bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of β-catenin Protects Mouse Hearts From Ventricular Arrhythmias After Myocardial Infarction Independent of Ion Channel Gene Changes
Authors: Wang Jerry , Xia Ying , Lu Aizhu , Wang Hongwei , Davis Darryl R. , Liu Peter , Beanlands Rob S. , Liang Wenbin 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Wnt/β-catenin signaling is activated in the heart after myocardial infarction (MI). This study aims to investigate if β-catenin deletion affects post-MI ion channel gene alterations and ventricular tachycardias (VT). MI was induced by permanent ligation of left anterior descending artery in wild-type (WT) and cardiomyocyte-specific β-catenin knockout (KO) mice. KO mice showed reduced susceptibility to VT (18% vs. 77% in WT) at 8 weeks after MI, associated with reduced scar size and attenuated chamber dilation. qPCR analyses of both myocardial tissues and purified cardiomyocytes demonstrated upregulation of Wnt pathway genes in border and infarct regions after MI, including Wnt ligands (such as Wnt4) and receptors (such as Fzd1 and Fzd2).. At 1 week after MI, cardiac sodium channel gene (Scn5a) transcript was reduced in WT but not in KO hearts, consistent with previous studies showing Scn5a inhibition by Wnt/β-catenin signaling. At 8 weeks after MI when Wnt genes have declined, Scn5a returned to near sham levels and K+ channel gene downregulations were not different between WT and KO mice. This study demonstrated that VT susceptibility in the chronic phase after MI is reduced in mice with cardiomyocyte-specific β-catenin deletion primarily through attenuated structural remodeling, but not ion channel gene alterations.
Alteration of the expression of sirtuins and var genes by heat shock in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum: a pattern emerges
Authors: Anagu Linda O. , Hulse David R. , Horrocks Paul D. , Chakravorty Srabasti J 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background
In the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum the expression of ‘var’ virulence genes is regulated through epigenetic mechanisms. P. falciparum sirtuin epigenetic regulators have a direct effect on their var gene expression patterns, are increased in the 3D7 laboratory strain on exposure to heat shock. A Gambia study showed an association with fever, blood lactate and var genes commonly expressed in severe malaria, and between PfSir2A and group B var. A Kenyan study extended this association to between PfSir2A and overall var transcript level. We investigated a causal link between heat shock or lactate levels and sirtuins or var expression.
Methods
In vitro experiments were conducted using laboratory and recently-laboratory-adapted Kenyan isolates of P. falciparum to follow up the correlative findings of the field study. To investigate a potential cause-and-effect relationship between host stress factors and parasite gene expression, qPCR was used to measure the expression of sirtuins and var genes after highly synchronous cultured parasites had been exposed to 2h or 6h of heat shock at 40°C or elevated lactate.
Results
Heat shock was shown to increase the expression of PfSir2B in the trophozoites, whereas exposure to lactate was not. After the ring stages were exposed to heat shock and lactate, there was no alteration in the expression of sirtuins and severe-disease-associated upsA and upsB var genes. The association between high blood lactate and sirtuin/var gene expression that was previously observed in vivo appears to be coincidental rather than causative.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that heat stress in laboratory and recently-laboratory-adapted isolates of P. falciparum results in a small increase in PfSir2B transcripts in the trophozoite stages only. This finding adds to our understanding of how patient factors can influence the outcome of Plasmodium falciparum infections.
Assessment of the Effectiveness of BOPPPS-Based Hybrid Teaching Model in Physiology Education
Authors: Liu Xiao-Yu , Lv Chunmei , Zhu Hui , Wang Xiaoran , Jia Shuwei , Zhang Ying , Wen Haixia , Wang Yu-Feng 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: Online teaching has become increasingly common in higher education, of the post-pandemic era. While a traditional face-to-face lecture or offline teaching remains very important and necessary for students to learn the medical knowledge systematically, guided by the BOPPPS teaching model, combination of online and offline learning approaches has become an unavoidable trend for maximizing teaching efficiency. However, in physiological education, the effectiveness of a combined online teaching and offline teaching model remains poorly assessed. The present study aims at providing an assessment to the hybrid teaching model.Methods: The study was performed among undergraduate medical students of Class 2017-2019, taught during 2018-2020, in the Physiology course in Harbin Medical University. Based on established offline teaching model with BOPPPS components in 2018, we incorporated online teaching contents into it to form a hybrid BOPPPS teaching model (HBOPPPS, in brief), preliminarily in 2019 and completely in 2020. The effectiveness of the HBOPPPS was assessed by comparing the final examination scores of both objective (multi-choice and single answer questions) and subjective (short and long essays) questions between different classes. Results: The final examination score of students in Class 2019 (83.9±0.5) who were taught with the HBOPPPS was significantly higher than that in Class 2017 (81.1±0.6) taught with offline BOPPPS and in Class 2018 (82.0±0.5) taught with preliminary HBOPPPS, which was mainly reflected in the average subjective scores. The subjective scores of Class 2019 (41.6±0.3) and Class 2018 (41.4±0.3) were significantly higher than that of Class 2017 (38.2±0.4). In the questionnaire among students in Class 2019, 86.2% of students were satisfied with this HBOPPPS and 79.4% students thought HBOPPPS improved their learning ability. In addition, majority of the students (73.5%) believed that reproducibility of the learning content was the major advantages of the HBOPPPS and 54.2% of the students also appreciated the flexibility of HBOPPPS. Lastly, 61.7% of the students showed a preference to be taught with the HBOPPPS in future.Conclusions: HBOPPPS is an effective teaching modal and useful for enhancing effectiveness of Physiology teaching. This is attributable to the reproducibility and flexibility as well as the increased students’ learning initiatives.
GIS-based Multicriteria Decision Analysis for Settlement Areas: A Case Study in Canik
Authors: Kilicoglu Cem 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
In addition to population growth throughout the world due to migration from rural to urban areas, population density is constantly increasing in certain regions, thereby necessitating the introduction of new settlements in these regions. However, in the selection of settlement areas, no sufficient preliminary examinations are conducted; consequently, various natural disasters may cause significant life and property losses. Herein, the most suitable settlement areas were determined using multicriteria decision analysis in Canik District, where the population is constantly increasing. Therefore, this study is aimed to incorporate a new perspective to the studies on this subject. Within the scope of the study, landslide and flood risks, which are among the most important natural disasters in the region, were primarily evaluated, and risky areas were determined. Thereafter, suitable and unsuitable areas in terms of biocomfort, which affect people’s health, peace, comfort, and psychology, and which are also significant in terms of energy efficiency, were determined. At the last stage of the study, the most suitable settlement areas that are suitable in terms of both biocomfort and low level of landslide and flood risks were determined; the calculated proportion of such areas to the total study area is only 2.1%. Therefore, because these areas are insufficient for the establishment of new settlements, areas with low landslide and flood risks but unsuitable for biocomfort were secondarily determined; the ratio of these areas was calculated as 56.8%. The remaining areas are inconvenient for the establishment of settlements owing to the risk of landslides and floods; the ratio of these areas was calculated as 41.1%. The study is exemplary in the respect that the priority for the selection of settlement areas is specified, which can be applied for selecting new settlements for each region considering different criteria.
Effects of Chemical Dispersant on the Surface Properties of Kaolin and Aggregation with Spilled Oil
Authors: Li Wenxin , Yu Yue , Xiong Deqi , Qi Zhixin , Fu Sinan , Yu Xinping 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
After oil spills occur, dispersed oil droplets can collide with suspended particles in the water column to form the oil-mineral aggregate (OMA) and settle to the seafloor. However, only a few studies have concerned the effect of chemical dispersant on this process. In this paper, the mechanism by which dispersant affects the surface properties of kaolin as well as the viscosity and oil-seawater interfacial tension (IFTow) of Roncador crude oil were separately investigated by small scale tests. The results indicated that the presence of dispersant impairs the zeta potential and enhances the hydrophobicity of kaolin. The viscosity of Roncador crude oil rose slightly as the dosage of dispersant increased while IFTow decreased significantly. Furthermore, the oil dispersion and OMA formation at different dispersant-to-oil ratio (DOR) were evaluated in a wave tank. When DOR was less than 1:40, the oil enhancement of dispersant was not significant. In comparison, it began to contribute when DOR was over 1:40 and the effect became more pronounced with the increasing DOR. The adhesion between oil droplets and kaolin was inhibited with the increasing DOR. The size ratio between oil droplets and particles is the significant factor for OMA formation. The closer the oil-mineral size ratio is to 1, the more difficultly the OMA forms.
Feasibility of Coconut Testa oil and Coconut Waste Cooking oil as Potential Biodiesel Feedstocks
Authors: Maliyekkal Muhammed Niyas , Shaija Andavan 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
It is well known that biodiesel from pure coconut oil is suited best for diesel engine operation. However, the commercialization of coconut oil biodiesel is unfeasible due to its higher cost and demand as a food material. In this study, biodiesels were produced from coconut testa oil and coconut waste cooking oil, two waste feedstock derivatives of coconut. Fatty acid composition and properties such as density, calorific value, kinematic viscosity, cloud and pour points, flash and fire points, Conradson carbon residue, and copper strip corrosion of these two biodiesels were determined and compared with those of fresh coconut oil biodiesel and the standard diesel. It was found that the properties and fatty acid profiles of all three biodiesels were similar. Furthermore, from the engine testing using B20 (diesel-biodiesel blend with 20% biodiesel) blends of prepared biodiesels, it was found that the engine performance, emission, and combustion characteristics were comparable for coconut testa oil and coconut waste cooking oil biodiesels with fresh coconut oil biodiesel. Thus the coconut testa oil and coconut waste cooking oil can be used as low-cost feedstocks for biodiesel production with all advantages of fresh coconut oil.
Deep-learning Model for Predicting the Survival of Rectal Adenocarcinoma Patients based on the SEER Database
Authors: Yu Haohui , Huang Tao , Feng Bin , Lyu Jun 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: We collected information on patients with rectal adenocarcinoma in the United States from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We used this information to establish a model that combined deep learning with a multilayer neural network (the DeepSurv model) for predicting the survival rate of patients with rectal adenocarcinoma.Methods: We collected patients with rectal adenocarcinoma in the United States and older than 20 years who had been added to the SEER database from 2004 to 2015. We divided these patients into training and test cohorts at a ratio of 7:3. The training cohort was used to develop a seven-layer neural network based on the analysis method established by Katzman and colleagues to construct a DeepSurv prediction model. We then used the C-index and calibration plots to evaluate the prediction performance of the DeepSurv model.Results: The 49,275 patients with rectal adenocarcinoma included in the study were randomly divided into the training cohort (70%, n=34,492) and the test cohort (30%, n=14,783). There were no statistically significant differences in clinical characteristics between the two cohorts (p>0.05). We applied Cox proportional-hazards regression to the data in the training cohort, which showed that age, sex, marital status, tumor grade, surgery status, and chemotherapy status were significant factors influencing survival (p<0.05). Using the training cohort to construct the DeepSurv model resulted in a C-index of the model of 0.824, while using the test cohort to verify the DeepSurv model yielded a C-index of 0.821. These values show that the prediction effect of the DeepSurv model for the test-cohort patients was highly consistent with the prediction results for the training-cohort patients.Conclusion: The DeepSurv prediction model of the seven-layer neural network that we have established can accurately predict the survival rate and time of rectal adenocarcinoma patients.
Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis; A Rare Complication Of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever
Authors: Pradeep Chamila , Karunathilake Parackrama , Abeygunawardena Shamali , Ralapanawa Udaya , Jayalath Thilak 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background
Haemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is an uncommon systemic inflammatory clinical syndrome associated with numerous conditions and a rare complication of dengue associated with significant mortality and morbidity even with appropriate treatment. The outcome is further poor if the diagnosis is delayed or left untreated. Therefore a high degree of clinical suspicion is paramount in the diagnosis of HLH, especially in an atypical presentation of dengue infection.
Case Presentation
A 17-year-old boy with a non-significant past medical history admitted with a four-day history of fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and loose stool. On admission, he was hemodynamically stable and managed as serologically confirmed dengue fever. On the 5th day of fever, he entered the critical phase, which was uncomplicated except for high fever spicks. Even after the critical phase was over, he had ongoing high fever spicks, hepatosplenomegaly with persistent thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and anaemia. Serum ferritin level was > 3000 ng/ml, while the triglyceride level was 314 mg/dl. Bone marrow biopsy revealed an increased haemophagocytic activity. Secondary HLH was diagnosed based on criteria used in the HLH-2004 trial and successfully managed with intravenous dexamethasone 10 mg/body surface area/day for the first two weeks followed by tapering of course over eight weeks.
Conclusion
Though this is a rare complication, the clinician must suspect HLH in expanded dengue syndrome complicated with ongoing fever, splenomegaly with cytopenias, and necessary investigations to establish a firm diagnosis. Early treatments will result in promising outcomes while preventing complications and reducing mortality.
Identification of Biomarkers Related To The Diagnosis And Prognosis of Thyroid Cancer Through Bioinformatics Analysis
Authors: Xie Xiao-Li , Yin Hua-Li , Pan Yu-Lin , Li Guo-Xia , Yuan Chun-Yan , Sheng Xia 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: Thyroid cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the head and neck. In recent years, the incidence of thyroid cancer (THCA) worldwide has rapidly increased and shows a trend in the younger generation. This study attempted to screen key genes and potential prognostic biomarkers for thyroid cancer using bioinformatics analysis.Methods: This study attempted to screen key genes and potential prognostic biomarkers for thyroid cancer using bioinformatics analysis. 101 cases of thyroid cancer and 78 cases of normal thyroid tissue were collected from three Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, then we identified the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and conducted downstream analyses. Moreover, we screened hub genes by constructing a protein‐protein interaction (PPI) network. Finally, we assessed the expression level of hub genes in thyroid cancer tissue and its normal tissue using GEPIA and qRT-PCR respectively. Results: 159 upregulated and 251 downregulated genes were determined after gene integration of these three GEO data sets. Through PPI analysis, we consider the top 20 DEGs with high connectivity as the hub genes of THCA. After that, this study verified 20 central genes through the GEPIA database and found that only four hub genes (TOP2A, FN1, TIMP1, and MMP9) had significantly higher expression levels in thyroid cancer tissues than in normal thyroid tissues. We further analyzed the correlation between these four hub genes and the prognosis of patients with thyroid cancer, which suggests that FN1, MMP9, TIMP1 help assess the prognosis of patients with thyroid cancer. We performed GSEA analysis on these 4 hub genes simultaneously, found that the high expression of these 4 hub genes enriched the "cell cycle." Subsequently, we collected thyroid cancer tissue specimens, verified these four hub gene expression levels by RT-PCR, and found that only FN1 and TIMP1 genes in thyroid cancer tissues had significantly higher mRNA levels than normal tissues. Conclusions: Our research has identified 20 hub genes that may be related to the occurrence and development of thyroid cancer through multiple gene expression profile data sets and a series of comprehensive bioinformatics analyses. Further database and tissue validation analysis revealed that only 2 hub genes may be considered as potential prognostic biomarkers, including FN1 and TIMP1. In addition, these two hub genes are involved in the cell cycle, suggesting that they may play a role in the occurrence and development of thyroid cancer.
Increased Indian Ocean-North Atlantic Ocean Warming Chain under Greenhouse Warming
Authors: Yang Young-Min , Park Jae-Heung , An Soon-Il , Wang Bin 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Over the last half century, the Indian Ocean (IO) and the North Atlantic Ocean (NA) have shown strong warming trends that affected global and regional climates. Here, we investigate a closed linkage mechanism in warming between the two oceans by performing an Earth system model simulation. On the one hand, IO warming increases sea surface temperature (SST) over the NA by enhancing the warm oceanic advection around South Africa along with longwave radiative fluxes through upper tropospheric teleconnection. On the other hand, the warmer NA SST-induced atmospheric teleconnection leads to anomalous easterlies over the western Pacific, where sea level increases. The enhanced contrast in the sea levels of the Pacific and IO intensifies Indonesian throughflow, which increases ocean heat transport from the Pacific and warms the IO. This positive interaction (the IO-NA warming chain) reinforces further warming over both ocean basins. The IO-NA warming chain is projected to intensify due to a higher background SST under future climatic conditions with strong anthropogenic forcing, reducing precipitation over the western U.S. by 20%–50%.
Impact of Climate Change On Future Productivity And Water Use Efficiency of Wheat In Eastern India
Authors: Mukherjee Asis , Huda Abul Kalam Samsul , Saha Salil 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
High temperature and elevated CO2 under future climate change will influence the agricultural productivity worldwide. Burgeoning population along with climate change situation is going to threaten the food security of India. According to IPCC 5th assessment report (2014), global mean surface temperature and concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) at the end of 21st century will increase by 4.8°C and 539 ppm respectively under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario. Considering the burning issue present study aims to find out the probable change in different climatic parameters under high greenhouse gas emission (RCP 8.5) scenario during 2021-2095 and their impact on wheat yield and water productivity over six locations (Jalpaiguri, Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda, Birbhum and South 24 Parganas) covering five major agro-climatic zones of West Bengal, a state of eastern India. Results showed that maximum temperature (Tmax) and minimum temperature (Tmin) will increase by 5.3oC and 5.9oC during the end of this century. The increase in annual rainfall will be maximum (22%) at Murshidabad. Wheat yield will increase by 3 to 28% across the study sites. The seasonal crop evapotranspiration value will decline by 1 to 21%. Both water- use efficiency (WUE) and transpiration -use efficiency (TUE) will increase at all the study sites.
An Exogenic Origin for the Volatiles Sampled by the LCROSS Impact
Authors: Mandt Kathleen , Mousis Olivier , Hurley Dana , Bouquet Alexis , Retherford Kurt , Magana Lizeth , Luspay-Kuti Adrienn 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Returning humans to the Moon presents an unprecedented opportunity to determine the origin of volatiles stored in the permanently shaded regions (PSRs), which trace the history of lunar volcanic activity, solar wind surface chemistry, and volatile delivery to the Earth and Moon through impacts of comets, asteroids, and micrometeoroids. So far, the source of the volatiles sampled by the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) plume (1, 2) has remained undetermined. We show here that the source could not be volcanic outgassing and the composition is best explained by cometary impacts. Ruling out a volcanic source means that volatiles in the top 1–3 meters of the Cabeus PSR regolith may be younger than the latest volcanic outgassing event (~ 1 billion years ago; Gya) (3).
The Effect of Particle Size Distribution And Shape On The Microscopic Behaviors of Loess Via DEM
Authors: Li Xi-An , Sun Jianqiang , Ren Hongyu , Lu Tuo , Ren Yongbiao , Pang Tao 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Loess has loose metastable structure, which is not difficult to be destroyed under load. As the core and soul of loess structure, it is part of the main research directions of loess engineering properties at present to study its microscopic behaviors and then realize the interpretation and prediction of macroscopic mechanical properties. In this study, based on the analysis of the basic physical properties of loess samples from seven different places, each sample was scanned by X-ray with continuous slice CT, and the three-dimensional microstructure of loess samples was established. According to the computer graphics method, each particle is equivalent to an ellipsoid, and the flattening rate and elongation rate of particles in each sample are quantitatively counted. Taking the particle size distribution (PSD) and shape parameters (flatness and elongation) of each sample as the control factors for generating discrete element method (DEM) samples, a series of triaxial compression simulation tests were carried out, and the microscopic behaviors of each sample were studied within the whole test framework. Comparing the results of seven different samples, it is shown that both PSD and particle shape have effects on stress-strain relationship, dry density and the normal contact force of loess samples. Most of the sand particles (> 0.075mm) are flat particles, while the clay particles (< 0.005mm) are mainly near spheres. When the volume fraction of sand particles is large, the dry density of the sample is the lowest. However, when the content of near spherical clay particles is large and the particle size distribution is good, and the average coordination value is large, which shows that it has strong normal contact force, and thus higher shear strength.