bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tobacco plants expressing the defensin NaD1 enhances drought tolerance characteristics in transgenic lines
Authors: Royan Sara , Shirzadian-Khorramabad Reza , Zibaee Arash , Bagherieh-Najjar Mohammad B. , Firouzabadi Farhad Nazarian 
Published: March 2023

Abstract

Biotic and abiotic stresses are main factors limiting crop plants yields and adaptability. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a pivotal role in plant immune responses to diverse stresses, and hence, becoming novel and essential molecules for studying plant responses to environmental harsh conditions. In this study, for the first time, overexpression of recombinant defensin NaD1gene under control of 3x 35S promoter was incorporated into tobacco plants resulting in generating NaD1 transgenic lines. Stable expression of NaD1 in transgenic tobacco lines was confirmed by RT-PCR, and next, presence of NaD1 recombinant peptide was verified by ELISA and western blot analysis in transgenic lines. In Silico bioinformatic analysis revealed that the most abundant components in Cis-regulatory elements in eleven NaD1 homologs in Nicotiana attenuate (NaDEF genes) are MYB, MYC and ABRE elements suggesting that NaD1 promoter is involved in regulation of abiotic stresses. Overexpression of the NaD1 in transgenic plants led to a significant (P ≤ 0.01) increase in the content of chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll under drought stress. Correspondingly, the index of chlorophyll stability significantly increased in 3 transgenic lines. Moreover, activities of Catalase (CAT), Peroxidase (POD), Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and S uperoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly enhanced in response to drought stress in transgenic lines. Among three transgenic lines, line 1 showed the highest chlorophyll level and chlorophyll stability index and a high level of POD, CAT, and SOD enzyme activity under drought stress. The data together suggest that increased antioxidant activity of the enzymes might presumably lead to eliminate ROS levels and maintain the chlorophyll content and stability in response to drought stress. Therefore, the antimicrobial peptide defensin NaD1 can be considered an essential factor in regulation of plant responses to drought stress and could be used in developing transgenic lines resistant to abiotic stresses.
Delayed Pseudo-aneurysm of right Internal Mammary Artery: A Case Report
Authors: Li Chenhe , BOKHA Anas O. K. ABU , Song Mingyang , Li Rui 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background：
Pseudo-aneurysm (PSA) which means the wall of an artery is perforated and blood flows out of the tear, resulting in a hematoma wrapped in adjacent tissue. PSA in the internal mammary artery (IMA) is a rare condition. Surgical intervention, percutaneous stenting, thrombin injection or some other methods can be the curative options.
Case presentation:
Here we present a case of delayed PSA of the right IMA after underwent the right anterior minimally invasive aortic valve replacement. Then the emergency surgery was chosen to suture the ruptured wall.
Conclusion:
This case shows that PSA can be a complication in any site, whether the site is punctured or not and surgery is a good therapeutic option for treatment.
Paediatric National Diagnostic Reference Levels of Computed Tomography Examination in Ghana
Authors: Shirazu Issahaku , Sackey Theophilus A. , Edziah Raymond , Mensah Y. B , Tiburu Elvis K. , Schandorf C. 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Introduction: The aim of the study was to establish and propose the utilisation of National Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs) for DLP (dose length product) and CTDIvol (volume weighted computed tomography dose index) for routine computed tomography (CT) for paediatric examinations. Additionally, the study estimated signal-to-noise ratio and lifetime attributable radiation risk. The materials used include multi-detector computed tomography machine, quality control equipment, Head and Body phantoms and MeVisLab workstation.
Methods: The methodology involved estimation of CTDIVOL, DLP, using a minimum of 20 patients per CT facility, imaging parameters for the head, chest, and abdomen-pelvis CT examinations. In all 300 images of randomly selected paediatric patients undergoing CT scans of head, chest, and abdomen-Pelvis from five centres. 200 images which met the selection criterion were used for the analysis.
Results: The measured median and upper quartile CTDIvol for head were 6.86 and 7.33 mGy, chest was 6.98 and 6.70 mGy, abdomen-pelvis were 4.71 and 5.28 mGy respectively. While DLP for head was 1103.00 and 1249.58 mGy-cm, chest was 978.86 and 1250.42 mGy-cm, abdomen-pelvis were 565.85 and 787.05 mGy-cm.
Conclusion: The results of the CTDI and DLP values were comparable to international standard values. It also recommends the use of the established CTDI and DLP as reference values for future intercomparison of data from similar studies.
Analysis of a Homozygous TGFBI Variant in a Pakistani Family with Granular Corneal Dystrophy Type 2: Implications for Genotype-Phenotype Correlation and Inheritance Patterns
Authors: Bakht Ayesha Khush , Naz Shagufta , Naeem Muhammad Asif , Sharif Saima , Qasim Muhammad , Kaul Haiba , Firasat Sabika , Jabeen Khajista , Iqbal Afia 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background:
Granular Corneal Dystrophy Type 2 (GCD2) is an inherited condition characterized by snowflake-shaped opacities in the cornea. The disorder is caused by mutations in the TGFBI gene, which encodes keratoepithelin. The objective of this study was to examine the inherited factors associated with GCD2 in two consanguineous Pakistani families.
Methods and Results:
We conducted whole exome sequencing (WES) of affected and unaffected individuals from the two families. Our analysis revealed a previously reported missense mutation (c.371G>A) in TGFBI that leads to the loss of p. R124H at exon 4 of keratoepithelin, which is associated with the severe form of GCD2. Sanger sequencing confirmed the segregation of this mutation in both families, with an autosomal dominant mode in one family (PKCD040) and a previously unreported autosomal recessive mode of inheritance in the other family (PKCD024). The diagnosis of GCD2 was confirmed by clinical examinations, including a slit lamp exam, a study of corneal morphology, and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Conclusion:
Our findings support a high correlation between genotype and phenotype in TGFBI-related corneal dystrophies. We also identified a novel homozygous TGFBI mutation in PKCD024, which expands our understanding of the inheritance patterns of GCD2. These results have important implications for the accurate diagnosis and potential treatment of this condition.
Noninvasive Prenatal Screening for 22q11.2 Deletion/Duplication Syndrome Using multiplex dPCR
Authors: Wang Jing , Wang Wei , Zhou Wenbo , Zhou Yan , Zhou Linna , Wang Xinyue , Yu Bin , Zhang Bin 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background
22q11.2 deletion/duplication syndrome has a high incidence in prenatal fetuses and cause variety of severe abnormalities. At present, screening for 22q11.2 deletion/duplication syndrome in fetuses is difficult because of the lack of effective targeted programs.
Methods
In this study, six detection sites and their corresponding probes were designed in the 22q11.2 recurrent region, and a dPCR assay for noninvasive screening of 22q11.2 deletion/duplication syndrome was established. A total of 106 plasma samples from pregnant women (including ten samples with fetal 22q11.2 deletion/duplication syndrome) were blindly tested to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the assay.
Results
DNA with different sizes of 22q11.2 deletion/duplication was detected by dPCR, indicating that these probes and detection site designs were reasonable and effective. In the retrospective clinical samples of the cffDNA assay, eight out of ten samples of pregnant women with 22q11.2 deletion/duplication were detected, and accurate regional localization was achieved. Of the 96 normal samples, 93 were confirmed. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to assess the cut-off values and AUC for these samples. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive as well as negative predictive values were 80%, 96.9%, 72.7%, and 97.9%, respectively.
Conclusion
The cffDNA assay based on dPCR technology for noninvasive detection of 22q11.2 recurrent copy number variants in fetuses can detect most affected cases, including smaller but relatively common nested deletions, with a low false-positive rate. It has the potential to provide an efficient and simple dPCR assay for noninvasive screening of 22q11.2 deletion/duplication syndrome.
Exogenous Serotonin Improves Drought and Salt Tolerance in Tomato Seedlings
Authors: Akcay Ufuk Celikkol , Okudan Nilgun 
Published: March 2023

Abstract

Serotonin and melatonin, which are indolamines present in every biological kingdom, show strong bioregulator activity in plant tissues under various stress conditions. Although numerous studies report stress mitigating effects of melatonin, effect of serotonin on plant stress physiology was rarely studied in the current literature. In this study, effects of exogenous serotonin application on tomato seedlings under severe salt and drought stresses were investigated by examining various morphological and physiological plant stress indicators, including tissue length and mass, relative water content (RWC), ion leakage, malonedialdehyde (MDA) and proline content, as well as some oxidative stress related gene activities, ascorbate peroxidase (APX1), superoxide dismutase (FeSOD), catalase (CAT2), gluthatione reductase (GR1), delta 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (P5CS) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase 2 (ACS2). Our results showed that serotonin application decreased tissue MDA contents and ion leakage levels, whereas increased relative water contents of tomato plants under both stresses. Serotonin also decreased ACS2 gene expression, meanwhile increased FeSOD, CAT2, GR1 and P5CS gene expressions under salt and drought stresses. Our findings showed that similar to its close chemical relative melatonin, serotonin also exhibits stress mitigation effects and boosts the antioxidant capacity of tomato plants under most common abiotic stress conditions.
Projection Continuation for Minimal Coordinate Set Formulation and Singularity Detection of Redundantly Constrained System Dynamics
Authors: Masarati Pierangelo , Quro M Jihad Ummul , Zanoni Andrea 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
The formulation of (possibly redundantly) constrained system dynamics using coordinate projection onto a subspace locally tangent to the constraint manifold is revisited using the QR factorization of the constraint Jacobian matrix, using column pivoting to identify a suitable subspace, possibly detect any singular configurations that may arise, and extract it. The evolution of the QR factorization is integrated along with that of the constraint Jacobian matrix as the solution evolves, generalizing to redundant constraints a recently proposed true continuation algorithm that tracks the evolution of the subspace of independent coordinates. The resulting subspace does not visibly affect the quality of the solution, as it is merely a recombination of that resulting from the blind application of the QR factorization, but avoids the artificial algorithmic irregularities or discontinuities in the generalized velocities that could otherwise result from arbitrary reparameterizations of the coordinate set, and identifies and discriminates any further possible motions that arise at singular configurations. The characteristics of the proposed subspace evolution approach are exemplified by solving simple problems with incremental levels of redundancy and singularity orders.
Synthesis and characterization of Cu-rGO/ZnO nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of bromophenol blue and antibacterial activity
Authors: S Rajakumari , Mohandoss S. , Sureshkumar S. 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Herein, Cu-rGO/ZnO ternary nanocomposite powder was synthesised by hydrothermal method. Analytical techniques such as XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis, SEM-EDAX, BET and XPS were used to study the morphology and structural properties of obtained nanocomposite. The photocatalytic activity of prepared nanocomposite was assessed by degradation of bromophenol blue in aqueous media. The catalytic results demonstrated that photocatalyst (0.1g) exhibited 86.2% bromophenol blue dye degradation efficiency with kinetic rate constant of 3.401x10− 2 min− 1. Antibacterial activity of nanocomposite was evaluated using agar well diffusion technique. The experimental results revealed that Cu-rGO/ZnO exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Oral Ursodeoxycholic Acid Therapy Failed to Mitigate SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variants BA.5.2 Infection
Authors: YU DONGSHAN , Song Zhi-Ying , Liu Yun , Xi Wen-Na , Zhu Guo-Jian , Sun Ke , Li Yan-Hua , Sun Shui-Lin 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background
Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was reported to reduce susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection by downregulating farnesoid X receptor (FXR) -ACE2 signaling. However, we found a different story in real-world clinical studies.
Objectives
We attempted to verify whether UDCA can effectively prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission or have positive therapeutic effects in a real-world clinical study.
Methods
We performed a retrospective study, collected and assessed clinical presentation and laboratory data on patients with liver diseases infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-variant BA.5.2 who had been treated with or without UDCA.
Results
Treatment with UDCA did not prevent infection with the Omicron sub-variant BA.5.2, failed in reducing the duration of infection and hardly mitigated the severity of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the severity of liver diseases, especially TBil, ALP, γ-GT, liver cirrhosis and Child-Pugh classification, should be considered as risk factors for severe COVID-19 in chronic hepatic patients.
Conclusion
UDCA failed to show inhibitory effects against SARS-CoV-2 infection in complex clinical settings. The regulatory mechanism of the novel UDCA-FXR-ACE2 pathway needs to be further investigated in real-world clinical studies.
Morpho-physiological traits and SSR markers-based analysis of relationships and genetic diversity among fodder maize landraces in India
Authors: Choudhary Mukesh , Singh Alla , Das MM , Kumar Pardeep , Naliath Ritu , Singh Vishal , Kumar Bhupender , Rakshit Sujay 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background: Maize is an excellent fodder crop due to its high biomass, better palatability, succulency, and nutrition. Studies on morpho-physiological and biochemical characterization of fodder maize are limited. The present study aimed to explore the genetic variation in fodder maize landraces for various morpho-physiological traits and estimation of genetic relationship and population structure.
Methods and Results: The study in 47 fodder maize landraces revealed significant variation for all morpho-physiological traits except leaf-stem ratio. Plant height, stem girth, leaf-width and number of leaves showed positive correlation with green fodder yield. Morpho-physiological traits-based clustering grouped the landraces into three major clusters, whereas neighbour joining cluster and population structure analysis using 40 SSR markers revealed four and five major groups, respectively. Most landraces of Northern Himalaya-Kashmir and Ludhiana fall into a single group, whereas rest groups mainly had landraces from North-Eastern Himalaya. A total of 101alleles were generated with mean polymorphic information content value of 0.36 and major allele frequency of 0.68. The pair wise genetic dissimilarity between genotypes ranged from 0.21 and 0.67. Mantel test revealed weak but significant correlation between morphological and molecular distance. Biochemical characterisation of superior landraces revealed significant variation for neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, cellulose and lignin content.
Conclusion: Interestingly, significant, and positive correlation of SPAD with lignin content can be explored to bypass the costly affair of invitro quality assessment for digestibility parameters. The study identified superior landraces and demonstrated the use of molecular markers in genetic diversity assessment and grouping of genotypes for fodder maize improvement.
Statistical Comparison among Brain Networks with Popular Network Measurement Algorithms
Authors: Pran Rakib Hassan 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
In this research, a number of popular network measurement algorithms have been applied to several brain networks (based on applicability of algorithms) for finding out statistical correlation among these popular network measurements which will help scientists to understand these popular network measurement algorithms and their applicability to brain networks. By analyzing the results of correlations among these network measurement algorithms, statistical comparison among selected brain networks has also been summarized. Besides that, to understand each brain network, the visualization of each brain network and each brain network’s degree distribution histogram have been extrapolated. Six network measurement algorithms have been chosen to apply time to time on sixteen brain networks based on applicability of these network measurement algorithms and the results of these network measurements are put into a correlation method to show the relationship among these six network measurement algorithms for each brain network. At the end, the results of the correlations have been summarized to show the statistical comparison among these sixteen brain networks.
Financial feasibility of a small-scale urban aquaponic system in Brazil: production of lambari rosa (Astyanax lacustris) with lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
Authors: Castilho-Barros Leonardo , Galan Gabriele Drigo , Prieto Rodrigo Francisco , Azedo Milton Ricardo , Barbieri Edison , Henriques Marcelo Barbosa 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
This study aimed to verify the economic feasibility of a small-scale aquaponics system for the production of lambari (Astyanax lacustris) for ornamental purposes or as live bait, together with lettuce (Lactuca sativa) for human consumption. The hypothesis is that this activity would be a profitable option that provides increased income to small producers. The investment needed to implement the project was US$ 40,118.06. Under these conditions, the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) values varied from 13.2%, for the lowest prices (US$ 0.15 and US$ 0.34 for lambari and lettuce, respectively), to 41.5%, in the best scenario, with a price of US$ 0.14 for lambari and US$ 0.44 for lettuce. For the live bait market, only for the lowest selling price (US$ 0.15 for lambari and US$ 0.34 and US$ 0.39 for lettuce), the IRR was below the minimum attractive rate of return which was stipulated to be 12% here in. The return on investment will be achieved between 3.38 and 6.40 years (Ornamental fish market), and between 4.29 and 8.30 years (Live bait market), depending on the sales value used. Under the proposed conditions and scenarios, the aquaponic system evaluated herein presents a moderate risk in terms of economic viability.
Patterns of Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Intergenerational Association of Preschool Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Problems
Authors: Li Ruoyu , Jin Zhengge , Li Shuqin , Ma Yufan , Wang Danni , Wang Xiaoyan , Sun Ying , Huang Yongling , Tao Xingyong , WAN Yuhui 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Children of whose mothers exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk for developmental problems. We examine the relationship between types and patterns of ACEs among mothers and preschool children’s EBPs in China, and to explore gender differences associated with these problems. 9647 preschool children from 36 kindergartens in 3 cities of Anhui province were included in this study. Questionnaires survey were used to report the details of maternal ACEs and children’s EBPs. Latent class analysis (LCA) revealed four different classes of maternal ACEs: ‘high abuse and neglect’(12.0%), ‘high household dysfunction’(2.2%), ‘moderate ACEs’(40.0%), and ‘low ACEs’(45.8%). After adjusting for covariates, binary logistic analyses indicated that children of mothers in the ‘high abuse and neglect’, ‘moderate ACEs’, and ‘high household dysfunction’ classes were more likely to report EBPs than those in the ‘low ACEs’ class (OR = 2.18–5.97, P＜0.05). No gender differences were found in the independent impacts of types and patterns of maternal ACEs on children’s EBPs, except for the ‘moderate ACEs’ class and maternal childhood physical abuse and physical neglect, which had a stronger impact on EBPs in boys than girls (OR = 1.43–1.83, P＜0.05). This study supports and refines existing research that confirms an intergenerational association between types and patterns of maternal ACEs and preschool children’s EBPs in a large Chinese sample, so as to provide references for the early prevention and control of preschool children’s EBPs.
Ab-initio simulation of dissipative transport in tunnel devices based on heterostructures of 2D materials
Authors: M'foukh Adel , Martin Jérôme Saint , Pala Marco , Dollfus Philippe 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
We present a first-principles model to study tunnel transistors based on van der Waals heterojunctions of 2D materials in the presence of dissipative mechanisms due to the electron-phonon interaction. To this purpose we employed a reduced basis set composed of unit-cell restricted Bloch functions computed with a plane wave ab-initio solver and performed self-consistent quantum transport simulations within the non-equilibrium Green’s functions formalism. Phonon scattering was included with specific self-energies making use of the deformation potential approximation for the electron-phonon coupling. Our simulations identify the van der Waals tunnel FET as a promising option to attain high on-state currents at low supply voltages, but also show a strong impact of the phonon scattering on the transport properties of such device in the sub-threshold regime.
Chiral quantitative analysis of Loperamide in a state of acid degradation by HPLC method
Authors: Bouanini Meriem , Belboukhari Nasser , Sekkoum Khaled , ABOUL-ENEIN Hassan , Fatimi Hakima 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
In this work the stability of Loperamide® hydrochloride has been described in different pH solutions with different buffer species. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is an efficiency method of Loperamide® hydrochloride, but the direct analysis procedure is not suitable for the determination of Loperamide® hydrochloride in the presence of its acid degradation product or its impurity. The present work aims to develop and validate a new feasible, sensitive and specific analytical procedure using HPLC on chiral columns.