bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Polygalacturonase production enhancement by Piriformospora indica from sugar beet pulp under submerged fermentation using surface methodology
Authors: Kiani somayyeh , rezaei parisa fathi , jamalzadegan sina 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
This study proposed a novel and cost-effective approach to enhance and optimize the polygalacturonase from P. indica. In current investigation, the impact of ammonium sulfate, sugar beet pulp (SBP) and glucose as variables on induction of polygalacturonase from P. indica was optimized using the central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) under submerged fermentation (SmF). Additionally, partial polygalacturonase purification and in situ analysis were performed. The optimal reaction conditions, which resulted in the highest enzyme activity were observed as the following conditions: ammonium sulfate (4 g/L), SBP (20 g/L), glucose (60 g/L). Under the optimized condition, the maximum enzyme activity reached to 19.4 U/ml (127 U/mg) which increased by 5.84 times compared to non-optimized conditions. The partial purified polygalacturonase molecular weight was estimated 60 KDa. In line with the bioinformatic analysis, exo-polygalacturonase sequence of P. indica showed similarity with Rhizoctonia solani’s and Thanateporus cucumeris. These results indicated that SBP act as a cheap and suitable inducer of polygalacturonase production by P. indica in a submerged cultivation. The outcome of this study will be useful for industries to decrease environmental pollution with cost-effective approaches.
Patient reported disease-specific concerns relating to sexuality in multiple myeloma
Authors: Henkelman Megan , Toivonen Kirsti I. , Tay Jason , Beattie Sara , Walker Lauren M. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Purpose
There is increasing recognition that cancer and its treatment can have lasting effects on sexuality. However, most studies focus on breast and reproductive cancers while hematological cancers remain understudied. Only one prior study has acknowledged the existence of sexuality concerns among multiple myeloma (MM) survivors but did not expand upon them. This study explored how diagnosis and treatment of MM may affect sexual expression and also examined patient-provider communication about sexuality.
Methods
Men and women with MM (N=65) were recruited internationally for an online survey. The survey included open-ended questions about MM-specific barriers to engaging in sexual activity, methods used to adapt to sexual changes, and communication with healthcare providers. Answers to open-ended questions were summarized using a qualitative descriptive approach.
Results
Participants identified several barriers to sexual activity that may be unique to MM, such as concerns about bone health, infections, and vaginal bleeding and bruising. They also described adapting to sexual challenges by trying sexual medicines/aids, changing their sexual expression, and managing treatment risks. Half of the participants reported speaking to providers about sexuality, with a minority receiving sexual health-related recommendations.
Conclusions
Participants often faced sexual challenges after diagnosis, many of which may be unique to MM. While some were able to adapt to these changes, sexuality concerns were under-discussed and under-treated by healthcare providers. Proposed suggestions for improving patient-provider communication about sexuality and clinical care are offered based on the gaps identified by participants.
Crowding results from optimal integration of visual targets with contextual information
Authors: Cicchini Guido Marco , D'Errico Giovanni , Burr David 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Crowding is the inability to recognize peripheral objects in clutter, usually considered a fundamental low-level bottleneck to object recognition. Here we advance and test an alternative hypothesis, that crowding, like “serial dependence”, results from optimizing strategies that exploit redundancies in natural scenes. This notion leads to several testable predictions: (1) crowding should be greatest for unreliable targets and reliable flankers; (2) crowding-induced biases should be maximal when target and flankers have similar orientations, falling off for differences around 20°; (3) flanker interference should be associated with higher precision in orientation judgements, leading to lower overall error rate; (4) effects should be maximal when the orientation of the target is near that of the average of the flankers, rather than to that of individual flankers. All these effects were verified, and well simulated with ideal-observer models that maximize performance. The results suggest that while crowding can impact strongly on object recognition, it is best understood not as a processing bottleneck, but as a consequence of efficient exploitation of the spatial redundancies of the natural world.
Assessing Climate Change in the Middle East from the Perspective changes in Air Temperature, Relative Humidity and Vector Wind: Land, Sea and atmosphere Interactions
Authors: Nazemosadat Mohammad Jafar , Heidari Afsaneh , Mehravar Sedighe 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
By utilizing summertime (June-September) gridded data of air temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH) and vector wind (VW), climate change was investigated over the whole of the Middle East (ME) and its ten sub-regions for the period of 1961-2020. Although changes were detected according to each individual variable, their interrelationships are discussed to justify the physical causes of the changes. For assessing the dynamic of climate change, stability in the changes was analyzed when significant results are compared between three choices comprising A) 1961 1990 and 1991-2020, B) 1961-1970 and 2011-2020 and C) 1961-1965 and 2016-2020. We proved that AT (westerly wind and RH) has (have) been predominantly increasing (decreasing) over the study area. The greatest (smallest) frequency of significant results was associated with choice C (A) suggesting changes are on the rise. After proving that the Mediterranean Sea-based northwesterly winds are the main climate controller of the ME, a large part of the observed warming and dryness is attributed to the recent weakness in these circulations. The worrying changes were associated with some populous areas including upstream of the Nile River in Eritrea and Sudan and Euphrates and Tigers Rivers in Turkey, Caucasus regions, north of Egypt, north of Iran, Turkmenistan, Saudi-Arabia and Afghanistan. In contrast to the Mediterranean region, recent enhancements in the southerly (northerly) circulations over the Indian Ocean's northwest (Caspian Sea) have been partially compensated negative impacts of warming and dryness over some areas in Iran, Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula (south of the Sea).
Establishment of a novel mouse model of adenomyosis suitable for longitudinal and quantitative analysis and perinatal outcome studies
Authors: Elsherbini Mohammed , Koga Kaori , Hiraoka Takehiro , Kumasawa Keiichi , Satake Erina , Taguchi Ayumi , Makabe Tomoko , Takeuchi Arisa , Izumi Gentaro , Takamura Masashi , Harada Miyuki , Hirata Tetsuya , Hirota Yasushi , Wada-Hiraike Osamu , Osuga Yutaka 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Background: The purpose of this study was to establish a novel mouse model of adenomyosis suitable for longitudinal and quantitative analyses and perinatal outcome studies.Methods: Using a 30 G needle, the entire uterine wall of one horn was mechanically punctured at a frequency of 100 times/1 cm (adenomyosis horn). The other horn was left unpunctured (control horn). Mice were sacrificed on day 14 (D14) or day 65 (D65). The uterus was fixed, paraffin-embedded, sliced, and stained. Lesions were detected and counted, and their volumes were measured. Cell proliferation and fibrosis were assessed by Ki67 and Masson’s Trichrome staining, respectively. Blood vessels were detected using CD31 immunostaining. Some of the mice were mated, and the date of delivery, litter size, number of implantations, and number and volume of postpartum lesions were measured.Results: The number of lesions per horn did not differ between D14 and D65. The volume of the entire lesion was significantly greater on D65 than on D14 (p < 0.0001). The volume of the epithelial part of the lesion was significantly greater in D65 (p< 0.0001). The volume of the stromal part of the lesion was also greater on D65 (p < 0.0001). The percentage of Ki67 positive cells in the epithelial part of the lesion was significantly higher on D14 (p < 0.05). In contrast, the percentage of Ki67-positive cells in the stromal part was significantly higher on D65 (p < 0.01). Vascular density in the lesions was higher in on D65 (p < 0.05). The percentage of fibrotic area was significantly higher on D65 (p < 0.01). The date of delivery was slightly earlier than that reported for healthy mice of the same strain. The litter size was smaller than that reported in previous research. The number of implantation sites did not differ between the control and the adenomyosis horn. The number and volume of lesions did not differ between the non-pregnant and postpartum groups.Conclusions: This model can be applied to evaluate the pathogenesis of adenomyosis, validate the efficacy of therapeutic agents, and evaluate the effect of adenomyosis on pregnancy and vice versa.
Social information processing across the life-span in Barbary macaques
Authors: Rathke Eva-Maria , Mundry Roger , Fischer Julia 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
According to the Strength-and-Vulnerability-Integration (SAVI) model, older people are more motivated to avoid negative affect and high arousal than younger ones. To explore the biological roots of this effect, we investigated communicative interactions and social information processing in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) living at ‘La Forêt des Singes’ in Rocamadour, France. The study combined an analysis of the use of (N = 8185 signals, 84 signalers) and responses to communicative signals (N = 3672 events, 84 receivers) with a field experiment (N = 166 trials, 45 subjects). Here we here show that older monkeys were not more likely to specifically ignore negative social information or to employ avoidance strategies in stressful situations, although they were overall less sociable. We suggest that the monkeys have only a limited capacity for self-regulation within social interactions and rather rely on general avoidance strategies to decrease the risk of potentially hazardous social interactions.
Effectiveness and Economic Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Prostate Resection with a New Surgical Shear with Integrated Energy System: a retrospective study based on a tertiary hospital database in China
Authors: Gao Yi , Zhu Yu , Sun Fukang , Shao Yuan , Huang Tao , He Wei , Xie Xin , Chen Lu , Winberg Debra R. , Xu Danfeng 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Background: Each year over 1.4 million men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Surgical prostate resection offers patients with early-stage prostate cancer a high likelihood of remission and has low reoperation rates. A new surgical shear with integrated energy system (Harmonic ACE+7) is an integrated ultrasonic and electrosurgical energy system that can aid surgeons in laparoscopic prostate resections. This study aimed to demonstrate the ACE+7’s value by determining its effectiveness and economic outcomes compared to conventional ultrasonic shear (CUS) in a real-world setting.Methods: This was a multi-center clinical study of adults with prostate cancer undergoing a laparoscopic prostate resection procedure with the ACE+7 shear or CUS between August 2019 and April 2021 at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital and two affiliated centers. Demographic and diagnosis information, intraoperative and postoperative clinical outcomes, and total and categorical costs were collected. 1:1 Propensity Score Matching was performed to form the study population for each clinical group. Data were compared between the two groups using t-tests and chi-squared tests. Results: The ACE+7 was associated with a lower number of hemostatic clips used per surgery (12.8 in the ACE+7 group vs 19.8 in the CUS group, P<0.001), a moderate but not significant difference in average postoperative drainage duration (6.6 ± 2.2 d vs. 7.9 ± 4.1 d, P=0.082), a reduction on total drainage volume (275.5 ± 374.3 ml vs. 492.9 ± 1495.0 ml, P=0.321) and a lower average rate of postoperative hemostatic drug usage (16% vs. 52%, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in total costs between the ACE+7 and CUS groups. Conclusion: This study provides real-world data demonstrating that the ACE+7 shear with integrated energy system improves clinical outcomes compared to CUS and can offer cost savings for hospitals and health systems. Using the ACE+7's during LPRs allows physicians to help their patients achieve better outcomes and not spend additional money.
Climate-driven dynamics of pathogenic microbial taxa in birds and bats
Authors: Xu Yanjie , Poosakkannu Anbu , Suominen Kati , Laine Veronika , Lilley Thomas , Pulliainen Arto , Lehikoinen Aleksi 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Climate change can facilitate emergence of zoonotic and wildlife diseases, by changing environmental suitability for hosts, ectoparasites, and pathogens. However, the connections between climatic variables and diseases remains equivocal. We compiled a systematic database for the prevalence of 121 pathogenic microbial taxa in birds and bats, including 11,801 observations from over 450,000 individuals across Europe and surrounding regions. Using a space-for-time-substitution approach, we modelled the potential connection of climatic variables on the prevalence of different taxa. The prevalence of viral and in particular bacterial taxa in birds (376 species) and bats (39 species) positively correlated with temperature, while rainfall showed negative and positive correlations with the prevalence of bacterial and viral taxa, respectively. The results suggest that our warming biosphere is subject to an emerging threat by pathogenic microbial taxa.
Recurrent SARS-CoV-2 Serology Testing and Pandemic Anxiety: A Study of Pediatric Healthcare Workers
Authors: Li Natasha , Martin Sarah R. , Heyming Theodore W. , Knudsen-Robbins Chloe , Sanger Terence , Kain Zeev 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Introduction: Limited access to SARS-CoV-2 testing has been identified as a potential source of anxiety among healthcare workers (HCWs), but the impact of repeated testing on pandemic-related anxiety in pediatric HCWs has not been examined. We sought to understand the impact of repeated SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing on pediatric HCWs COVID-19 anxiety. Methods: This longitudinal cohort study was conducted between April and July 2020. Participants, 362 pediatric HCWs, underwent rapid SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing either every 96 hours or weekly and were asked to rate their COVID-19 anxiety on a visual analog scale. Change in anxiety from baseline was calculated for each testing day response. Bivariate analyses, repeated measures, and logistic regression analyses were performed to examine demographics associated with change in anxiety.Results: Baseline COVID-19 anxiety was significantly higher in HCWs with less than 10 years of experience (Z=-2.63, p=.009), females compared to males (Z=-3.66 p<.001), and nurses compared to other HCWs (F (3,302)=6.04, p =.003). After excluding participants that received a positive test result, repeated measures analyses indicated that anxiety decreased over time (F (5,835)=3.14, p=.008). Of those HCWs that reported decreased anxiety, 57 (29.8%) had a clinically significant decrease (> 30%) and ED HCWs were 1.97 times more likely to report a clinically significant decrease in anxiety (X2(1) = 5.05, p = .025).Conclusion: Results suggest that repeated SARS-CoV-2 antibody serology testing is associated with decreased COVID-19 anxiety in HCWs. Routine screening for disease may be a helpful strategy to attenuate pandemic-related anxiety in pediatric HCWs.
Biodiverse Landscapes and Restoring Benefit: A Connection Through Naturalness
Authors: Chang Joanne , Wu Chia-Ching , Chang Chun-Yen 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Context
Research has been associating urban nature with health and wellbeing; whereas many focus on the benefits of the availability of green spaces, only a few focus on the quality of natural environments. Moreover, the mental health of urban residents has become an issue in society. Therefore, thinking about ecological health and human health when designing green spaces is critical.
Objectives
This study asked the extent to which biodiversity of landscapes is associated with attention restoration and if naturalness is the characteristic shared between biodiverse landscapes and the restoring perception of landscapes.
Methods
This study conducted laboratory experiments. We used bird survey data of the Taipei Metropolitan area to represent the biodiversity levels of landscapes and took photographs on-site of those survey sites to be the intervention. Participants viewed the images and evaluated their restoring and natural perceptions of landscapes.
Results
There were 128 participants who attended the experiments. This study reported landscapes with greater avian species richness and the avian Shannon diversity index score were evaluated as more natural. Naturalness, the avian species richness, and the avian Shannon diversity index were all associated with higher attention restorativeness. Bird abundance did not find associations with either variable. The findings demonstrated that viewing landscape images of bird biodiverse landscapes reported with same restoring effects.
Conclusion
This study demonstrated direct and measurable mental wellbeing benefits of urban bird diversity from viewing images of landscapes. This research supports previous research findings and suggests the connections between bird diversity and mental wellbeing need more investigation.
ESR1 regulates the obesity and metabolism-differential gene MMAA to inhibit the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Zhang Yiyin , Cheng Jiaxi , Zhong Cheng , Xia Qiming , Li Yirun , Chen Peng , Fan Xiaoxiao , Mao Qijiang , Lin Hui , Hong Defei 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Background Obesity is often regarded as one of the factors that promote tumorigenesis, but the role of obesity in promoting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still controversial.Methods We compared the trend change of 14 obesity-related genes in formation and development of HCC in normal, adjacent and HCC tissues. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used to verify the relationship between obesity and HCC occurrence. MMAA was discovered as an obesity and metabolism-differential gene, and its function in HCC was testified in vivo and in vitro. Finally, we explored how obese female with originally high expression of female estrogen receptor (ESR1), directly upregulated MMAA to interfere with the progression of HCC.Results Fourteen obesity-related genes were downregulated in adjacent and tumoral tissues compared with normal liver tissues, which indicated that obesity may be inversely related to the occurrence of HCC and was consistent with the result in MR analysis. We also discovered MMAA is a metabolic gene closely related to the occurrence and development of HCC via mining TCGA database, and it functioned as an anti-tumor-promoting role in HCC by damaging the mitochondrial function and preserving the redox balance. We further verified obese female with originally high expression of ESR1 can regulate MMAA to protect HCC from progression. Conclusions This study elucidates obesity might be a protective factor for female HCC patients, as they originally highly expressed ESR1 which could upregulate MMAA to suppress tumor growth and participate in metabolic reprogram.
Annular structures in perturbed low mass disc-shaped gaseous nebulae I : general and standard models
Authors: PLETSER Vladimir 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
This is the first of two papers where we study analytical solutions of a bidimensional low mass gaseous disc rotating around a central mass and submitted to small radial perturbations. Hydrodynamics equations are solved for the equilibrium and perturbed configurations. A wave-like equation for the gas perturbed specific mass is deduced and solved analytically for several cases of exponents of the power law distributions of the unperturbed specific mass and sound speed. It is found that, first, the gas perturbed specific mass displays exponentially spaced maxima, corresponding to zeros of the radial perturbed velocity; second, the distance ratio of successive maxima of the perturbed specific mass is a constant depending on disc characteristics and, following the model, also on the perturbation's frequency; and, third, inward and outward gas flows are induced from zones of minima toward zones of maxima of perturbed specific mass, leading eventually to the possible formation of gaseous annular structures in the disc. The results presented may be applied in various astrophysical contexts to thin gaseous discs of negligible relative mass, submitted to small radial perturbations.
EFFECTS OF CHITOSAN AS COMPATIBILIZER ON THE PROPERTIES OF POLYCAPROLACTONE/TAPIOCA STARCH COMPOSITE FILMS
Authors: EZENKWA OBINNA EMMANUEL , Azmi Nurulhusna , Bakar Aznizam Abu , Samsudin Sani Amril 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
This study investigates the effects of chitosan contents as a compatibilizer on the properties of polycaprolactone (PCL)/tapioca starch composite films. The mechanical and thermal, morphological and biodegradability properties of the composite films were analysed to determine the feasibility of chitosan in enhancing the properties of the composite films by improving the PCL/starch interaction. The incorporation of 2 parts per hundred (pph) chitosan slightly improved the tensile strength while the Young’ modulus, water vapor permeability and biodegradability of composite film increased with the increasing of the chitosan contents from 2 to 8 pph. The melting temperature and degree of crystallization of the composite films with 2 pph chitosan content showed that there was an interaction between PCL and starch via hydrogen bonding which was proven by Fourier transform infra-red spectra (FTIR) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. The micrographs of the composite films reveal the formation of hollow spaces to indicate that there was interaction between PCL and starch with the addition of chitosan as a compatibilizer. Hence, chitosan has successfully acted as a compatibilizer at 2 pph as the properties of composite films improved at this composition.