bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dual surface/bulk engineering of Nb2O5 for high‐rate sodium storage
Authors: Jiang Yingjun , Hu Xianluo 
Published: November 2023

AbstractOrthorhombic Nb2O5 is a highly promising fast‐charging anode material for sodium‐ion capacitors. However, its poor intrinsic electronic/ionic conductivity limits its performance. Here, we developed a one‐step heat treatment method to create an N‐doped carbon coating on the outside and S‐doped Nb2O5 on the inside (CN‐SCN). Ionic liquids are used as the source of C/N/S, which synergistically enhance the surface and bulk electronic/ionic conductivity. The N‐doped carbon coating on the surface exhibits excellent electronic conductivity and a low ion‐diffusion barrier, thanks to the high nitrogen ratio and extremely low content (<2 wt%). Auger electron spectroscopy analysis confirms that S atoms detach from the carbon chain of the ionic liquids and enter the bulk Nb2O5, resulting in S‐doped Nb2O5, significantly facilitating reaction kinetics. The CN‐SCN electrodes exhibit outstanding rate capability, achieving a capacity of up to 94 mAh g−1 even at a high current rate of 50 C. When paired with activated carbon as the positive electrode, the sodium‐ion capacitor with the CN‐SCN anode exhibits a high‐energy density of up to 59 Wh kg−1 and a long cycle life with 73% capacity retention after 10,000 cycles. This work opens up possibilities for low‐cost and large‐scale production of high‐rate Nb2O5 for sodium‐storage applications.
Dynamic service function chains placement based on parallelized requests in edge computing environment
Authors: Guo ChengJun , Rezaeipanah Amin 
Published: November 2023

AbstractThe advent of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technology brings flexible traffic engineering to edge computing environments. Online services in NFV are chained as Service Function Chains (SFCs), which consist of ordered sequences of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). The SFC Placement (SFCP) problem is solved under Quality of Service (QoS) requirements and limited resource availability by directing traffic to the required VNFs. However, SFC assembly leads to high latency and network congestion by increasing the count of VNFs, which parallelized SFC can overcome this problem. With parallelizing an SFC request, independent VNFs are activated simultaneously and computational acceleration is realized by reducing the SFC length. Any pair of VNFs that do not conflict with traffic can be activated simultaneously. Most VNFs are deployed on distributed servers for load balancing, which makes SFC parallelization challenging. Meanwhile, the cost of merging/duplicating packets for parallelized SFCs between different servers is not negligible. Hence, in this article, Distributed Parallel Chaining (DPC) is proposed which is an algorithm based on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approaches. The DPC algorithm solves the SFCP problem to maximize the Long‐Term Expected Cumulative Reward (LTECR). DPC incorporates an Asynchronous Advantage Actor‐Critic (A3C) algorithm as a new approach based on DRL to increase the admission ability of future SFC requests by maximizing LTECR. The evaluation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm from different aspects. Specifically, compared to the best existing approaches, DPC can reduce SFC latency by 8.7%.
Genetic relationships between sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) and sour cherry (P. cerasus L.) as revealed using fruit characterizations and chloroplast microsatellites
Authors: Khadivi Ali , Goodarzi Somayeh , Shams Mostafakamal 
Published: November 2023

AbstractIn the present study, the genetic diversity as well as the relationship between sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) and sour cherry (P. cerasus L.) genotypes were investigated based on fruit traits and chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSRs). Analysis of variance showed that the studied genotypes have significant differences in the studied traits. In sweet cherries, the average fruit weight was 4.49 g with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 15.62%, the average stone weight was 0.34 g with a CV of 15.67%, and the average total soluble solids was 11.90% with a CV of 22.06%. Also, in sour cherries, the average fruit weight was 2.65 g with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 14.27%, the average stone weight was 0.28 g with a CV of 12.27%, and the average total soluble solids was 10.90% with a CV of 19.80%. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that 83.80% of the observed variance was explained by the first three components. The cluster analysis separated genotypes of sweet and sour cherries and put them into two main groups. Four cpSSR primers produced distinct and different alleles among sweet and sour cherries. The cpSSR loci separated sweet and sour cherries from each other, which confirms the theory that chloroplast genome of sour cherry is not derived from sweet cherry. The present results provided new insights regarding the extent of diversity of individuals and also determined the relatedness and obtained information on genetic diversity of sweet and sour cherries.
The dependence of evaporative efficiency of vegetated surfaces on ground cover mass fractions in vegetated soils in mesic ecosystems
Authors: Wang Yi , Petrone Richard M. , Van Huizen Brandon 
Published: November 2023

AbstractBare soil evaporation has been studied extensively, but less is certain regarding how site‐specific features, especially the overstory tree canopy and ground covers, mediate evaporation processes. Inspired by recent advances on modelling bare soil evaporative efficiency (SEE), this study explored SEE over a range of soil substrates and ground cover types, with and without the presence of an overstory canopy in three mesic ecosystems in Canadian Rocky Mountains. A significant relationship was found between the critical soil water content and ground cover mass fractions across various ground cover types, both with and without the presence of an overstory canopy. This relationship is expected to be prevalent across various ecosystems. Moreover, a simple approach for modelling SEE of vegetated surfaces and a correction method to account for below‐canopy SEE is also proposed. The model yields satisfactory simulations, and the approach is expected to be widely applicable, given the strength that its parameters are easily acquired, and its formulations are simple and straightforward. While the model may be particularly suited to mesic ecosystems, the underlying mechanism of SEE suggests that this model can also be applied in dryer conditions. This approach will greatly improve ET parameterization in land‐surface models (LSMs) and increase our knowledge of the global water cycle and ecosystem responses under climate change impacts.
Clinical efficacy of budesonide combined with acetylcysteine in the treatment of mycoplasma pneumonia infection
Authors: Chen Jing , Zhu Ying , Zheng Chunfeng , Zhao Wei , Liu Qi 
Published: November 2023

AbstractObjectiveMycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is a common respiratory tract infectious disease in children. The study aimed to elucidate the therapeutic efficacy of aerosolized budesonide and N‐acetylcysteine combination therapy for MP infection in children.MethodsOne hundred and twenty children with MP infection were included and divided into the control group (received aerosol inhalation of budesonide) and the experimental group (aerosolized budesonide and N‐acetylcysteine). After treatment, the disappearance time of clinical symptoms and efficacy were contrasted between the two groups.ResultsWith the passage of treatment time, the children's cough score of the two groups were gradually reduced. The children in the experimental group got well from the cough faster than the control group, and the difference reached a significant level on the 5th and 7th days. The time required for fever, rale, and cough to disappear in the experimental group was shorter than those in the control group. As the treatment progressed, a gradual decrease in serum interleukin‐6, tumor necrosis factor‐α, and C‐reactive protein values was detected in both groups, and the decrease was more significant in the experimental group. The total effective rate of the experimental group was 98.33%, which surpassed the control group (93.33%).ConclusionBudesonide and N‐acetylcysteine combination therapy in the treatment of MP infection in children has a significant effect, and can quickly relieve the clinical symptoms of children with good safety. It is worthy of widespread clinical use.
Astragalus polysaccharide ameliorates insulin resistance in HepG2 cells through activating the STAT5/IGF‐1 pathway
Authors: Yue Xinxin , Hao Wei , Wang Min , Fu Yang 
Published: November 2023

AbstractBackgroundInsulin resistance (IR) is considered as a major factor initiating type 2 diabetes mellitus and can lead to a reduction in glucose uptake that mainly occurs in the liver. Astragalus polysaccharide (APC), extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine, has been recorded to suppress IR. However, the underlying mechanism remains inadequately explored.MethodsIR was induced in HepG2 cells which further underwent APC treatment. Cell viability was determined by cell counting kit‐8 assay. Pretreatment with AG490, an inhibitor of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) signaling, was performed for investigating the influence of STAT5 on APC. Glucose uptake level was reflected by 2‐deoxyglucose‐6‐phosphate content determined through colorimetric assay. Expression levels of insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1), IGF‐1 receptor (IGF‐1R), phosphorylated‐STAT5/STAT5, and p‐protein kinase B (AKT)/AKT in the cells were assessed by Western blot. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to detect IGF‐1 secretion in the cells.ResultsAPC at doses of 10 and 20 mg increased the viability of HepG2 cells with/without IR induction, and abrogated IR‐induced inhibition of glucose intake. Meanwhile, APC (10 mg) offset IR‐induced inhibition on the expressions of IGF‐1R and IGF‐1, the activation of AKT and STAT5, and the secretion of IGF‐1 in HepG2 cells. More importantly, the reversal effect of APC on IR‐induced alterations in HepG2 cells was counteracted by AG490.ConclusionAPC ameliorates IR in HepG2 cells through activating the STAT5/IGF‐1 pathway.
Impact of the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic on the overall respiratory viruses' transmission in a cancer care setting
Authors: Mubarak Sawsan , Alsmadi Osama , Tbakhi Abdelghani , Ata Osama Abu , Hassan Ala'a , AlGhawrie Hadeel 
Published: November 2023

AbstractIntroduction and ObjectiveThe emergence of the COVID‐19 pandemic raised questions about the interaction between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) and other respiratory viruses. The objective of this study is to validate the impact of the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic and its interventional measures on the respiratory viruses' transmission/infection rates.MethodsA retrospective chart review was conducted for cancer patients who underwent laboratory‐confirmed respiratory virus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing from January 2018 to June 2022. COVID‐19 PCR tests from March 2020 to June 2022 were also included. Joinpoint regression analysis was applied to evaluate trends in respiratory virus rates. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Science software.ResultsA total of 6298 respiratory virus PCRs and 40,000 COVID‐19 PCRs were performed. Data showed a significant decrease in respiratory viruses' positive cases, total respiratory tests, and respiratory viruses' activity during the pandemic period compared with the pre‐pandemic period (p = .0209, .026, and .028, respectively). The joinpoint regression analysis showed a significant decrease of 13.85% in the tested positive cases of respiratory viruses between the years 2018 and 2022. Monthly, the analysis indicated a significant decrease in the positive cases by 13.46% from December 2019 to May 2021. Weekly analysis following lockdown initiation showed a reduction in respiratory virus cases.ConclusionThis study provides valuable insights into the interplay between COVID‐19 and other respiratory viruses, suggesting that the measures taken for COVID‐19 were effective in reducing the spread of viral respiratory infections, aiding future infection control strategies to protect vulnerable populations, including cancer patients, from seasonal respiratory infections.
Changes in intestinal flora of mice induced by rEg.P29 epitope peptide vaccines
Authors: Zhang Tingting , Lv Yongxue , Zhao Yinqi , Yang Jihui , Qian Bingshuo , Zhu Yazhou , Zhao Wei , Zhu Mingxing 
Published: November 2023

AbstractObjectiveCystic echinococcosis (CE), a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus, remains a public health and socioeconomic issue worldwide, making its prevention and treatment of vital importance. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the intestinal microbiota of mice immunized with three peptide vaccines based on the recombinant antigen of E. granulosus, P29 (rEg.P29), with the hope of providing more valuable information for the development of vaccines against CE.MethodsThree peptide vaccines, rEg.P29T, rEg.P29B, and rEg.P29T + B, were prepared based on rEg.P29, and a subcutaneous immunization model was established. The intestinal floras of mice in the different immunization groups were analyzed by 16 S rRNA gene sequencing.ResultsThe intestinal microbiota analysis at both immunization time points revealed that Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Verrucomicrobiota were the predominant flora at the phylum level, while at the genus level, Akkermansia, unclassified_Muribaculaceae, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, and uncultured_rumen bacterium were the dominant genera. Some probiotics in the intestines of mice were significantly increased after immunization with the peptide vaccines, such as Lactobacillus_taiwanensis, Lactobacillus_reuteri, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Bacteroides_acidifaciens, and so forth. Meanwhile, some harmful or conditionally pathogenic bacteria were decreased, such as Turicibacter sanguinis, Desulfovibrio_fairfieldensis, Clostridium_sp, and so forth, most of which are associated with inflammatory or infectious diseases. Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed that the differential flora were enriched in multiple metabolic pathways, primarily biological systems, human diseases, metabolism, cellular processes, and environmental information processing.ConclusionIn this study, we comprehensively analyzed and compared changes in the intestinal microbiota of mice immunized with three peptide vaccines as well as their related metabolic pathways, providing a theoretical background for the development of novel vaccines against E. granulosus.
Cell‐based therapies for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Moghaddam Maryam Zare , Mousavi Mohammad Javad , Ghotloo Somayeh 
Published: November 2023

AbstractAutoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis that is the most prevalent rheumatic autoimmune disorder, affect autologous connective tissues caused by the breakdown of the self‐tolerance mechanisms of the immune system. During the last two decades, cell‐based therapy, including stem cells and none‐stem cells has been increasingly considered as a therapeutic option in various diseases. This is partly due to the unique properties of stem cells that divide and differentiate from the specialized cells in the damaged tissue. Moreover, stem cells and none‐stem cells, impose immunomodulatory properties affecting the diseases caused by immunological abnormalities such as rheumatic autoimmune disorders. In the present review, the efficacy of cell‐based therapy with four main types of stem cells, including mesenchymal stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and human amniotic membrane cells, as well as none‐stem cells, including regulatory T cells, chimeric antigen receptor T cells, and tolerogenic dendritic cells will be evaluated. Moreover, other related issues, including safety, changes in immunological parameters, suitable choice of stem cell and none‐stem cell origin, conditioning regimen, limitations, and complications will be discussed.
Ursolic acid regulates key EMT transcription factors, induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MDA‐MB‐231 and MCF‐7 breast cancer cells, an in‐vitro and in silico studies
Authors: Mallepogu Venkataswamy , Sankaran Karunakaran Reddy , Pasala Chiranjeevi , Bandi Lokesh Reddy , Maram Rajasekhar , Amineni Uma Maheswari , Meriga Balaji 
Published: November 2023

AbstractEpithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a vital process in tumorigenesis and metastasis of breast cancer. In our quest to explore effective anticancer alternatives, ursolic acid (UA) was purified fromCapparis zeylanicaand investigated for its anticancer activity against MDA‐MB‐231 and MCF‐7 breast cancer cells. The apparent anticancer activity of UA on MDA‐MB‐231 and MCF‐7 cells was evident from IC50 values of 14.98 and 15.99 μg/mL, respectively, in MTT assay and also through enhanced generation of ROS. When MDA‐MB‐231 and MCF‐7 cells were treated with 20 μg/mL UA, an absolute decrease in cell viability of 47.6% and 48.6%, enhancement of 1.35% and 1.10% in early apoptosis, and 21.90% and 21.35% in late apoptosis, respectively and G0/G1phase, S phase, G2/M phase cell cycle arrest was noticed. The gene expression studies revealed that UA could significantly (p < 0.001) downregulate the expression of EMT markers such as snail, slug, and fibronectin at molecular level. Further, the obtained in vitro results of snail, slug, and fibronectin were subjected to quantum‐polarized‐ligand (QM/MM) docking, which predicted that the in silico binding affinities of these three markers are in good correlation with strong hydrogen and van der Waal interactions to UA with −53.865, −48.971 and −40.617 MMGBSA (ΔGbind) scores, respectively. The long‐range molecular dynamics (50 ns) simulations have showed more consistency by UA. These findings conclude that UA inhibits breast cancer cells growth and proliferation through regulating the expression of key EMT marker genes, and thus UA is suggested as a potential anticancer agent.
Intrinsically disordered proteins and liquid–liquid phase separation in SARS‐CoV‐2 interactomes
Authors: Vasović Lazar M. , Pavlović‐Lažetić Gordana M. , Kovačević Jovana J. , Beljanski Miloš V. , Uversky Vladimir N. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractThis paper discusses the properties of proteins and their relations in the interactomes of the selected subsets of SARS‐CoV‐2 proteome—the membrane protein, nonstructural proteins, and, finally, full proteome. Protein disorder according to several measures, liquid–liquid phase separation probabilities, and protein node degrees in the interaction networks were singled out as the features of interest. Additionally, viral interactomes were combined with the interactome of human lung tissue so as to examine if the new connections in the resulting viral–host interactome are linked to protein disorder. Correlation analysis shows that there is no clear relationship between raw features of interest, whereas there is a positive correlation between the protein disorder and its neighborhood mean disorder. There are also indications that highly connected viral hubs tend to be on average more ordered than proteins with a small number of connections. This is in contrast to previous similar studies conducted on eukaryotic interactomes and possibly raises new questions in research on viral interactomes.
High intramuscular adipose tissue content associated with prognosis and postoperative complications of cancers
Authors: Liu Rongqiang , Qiu Zhendong , Zhang Lilong , Ma Wangbin , Zi Liuliu , Wang Kunpeng , Kuang Tainrui , Zhao Kailiang , Wang Weixing 
Published: November 2023

AbstractSarcopenia has been considered an adverse prognostic factor in cancer patients. Intramuscular adipose tissue content, as a new marker of sarcopenia, can effectively reflect skeletal muscle quality. The aim of this study was performed to evaluate the association between high intramuscular adipose tissue content (IMAC) and survival outcomes and postoperative complications in cancer patients. Specific databases, including the Web of Science, Embase and Web of Science, were systematically searched to identify relevant articles evaluating the prognostic value of IMAC in cancer patients. Hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilized for comprehensive analysis. All data analyses were performed using STATA 12.0 software. A total of 25 studies from 24 articles including 5663 patients were enrolled in the study. Meta‐analysis showed that high IMAC was associated with unfavourable overall survival (OS) (HR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.70–2.86, P < 0.001), relapse‐free survival (RFS) (HR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.30–1.75, P < 0.001) and disease‐specific survival (DSS) (HR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.19–2.28, P = 0.003). Subgroup analysis revealed that high IMAC remained an adverse prognostic factor when stratified by different country, treatment methods, cancer type or analysis type. High IMAC had better predictive value for gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) (HR: 3.50, 95% CI: 1.98–6.17, P < 0.001), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (HR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.45–2.33, P < 0.001), pancreatic cancer (PC) (HR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.67–2.66, P < 0.001) and colorectal cancer (CRC) (HR: 2.54, 95% CI: 1.27–5.10, P = 0.009). High IMAC was also identified as a significant risk factor for postoperative complications (OR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.22–3.46, P = 0.007). High IMAC was associated with an adverse prognosis and an increased risk of postoperative complications in cancer patients. IMAC may be a good indicator of sarcopenia.
K2‐Hamiltonian graphs: II
Authors: Goedgebeur Jan , Renders Jarne , Wiener Gábor , Zamfirescu Carol T. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractIn this paper, we use theoretical and computational tools to continue our investigation of ‐hamiltoniangraphs, that is, graphs in which the removal of any pair of adjacent vertices yields a hamiltonian graph, and their interplay with ‐hamiltoniangraphs, that is, graphs in which every vertex‐deleted subgraph is hamiltonian. Perhaps surprisingly, there exist graphs that are both ‐ and ‐hamiltonian, yet non‐hamiltonian, for example, the Petersen graph. Grünbaum conjectured that every planar ‐hamiltonian graph must itself be hamiltonian; Thomassen disproved this conjecture. Here we show that even planar graphs that are both ‐ and ‐hamiltonian need not be hamiltonian, and that the number of such graphs grows at least exponentially. Motivated by results of Aldred, McKay, and Wormald, we determine for every integer that is not 14 or 17 whether there exists a ‐hypohamiltonian, that is non‐hamiltonian and ‐hamiltonian, graph of order , and characterise all orders for which such cubic graphs and such snarks exist. We also describe the smallest cubic planar graph which is ‐hypohamiltonian, as well as the smallest planar ‐hypohamiltonian graph of girth 5. We conclude with open problems and by correcting two inaccuracies from the first article.