bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pathogenicity of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in mice regulated in type I interferon signaling
Authors: Park Seok-Chan , Park Jun Young , Choi Jin Young , Lee Sung-Geun , Eo Seong Kug , Oem Jae-Ku , Tark Dong-Seob , You Myungjo , Yu Do-Hyeon , Chae Joon-Seok , Kim Bumseok 
Published: October 2020

AbstractSevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging zoonotic disease, which causes high fever, thrombocytopenia, and death in humans and animals in East Asian countries. The pathogenicity of SFTS virus (SFTSV) remains unclear. We intraperitoneally infected three groups of mice: wild-type (WT), mice treated with blocking anti-type I interferon (IFN)-α receptor antibody (IFNAR Ab), and IFNAR knockout (IFNAR−/−) mice, with four doses of SFTSV (KH1, 5 × 105 to 5 × 102 FAID50). The WT mice survived all SFTSV infective doses. The IFNAR Ab mice died within 7 days post-infection (dpi) with all doses of SFTSV except that the mice were infected with 5 × 102 FAID50 SFTSV. The IFNAR−/− mice died after infection with all doses of SFTSV within four dpi. No SFTSV infection caused hyperthermia in any mice, whereas all the dead mice showed hypothermia and weight loss. In the WT mice, SFTSV RNA was detected in the eyes, oral swabs, urine, and feces at 5 dpi. Similar patterns were observed in the IFNAR Ab and IFNAR−/− mice after 3 dpi, but not in feces. The IFNAR Ab mice showed viral shedding until 7 dpi. The SFTSV RNA loads were higher in organs of the IFNAR−/− mice compared to the other groups. Histopathologically, coagulation necrosis and mononuclear inflammatory cell infiltration in the liver and white pulp atrophy in the spleen were seen as the main lesions in the IFN signaling lacking mice. Immunohistochemically, SFTSV antigens were mainly detected in the marginal zone of the white pulp of the spleen in all groups of mice, but more viral antigens were observed in the spleen of the IFNAR−/− mice. Collectively, the IFN signaling-deficient mice were highly susceptible to SFTSV and more viral burden could be demonstrated in various excreta and organs of the mice when IFN signaling was inhibited.
Octreotide (somatostatin analog) attenuates cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury via activating nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway in rat model of hyperthyroidism
Authors: Gomaa Randa Salah , Mahmoud Nevertyty Mohamed , Mohammed Nourelhuda Abdelaziz 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackgroundHyperthyroidism is known to increase the risk of ischemic heart diseases. Octreotide has been reported to attenuate ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Whether it is useful when ischemic heart disease is accompanied with co-morbidities like hyperthyroidism needs more clarifying. So, this study aimed to explore the effect of octreotide on cardiac I/R injury in hyperthyroid rats and to clarify if Nrf2 activation is involved in this effect. Forty adult female Wistar rats were subdivided into control (euthyroid) (n= 10) and hyperthyroid (n= 30) groups. Rats in hyperthyroid group receivedl-thyroxine (12 mg/L) in drinking water for 35 days, then were randomly divided into three equal subgroups (n= 10): hyperthyroid control positive group, hyperthyroid octreotide treated group, and hyperthyroid octreotide + Nrf2 inhibitor (brusatol) treated group. Isolated hearts were submitted to I/R and evaluated for cardiac hemodynamics and infarct size. Serum T3 and T4, coronary efflux lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase-myoglobin binding (CK-MB) and cardiac tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated. Nrf2- regulated gene expressions of HO-1, SOD, GPx, and catalase were assessed.ResultsOctreotide administration to hyperthyroid rats improved baseline and post-ischemic recovery of cardiac hemodynamics, decreased the high coronary efflux LDH and CK-MB and tissue MDA, reduced infarction size, and upregulated the decreased antioxidative enzymes HO-1, SOD, GPx, and catalase mRNA expressions in the hyperthyroid I/R rat hearts. The Nrf2 inhibitor brusatol reversed the cardioprotective effect of octreotide in hyperthyroid I/R rat hearts.ConclusionOctreotide can reduce oxidative stress to effectively alleviate I/R injury in the hyperthyroid rat hearts through upregulation of Nrf2-dependent antioxidative signaling pathways.
The Effect of EU Integration on Health Care in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Sokol Tomislav 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe effect of EU policy and its legal framework on health care in CEE member states has been complex. In relation to health care access and financial sustainability, it has been detrimental in certain parts of CEE. This has primarily been the result of economic/fiscal governance instruments of the EU and free-movement rules facilitating outflows of health care professionals. Although there has been a general improvement in access to health care since accession to the EU, the instruments the EU has used to handle the economic crisis have somewhat offset this improvement. Additionally, outflow of health care professionals has resulted in retention strategies such as salary increases and investments in medical infrastructure in some CEE member states, increasing the standard of health care. Still, differences between East and West in terms of important health indicators continue to exist, and EU instruments aimed at compensating this generally lack power to provide meaningful solutions. It seems more solidarity between member states is the only way to increase legitimacy of the European integration in CEE member states and thus prevent them from feeling as outsiders within the EU. Without such a development, CEE countries will continue to lag behind other parts of the Union.
Activation of the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway by specioside and the n-butanol extract from the inner bark of Tabebuia rosea (Bertol) DC
Authors: Garzón-Castaño Sandra Catalina , Jiménez-González Francisco Javier , Veloza Luz Angela , Sepúlveda-Arias Juan Carlos 
Published: October 2020

Background: A large number of chemical compounds exert their antioxidant effects by activation of key transcriptional regulatory mechanisms, such as the transcription factor Nrf2. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activation of the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway by both the n-butanol extract obtained from the inner bark of Tabebuia rosea (Bertol) DC and specioside isolated from this extract. Methods: The antioxidant activity of the extract and specioside isolated from the inner bark of T. rosea were evaluated using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH) techniques, whereas their effects on the viability of HepG2 cells was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. The effects of the compound and the extract on activating the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway were evaluated using a Nrf2 Transcription Factor Assay kit. Induction of the Nrf2-mediated antioxidant response genes HMOX-1 and NQO1 was evaluated by real-time PCR. The protective effects against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells was determined as the percent protection using the MTT method. Results: Both the n-butanol extract and specioside exhibited activity at low concentrations without affecting cellular viability, since the cell viability was greater than 80% after 24 hours of exposure at each tested concentration. In addition, Nrf2 dissociated from Keap1 after treatment with the n-butanol extract at a concentration of 0.25 µg/mL after 4 hours of exposure. An increase in the Nrf2 level in the cytoplasm after 4 hours of exposure to 2 μM specioside was observed. Nrf2 levels stabilized in the nucleus 12 hours after stimulation with both specioside and the extract. After 6 hours of stimulation, both the extract and specioside induced the expression of HMOX-1 and NQO1. Conclusion: The n-butanol extract from the inner bark of T. rosea and specioside produced protective effects against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells.
Influence of Particle Shape and Contact Parameters on DEM-Simulated Bulk Density of Wheat
Authors: Petingco Marvin C. , Casada Mark E. , Maghirang Ronaldo G. , Fasina Oladiran O. , Chen Zhengpu , Ambrose R. P. Kingsly 
Published: October 2020

HighlightsDecreasing aspect ratio and improved geometrical smoothness of particles increased DEM-predicted bulk density of wheat.Among the three particle models, the 5-sphere ellipsoidal particle was the best option to represent wheat particles, as indicated by the simulated bulk densities that best agreed with the experiments.Among the contact parameters, the wheat-to-wheat coefficient of static friction and wheat-surface coefficient of rolling friction had the greatest influence on simulated bulk density.Abstract. The discrete element method (DEM) has been shown to be an effective tool for simulating the behavior of granular material. The accuracy of simulations depends highly on the contact models, particle physical parameters, and contact parameters used. The objectives of this study were to determine the influence of particle shape and contact parameters on simulated wheat bulk density and to develop an effective wheat particle model for DEM simulation of filling a container using EDEM software. Grain characteristics, including single-kernel weight, kernel density, kernel dimensions, aspect ratio, and bulk density, were determined for three size fractions of wheat used in the experiments. Three categories of particle models (5-sphere pseudo-ellipsoidal, 7-sphere pseudo-ellipsoidal, and ASG-generated) with varying aspect ratios and geometrical smoothness were tested in the simulations. Results showed that DEM-simulated bulk density of wheat increased with lower aspect ratio and greater geometrical smoothness of pseudo-ellipsoidal particles (7-sphere versus 5-sphere). Increasing the number of spheres to approximately 30 for better representation of wheat kernel shape, using ASG-generated particles, did not reproduce the trend of greater simulated bulk density seen in the experiments. Among the six contact parameters, the wheat-wheat coefficient of static friction and wheat-surface coefficient of rolling friction had the most significant effect on the simulated bulk density. Among the different sets of particle models, the 5-sphere pseudo-ellipsoidal particles, having aspect ratios close to that of wheat kernels in each size fraction, were found to be the most practical and appropriate particle model for use in DEM simulation of wheat bulk density. This study contributes to better understanding of the influence of particle shape and contact parameters on DEM-simulated bulk density and provides a calibrated particle model for use in simulating container filling operations. Keywords: Bulk density, Contact parameters, DEM, Particle shape, Wheat.
Application of Monoclinic Bismuth Vanadate in Photooxidation of Arsenic-Polluted Water
Authors: Chen Miaomiao , Li Yi , Pan Hong , Teng Jiuwei , Bora Ganesh , Wang Ying , Zhu Yi 
Published: October 2020

HighlightsPhotooxidation of trivalent arsenic to pentavalent arsenic was catalyzed by s-m BiVO4 under visible light irradiation.The roles of catalyst, light, and oxygen were investigated.The photooxidation mechanism was studied, and a possible reaction route is proposed.Abstract. Oxidation is a necessary step for inorganic arsenic removal. In this study, monoclinic bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) was synthesized to photooxidize trivalent arsenic to pentavalent arsenic in water in the presence of light and oxygen. Light irradiation initiates photooxidation after physical absorption of arsenite on BiVO4. Addition of oxygen slightly improved the photooxidation efficiency. Photooxidation parameters were optimized; 2.6 mM of BiVO4 synthesized at pH 2 was effective to photooxidize 0.1 M of arsenite in alkaline solution, and 99.8% removal of trivalent arsenic was achieved with a photooxidation efficiency of 85.5%. Photooxidation by BiVO4 might be initiated by hydroxyl radicals resulting from irradiation by visible light. Appropriate BiVO4 morphology and alkalinity of the reaction mixture facilitated photooxidation. Keywords: Arsenic, BiVO4, Photooxidation, Speciation.
The Effect of a Clinical Pathway on Reducing the Rate of Healthcare-Onset Clostridioides difficile
Authors: Millard John , Agha Yasmine , Srinivasan Sachin , Assi Maha 
Published: October 2020

Introduction. Stool assays used to diagnose Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) do not differentiate acute CDI from asymptomatic carriers, which contributes to a falsely elevated rate of healthcare-facility onset (HO) CDI when CD stool assays are inappropriately ordered. The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of HO-CDI before and after implementing a mandatory clinical pathway prior to ordering stool tests when suspecting CDI.
Methods. A single-center retrospective observational study was conducted that spanned 12 months. All patients who developed diarrhea 48 hours after being admitted and whose primary physician requested a CD stool assay were included in the study. The intervention consisted of a mandatory sequence of questions that allowed providers to order a CD stool assay only if clinically indicated.
Results. Differences in HO-CDI rates pre- and post-intervention were analyzed. The HO-CDI rate during the pre-intervention and post-intervention periods were 24.1 and 0.0, respectively (p = 0.023).Conclusion. A marked reduction of the rate of HO-CDI occurred after implementing a mandatory clinical pathway. Setting up a mandatory pre-testing questionnaire could decrease the misclassification of asymptomatic carriers as HO-CDI and the unnecessary prescription of antibiotics in situations where it is not indicated.
Alcohol Withdrawal Cases As a Consequence of COVID-19: A Clinical Analysis
Authors: Gadgile Pawan , Hinge Aditi , Karia Sagar , De Sousa Avinash , Shah Nilesh 
Published: October 2020

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been followed by the shutting down of bars and liquor shops. This condition has led to the acute unavailability of alcohol, and subsequently increasing the number of cases of alcohol withdrawal.
Objectives: This paper reports the clinical profile of cases of alcohol withdrawal presented to the psychiatry department following the non-availability of alcohol due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Methods: The patients were referred to the psychiatry department from the emergency medicine department and some of them directly to the psychiatry department. Thirty-two patients with alcohol use disorder and alcohol withdrawal were included in the study. The study data were collected using a semi-structured proforma and then were tabulated. The obtained data were assessed by the Chi-square test and unpaired t-test where appropriate.
Results: The Mean±SD age of the study patients were 38.84±11.64 years. The Mean±SD years of consumption of alcohol was 13.50±7.8 years in the sample (range 1-30 years) and Mean±SD days of last consumption of alcohol was 3.88±1.8 days (range 2-10 days). There were no significant differences between stockers and non-stockers in various parameters.
Conclusion: Alcohol and substance withdrawal have increased in the wake of the lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic and there is a need for non-COVID-19 setups to be created to cater to the needs of these patients.
Effect of water stress and AM fungi on the growth performance of pea
Authors: Thakur Jaya , Shinde Bharat 
Published: October 2020

The study was conducted to determine the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi inoculation on growth of pea grown under water stressed pot culture conditions. Water stress was given to the pea plants after 30 days at the interval of 4, 8 and 12 days. The data was collected at an interval of 15 days. Three replicates of each set were maintained. . The mixture of AM fungi used for current experiment included the species of Acaulospora denticulata, A. gerdemannii, Glomus macrocarpum, G. maculosum, G. fasciculatum and Scutellospora minuta. The mycorrhizal plants have shown more shoot and root length as compared to the control plants. The height of shoot and root was significantly decreased with the increase in drought stress. Mycorrhizal plants with low water stress showed enhanced shoot and root length than high water stress. The mycorrhizal plants have shown more number of leaves than control plants during drought stress. The number of leaves significantly reduced with the increase in drought stress. The leaves produced by the control plants were comparatively smaller than those of mycorrhizal plants. The dry weight of root and shoot of both control and mycorrhizal plants decreased with the increase in water stress. Mycorrhizal plants showed more dry weight of shoot and root as compared to control plants. Plants inoculated with AM fungi produce more dry weight than the control plants. The fresh weight of both control and mycorrhizal plants has been decreased with the increase in water stress interval and also the fresh weight of root and shoot was observed higher in mycorrhizal plants as compared to those of control plants.
Evolution of human diseases
Authors: Smail Harem othman 
Published: October 2020

The main aims of this review were to understand the roles of evolutionary process in human disease. The suffering of human from disease may be millions years ago and until now are continuing and the human disease can be classified into many types based on their sources such as bacterial, Genetics and viral. For the past sixty years the scientist carried out high number of experiment to understand and the decision of the evolutionary process impact of the human disease. the main example of effect of evolution on the human health are using overuse of antibiotics against bacterial infection and the results to the speedy evolution of bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics such that even vancomycin. The process of natural selection which is proposed by Charles Darwin play vital roles in Biological and medical process and also helps to predict and find the relationship between natural selection process of evolution and phenotypical traits. Understanding the developmental and genetic underpinnings of unique evolutionary changes have been hindered by way of insufficient databases of evolutionary anatomy and through the lack of a computational method to become aware of underlying candidate genes and regulators to the developing o the process of the evolution with helps of other branches of modern sciences such as genetics, Bioinformatics, epidemiology, ecology, microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry.
WNK1 Antagonist Decreased Sevoflurane-induced Neurotoxicity in HT22 Hippocampal Neurons via the WNK1/NKCC1 Signalling Pathway
Authors: Bai Ya-Fan , Li Wen-Jing , Zhang Li , Li Jun-Fa , An Li-Xin 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background: The GABAAR plays an important role in the neurotoxicity caused by sevoflurane, but the mechanism of its regulation in this context is unknown. The present study aimed to reveal the WNK1/NKCC1 pathway as a regulator of the neurotoxicity caused by sevoflurane on the HT22 hippocampal neuron cell line. Methods: HT22 cultured hippocampal neurons were divided into three groups: control group, 4.1% sevoflurane treatment group for 6h, WNK-463 (specific antagonist of WNK1, 1µmol) + sevoflurane treatment group. Cell viability and the optimum concentration of WNK-463 were measured by MTS method. Cell apoptosis was detected by Tunel method, and the content of cleaved caspase-3 protein apoptosis factor was detected by Western blot. Pathway protein detection including the expression of WNK1, NKCC1 were detected. Calcium imaging measures intracellular calcium ion concentration and verifies downstream targets.Results: The neurotoxic effects of sevoflurane on hippocampal neurons were observed. As setting the results of control group is “1”, compared with sevoflurane group, WNK-463 downregulated the protein expression of cleaved caspase-3 (1.96±0.49 vs 1.29±0.38), increased cell viability (0.68 vs 0.96) and decreased apoptosis (13.31±4.67/vision vs 7.05±3.82/vision, ***P < 0.001). Compared with the control group, sevoflurane treatment increased the expression of WNK1 kinase and NKCC1 protein, whereas WNK-463 reversed this increase without affecting the control HT22 cells (*P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, sevoflurane exposure in HT22 cells increased intracellular Ca2+ concentrations, while WNK-463 reversed this change (1.0 vs 2.08±1.36 vs 1.26±0.77, **P < 0.01). Conclusion: This study demonstrated a neuroprotective role of the WNK1 antagonist WNK-463 in sevoflurane-induced neurotoxicity. WNK-463 promoted hippocampal neuron viability and reduced the apoptosis and intracellular calcium overload caused by sevoflurane on HT22 hippocampal neurons, possibly via the modulation of the WNK1/NKCC1 pathway.
miR-129-5p inhibits clear cell renal cell carcinoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting SPN
Authors: Gao Bin , Wang Lijuan , Zhang Yubo , Zhang Na , Han Miaomiao , Liu Huancai , Sun Dongli , Wu Xiaotang , Xiao Xiaolong , Liu Yifei 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Objective: Our study aims to investigate the mechanism of the miR-129-5p/SPN axis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), providing a novel direction for the targeted therapy of ccRCC. Methods: Bioinformatics methods were implemented to find the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with ccRCC from TCGA database. qRT-PCR was performed to detect miR-129-5p and SPN mRNA expression, while western bot was carried out for the detection of protein expression of SPN. Bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the binding sites of miR-129-5p on SPN 3’UTR, while dual-luciferase assay was conducted to verify their binding relationship. CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay and Transwell assay were employed to measure ccRCC cell proliferative ability, cell formation ability, cell migratory and invasive abilities. Results: miR-129-5p exhibited a significantly down-regulated expression level in ccRCC, while SPN showed a remarkably up-regulated expression level. Overexpressed miR-129-5p inhibited ccRCC cell proliferative, invasive and migratory capacities. Dual-luciferase assay confirmed that there was a binding relationship between miR-129-5p and SPN. Additionally, overexpressing miR-129-5p markedly reduced SPN expression in tumor cells, and attenuated the promoting effect of SPN on cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Conclusion: Our study proves the regulatory effect of the miR-129-5p/SPN axis in ccRCC, and provides a novel potential target for precise treatment of patients with ccRCC.