bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effects of Wnt, BMP, and Notch signaling pathways on cell proliferation and neural differentiation in a song control nucleus (HVC) of Lonchura striata
Authors: Bing Jie , Sun Jing , Zhao Rui , Sun Lina , Xi Chao , Liu Jin , Zhang Xinwen , Zeng Shaoju 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThere is obvious sexual dimorphism in the song control system of songbirds. In the higher vocal center (HVC), cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation contribute to the net addition of neurons. However, the mechanism underlying these changes is unclear. Given that Wnt, Bmp, and Notch pathways are involved in cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation, no reports are available to study the role of the three pathways in the song control system. To address the issue, we studied cell proliferation in the ventricle zone overlying the developing HVC and neural differentiation within the HVC of Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata) at posthatching day 15 when HVC progenitor cells are generated on a large scale and differentiate into neurons, after Wnt and Bmp pathways were activated by using a pharmacological agonist (LiCl) or Bmp4, respectively, and the Notch pathway was inhibited by an inhibitor (N‐[N‐(3,5‐difluorophenacetyl)‐l‐alanyl]‐S‐phenylglycine t‐butyl ester), DAPT). The results indicated that both cell proliferation and neural differentiation toward HVC neurons increased significantly after activation of the Wnt signaling pathway or inhibition of the Notch signaling pathway. Although cell proliferation was increased, neural differentiation was inhibited after treatment with Bmp4. There was obvious synergetic enhancement in the number of proliferating cells after the coregulation of two or three signaling pathways. In addition, synergetic enhancement was also found in the Wnt and Notch pathways in neural differentiation toward neurons within HVC. These results suggest that the three signaling pathways are involved in cell proliferation and neural differentiation of HVC.
Programmable droplet manipulation enabled by charged‐surface pattern reconfiguration
Authors: Fang Duokui , Zhou Wenhao , Jin Yuankai , Liu Xiaofeng , Zeng Yubin , Wang Zuankai , Zheng Huai 
Published: July 2023

AbstractProgrammable droplet manipulation based on external stimulation is in high demand in various modern technologies. Despite notable progress, current manipulation strategies still suffer from a common drawback such as single control means of modulating the external stimulation input, which leads to huge challenges in sophisticated and large scale‐up droplet handling. Herein, a unique pattern‐reconfiguration‐driven droplet manipulation method is developed on conductive/nonconductive pattern surfaces under charge deposition. Contactless charge deposition induces the “edge barrier” phenomenon at the boundaries of conductive/nonconductive patterns, analogous to an invisible and tunable wall guiding droplet behaviors. The edge barrier effect can be flexibly tuned by the nonconductive surface pattern. Thus, with charge deposition, surfaces are endowed with protean control functionality. The design of conductive/nonconductive patterns can effectively enable multifunction droplet manipulations, including track‐guided sliding, sorting, merging, and mixing. Moreover, dynamical pattern reconfiguration drives programmable fluidics with sophisticated and large scale‐up droplet handling capabilities in a low‐cost and simple approach.
Detection of TALEN‐mediated genome cleavage during the early embryonic stage of the starfish Patiria pectinifera
Authors: Yamakawa Shumpei , Sasakura Yasunori , Morino Yoshiaki , Wada Hiroshi 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBackgroundEchinoderms have long been utilized as experimental materials to study the genetic control of developmental processes and their evolution. Among echinoderms, the molecular study of starfish embryos has received considerable attention across research topics such as gene regulatory network evolution and larval regeneration. Recently, experimental techniques to manipulate gene functions have been gradually established in starfish as the feasibility of genome editing methods was reported. However, it is still unclear when these techniques cause genome cleavage during the development of starfish, which is critical to understand the timeframe and applicability of the experiment during early development of starfish.ResultsWe herein reported that gene functions can be analyzed by the genome editing method TALEN in early embryos, such as the blastula of the starfish Patiria pectinifera. We injected the mRNA of TALEN targeting rar, which was previously constructed, into eggs of P. pectinifera and examined the efficiency of genome cleavage through developmental stages from 6 to 48 hours post fertilization.ConclusionThe results will be key knowledge not only when designing TALEN‐based experiments but also when assessing the results.
Investigating the impact of metformin on severity of COVID‐19 in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Focusing on laboratory findings
Authors: Taheri Rana , Shahrokhi Seyedeh Zahra , Amjadi Zahra , Kazerouni Faranak 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBackgroundIn the terrifying pandemic caused by SARS‐CoV‐2, diabetic patients exhibiting more severe outcomes and mortality rate is high among them. Based on recent studies, metformin as the most prescribed drug for T2DM treatment may improve severe outcomes in diabetic patients infected with SARS‐CoV‐2. On the other hand, abnormal laboratory findings can help to differentiate between the severe and non‐severe form of COVID‐19. According to the mentioned issues, the effect of metformin on severity of COVID‐19 was examined in T2DM patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.MethodsThe study included 187 individuals diagnosed with COVID‐19, 104 patients were diabetic and divided into two groups according to their anti‐diabetic drugs: patients who were treated only with metformin and patients who were treated with other anti‐diabetic drugs. The other participants were non‐diabetic and diagnosed with COVID‐19. Biochemical parameters were measured by routine laboratory methods before, during and after SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.ResultsDuring infection, FBS, creatinine, ALT, AST, Ferritin and LDH were significantly lower in metformin users than non‐users (p‐value: .02, .01, .03, .04, .0009 and .01, respectively). Also, after recovery, there were statistically significant differences between metformin users and non‐users with respect to most of the study parameters, except FBS, BUN and ALP (p‐value: .51, .28 and .35, respectively).ConclusionOur result suggested that metformin might be associated with better outcomes in diabetic patients infected with SARS‐CoV‐2.
Synthetic Approaches to α‐, β‐, γ‐, and δ‐Lycoranes
Authors: Bautista Diego Díaz , Vilchis Reyes Miguel A. , Blé González Ever A. , Bugarin Alejandro 
Published: July 2023

AbstractLycorane is a pentacyclic core presented in alkaloids isolated from the Amaryllidaceae family of herbaceous flowering plants. Members of this class of natural products have shown to display important biological properties including analgesic, antiviral, and antiproliferative activities. This review presents the known synthetic routes toward α‐, β‐, γ‐, and δ‐lycoranes. α‐(19 routes), β‐(10 routes), γ‐(38 routes), and δ‐(6 routes).
Organocatalyzed Double C(sp3)−H Alkylation of Cyclic N‐Sulfonyl Ketimines with 3‐Chloropropiophenones: Selective Access to 2,3,6‐Trisubstituted Pyridines
Authors: Patel Ashvani Kumar , Samanta Sampak 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAn efficient sequential one‐pot, two‐step pseudo‐four‐component reaction between 3/4‐methyl N‐sulfonyl ketimines with 3‐chloropropiophenones triggered by DIPEA/NaHCO3 as a cooperative base and subsequent aza‐cyclization using NH4OAc is reported. This transition‐metal‐oxidant‐free technique concocts new C−C/C=C/C=N−C bonds selectively, guaranteeing acceptable yields of 2,3,6‐trisubstituted pyridines possessing ortho‐hydroxyaryl/benzenesulfonamide and propiophenone moieties at C2 and C3 positions, respectively. Interestingly, while replacing methyl‐substituents with straight alkyl chains of N‐sulfonyl ketimines, only a monoalkylation reaction happened with in situ‐generated vinyl ketones to deliver promising yields of 3‐picoline derivatives. Moreover, the synthetic transmutation of prepared pyridine derivative led to several important classes of pyridocoumarin, 5H‐chromenopyridine, and di(pyridin‐3‐yl) methane derivatives.
Photoinduced Regioselective Chalcogenation and Thiocyanation of 4H‐Pyrido[1,2‐a] pyrimidin‐4‐ones Under Benign Conditions
Authors: Chillal Abhinay S. , Bhawale Rajesh T. , Kshirsagar Umesh A. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractA lenient approach for regioselective C3−H chalcogenation and thiocyanation of 4H‐pyrido[1,2‐a] pyrimidin‐4‐ones is developed using visible light photocatalysis. This operationally straightforward method furnishes a broad array of C‐3, Ar−S/Ar−Se and ‐SCN functionalized derivatives in moderate to high yields. This protocol employs visible light as an environmentally friendly energy source, cost effective inorganic persulfate‐based oxidant and easily procurable dichalcogenides for regioselective C−H chalcogenation of the substrate at room temperature. Further, regioselective thiocyanation of 4H‐pyrido[1,2‐a] pyrimidin‐4‐ones was also developed. Mechanistic path for these transformations has been proposed based on light on/off and Stern‐Volmer studies as well as quantum yield calculations.
Effect of modification with hydrobromic acid on the performance of activated carbon in the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution
Authors: Long Xiang‐li , Chen Pei‐yun , Jin Xiao‐yue 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe ability of activated carbon from coconut shell to adsorb Cr(VI) from aqueous environment has been ameliorated by treating the carbon with hydrobromic acid. The best carbon is gained by soaking activated carbon in 0.3 mol L−1 HBr solution at 80°C for 13 h followed by being carbonized at 600°C in nitrogen for 1.5 h. The Cr(VI) adsorbed at equilibrium by the best as‐prepared carbon is 11.32 mg g−1 while that by the original one is 7.801 mg g−1. Characterization results manifest that the treatment with HBr solution leads to the increase of acidic groups and the decrease of basic groups on the carbon surface. The treatment with HBr solution produces many lactonic groups on the carbon. BET determination indicates that some micropores and mesopores are generated by the treatment with HBr solution. The increase of acidic groups and magnification of surface area is ascribed to the improvement of the ability to adsorb Cr(VI) ions. Lactonic groups and micropores play a key role in adsorbing Cr(VI) from water.
An efficient approach to detect distributed denial of service attacks for software defined internet of things combining autoencoder and extreme gradient boosting with feature selection and hyperparameter tuning optimization
Authors: Setitra Mohamed Ali , Fan Mingyu , Bensalem Zine El Abidine 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe growing popularity of Software Defined Networks (SDN) and the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to the emergence of Software Defined Internet of Things (SDIoT) based on centralized network management by the Control Plane, which can handle the dynamic nature of IoT devices and the high volume of network traffic. However, due to their specific design, SDIoTs are the ideal target for Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, becoming one of the most destructive threats. Machine learning (ML) techniques are best suited to solve this problem due to the recent growth and sophistication of DDoS attacks. In this study, we propose an enhanced deep learning approach based on combining AutoEncoder (AE) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). First, we applied the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) feature selection method to select the appropriate features subset according to their correlation results. Next, the AE is trained on the previous subset to learn a compact representation of the input features. The latent representation generated by the AE is then used as input for the XGBoost model, which is trained to predict the target variable and classify the traffic as usual or attack. In parallel, Grid Search Cross Validation (GSCV) is used to find the optimal hyperparameters for the AE‐XGBoost. The experimental results using two publicly available realistic SDN‐Iot datasets demonstrate that the proposed approach enables precise identification of DDoS attacks in SDIoT networks, achieving a 99.9920% accuracy, an F1 score of 0.999917, and a low false positive rate. Furthermore, the proposed model's performance exceeds that of the models used for comparison.
Lipopolysaccharide augments microglial GABA uptake by increasing GABA transporter‐1 trafficking and bestrophin‐1 expression
Authors: Di Palma Michael , Catalano Myriam , Serpe Carmela , De Luca Mariassunta , Monaco Lucia , Kunzelmann Karl , Limatola Cristina , Conti Fiorenzo , Fattorini Giorgia 
Published: July 2023

AbstractGamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA), the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, affects numerous immune cell functions. Microglia, the brain's resident innate immune cells, regulate GABA signaling through GABA receptors and express the complete GABAergic machinery for GABA synthesis, uptake, and release. Here, the use of primary microglial cell cultures and ex vivo brain tissue sections allowed for demonstrating that treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increased microglial GABA uptake as well as GABA transporter (GAT)‐1 trafficking. This effect was not entirely abolished by treatment with GAT inhibitors (GAT‐Is). Notably, LPS also induced microglial upregulation of bestrophin‐1 (BEST‐1), a Ca2+‐activated Cl− channel permeable to GABA. Combined administration of GAT‐Is and a BEST‐1 inhibitor completely abolished LPS‐induced microglial GABA uptake. Interestingly, increased microglial GAT‐1 membrane turnover via syntaxin 1A was detected in LPS‐treated cultures after BEST‐1 blockade. Altogether, these findings provided evidence for a novel mechanism through which LPS may trigger the inflammatory response by directly altering microglial GABA clearance and identified the GAT‐1/BEST‐1 interplay as a potential novel mechanism involved in brain inflammation.
Cardiometabolic syndrome among general adult population in Ghana: The role of lipid accumulation product, waist circumference‐triglyceride index, and triglyceride‐glucose index as surrogate indicators
Authors: Anto Enoch O. , Frimpong Joseph , Boadu Wina I. O. , Korsah Emmanuel E. , Tamakloe Valentine C. K. T. , Ansah Ezekiel , Opoku Stephen , Acheampong Emmanuel , Asamoah Evans A. , Nyarkoa Patience , Adua Eric , Afrifa‐Yamoah Ebenezer , Annani‐Akollor Max E. , Obirikorang Christian 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBackgroundVisceral obesity and insulin resistance contribute to developing cardiometabolic syndrome (MetS). We investigated the predictive abilities of lipid accumulation product (LAP), waist circumference‐triglyceride index (WTI), and triglyceride‐glucose (TyG) index for MetS screening among the general Ghanaian adults.MethodsThe final prospective analysis included 4740 healthy adults aged 30–90 years from three communities comprising Ejisu, Konongo, and Ashanti Akim Agogo in Ghana. Self‐structured questionnaire pretested was used to collect sociodemographic, anthropometric, and clinical data. Blood samples were taken after fasting to measure glucose and lipid levels. LAP, WTI, and TyG were calculated from standard equations. MetS was defined by the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and multivariable logistic regression were utilized to evaluate the potential of the three indices in identifying MetS.ResultsOf the 4740 participants, 39.7% had MetS. MetS was more common in females (50.3%) than in males (22.2%). Overall, LAP ≥ 27.52 yielded as the best index for MetS with the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) (0.866). At cut‐off LAP point of ≥23.87 in males and ≥33.32 in females, an AUC of 0.951 and 0.790 was identified in MetS prediction, respectively. LAP was an independent risk measure of MetS for both males (45.6‐fold) and females (3.7‐fold) whereas TyG was an independent risk measure for females (3.7‐fold) only.ConclusionsMetS is increasing among the general adult population. LAP and TyG are important sex‐specific risk measures to screen for MetS among the general adult population in our cohort.
JAMES BUTTLE REVIEW: A resilience framework for physical hydrology
Authors: Newton Brandi , Spence Christopher 
Published: July 2023

AbstractHydrological systems across the globe are increasingly subjected to pressures from a warming climate and anthropogenic disturbance. Responses to stress can be nonlinear and variable; therefore, it is imperative to improve understanding of resilience and tipping points of these systems. Previous applications of resilience concepts to physical hydrology have been disconnected, and an increasing range of definitions and approaches has often led to improper applications. Here, upon synthesizing relevant literature, we define physical hydrological resilience as the ability of a watershed to maintain hydrological function while exposed to a stressor or perturbation, thus remaining within the same regime. From this definition a new framework for physical hydrological resilience is forwarded which includes four key traits that must be part of a robust application of resilience for physical hydrology. Any evaluation of resilience should (1) identify and justify a baseline regime; (2) evaluate hydrological function, one or more of collection, storage and release; (3); assess physical hydrological systems for both resistance and latitude and (4) evaluate important perturbations and processes and how they interact to manifest into resistance, latitude, and tipping points. The framework is applied to the example of the Elbow River in Alberta, Canada, using baseline (1979–2015) and future (2050–2080) conditions. Two key hydrological processes, snow accumulation and streamflow, are found to have low resistance to winter duration and late spring precipitation, respectively. The collection function is resilient to a warmer, wetter climate due to a large latitude in relation to air temperatures, while the release function is not resilient, shifting from a streamflow‐ towards an evapotranspiration‐dominated regime in the future. The successful application of the concepts of resilience to this complex catchment demonstrates how the framework could be applied across a diversity of catchments. Results of resilience studies can improve environmental monitoring and evaluation programs and complement social‐ecological resilience frameworks and water management strategies.
How to enhance hydrological predictions in hydrologically distinct watersheds of the Indian subcontinent?
Authors: Mangukiya Nikunj K. , Sharma Ashutosh , Shen Chaopeng 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAccurate hydrological predictions are required to prepare for the impacts of climate change, especially in India, which experiences frequent floods and droughts. However, the complex hydrological processes of its distinct watersheds and limited data make it challenging to deliver highly‐performant hydrologic predictions using conventional models. Moreover, it remains uncertain where the limits of predictability are and whether recently‐popular deep learning approaches can offer significant improvements. Here, we tested the first instance of the hydrologic model based on long short‐term memory (LSTM) for 55 Indian watersheds, using a new dataset comprising forcing, attributes, and discharge data. Our results show that the LSTM model provides much‐improved performance compared to conventional models in India, providing a median Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.56. The LSTM model trained on all the watersheds is more favourable to those trained on individual or homogeneous watersheds, as it benefits from a broader range of hydrological processes and patterns in the input data. However, the LSTM model performs poorly for non‐perennial, large, and semi‐arid climate zone watersheds due to its inability to simulate the complex hydrological processes specific to these environments. Integrating lagged observations with the LSTM model (referred to as DI‐LSTM) improved the predictions in such watersheds and enhanced the median NSE to 0.76 by capturing the temporal dependencies and historical patterns that influence hydrological processes. Overall, the contrast of model performance across watersheds suggests major limitations could be associated with the quality of forcing data, and the slow flow or groundwater processes are highly important in the Indian subcontinent. Notably, both LSTM and DI‐LSTM models performed reasonably well for predictions in ungauged watersheds. The findings of this study demonstrate that data‐sparse countries, too, can benefit from big‐data deep learning and point out further avenues toward model improvements.
Rolipram and pentoxifylline combination ameliorates the morphological abnormalities of dorsal root ganglion neurons in experimental diabetic neuropathy by reducing mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis
Authors: Dastgheib Mona , Falak Reza , Moghaddam Maryam Vakilian , Hassanzadeh Gholamreza , Safa Majid , Hosseini Asieh 
Published: July 2023

AbstractDiabetic neuropathy (DN) is the most prevalent complication of diabetes. Pharmacological treatments for DN are often limited in efficacy, so the development of new agents to alleviate DN is essential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rolipram, a selective phosphodiesterase‐4 inhibitor (PDE‐4I), and pentoxifylline, a general PDE inhibitor, using a rat model of DN. In this study, a diabetic rat model was established by i.p. injection of STZ (55 mg/kg). Rats were treated with rolipram (1 mg/kg), pentoxifylline (100 mg/kg), and combination of rolipram (0.5 mg/kg) and pentoxifylline (50 mg/kg), orally for 5 weeks. After treatments, sensory function was assessed by hot plate test. Then rats were anesthetized and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons isolated. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP, adenosine diphosphate and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) levels, Cytochrome c release, Bax, Bcl‐2, caspase‐3 proteins expression in DRG neurons were assessed by biochemical and ELISA methods, and western blot analysis. DRG neurons were histologically examined using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining method. Rolipram and/or pentoxifylline significantly attenuated sensory dysfunction by modulating nociceptive threshold. Rolipram and/or pentoxifylline treatment dramatically increased the cAMP level, prevented mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis and degeneration of DRG neurons, which appears to be mediated by inducing ATP and MMP, improving cytochrome c release, as well as regulating the expression of Bax, Bcl‐2, and caspase‐3 proteins, and improving morphological abnormalities of DRG neurons. We found maximum effectiveness with rolipram and pentoxifylline combination on mentioned factors. These findings encourage the use of rolipram and pentoxifylline combination as a novel experimental evidence for further clinical investigations in the treatment of DN.