bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Butanol as a major product during ethanol and acetate chain elongation
Authors: Robles Aide , Sundar Skanda Vishnu , Mohana Rangan Srivatsan , Delgado Anca G. 
Published: May 2023

Chain elongation is a relevant bioprocess in support of a circular economy as it can use a variety of organic feedstocks for production of valuable short and medium chain carboxylates, such as butyrate (C4), caproate (C6), and caprylate (C8). Alcohols, including the biofuel, butanol (C4), can also be generated in chain elongation but the bioreactor conditions that favor butanol production are mainly unknown. In this study we investigated production of butanol (and its precursor butyrate) during ethanol and acetate chain elongation. We used semi-batch bioreactors (0.16 L serum bottles) fed with a range of ethanol concentrations (100–800 mM C), a constant concentration of acetate (50 mM C), and an initial total gas pressure of ∼112 kPa. We showed that the butanol concentration was positively correlated with the ethanol concentration provided (up to 400 mM C ethanol) and to chain elongation activity, which produced H2 and further increased the total gas pressure. In bioreactors fed with 400 mM C ethanol and 50 mM C acetate, a concentration of 114.96 ± 9.26 mM C butanol (∼2.13 g L−1) was achieved after five semi-batch cycles at a total pressure of ∼170 kPa and H2 partial pressure of ∼67 kPa. Bioreactors with 400 mM C ethanol and 50 mM C acetate also yielded a butanol to butyrate molar ratio of 1:1. At the beginning of cycle 8, the total gas pressure was intentionally decreased to ∼112 kPa to test the dependency of butanol production on total pressure and H2 partial pressure. The reduction in total pressure decreased the molar ratio of butanol to butyrate to 1:2 and jolted H2 production out of an apparent stall. Clostridium kluyveri (previously shown to produce butyrate and butanol) and Alistipes (previously linked with butyrate production) were abundant amplicon sequence variants in the bioreactors during the experimental phases, suggesting the microbiome was resilient against changes in bioreactor conditions. The results from this study clearly demonstrate the potential of ethanol and acetate-based chain elongation to yield butanol as a major product. This study also supports the dependency of butanol production on limiting acetate and on high total gas and H2 partial pressures.
Loss of cholinergic receptor muscarinic 1 impairs cortical mitochondrial structure and function: implications in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Sabbir Mohammad Golam , Swanson Mamiko , Albensi Benedict C. 
Published: May 2023

Introduction: Cholinergic Receptor Muscarinic 1 (CHRM1) is a G protein-coupled acetylcholine (ACh) receptor predominantly expressed in the cerebral cortex. In a retrospective postmortem brain tissues-based study, we demonstrated that severely (≥50% decrease) reduced CHRM1 proteins in the temporal cortex of Alzheimer’s patients significantly correlated with poor patient outcomes. The G protein-mediated CHRM1 signal transduction cannot sufficiently explain the mechanistic link between cortical CHRM1 loss and the appearance of hallmark Alzheimer’s pathophysiologies, particularly mitochondrial structural and functional abnormalities. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the molecular, ultrastructural, and functional properties of cortical mitochondria using CHRM1 knockout (Chrm1-/-) and wild-type mice to identify mitochondrial abnormalities.Methods: Isolated and enriched cortical mitochondrial fractions derived from wild-type and Chrm1-/- mice were assessed for respiratory deficits (oxygen consumption) following the addition of different substrates. The supramolecular assembly of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS)-associated protein complexes (complex I-V) and cortical mitochondrial ultrastructure were investigated by blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. A cocktail of antibodies, specific to Ndufb8, Sdhb, Uqcrc2, Mtco1, and Atp5a proteins representing different subunits of complexes I-V, respectively was used to characterize different OXPHOS-associated protein complexes.Results: Loss of Chrm1 led to a significant reduction in cortical mitochondrial respiration (oxygen consumption) concomitantly associated with reduced oligomerization of ATP synthase (complex V) and supramolecular assembly of complexes I-IV (Respirasome). Overexpression of Chrm1 in transformed cells (lacking native Chrm1) significantly increased complex V oligomerization and respirasome assembly leading to enhanced respiration. TEM analysis revealed that Chrm1 loss led to mitochondrial ultrastructural defects and alteration in the tinctorial properties of cortical neurons causing a significant increase in the abundance of dark cortical neurons (Chrm1-/- 85% versus wild-type 2%).Discussion: Our findings indicate a hitherto unknown effect of Chrm1 deletion in cortical neurons affecting mitochondrial function by altering multiple interdependent factors including ATP synthase oligomerization, respirasome assembly, and mitochondrial ultrastructure. The appearance of dark neurons in Chrm1-/- cortices implies potentially enhanced glutamatergic signaling in pyramidal neurons under Chrm1 loss condition. The findings provide novel mechanistic insights into Chrm1 loss with the appearance of mitochondrial pathophysiological deficits in Alzheimer’s disease.
MicroRNA-146a-5p induces cell cycle arrest and enhances apoptosis in gastric cancer via targeting CDC14A
Authors: Jiang Piao , Liang Bin , Zhang Zhen , Fan Bing , Zeng Lin , Zhou Zhiyong , Mao Zhifang , Lin Qing , Yao Weirong , Shen Qinglin 
Published: May 2023

Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the expression of miRNA-146a-5p in gastric cancer (GC) tissues and the paired nonmalignant counterparts, to explore the influences of miRNA-146a-5p on the cell biological behavior of MKN-28 cells (highly metastatic human gastric cancer cells), and to identify the function of abnormal expression of its target gene cell division cycle 14 homolog A (CDC14A) in GC.Methods: We detected the expression of miRNA-146a-5p in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) GC tissues through microarray and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Then, we employed cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assays, cell cycle assays, and apoptosis analysis to uncover the latent function of miRNA-146a-5p in MKN-28 human GC cells. We also validated the target of miRNA-146a-5p via luciferase reporter assays.Results: miRNA-146a-5p levels were examined in the majority of primary GC tissues and several GC cell lines. As a result, miRNA-146a-5p levels were significantly declined in the GC tissues and cells. In addition, miRNA-146a-5p demonstrated a straight act on its 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of CDC14A mRNA, accordingly decreasing the contents of CDC14A mRNA as well as its protein expression. An inverse correlation between CDC14A and miRNA-146a-5p was observed.Conclusion: The data suggest miRNA-146a-5p may contribute to inducing cell cycle arrest as well as prompting GC cell apoptosis via directly targeting CDC14A. Therefore, miRNA-146a-5p may be a potential indicator of the occurrence and development of GC.
Conceptual model to inform Legionella–amoebae control, including the roles of extracellular vesicles in engineered water system infections
Authors: Ashbolt Nicholas John 
Published: May 2023

Extracellular vesicles (EVs or exosomes) are well described for bacterial pathogens associated with our gastrointestinal system, and more recently as a novel mechanism for environmental persistence, dissemination and infection for human enteric viruses. However, the roles played by EVs in the ancient arms race that continues between amoebae and one of their prey, Legionella pneumophila, is poorly understood. At best we know of intracellular vesicles of amoebae containing a mix of bacterial prey species, which also provides an enhanced niche for bacteriophage infection/spread. Free-living amoeba-associated pathogens have recently been recognized to have enhanced resistance to disinfection and environmental stressors, adding to previously understood (but for relatively few species of) bacteria sequestered within amoebal cysts. However, the focus of the current work is to review the likely impacts of large numbers of respiratory-sized EVs containing numerous L. pneumophila cells studied in pure and biofilm systems with mixed prey species. These encapsulated pathogens are orders of magnitude more resistant to disinfection than free cells, and our engineered systems with residual disinfectants could promote evolution of resistance (including AMR), enhanced virulence and EV release. All these are key features for evolution within a dead-end human pathogen post lung infection. Traditional single-hit pathogen infection models used to estimate the probability of infection/disease and critical environmental concentrations via quantitative microbial risk assessments may also need to change. In short, recognizing that EV-packaged cells are highly virulent units for transmission of legionellae, which may also modulate/avoid human host immune responses. Key data gaps are raised and a previous conceptual model expanded upon to clarify where biofilm EVs could play a role promoting risk as well as inform a more wholistic management program to proactively control legionellosis.
Machine learning-based investigation of the relationship between immune status and left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with end-stage kidney disease
Authors: Yang Min , Peng Bo , Zhuang Quan , Li Junhui , Zhang Pengpeng , Liu Hong , Zhu Yi , Ming Yingzi 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundLeft ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the most frequent cardiac complication among end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients, which has been identified as predictive of adverse outcomes. Emerging evidence has suggested that immune system is implicated in the development of cardiac hypertrophy in multiple diseases. We applied machine learning models to exploring the relation between immune status and LVH in ESKD patients.MethodsA cohort of 506 eligible patients undergoing immune status assessment and standard echocardiography simultaneously in our center were retrospectively analyzed. The association between immune parameters and the occurrence of LVH were evaluated through univariate and multivariate logistic analysis. To develop a predictive model, we utilized four distinct modeling approaches: support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), multi-layer perceptron (MLP), and random forest (RF).ResultsIn comparison to the non-LVH group, ESKD patients with LVH exhibited significantly impaired immune function, as indicated by lower cell counts of CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and B cells. Additionally, multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that a decrease in CD3+ T cell count was an independent risk factor for LVH, while a decrease in NK cell count was associated with the severity of LVH. The RF model demonstrated superior performance, with an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.942.ConclusionOur findings indicate a strong association between immune parameters and LVH in ESKD patients. Moreover, the RF model exhibits excellent predictive ability in identifying ESKD patients at risk of developing LVH. Based on these results, immunomodulation may represent a promising approach for preventing and treating this disease.
Spectral preprocessing combined with feature selection improve model robustness for plastics samples classification by LIBS
Authors: Xu Xiangjun , Teng Geer , Wang Qianqian , Zhao Zhifang , Wei Kai , Bao Mengyu , Zheng Yongyue , Luo Tianzhong 
Published: May 2023

Introduction: Nowadays, the widespread use of plastic products has significantly contributed towards environmental pollution caused by waste plastics. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), an emerging spectroscopic technology, has shown great potential for rapid sorting and recycling of plastics. However, the poor robustness of the classification model severely limits the large-scale application of LIBS technology in plastic sorting and recycling.Methods: In this research, we used spectral preprocessing combined with feature selection to improve the robustness of the support vector machine (SVM) classification model for four typical plastic samples (ABS, nylon, 3240, and its modified product FR-4). LIBS spectral data were collected under different experimental conditions, then we defined robustness over time (ROT), robustness over time and different focusing lenses (ROT&amp;RFL), and robustness over time and different manufacturers (ROT&amp;RDM) to assess model performance. The feature importance of the preprocessed spectra was evaluated using the Relief-F algorithm, and the maximum accuracy of the validation set was 92.6% when inputting the first 19 most important features. Eventually, the optimal model was used for the prediction of the test set.Results and discussion: The ROT of the original spectrum, spectrum preprocessing, and spectral preprocessing combined with feature selection were 58.4%, 79.1%, and 98.47%, respectively. Similarly, ROT&amp;RFL for the same methods were 65.54%, 75%, and 95.25%, respectively. ROT&amp;RDM were 65.5%, 67%, and 93.92%, respectively. The results demonstrate that spectral preprocessing combined with feature selection can significantly improve the robustness of the classification model, and the proposed method is feasible for plastic sorting and recycling.
The influence of regional tourism economy development on carbon neutrality for environmental protection using improved recurrent neural network
Authors: Yu Xiao 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionThe escalation of the global economy has contributed to the emergence of several environmental challenges, such as global warming and the gradual depletion of the natural environment, which has adversely impacted people’s lives. In response, nations across the globe have embraced the carbon neutrality concept as a means to safeguard the environment and foster a green economy.MethodsThis study assesses the environmental impact of the tourism economy concerning carbon neutrality. Firstly, the quantification of carbon emission-related data in the region is executed using a hierarchical analysis method to pre-process the data for model training. Secondly, this paper utilizes the LTC-RNN (liquid time constant-recurrent neural network) model for model training. The model training is based on expert evaluation labels and cross-validation to execute comparison experiments.ResultsThe evaluation results of the model with different training features are compared with the expert results, and the optimal model with 10 features is identified, achieving an accuracy of more than 85%. Finally, practical testing is conducted, and the outcomes indicate that the proposed method can accomplish the task efficiently.DiscussionThe proposed method provides technical support for the environmental evaluation of the green tourism economy in the context of carbon neutrality. It also presents novel ideas for accelerating the carbon neutrality agenda and fostering a low-carbon economy.
Attribution of runoff changes in the Danjiang River Basin in the Qinba Mountains, China
Authors: Zhao Lei , He Yi , Liu Wanqing 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionThe Danjiang River Basin has experienced significant alterations to its runoff patterns in recent years, primarily as a result of climate change and anthropogenic activities.MethodsThis study aims to investigate these factors’ influence on the basin’s runoff between 1960 and 2016 using the Mann–Kendall (M-K) test and Accumulative Anomaly Curve (AAC) to assess the abrupt change characteristics of runoff. Furthermore, the study evaluates the effects of climate and anthropogenic factors on runoff evolution using eight independent Budyko hypotheses.ResultsThe findings indicate that annual precipitation in the basin remained stable (P &gt; 0.1), while annual runoff decreases significantly to −4.08 mm/a (P &lt; 0.05) and the annual potential evapotranspiration slightly decreases to −1.76 mm/a (P &lt; 0.05). The study also reveales that the reduction of runoff is primarily attributable to anthropogenic activities, contributing between 133.66 and 147.50%, while climate change contributes between −33.66 and −47.50%.DiscussionThe increased vegetation cover in the basin is identified as the primary cause of the reduction in runoff production and increase in evapotranspiration. Additionally, the construction of hydraulic engineering facilities in the basin is found to have had some impact on reducing runoff. These findings have significant implications for water resource management and soil and water conservation in the Danjiang River Basin.
Pan-cancer analysis identifies the correlations of Thymosin Beta 10 with predicting prognosis and immunotherapy response
Authors: Li Zhanzhan , Li Yanyan , Tian Yifu , Li Na , Shen Liangfang , Zhao Yajie 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionThe biological function and prognosis roles of thymosin β(TMSB) 10 are still unclear in pan-cancer. MethodsWe retrieved The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype-tissue expression datasets to obtain the difference of TMSB10 expression between pan-cancer and normal tissues, and analyzed the biological function and prognosis role of TMSB10 in pan-cancer by using cBioPortal Webtool. ResultsThe expression of TMSB10 in tumor tissues was significantly higher than normal tissues, and showed the potential ability to predict the prognosis of patients in Pan-cancer. It was found that TMSB10 was significantly correlated with tumor microenvironment, immune cell infiltration and immune regulatory factor expression. TMSB10 is involved in the regulation of cellular signal transduction pathways in a variety of tumors, thereby mediating the occurrence of tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Finally, TMSB10 can not only effectively predict the anti-PD-L1 treatment response of cancer patients, but also be used as an important indicator to evaluate the sensitivity of chemotherapy. In vitro, low expression of TMSB10 inhibited clonogenic formation ability, invasion, and migration in glioma cells. Furthermore, TMSB10 may involve glioma immune regulation progression by promoting PD-L1 expression levels via activating STAT3 signaling pathway.ConclusionsOur results show that TMSB10 is abnormally expressed in tumor tissues, which may be related to the infiltration of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Clinically, TMSB10 is not only an effective prognostic factor for predicting the clinical treatment outcome of cancer patients, but also a promising biomarker for predicting the effect of tumor immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and chemotherapy in some cancers.
Single cell transcriptomics of bone marrow derived macrophages reveals Ccl5 as a biomarker of direct IFNAR-independent responses to DNA sensing
Authors: McCarty Emily , Yu Justin , Ninh Van K. , Calcagno David M. , Lee Jodi , King Kevin R. 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionThe type I interferon (IFN) response is an innate immune program that mediates anti-viral, anti-cancer, auto-immune, auto-inflammatory, and sterile injury responses. Bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs) are commonly used to model macrophage type I IFN responses, but the use of bulk measurement techniques obscures underlying cellular heterogeneity. This is particularly important for the IFN response to immune stimulatory double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) because it elicits overlapping direct and indirect responses, the latter of which depend on type I IFN cytokines signaling via the IFN alpha receptor (IFNAR) to upregulate expression of interferon stimulated genes (ISGs). Single cell transcriptomics has emerged as a powerful tool for revealing functional variability within cell populations.MethodsHere, we use single cell RNA-Seq to examine BMDM heterogeneity at steady state and after immune-stimulatory DNA stimulation, with or without IFNAR-dependent amplification.ResultsWe find that many macrophages express ISGs after DNA stimulation. We also find that a subset of macrophages express ISGs even if IFNAR is inhibited, suggesting that they are direct responders. Analysis of this subset reveals Ccl5 to be an IFNAR-independent marker gene of direct DNA sensing cells.DiscussionOur studies provide a method for studying direct responders to IFN-inducing stimuli and demonstrate the importance of characterizing BMDM models of innate immune responses with single cell resolution.
Surface plasmon resonance effects of silver nanoparticles in graphene-based dye-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Li Xinxi , Yang Wensheng , Deng Jian , Lin Yuanwei 
Published: May 2023

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) has been applied in photovoltaic devices to improve their photoelectric conversion efficiency. In this study, the mechanism of LSPR in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was determined. Specifically, silver nanoparticles were formed by evaporating silver in electro-beam equipment and then annealing it in a tube furnace. The sizes of the nanoparticles varied with the changes in their thicknesses during evaporation and annealing. A DSSC-based graphene was designed to consist of different sizes of metal nanoparticles assembled on a cathode electrode. The photon electric performance of the DSSCs, which depended on Ag nanoparticles, was analyzed in detail, with a particular focus on nanoparticle size. Compared with the DSSC without Ag nanoparticles, the DSSC with LSPR exhibited excellent electric current density and incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) performance due to the LSPR effect. The DSSC assembled with 10 nm-thick Ag film and annealed to form nanoparticles exhibited a high IPCE of 70.03%. The IPCE value of this DSSC was 45.15% higher than that of the pure graphene-based DSSC (31.62%). However, Ag nanoparticles increased to a certain degree and became aggregated and concatenated, thereby decreasing the LSPR effect on DSSCs. Therefore, LSPR plays an important role in the photon-electrical performance of DSSCs.