bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Activities that early care educators are implementing in their childcare environments during the COVID-19 era
Authors: Obeng Cecilia , Obeng-Gyasi Emmanuel 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundTeaching children about healthy lifestyles in early care settings can contribute to children’s optimal health during the COVID-19 era; this is because children are vulnerable to communicable diseases in such settings. This study aimed to discover the activities that early care educators are implementing in their childcare settings to assist children become healthy in the COVID- 19 era.MethodsAn open-ended survey was sent to early care providers through anonymous links. The requirement for participation was being an adult aged 18+ years and an educator in early care settings. Responses from 45 female educators (n = 45) were received, and those of three participants were excluded because of not responding to any of the main questions. A constant comparative approach was used to categorize and organize participants’ narratives into themes.ResultsThirty-four out of the 42 participants indicated that they did activities on hand washing and how to use hand sanitizer. Some participants indicated that hand washing increased in their childcare settings. Others did some of their instructional activities such as reading, painting, and eating snacks outside the classrooms. Participants indicated that they walked around their childcare with children several times for children to get fresh air outside. There were others who canceled extracurricular activities at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Others did not do any extra activities in their childcare settings during the COVID-19 era.ConclusionThis study revealed teaching and related activities undertaken by the studied early care educators during COVID-19. It is recommended that higher education professors who train early care educators’ work with them to come up with health education activities that can help children obtain much-needed health knowledge and skills to ensure children’s optimal health during the COVID-19 era.
Weight bearing training alleviates muscle atrophy and pyroptosis of middle-aged rats
Authors: Fu Pengyu , Gong Lijing , Yang Luyao , Tang Shuning , Ma Fangyuan 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundAge-related muscle atrophy and adipose accumulation begin to occur in young and middle-aged individuals, and exercise at an early age improves body composition. Pyroptosis may play an essential role in age-related low-grade inflammation. This study aimed to explore the alleviation of muscle atrophy by weight-bearing training with increasing age via inhibition of pyroptosis.MethodsNinety 8-month-old male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: (1) normal baseline group (N group, n = 10), sacrificed after adaptive feeding; control group (C group, n = 40); and weight-bearing running group (R group, n = 40). Blood samples, adipose tissue (AT), and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) were collected after 8, 16, 24, and 32-weeks intervention.ResultsThe body weight, muscle mass, fat mass, plasma lipid, AT wet weight, adipocyte cross-sectional area (CSA), and apoptosis rates of AT and EDL were increased, while the muscle mass, wet weight, and fiber CSA of EDL were decreased by aging, which were reversed by exercise. Weight-bearing training promoted protein synthesis in EDL, inhibited protein degradation in EDL, and expression of pyroptotic key proteins in EDL and AT in rats.ConclusionWeight-bearing training improves body composition and alleviates age-related muscle atrophy in rats, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of pyroptosis in the EDL and AT and the improvement of muscle protein metabolism.
Capacity configuration optimization for green hydrogen generation driven by solar-wind hybrid power based on comprehensive performance criteria
Authors: Su Wei , Zheng Wenjin , Li Qi , Yu Zhenyue , Han Yunbin , Bai Zhang 
Published: August 2023

Green hydrogen generation driven by solar-wind hybrid power is a key strategy for obtaining the low-carbon energy, while by considering the fluctuation natures of solar-wind energy resource, the system capacity configuration of power generation, hydrogen production and essential storage devices need to be comprehensively optimized. In this work, a solar-wind hybrid green hydrogen production system is developed by combining the hydrogen storage equipment with the power grid, the coordinated operation strategy of solar-wind hybrid hydrogen production is proposed, furthermore, the NSGA-III algorithm is used to optimize the system capacity configuration with the comprehensive performance criteria of economy, environment and energy efficiency. Through the implemented case study with the hydrogen production capacity of 20,000 tons/year, the abandoned energy power rate will be reduced to 3.32% with the electrolytic cell average load factor of 64.77%, and the system achieves the remarkable carbon emission reduction. In addition, with the advantage of connect to the power grid, the generated surplus solar/wind power can be readily transmitted with addition income, when the sale price of produced hydrogen is suggested to 27.80 CNY/kgH2, the internal rate of return of the system reaches to 8% which present the reasonable economic potential. The research provides technical and methodological suggestions and guidance for the development of solar-wind hybrid hydrogen production schemes with favorable comprehensive performance.
Coupling coordination of the water‒energy‒carbon system in three provinces of Northeastern China
Authors: Cao Yongqiang , Li Jing , Xie Linfu , Yao Jiaqi , Li Kexin , Zhang Ningyue , Ji Xinhui , Wang Mengran , Mo Fan , Zhai Haoran 
Published: August 2023

Water resource consumption, energy consumption, and carbon emissions are key factors that restrict the level of regional development and affect the quality of the regional ecological environment. This study investigates three provinces in Northeastern China, using remote sensing and historical data from the period 2001–2019 to analyze the spatiotemporal trends of water and energy consumption, and carbon emissions. Using the AHP-entropy weight method, comprehensive analysis method, and system dynamics research method, the coupling relationships of the three subsystems (water‒energy‒carbon, WEC) were determined, and the development and changes over the next 20 years were simulated. The results show that: 1) Over the period 2001–2019, the comprehensive index of the WEC system in the three Northeastern provinces ranged from 0.0994 to 0.2314. 2) Over the period 2001–2019, the coupling degree of the WEC system in the three Northeastern provinces ranged from 0.9457 to 0.9985, equating to a high coupling stage level. However, the level of coupling coordination was low, with values ranging from 0.3151 to 0.4780, equating to a state of mild disorder or near disorder. 3) During the study period, water resource consumption, energy consumption, and carbon emissions all showed an increasing trend, with the former having the fastest growth rate. This study is of great significance for promoting the sustainable utilization of resources and green and low-carbon development in the three studied Northeastern provinces of China.
Transcriptome profiling of intact bowel wall reveals that PDE1A and SEMA3D are possible markers with roles in enteric smooth muscle apoptosis, proliferative disorders, and dysautonomia in Crohn’s disease
Authors: Yang Yun , Xia Lin , Yang Wenming , Wang Ziqiang , Meng Wenjian , Zhang Mingming , Ma Qin , Gou Junhe , Wang Junjian , Shu Ye , Wu Xiaoting 
Published: August 2023

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a complex and multifactorial inflammatory condition, comprising Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). While numerous studies have explored the immune response in IBD through transcriptional profiling of the enteric mucosa, the subtle distinctions in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis remain insufficiently understood.Methods: The intact bowel wall specimens from IBD surgical patients were divided based on their inflammatory status into inflamed Crohn’s disease (iCD), inflamed ulcerative colitis (iUC) and non-inflamed (niBD) groups for RNA sequencing. Differential mRNA GO (Gene Ontology), and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes), and GSEA (Gene Set Enrichment Analysis) bioinformatic analyses were performed with a focus on the enteric autonomic nervous system (ANS) and smooth muscle cell (SMC). The transcriptome results were validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC).Results: A total of 2099 differentially expressed genes were identified from the comparison between iCD and iUC. Regulation of SMC apoptosis and proliferation were significantly enriched in iCD, but not in iUC. The involved gene PDE1A in iCD was 4-fold and 1.5-fold upregulated at qPCR and IHC compared to that in iUC. Moreover, only iCD was significantly associated with the gene sets of ANS abnormality. The involved gene SEMA3D in iCD was upregulated 8- and 5-fold at qPCR and IHC levels compared to iUC.Conclusion: These findings suggest that PDE1A and SEMA3D may serve as potential markers implicated in enteric smooth muscle apoptosis, proliferative disorders, and dysautonomia specifically in Crohn’s disease.
Integrative miRNA-mRNA network analysis to identify crucial pathways of salinity adaptation in brain transcriptome of Labeo rohita
Authors: Shukla Nitin , Vemula Harshini , Raval Ishan , Kumar Sujit , Shrivastava Vivek , Chaudhari Aparna , Patel Amrutlal K. , Joshi Chaitanya G. 
Published: August 2023

Introduction: Brain being the master regulator of the physiology of animal, the current study focuses on the gene expression pattern of the brain tissue with special emphasis on regulation of growth, developmental process of an organism and cellular adaptation of Labeo rohita against unfavourable environmental conditions.Methods: RNA-seq study was performed on collected brain samples at 8ppt salt concentration and analyzed for differential gene expression, functional annotation and miRNA-mRNA regulatory network.Results: We found that 2450 genes were having significant differential up and down regulation. The study identified 20 hub genes based on maximal clique centrality algorithm. These hub genes were mainly involved in various signaling pathways, energy metabolism and ion transportation. Further, 326 up and 1214 down regulated genes were found to be targeted by 7 differentially expressed miRNAs i.e., oni-miR-10712, oni-miR-10736, ssa-miR-221-3p, ssa-miR-130d-1-5p, ssa-miR-144-5p and oni-miR-10628. Gene ontology analysis of these differentially expressed genes led to the finding that these genes were involved in signal transduction i.e., calcium, FOXO, PI3K-AKT, TGF-β, Wnt and p53 signalling pathways. Differentially expressed genes were also involved in regulation of immune response, environmental adaptation i.e., neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, ECM-receptor interaction, cell adhesion molecules and circadian entrainment, osmoregulation and energy metabolism, which are critical for salinity adaptation.Discussion: The findings of whole transcriptomic study on brain deciphered the miRNA-mRNA interaction patterns and pathways associated with salinity adaptation of L. rohita.
Gene network inference from single-cell omics data and domain knowledge for constructing COVID-19-specific ICAM1-associated pathways
Authors: Odaka Mitsuhiro , Magnin Morgan , Inoue Katsumi 
Published: August 2023

Introduction: Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) is a critical molecule responsible for interactions between cells. Previous studies have suggested that ICAM-1 triggers cell-to-cell transmission of HIV-1 or HTLV-1, that SARS-CoV-2 shares several features with these viruses via interactions between cells, and that SARS-CoV-2 cell-to-cell transmission is associated with COVID-19 severity. From these previous arguments, it is assumed that ICAM-1 can be related to SARS-CoV-2 cell-to-cell transmission in COVID-19 patients. Indeed, the time-dependent change of the ICAM-1 expression level has been detected in COVID-19 patients. However, signaling pathways that consist of ICAM-1 and other molecules interacting with ICAM-1 are not identified in COVID-19. For example, the current COVID-19 Disease Map has no entry for those pathways. Therefore, discovering unknown ICAM1-associated pathways will be indispensable for clarifying the mechanism of COVID-19.Materials and methods: This study builds ICAM1-associated pathways by gene network inference from single-cell omics data and multiple knowledge bases. First, single-cell omics data analysis extracts coexpressed genes with significant differences in expression levels with spurious correlations removed. Second, knowledge bases validate the models. Finally, mapping the models onto existing pathways identifies new ICAM1-associated pathways.Results: Comparison of the obtained pathways between different cell types and time points reproduces the known pathways and indicates the following two unknown pathways: (1) upstream pathway that includes proteins in the non-canonical NF-κB pathway and (2) downstream pathway that contains integrins and cytoskeleton or motor proteins for cell transformation.Discussion: In this way, data-driven and knowledge-based approaches are integrated into gene network inference for ICAM1-associated pathway construction. The results can contribute to repairing and completing the COVID-19 Disease Map, thereby improving our understanding of the mechanism of COVID-19.
A nasal vaccine with inactivated whole-virion elicits protective mucosal immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in mice
Authors: Tokunoh Nagisa , Tamiya Shigeyuki , Watanabe Masato , Okamoto Toru , Anindita Jessica , Tanaka Hiroki , Ono Chikako , Hirai Toshiro , Akita Hidetaka , Matsuura Yoshiharu , Yoshioka Yasuo 
Published: August 2023

IntroductionVaccinations are ideal for reducing the severity of clinical manifestations and secondary complications of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); however, SARS-CoV-2 continues to cause morbidity and mortality worldwide. In contrast to parenteral vaccines such as messenger RNA vaccines, nasal vaccines are expected to be more effective in preventing viral infections in the upper respiratory tract, the primary locus for viral infection and transmission. In this study, we examined the prospects of an inactivated whole-virion (WV) vaccine administered intranasally against SARS-CoV-2.MethodsMice were immunized subcutaneously (subcutaneous vaccine) or intranasally (nasal vaccine) with the inactivated WV of SARS-CoV-2 as the antigen.ResultsThe spike protein (S)-specific IgA level was found to be higher upon nasal vaccination than after subcutaneous vaccination. The level of S-specific IgG in the serum was also increased by the nasal vaccine, although it was lower than that induced by the subcutaneous vaccine. The nasal vaccine exhibited a stronger defense against viral invasion in the upper respiratory tract than the subcutaneous vaccine and unimmunized control; however, both subcutaneous and nasal vaccines provided protection in the lower respiratory tract. Furthermore, we found that intranasally administered inactivated WV elicited robust production of S-specific IgA in the nasal mucosa and IgG in the blood of mice previously vaccinated with messenger RNA encoding the S protein.DiscussionOverall, these results suggest that a nasal vaccine containing inactivated WV can be a highly effective means of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Murine model identifies tropomyosin as IgE cross-reactive protein between house dust mite and coho salmon that possibly contributes to the development of salmon allergy
Authors: Yamamoto Risa , Izawa Kumi , Ando Tomoaki , Kaitani Ayako , Tanabe Atsushi , Yamada Hiromichi , Uchida Shino , Yoshikawa Akihisa , Kume Yasuharu , Toriumi Shun , Maehara Akie , Wang Hexing , Nagamine Masakazu , Negishi Naoko , Nakano Nobuhiro , Ebihara Nobuyuki , Shimizu Toshiaki , Ogawa Hideoki , Okumura Ko , Kitaura Jiro 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundRecently, we have developed a method to identify IgE cross-reactive allergens. However, the mechanism by which IgE cross-reactive allergens cause food allergy is not yet fully understood how. In this study, we aimed to understand the underlying pathogenesis by identifying food allergens that cross-react with house dust mite allergens in a murine model.Material and methodsAllergenic protein microarray analysis was conducted using serum from mice intraperitoneally injected with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p) extract plus alum or alum alone as controls. Der p, Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f), coho salmon extract-sensitized and control mice were analyzed. Serum levels of IgE against Der p, Der f, coho salmon extract, protein fractions of coho salmon extract separated by ammonium sulfate precipitation and anion exchange chromatography, and recombinant coho salmon tropomyosin or actin were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A murine model of cutaneous anaphylaxis or oral allergy syndrome (OAS) was established in Der p extract-sensitized mice stimulated with coho salmon extract, tropomyosin, or actin.ResultsProtein microarray analysis showed that coho salmon-derived proteins were highly bound to serum IgE in Der p extract-sensitized mice. Serum IgE from Der p or Der f extract-sensitized mice was bound to coho salmon extract, whereas serum IgE from coho salmon extract-sensitized mice was bound to Der p or Der f extract. Analysis of the murine model showed that cutaneous anaphylaxis and oral allergic reaction were evident in Der p extract-sensitized mice stimulated by coho salmon extract. Serum IgE from Der p or Der f extract-sensitized mice was bound strongly to protein fractions separated by anion exchange chromatography of coho salmon proteins precipitated with 50% ammonium sulfate, which massively contained the approximately 38 kDa protein. We found that serum IgE from Der p extract-sensitized mice was bound to recombinant coho salmon tropomyosin. Der p extract-sensitized mice exhibited cutaneous anaphylaxis in response to coho salmon tropomyosin.ConclusionOur results showed IgE cross-reactivity of tropomyosin between Dermatophagoides and coho salmon which illustrates salmon allergy following sensitization with the house dust mite Dermatophagoides. Our method for identifying IgE cross-reactive allergens will help understand the underlying mechanisms of food allergies.
Head and neck cancer treatment outcome prediction: a comparison between machine learning with conventional radiomics features and deep learning radiomics
Authors: Huynh Bao Ngoc , Groendahl Aurora Rosvoll , Tomic Oliver , Liland Kristian Hovde , Knudtsen Ingerid Skjei , Hoebers Frank , van Elmpt Wouter , Malinen Eirik , Dale Einar , Futsaether Cecilia Marie 
Published: August 2023

BackgroundRadiomics can provide in-depth characterization of cancers for treatment outcome prediction. Conventional radiomics rely on extraction of image features within a pre-defined image region of interest (ROI) which are typically fed to a classification algorithm for prediction of a clinical endpoint. Deep learning radiomics allows for a simpler workflow where images can be used directly as input to a convolutional neural network (CNN) with or without a pre-defined ROI.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate (i) conventional radiomics and (ii) deep learning radiomics for predicting overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) using pre-treatment 18F-fluorodeoxuglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) and computed tomography (CT) images.Materials and methodsFDG PET/CT images and clinical data of patients with HNSCC treated with radio(chemo)therapy at Oslo University Hospital (OUS; n = 139) and Maastricht University Medical Center (MAASTRO; n = 99) were collected retrospectively. OUS data was used for model training and initial evaluation. MAASTRO data was used for external testing to assess cross-institutional generalizability. Models trained on clinical and/or conventional radiomics features, with or without feature selection, were compared to CNNs trained on PET/CT images without or with the gross tumor volume (GTV) included. Model performance was measured using accuracy, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), Matthew’s correlation coefficient (MCC), and the F1 score calculated for both classes separately.ResultsCNNs trained directly on images achieved the highest performance on external data for both endpoints. Adding both clinical and radiomics features to these image-based models increased performance further. Conventional radiomics including clinical data could achieve competitive performance. However, feature selection on clinical and radiomics data lead to overfitting and poor cross-institutional generalizability. CNNs without tumor and node contours achieved close to on-par performance with CNNs including contours.ConclusionHigh performance and cross-institutional generalizability can be achieved by combining clinical data, radiomics features and medical images together with deep learning models. However, deep learning models trained on images without contours can achieve competitive performance and could see potential use as an initial screening tool for high-risk patients.