bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) on Body Weight and Pathology of Vital Organs in Pathogenic Staph Infection
Authors: Osho I. B.  , Oyekanmi B. A.  , Osanyintuyi S. G.  
Published: September 2023

Aims: Oyster mushroom is rich in secondary metabolites of pharmacological importance. This study evaluates the effect of ethanolic extract of Oyster mushroom on the vital organs of Staphylococcus aureus infected Wistar rats after seven days of administration.
Study Design: Completely randomized design was used in the study.
Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out at the Microbiology, Parasitology and Ethnoveterinary medicine Unit of the Department of Animal Production and Health, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, between March and December 2022.
Methodology: The mushroom was processed using a cold extraction technique. A bacterial suspension of Staphylococcus aureus was inoculated via oral route into the experimental animals, which were randomly distributed into six groups of five. Group 1: normal control; group 2: positive control; group 3: negative control, inoculated but received no antimicrobial; and group 4 to 6 were inoculated, and administered with 625, 1250 and 2500 mg dose of the extract respectively. The treatment was administered for seven days, after which blood samples were cultured for the bacterial count and vital organs were analysed for pathological changes.
Results: The colony count was significantly raised at 625 mg dose while the dose ranging from 1250 to 2500 mg yielded insignificant bacterial growth (P<0.01). The percentage weight gain was significantly lower (P<0.01) in 1250 mg extract in comparison with the negative control after 7 days complete treatment but there was no statistical variation in the 7 days post-treatment percentage weight gain and the relative organ weight (P<0.01).The histological sections showed no variation from normal controls except 625 mg liver that showed some vacuolations within the hepatocytes.
Conclusion: The organ-body mean weight was proportionate, and the histological sections of the liver, kidney, skin, lungs, heart and spleen were indicative of no anatomical variations as compared with the normal control tissues. The beneficial effect of P. ostreatus on the vital organs was further established by the active clearing of S. aureus infection at 1250 to 2500 mg dose with no observable pathological change in the tissues. The bioactive agents inherent in P. ostreatus were effective against S. aureus infection. The vacuolations observed in the low dose liver sections unveiled the ill effect of under-dose treatment and its consequence on the liver cells. The histopathological investigations were suggestive of the safety and tolerance of P. ostreatus to the body system. Nevertheless, further studies should be carried out on its toxicological profiles.
Effects of Methanolic Ginger and Garlic Extracts on Biofilm Forming Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Borehole Water
Authors: George, P. A.  , Akani, N. P.  , Ugboma, C. J.  
Published: September 2023

This study investigated the effect of Zingiber officinale (Ginger) and Allum sativum (Garlic) on biofilm forming Staphylococcus aureus isolated from selected boreholes in Port Harcourt city Local Government Area of Rivers State. Twenty four water samples were collected from 4 randomly selected borehole. Borikiri had the highest number of isolates that produced biofilm, while Elelennwo had the lowest number. Out of 23 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, 14 were positive for biofilm production. Hemolysis production range of these isolates was from alpha, beta and gamma. Filter paper disc were inoculated with various plant extract concentrations. Methanol garlic extract at 100mg/ml had the highest range of zone of inhibition at Borikiri when compared to methanol ginger extract while methanol garlic extract at 100mg/ml had no range at Elelenwo when compared to methanol ginger extract. This study suggests that methanolic ginger and garlic extracts can be used as a potential anti-biofilm agent in borehole water, to reduce the risk of bacterial biofilm formation.
Surveillance systems should be increased for assessing risk factors of diseases and to provide strategies to prevent and protect public health.
Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites among Children Accessing Medical Healthcare at the Federal Medical Centre Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Authors: Adebambo Morakinyo Abraham , Olley Mitsan , Ibrahim Ismaila , Olayinka Ajongbolo Abigail , Ibrahim Azeez Oyemomi , Omotosho Samuel Idowu , Alabi Ayodele Kamal , Omenyi Bawonda Ene , Sito Kehinde Oluwafunmilayo 
Published: September 2023

Aim: This work was conducted between the period of April 2022 and March 2023 to investigate the prevalence and predisposing factors of enteric parasites among children accessing medical healthcare at the Federal Medical Center keffi, Nasarawa State.
Study Design: The study was a cross-sectional study.
Methodology: Fresh stool specimens were collected into sterile bottles from children aged 1-15 (246 males and 194 females) who accessed medical healthcare at the Federal Medical Center keffi, Nasarawa State between the period of April 2022 and March 2023. Information such as age, gender, and drinking water sources were obtained from the subjects through a structured questionnaire. The stool specimens were observed visually for colour, consistency, and presence of blood, pus, and adult worms while the concentration of the eggs, cysts, and larvae of the intestinal parasites was carried out using the formol ether method and viewed with X10 and X40 magnifications of the binocular microscope. Data obtained from this study were analyzed using the chi-square test by the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version (21.0). Values obtained were considered significant at 95% probability.
Results: An overall prevalence of 27.26% was obtained in the study participants with a total of five species of intestinal parasites identified. The parasites include; Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Strongyloides stercoralis, and Trichomonas hominis. Entamoeba. histolytica was the most prevalent (15.45%) while S. stercoralis was the least prevalent (1.36%). In this study, males recorded a higher prevalence of Entamoeba. histolytica (16.49%) than females (14.63%) likewise for E. coli (5.14%) and (4.07%), Strongyloides stercoralis (1.55%) and (1.22%) respectively. In contrast, females recorded a higher prevalence of Giardia lamblia (2.85%) than males (2.58%) and Trichomonas hominis (3.25%) and (1.03%) respectively. The prevalence of intestinal parasites varied significantly among the age groups, with the age group 1-5 years being the most susceptible to E. histolytica (45.71%). Children who drank river water had the highest prevalence of parasitic infection (57.14%) while those who drank borehole water had the lowest majority (14.29%).
Conclusion: The high prevalence of intestinal parasites observed in this study in relation to the sources of drinking water of the subjects suggests a major predisposing factor to intestinal parasitic infections. Therefore, the provision of potable drinking water and public enlightenment on proper hygiene practices in the study area is of great importance.
High throughput sequencing data reveals the complete mitogenome, abundance, maternal phylogeny, and mitogenomic diversity of Alectoris chukar of Iraq
Authors: Yousif Paiman , Taha Hevidar 
Published: September 2023

Alectoris chukar is a wild game bird found in the north of Iraq, near the center of domestication and diversity of species. The mitogenome is one of the most vital resources for comprehensive studies of genetic diversity and molecular evolutionary relationships among avian species. In this study, we used whole genome sequencing raw reads and bioinformatics analysis to sequence and assemble Alectoris chukar's complete mitogenome for the first time. We also studied the maternal lineage and phylogenetic position of Alectoris chukar, as well as some mitogenomic diversity parameters. As a result, the complete mitogenomes with a length ranging from 16686 bp to 16688 bp of four individuals of wild Alectoris chukar were sequenced and assembled. They have a typical avian mitogenome structure with 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA), 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and one non-coding control region. Our findings from bioinformatics analysis remarkably demonstrated that copies of the mitogenome are more abundant in liver tissues than in blood and in the liver tissues of females than in males. The results of phylogenetic analysis clustered the studied mitogenomes with Alectoris chukar as a monophyletic clade. Moreover, in comparison to the different genera, Alectoris chukar showed a high level of mitogenomic similarities to the snowcock species of the genus Tetraogallus within the Phasianidae family. However, they were more distant from other partridges. Additionally, a high percentage of mitogenomic pairwise identities within Iraqi Alectoris chukar and high mitogenomic variations compared to Chinese populations were discovered. The number and location of polymorphic sites indicated that the majority of the mitogenome sequences were conserved, with the control region, ND5, and CYTB genes having the most polymorphic sites. Analyses of phylogenetic and mitogenomic diversity revealed that samples of Alectoris chukar from Iraq have a unique maternal lineage and mitogenomic diversity specific to their geographic distribution, suggesting an Alectoris chukar kurdestanica subspecies. The molecular findings presented here provide valuable knowledge and mitogenomic resources into the evolutionary relationships of Alectoris chukar from the Middle East to avian species in the Phasianidae family.
Key words: DNA sequencing; Mitochondrial genome; Partridges; Phasianidae; Phylogeny
Preliminary study of Nicuatole, a traditional endemic food based on Zea mays from the Central Valleys Region, Oaxaca, Mexico
Authors: José Luis Morales-Sánchez , Emilio Hernández-Bautista , Marco Antonio Sánchez-Medina , Alma Dolores Pérez-Santiago , Diana Matías-Pérez , Iván Antonio García-Montalvo 
Published: September 2023

The present investigation evaluated the pre-Hispanic food called "nicuatole" based on corn, from the Central Valleys region of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The objective of the present work was to present preliminary results of the physicochemical and proximate properties of the pre-Hispanic food locally known as "nicuatole". The sample was prepared based on the traditional endemic recipe of the population of San Agustín Yatareni, Oaxaca, Mexico. To determine the physicochemical composition, samples of 10 g and 3 g were used for the tests (pH and density) and nutritional tests (moisture, proteins, lipids, minerals, and carbohydrates) based on the methods described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemistry (AOAC). As results, it was obtained that it has a pH of 6.18 and a density of 1.0812 g*mL-1. The main results of the proximal analysis and chemical composition of "nicuatole" were 2.1325% protein; 1.54% ash; 66.3738% humidity content; 0.7563% lipids; 9.6271% carbohydrates; 13.1731% fiber. The pre-Hispanic food known as "nicuatole" can be considered a healthy alternative for the Mexican population.
Keywords: Pre-hispanic food; Nicuatole; Zea mays; Mexico; Dessert
Organic Wastewater Treatment using Two-dimensional Graphene-based Photocatalysts: A Review
Authors: Kong Kelvert , Zhu Zhiying , Nurhadi Mukhamad , Sumari Sumari , Wong Siew Fan , Lai Sin Yuan 
Published: September 2023

Photocatalysts have gained enormous attention in water decontamination due to their economic viable and intriguing properties. Recently, graphene-based semiconductors have become the sparkling star on the horizon of material science. The coupling of two-dimensional graphene and its derivatives (graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide) with semiconductors could effectively enhance the efficiency in organic wastewater degradation under light irradiation. Hence, a collective study on this topic is necessary. Four types of graphene-based semiconductors, viz. titania, zinc oxide, cadmium sulfide, and bismuth oxychloride, are explored. Besides, synthesis approaches and properties of these photocatalysts are elucidated too. We hope this review could enable us to rationally design and harness the morphology, structure and electronic properties of these advanced materials. Copyright © 2023 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Incidence of Diabetes Among Youth Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Mefford Matthew T. , Wei Rong , Lustigova Eva , Martin John P. , Reynolds Kristi 
Published: September 2023

ImportancePrior research found increases in diabetes among youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, but few studies examined variation across sociodemographics.ObjectiveTo examine diabetes incidence rates among a diverse population of youth in the US before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cohort study included data from Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021. KPSC members aged from birth to 19 years with no history of diabetes were included. Individuals were followed up using electronic health records for diabetes incidence defined using diagnoses, laboratory values, and medications. Analyses were conducted between November 2022 and January 2023.Main Outcome and MeasuresAge- and sex-standardized annual and quarterly incidence rates per 100 000 person-years (PYs) were calculated for type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes between 2016 and 2021. Rates were calculated within strata of age (&amp;lt;10 and 10-19 years), sex, and race and ethnicity (Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, and other/multiple/unknown). Using Poisson regression with robust error variances, incidence rate ratios (IRR) comparing 2020 to 2021 with 2016 to 2019 were calculated by diabetes type and within age, sex, and race and ethnicity strata and adjusting for health care utilization.ResultsBetween 2016 to 2021, there were 1200, 1100, and 63 patients with type 1 diabetes (mean [SD] age, 11.0 [4.5] years; 687 [57.3%] male), type 2 diabetes (mean [SD] age, 15.7 [2.7] years; 516 [46.9%] male), and other diabetes, respectively. Incidence of type 1 diabetes increased from 18.5 per 100 000 PYs in 2016 to 2019 to 22.4 per 100 000 PYs from 2020 to 2021 with increased IRRs among individuals aged 10 to 19 years, male individuals, and Hispanic individuals. Incidence of type 2 diabetes increased from 14.8 per 100 000 PYs from 2016 to 2019 to 24.7 per 100 000 PYs from 2020 to 2021 with increased IRRs among individuals aged 10 to 19 years, male and female individuals, and those with Black, Hispanic, and other/unknown race and ethnicity.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cohort study of youth in KPSC, incidence of diabetes increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and was more pronounced in specific racial and ethnic groups. Future research to understand differential impacts of physiologic and behavioral risk factors is warranted.
Military Medicine’s Value to US Health Care and Public Health
Authors: Kellermann Arthur L. , Kotwal Russ S. , Rasmussen Todd E. 
Published: September 2023

ImportanceMilitary medicine in the US was established to treat wounded and ill service members and to protect the health and well-being of our military forces at home and abroad. To accomplish these tasks, it has developed the capacity to rapidly adapt to the changing nature of war and emerging health threats; throughout our nation’s history, innovations developed by military health professionals have been quickly adopted by civilian medicine and public health for the benefit of patients in the US and around the world.ObservationsFrom the historical record and published studies, we cite notable examples of how military medicine has advanced civilian health care and public health. We also describe how military medicine research and development differs from that done in the civilian world. During the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, military medicine’s focused approach to performance improvement and requirements-driven research cut the case fatality rate from severe battlefield wounds in half, to the lowest level in the history of warfare.Conclusions and RelevanceAlthough innovations developed by military medicine regularly inform and improve civilian health care and public health, the architects of these advances and the methods they use are often overlooked. Enhanced communication and cooperation between our nation’s military and civilian health systems would promote reciprocal learning, accelerate collaborative research, and strengthen our nation’s capacity to meet a growing array of health and geopolitical threats.
Expand and Sensitize: Guanidine‐Functionalized Exopolysaccharide Nanoparticles Cause Bacterial Cell Expansion and Antibiotic Sensitization
Authors: Li Chengcheng , Jia Hao‐Ran , Seidi Farzad , Shi Xiaotong , Gu Ruihan , Guo Yuxin , Liu Yi , Zhu Ya‐Xuan , Wu Fu‐Gen , Xiao Huining 
Published: September 2023

AbstractConventional antibacterial agents and mechanisms are frequently observed to be ineffective due to the evolution of bacteria to the strains with stronger antibiotic resistance, and hence developing alternative antibacterial materials and mechanisms is urgently needed. Here, guanidine‐functionalized exopolysaccharide (EPS) nanoparticles (termed EPGNs) with durable antibacterial and antibiofilm activities are developed. Very interestingly, the EPGNs obtained by the reaction of EPS, epichlorohydrin, and polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride exhibit an unconventional antibacterial mechanism, i.e., they can induce substantial bacterial cell expansion by upregulating the SulA and DicB proteins that are responsible for cell division inhibition, along with the increase of reactive oxygen species production, bacterial cell surface disruption, and bacterial ribosomal RNA degradation. The transcriptome analysis reveals that EPGNs can hinder cell motility, induce loss of cell integrity, decrease the resistance of bacteria to oxidative stress, and finally lead to cell death. Moreover, EPGNs can effectively accelerate the bacteria‐infected wound healing. This work provides the first example that nanomaterials can cause bacterial cell expansion by affecting intracellular structures and inhibiting cell division, and it may inspire other researchers to investigate the effect of antibacterial materials on the change of bacterial volume and design unconventional antibacterial materials/strategies.
Conformal Build‐Up of Functionalized Air Filters with Improved Air Cleaning and Bioprotective Traps
Authors: Zhou Zhiqiang , You Tianle , Wang Di , Pan Zhengyuan , Xu Guilong , Liang Yun , Tang Min 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAir filtration is vital for passive pollution control toward advanced manufacturing industries and human health protection. However, large‐scale air‐filter utilization is limited by high energy costs. Therefore, it is crucial to develop filter media that exhibit a high removal efficiency, low pressure drop, and stable biocidal effects. This study reports an efficient and scalable bottom‐up approach for fabricating shellac‐based glass fiber matrices with bioprotective traps (GFMs‐traps) with tunable conformal micro/nanostructures, superhydrophobicity, and biocidal functions. The synthesis, which involves freeze‐drying‐free ice‐shellac double‐template formation, perfluorosilane‐based grafting, and filtration, eliminates capillary‐force‐induced micro/nanofibrous cluster formation. Theoretical modeling and experimental results indicate that the air cleaning and biocidal properties of the GFMs‐traps can be attributed to their uniformly distributed micro/nanofibrous structures and stable nanoparticle (NP) coatings (AgNPs, CuNPs, and TiO2NPs). The GFMs‐traps exhibit integrated air cleaning, with excellent filtration performance at the most penetrating particle size (99.97%, 234 Pa), superhydrophobicity (≥150°), a high virus‐filtration efficiency (99.995%), and good antibacterial and antiviral activity. Additionally, a commercial air purifier comprising a GFMs‐trap filter exhibits high potential for commercial applications. The facile strategy for fabricating high‐performance bioprotective filter media reported here may facilitate advanced large‐scale air filtration applications in the future.
Π‐Skeleton Tailoring of Olefin‐Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks Achieving Low Exciton Binding Energy for Photo‐Enhanced Uranium Extraction from Seawater
Authors: Yu Fengtao , Li Chuangye , Li Wanru , Yu Zhiwu , Xu Zhenzhen , Liu Yan , Wang Bo , Na Bing , Qiu Jianding 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAdsorption‐photocatalysis technology based on covalent organic frameworks (COFs) offers an alternative method for advancing the field of uranium extraction from seawater. When determining the photocatalytic activity of COFs, the binding energy of excitons (Eb) functions is the decisive factor. Nevertheless, the majority of reported COFs have a large Eb, which seriously restricts their application in the field of photocatalysis. Using a practical π‐skeleton engineering strategy, the current study synthesizes three donor‐acceptor olefin‐linked COFs containing amidoxime units in an effort to minimize Eb. Theoretical and experimental results reveal that the construction of planar and continuous π‐electron delocalization channels can significantly reduce Eb and promote the separation of electron‐hole pairs, thereby enhancing the photocatalytic activities. Moreover, the Eb of the TTh‐COF‐AO with a planar π‐skeleton donor is significantly reduced, and exhibits a substantially smaller Eb (38.4 meV). Under visible light irradiation, a high photo‐enhanced uranium extraction capacity of 10.24 mg g−1 is achieved from natural seawater without the addition of sacrificial reagents, which is superior to the majority of olefin‐linked COFs that have been reported to date. This study, therefore, paves the way for the development of tailored, efficient COFs photocatalysts for the extraction of uranium from seawater.
Ag Electrode Anticorrosion in Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Liu Acan , Li Xiaodong , Zhang Wenxiao , Yang Hui , Guo Xuemin , Lu Chunyan , Yuan Haobo , Ou‐Yang Wei , Fang Junfeng 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAg electrode is widely used in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs), but its easy reaction and corrosive nature with perovskite always induces severe stability issue. Here, from typical theory of metal anticorrosion, a chemical anticorrosion approach for Ag electrode in inverted PSCs through introducing 2‐mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) as a corrosion inhibitor is reported. MBT can strongly bond to Ag and form a compact [MBT‐Ag] chain on Ag surface owing to its N atom in thiazolyl ring and exocyclic thiol groups. As a result, Ag anticorrosion ability is greatly enhanced by increasing the corrosion potential and decreasing the corrosion current, thus effectively inhibiting possible chemical reaction and corrosion between perovskite and Ag electrodes. PSCs containing MBT/Ag exhibit high efficiency of over 23% with good stability, retaining 95 ± 4.1% of initial efficiency after storage for 3800 h in glovebox. Importantly, resulting PSCs also show excellent thermal stability, maintaining 90 ± 1.8% of initial efficiency after aging for 900 h at 85 °C.