains to be illustrated. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the outcomes and prognostic factors for syncope recurrence after PFO closure.

Methods

Patients with both large right-to-left shunting (RLS) PFO and unexplained syncope who visited the cardiovascular department of Xiangya Hospital Central South University from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021 were consecutively enrolled in our study. The recurrence rate of syncope was compared between the non-closure group (n = 20) and the closure group (n = 91).

Results

A total of 111 patients were finally included. After 31.11 ± 14.30 months of follow-up, only 11% of patients in the closure group had recurrent syncope, which was much lower than that of the non-closure group (11.0 vs. 35%, P = 0.018). We further investigated the possible prognostic factors for syncope recurrence in the closure group and found syncope occurring more than five times preoperatively, hypertension, and residual RLS at 12-month follow-up were significantly correlated with a higher number of recurrences.

Conclusions

PFO closure reduced the recurrence rate of unexplained syncope. The efficacy of prevention was prognosticated by factors including the presence or absence of syncope induction, the frequency of syncope episodes, and the presence or absence of hypertension. Syncope recurrence was also related to residual shunts post closure.
The role of the gut microbiota and fecal microbiota transplantation in neuroimmune diseases
Authors: Wu Nan , Li Xizhi , Ma He , Zhang Xue , Liu Bin , Wang Yuan , Zheng Qi , Fan Xueli
Published: February 2023

The gut microbiota plays a key role in the function of the host immune system and neuroimmune diseases. Alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota can lead to pathology and altered formation of microbiota-derived components and metabolites. A series of neuroimmune diseases, such as myasthenia gravis (MG), multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs), Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), and autoimmune encephalitis (AIE), are associated with changes in the gut microbiota. Microecological therapy by improving the gut microbiota is expected to be an effective measure for treating and preventing some neuroimmune diseases. This article reviews the research progress related to the roles of gut microbiota and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in neuroimmune diseases.
Assessing awareness in severe Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Huntley Jonathan , Bor Daniel , Deng Feng , Mancuso Marco , Mediano Pedro A. M. , Naci Lorina , Owen Adrian M. , Rocchi Lorenzo , Sternin Avital , Howard Robert
Published: February 2023

There is an urgent need to understand the nature of awareness in people with severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to ensure effective person-centered care. Objective biomarkers of awareness validated in other clinical groups (e.g., anesthesia, minimally conscious states) offer an opportunity to investigate awareness in people with severe AD. In this article we demonstrate the feasibility of using Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with EEG, event related potentials (ERPs) and fMRI to assess awareness in severe AD. TMS-EEG was performed in six healthy older controls and three people with severe AD. The perturbational complexity index (PCIST) was calculated as a measure of capacity for conscious awareness. People with severe AD demonstrated a PCIST around or below the threshold for consciousness, suggesting reduced capacity for consciousness. ERPs were recorded during a visual perception paradigm. In response to viewing faces, two patients with severe AD provisionally demonstrated similar visual awareness negativity to healthy controls. Using a validated fMRI movie-viewing task, independent component analysis in two healthy controls and one patient with severe AD revealed activation in auditory, visual and fronto-parietal networks. Activation patterns in fronto-parietal networks did not significantly correlate between the patient and controls, suggesting potential differences in conscious awareness and engagement with the movie. Although methodological issues remain, these results demonstrate the feasibility of using objective measures of awareness in severe AD. We raise a number of challenges and research questions that should be addressed using these biomarkers of awareness in future studies to improve understanding and care for people with severe AD.
Influence of coil orientation on corticospinal excitability of trunk muscles during postural and volitional tasks in healthy adults
Authors: Ma Wesley , Nemdharry Sheanil , Elgueta Cancino Edith , Chiou Shin-Yi
Published: February 2023

Introduction

Trunk muscles play a role in maintaining postural stability and performing goal-directed voluntary movements in activities of daily living. Evidence has shown that the primary motor cortex (M1) is involved in modulation of postural control and voluntary movements of the trunk. However, it remains unknown whether the neural circuits within the M1 were recruited to the same extent between a postural task and a goal-directed voluntary task.

Methods

To address this, we examined latencies and amplitudes of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) of the erector spinae (ES) with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) figure-of-eight coil oriented to induce latero-medial (LM), posterior-anterior (PA), and anterior-posterior (AP) currents in the M1 in twenty healthy participants during a dynamic shoulder flexion (DSF) task, a postural task requiring anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs), and during a static trunk extension (STE) task, a voluntary task without involvement of APAs.

Results

We found that differences in the AP-LM latency of ES MEP were longer compared with the PA-LM latency in both tasks. Corticospinal excitability was overall greater during the DSF task than during the STE task irrespective of the coil orientation.

Discussion

Our findings suggest that while the same neural circuits in the M1 were recruited to modulate both postural and voluntary control of the trunk, the contribution was greater to the postural task than the voluntary task, possibly due to the requirement of APAs in the task.
Relationships between changes in lateral vestibulospinal tract excitability and postural control by dynamic balance intervention in healthy individuals: A preliminary study
Authors: Shiozaki Tomoyuki , Okada Yohei , Nakamura Junji , Ueta Kozo , Tanaka Hiroaki , Moritani Mako , Kitahara Tadashi
Published: February 2023

Introduction

We conducted dynamic balance or static intervention on healthy young adults to examine the changes in lateral vestibulospinal tract (LVST) excitability and postural control that ensued following dynamic balance intervention and to investigate the correlation between these changes.

Methods

Twenty-eight healthy young adults were randomly assigned to either the dynamic balance group or the control group. They performed either a dynamic balance or static intervention for 10 trials of 30 s each and were assessed for head jerks during the intervention to confirm adaptation to the intervention. The dynamic balance intervention consisted of maintaining balance on a horizontally unstable surface, whereas the control intervention involved standing in the same foot position as the dynamic balance intervention on a stable surface while completing a maze task. LVST excitability and postural stability were assessed before and after the interventions. LVST excitability was assessed as the change rate in the soleus H-reflex amplitude with galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVSH). The velocity and area of the center of pressure (COP) were examined in the eyes closed/foam rubber condition.

Results

No significant main and interaction effects (task, time) were observed for GVSH and COP variables. In the dynamic balance intervention, head jerk significantly decreased, and GVSH-change and changes in head jerk and COP area were significantly negatively correlated.

Discussion

The LVST excitability change for the dynamic balance intervention varied among the participants, although increased LVST excitability may have been related to increased postural stability.
Improving the adversarial transferability with relational graphs ensemble adversarial attack
Authors: Pi Jiatian , Luo Chaoyang , Xia Fen , Jiang Ning , Wu Haiying , Wu Zhiyou
Published: February 2023

In transferable black-box attacks, adversarial samples remain adversarial across multiple models and are more likely to attack unknown models. From this view, acquiring and exploiting multiple models is the key to improving transferability. For exploiting multiple models, existing approaches concentrate on differences among models but ignore the underlying complex dependencies. This exacerbates the issue of unbalanced and inadequate attacks on multiple models. To this problem, this paper proposes a novel approach, called Relational Graph Ensemble Attack (RGEA), to exploit the dependencies among multiple models. Specifically, we redefine the multi-model ensemble attack as a multi-objective optimization and create a sub-optimization problem to compute the optimal attack direction, but there are serious time-consuming problems. For this time-consuming problem, we define the vector representation of the model, extract the dependency matrix, and then equivalently simplify the sub-optimization problem by utilizing the dependency matrix. Finaly, we theoretically extend to investigate the connection between RGEA and the traditional multiple gradient descent algorithm (MGDA). Notably, combining RGEA further enhances the transferability of existing gradient-based attacks. The experiments using ten normal training models and ten defensive models on the labeled face in the wild (LFW) dataset demonstrate that RGEA improves the success rate of white-box attacks and further boosts the transferability of black-box attacks.
Complement-dependent cytotoxicity of human autoantibodies against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein
Authors: Kohyama Kuniko , Nishida Hiroya , Kaneko Kimihiko , Misu Tatsuro , Nakashima Ichiro , Sakuma Hiroshi
Published: February 2023

Background

The autoantibody to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), a component of the central nervous system myelin, has been identified in a subset of demyelinating diseases. However, there is no convincing evidence to support the direct pathogenic contribution of this autoantibody.

Objective

To elucidate the role of anti-MOG autoantibodies in human demyelinating disorders, we assessed the effect of autoantibodies on MOG-expressing cells.

Methods

Mammalian cells expressing the human MOG protein reacted with human anti-MOG autoantibodies in the presence or absence of complement. Sera from 86 patients and 11 healthy sera were used. We analyzed anti-MOG antibody titers, IgG subclass, and their cytotoxic ability in sera from patients with various neurological diseases. Membrane attack complex (MAC) formation was examined by detection of complement C9 or C9neo with western blot or flow cytometry.

Results

Among 86 patients, 40 were determined to be MOG-IgG-positive and 46 were negative. Anti-MOG-positive sera, but not -negative sera, caused cell death in MOG-expressing cells. This cytotoxic effect was disappeared after heat inactivation of sera. Importantly, anti-MOG IgG and externally added complement were necessary for sufficient cytotoxic effects. Anti-MOG autoantibodies were histologically colocalized with complement and formed a membrane attack complex consisting of anti-MOG IgG and complement factors.

Conclusion

The human MOG antibody specifically killed MOG-expressing cells in vitro in the presence of externally added complement. Membrane attack complexes were formed on the cells, indicating that this autoantibody activated complement-mediated cytotoxicity. Further studies in larger numbers of patients are needed to characterize the role of complement in MOGAD.
Prognostic nutritional index value in the prognosis of Kawasaki disease with coronary artery lesions
Authors: Liu Jie , Su Danyan , Yuan Piaoliu , Huang Yuqin , Ye Bingbing , Liang Kaizhi , Pang Yusheng
Published: February 2023

Objectives

The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is a purported predictor of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance and coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) development in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD). However, limited data exist on CAA regression. This study aimed to confirm whether the PNI is a predictor for CAA persistency in patients with KD.

Methods

This retrospective study grouped 341 patients with KD based on the coronary artery status and time of aneurysm persistence. The clinical and laboratory parameters were compared, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the independent risk factors for persistent CAA. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was further used to assess the predictive values of the PNI in persistent CAA.

Results

Among the study patients, 80 (23.5%) presented with CAA, including CAA persisting for 2 years in 17 patients (5.0%). Patients with CAA were more frequently treated with corticosteroids (p < 0.016). No statistically significant differences were found in the nutritional status and PNI among patients with or without coronary artery lesions, regardless of injury severity. Patients in the persistent CAA group presented with higher rates of overnutrition and showed lower PNI values and a higher incidence of thrombosis than those in the normal group (p < 0.05). The PNI and the maximum Z-score at 1 month of onset were significantly associated with CAA persisting for 2 years and may be used as predictors of persistent CAA. The area under the ROC curve was 0.708 (95% confidence interval, 0.569–0.847), and a 40.2 PNI cutoff yielded a sensitivity and specificity of 41 and 92%, respectively, for predicting CAA persisting for 2 years. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis revealed that the estimated median time of aneurysm persistence was significantly higher in patients with PNI values of ≤40 than in those with PNI values of >40 (hazard ratio, 2.958; 95% confidence interval, 1.601–5.464; p = 0.007). After sampling-time stratification, the PNI differed significantly between patients with and without persistent CAA when sampled on the second (p = 0.040), third (p = 0.028), and fourth days (p = 0.041) following disease onset.

Conclusion

A lower PNI value is an independent risk factor for CAA persisting for 2 years in patients with KD, besides the maximum Z-score at 1 month after onset. Furthermore, the PNI obtained within 4 days from fever onset may possess greater predictive power for patients with persistent CAA.
UPLC-MS/MS profiling, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and potential health benefits prediction of phenolic compounds in hazel leaf
Authors: Zhao Jiarui , Wang Xinhe , Wang Yuchen , Lv Guangfu , Lin He , Lin Zhe
Published: February 2023

Hazel leaf, one of the by-products of hazelnut, which is widely used in traditional folk medicine around the world. In the present study, the profile of free, conjugated, and bound phenolic compounds from hazel leaf was detected and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were investigated. The potential health benefits of different phenolic compounds were also predicted. The results showed that the 35 phenolic substances of free, conjugated and bound forms were identified including phenolic acids, flavonoids and catechins. Most of the hazel leaf phenolics were presented in free form, followed by conjugated and bound form. All the fractions effectively inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde in TBHP-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells by enhancing endogenous superoxide dismutase, and accordingly alleviated inflammatory cytokines (NO, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, showing obvious antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity. Moreover, combined with network pharmacology, the potential therapeutic effects and functional pathways of hazel leaf phenolics were predicted, which provided value basis for exploring their treatment on diseases and developing health products in the future.
Factors associated with the use of adjuvant radiation therapy in stage III melanoma
Authors: King Amber L. O. , Lee Victor , Yu Beverly , Mirza Fatima N. , Zogg Cheryl K. , Yang Daniel X. , Tran Thuy , Leventhal Jonathan , An Yi
Published: February 2023

Objective

The role of radiation therapy (RT) in melanoma has historically been limited to palliative care, with surgery as the primary treatment modality. However, adjuvant RT can be a powerful tool in certain cases and its application in melanoma has been increasingly explored in recent years. The aim of this study is to explore national patterns of care and associations surrounding the use of adjuvant RT for stage III melanoma.

Methods

The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) was used to identify patients who were diagnosed with stage III melanoma between 2004 and 2014. Exclusion criteria included those with distant metastatic disease, in-situ histology, no confirmed positive nodes, palliative intent therapy, and dosing regimens inconsistent with National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for adjuvant RT in melanoma. Patients treated with and without adjuvant RT were compared and factors associated with use of adjuvant RT were identified using multivariable logistic regression analyses.

Results

A total of 7,758 cases of stage III melanoma were analyzed, of which 11.7% received adjuvant RT. The mean age of the overall cohort was 58.5 years, and the majority of patients were male (64.7%), white (96.6%), on private insurance (51.3%), and presented to a non-high-volume facility (90.3%). Multivariable regression analyses revealed that patients who present to the hospital in 2009-2014 as compared to 2004-2008 (odds ratio [OR] 1.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36-1.92), had 4 or more positive nodes (OR 4.30, 95% CI 3.67-5.04), and had microscopic residual tumor (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.46-3.04) were more likely to receive adjuvant RT. Factors that were negatively associated with receiving adjuvant RT included female gender (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.61-0.85) and median income of at least $63,000 (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.52-0.83).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the rising use of RT for stage III melanoma in recent years and identifies demographic, social, clinical, and hospital-specific factors associated with patients receiving adjuvant RT. Further investigation is needed to explore disease benefits to improve guidance on the utilization of RT in melanoma.
Construction of a DDR-related signature for predicting of prognosis in metastatic colorectal carcinoma
Authors: Wei Maohua , Su Junyan , Zhang Jiali , Liu Siyao , Ma Jia , Meng Xiang peng
Published: February 2023

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent malignancy and the one of most lethal cancer. Metastatic CRC (mCRC) is the third most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. DNA damage response (DDR) genes are closely associated with the tumorigenesis and development of CRC. In this study, we aimed to construct a DDR-related gene signature for predicting the prognosis of mCRC patients.

Methods

The gene expression and corresponding clinical information data of CRC/mCRC patients were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. A prognostic model was obtained and termed DDRScore by the multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression in the patients with mCRC. The Kaplan-Meier (K-M) and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to validate the predictive ability of the prognostic model. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway were performed for patients between the high-DDRscore and low-DDRscore groups.

Results

We constructed a prognostic model consisting of four DDR-related genes (EME2, MSH4, MLH3, and SPO11). Survival analysis showed that patients in the high-DDRscore group had a significantly worse OS than those in the low-DDRscore group. The area under the curve (AUC) value of the ROC curve of the predictive model is 0.763 in the training cohort GSE72970, 0.659 in the stage III/IV colorectal cancer (CRC) patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data portal, and 0.639 in another validation cohort GSE39582, respectively. GSEA functional analysis revealed that the most significantly enriched pathways focused on nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, homologous recombination, cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signal pathway, cell adhesion molecules cams, ECM-receptor interaction, and focal adhesion.

Conclusion

The DDRscore was identified as an independent prognostic and therapy response predictor, and the DDR-related genes may be potential diagnosis or prognosis biomarkers for mCRC patients.
A nomogram and risk classification system forecasting the cancer-specific survival of lymph- node- positive rectal cancer patient after radical proctectomy
Authors: Zhong Chonghan , Ju Houqiong , Liu Dongning , He Penghui , Wang Daqiang , Yu Hongxin , Lu Weijie , Li Taiyuan
Published: February 2023

Background

The aim of the study was to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting cancer-specific survival (CSS) in lymph- node- positive rectal cancer patients after radical proctectomy.

Methods

In this study, we analyzed data collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2004 and 2015. In addition, in a 7:3 randomized design, all patients were split into two groups (development and validation cohorts). CSS predictors were selected via univariate and multivariate Cox regressions. The nomogram was constructed by analyzing univariate and multivariate predictors. The effectiveness of this nomogram was evaluated by concordance index (C-index), calibration plots, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Based on the total score of each patient in the development cohort in the nomogram, a risk stratification system was developed. In order to analyze the survival outcomes among different risk groups, Kaplan–Meier method was used.

Results

We selected 4,310 lymph- node- positive rectal cancer patients after radical proctectomy, including a development cohort (70%, 3,017) and a validation cohort (30%, 1,293). The nomogram correlation C-index for the development cohort and the validation cohort was 0.702 (95% CI, 0.687–0.717) and 0.690 (95% CI, 0.665–0.715), respectively. The calibration curves for 3- and 5-year CSS showed great concordance. The 3- and 5-year areas under the curve (AUC) of ROC curves in the development cohort were 0.758 and 0.740, respectively, and 0.735 and 0.730 in the validation cohort, respectively. Following the establishment of the nomogram, we also established a risk stratification system. According to their nomogram total points, patients were divided into three risk groups. There were significant differences between the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups (p< 0.05).

Conclusions

As a result of our research, we developed a highly discriminatory and accurate nomogram and associated risk classification system to predict CSS in lymph-node- positive rectal cancer patients after radical proctectomy. This model can help predict the prognosis of patients with lymph- node- positive rectal cancer.