bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Immunoinformatics Approaches for Developing Multi-Epitope Subunit Vaccines to Combat Acinetobacter Baumannii
Authors: Pan Pinhua , Zhu Fei , Ma Shiyang , Rao Mingjun , Zhang Peipei , Peng Wenzhong , Cui Yanhui , Yang Hang , Tan Caixia , Chen Jie 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
Acinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that widely exists in the environment, causes numerous nosocomial infection cases in the ICU. As the agent of pneumonia, septicemia, and meningitis, A. baumannii is usually multidrug-resistant and has a high mortality rate. In this study, we aimed to develop a vaccine for Acinetobacter baumannii through in silico prediction. With the help of immunoinformatic methods, which have proven to be effective and convenient, our team managed to develop multiepitope subunit vaccines for A. baumannii. Three proteins closely associated with the immunologic process were selected and computed. Finally, 9 cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes, 10 helper T-lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes, and 11 linear B cell (LBL) epitopes were selected to construct 2 vaccines. LT-IIb was selected as an adjuvant and attached to the vaccine N-terminus. All subunits are linked by suitable linkers. According to examinations, both MEV is antigenic and stable without poisonousness or allergenicity. Molecular docking revealed steady and solid binding ability between MEV and Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Finally, MEV codons were optimized into a plasmid for in silico cloning, which is pet-28a+ from E. coli K-12 in this research. Although this vaccine performed well in immune stimulation, further experiments are expected to guarantee its safety and immunogenic profile.
Drivers of the Second Wave and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 cases in Uganda: A Retrospective Study of Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases, March-June, 2021
Authors: Walekhwa Abel Wilson , Nakazibwe Brenda , Nantongo Mary , Wafula Solomon Tsebeni , Bulafu Douglas , Ayugi Brenda , Nankabirwa Caroline , Nsereko Godfrey , Nalweyiso Martha Dorcas , Tindyebwa Tonny , Mayega Roy William , Ekiri Abel Bulamu , Bagenda Danstan , Musenero Monica , Mugisha Lawrence 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
BackgroundThe COVID-19 continued to pose several public health, social, economic challenges and the drivers for the occurrence of different COVID-19 waves remains undocumented in Uganda. We conducted a cross-sectional population-based survey among recovered COVID-19 cases to establish the drivers of SAR-CoV-2 infections. We performed a retrospective study and interviewed 1120 recovered COVID-19 cases from 10 selected districts in Uganda. We further conducted 38 Key Informant Interviews of members of the COVID-19 District Taskforce and 19 in-depth interviews among COVID-19 survivors from March to June, 2021. Results Out of the 1120 recovered COVID-19 cases interviewed, 62% were aged 39 years and below and 51.5% females with 90.9% under home based care management. Cases were more prevalent in business (25.9%), students (17.2%), farmers (17.1%) and health workers (12.4%) and 79.9% developed COVID-19 symptoms mainly cough, flu, and fever. Being asymptomatic was found to be associated with not seeking healthcare (APR 2, P <0.001). The mortality rate was 3.7% mostly among the elderly (6.3%) and 31.3% aged 40 years and above had comorbidities of high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma. High blood pressure and diabetes were significantly associated with low survival rate (P <0.001) among the COVID-19 cases. ConclusionsOur study identified several drivers under the broad categories of demographic, patient, health facilities and services, social and economic factors that attributed to emergence and sustenance of COVID-19 second wave from March to June, 2021. Specifically, being female, young, asymptomatic, under Home Based Care Management, social gatherings, school going, not vaccinated were among the major drivers of the second wave. We strongly recommend that the Ministry of Health together with National Taskforce for COVID-19 Response to reconsider some aspects of Home-Based Care Management to only established institutions and organizations with potential and facilities to monitor cases in addition to training and monitoring all those involved in supporting the Home Based Care Management.
DQN Based Mobile Edge Computing for Smart Internet of Vehicle
Authors: Zhang Lianhong , Zhou Wenqi , Xia Junjuan , Gao Chongzhi , Zhu Fusheng 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
In this paper, we investigate a multiuser mobile edge computing (MEC)-aided smart internet of vehicle (IoV) network, where one edge server can help accomplish the intensive computational tasks from the vehicular users. For the MEC networks, most of existing works mainly focus on minimizing the system latency to guarantee the user's quality of service (QoS) through designing some offloading strategies, which however fail to consider the pricing from the server and hence fail to take into account the the budget constraint from the users. To address this issue, we jointly incorporate the budget constraint into the system design of the MEC based IoV networks, and then propose a joint deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach combined with the convex optimization algorithm. Specifically, a deep Q-network (DQN) is firstly used to make the offloading decision, and then the Lagrange multiplier method is employed to allocate the computational capability of the server to multiple users. Simulations are finally presented to demonstrate that the proposed schemes outperforms the conventional ones. In particular, the proposed scheme can effective reduce the system latency up to 56% compared to the conventional schemes.
Successful mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in a patient with a history of severe polyethylene glycol anaphylaxis
Authors: Li Daniel Hanzhang , Lee Erika , Song Christine 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
Background:The mechanism of action behind anaphylactic reactions to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines remains unknown, but the excipient polyethylene glycol, PEG-2000, has been implicated. Initial recommendations were made for excipient testing with PEG-3350 to help risk stratify individuals and identify an etiology. Here we present a case of a patient with a history of polyethylene glycol anaphylaxis and positive skin testing to PEG-3350, who successfully received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in a single step with only premedication. Case presentation:A 56-year-old man was referred to our clinic for assessment of his eligibility in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine given a history of anaphylaxis to PEG. He had two anaphylactic episodes: one in 2018 to methylprednisolone acetate intra-articular injection and one to oral PEG-3350 in 2020. Confirmatory skin prick testing was done in our clinic to PEG-3350 that was positive at 35mm with appropriate positive and negative controls. Despite this he wanted to receive the PEG-containing mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and was counselled on the risks and benefits. He successfully received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in a single step with only pre-treatment with Cetirizine 20mg daily and Montelukast 10mg daily for 5 days. Conclusions: In conclusion, our case demonstrates that a patient with a confirmed polyethylene glycol anaphylaxis could safely receive both doses of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in a single step with pre-treatment. We hope that our case will further support the limited role in skin testing to PEG in the assessment of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine allergy and highlight the need for further research to elucidate the mechanism of action behind these allergic reactions.
Effectiveness of a transdiagnostic universal prevention program on anxiety in junior high school students after school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Kishida Kohei , Hida Noriko , Matsubara Kohei , Oguni Mayuko , Ishikawa Shin-ichi 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
School closures due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have worsened mental health problems for children and adolescents worldwide. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic universal prevention program for the mental health of junior high school students after a nationwide school closure during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan. A total of 117 junior high school students were included in the analysis. We used the Unified Universal Prevention Program for Diverse Disorders (Up2-D2) program; the Up2-D2 comprises cognitive-behavioral and positive psychological interventions provided over twelve 45-minute sessions. The program was originally implemented between June and July 2020, immediately after pandemic-related school closures had ended in Japan. The program assessments were based on students’ responses to a questionnaire incorporating five scales to measure indicators of internalizing and externalizing problems. Assessments were carried out before, immediately after, two-month, and six-month after implementing the program using student-reported questionnaires. Mixed models for the whole sample showed small anxiety improvement effects immediately post-intervention and two-month, and six-month assessments (g = -0.25, g = -0.44, and g = -0.30, respectively). The anxiety reducing effects were even greater for the higher-anxiety group at the post-, 2-month, and 6-month assessments (g = -1.48; g = -1.59; g = -1.06, respectively). These results indicate that the transdiagnostic universal prevention intervention effectively reduced anxiety for junior high students returning to school following school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
Comparative Analysis of Complete Chloroplast Genomes of Eight Ficus Species and Insights Into Phylogenetic Relationships of Ficus
Authors: Xia Xi , Peng Jingyu , Yang Lin , Zhao Xueli , Duan Anan , Wang Dawei 
Published: January 2022

Abstract

Background
The genus Ficus is an evergreen plant, the most numerous species in the family Moraceae, and often used as food and pharmacy source. The phylogenetic relationships of the genus Ficus have been debated for many years.
Results
In this study, the eight Ficus species (Ficus altissima, F. auriculata, F. benjamina, F. curtipes, F. heteromorpha, F. lyrata, F. microcarpa, and F. virens) complete chloroplast(cp) genomes were successfully sequenced and phylogenetic analyses with other Ficus species. The result showed that the eight Ficus cp genomes ranged from 160,333 bp (F. heteromorpha) to 160,772 bp (F. curtipes), with a typical quadripartite structure. It was found that the eight Ficus cp genomes had similar genome structures, containing 127 unique genes. The cp genomes of eight Ficus species contained 89–104 SSR loci, which were dominated by mono-nucleotides repeats. Moreover, we identified eight hypervariable regions eight hypervariable regions (trnS-GCU_trnG-UCC, trnT-GGU_psbD, trnV-UAC_trnM-CAU, clpP_psbB, ndhF_trnL-UAG, trnL-UAG_ccsA, ndhD_psaC and ycf1). Phylogenetic analysis showed that three subgen. (Sycomorus, Ficus. Pharmacosycea) of Ficus as monophyletic, but Urostigma is no-monophyletic.
Conclusions
In our study, we have successfully assembled and analysed the cp genomes of eight Ficus species. The results give useful data for further studies on molecular identification, phylogeny, species identification and population genetics of speciation in the Ficus.
Pseudorabies Virus Infection Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Through the PERK and IRE1 Pathways of Unfolded Protein Response in Suspension-cultured BHK-21 Cells
Authors: Chen Li , Ni Minshu , Ahmed Waqas , Xu Yue , Bao Xi , Zhuang Tenghan , Feng Lei , Guo Meijin 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a pathogen of swine resulting in devastating disease. Some viral infections can cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) to restore ER homeostasis. However, the mechanism of how PRV induces ER stress and UPR activation remains unclear. Here, levels of proteins or transcriptional factors of three UPR pathways were examined in suspension-cultured BHK-21 cells to investigate PRV-induced ER stress. Results showed that PRV triggered ER stress and UPR of the host cells with the upregulated expression of glucose-related protein 78 kD and 94 kD (GRP78 and GRP94). The protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK) pathway was activated to upregulate ATF4, CHOP, and GADD34 expression. Additionally, the inositol requiring kinase 1 (IRE1) pathway was triggered by splicing of X box-binding protein 1 (XBP1) mRNA and the enhanced expression of p58IPK and EDEM1. Furthermore, our data demonstrated that PRV took advantage of ER stress to accelerate its replication with the activation of the PERK and IRE1 pathways in suspension-cultured BHK-21 cells, and the glycoprotein B played a crucial role in ER stress.
Nicotine Addiction and Psychological Stress: a Case-control Study Among the Unemployed North Indians
Authors: Mishra Anurag , Kumar Rishabh , Mishra Satya Narayan , Vijayaraghavalu Sivakumar , Kumar Munish 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
Background: In India, nicotine addiction causes a huge socio-economic burden, mortality, and morbidity. Chronic intake develops a variety of symptoms and life-long medical complications. The study aims to examine the nicotine-induced effects on cellular oxidative stress and psychological stress and its correlations with homocysteine (Hcy) concentration in nicotine-addicted respondents. Methods & Results: Nicotine-induced psychological stress was assessed through perceived stress scales (PSS) and coping self-efficacy (CSE) scales and oxidative stress was estimated through the markers- Malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and Catalase. We found significantly higher (p=0.0001) perceived stress (PS) with diminished CSE in addicted respondents whereas low PS with significantly increased (p=0.0001) CSE were observed in non-addicted. In erythrocytes (RBCs), MDA content was found significantly increased (p=0.0006) in the nicotine-addicted group that may cause oxidative damage. SOD activity was significantly decreased (p=0.0001) in the addicted group. Similarly, plasma Catalase activity was also decreased (p=0.02). Nicotine intake influences Hcy concentration, by 55%, 27.5%, and 7.5% in addicted respondents categorized as moderate, intermediate, and severe Hcy categories. Conclusions: The minimal short-term nicotine consumption has the antioxidant role that promotes positive stimulus on memory and triggers executive functions but the same gets impaired and mitigated on chronic exposure. Chronic nicotine consumption induces oxidative stress and perceived psychological stress as well as influences the Homocysteine concentration in the addicted individuals. Higher oxidative stress impairs cellular defensive mechanisms and causes the risk for severe damage to cells and tissues.
Diet Communication on the Early Silk Road in Ancient China: Multi-Analytical Analysis of Food Remains From the Changle Cemetery
Authors: Ren Meng , Wang Renfang , Yang Yimin 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
Characterization of ancient food remains could reflect how people exploited biological resources and interact with different cultures in the past. In this study, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), starch grain, phytolith, stable isotope analysis and proteomics were adopted to characterize the composition of the food remains including three cereal foodstuffs, some meat strips and a kebab discovered at the Changle Cemetery (202 BC-AD 220), Ningxia, China, a key area on the Silk Road. The results show that the cereal foods were baked cakes, primarily made from foxtail millet (Setaria italica). One cake was simply made of millet grains, the others were more elaborately comprised of millet flour with the addition of barley flour and meat from cattle (Bos taurus) and chicken (Gallus gallus). These findings indicate that grinding and baking technologies, which were considered as the culinary tradition in western Eurasia, had been at latest adopted by the inhabitants in the Ningxia area at that time. The large-scale migration to Ningxia and the opening of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty gave rise to diet communication and assimilation in this border area. Moreover, the meat strips were identified as dried beef, and the kebab was likely to be made from sheep/goat meat, wherein the latter is the earliest scientific evidence of mutton kebab in ancient China up to our knowledge. The analytical strategy could be widely applied in characterizing ancient visible food remains in order to better understand their preparation methods.
“medicines Is All That I Can Sometimes Offer Them”: Challenges of Providing Primary Diabetes Care to Persons With Disabilities
Authors: Gopichandran Vijayaprasad , Thiagesan Rajeswaran , Soundari Hilaria 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
Background: Persons with disabilities have a higher risk for and poorer outcomes of type 2 diabetes. Primary health care providers face several challenges in providing primary diabetes care for them. This study was conducted to explore the challenges faced by primary health care providers in delivering primary diabetes services to persons with disabilities. Methods: We performed a qualitative research study by conducting in-depth interviews among 13 primary health care providers including medical officers, staff nurses, community health workers and a physiotherapist. We adopted a grounded theory approach to data collection and analysis. Results: Primary health care providers often could only prescribe medications to persons with diabetes by proxy due to poor accessibility of the facilities. They felt that these patients also had poor compliance to treatment. They felt that the lack of standard guidelines for diet and exercise for persons with disabilities prevented them from giving them appropriate advice on the same and even if they did, persons with disabilities would find it very difficult to adopt dietary changes and physical activity as they were dependent on others for even their daily activities. They also felt that they couldn’t perform annual screening tests due to lack of accessibility to higher facilities. Some primary care providers did local innovations such as formation of peer support groups, utilization of resources of other programs to reach out to persons with disabilities and innovative physical activity techniques to care for persons with disabilities. They recommended that there is a need for specific guidelines for management of diabetes among persons with disabilities, treatment of chronic diseases among persons with disabilities must be incentivized and there must be intersectoral coordination between social welfare department and health department to achieve the goal of care for persons with disabilities.Conclusions: Primary health care providers faced substantial challenges in providing primary diabetes care for persons with disabilities. There is a need for an effective public health policy to address these challenges.
Toward a long-term atmospheric CO2 inversion for elucidating natural carbon fluxes: technical notes of NISMON-CO2 v2021.1
Authors: Niwa Yosuke , Ishijima Kentaro , Ito Akihiko , Iida Yosuke 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
Global estimates of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) fluxes at the earth’s surface are imperative to understanding carbon cycle mechanisms and making reliable predictions about the global warming. Furthermore, they can provide valuable science-based information for use in reducing human-induced CO 2 emissions. Inverse analysis is a prominent method for quantitatively estimating spatiotemporal variations in CO 2 fluxes; however, this technique involves a certain degree of uncertainty and requires technical refinement, especially to improve the horizontal resolution so that local fluxes can be compared with other estimates made at the regional or national level. In this study, a newly developed set of inversion schemes was incorporated into a state-of-the-art inverse analysis system named NISMON-CO 2 . The introduced schemes involve grid conversion, observational weighting, and anisotropic prior error covariance, the details of which are described in this paper. In addition, pseudo-observation experiments were performed to investigate the effect of the new schemes, as well as to assess the reliability of NISMON-CO 2 for long-term analysis with practical inhomogeneous observations. The experiment results demonstrate the utility of the grid conversion scheme for high-resolution flux estimates (1° × 1°), and significant improvements were achieved through the observational weighting and anisotropic prior error covariance. Furthermore, the estimated seasonal and interannual variations in regional CO 2 fluxes were confirmed to be reliable, although there is some possible bias in terms of global land–ocean partitioning. These results are useful for interpreting flux variations that result from inverse analysis by NISMON-CO 2 ver. 2021.1 using real observations.
Growth-Promoting Effects of Press Water from the Mechanical Drying of Douglas-Fir Wood Chips on Lignocellulolytic Fungi
Authors: Reppke Manfred J. , Gerstner Rebecca , Windeisen-Holzhauser Elisabeth , Richter Klaus , Benz J. Philipp 
Published: January 2022

Abstract
Background:The mechanical drying of wood chips is an innovative method that improves the heating value of sawmill by-products in an energy-efficient continuous process. The liquid that comes out of the wood chips as press water (PW), however, contains a variety of undissolved as well as dissolved organic substances. The disposal of the PW as wastewater would generate additional costs due to its high organic load, offsetting the benefits in energy costs associated with the enhanced heating value of the wood chips. Our research explored if the organic load in PW could be utilized to boost the growth of cellulolytic filamentous fungi. Hence, using the industrially relevant Ascomycete Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30 as well as several Basidiomycete wood-rotting fungi, we examined the potential of press water obtained from Douglas-fir wood chips to be used in growth and enzyme production media. Results: The addition of PW supernatant to liquid cultures of T. reesei RUT-C30 resulted in a significant enhancement of the endoglucanase and endoxylanase activities with a substantially shortened lag-phase. Supplementation with PW allowed to replace several mineral ions (Fe2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+) from the liquid media without negative effects on the enzymatic activities. Concentrations of PW above 50% showed no adverse effects regarding the achievable endoglucanase activity but affected the endoxylanase activity to some extent. Exploring the growth-enhancing potential of several individual PW components after chemical analysis revealed that the observed lag-phase reduction of T. reesei RUT-C30 was not caused by the dissolved sugars and ions, nor the wood solids in the PW, suggesting that other, so far non-identified, compounds are responsible. However, also the growth rate of several basidiomycetes was significantly enhanced by the supplementation of PW to the agar medium. Moreover, their cultivation in liquid cultures reduced the turbidity of the PW substantially.Conclusions: PW was identified as a suitable media supplement for lignocellulolytic fungi, including the cellulase and xylanase producer T. reesei RUT-C30 and several wood-degrading basidiomycetes. The possibility to replace several minerals, trace elements and an equal volume of fresh water in liquid media with PW and the ability of fungal mycelia to filter out the suspended solids is a promising way to combine biological wastewater treatment with value-adding biotechnological applications.