bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Potentially Useful Dwarfing or Semi-dwarfing Genes in Rice Breeding in Addition to the sd1 Gene
Authors: Cheng Xiaoyan , Huang Yongping , Tan Yong , Tan Lin , Yin Jianhua , Zou Guoxing 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThe “Green revolution” gene sd1 has been used widely in the breeding of modern rice varieties for over half a century. The application of this gene has increased rice yields and thereby supported a significant proportion of the global population. The use of a single gene, however, has raised concerns in the scientific community regarding its durability, especially given the bottleneck in genetic background and the need for large input of fertilizer. New dwarfing or semi-dwarfing genes are needed to alleviate our dependence on the sole “Green revolution” gene. In the past few years, several new dwarfing and semi-dwarfing genes as well as their mutants have been reported. Here, we provide an extensive review of the recent discoveries concerning newly identified genes that are potentially useful in rice breeding, including methods employed to create and effectively screen new rice mutants, the phenotypic characteristics of the new dwarfing and semi-dwarfing mutants, potential values of the new dwarfing and semi-dwarfing genes in rice breeding, and potential molecular mechanisms associated with the newly identified genes.
HEC-ASD: a hybrid ensemble-based classification model for predicting autism spectrum disorder disease genes
Authors: Ismail Eman , Gad Walaa , Hashem Mohamed 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Purpose
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the most prevalent disease today. The causes of its infection may be attributed to genetic causes by 80% and environmental causes by 20%. In spite of this, the majority of the current research is concerned with environmental causes, and the least proportion with the genetic causes of the disease. Autism is a complex disease, which makes it difficult to identify the genes that cause the disease.

Methods
Hybrid ensemble-based classification (HEC-ASD) model for predicting ASD genes using gradient boosting machines is proposed. The proposed model utilizes gene ontology (GO) to construct a gene functional similarity matrix using hybrid gene similarity (HGS) method. HGS measures the semantic similarity between genes effectively. It combines the graph-based method, such as Wang method with the number of directed children’s nodes of gene term from GO. Moreover, an ensemble gradient boosting classifier is adapted to enhance the prediction of genes forming a robust classification model.

Results
The proposed model is evaluated using the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) gene database. The experimental results are promising as they improve the classification performance for predicting ASD genes. The results are compared with other approaches that used gene regulatory network (GRN), protein to protein interaction network (PPI), or GO. The HEC-ASD model reaches the highest prediction accuracy of 0.88% using ensemble learning classifiers.

Conclusion
The proposed model demonstrates that ensemble learning technique using gradient boosting is effective in predicting autism spectrum disorder genes. Moreover, the HEC-ASD model utilized GO rather than using PPI network and GRN.
Comparative genomics of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Ecuador
Authors: Morey-León Gabriel , Andrade-Molina Derly , Fernández-Cadena Juan Carlos , Berná Luisa 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Background
Tuberculosis is a serious infectious disease affecting millions of people. In spite of efforts to reduce the disease, increasing antibiotic resistance has contributed to persist in the top 10 causes of death worldwide. In fact, the increased cases of multi (MDR) and extreme drug resistance (XDR) worldwide remains the main challenge for tuberculosis control. Whole genome sequencing is a powerful tool for predicting drug resistance-related variants, studying lineages, tracking transmission, and defining outbreaks. This study presents the identification and characterization of resistant clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis including a phylogenetic and molecular resistance profile study by sequencing the complete genome of 24 strains from different provinces of Ecuador.

Results
Genomic sequencing was used to identify the variants causing resistance. A total of 15/21 isolates were identified as MDR, 4/21 as pre-XDR and 2/21 as XDR, with three isolates discarded due to low quality; the main sub-lineage was LAM (61.9%) and Haarlem (19%) but clades X, T and S were identified. Of the six pre-XDR and XDR strains, it is noteworthy that five come from females; four come from the LAM sub-lineage and two correspond to the X-class sub-lineage. A core genome of 3,750 genes, distributed in 295 subsystems, was determined. Among these, 64 proteins related to virulence and implicated in the pathogenicity of M. tuberculosis and 66 possible pharmacological targets stand out.
Most variants result in nonsynonymous amino acid changes and the most frequent genotypes were identified as conferring resistance to rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol, para-aminosalicylic acid and streptomycin. However, an increase in the resistance to fluoroquinolones was detected.

Conclusion
This work shows for the first time the variability of circulating resistant strains between men and women in Ecuador, highlighting the usefulness of genomic sequencing for the identification of emerging resistance. In this regard, we found an increase in fluoroquinolone resistance. Further sampling effort is needed to determine the total variability and associations with the metadata obtained to generate better health policies.
HMGB1 promotes Ox-LDL-induced endothelial cell damage by inhibiting PI3K/Akt signaling pathway
Authors: Huo Xin , Su Boyou , Qin Guoti , Zhao Liming 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Background
Atherosclerosis is the pathological basis of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis. Ox-LDL leads to endothelial cell (EC) damage and dysfunction through various processes and promotes the occurrence and deterioration of atherosclerosis. High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is a protein associated with cellular damage. In the present study, the effect of HMGB1 on ox-LDL-induced EC damage was determined and the underlying mechanism explored.

Materials and methods
Human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs) were exposed to ox-LDL to induce endothelial damage and changes in HMGB1 expression level were detected using western blotting analysis and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. To observe the effect of HMGB1 on ox-LDL-induced damage, the HMGB1 expression was downregulated with siRNA, and cell viability, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis rate were assessed. HUVECs were pretreated with LY294002, an inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt pathway, to determine whether the effect of HMGB1 on damage is via the PI3K-Akt pathway.

Results
The results showed that ox-LDL can upregulate HMGB1 expression in HUVECs and downregulation of HMGB1 expression can prevent ox-LDL-induced damage in HUVECs. Furthermore, the effect of HMGB1 on ox-LDL-induced damage could be promoted by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Conclusion
The results indicate HMGB1 may be a promising research target to alleviate ox-LDL-induced EC damage.
Impact of pressure ulcer prevention knowledge and attitude on the care performance of long-term care facility care workers: a cross-sectional multicenter study
Authors: Lee Sae-Beul , Lee Hyang-Yuol 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Background
The Long-Term Care Insurance Act in the Republic of Korea has enabled the elderly population to receive benefits through the long-term care system since July 2008. Because one nurse or nursing assistant is assigned to 25 elderly persons and one care worker is assigned to 2.5 elderly persons in long-term care facilities, registered nurses should educate care workers to participate in pressure ulcer prevention activities. This descriptive study investigated the effect of the knowledge and attitude related to pressure ulcer prevention on care performance.

Methods
Data were collected from February 20 to December 15, 2021 using a structured questionnaire targeting 165 care workers in four long-term care facilities located in I-city and Y-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The questionnaires of the knowledge, attitude, and care performance developed for nurses were modified to survey the care workers. The content validity was verified on a 4-point scale by 10 clinical experts. A preliminary survey was conducted for 30 care workers, and the contents of the modified questionnaire were further revised. Data analyses were performed by t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and a multiple linear regression modeling using the SPSS/WIN 25.0 program.

Results
Care performance on pressure ulcer prevention had a significant positive correlation with knowledge (r = 0.692, p < .001), attitude (r = 0.426, p < .001), work experience (r = 0.760, p < .001), amount of experience (r = 0.712, p < .001), and the number of training sessions received (r = 0.551, p < .001). In multiple regression modeling, work experience (β [standardized coefficient beta] = 0.534, p = .000), knowledge (β = 0.323, p = .000), and attitude (β = 0.103, p = .049) related to pressure ulcer prevention were identified as variables significantly affecting care performance. The regression model explained 65.4% with 5 independent variables.

Conclusion
To prevent bedsores in long-term care facilities, it is necessary to educate care workers regularly about pressure ulcer prevention. In addition, clinical guidelines could help standardize the pressure ulcer prevention work of caregivers, strongly regulating their practice in all long-term care facilities and monitoring bedsore prevention regularly.
Association of Serum Zinc Level with severity of chronic kidney disease in diabetic patients: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Kubota Mitsunobu , Matsuda Shizuka , Matsuda Mimu , Yamamoto Kazuki , Yoshii Yoko 
Published: December 2022

AbstractBackgroundIn recent years, it has been reported that diabetic patients tend to have a lower zinc intake due to unbalanced diet accompanying changes in lifestyle habits. We investigated serum zinc concentration in diabetic patients according to the stage of nephropathy.MethodsWe enrolled 227 diabetic patients (119 men, 108 women, average age 65.7 ± 14.7 [mean ± standard deviation]) who were hospitalized for diabetes treatment due to poor blood glucose control. We investigated the relationship between fasting serum zinc concentration and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, UACR), as well as serum zinc concentration by stage of diabetic kidney disease and chronic kidney disease.ResultsThe mean HbA1c value was 10.5 ± 2.1%. Serum zinc concentration was 75.5 ± 16.0 μg/dL in males and 75.7 ± 12.2 μg/dL in females, showing no gender difference and no significant relationship with diabetes type. The serum zinc concentration was negatively correlated with age (r = − 0.309,P < 0.001) and positively correlated with eGFR (r = 0.144,P = 0.030). A tendency was observed of serum zinc concentration to decrease after overt nephropathy, with values of 76.4 ± 14.1 μg/dL in pre-nephropathy (stage 1,n = 131), 78.5 ± 13.2 μg/dL in incipient nephropathy (stage 2,n = 65), 66.4 ± 14.3 μg/dL in overt nephropathy (stage 3,n = 25), and 65.7 ± 11.9 μg/dL in kidney failure (stage 4,n = 6). Serum zinc showed a negative trend with estimated GFR (P = 0.004) and significant reduction in albuminuria, with stage A3 (n = 29, 65.7 ± 13.9 μg/dL) having lower levels than A1 (n = 131, 76.4 ± 14.1 μg/dL,P = 0.001) and A2 (n = 67, 78.4 ± 13.1 μg/dL,P < 0.001).ConclusionsIn diabetic patients, serum zinc concentration tended to decrease as age increased and also as renal function deteriorated. This study suggests that consideration of zinc deficiency is necessary in patients with overt albuminuria.
Low prevalence of high blood pressure in pregnant women in Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Garanet Franck , Samadoulougou Sekou , Baguiya Adama , Bonnechère Bruno , Millogo Tieba , Degryse Jean-Marie , Kirakoya-Samadoulougou Fati , Kouanda Seni 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Background
High blood pressure (HBP) during pregnancy causes maternal and fetal mortality. Studies regarding its prevalence and associated factors in frontline level health care settings are scarce. We thus aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HBP and its associated factors among pregnant women at the first level of the health care system in Burkina Faso.

Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted in six health facilities between December 2018 and March 2019. HBP was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with HBP.

Results
A total of 1027 pregnant women were included. The overall prevalence of HBP was 1.4% (14/1027; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7–2.3), with 1.6% (7/590; 95% CI 0.8–3.3) in rural and 1.2% (7/437; 95% CI 0.6- 2.5) in semi-urban areas. The prevalence was 0.7% (3/440; 95% CI 0.2–2.1) among women in the first, 1.5% (7/452; 95% CI 0.7–3.2) in the second and 3% (4/135; 95% CI 1.1–7.7) in the third trimester. In the multivariable analysis, pregnancy trimester, maternal age, household income, occupation, parity, and residential area were not associated with HBP during pregnancy.

Conclusion
The prevalence of HBP among pregnant women at the first level of health system care is significantly lower compared to prevalence’s from hospital studies. Public health surveillance, primary prevention activities, early screening, and treatment of HDP should be reinforced in all health facilities to reduce the burden of adverse pregnancy outcomes in Burkina Faso.
A case report of an endometriosis cyst at cesarean scar defect and review of literature
Authors: Xu Ruibo , Xia Xinlei , Liu Ying , Du Xiaoli , Hao Zengfang , Wang Lili , Du Jiexian 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Background
Cesarean scar defect (CSD) presents as a cystic defect that connects the uterine cavity at the site of the previous cesarean section (CS). Endometriosis refers to the discovery of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterine cavity. Cases of endometriosis cysts at CSD have not been reported.

Case presentation
In this article, we will present a patient with an endometriosis cyst at CSD with symptoms of a prolonged menstrual cycle, periods without cyclic abdominal pain, and a history of cesarean delivery. The gynecologic ultrasound showed a CSD and a mixed mass in the right front of the uterus. After about 1 month, the tumor grew from a diameter of 4.75 cm to 8.06 × 6.23 × 3.66 cm. The patient eventually had an operation, which revealed a mass protruding from the incision in the anterior uterine wall, which was attached to the anterior uterine wall by a thin tip with a smooth surface. Intraoperative rapid cytopathology suggested that endometrial glands were seen within the smooth muscle tissue, similar to endometriosis. Subsequently, the patient underwent resection of the endometriotic cyst. Final paraffin pathology showed smooth muscle with visible endometrial glands and old hemorrhage, and a one-year follow-up showed no recurrence of endometriosis cysts at CSD.

Conclusions
Endometriosis cysts at CSD are very rare. The clinical symptoms may be less obvious, and the diagnosis relies mainly on the patient’s previous surgical history and imaging. A finding of a pelvic mass in the location of the CSD, with or without symptoms of menstrual changes and intermittent abdominal pain, should be considered an endometriotic cyst at CSD. Surgical treatment is a good choice for this disease. Further studies are needed regarding the etiological mechanism of this case and why the mass enlarged rapidly in one mouth.
Life events and depression among children and adolescents in southwest China: a two-stage moderated mediation model of social support and cognitive styles
Authors: Gao Bicheng , Li Kuiliang , Liu Ju , Liu Xuan , Zhang Jingxuan , Xu Chen , He Yuhao , Feng Zhengzhi , Zhao Mengxue 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Background
According to data from the National Health Commission in 2018, more than 30 million children and adolescents in China suffered from mental health problems of varying degrees, with depression accounting for the largest proportion. Life events occur at every stage of child and adolescent development. Many studies have found a relationship between life events and depression in children and adolescents, but few studies have further explored the mediating and moderating variables that influence this relationship. Based on theoretical and empirical research on social support and cognitive styles, this study established a two-stage moderated mediating model to test whether social support mediates life events to depression, and cognitive style moderates the two mediating pathways.

Methods
We recruited 3540 participants from primary and secondary schools in Chongqing and collected 2814 valid data. All the participants completed self-report measures of life events, depression, social support and cognitive styles. The moderated mediation model was examined using SPSS PROCESS model 58.

Results
(1) There were significant positive correlations between life events and depression. (2) Social support mediates the relationship between life events and depression in children and adolescents. (3) Cognitive style moderates life events to social support and social support to depression.

Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study and the questionnaire is self-reported.

Conclusions
In children and adolescents, life events can influence depression through the mediating role of social support and cognitive styles could moderate its two mediating pathways.
Risk factors of adolescent exposure to violence in Burkina Faso
Authors: Musizvingoza Ronald , Tirivayi Nyasha , Otchere Frank , Viola Francesca 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Background
Globally violence against children and adolescents is a significant public health problem. Since children rely on family for early learning and socialization, evidence of the factors associated with exposure to violence within households may inform the development of policies and measures to prevent violence and aid the victims of violence. This study examines the risk and protective factors associated with adolescents’ exposure to violence at home and how these differ by gender and age in four regions of Burkina Faso.

Materials and methods
We used data from the baseline survey of the Child-Sensitive Social Protection Programme (CSSPP) conducted in four regions of Burkina Faso. The CSSPP is a cash transfer programme accompanied by complimentary nutrition, and water and sanitation interventions to address multidimensional child poverty. We employed bivariate and multivariable regression analysis on a sample of 2222 adolescents aged 10–19 to explore the risk and protective factors associated with exposure to violence.

Results
Results show that exposure to psychological violence (22.7%) was more common within the households when compared to physical violence (9.1%). Adolescent girls reported more exposure to physical violence while boys reported more exposure to psychological violence. Significant risk factors associated with the likelihood of exposure to violence among girls are orphanhood, living in a household receiving safety nets and living in a Muslim-majority community. Among boys, age, school attendance, disability, a household receiving safety nets, sharing a household with a depressed individual, and living in a Muslim-majority community, were associated with exposure to violence.

Conclusions
These gender-specific findings highlight the importance of family background characteristics and can be used to inform and strengthen the targeting of vulnerable children and adolescents in interventions aimed at reducing exposure to violence against children.
Cigarette smoking during pregnancy and adverse perinatal outcomes: a cross-sectional study over 10 years
Authors: Tarasi Baptiste , Cornuz Jacques , Clair Carole , Baud David 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Background
It has been shown that active exposure to tobacco is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes including, but not limited to, intrauterine fetal death, reduced fetal weight, and higher risk of preterm birth. We want to investigate these effects in a high-income country.

Methods
This cross-sectional study examined 20,843 pregnant women who delivered over 10 years at the Maternity Hospital of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland. The objective was to evaluate a dose–response relationship between daily cigarette use during pregnancy and possible adverse perinatal outcomes. The social and clinical characteristics as well as obstetric and neonatal outcomes were compared between the smoking and the non-smoking groups. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and trend analyses (ptrend) were calculated.

Results
Nineteen thousand five hundred fifty-four pregnant women met the inclusion criteria and 2,714 (13.9%) of them were smokers. Even after adjusting for confounding factors, smoking during pregnancy was associated with preterm birth, birthweight < 2500 g, intrauterine growth restriction, neonatal respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, transfer to the neonatal intensive care unit, and neonatal intensive care unit admissions > 7 days. Intrauterine death and neonatal infection were associated with heavy smoking (≥ 20 cigarettes/day). Smoking appeared to be a protective factor for pre-eclampsia and umbilical cord arterial pH below 7.1. A significant trend (ptrend < 0.05) was identified for preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, birthweight < 2500 g, umbilical cord arterial pH below 7.1, transfers to our neonatal intensive care unit, and neonatal intensive care unit admissions more than 7 days.

Conclusion
Cigarette smoking is associated with several adverse perinatal outcomes of pregnancy with a dose-dependent effect.