bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The causal relationship between circulating micronutrients and urolithiasis: a Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Wang Guangyue , Zhang Yiwen , Yu Denghui , Li Xueyan , Yang Zhaoyi , Zhang Yuening , Li Yong 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Objective
Previous epidemiological and experimental studies have yielded conflicting results regarding the impact of human micronutrient levels on the risk of urolithiasis. In our study, we conducted two sample Mendelian randomization (2SMR) and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR) surveys to explore the association between 15 human micronutrients (copper, calcium, carotene, folic acid, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E) and genetic susceptibility to urolithiasis.
Method
Fifteen instrumental variables (IVs) for micronutrients were selected from published genome-wide association studies (GWAS). After selecting the appropriate IVs, we conducted an MR study using the inverse variance weighting (IVW) method as our primary estimation tool, using sensitivity analyses to judge heterogeneity, pleiotropy and leave-one-out sensitivity analyses.
Result
Our study found that genetic susceptibility to elevated vitamin D levels reduced the risk of developing Calculus of kidney and ureter; The genetic susceptibility to elevated vitamin C concentration increases the risk of developing Calculus of lower urinary tract. However, there was no statistically significant association between the other 13 micronutrients and the risk of urinary stones.
Conclusion
Vitamin D may have a protective effect on the occurrence of Calculus of kidney and ureter; Vitamin C may have a harmful effect on the occurrence of Calculus of lower urinary tract.
Nrf2/UBE3B protects against acute lung injury by inhibiting ferritinophagy through the ubiquitination of NCOA4
Authors: Wang Yanjun , Dong Hui , Gu Yunfan , Chen Han , Hu Beibei , Xue Xiangdong , Hu Rong , Jiang Hong 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Iron overload and ferroptosis are associated with intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (II/R)-induced acute lung injury (ALI). However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of iron homeostasis remain unclear. Nrf2 regulates cellular iron homeostasis; however, its impact on ALI pathology and its underlying mechanism of action requires further investigation. Ubiquitin ligase E3B (UBE3B) plays a critical role in the proteasome pathway, which is essential for protein turnover and ubiquitin-mediated signaling. A recent study found that UBE3B plays a role in oxidative stress; however, it remains unknown whether its role is related to Nrf2. Furthermore, the exact role of UBE3B in ALI and its underlying mechanism remain largely uncharacterized. In the present study, immunohistochemical analysis of UBE3B expression in type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECII) was conducted and its expression was found to be increased in II/R-ALI. Western blot analysis indicated that UBE3B hyperactivation may alleviate oxidative stress, thereby protecting against ALI. Moreover, UBE3B was involved in iron metabolism dysfunction and ferroptosis. UBE3B deficiency enhanced the process of nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4)-mediated ferritinophagy and increased ferrous ion content, whereas overexpression of UBE3B reversed the harmful effects of Nrf2 knockdown on AECⅡ, which may promote AECⅡ ferroptosis. This study highlights the role of the Nrf2/UBE3B/NCOA4 axis in AECⅡ ferroptosis and II/R-ALI pathogenesis, suggesting that Nrf2 activation may be a promising strategy for ALI treatment.
VIT-driven adaptive low-light pedestrian image enhancement algorithm
Authors: Sheng Wei , Ma Shijun , Liu Mingjian 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Pedestrian detection in low-light environments has emerged as a critical challenge in computer vision, particularly with the increasing deployment of intelligent monitoring systems. This study addresses the inherent difficulties of color deviation, insufficient brightness, reduced contrast, and noise interference in low-light pedestrian images. The proposed Enhanced Low-Light Pedestrian Detection (ELLPD) method integrates Haar Wavelet Downsampling (HWD) with an adaptive parameter prediction module based on Vision Transformer (VIT), coupled with a comprehensive image enhancement module. Experiments conducted on the LLVIP and WiderPerson\_dark datasets demonstrate the efficacy of ELLPD. When cascaded with YOLOv8n, ELLPD improved recall and mean Average Precision ($mAP$) by 3\% and 1.1\% respectively on the LLVIP dataset. Notably, on the WiderPerson\_dark dataset, ELLPD achieved a substantial 7.8\% increase in recall compared to YOLOv8n alone. These significant performance enhancements underscore ELLPD's effectiveness in addressing the challenges of pedestrian detection under low-light conditions. By optimizing image quality and dynamically adjusting algorithm parameters, ELLPD offers a robust solution for intelligent monitoring systems operating in challenging low-light scenarios.
Enrichment analysis of polymorphic loci associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and its outcomes
Authors: Saadat Mostafa 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background: There is a relatively long list of polymorphic genes associated with susceptibility to, hospitalization for, severity of, and death from COVID-19.
Methods: Enrichment analysis was performed using polymorphic loci retrieved from the Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) database associated with susceptibility to, hospitalization for, severity of, and death from COVID-19. Only protein-coding genes were included in this study.
Results: A total of 177, 91, 67, 67, and 22 loci were identified whose genetic polymorphisms were associated with susceptibility to, hospitalization for, severity of, and death from COVID-19, respectively. No significant results were found in the enrichment analysis. The common genes among the different aspects of COVID-19 were low. Susceptibility to, hospitalization for, severity of, and death from COVID-19 shared 39, 22, 19, and 9 loci with smoking initiation trait, respectively. Statistical analysis indicated that the levels of sharing were highly significant. The low number of shared genes among the four sets of susceptibility, hospitalization, disease severity, and death due to COVID-19 suggests that these aspects of COVID-19 are distinct multifactorial traits.
Conclusion: It was concluded that factors such as chronic cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus are not independent risk factors for COVID-19 and its outcomes, and that smoking is the most important and influential risk factor. Further analysis using Mendelian randomization on the available information is needed to confirm or reject this conclusion.
Idiopathic epilepsy in dogs is associated with dysbiotic faecal microbiota
Authors: Silvestrino Marco , Pirolo Mattia , Bianco Angelica , Castellana Stefano , Sambro Laura Del , Tarallo Viviana Domenica , Guardabassi Luca , Zatelli Andrea , Gernone Floriana 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background
The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in modulating various physiological and pathological processes through its metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which impact immune system development, gastrointestinal health, and brain functions via the gut-brain axis. Dysbiosis, an imbalance in gut microbiota composition, has been linked to neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions, including epilepsy. In dogs, idiopathic epilepsy has been hypothesized to be influenced by gut microbiota composition, although studies on this association are limited and show inconsistent results. Here, we compared the faecal microbiota of idiopathic epileptic drug-naïve dogs and healthy controls. To this aim, we recruited 19 idiopathic epileptic dogs and 17 healthy controls which met stringent inclusion criteria and characterized their faecal microbiome by 16S rRNA sequencing.
Results
No significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding age, breed, body condition score, diet, or reproductive status, though males were significantly overrepresented in the idiopathic epileptic group. Epileptic dogs showed a marked reduction in bacterial richness and a trend towards lower evenness (α-diversity) compared to healthy controls, while no differences in community composition (β-diversity) were observed between the two groups. Moreover, a decrease in SCFA-producing bacteria, namely Faecalibacterium, Prevotella, and Blautia, was observed alongside an increase in Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and Bacteroides in epileptic dogs.
Conclusions
Idiopathic epileptic dogs exhibit dysbiosis, with reduced bacterial diversity, loss of beneficial genera, and overgrowth of opportunistic pathogens. These alterations in microbiota diversity and composition may contribute to epilepsy via the gut-brain axis, highlighting the need for further research to explore dietary or probiotic interventions targeting gut microbiota modulation as adjunctive therapies for managing epilepsy in dogs.
TREM2 affects DAM-like cell transformation in the acute phase of TBI in mice by regulating microglial glycolysis
Authors: Wang Lin , Ouyang Diqing , Li Lin , Yan Jin , Cao Yunchuan , Wang Yingwen , Gu Nina , Zhang Zhaosi , Li Zhao , Tang Shuang , Tang Hui , Zhang Yuan , Sun Xiaochuan 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by high mortality and disability rates. Disease-associated microglia (DAM) are a newly discovered subtype of microglia. However, their presence and function in the acute phase of TBI remain unclear. Although glycolysis is important for microglial differentiation, its regulatory role in DAM transformation during the acute phase of TBI is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the functions of DAM-like cells in the acute phase of TBI in mice, as well as the relationship between their transformation and glycolysis.
Methods
In this study, a controlled cortical impact (CCI) model was used to induce TBI in adult male wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice and adult male TREM2 knockout mice. Various techniques were used to assess the role of DAM-like cells in TBI and the effects of glycolysis on DAM-like cells, including RT‒qPCR, immunofluorescence assays, behavioural tests, extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) tests, Western blot analysis, cell magnetic sorting and culture, glucose and lactate assays, and flow cytometry.
Results
DAM-like cells were observed in the acute phase of TBI in mice, and their transformation depended on TREM2 gene expression. DAM-like cells promoted functional recovery after TBI, possibly due in part to their role in clearing debris and secreting VEGFa and BDNF. Moreover, DAM-like cells exhibited significantly increased glycolytic activity. TREM2 regulated the AKT‒mTOR‒HIF-1α pathway and glycolysis in microglia in the acute phase of TBI. The increase in glycolysis in microglia partially contributed to the transformation of DAM-like cells in the acute phase of TBI in mice.
Conclusions
Taken together, the results of our study demonstrated that DAM-like cells were present in the acute phase of TBI in mice, which may be beneficial for neural functional recovery in TBI model mice. Additionally, TREM2 may influence DAM-like cell transformation by modulating the glycolysis of microglia.
ALKBH5-dependent upregulation of circARHGEF12 by Oridonin impairs gastric cancer progression and cisplatin resistance via regulating miR-130b-5p/LATS2 signaling
Authors: Yang Yan-Ling , Tang Peng , Zhou Hai-Xia , Fan Hui-Ning , Yu Yi , Chen Zhao-Yu , Chen Xiao-Yu , Zhou Guang-Peng , Zhang Jing 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background
Accumulating evidence unveils that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation modifications and deregulated circular RNAs (circRNAs) play critical roles in diverse malignancies including gastric cancer (GC). However, the underlying mechanisms by which ALKBH5 mediates m6A modification of circRNAs in GC progression and chemoresistance remain unknown.
Methods
The m6A-circRNA epi-transcriptomic microarray was applied to screen ALKBH5-mediated m6A demethylation of hsa_circ_0002089 (circARHGEF12), which was verified by m6A dot blot, RT-qPCR, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (Me-RIP) and RIP assays. The cellular localization and mRNA expression levels of circARHGEF12 in GC tissue samples were detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Gain- or loss-of-function assays as well as in vivo tumorigenesis and lung metastasis models were executed to assess the role of circARHGEF12 in GC cells. The specific binding of circARHGEF12 with miR-130b-5p was validated by RT-qPCR, RIP, and luciferase gene report assays. The effects of Oridonin-mediated ALKBH5 and (or) circARHGEF12 on miR-130b-5p/LATS2/YAP signaling were determined by RT-qPCR, Western blot and functional assays.
Results
We found that circARHGEF12 was identified as an m6A-modified target of ALKBH5 in GC cells. Overexpression of circARHGEF12 impaired cell proliferation and cisplatin resistance in vitro as well as repressed gastric tumorigenesis and lung metastasis in vivo, but circARHGEF12 knockdown (KD) drove these effects. Furthermore, circARHGEF12 could act as the sponge of miR-130b-5p to attenuate ALKBH5 KD-induced miR-130b-5p upregulation and LATS2/YAP inactivation in GC cells. Oridonin activates ALKBH5 to enhances GC suppression via miR-130b-5p/LATS2 signaling.
Conclusion
Our findings reveal that ALKBH5-dependent upregulation of circARHGEF12 by oridonin impairs GC progression and cisplatin resistance via regulating miR-130b-5p/LATS2 signaling and may provide a novel therapeutic target for GC.
Association between Life's Essential 8 and obstructive sleep apnea from the NHANES 2005–2008 and 2015–2018
Authors: Yu Huang , Hu Bingchao , Zeng Chunhai , Li Ping 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent disorder significantly impacting health and quality of life. This study investigates the association between a lifestyle assessment tool, Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score, and OSA. Utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005–2008, 2015–2018), we evaluated whether the LE8 score, an indicator of cardiovascular health, predicts OSA risk. LE8 scores are categorized into low, moderate, and high levels, representing lifestyle healthiness. Employing logistic regression, restricted cubic splines, and weighted quantile sum regression, we found that higher LE8 scores correspond to a significantly lower OSA risk: moderate and high score groups exhibited a 46% and 76% reduced risk, respectively. Additionally, a nonlinear dose-response relationship was observed, and factors such as BMI and tobacco exposure emerged as critical risk elements. The results underscore the value of LE8 as a practical tool for assessing OSA risk and reinforce the role of healthy living in its mitigation. These insights can form the foundation of public health strategies aimed at decreasing OSA prevalence through the promotion of healthier lifestyles.
Functional characterization of a female-biased chemoreceptor of the codling moth (Cydia pomonella) responding to aldehydes and other volatile compounds
Authors: Cattaneo Alberto Maria , Kwadha Charles A. , Pullmann-Lindsley Heidi , Erdei Anna L. , Pitts R. Jason , Walker William B. 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

With the advent of semiochemical-based control strategies used to mitigate damage of agricultural pest moths, many studies have focused on the function of male-specific putative pheromone receptors (PRs). In this investigation, we instead isolated, heterologously expressed, and functionally characterized a female-biased candidate PR, CpomOR22, from the codling moth, Cydia pomonella. Using transgenic Drosophila melanogaster for single sensillum recording (SSR) and gas-chromatographic SSR, we tested both synthetic ligands and various apple headspace extracts, identifying saturated and unsaturated aldehydes (nonanal, decanal, undecanal, dodecanal; (Z)-4-undecenal and (Z)-6-undecenal) among the most active ligands. Parallel experiments expressing CpomOR22 in Xenopus oocytes confirmed the binding of nonanal, decanal and undecanal aldehyde and revealed lactones (gamma-undecalactone and delta-dodecalactone) and several carboxylic acids as additional active compounds. The renowned ecological importance of aldehydes for the codling moth and the potential for newly identified ligands, such as lactones, may inform innovative control strategies based on novel semiochemicals to interfere with the female-specific chemosensory systems of this insect.
Joint Embedding-Classifier Learning for Interpretable Collaborative Filtering
Authors: Réda Clémence , Vie Jill-Jênn , Wolkenhauer Olaf 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Background: Interpretability is a topical question in recommender systems, especially in healthcare applications. An interpretable classifier quantifies the importance of each input feature for the predicted item-user association in a non-ambiguous fashion.
Results: We introduce the novel Joint Embedding Learning-classifier for improved Interpretability (JELI). By combining the training of a structured collaborative-filtering classifier and an embedding learning task, JELI predicts new user-item associations based on jointly learned item and user embeddings while providing feature-wise importance scores. Therefore, JELI flexibly allows the introduction of priors on the connections between users, items, and features. In particular, JELI simultaneously (a) learns feature, item, and user embeddings; (b) predicts new item-user associations; (c) provides importance scores for each feature. Moreover, JELI instantiates a generic approach to training recommender systems by encoding generic graph-regularization constraints.
Conclusions: We show that the joint training approach yields a gain in the predictive power of the downstream classifier, that JELI can recover feature-association dependencies, and induces a restriction in the number of parameters compared to baselines in synthetic and drug-repurposing data sets.
Immediate irradiation induced cerebral water and hemodynamic response in whole brain radiotherapy
Authors: Miettinen Heli , Lohela Jesse , Moradi Sadegh , Inget Kalle , Nikkinen Juha , Myllylä Teemu , Karhula Sakari S. , Korhonen Vesa 
Published: October 2024

Abstract

Purpose Effects of clinical radiotherapy are often studied between or after irradiations. The current study's aim was to monitor an immediate irradiation response in cerebral water and hemodynamics in patients treated with whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) and to assess the response's individuality.
Methods We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to monitor changes in cerebral water, oxyhemoglobin (HbO), and deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) during the irradiation of 31 patients (age 69.3 ± 12.5 years, 16 females) receiving WBRT. The radiation dose delivered to a patient during a single measurement was 4 Gy (total dose of 20 Gy in five fractions) for most patients and 3 Gy (total dose of 30 Gy in ten fractions) for three patients.
Results 106 patient recordings were analyzed. They showed an immediate irradiation induced increase in HbO and HbR, and decrease in cerebral water content (P<.001) as soon as five seconds after the start of irradiation. The radiation dose, age and gender affected recorded signals. A smaller dose resulted in a steeper change in HbR (P<.01), but larger total change in HbO (P<.01). Younger age was associated with a more significant decrease in the water signal (P<.05). In contrast, female gender was associated with a greater total increase in HbO (P<.01) and HbR (P<.001) signals.
Conclusion There is an immediate cerebral water and hemodynamic response to irradiation and this response shows dependency on the radiation dose, age, and gender. Better understanding about the immediate radiation response may help improve the patient outcome in clinical radiotherapy.
A framework for analyzing the most relevant indicators of ecohydrology in a changing environment
Authors: Guo Wenxian , Yu Long , Huang Lintong , Wang Baoliang , Wang Hongxiang 
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACT

Human activities and climatic changes have altered the hydrological ecosystem of the Min River Basin and affected in-river biodiversity. In this paper, the year of abrupt hydrological change was identified using multiple tests, and the drivers of ecohydrological change were quantified in conjunction with the Budyko coupled hydrothermal equilibrium theory. Combined with ecological flow indicators (ecological surplus (ES) and ecological deficit (ED)) calculated based on discharge hydrographs and multiple hydrological indicators (ES/ED), the degree of river hydrological alteration in the Min River Basin was comprehensively evaluated, and its impacts on in-river biodiversity analyzed. The results of the study showed that: (1) according to the Budyko theory, the influence of human activities on the runoff changes in the Min River Basin reached 56.80%, which was the main influencing factor, followed by climatic factors (41.56% for precipitation and 1.64% for evapotranspiration); (2) dam construction has generally resulted in an increase in seasonal ES and a decrease in seasonal ED; (3) the combination of the ecological flow indexes with the ecologically relevant hydrological indicators not only reduces the redundancy between the parameters, but also reflects the essential hydrological information and ecological connotations, and is an effective method for evaluating ecohydrological mechanisms.
Lipidomics in Periodontal Disease Research: A Systematic Review
Authors: Silva Carolina , Peixoto Francisco , Dias Isabel , Domingues Rosário , Viegas Carlos 
Published: October 2024

Introduction/Objective:
Periodontal disease is a highly prevalent oral pathology
in the human population, which has a significant local and systemic impact. Currently,
multi-omics analyses, including lipidomics, are fundamental to obtaining an in-depth
molecular understanding of the individual. Lipidomics is dedicated to the study of lipid
species and their interactions in various health contexts. This specific multi-omics analysis
is important for understanding the alteration of metabolism and signaling in disease,
identifying biochemical markers, and potential therapeutic targets. This study aimed to
carry out a systematic review of the existing scientific literature on lipidomics in periodontal
disease and thus determine which molecules have already been analyzed and
their potential in this specific disease.

Methods:
This study followed the recommendations of the PRISMA 2020 methodology.
The inclusion criteria used were articles published in indexed journals between 2000
and 2023, written in English, and establishing an exclusive relationship about lipidomics
in human periodontal disease. The articles were searched in three different databases.

Results:
Considering the criteria defined, only six articles were selected and zed individually
in detail. In four of the six studies, differences in the lipidome of individuals with
periodontal disease were identified. Furthermore, phosphoethanolamine ceramide was
found to have potential as a diagnostic biomarker. Finally, the therapeutic potential of a
lipoxin A4 analogue was also identified.

Conclusion:
These results reinforce the need for future research in this area so that the
consequences of this disease on the lipidome can be identified.