bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biogenic Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles from Living sources with Special Emphasis on Their Biomedical Applications
Authors: Rather Gulzar Ahmed , Nanda Anima , Chakravorty Arghya , Hamid Saima , Khan Johra , Rather Mohd Asharaf , Bhattacharya Tanima , Rahman Md. Habibur
Published: February 2021

Nanobiotechnology has been achieved great significance in terms of nanomedicine & many others. But the first challenge in nanobiotechnology science is the preparation of stable nanoparticles. Presently, many preparation methods have been developed like different chemical & physical processes, but the main drawbacks of these processes are required hazardous chemicals, environmental impact, and ultimately expenses a lot. To overcome these challenges another advanced technology has been developed, which is termed green or biogenic synthesis. This review is discussing the modern approaches of the eco-friendly and cost-effective methodology of green synthesis of nanoparticles by using different eukaryotic & prokaryotic agents like plants, human cell lines, diatoms, algae, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and other organisms. Also, this review gives a clear idea of the different applications of those nanoparticles in drug delivery, dentistry, labeling, diagnostics & sensors.
Nerve Injury Alters Restraint-induced Activation of the Basolateral Amygdala in Male Rats
Authors: Kang James , Mor David , Keay Kevin A
Published: February 2021

The amygdala is critical for the production of appropriate responses towards emotional or stressful stimuli. It has a characteristic neuronal activation pattern to acute stressors. Chronic pain and acute stress have each been shown to independently modulate the activity of the amygdala. Few studies have investigated the effect of pain or injury, on amygdala activation to acute stress. This study investigated the effects of a neuropathic injury on the activation response of the amygdala to an acute restraint stress. Chronic constriction injury of the right sciatic nerve (CCI) was used to create neuropathic injury and a single brief 15-minute acute restraint was used as an emotional/psychological stressor. All rats received cholera toxin B (CTB) retrograde tracer injections into the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to assess if the amygdala to mPFC pathway was specifically regulated by the combination of neuropathic injury and acute stress. To assess differential patterns of activity in amygdala subregions, cFos expression was used as a marker for “acute”, restraint triggered neuronal activation, and FosB/DFosB expression was used to reveal prolonged neuronal activation / sensitisation triggered by CCI. Restraint resulted in a characteristic increase in cFos expression in the medial amygdala, which was not altered by CCI. Rats with a CCI showed increased cFos expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), in response to an acute restraint stress, but not in neurons projecting to the prefrontal cortex. Further, CCI rats showed an increase in FosB/ΔFosB expression which was exclusive to the BLA. This increase likely reflects sensitisation of the BLA as a consequence of nerve injury which may contribute to heightened sensitivity of BLA neurons to acute emotional/ psychological stressors.
Nutritional Stimulation by In-ovo Feeding Modulates Cellular Proliferation and Differentiation in the Small Intestinal Epithelium of Chicks
Authors: Reicher Naama , Melkman-Zehavi Tal , Dayan Jonathan , Wong Eric A. , Uni Zehava
Published: February 2021

BackgroundNutritional stimulation of the small intestine (SI) of chick embryos can be conducted by enriching the amniotic fluid with nutrients via the in-ovo feeding (IOF) methodology. The impact of IOF of specific nutrients on cellular proliferation and differentiation within the multipotent (MP) and differentiated cell niches of the developing SI have not yet been characterized. In the study, we examined the effects of IOF of 1% glutamine (IOF-Gln), 1% leucine (IOF-Leu) and 0.4% NaCl (IOF-NaCl), compared to non-injected controls, on the proportions and localizations of MP, progenitor and differentiated cells within the SI epithelium of peri-hatch chicks. MP, progenitor and differentiated cells were located and quantified in jejunum sections of all treatment groups at E17 and at E19, and post-hatch at days 0, 1, 3 and 7, by immunofluorescence of Sox9 and PCNA, in-situ hybridization of Lgr5 and PepT1 and histochemical goblet cell staining.ResultsAt E19, 48 h post IOF, the effects of IOF treatments, in comparison to Control embryos, were as follows: total cell counts increased by 40%, 33% and 19%, and MP cell counts increased by 52%, 50% and 38%, in IOF-Gln, IOF-Leu and IOF-NaCl embryos, respectively. Only IOF-Gln embryos exhibited a significant, 36% increase in progenitor cell counts. Lgr5+ stem cell localizations shifted to villus bottoms in IOF-treated embryos. The differentiated, PepT1+ region of the villi was 1.9 and 1.3-fold longer in IOF-Gln and IOF-Leu embryos, respectively, while goblet cell densities decreased by 20% in IOF-Gln embryos. Between hatch and D7, crypt and villi epithelial cell counts were significantly higher IOF-Gln chicks, compared to Control chicks (P<0.05).ConclusionsIOF promotes pre-hatch SI maturation through increased proportions and enhanced compartmentalization of the MP and differentiated cell niches. IOF of glutamine stimulates SI maturation to a greater extent than leucine and NaCl, and elicits further expansions of the crypt and villus epithelium during the first week post-hatch. These findings shed light on the link between primary nutritional stimulation and cellular maturation within the SI epithelium.
Immunity Improvement and Gut Microbiota Remodeling of Mice by Wheat Germ Globulin
Authors: Yu Guanghai , Ji Xiaoguo , Huang Jihong , Liao Aimei , Long Pan , Hou Yinchen , Hui Ming , Guo Weiyun
Published: February 2021

The wheat germ protein (WG) and it’s proteolytic peptide have a variety of biological activities. Our previous work showed that WG could improve immunity of the immunosuppressive mice established by cyclophosphamide. However, in the healthy condition and normal diet, as a supplementary food, the effects of immunity improvement and gut microbiota remodeling by the wheat germ globulin has not been studied yet. Here, we reported that WG could improve the immunity and remodel the gut microbiota of the mice, as a safe functional supplementary food for the first time. The increase of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the decrease of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) indicated that WG could enhance the levels of activated T cells and monocytes and anti-inflammatory ability, meanwhile, the significant increase of immunoglobin G (lgG) and the notable decrease of the immunoglobin M (lgM) and immunoglobin A (lgA) illustrated that WG could improve immunity by promoting the differentiation and maturation process of B cells, compared with the NC group. 16S rRNA sequencing showed WG could remodel the gut microbiota. At the phylum level, the Bacteroidetes were reduced and Firmicutes were increased in WG group, compared with NC group. At the genus level, the SCFA producing genera of unclassified_f_Lachnospiraceae, Blautia and especially the Roseburia (increased more than threefold) increased notably. Further, the level changes of cytokines and immunoglobulins were associated with the gut microbiota. This work showed that WG could improve immunity and has potential application value as an immune-enhancing functional food.
An open-source surface barrier discharge plasma pretreatment for reduced cracking of outdoor wood coatings
Authors: Dahle Sebastian , Pilko Megi , Žigon Jure , Zaplotnik Rok , Petrič Marko , Pavlič Matjaž
Published: February 2021

The development of a simple surface barrier discharge plasma device is presented to enable more widespread access to and utilization of plasma technology. The application of the plasma device was demonstrated for pretreatment of wood prior to application of protective coatings for outdoor usage. The coatings' overall performance was increased, showing a reduction or absence of cracking due to weathering on plasma-pretreated specimens. Moreover, after ten months of outdoor weathering, the plasma-pretreated specimens showed fewer infections with biotic factors and improved adhesion performance in cross-cut tests, while the surface gloss performed independently from plasma pretreatment. In contrast to that, plasma-pretreated specimens were slightly more prone to discoloration due to outdoor weathering, whereas the plasma pretreatment did not impact the initial color after coating application.
The Potential use of Bacterial Diversity Analysis of Soft Rotted Potato Tubers and Their Geocaulospheres
Authors: Marković Sanja , Popović Tatjana , Berić Tanja , Dimkić Ivica , Jelušić Aleksandra , Iličić Renata , Stanković Slaviša
Published: February 2021

The soft rot caused by Pectobacterium and Dickeya spp. is among the most important potato disease, responsible for outbreaks worldwide. In 2018, potato tubers (cultivar Lady Claire) with and without visible soft rot symptom, together with their geocaulospheres were sampled from the field in Bačka region (Serbia). The 16S rRNA Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of tubers with and without soft rot symptom and their corresponding soils was performed to detect differences in microbial diversity and, using this data to predict causal agent(s) of disease and which samples are potentially best for isolating biocontrol strains. The ubiquitous soil bacteria from the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were dominant in all samples. The sequences identified as Pectobacterium aroidearum, P. carotovorum, and P. polaris were present in all tested samples and it can be hypothesized that they caused soft rot. The K3 sample showed the presence of genera with potential antimicrobial activity (Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, Chryseobacterium, Bacillus, and Exiguobacterium). This result shows that diversity analysis could be used for checking for the presence of potential antagonistic bacteria at infected sites. Also, following the presence or absence of particular taxa could point out a capacity of soil to endure a growth season without an outbreak of soft or to maintain it without significant losses. This is a new approach to interpreting the results of the diversity of bacterial communities of tubers and can be useful for screening the health status of the soil.
Differential Diagnosis of Pulmonary Fungal Infection and Lung Cancer via 18F-FDG PET/CT: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Feng Xin , Deng Chunmei , Li Xiaofeng , Qiu Ye , Deng Jiehua , Huang Shengcai , Zhang Jianquan
Published: February 2021

Background: There is limited evidence regarding the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) characteristics of lung fungal (LF) infections with nodules or masses, which are often misdiagnosed as lung cancer (LC) with indications for surgery. We aimed to investigate the PET/CT findings of LF infections with nodules in comparison to those of LC and clarify the diagnostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the differential diagnosis of LF infections.Methods: We enrolled 21 patients who presented with pulmonary nodules or masses on CT, were diagnosed with LF infections, and underwent PET/CT as the LF group and randomly selected 42 patients with LC diagnosed by pathology as the LC group. Clinical and PET/CT imaging data were statistically analyzed.Results: LC was the most common misdiagnosed disease in the LF group (52.38%). There were no significant differences in lung imaging features between the two groups. The levels of white blood cells, neutrophils, and IgG and the positive rates for fungal antigen test in the LF group were significantly higher than those in the LC group (P<0.05). Lung masses larger than 3 cm were more common in the LC group (P<0.05). Overall, 80.95% (17/21) of patients in the LF group showed increased 18F-FDG uptake. There were no significant between-group differences in the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax, 8.20 [2.70, 12.95] vs. 8.80 [7.00, 12.38]). In the LF group, eight, five, and eight patients had cryptococcal, Aspergillus, and Talaromyces marneffei infections, respectively, with no significant difference in SUVmax among them (5.10 [1.70, 14.40] vs. 8.20 [1.50, 8.20] vs. 8.50 [5.10, 11.30]). Conclusions: Both LF infection and LC can present with increased 18F-FDG uptake on PET/CT. Thus, it is difficult to distinguish between them according to lung PET/CT and CT manifestations. Patients presenting with pulmonary masses should also be suspected to have fungal infection, even those with an increased SUVmax and simultaneous lymph node and bone involvement; particular attention is needed for patients with abnormal inflammation indexes and fungal antigen test. We should be emphasized preoperative pathological examination and fungal etiology.
Assessment of Ground Water Quality for Drinking Purpose in Algezira Islanj and Huraizab Area, Omdurman, Sudan
Authors: Shumo Muna I. , Isa Gamereldawla O. E. , Saeed Osama A. , Abdalnabe Ahmed M. , Khider Tarig Osman
Published: February 2021

Objective This work was carried to study the suitability of ground water taken from Algezira Islanj and Huraizab areas, north Omdurman, Sudan for drinking compared with parameters and standards of World Health Organization. Omdurman is situated at the junction of the Blue and the White Nile.Results Six samples were taken from the groundwater in north of Omdurman mainly ( Algezira Islanj and Huraizab areas). The samples were subjected to physical and chemical examinations. The main investigated parameters were, total dissolved solid, pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, total hardness and heavy metals. The turbidity level from Algezira Islanj was in range of (7.10 - 21.40) which was higher than the acceptable level for drinking water stated by World Health Organization (WHO), and Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization (SSMO) specifications. The levels of alkalinity, total dissolved solids and hardness in all samples were in the range. Ammonia content from Huraizab samples were higher than the maximum value (1.5mg/L). The study showed that the concentrations of iron, arsenic, nickel, and lead for groundwater in the study area were higher than the permitted limits suggested by World Health Organization and Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization specifications.
Hepatitis B-related Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure Induced by Hepatotropic Viral insult is Associated with Worse Prognosis Than that Induced by Non-Virus Insult
Authors: Liang Jing , Liu Lei , Cao Yingying , Zhang Qian , Liu Fang , Yu Chen , Liu Hua , Duan Zhongping , Xu Manman , Xin Shaojie , You Shaoli , Song Fangjiao , Li Jun , Han Tao
Published: February 2021

Objective: The manifestations and prognoses of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) with different precipitating events remain heterogeneous. We aimed to investigate the characteristics and prognosis of patients with hepatotropic viral insult (HVI)-induced hepatitis B-related ACLF (HBV-ACLF). Methods: 452 patients with confirmed diagnosis of ACLF were screened in three medical centers in China, and 203 HBV-ACLF patients with definite acute precipitating events were retrospectively analyzed. According to the precipitating events, HBV-ACLF patients induced by HBV reactivation and super-infection with HAV were classified as the hepatotropic viral insult group and those induced by other factors, as the non-virus insult (NVI) group. The clinical characteristics, predictive scoring model, and prognosis of the two groups were compared. Results: Hepatitis B virus reactivation accounted for the largest proportion (39.9%) among all precipitating events. Exacerbation time frame of the HVI group was significantly longer than that of the NVI group (20 days vs. 10 days, P<0.001). Comparison of intergroup prognosis showed that there was no significant difference in the 28-day mortality (20.9% vs. 13.7%, P=0.125), while the 90-day and 1-year mortality in the HVI group were higher than those in the NVI group (36.3% vs. 24.4%, P=0.014; 39.5% vs. 27.5%, P=0.020, respectively). In the HVI group, the lactic acid-free APASL-ACLF Research Consortium(AARC) had the highest predictive value for 90-day mortality (0.741). Conclusions: The 90-day and 1-year survival rate was lower in HBV-ACLF patients induced by HVI than by NVI. The lactate-free AARC score was a better predictor of short- and long-term prognosis in patients with HVI-induced HBV-ACLF.Trial registration: ChiCTR, ChiCTR1900021539 . Registered 26 February 2019 Retrospectively registered, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=36342
Management of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy in Black women: a systematic review
Authors: John Jeeva , Curry Gwenetta
Published: February 2021

Background: Black women are four times more likely to die than White women due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth in the U.K. This cohort are also more prone to Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy (HDP). Outside of pregnancy, there are race based differences in the management of hypertension as Calcium-Channel Blockers (CCB) 9 are more effective in reducing blood pressure in Black patients. It is unclear whether these differences in anti-hypertensive management extend to the management of hypertension in pregnancy. The primary objective was to address this gap in evidence by undertaking a systematic review of all randomised control trials investigating pharmacological management of HDP to assess whether CCBs are the most effective anti-hypertensive agent in Black pregnant women.
Methods: The following electronic databases were searched: PubMed, MEDLINE and Embase. We used MeSH and free text terms in conjunction to increase sensitivity to potentially relevant studies. Inclusion criteria included: (1) study involved treatment of HDP; (2) study was of a randomised control trial design; (3) one of the treatment arms involved CCBs and (4) English full-text. Information regarding baseline participant data, type of anti-hypertensive, and clinical outcomes was extracted from each study.
Results: This review highlighted four randomised control trials, which published race or ethnicity demographics, with only one trial that stratified HDP outcomes by ethnicity.
Conclusions: There is a lack of evidence to draw definite conclusions as to whether CCBs are the most effective anti-hypertensive agent for Black patients with HDP, highlighting the need for further research in this area. However, this review demonstrates some evidence to support the hypothesis that CCBs could be more effective in the management of HDP in Black patients and that Labetalol, which is the current first-line management of HDP, may not represent the gold standard of treatment in this cohort.
The Effectiveness of Hearing Protection Devices: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Kwak Chanbeom , Han Woojae
Published: February 2021

Background: To prevent intensive noise exposure in advance and be safely controlled during such exposure, hearing protection devices (HPDs) have widely been used for workers. The present study evaluates the effectiveness of these HPDs, partitioned into three different outcomes, such as sound attenuation, sound localization, and speech perception. Methods: For thus systematic review and meta-analysis, standardized mean differences (SMDs) and effect size were calculated using a random-effect model. Seven electronic journal databases were used to search published articles from 2000 to 2020. Based on inclusion criteria, 20 articles were chosen and then analyzed. Results: Overall, the HPD function performed significantly well for their users (SMDs: 0.457, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.034-0.881, p< 0.05). Specifically, a subgroup analysis showed a meaningful difference in sound attenuation (SMDs: 1.080, 95% CI: 0.167-1.993, p< 0.05) when to wear and not to wear HPDs, but indicated no significance between the groups for sound localization (SMDs: 0.177, 95% CI: 0.540-0.894, p = 0.628) and speech perception (SMDs: 0.366, 95% CI: -0.100 -1.086, p = 0.103). Conclusions: The HPDs work well for their originally designated purposes without interfering to find the location of the sound sources and for talking between workers. In a further study, various factors, such as characteristics of the users, selection of appropriate types, and fitting methods for wearing in different circumstances should be differenciated in terms of offering the most useful infomation to the workers.
Knowledge and Attitude on Prevention of Novel COVID-19 Among Community Health Workers in Nepal.
Authors: Shrestha Amul , Thapa Tek Bahadur , Giri Mahendra , Kumar Sanjiv , Dhobi Sakil , Thapa Harikali , Dhami Pawan Prakash , Shahi Arun , Ghimire Ajita
Published: February 2021

1. Background: Emerging and reemerging pathogens are global challenges for public health and the pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 is a reemerging case of an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corornavirus-2 . Health care worker worldwide are at higher risk worldwide and the situation is the same in Nepal. The knowledge and attitude of health workers will certainly mark the outcome towards this pandemic. So, this study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of community health workers towards the prevention of COVID-19 virus.2. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among the community health workers of various provinces of Nepal. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was prepared in google form and circulated to the sampled health workers through various social media platforms like Facebook, messenger, Instagram, g-mails and messengers. Responses containing anonymized data was collected analyzed in using SPSS-version-20. The results were interpreted and was checked with various demographic and enabling factors using chi-square test and logistic regression model. Also, ethical approval was taken from NHRC (ERB protocol registration number: 360/2020P) prior to the conduction of study.3. Results: Out the total sample size of 450, we took 399 responses taking into consideration all the inclusion criteria. So, from 399 valid response, 230 (47.6%) were males and 169 (42.4%) were females. 380 (95.2%) employed participants thought that wearing PPE will reduce the chances of getting COVID-19, majority of the participants 80.5%(321) responded that COVID-19 will successfully be controlled and staffs receiving excellent support from palika had high knowledge level. Knowledge level was significantly associated with the enabling factor “support from palika” (P=0.045).4. Conclusions: Proper and adequate knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19 is a paramount in the prevention and control of SARS-COV2 for everyone and especially the HCW’s who are the frontline workers. There is a need to orient more HCW’s regarding COVID-19, preventive measures. 45.9% of the respondents had no availability of COVID-19 response medical items for prevention of COVID-19 at their respective health facilities which is a serious issue which need to address very quickly to fight against the pandemic.
Low incidence of venous thrombosis but high incidence of arterial thrombotic complications among critically ill COVID-19 patients in Singapore
Authors: Tan Chuen Wen , Fan Bingwen Eugene , Teo Winnie Z.Y. , Tung Moon Ley , Shafi Humaira , Christopher Dheepa , Zheng Shuwei , Peh Wee Ming , Chan Stephrene Seok Wei , Chong Vanessa Cui Lian , Gallardo Christian Aledia , Chang Cheng Chieh Ray , Ling Li Min , Tan Jing Yuan , Lee Ken Cheah Hooi , Phua Ghee Chee , Cherng Benjamin Pei Zhi , Low Jenny Guek Hong , Ho Vui Kian , Prasad Vishnu , Wong Lester Jung Long , Lim Cheryl Xiu Qi , Chee Yen Lin , Ong Kiat Hoe , Lee Lai Heng , Ng Heng Joo , Yap Eng Soo
Published: February 2021

Background: Arterial and venous thrombosis are reported to be common in critically ill COVID-19 patients.Method and Results: This is a national multicenter retrospective observational study involving all consecutive adult COVID-19 patients who required intensive care units (ICU) admission between 23 January 2020 and 30 April 2020 in Singapore. 111 patients were included and the venous and arterial thrombotic rates in ICU were 1.8% (n=2) and 9.9% (n=11), respectively. Major bleeding rate was 14.8% (n=16). Conclusions: Critically ill COVID-19 patients in Singapore have lower venous thromboembolism but higher arterial thrombosis rates and bleeding manifestations than other reported cohorts.
The loss of DLG2 isoform 7/8, but not isoform 2, is critical in advanced staged neuroblastoma
Authors: Keane Simon , Martinsson Tommy , Kogner Per , Ejeskar Katarina
Published: February 2021

BACKGROUND:Neuroblastoma is a childhood neural crest tumor showing large clinical and genetic heterogeneity, one form displaying 11q-deletion is very aggressive. It has been shown that 11q-deletion results in decreased expression of DLG2, a gene residing in the deleted region. DLG2 has a number of different isoforms with the main difference is the presence or absence of a L27 domain. The L27 domain containing DLG proteins can form complexes with CASK/MPP and LIN7 protein family members, which will control cell polarity and signaling. METHODS:We evaluated the DLG gene family and the LIN7 gene family for their expression in differently INSS staged neuroblastoma from publically available data and primary tumors, we included two distinct DLG1 and DLG2 N-terminal transcript isoforms encoding L27 domains for their expression. Functionality of DLG2 isoforms and of LIN7A were evaluated in the 11q-deleted neuroblastoma cell line SKNAS.RESULTS:In neuroblastoma only two DLG2 isoforms were expressed: isoform 2 and isoform 7/8. Using the array data we could determine that higher expression of DLG members that contain L27 domains correlated to better survival and prognosis. Whilst DLG1 showed a decrease in both isoforms with increased INSS stage, only the full length L27 containing DLG2 transcripts DLG2-isoform 7/8 showed a decrease in expression in high stage neuroblastoma. We could show that the protein encoded by DLG2-isoform 7 could bind to LIN7A, and increased DLG2-isoform 7 gene expression increased the expression of LIN7A, this reduced neuroblastoma cell proliferation and viability, with increased BAX/BCL2 ratio indicating increased apoptosis.CONCLUSION:We have provided evidence that gene expression of the L27 domain containing DLG2-isoform 7/8 but not L27 domain lacking DLG2-isoform 2 is disrupted in neuroblastoma, in particular in the aggressive subsets of tumors. The presence of the complete L27 domain allows for the binding to LIN7A, which will control cell polarity and signaling, thus affecting cancer cell viability.
Prognostic and predictive value of FCER1G in glioma outcomes and response to immunotherapy
Authors: Xu Houshi , Zhu Qingwei , Tang Lan , Jiang Junkun , Yuan Huiwen , Zhang Anke , Lou Meiqing
Published: February 2021

Purpose: Glioma is the most prevalent malignant form of brain tumors, with a dismal prognosis. Currently, cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a revolutionary treatment for patients with advanced highly aggressive therapy-resistant tumors. However, there is no effective biomarker to reflect the response to immunotherapy in glioma patient so far. So we aim to assess the clinical predictive value of FCER1G in patients with glioma. Methods: The expression level and correlation between clinical prognosis and FER1G levels were analyzed with the data from CGGA, TCGA, and GEO database. Univariate and multivariate cox regression model was built to predict the prognosis of glioma patients with multiple factors. Then the correlation between FCER1G with immune cell infiltration and activation was analyzed. At last, we predict the immunotherapeutic response in both high and low FCER1G expression subgroups.Results: FCER1G was significantly higher in glioma with greater malignancy and predicted poor prognosis. In multivariate analysis, the hazard ratio of FCER1G expression (Low versus High) was 0.66 and 95% CI is 0.54 to 0.79 (P <0.001), whereas age (HR=1.26, 95% CI=1.04-1.52), grade (HR=2.75, 95% CI=2.06-3.68), tumor recurrence (HR=2.17, 95% CI=1.81-2.62), IDH mutant (HR=2.46, 95% CI=1.97-3.01) and chemotherapeutic status (HR=1.4, 95% CI=1.20-1.80) are also included. Furthermore, we illustrated that gene FCER1G stratified glioma cases into high and low FCER1G expression subgroups that demonstrated with distinct clinical outcomes and T cell activation. At last, we demonstrated that high FCER1G levels presented great immunotherapeutic response in glioma patients.Conclusions: This study demonstrated FCER1G as a novel predictor for clinical diagnosis, prognosis, and response to immunotherapy in glioma patient. Assess expression of FCER1G is a promising method to discover patients that may benefit from immunotherapy.
STUDY OF THE EFFICIENCY OF SQUEEZING MOISTURE-SATURATED PRODUCTS
Authors: Bahadirov Gayrat , Tsoy Gerasim , Nabiev Ayder
Published: February 2021

The leather industry includes many technological machines; a squeezing roller machine is used in many operations, for example, in squeezing, degreasing, and after drum dyeing of a semi-finished leather product.

The paper presents the results of experimental studies obtained by determining the influence of multilayer wet leather semi-finished products with monshons under squeezing on the amount of the moisture extracted. Mathematical dependences of the amount of the moisture extracted, for each layer of a five-layer wet leather semi-finished product on the feed rate between the squeeze rollers and the roller pressure were obtained.

Experimental research is of scientific and practical importance for the development of a technological process for extracting moisture from wet leather semi-finished products used in the tannery, since the quality of the extraction affects the quality of subsequent technological operations, such as leather shaping and splitting.

An experimental study was performed using the method of mathematical statistics, namely, the method of mathematical planning of the experiment.

Mathematical models were obtained for the amount of extracted moisture from five wet leather semi-finished products depending on the rate of their simultaneous feed and the pressure of the squeezing rollers.

The results of the experiment showed that in squeezing a five-layer product, the productivity of the technological process of extracting moisture from wet leather semi-finished products increases by five times in comparison with existing squeezing roller machines.

The use of the results of the experimental study will contribute to a significant reduction in the energy consumption of the squeezing roller machine by simultaneous multi-layer processing of wet leather semi-finished products
REVIEW: COMPARISON OF ULTRASONICALLY AIDED ZINC BENEFICIATION BY MECHANICAL FLOTATION AND COLUMN FLOTATION CELL
Authors: Ulusoy Ugur , Kurşun Hulya
Published: February 2021

Zinc is a key beneficiary of economic development for the developing countries. While the global zinc mine production in 2019 was recorded as 13 million tons, the value of zinc mined in 2019, based on zinc contained in concentrate, was about $2.1 billion. Sphalerite or zinc blende (ZnS), which is the main source of zinc, provides more than 90 % of zinc productions today. Beneficiation is usually carried out by flotation to produce marketable concentrates (45–55 %Zn). The flotation, which is the most widely used separation process at fine sizes for the concentration of low grade complex Pb-Cu-Zn ores plays an important role in the global economy. In any concentration plant employing flotation technique huge quantity of ores are being processed. Thus, any increments in the flotation recovery are important to get higher profits and to ensure that resources are utilized optimally. In this review, a comparative evaluation was made between mechanical flotation (MF) [1] and column (CF) [2] cells with or without ultrasonic pre-treatment (UP) for zinc recovery from lead-zinc-copper ore and the effect of UP on the MF and CF experiments were investigated at the optimized conditions. When compared with the optimized parameters, UP increased zinc grade and recovery for both MF and CF techniques as supported by XRD patterns. Besides, the best zinc grade and recovery was obtained by UP with CF technique. So that, sphalerite mineral can be effectively beneficiated to produce saleable zinc concentrate product and UP with CF will lead to a higher metallurgical gains and improvements to Net Smelter Return (NSR). This positive effect of ultrasound, which is safe and eco-friendly, on the zinc flotation by both mechanical cell and column cell regarding zinc grade and recovery is in good agreement with the previous published works in the literature
A RESEARCH ON MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION OF THE GRINDING PROCESS USING SEGMENTED GRINDING WHEEL BY TAGUCHI-DEAR METHOD
Authors: Trung Do Duc , Nguyen Nhu-Tung , Tien Dung Hoang , Dang Ha Le
Published: February 2021

In this study, the mutil-objective optimization was applied for the surface grinding process of SAE420 steel. The aluminum oxide grinding wheels that were grooved by 15 grooves, 18 grooves, and 20 grooves were used in the experimental process. The Taguchi method was applied to design the experimental matrix. Four input parameters that were chosen for each experiment were the number of grooves in cylinder surface of grinding wheel, workpiece velocity, feed rate, and cutting depth. Four output parameters that were measured for each experimental were the machining surface roughness, the system vibrations in the three directions (X, Y, Z). The DEAR technique was applied to determine the values of the input parameters to obtaine the minimum values of machining surface roughness and vibrations in three directions. By using this technique, the optimum values of grinding wheel groove number, workpiece velocity, feed-rate, cutting depth were 18 grooves, 15 m/min, 2 mm/stroke, and 0.005 mm, respectively. The verified experimental was performed by using the optimum values of input parameters. The validation results of surface roughness and vibrations in X, Y, Z directions were 0.826 (µm), 0.531 (µm), 0.549 (µm), and 0. 646 (µm), respectively. These results were great improved in comparing to the normal experimental results. Taguchi method and DEAR technique can be applied to improve the quality of grinding surface and reduce the vibrations of the technology system to restrain the increasing of the cutting forces in the grinding process. Finally, the research direction was also proposed in this study
ADVANCED ENCRYPTION STANDARD USING FPGA OVERNETWORK
Authors: Hasan Hind Ali Abdul , Mohammed Safaa Maijd , Ameer Noor Hayder Abdul
Published: February 2021

The increase number of eavesdropping or cracker to attack the information and hack the privacy of people. So, the essential issue is making system capable of ciphering information with rapid speed. Due to the advance in computer eavesdropping and cracker that made them to analysis the way of ciphering in rapid speed way. The development in the computer especially in the rapid processer in the last decade create the breaching of any system is a matter of time. Owing to most of breaching ways are based on analysis of system that requireы to be breached and to try brute force on that system to crack it. However, the lacking of influential processers that are capable of breaching system since earlier processors are limit to number of instructions. It can be done in second, which was not sufficient trying to break the system using brute force. In addition, the time required is far away from getting valuable messages in the time that needed. So, the research gives the focus on performing rapid system for ciphering the information rapidly and changing the ciphering every few milliseconds. The changing of ciphering in every millisecond helps system form preventing the eavesdropping and cracker from imposing brute force on the system and hacking the messages and images. The system that created is based on Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which is it very best performing algorithm in ciphering and deciphering since it doesn’t need complex mathematical formula. The research is about designing system that capable of performing AES by using high processer designed on Field programmable gate Area (FPGA). The ciphering of AES using FPGA helps minimize the time required to cipher the information. Also, the research will focus on ciphering and deciphering of images by AES using FPGA
On the descriptive power of Neural-Networks as constrained Tensor Networks with exponentially large bond dimension
Authors: Collura Mario , Dell'Anna Luca , Felser Timo , Montangero Simone
Published: February 2021

In many cases, neural networks can be mapped into tensor networks
with an exponentially large bond dimension. Here, we compare different
sub-classes of neural network states, with their mapped tensor network
counterpart for studying the ground state of short-range Hamiltonians.
We show that when mapping a neural network, the resulting tensor network
is highly constrained and thus the neural network states do in general
not deliver the naive expected drastic improvement against the
state-of-the-art tensor network methods. We explicitly show this result
in two paradigmatic examples, the 1D ferromagnetic Ising model and the
2D antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model, addressing the lack of a detailed
comparison of the expressiveness of these increasingly popular,
variational ans"atze.
Lectures on bulk reconstruction
Authors: Kajuri Nirmalya
Published: February 2021

If the AdS/CFT conjecture holds, every question about bulk physics can be answered by the boundary CFT. But we still don't know how to translate all the questions about bulk physics to questions about the boundary CFT. Completing this bulk-boundary dictionary is the aim of the bulk reconstruction program, which we review in these lectures. We cover the HKLL construction, bulk reconstruction in AdS/Rindler, mirror operator construction of Papadodimas and Raju, and the Marolf-Wall paradox. These notes are based on lectures given at ST4 2018.
Employees Perspective on Internal Branding Mechanisms. Case Study of a Multinational Organization in Ghana
Authors: Cobblah Mary Akweley
Published: February 2021

This study examines how employees are supported to acquire requisite knowledge and skills and build brand supportive behaviors for corporate success. The study was conducted in a manufacturing setup of a multinational organization in Ghana. Being an exploratory study, a qualitative approach was adopted, and primary data was collected from twenty respondents via face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was employed as it enabled diversity to be explored and targeted personnel to be contacted and interviewed. Manual coding was used in analyzing data collected. The study findings identified various mechanisms that an organization can employ to help employees build brand supportive behaviors, and to get employees empowered to deliver on the brand promise. The findings revealed that internal branding initiatives such as employees perceived knowledge and capability building activities, internal communication, leadership support, and the work environment, acted as critical mechanisms that contributed to employees’ empowerment and display of brand supportive behaviors. The study further notes that effective management and implementation of internal branding activities contributes greatly to employees’ empowerment, employees’ internalization of corporate values, and consequently employees’ delivery on the brand promise. The study results confirm the significance of internal branding initiatives to employees’ development and organizational growth and recommends that internal branding initiatives be promoted for sustained success. The research approach adopted however limits generalizability of the findings to other organizations. This study contributes to the scanty empirical literature on internal branding in Africa, and more importantly to the limited literature on internal branding in Ghana.
Health Related Quality of Life Among Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients and Healthy Pregnant Women: A Comparative Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Komolafe Monisayo Olayemi
Published: February 2021

Introduction: About 600 million (10%) of the world population has chronic kidney diseases (CKD). It is progressive, irreversible but effectively treated with maintenance hemodialysis and renal transplantation. In Nigeria, majority of end stage kidney disease patients struggle to continue regular hemodialysis as renal transplantation is beyond the reach of many. The financial burden and other restrictions on the life of the patients have implications for quality of life of these patients. Objectives: To compare health related quality of life of end stage CKD patients with that of healthy pregnant women without any medical co-morbidity. Methodology: WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used to determine quality of life of 64 CKD patients and 64 healthy pregnant women in a cross sectional comparative descriptive study. Statistical significance difference between the two groups attributed to events with a p-value lower than 5% (p < 0.05). Results: The mean quality of life index among the maintenance hemodialysis patient was 43.03±15.96 while it is 63.56±12.61 among the healthy pregnant women and the difference is statistically significant (T= 8.01, p =0.000). Hemodialysis participants had lower QOL across all the four domains when compared to healthy pregnant women. Conclusion: Health related quality of life of CKD patients in Nigeria is low. The government and care givers need to push for interventions known to make quality of life of CKD as well as that of healthy populace.
Torsion points of generalized Honda formal groups
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Demchenko Oleg V. , Vostokov Sergei V. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: February 2021

Generalized Honda formal groups are a new class of formal groups that in particular describes the formal groups over the ring of integers of local fields weakly ramified over Qp. It is the next class in the chain the multiplicative formal group — Lubin — Tate formal groups — Honda formal groups. Lubin — Tate formal groups are defined by distinguished endomorphisms [π]F , Honda formal groups possess distinguished omomorphisms that factor through [π]F and in the present paper we prove that for generalized Honda formal groups it is compositions of distinguished homomorphisms that factor through [π]F . As an application of this fact, some properties of πn-torsion points of generalized Honda formal groups are studied.
Conical singular points and vector fields
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Burian Sergei N.
Published: February 2021

In this article, several examples of mechanical systems which configuration spaces are smooth manifolds with a unique singular point are considered. Configuration spaces are the following: two smooth curves with a common point (or tangent) on the two-dimensional torus, four smooth curves on the four-dimensional torus with a common point, twodimensional cone (cusp) in the space R6. The main problem in the article is the calculation of (co)tangent space at a singular point by using different theoretical approaches. Outside of the singular point, the motion could be described in the frames of classical mechanics. But in the neighborhood of the singular points the terms like “tangent vector” and “cotangent vector” must have new conceptual definitions. In this article, the approach of differential spaces is used. Two differential structures for the modeling conical singular point are studied in order to construct (co)tangent space at singular points: locally-constants functions near to the cone vertex and the algebra of the restrictions of smooth functions in the comprehensive Euclidean space on the cone. In the first case, tangent and cotangent spaces at the singular points are zero. In the second case, the value of the functions on the cotangent bundle is constant on the cotangent layer under the singular point.
Formulation and solution of a generalized Chebyshev problem. II
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Yushkov Mikhail P.
Published: February 2021

This work is a continuation of the article “Formulation and solution of a generalized Chebyshev problem. I”, in which a generalized Chebyshev problem was formulated, two theories of motion for non-holonomic systems with high-order constraints were presented for its solution. These theories were used to study the motion of the Earth’s satellite when fixing the magnitude of its acceleration (this was equivalent to imposing a linear non-holonomic constraint of the third order). In the offered article, the second theory, based on the application of the generalized Gauss principle, is used to solve one of the most important problems of control theory: finding the optimal control force that translates a mechanical system with a finite number of degrees of freedom from one phase state to another in a specified time. The application of the theory is demonstrated by solving a model problem of controlling the horizontal motion of a cart bearing the axes of s mathematical pendulums. Initially, the problem is solved by applying the Pontryagin maximum principle, which minimizes the functional of the square of the desired horizontal control force, which transfers the mechanical system from a state of rest to a new state of rest in the specified time with the horizontal displacement of the cart by S (that is, the problem of vibration damping is considered). Let’s call this approach the first method of solving the control problem. It is shown that a linear non-holonomic constraint of the order (2s + 4) is continuously performed. This suggests applying the second theory of motion for non-holonomic systems with high-order constraints to the same problem (see the previous article), developed at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics of Saint Petersburg State University. Let’s call this approach the second method of solving the problem. Calculations performed for the case of s = 2 showed that the results obtained by the both methods are practically the same for a short-term motion of the system, while they differ sharply for a long-term motion. This is because the control found using the first method contains harmonics with the system’s natural frequencies, which tends to bring the system into resonance. With a short-term motion, this is not noticeable, and with a long-term motion, there are large fluctuations in the system. In contrast, when using the second method, the control is in the form of a polynomial in time, which provides a relatively smooth motion of the system. In addition, in order to eliminate the control force jumps at the beginning and end of the motion, we propose to solve a generalized boundary value problem and discuss some special cases that sometimes occur when using the second method for solving the boundary value problem.
Traditional and Perspective Methods of Corporate Non-Performing Loans Rejustment (Liquidation)
Authors: Poletaeva V. M. , Smulov A. M.
Published: February 2021

Article covers issues of banks’ corporate non-performing and overdue loans management (liquidation). Authors make revision of methods that banks usually use for current goal solution and develop concepts of approaches to non-performing loans management that could become out the perspective alternative for traditional methods. Scientific novelty of the manuscript is in developing the methods (modifications of methods) of bank corporate nonperforming loans rejustment (liquidation). The principle of the first method is in changing conditions of corporate debt repayment - the new conditions must be determined by financial possibilities of the borrower. The main idea of the second one is in non-performing or overdue debt sell on the quasiequivalent terms. At that article set the modification of the second method, based on the idea of the expansion of the list of types of securities used for nonperforming loans exchange deals and provides with the substantiation of the author's position. In addition, the manuscript presents algorithms of mentioned perspective methods implementation. Article is based on the studies of leading Russian economists in the field of national economic system growth, banking, corporate non-performing loans management.