bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association Between Multimorbidity and Quality of Life Among Older Adults in Community-Dwelling of Uttar Pradesh, India
Authors: Himanshu Himanshu , Arokiasamy P. , Selvamani Y. 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background
The rise in life expectancy and the share of older population represents the most significant demographic transformation in the twenty-first century. Increasing longevity with the coexistence of chronic multimorbidity makes the elderly population vulnerable to functional limitation, disability and more frequent hospitalization, resulting deterioration in QoL. The present study aims to investigate the association between non-communicable disease (NCD) multimorbidity and QoL among the older population in Varanasi, India.
Methods
A cross-sectional data of 500 individuals in the Varanasi district aged 50 + years were collected, using a multistage simple random sampling procedure from November 2017 to May 2018. WHOQOL-BREF was utilised to assess the quality of life of the study participants, and the important covariates used in the analysis are; age, sex, marital status, place of residence, health factors, socioeconomic status, and behavioral risk factors. Descriptive analysis was performed to assess the mean QoL score pattern, whereas multivariate linear regression analysis examines the association between multimorbidity and QoL.
Results
The QoL scores decreased with age and was higher among females. Regression results show that demographic and lifestyle risk factors are closely associated with QoL. multimorbidity was significantly associated with reduced quality of life. Older adults with multimorbidity had 5 points lower quality of life than those with no chronic diseases.
Conclusions
Multimorbidity along with demographic and lifestyle factors are significantly associated with QoL. Healthcare programmes need to factor in multimorbidity while promoting a healthy and risk-free lifestyle to control modifiable risk factors. Government assistance is necessary for the most economically dependent older population for their day-to-day needs.
Heavy Metal -Induced Oxidative Stress And Alteration In Secretory Proteins In Yeast Isolates
Authors: Bhavya Gurulingaiah , Geetha Nagaraja , Hiremath Kavitha , JOGAIAH SUDISHA 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
In the recent years, yeasts have evolved as potent bioremediative candidates for the detoxification of xenobiotic compounds found in the natural environment. Candida sp. are well studied apart from Saccharomyces in heavy metal detoxification mechanisms. In the current study, Candida parapsilosis strain ODBG2, Candida sp. strain BANG3 and Candida viswanathii strain ODBG4 were isolated from industrial effluents and contaminated ground water were studied for their metal tolerance. Among these three isolates, the metal tolerance was found to be more towards Lead (Pb 2mM), followed by Cadmium (Cd 1.5mM) and Chromium (Cr(VI), 1mM). On further exploring the involvement of primary defensive enzymes in these isolates exhibited towards metal tolerance, the anti-oxidative enzyme Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was found to be prominently high as 25% during first 24h of metal-isolate interaction. In the Catalase (CAT) enzyme assay, it was observed that, the increased enzyme activity at 48h also triggered the activity of peroxidases (PO), which lead to the increase in reduced glutathione (GSH) in the organism by 0.87-1.9 folds, as a metal chelator and also as a second line of defensive molecule. The exoproteome profile showed the early involvement (exponential growth phase) of secreted proteins (low molecular weight) of about ~40-45kDa under Cd and Pb stress (0.5mM). The exoproteome profiling under heavy metal stress in Candida parapsilosis strain ODBG2 and Candida viswanathii strain ODBG4 is the first report.
DNA Methylation Status of RETN and ADIPOQ Genes in Sporadic Colon Cancer
Authors: Al-Harithy Rowyda , abdulsalam Eman Al 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: Colon cancer develops through a complex process that involves epigenetic alterations. Compelling evidence has been achieved that adipocytokines link obesity with colon cancer progression Therefore, understanding the epigenetic modifications in adipokine genes might help in clarifying their role in colon cancer pathogenesis. The aim of the present project was to study the DNA methylation status of RETN and ADIPOQ genes in sporadic colon cancer patients. Methods: 70 cancerous colon tissue and adjacent paired non-cancerous tissue was used to determine the DNA methylation status using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR) assay. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to determine the expression level of RETN and ADIPOQ genes. Results: In colon cancer tissues, the CpG sites in the three selected promoter regions of ADIPOQ and RETN were hypermethylated in all samples. DNA methylation level at the CpG sites in exon one of the RETN gene exhibited a lower level in the non-cancerous tissue compared to the cancerous tissue and paired blood samples. The RETN mRNA was upregulated. Conclusion: We postulate that DNA methylation status at the CpG sites in exon one of the RETN gene might help uncover cancer signatures in sporadic colon cancer and may be used as a biomarker. The upregulation of the RETN mRNA level might play a role in sporadic colon cancer tumorigenesis.
mTOR Inhibitor PP242 Increases Antitumor Activity of Sulforaphane by Blocking Akt/mTOR Pathway in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Lu Zhaoming , Zhang Yalin , Xu Yujia , Wei Huiyun , Zhao Wen , Wang Pengju , Li Yan , Hou Guiqin 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
This study aims to explore the anti-tumor activity of Sulforaphane (SFN) alone and combined with Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors as well as the potential molecular mechanism in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). MTT assay, clone formation experiment, wound healing assays, flow cytometry, Western blot and xenograft experiment were used to test the effects and molecular mechanism of SFN alone or combined with Akt/mTOR inhibitors on proliferation, migration, cell cycle phase, apoptosis of ESCC cells and tumor growth, respectively. The results showed that SFN significantly inhibited the viability and induced apoptosis of ECa109 and EC9706 cells in a dose-dependent manner by increasing the expression of the apoptotic proteins Cleaved-caspase 9. SFN combined with PP242, but not MK2206 and RAD001, had synergetic inhibition effects on the proliferation of ESCC cells. Moreover, the combination of SFN and PP242 had better inhibiting efficiency on clone formation, migratory, cell cycle phase and the growth of xenografts of ESCC cells, as well as the more powerful apoptosis-inducing effects on ESCC cells. Results of protein expression showed that PP242 abrogated the promotion effects of SFN on p-p70S6K (Thr389) and p-Akt (Ser473). These foundings demonstrated PP242 enhances the anti-tumor activity of SFN by blocking the activation of Akt/mTOR pathway by SFN in ESCC.
Effect of Short- and Long-term Melatonin Treatments on the Reproductive Activity of the Tropical Damselfish Chrysiptera Cyanea
Authors: Imamura Satoshi , Hur Sung-Pyo , Takeuchi Yuki , Badruzzaman Md. , Mahardini Angka , Rizky Dinda , Takemura Akihiro 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Photoperiod plays a role in controlling the initiation and termination of reproduction in fish. Melatonin is an internal transducer of environmental photoperiod and is involved in regulating reproduction. The present study aimed to examine how melatonin impacts the transcript levels of kisspeptin ( kiss1 and kiss2 ), gonadotropin-releasing hormones ( gnrh1 ), and the β -subunit of gonadotropins ( fshβ and lhβ ) in the brain of the sapphire devil, a tropical damselfish with long photoperiod preference. Feeding mature females with melatonin-containing pellets inhibited increases in the transcript levels of kiss1 , gnrh1 , and lhβ within 3 h. Continuous melatonin treatment for 1 week resulted in oocyte regression and downregulation of kiss2 , gnrh1 , fshβ , and lhβ . When the transcript levels of kiss1 and gnrh1 were measured at 4-h intervals in the brain of sapphire devil, a day–low/night–high fluctuation was observed. The hypothalamic– pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis may be influenced by melatonin, exerting a negative effect at night because the transcript levels of aralkylamine N -acetyltransferase ( aanat2 ) increased during the scotophase. The expression of aanat2 was higher under short-day than long-day conditions, suggesting that there is a seasonal change in melatonin levels at night. It was concluded that change in photoperiod becomes a proximal factor for controlling the hormone synthesis in the HPG axis through melatonin.
Polygenic Risk for Coronary Artery Disease in the Scottish and English Population
Authors: Yang Chuhua , Starnecker Fabian , Pang Shichao , Chen Zhifen , Güldener Ulrich , Li Ling , Heinig Matthias , Schunkert Heribert 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: Epidemiological studies have repeatedly observed a markedly higher risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) in Scotland as compared to England. Up to now, it is unclear whether environmental or genetic factors might explain this phenomenon. Methods: Studying UK Biobank we assessed CAD risk based on the Framingham risk score (FRS) and common genetic variants to explore the respective contribution to CAD prevalence in Scotland (n=31,963) and England (n=317,889). We calculated FRS based on sex, age, body mass index, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensive medication, smoking status, and diabetes. We determined the allele frequency of published genome-wide significant risk CAD alleles and a weighted genetic risk score (wGRS) for quantifying genetic CAD risk.Results: Prevalence of CAD was 16% higher in Scotland as compared to England (8.98% vs. 7.68%, P<0.001). By contrast, the FRS predicted a less than 1% higher CAD risk in Scotland (12.5±10.5 vs.12.6±10.6, P=0.03). Likewise, the overall number genome-wide significant variants affecting CAD risk (157.6±7.7 and 157.5±7.7; P=0.12) and a wGRS for CAD (2.49±0.25 in both populations, P=0.14) were remarkably similar in the English and Scottish population. Interestingly, we observed substantial differences with respect to the allele frequencies of individual risk variants. Of the previously described 163 genome-wide significant variants studied here 35 had higher frequencies in Scotland whereas 37 had higher frequencies in England (P<0.001 each).Conclusions: Neither the traditional risk factors included in the FRS nor a GRS based on established common risk alleles explained the higher CAD prevalence in Scotland. However, we observed marked differences in the distribution of individual risk alleles which emphasizes that even geographically and ethnically closely related populations may display relevant differences in the genetic architecture of a common disease.
Large-Scale Protein-Protein Post-Translational Modification Extraction With Distant Supervision And Confidence Calibrated BioBERT
Authors: Elangovan Aparna , Li Yuan , Pires Douglas E.V. , Davis Melissa J. , Verspoor Karin 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Motivation: Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are critical to normal cellular function and are related to many disease pathways. A range of protein functions are mediated and regulated by protein interactions through post-translational modifications (PTM). However, only 4% of PPIs are annotated with PTMs in biological knowledge databases such as IntAct, mainly performed through manual curation, which is neither time- nor cost-effective. Here we aim to facilitate annotation by extracting PPIs along with their pairwise PTM from the literature by using distantly supervised training data using deep learning to aid human curation. We further assessed model generalisation in a real-world scenario, evaluating its performance on a randomly sampled subset of predictions from 18 million PubMed abstracts. Method: We use the IntAct PPI database to create a distant supervised dataset annotated with interacting protein pairs, their corresponding PTM type, and associated abstracts from the PubMed database. We train an ensemble of BioBERT models – dubbed PPI-BioBERT-x10 – to improve confidence calibration. We extend the use of ensemble average confidence approach with confidence variation to counteract the effects of class imbalance to extract high confidence predictions. Results and conclusion: The PPI-BioBERT-x10 model evaluated on the test set resulted in a modest F1-micro 41.3 (P=58.1, R=32.1). However, by combining high confidence and low variation to identify high quality predictions, tuning the predictions for precision, we retained 19% of the test predictions with 100% precision. We evaluated PPI-BioBERT-x10 on 18 million PubMed abstracts and extracted 1.6 million (546507 unique PTM-PPI triplets) PTM-PPI predictions, and filter ≈5,700 (4584 unique) high confidence predictions. Of the 5700, human evaluation on a small randomly sampled subset shows that the precision drops to 33.7% despite confidence calibration and highlights the challenges of generalisability beyond the test set even with confidence calibration. We circumvent the problem by only including predictions associated with multiple papers, improving the precision to 58.8%. In this work, we highlight the benefits and challenges of deep learning-based text mining in practice, and the need for increased emphasis on confidence calibration to facilitate human curation efforts.
Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Derived From Bimetallic Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks For Electrochemical Li+/Na+ Storage
Authors: Dong Shuai , Cui Jiewu , Yu Dongbo , Cao Zhongnan , Yu Cuiping , Zhang Yong , Wu Yucheng 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Porous carbon is regarded as one of the most promising anode candidates for Li-ion battery and Na-ion battery. We herein demonstrate a series of nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NPC) by simply carbonizing bimetallic ZnCo-containing zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZnCo-ZIFs). The nitrogen content, specific surface area, pore size distribution and microstructure of prepared NPC are balanced by adjusting Zn2+/Co2+ molar ratio of ZnCo-ZIFs and carbonization process parameters. It is found that the optimized ZnCo-ZIF-derived NPC shows promise for electrochemical Li+/Na+ storage, which could be attributed to the hierarchical porous structure, large specific surface area and relatively high N-doping content.
Association Study of the SLC1A2 (rs4354668), SLC6A9 (rs2486001) and SLC6A5 (rs2000959) Polymorphisms in Major Depressive Disorder
Authors: Rodek Patryk , Kowalczyk Małgorzata , Kowalski Jan , Owczarek Aleksander , Choręza Piotr , Kucia Krzysztof 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: In recent years, a growing body of evidence highlights a causal link between glutamate and depression. The membrane excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2), encoded by SLC1A2 is responsible for the uptake and redistribution of most of the synaptic glutamate. Glycine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, acts as an obligatory co-agonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and modulates excitatory neurotransmission. The clearance of synaptic glycine is performed by glycine transporters encoded by SLC6A9 and SLC6A5. Higher synaptic glycine and glutamate levels could enhance the activation of NMDA receptors, therefore counteract the hypofunction of glutamate neurotransmission described in major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of the study was to assess whether polymorphisms of SCL1A2, SCL6A5 and SCL6A9 play a role in the development of MDD and its clinical picture in the Polish population. Methods: The study group consisted of 161 unrelated Caucasian patients with MDD, and 462 healthy controls. Polymorphisms of SLC1A2, SLC6A5 and SLC6A9 were genotyped with PCR-RLFP and TaqMan assays. The relationship between the studied single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was assessed based on the comparison of genotype and allele distribution in the study and the control group. The research also evaluated the relationships between the studied polymorphisms and clinical variables such as age of disease onset, number of episodes, duration of depression or severity of symptoms.Results: We found a statistically significant association between SLC1A2 rs4354668 polymorphism and MDD development (the frequency of rs4354668 CC genotype and allele C was 2-fold higher in patients than in the control). Such associations were not detected for SLC6A5 and SLC6A9 polymorphisms. No statistically significant impact of the studied SNPs on clinical variables of MDD was also observed. Conclusions: The results of the current study indicate an association of rs4354668 polymorphism in SCL1A2 with depression development in Polish population. Further studies with larger samples should be performed in the future to clarify the current findings.
Transmission Risk of COVID-19 in High School and College Water Polo
Authors: Kreienkamp Raymond J. , Kreienkamp Christopher J. , Terrill Cindy , Halstead Mark E. , Newland Jason G. 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: Concerns that athletes may be at a higher risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission has led to reduced participation in sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to assess COVID-19 incidence and transmission during the spring 2021 high school and college water polo seasons across the United States. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled 1,825 water polo athletes from 54 high schools and 36 colleges. Surveys were sent to coaches throughout the season, and survey data were collected and analyzed. Results: We identified 17 COVID-19 cases among 1,223 high school water polo athletes (1.4%) and 66 cases among 602 college athletes (11.0%). Of these cases, contact tracing suggested that 3 were water polo–associated in high school, and 0 were water polo–associated in college. Quarantine data suggest low transmission during water polo play as only 3 out of 232 (1.3%) high school athletes quarantined for a water polo–related exposure developed COVID-19. In college, 0 out of 54 athletes quarantined for exposure with an infected opponent contracted COVID-19. However, in both high school and college, despite the physical condition of water polo athletes, both high school (47%) and college athletes (21%) had prolonged return to play after contracting COVID-19, indicating the danger of COVID-19, even to athletes. Conclusions: While COVID-19 spread can occur during water polo play, few instances of spread occurred during the spring 2021 season, and transmission rates appear similar to those in other settings, such as school environments.
High-quality Chromosome-scale De Novo Assembly of the Paspalum Notatum ‘Flugge’ Genome
Authors: Yan Zhenfei , Liu Huancheng , Chen Yu , Sun Juan , Ma Lichao , Wang Aihua , Miao Fuhong , Cong Lili , Song Hui , Yin Xue , Wang Qi , Gong Yayun , Yang Guofeng , Wang Zengyu 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: Paspalum notatum is a diploid multi-purpose subtropical herb native to South America. Its chromosome length is 2n=20XX and has a high ecological significance. It is currently widely planted in tropical and subtropical regions. Despite the gene pool of P. notatum being unearthed to a large extent in the past decade, no details about the genomic information of relevant species in Paspalum have been reported. In this study, the complete genome information of P. notatum was established and annotated through sequencing and de novo assembly of its genome. Results: The latest PacBio third-generation HiFi assembly and sequencing revealed that the genome size of P. notatum is 541M. The assembly result is the highest index among the genomes of the gramineous family published so far, with a contig N50=52Mbp, scaffold N50=49Mbp, and BUSCOs=98.1%, accounting for 98.5% of the estimated genome. Genome annotation revealed 36511 high-confidence gene models, thus providing an important resource for future molecular breeding and evolutionary research. A comparison of the genome annotation results of P. notatum with other closely related species revealed that it had a close relationship with Zea mays. An analysis of the expansion and contraction of gene families suggested that P. notatum contains gene families associated with environmental resistance, increased reproductive ability, and molecular evolution, which explained its excellent agronomic traits. Conclusion: This study is the first to report the high-quality chromosome-scale-based genome of P. notatum assembled using the latest PacBio third-generation HiFi sequencing reads. The study provides an excellent genetic resource bank for gramineous crops and invaluable perspectives regarding the evolution of gramineous plants. Keywords: Paspalum notatum ‘Flugge’, Genome, De novo assembly, Genome annotation
The Optimized Quantum Dots Mediated Thermometry Reveals the Efficiency of Myosin Extracted from Muscle Mini Bundles
Authors: Li Meishan , Coppo Lucia , Jena Bhanu P. , Larsson Lars 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: The quantum dots (QD) has been investigated as thermometrical sensor in biological microenvironment and applied to measure the muscle efficiency with underlying mechanisms, i.e., a reduction in fluorescent intensity of QD reflects an increase in temperature caused by heat release during ATP hydrolysis, denoting the efficiency of the motor protein myosin. The aim of this study is to optimize the QD mediated thermometry for measuring the efficiency of freshly extracted myosin from muscle mini bundles rather than pre-purified myosin and test this approach in preparations with different myosin isoform.Methods: The protocol of myosin extraction used in the single muscle fiber in vitro motility assay was modified slightly for extracting myosin from the muscle mini bundles. Moreover, the quantitation of extracted myosin was calculated from the total extracted protein since the ratio of myosin to total protein was constant, performing through spectrophotometric measurement of UV absorbance at 280 nm. The change in fluorescence intensity of QD thermometry measurement of myosin ATPase enzymatic reaction was plotted over time, and the slope of the linear negative regression between time course and relatively decreased fluorescence intensity was used to reflect the efficiency of extracted myosin. Results: The optimized QD mediated thermometry is established for evaluating the efficiency of myosin extracted from muscle mini bundles. Moreover, myosin isoform specific differences in the myosin efficiency were observed in comparison between slow myosin and fast myosin, i.e., the low myosin has lower efficiency than fast myosin, evidenced by a higher heat release.Conclusions: The optimized QD mediated thermometric measure of myosin efficiency in muscle mini bundles provides a nanoscale approach to evaluate myosin function based on a minimal amount of muscle, which is essentially required in the muscle research.