bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
YY1-induced upregulation of LncRNA-ARAP1-AS2 and ARAP1 promotes diabetic kidney fibrosis via aberrant glycolysis associated with EGFR/PKM2/HIF-1α pathway
Authors: Li Xin , Ma Tian-Kui , Wang Min , Zhang Xiao-Dan , Liu Tian-Yan , Liu Yue , Huang Zhao-Hui , Zhu Yong-Hong , Zhang Shuang , Yin Li , Xu Yan-Yan , Ding Hong , Liu Cong , Shi Hang , Fan Qiu-Ling 
Published: February 2023

Objectives: Dimeric pyruvate kinase (PK) M2 (PKM2) plays an important role in promoting the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, mediating aberrant glycolysis and inducing fibrosis in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The aim of this work was to dissect a novel regulatory mechanism of Yin and Yang 1 (YY1) on lncRNA-ARAP1-AS2/ARAP1 to regulate EGFR/PKM2/HIF-1α pathway and glycolysis in DKD.Materials and methods: We used adeno-associated virus (AAV)-ARAP1 shRNA to knocked down ARAP1 in diabetic mice and overexpressed or knocked down YY1, ARAP1-AS2 and ARAP1 expression in human glomerular mesangial cells. Gene levels were assessed by Western blotting, RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence staining and immunohistochemistry. Molecular interactions were determined by RNA pull-down, co-immunoprecipitation, ubiquitination assay and dual-luciferase reporter analysis.Results: YY1, ARAP1-AS2, ARAP1, HIF-1α, glycolysis and fibrosis genes expressions were upregulated and ARAP1 knockdown could inhibit dimeric PKM2 expression and partly restore tetrameric PKM2 formation, while downregulate HIF-1α accumulation and aberrant glycolysis and fibrosis in in-vivo and in-vitro DKD models. ARAP1 knockdown attenuates renal injury and renal dysfunction in diabetic mice. ARAP1 maintains EGFR overactivation in-vivo and in-vitro DKD models. Mechanistically, YY1 transcriptionally upregulates ARAP1-AS2 and indirectly regulates ARAP1 and subsequently promotes EGFR activation, HIF-1α accumulation and aberrant glycolysis and fibrosis.Conclusion: Our results first highlight the role of the novel regulatory mechanism of YY1 on ARAP1-AS2 and ARAP1 in promoting aberrant glycolysis and fibrosis by EGFR/PKM2/HIF-1α pathway in DKD and provide potential therapeutic strategies for DKD treatments.
Natural product-based bioactive agents in combination attenuate neuroinflammation in a tri-culture model
Authors: Liu Yang , Chang Dennis , Liu Tianqing , Zhou Xian 
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Neuroinflammation is an important pathological event contributing to the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. The hyperactivation of microglia triggers the release of excessive proinflammatory mediators that lead to the leaky blood-brain barrier and impaired neuronal survival. Andrographolide (AN), baicalein (BA) and 6-shogaol (6-SG) possess anti-neuroinflammatory properties through diverse mechanisms of action. The present study aims to investigate the effects of the pair-combinations of these bioactive compounds in attenuating neuroinflammation.Methods: A tri-culture model with microglial N11 cells, microvascular endothelial MVEC(B3) cells, and neuroblastoma N2A cells was established in a transwell system. AN, BA and 6-SG used alone (25 µM) or in pair-wised combinations (12.5 + 12.5 µM) were subjected to the tri-culture system. Upon the stimulation of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) at 1 μg/mL, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels were determined by ELISA assays. Immunofluorescence staining was applied to investigate the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NF-κB p65) on N11 cells, expressions of protein zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) on MVEC cells and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) on N2A cells, respectively. The endothelial barrier permeability of MVEC cells was assessed by the Evans blue dye, and the resistance from the endothelial barrier was measured by transepithelial/endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) value. Neuronal survival of N2A cells was determined by Alamar blue and MTT assays.Results: Combinations of AN-SG and BA-SG synergistically lowered the TNF and IL-6 levels in LPS-induced N11 cells. Remarkably, the combined anti-neuroinflammatory effects of AN-SG and BA-SG remained significantly greater compared to their individual components at the same concentration level. The molecular mechanism of the attenuated neuroinflammation was likely to be mediated by downregulation of NF-κB p65 translocation (p &lt; 0.0001 vs. LPS stimulation) in N11 cells. In the MVEC cells, both AN-SG and BA-SG restored TEER values, ZO-1 expression and reduced permeability. Furthermore, AN-SG and BA-SG significantly improved neuronal survival and reduced expressions of p-tau on N2A cells.Discussion: The AN-SG and BA-SG combinations showed greater anti-neuroinflammatory potential than those used alone in mono- and tri-cultured N11 cells, thereby further protecting endothelial tight junction and neuronal survival. Taken together, AN-SG and BA-SG may provide improved anti-neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective activities.
Manhattan Project 1940s research on the prompt fission neutron spectrum
Authors: Chadwick Mark B. , Capote Roberto 
Published: February 2023

We describe how the prompt fission neutron spectrum (PFNS) was determined for the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Early work before World War II at American and British universities is described, together with theoretical work by Feather at Cambridge and Bethe at Los Alamos. As the Manhattan Project was being planned in 1942, two experiments on natural uranium were commissioned that proved to be influential: 1) An integral experiment at Chicago by Christy and Manley that accurately determined the average PFNS spectrum energy, 2.2 ± 0.2 MeV; 2) Bloch and Staub’s Stanford cyclotron measurement of the PFNS spectrum, which obtained an average energy of 1.70 ± 0.34 MeV. These two papers, previously unavailable outside of Los Alamos, are reproduced in the Supplementary Appendix. From these data, at the beginning of the project in 1943 Serber estimated an average 235U PFNS energy of 2 MeV, and indeed this agrees with today’s best estimate. The challenges facing the scientists involved both the availability of only very small samples of enriched uranium and plutonium targets, and fast neutron detection technologies. During the project, 235U and 239Pu PFNS were measured by Nicodemus and Staub. These also proved to be quite accurate and gave an average spectrum energy of 2 MeV for 235U. [This is not reproduced in the Appendix because it was published after the war in Physical Review 89, 1288 (1953)]. New methods were developed to enable more accurate measurements, and this paper describes how the PFNS was determined surprisingly well by 1945. We end by describing the post-war measurements in the 50s, including the PFNS data used by Ford and Wheeler in their simulations in 1951, the Bonner 1952 data, the seminal 1952 Watt paper with a new empirical parametrization of the PFNS, and the accurate PFNS measurement undertaken at Los Alamos by Cranberg et al. in 1956. We compare the measurements with our best understanding today as embodied in the Evaluated Nuclear Data File ENDF/B-VIII.0. Some images from historical documents in our Los Alamos National Security Research Center (NSRC) archives are shown.
Using carpet plots to analyze blood transit times in the brain during hypercapnic challenge magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Fitzgerald Bradley , Yao Jinxia Fiona , Hocke Lia M. , Frederick Blaise deB. , van Niftrik Christiaan Hendrik Bas , Tong Yunjie 
Published: February 2023

Blood arrival time and blood transit time are useful metrics in characterizing hemodynamic behaviors in the brain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging in combination with a hypercapnic challenge has been proposed as a non-invasive imaging tool to determine blood arrival time and replace dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) magnetic resonance imaging, a current gold-standard imaging tool with the downsides of invasiveness and limited repeatability. Using a hypercapnic challenge, blood arrival times can be computed by cross-correlating the administered CO2 signal with the fMRI signal, which increases during elevated CO2 due to vasodilation. However, whole-brain transit times derived from this method can be significantly longer than the known cerebral transit time for healthy subjects (nearing 20 s vs. the expected 5–6 s). To address this unrealistic measurement, we here propose a novel carpet plot-based method to compute improved blood transit times derived from hypercapnic blood oxygen level dependent fMRI, demonstrating that the method reduces estimated blood transit times to an average of 5.32 s. We also investigate the use of hypercapnic fMRI with cross-correlation to compute the venous blood arrival times in healthy subjects and compare the computed delay maps with DSC-MRI time to peak maps using the structural similarity index measure (SSIM). The strongest delay differences between the two methods, indicated by low structural similarity index measure, were found in areas of deep white matter and the periventricular region. SSIM measures throughout the remainder of the brain reflected a similar arrival sequence derived from the two methods despite the exaggerated spread of voxel delays computed using CO2 fMRI.
Star-exoplanet interactions: A growing interdisciplinary field in heliophysics
Authors: Garcia-Sage K. , Farrish A. O. , Airapetian V. S. , Alexander D. , Cohen O. , Domagal-Goldman S. , Dong C. , Gronoff G. , Halford A. J. , Lazio J. , Luhmann J. G. , Schwieterman E. , Sciola A. , Segura A. , Toffoletto F. , Vievering J. , Ahmed Md Redyan , Bali K. , Rau G. 
Published: February 2023

Traditionally, heliophysics is characterized as the study of the near-Earth space environment, where plasmas and neutral gases originating from the Earth, the Sun, and other solar system bodies interact in ways that are detectable only through in-situ or close-range (usually within ∼10 AU) remote sensing. As a result, heliophysics has data from the space environment around a handful of solar system objects, in particular the Sun and Earth. Comparatively, astrophysics has data from an extensive array of objects, but is more limited in temporal, spatial, and wavelength information from any individual object. Thus, our understanding of planetary space environments as a complex, multi-dimensional network of specific interacting systems may in the past have seemed to have little to do with the highly diverse space environments detected through astrophysical methods. Recent technological advances have begun to bridge this divide. Exoplanetary studies are opening up avenues to study planetary environments beyond our solar system, with missions like Kepler, TESS, and JWST, along with increasing capabilities of ground-based observations. At the same time, heliophysics studies are pushing beyond the boundaries of our heliosphere with Voyager, IBEX, and the future IMAP mission.The interdisciplinary field of star-exoplanet interactions is a critical, growing area of study that enriches heliophysics. A multidisciplinary approach to heliophysics enables us to better understand universal processes that operate in diverse environments, as well as the evolution of our solar system and extreme space weather. The expertise, data, theory, and modeling tools developed by heliophysicists are crucial in understanding the space environments of exoplanets, their host stars, and their potential habitability. The mutual benefit that heliophysics and exoplanetary studies offer each other depends on strong, continuing solar system-focused and Earth-focused heliophysics studies. The heliophysics discipline requires new targeted funding to support inter-divisional opportunities, including small multi-disciplinary research projects, large collaborative research teams, and observations targeting the heliophysics of planetary and exoplanet systems. Here we discuss areas of heliophysics-relevant exoplanetary research, observational opportunities and challenges, and ways to promote the inclusion of heliophysics within the wider exoplanetary community.
A machine learning-based model for the next 3-day geomagnetic index (Kp) forecast
Authors: Wang Jingjing , Luo Bingxian , Liu Siqing , Shi Liqin 
Published: February 2023

The 3-day Kp forecast product is important and necessary for space weather forecasts. There is some essential information that can be obtained from the 3-day Kp forecast product, such as the start time of the geomagnetic storm, the maximum storm level, and the storm duration. In this study, we aimed to predict the next 3-day Kp index based on the previous Kp time series and SDO/AIA 193 Å images. We prepared datasets from May 2010 to December 2019 for training and datasets from January 2020 to October 2022 for testing. The similarity parameters of the previous and current geomagnetic conditions between the samples are calculated and analyzed. We assumed that the paired samples with high-similarity parameters of the previous and current geomagnetic conditions would also have high-similarity parameters of the next 3-day geomagnetic conditions. Based on the assumption, we selected the three best similarity parameters through the feature selection process and adopted the scalable tree boosting system (XGBoost) to develop a prediction model. It took the similarity parameters of the previous and current geomagnetic conditions as input and provided the best match sample from the training subset as a forecast. For the next 3-day non-storm (maximum Kp < 5) prediction period, our model reached an F1-score of 0.96. For the next 3-day storm (maximum Kp ≥ 5) prediction period, our model reached an F1-score of 0.82, a recall of 0.70, and a precision of 0.98.
Foodborne disease hazards and burden in Ethiopia: A systematic literature review, 1990–2019
Authors: Gazu Lina , Alonso Silvia , Mutua Florence , Roesel Kristina , Lindahl Johanna F. , Amenu Kebede , Maximiano Sousa Filipe , Ulrich Pattama , Guadu Tadesse , Dione Michel , Ilboudo Guy , Knight-Jones Theodore , Grace Delia 
Published: February 2023

BackgroundFoodborne disease (FBD) affects millions of people each year, posing a health burden similar to malaria, tuberculosis or HIV. A recent World Bank study estimated the productivity losses alone attributed to unsafe food within Africa at $20 billion in 2016, and the cost of treating these illnesses at an additional $3.5 billion. Ethiopia faces multiple food safety challenges due to lack of infrastructure and basic pre-requisites for food safety such as clean water and environment, washing facilities, compounded by limited implementation of food safety regulations, and a lack of incentives for producers to improve food safety. A consolidation of our understanding and evidence of the source, nature and scale of FBD in Ethiopia is needed to inform policy and future research. We performed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of publications on FBD occurrence in Ethiopia including hazard presence and impact.MethodThe SLR followed Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines. We searched PubMed and CAB-Direct for relevant publications between 1990 and 2019 (inclusive). Observational studies and reviews were included. Two reviewers screened titles and abstracts, and retained publications were reviewed in full for quality and data extraction.ResultIn total 128 articles met the inclusion criteria. Most articles focused on the identification of biological hazards in food. High levels of microbial contamination in different food value chains were often found in the small,ad hoc, observational studies that dominated the literature. Raw milk (22/128, 17.0%) and raw beef (21/128, 16.4%) were the most studied food products. Foodborne (FB) parasites were often found at higher rates in food than bacterial and viral pathogens, possibly due to differences in ease of identification. High levels of bacterial contamination on the hands of food handlers were widely reported. There were no reports on the incidence of human FBDs or resulting health and economic impacts.ConclusionOur findings reflect existing concerns around food safety in Ethiopia. A lack of substantial, coordinated studies with robust methodologies means fundamental gaps remain in our knowledge of FBD in Ethiopia, particularly regarding FBD burden and impact. Greater investment in food safety is needed, with enhanced and coordinated research and interventions.
Middle cerebral artery infarction, A rare complication of intracranial cryptococcoma in an immunocompetent patient: A case report and literature review
Authors: Li Ying-Ching , Tseng Chun-Chia , Chien Shuo-Chi , Huang Sheng-Han , Chang Tin-Wei , Chen Chun-Ting , Tu Po-Hsun , Liu Zhuo-Hao , Huang Yin-Cheng 
Published: February 2023

BackgroundThis report presents the first case of intracranial cryptococcoma arising from the right frontal lobe causing right middle cerebral artery infarction. Intracranial cryptococcomas usually occur in the cerebral parenchyma, basal ganglia, cerebellum, pons, thalamus, and choroid plexus; they may mimic intracranial tumors, but seldom cause infarction. ﻿Of the 15 cases of pathology-confirmed intracranial cryptococcomas in the literature, no case has been complicated by middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction. Here, we discuss a case of intracranial cryptococcoma with an ipsilateral middle cerebral artery infarction.Case DescriptionA 40-year-old man was referred to our emergency room due to progressive headaches and acute left hemiplegia. The patient was a construction worker with no history of avian contact, recent travel, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Brain computed tomography (CT) showed an intra-axial mass, and subsequent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) delineated a large mass of 53 mm in the right middle frontal lobe and a small lesion of 18 mm in the right caudate head, with marginal enhancement and central necrosis. A neurosurgeon was consulted in view of the intracranial lesion, and the patient underwent en-bloc excision of the solid mass. The pathology report later identified a Cryptococcus infection rather than malignancy. The patient underwent 4 weeks of postoperative treatment with amphotericin B plus flucytosine; he then received subsequent oral antifungal treatment for 6 months, and had neurologic sequelae that manifested as left side hemiplegia.ConclusionDiagnosis of fungal infections in the CNS remains challenging. This is especially true of Cryptococcus CNS infections that present as a space-occupying lesion in an immunocompetent patient. A Cryptococcus infection should be considered in the differential diagnoses in patients with brain mass lesions, as this infection can be misdiagnosed as a brain tumor.
Single-center experience of Ex vivo liver resection and autotransplantation for complex hepatic alveolar echinoccosis
Authors: Yuan Jiaqi , Chen Xiaobin , Hou Lizhao , Wang Haijiu , Zhou Ying , Pang Mingquan , YangDan CaiRang , Wang Zhixin , Fan Haining 
Published: February 2023

ObjectiveTo summarize the single-centre experience of Ex vivo Liver Resection and Autotransplantation (ELRA) to treat end-stage hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE).MethodsRetrospective analysis of clinical data and follow-up data of 13 patients admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University from January 2015 to December 1, 2020, with the Ex vivo Liver Resection and Autotransplantation for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.Result13 patients underwent successful total/ semi-ex-vivo liver resection combined with Ex vivo Liver Resection and Autotransplantation with no intra-operative deaths. the median standard liver volume was 1,118 ml (1,085–1,206.5 ml); the median residual liver volume was 634 ml (526.5–1,338 ml); The median weight of the autograft was 845.8 g (619.5–1,020.5 g), the median operation time was 14.5 h (11.5–16.15 h); the median anhepatic period time was 290 min (257–312.5 min). The median intraoperative blood loss was 1,900 ml (1,300–3,500 ml); the median number of erythrocyte suspensions entered was 7.5 u (6–9u). The median length of hospital stay was 32 days (24–40 days). Postoperative complications occurred in 9 patients during hospitalization,with 7 patients graded at grade III or higher by Clavien-Dindo; 4 patients died postoperatively. 1 patient had recurrent abdominal distension with massive thoracoabdominal fluid and coagulation dysfunction 8 months after surgery and was considered to have small liver syndrome. 1 patient developed HAE recurrence during the follow-up, which was considered intraoperative incisional implantation.ConclusionELRA is one of the most valuable therapeutic measures for the treatment of end-stage complicated hepatic alveolar echinococcosis. Precise preoperative assessment of liver function, individualized intraoperative duct reconstruction, and precise management of the postoperative disease can achieve better treatment results.
End-of-life decisions: A focus group study with German health professionals from human and veterinary medicine
Authors: Selter Felicitas , Persson Kirsten , Kunzmann Peter , Neitzke Gerald 
Published: February 2023

IntroductionAt first glance, human and (companion animal) veterinary medicine share challenging processes in end-of-life (EOL) decision-making. At the same time, treatment options in both professions are substantially different. The potential of an interdisciplinary exchange between both fields has been neglected by empirical research so far.MethodsIn this qualitative study, professionals from both fields were brought together in interdisciplinary focus groups to investigate the ethical aspects of convergences and divergences in EOL situations in human and veterinary medicine. The authors present and discuss an innovative mix of materials and methods as stimuli for discussion and for generating hypotheses.ResultsThe results point toward a general convergence of issues, challenges, and judgements in EOL situations in both fields, such as professional ethos, communication with the family and the role thereof as well as the ideals of death, clearly exceeding the expectations of study participants. At the same time, the study highlights a few prominent differences such as the access to patients' preferences or legal and practical constraints.DiscussionThe findings suggest that using social science methods in empirical interdisciplinary biomedical-veterinary ethics could help to shed more light on this new area. Animal as well as human patients can potentially benefit from this mutual, scientifically accompanied exchange and the resulting identification and corrections of misconceptions.
Ginzburg–Landau Analysis on the Physical Properties of the Kagome Superconductor CsV3Sb5
Authors: Han Tianyi , Che Jiantao , Ye Chenxiao , Huang Hai 
Published: February 2023

The kagome lattice consisting of corner-sharing triangles has been studied in the context of quantum physics for more than seventy years. For the novel discovered kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5, identifying the pairing symmetry of order parameter remained an elusive problem until now. Based on the two-band Ginzburg–Landau theory, we study the temperature dependence of upper critical field and magnetic penetration depth for this compound. All theoretical results are consistent with the experimental data, which strongly indicates the existence of two-gap s-wave superconductivity in this system. In addition, it is worth noting that the anisotropy of effective masses in the band with large (or small) gap is about 70 (or 2.4). With the calculation of the Kadowaki–Woods ratio as 0.58×10−5μΩ cm mol2 K2 mJ−2, the semi-heavy-fermion feature is suggested in the compound CsV3Sb5.