bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quality of Life after Motorcycle Traffic Injuries: A Cohort Study in Northwest of Iran
Authors: Gheshlaghi Leili Abedi , Sharifi Hamid , Noroozi Mehdi , Barouni Mohsen , Sadeghi-bazargan Homayoun 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background: The number of studies to address the Quality of life (QOL) after a motorcycle accident in the context of developing countries is low. In this study, we investigated the QOL of injured motorcyclists up to three months after their accident and determining the associated factors.Methods: In the present study, we included 190 injured motorcyclists who admitted at two referral specialized hospitals (Emam Reza and Shohada) in Tabriz, between June 2018 and January 2019, and agreed to participate. All injured motorcyclists were contacted through the telephone one and 171 of them (90%) three months after their accident to complete an EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. The baseline measurements were gathered by using face to face interviews in the hospitals. The QOL score could vary between 1-3. The higher score showed a lower QOL. The Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models were used to determine the factors affecting the motorcyclists’ QOL. Results: The injured motorcyclist’s QOL was relatively better three months after the accident (mean ± Standard Deviation: 2.15 ± 0.65) in comparison with their status a month after the accident (mean ± SD: 1.78 ± 0.51) (p<0.001). The multivariable model showed that individuals whose pelvis (Coef: 0.29, (95% Confidence Intervals [CI]: 0.16, 0.42), P= 0.001) and knee (Coef: 0.26, (95% CI: 0.10, 0.42), P= 0.001) were injured, experienced a lower QOL. Also, those whose accident had happened in rainy weather experienced lower QOL (Coef: 0.33, (95% CI: 0.12, 0.53), P= 0.001). Those who were in an accident with a vehicle experienced a better QOL than others (Coef: -0.26, (95% CI: -0.43, -0.09), P=0.002).Conclusion: The assessment of three-month post-discharge showed that the QOL of the motorcyclists was better. It is recommended that by designing multi-year cohort studies, the QOL of motorcyclists be assessed for a longer time to identify the practical factors that improve the QOL of injured motorcyclists. In hospital discharge victims (especially for those with lower limb injuries such as injury to pelvis and knee, victims with Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety problems), social support, psychological support, financial support, and rehabilitation should be considered to improve the QOL.
Effect of thyme essential oil (Thymus vulgaris) on the growth of Salmonella Enteriditis and Salmonella paratyphi on surfaces of chilled raw bovine meat
Authors: Martinez Karen Piedad , Cabeza Enrique Alfonso , Soto Javier Andres 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Essential oils (EOs) are mostly composed of terpenes and phenolic compounds that are stored in secretory tissues of aromatic plants. This study evaluated the effect of both commercial and experimental thyme oil (cEO and eEO, respectively) on ATCC strains of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella paratyphi present on surfaces of chilled raw beef. The composition of each EO was analyzed chemically by gas chromatography coupled with spectrometry (GC-MS). The antimicrobial activity was assessed through the agar diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration by means of the macro dilution method in broth, thus proving that a higher concentration of both cEO and eEO is required to reduce the growth of S. enteritidis compared to S. paratyphi. Similar results were obtained when pieces of beef previously inoculated with 104 cfu / ml and kept at 0°C, 4°C and 10°C for 72 hours were treated with three concentrations of cEO and eEO. The in vivo approach showed that S. paratyphi is more sensitive to the action of EO than S. enteritidis and such sensitivity decreases when temperature increases. Overall, the cEO proved to be more effective than the eEO on the growth inhibition of the two species, showing in all cases a reduction greater than 10% for S. paratyphi at the concentration of 50% (v / v) and greater than 7% at the concentrations of 40 and 30% (v / v), exhibiting a significant variation at a p-value < 0.05. Regarding S. enteritidis, the values of reduction were 4.5% at 0°C and 4°C and 3.5% at 10°C for the cEO, and higher than 1% for the eEO. It is concluded that the application of thyme EO on surfaces of meat contributes to reduce the presence of Salmonella spp. on this type of foodstuff.
MiR-125b promotes migration and invasion by targeting vitamin D receptor in renal cell carcinoma
Authors: He XiYuan , Liao ShangFan , Lu DongMing , Zhang FaBiao , wu yongyang 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background To investigate the expression of miR-125b and vitamin D receptor (VDR) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and assess the possible association between them. Then, to elucidate whether miR-125b can regulate the expression of VDR and affect proliferation and metastasis in RCC. Methods The expression of miR-125b was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in RCC cell lines. MiR-125b mimic and inhibitor were employed to measure the function and behavior of miR-125b in RCC cell lines. The relationship between miR-125 and VDR was verified using luciferase assays, and their expression was also examined in primary tumor and normal peritumoral kidney tissues in 20 clear cell RCC (ccRCC) samples. Results Overexpression of miR-125b promoted migration and invasion and reduced cell apoptosis in ACHN cells, while inhibition of miR-125b suppressed migration and invasion and induced cell apoptosis in 786-O cells. Overexpression of miR-125b decreased VDR expression via targeting VDR. Expression of miR-125b mRNA was significantly higher in ccRCC tissues than in normal adjacent tissues, and the expression of miR-125b mRNA negatively correlated with that of VDR (r=-0.444, p=0.04). Conclusion Overexpression of miR-125b decreased the expression of VDR and the promoted migration and invasion of RCC cells; in addition, there was a negative correlation between miR-125b and VDR expression in ccRCC.
Frequent horizontal and mother-to-child transmission may contribute to high prevalence of STLV-1 infection in Japanese macaques
Authors: Murata Megumi , Yasunaga Jun-ichirou , Washizaki Ayaka , Seki Yohei , Kuramitsu Madoka , Keat Tan Wei , Hu Anna , Okuma Kazu , Hamaguchi Isao , Mizukami Takuo , Matsuoka Masao , Akari Hirofumi 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background: Simian T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (STLV-1) is disseminated among various non-human primate species and is closely related to human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1), the causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis. Notably, the prevalence of STLV-1 infection in Japanese macaques (JMs) is estimated to be >60%, much greater than that in other non-human primates; however, the mechanism and mode of STLV-1 transmission remain unknown. The aim of this study is to examine the epidemiological background by which STLV-1 infection is highly prevalent in JMs. Results: The prevalence of STLV-1 in the JMs rearing in our free-range facility reached up to 64% (180/280 JMs) with variation from 55 to 77% among five independent troops. Anti-STLV-1 antibody titers (ABTs) and STLV-1 proviral loads (PVLs) were normally distributed with mean values of 4076 and 0.62%, respectively, which were mostly comparable to those of HTLV-1-infected humans. Our initial hypothesis that some of the macaques might contribute to frequent horizontal STLV-1 transmission as viral super-spreaders was unlikely because of the absence of the macaques exhibiting abnormally high PVLs but poor ABTs. Rather, ABTs and PVLs were statically corelated (p < 0.0001), indicating that the increasing PVLs led to the greater humoral immune response. Further analyses demonstrated that the STLV-1 prevalence as determined by detection of the proviral DNA was dramatically increased with age; 11%, 31%, and 58% at 0, 1, and 2 years of age, which was generally consistent with the result of seroprevalence. Moreover, our longitudinal follow-up study indicated that 24 of 28 seronegative JMs in 2011 converted to seropositive (86%) four years later; among them, the seroconversion rates of sexually matured (4 years of age and older) and immature juvenile macaques (3 years of age and younger) at the beginning of study were comparably high (80% and 89%, respectively). Conclusions: Together with the fact that almost all of the full-adult JMs older than 9 years old were infected with STLV-1, our results of this study demonstrated for the first time that the high STLV-1 prevalence in JMs was likely caused by both frequent horizontal and mother-to-child transmission.
Nephroprotective effect of mesenchymal stem cells in therapy of kidney disease induced by toxicant
Authors: Zhou Tianbiao , Lin Shujun , Liao Chunling , Lin Wenshan , Zhong Hongzhen 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background Renal damage caused by drug toxicity is becoming more and more common in clinic. How to avoid and treat kidney damage caused by drug toxicity is essential to maintain patient health and reduce social economic burden. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the nephroprotective effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in therapy of kidney disease induced by toxicant. Methods Cochrane Library, Embase, ISI Web of Science and PubMed databases were searched up to Dec 31, 2019 to identify the studies and extract the data to assess the efficacy of MSCs for kidney disease induced by toxicant using Cochrane Review Manager Version 5.3. Results 27 studies were eligible and recruited for this meta-analysis. The results showed that the difference of Scr between MSCs treatment group and control group was notable for 2 days, 4 days, 5 days, 6-8 days, 10-15 days, ≥42 days (2 days: WMD =-0.88, 95%CI: -1.34, -0.42, P=0.0002; 4 days: WMD=-0.69, 95%CI: -0.99, -0.39, P<0.00001; 5 days: WMD=-0.46, 95%CI: -0.67, -0.25, P<0.0001; 6-8 days: WMD=-0.51, 95%CI: -0.79, -0.22, P=0.0005; 10-15 days: WMD =-0.38, 95%CI: -0.56, -0.20, P<0.0001; ≥42 days: WMD =-0.22, 95%CI: -0.39, -0.06, P=0.007). Furthermore, the difference of BUN between MSCs treatment group and control group was notable for 2-3 days, 4-5 days, 6-8 days, ≥28 days. The results also indicated that MSCs treatment can alleviate the inflammatory cells, necrotic tubule, regenerative tubules, renal interstitial fibrosis in kidney disease induced by toxicant. Conclusion: MSCs might be a promising therapeutic agent for kidney disease induced by toxicant.
The Effects of METTL3-Mediated Regulations of the Adipogenic Differentiations of Bone Marrow MSCs Targeting PI3K/AKT Pathways on the Chemo-Resistance of AML
Authors: Huang Huifang , Pan Zhipeng , Wang Bin , Hou Diyu , You Ruolan , Wang Xiaoting , Xie Wenhui 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

Background: The adipogenic differentiations of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) result in the promotion of the chemo-resistance of AML cells. When compared with bone marrow MSCs from healthy donors (HD-MSCs), it has been observed that the MSCs from AML (AML-MSCs) displayed enhanced adipogenic differentiation abilities. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. METTL3-mediated modifications of m6A mRNA play key roles in the regulation of stem cell differentiation. Unfortunately, there has been no research to date which has reported the fact that the increases of adipogenic differentiation of AML-MSCs are regulated by the m6A. The goal of this study was to investigate the critical role of METTL3 in the adipogenesis of AML-MSCs for promoting the chemo-resistance of AML.Methods: This study detected the m6A levels of the MSCs total RNA, and then investigated METTL3 functions in the adipogenic differentiations of MSCs using knockdown and overexpression experimental methods. The effects of the adipogenic differentiations of HD-MSCs/AML-MSCs on the chemo-resistance to AML were also examined. In addition, the gene transcriptome and m6A epigenetic changes of AML-MSCs from four AML patients, and the HD-MSCs from three healthy donors, were analyzed in this study. The differentially expressed genes and pathways were successfully identified, and clinical specimens were used to adjust gene expressions in order to determine their effects on the adipogenic differentiations of MSC.Results: The results demonstrated that METTL3 could significantly inhibit the adipogenic differentiations of MSCs. It was found that when compared with the HD-MSCs, the expressions of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathways in the AML-MSCs were significantly increased. Meanwhile, the levels of m6A were significantly decreased. Therefore, it was indicated that by blocking the PI3K/AKT signaling pathways with AKT inhibitors, the adipogenic differentiations of the MSCs could be significantly inhibited. Moreover, the increased adipogenic differentiations induced by the METTL3 could significantly increase the chemo-resistance of the AML.Conclusions: It was found that the METTL3 had enhanced the modification levels of m6A in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathways, and then reduced its expression. Subsequently, the adipogenic differentiations were inhibited. Then, the bone marrow microenvironments, as well as chemo-resistance of the AML, were successfully changed.
Novel ethanol production using biomass preprocessing to increase ethanol yield and reduce overall costs
Authors: Pascoli Danielle Uchimura , Suko Azra , Gustafson Rick , Bura Renata 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background: Ethanol biorefineries need to lower their overall production costs to become economically feasible. Two strategies to achieve this are to reduce costs by using cheaper feedstocks or to increase the ethanol production yield. Low-cost feedstocks usually have high non-structural components (NSC) content, therefore a new process is necessary to accommodate these feedstocks and overcome the negative effects of NSC. This study developed a novel ethanol biorefinery process including a biomass preprocessing step that enabled the use of lower-cost feedstocks while improving ethanol production without detoxification (overliming). Two types of poplar feedstocks were used, low-quality whole-tree chips (WTC) and high-quality clean pulp chips (CPC), to determine if the proposed process is effective while using feedstocks with different NSC contents. Results: Technical assessment showed that acidic preprocessing increased the monomeric sugar recovery of WTC from 73.2% (untreated) to 87.5% due to reduced buffering capacity of poplar, improved sugar solubilization during pretreatment, and better enzymatic hydrolysis conversion. Preprocessing alone significantly improved the fermentability of the liquid fraction from 1-2% to 49-56% for both feedstocks, while overliming improved it to 45%. Consequently, it was proposed that preprocessing can substitute for the detoxification step. The economic assessment revealed that using poplar WTC via the new process increased annual ethanol production of 10.5 million liters when compared to using CPC via overliming (base case scenario). Also, savings in total operating costs were about $10 million per year when using cheaper poplar WTC instead of CPC, and by using recycled water for preprocessing lowered its total operating costs by 45-fold. Conclusions: The novel process developed in this study was successful in increasing ethanol production while decreasing overall costs, thus facilitating the feasibility of lignocellulosic ethanol biorefineries. Key factors to achieving this outcome included substituting overliming by preprocessing, enabling the use of lower-quality feedstock, increasing monomeric sugar recovery and ethanol fermentation yield, and using recycled water for preprocessing. In addition, preprocessing enabled the implementation of an evaporator-combustor downstream design, resulting in a low-loading waste stream that can be treated in a wastewater treatment plant with a simple configuration.
Analysis of profit efficiency among smallholder sheep farmers of N8 development corridor Free State, South Africa
Authors: Nyam Yong Sebastian , OJO TEMITOPE , Belle Amate Johannes , Ogundeji Abiodun , Adetoro Adetoso 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

The livestock sector is the largest agricultural-sub sector in South Africa contributing approximately 30% to the agricultural output. The aim of this research is to measure the profit efficiency of smallholder sheep farmers and to identify the factors affecting profit efficiency of the farmer, in order to propose better strategies for sustainable livestock production among smallholder farmers in the Free State. A stochastic profit frontier approach was used to evaluate the profitability and efficiency of 217 smallholders in the N8 development corridor Free State, South Africa. The results found that the farmers are not efficiency and have great capacity to improve profitability in sheep production. The result showed that Profit efficiencies of the farmers varied between 15.5% and 80.4% with a mean of 65.1% implying that an estimated 34.9% of the profit is lost due to a combination of economic and allocative inefficiencies in sheep production. The study found that profit efficiency is positively influenced by level of education and household size (members below 18 years old) while gender and sheep loss increase profit inefficiency. Profit efficiency of the farmers can be significantly increased through effective education and training of farmers.
Suppression of CCT3 inhibits the proliferation and migration in breast cancer cells
Authors: Xu Gang , Bu Shanshan , Wang Xiushen , Zhang He , Ge Hong 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background

CCT3 is a subunit of chaperonin-containing TCP-1 (CCT), which folds many proteins involved in cancer development and plays an important role in many cancers. However, the role of CCT3 in breast cancer is still unclear.

Methods

CCT3 expression was knocked down by transfecting breast cancer cells with lentiviral shRNA. The proliferation of breast cancer cells (HCC1937 and MDA-MB-231) was detected by Celigo image cytometry and MTT assay, the migration of the cells was measured by Transwell analysis, cell cycle distribution and apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, and changes in signal transduction proteins were detected by western blot analysis.

Results

The expression of CCT3 was significantly suppressed by transduction with lentiviral shRNA; CCT3 knockdown significantly reduced the proliferation and metastasis ability of breast cancer cells (HCC 1937 and MDA-MB-231), increased the proportion of cells in S phase, and decreased the proportion of cells in G1 phase compared to those in shControl cells. There was no significant change in the number of cells in the G2/M phase. Apoptosis analysis showed that knockdown of CCT3 induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Western blot analysis showed that the expression of many signal transduction proteins was changed after suppression of CCT3.

Conclusion

CCT3 is closely related to the proliferation and migration of breast cancer and may be a novel therapeutic target.
Predictive Factors of Quality of Life in Adults with Long-standing Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Castellano-Guerrero Ana , Guerrero Raquel , Ruiz-Aranda Desiree , Perea Sofia , Pumar Alfonso , Relimpio Federico , Mangas Miguel Angel , Losada Fernando , Martínez-Brocca Maria Asuncion 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background: To determine gender differences in Quality of life (QoL) perception and to identify sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics associated with impaired QoL in adults with long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1). Methods: Cross-sectional evaluation in a random cohort of DM1 adult patients from a tertiary care hospital. QoL was evaluated using translated and validated self-administered Diabetes QoL questionnaire (Es-DQoL), and results transformed into a 0-100 scale. Psychological assessment included a planned psychological interview and self-reported questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory II, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y, Fear of hypoglycaemia Scale, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey). Results: A total of 312 patients (51.6% male; 38.2 ± 12.7 years; HbA 1c 7.5 ± 1.1% (58.5 ± 14.2 mmol/mol); 20.4 ± 12.0 years of DM1) were included in the analysis. Male and female subgroups showed similar sociodemographic and diabetes-related features and comparable social support. Among female patients, higher frequency of depression (31.7% vs. 14.9%, p<0.05) and anxiety (23.2% vs. 13.0%, p<0.05) and severity of depressive and anxious symptoms were also found. Compared to male patients, female patients showed a lower perception of QoL (75 [65-85] vs. 80 [69-87], p<0.05) and scored significantly worse in subscale Diabetes-related worries (69 [50-81] vs. 75 [62-88], p<0.05). Fear of hypoglycemia and severity of depressive and anxious symptoms, as well as the presence of macrovascular complications and high frequency of glycemic excursions were predictive factors of QoL. Conclusions: Adult women with long-standing DM1 showed a worse QoL perception probably related to higher frequency of psychopathological syndromes. Exposure to glycemic excursions and depressive and anxious symptoms were identified as modifiable, QoL-related variables. Educational, technological and psychological interventions aimed at reducing glycemic variability and improving psychological status are needed in order to improve QoL in DM1 patients.
Natural compounds as potential inhibitors of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) main protease: An in silico study
Authors: Mishra Amaresh , Pathak Yamini , Tripathi Vishwas 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
COVID-19 pandemic, a novel coronavirus disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus, SARS-CoV-2. It was first reported in Wuhan, China and has now expanded to more than 190 countries across the world. Till date, there is no specific medication available to prevent or target SARS CoV-2 infection. Very recently, the crystal structure of COVID- 19 main protease (Mpro) was revealed by Liu et al. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) is a key enzyme that plays a crucial role in viral replication and transcription. Thus, Mpro could be a promising target to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection. Natural compounds due to their structural diversity and safety are considered as an excellent source of antiviral drugs. In this study, we selected Herbacetin, Rhoifolin, Pectolinarin, Apigenin, Luteolin, Amentoflavone, Daidzein, Puerarin, Epigallocatechin, Gallocatechin gallate, Resveratrol, Maslinic acid, Piperine and Ganomycin B to target the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) using in silico tools. These compounds were examined based on ADME, drug likeness, docking studies, MD simulations using CABS-flex 2.0, and prediction of major toxicity parameters (hepatotoxicity & cytotoxicity) to check the safety aspects of the selected compounds. We also investigated the similarity of these compounds, if any, with FDA approved drugs using Swiss similarity. The docking results were found in the order of Amentoflavone (-9.13 kcal/mol), Ritonavir (-8.52 kcal/mol), Lopinavir (-8.5 kcal/mol), Puerarin (-7.97 kcal/mol), Maslinic acid (-7.97 kcal/mol), Piperine (-7.65 kcal/mol), Gallocatechin gallate (-7.59 kcal/mol), Luteolin (-7.58 kcal/mol), Apigenin (-7.42 kcal/mol), Resveratrol (-7.41 kcal/mol), Herbacetin (-7.4 kcal/mol), Daidzein (-7.32 kcal/mol), Rhoifolin (-6.71 kcal/mol), Ganomycin B (-6.46 kcal/mol), Epigallocatechin (-6.13 kcal/mol), and Pectolinarin (-5.88 kcal/mol). Among these selected natural compounds, Amentoflavone and Puerarin were the two top leads which showed the lowest binding energies. Interestingly, Amentoflavone showed highest binding affinity among all the selected compounds. Our promising findings based on in-silico studies warrants further clinical trial in order to use these compounds as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 protease.