bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mineralocorticoid Receptors Mediate Diet-Induced Lipid Infiltration of Skeletal Muscle and Insulin Resistance
Authors: Hulse Jack L , Habibi Javad , Igbekele Aderonke E , Zhang Bingyue , Li Jessie , Whaley-Connell Adam , Sowers James R , Jia Guanghong 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Excess circulating lipids increase total intramyocellular (IMC) lipid content and ectopic fat storage, resulting in lipotoxicity and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. Consumption of a diet high in fat and refined sugars—a Western diet (WD)—has been shown to activate mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) and promote insulin resistance. However, our understanding of the precise mechanisms by which enhanced MR activation promotes skeletal muscle insulin resistance remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms by which enhanced MR signaling in soleus muscle promotes ectopic skeletal muscle lipid accumulation and related insulin resistance. Six-week-old C57BL/6J mice were fed either a mouse chow diet or a WD with or without spironolactone (1 mg/kg/day) for 16 weeks. Spironolactone attenuated 16 weeks of WD-induced in vivo glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, and improved soleus insulin metabolic signaling. Improved insulin sensitivity was accompanied by increased glucose transporter 4 (Glut4) expression in conjunction with decreased soleus free fatty acid and IMC lipid content, as well as CD36 expression. Additionally, spironolactone prevented WD-induced soleus mitochondria dysfunction. Furthermore, MR signaling also mediated WD/aldosterone-induced reductions in soleus microRNA (miR)-99a, which was identified to negatively target CD36 and prevented palmitic acid–induced increases in CD36 expression, lipid droplet formation, mitochondria dysfunction, and insulin resistance in C2C12 cells. These data indicate that inhibition of MR activation with spironolactone prevented diet-induced abnormal expression of miR-99a, which had the capacity to reduce CD36, leading to reduced IMC lipid content and improved soleus mitochondria function and insulin sensitivity.
Functions of Membrane Progesterone Receptors (mPRs, PAQRs) in Nonreproductive Tissues
Authors: Thomas Peter , Pang Yefei , Camilletti Maria Andrea , Castelnovo Luca F 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Gender differences in a wide variety of physiological parameters have implicated the ovarian hormones, estrogens and progesterone, in the regulation of numerous nonreproductive tissue functions. Rapid, nongenomic (nonclassical) progesterone actions mediated by membrane progesterone receptors (mPRs), which belong to the progestin and adipoQ receptor family, have been extensively investigated in reproductive and nonreproductive tissues since their discovery in fish ovaries 20 years ago. The 5 mPR subtypes (α, β, γ, δ, ε) are widely distributed in vertebrate tissues and are often expressed in the same cells as the nuclear progesterone receptor (PR) and progesterone receptor membrane component 1, thereby complicating investigations of mPR-specific functions. Nevertheless, mPR-mediated progesterone actions have been identified in a wide range of reproductive and nonreproductive tissues and distinguished from nuclear PR-mediated ones by knockdown of these receptors with siRNA in combination with a pharmacological approach using mPR- and PR-specific agonists. There are several recent reviews on the roles of the mPRs in vertebrate reproduction and cancer, but there have been no comprehensive assessments of mPR functions in nonreproductive tissues. Therefore, this article briefly reviews mPR functions in a broad range of nonreproductive tissues. The evidence that mPRs mediate progesterone and progestogen effects on neuroprotection, lordosis behavior, respiratory control of apnea, olfactory responses to pheromones, peripheral nerve regeneration, regulation of prolactin secretion in prolactinoma, immune functions, and protective functions in vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells is critically reviewed. The ubiquitous expression of mPRs in vertebrate tissues suggests mPRs regulate many additional nonreproductive functions that remain to be identified.
Enhancer RNAs step forward: new insights into enhancer function
Authors: Harrison Laura J. , Bose Daniel 
Published: August 2022

ABSTRACT
Enhancers confer precise spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression in response to developmental and environmental stimuli. Over the last decade, the transcription of enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) – nascent RNAs transcribed from active enhancers – has emerged as a key factor regulating enhancer activity. eRNAs are relatively short-lived RNA species that are transcribed at very high rates but also quickly degraded. Nevertheless, eRNAs are deeply intertwined within enhancer regulatory networks and are implicated in a number of transcriptional control mechanisms. Enhancers show changes in function and sequence over evolutionary time, raising questions about the relationship between enhancer sequences and eRNA function. Moreover, the vast majority of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with human complex diseases map to the non-coding genome, with causal disease variants enriched within enhancers. In this Primer, we survey the diverse roles played by eRNAs in enhancer-dependent gene expression, evaluating different models for eRNA function. We also explore questions surrounding the genetic conservation of enhancers and how this relates to eRNA function and dysfunction.
Stable iPSC-derived NKX2-1+ lung bud tip progenitor organoids give rise to airway and alveolar cell types
Authors: Hein Renee F. C. , Conchola Ansley S. , Fine Alexis S. , Xiao Zhiwei , Frum Tristan , Brastrom Lindy K. , Akinwale Mayowa A. , Childs Charlie J. , Tsai Yu-Hwai , Holloway Emily M. , Huang Sha , Mahoney John , Heemskerk Idse , Spence Jason R. 
Published: August 2022

ABSTRACT
Bud tip progenitors (BTPs) in the developing lung give rise to all epithelial cell types found in the airways and alveoli. This work aimed to develop an iPSC organoid model enriched with NKX2-1+ BTP-like cells. Building on previous studies, we optimized a directed differentiation paradigm to generate spheroids with more robust NKX2-1 expression. Spheroids were expanded into organoids that possessed NKX2-1+/CPM+ BTP-like cells, which increased in number over time. Single cell RNA-sequencing analysis revealed a high degree of transcriptional similarity between induced BTPs (iBTPs) and in vivo BTPs. Using FACS, iBTPs were purified and expanded as induced bud tip progenitor organoids (iBTOs), which maintained an enriched population of bud tip progenitors. When iBTOs were directed to differentiate into airway or alveolar cell types using well-established methods, they gave rise to organoids composed of organized airway or alveolar epithelium, respectively. Collectively, iBTOs are transcriptionally and functionally similar to in vivo BTPs, providing an important model for studying human lung development and differentiation.
A novel technique for prevention of anterior fistula and facilitation of alveolar cleft repair: Gingivoperiosteoplasty with palatoplasty
Authors: Ahmed Owais , Yasmeen Sobia , Khan Muhammad Imran , Afzal Beg Mirza Shehab 
Published: August 2022

Background & Objectives: The Cleft palate is one the most commonly encountered congenital deformity in plastic surgery clinics and can be associated with cleft lip and alveolus. Though palate repair can be associated with several complications, the most frequent and troublesome is anterior fistula formation. Various technical modifications are in practice to avoid this dreaded complication. We have started combining gingivoperiosteoplasty with palate repair to avoid postoperative anterior fistula formation and to close alveolar cleft at the same time.
Methods: A prospective study was performed at the department of plastic and reconstructive surgery, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi and selected patients were enrolled in the study after informed consent. A total of 15 patients were operated on from January 2017 to December 2020. All patients had cleft palate repair along with primary gingivoperiosteoplasty (GPP) at the age of standard palatal repair. Buccal/oral and nasal layers of the alveolus were dissected as per standard gingivoperiosteoplasty and repaired in continuation with nasal and oral layers of the palate. Postoperatively, the standard cleft palate repair protocol was followed. Follow-up was done at four weeks, 12 weeks, and six months and repair integrity was checked. Future follow-up at 4-5 years of age is planned to see the effect on alveolar collapse, bone growth, and the need for secondary bone grafting.
Results: All patients were followed up regularly. None had a complication of fistula. The repairs of both palate and alveolus remained intact. Patients were kept on the follow-up to assess the need for alveolar bone grafting in the future.
Conclusion: Gingivoperiosteoplasty combined with the palatal repair is a novel technique for the prevention of anterior palatal fistula.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.7.5422
How to cite this:Ahmed O, Yasmeen S, Khan MI, Beg MSA. A novel technique for prevention of anterior fistula and facilitation of alveolar cleft repair: Gingivoperiosteoplasty with palatoplasty. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(7):1816-1820. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.7.5422
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
EU Searching for Gatekeepers: Lebanon in European Externalized Migration Management
Authors: Andreou Angeliki Anna 
Published: August 2022

Today 1 per 5 people in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee. Lebanon, largely impacted by the Syrian-refugee crisis, followed a “non-policy” and later confining policy for refugees-management. Based on the EU Global Strategy of 2016, migration is identified as principal threat for European security. Recently, EU has exerted its external migration governance in refugee-hosting countries like Lebanon. Having the Union implemented a resilience-building approach, which ended up ignoring the Lebanese system’s structural deficiencies and not accomplishing the desired outcomes, this Policy Brief recommends:

Establishment of legal binding EU-Lebanon refugee governance agreement
Further EIDHR funding conditional to human rights and good governance alignment
Incentives to Lebanese private sector for refugees’ recruitment
Elevated shock index and modified shock index are associated with mortality and major adverse cardiac events in patients with acute myocardial infarction: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Pramudyo Miftah , Putra Iwan Cahyo Santosa , Kamarullah William , Prameswari Hawani Sasmaya , Saboe Aninka , Akbar Mohammad Rizki 
Published: August 2022

Background Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) have been studied extensively to predict unfavourable outcomes in patients suffering from an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Shock index (SI) and modified shock index (MSI) are two new emerging parameters that incorporate BP and HR into their calculations, thereby improving the predictive value of each HR and BP alone in AMI patients. Thus, our aim was to determine the prognostic utility of SI and MSI in AMI patients. Methods We searched PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCO Host, and Europe PMC from conception to May 2022. Studies were eligible if they evaluated the relationship of SI and MSI with all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events. Results A total of 16 studies involving 80,195 participants met the inclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. Our study revealed significantly higher all-cause mortality risk for patients with high SI and MSI compared to patients with low indices, regardless of the periods of outcomes, study population, or diverse cut-off values. Moreover, both increased SI and MSI also predicted higher major adverse cardiac event rates. Conclusions According to our findings, both SI and MSI in the emergency department can predict all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Given this growing body of evidence, as well as the fact that SI and MSI are very simple objective indices derived from two readily available vital signs, they should be used in daily clinical practice to risk stratify patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction. PROSPERO registration CRD42022329558.
Variations in sexual network connectivity may explain dramatic variations in sexually transmitted infection prevalence between populations and over time: a selected four-country analysis
Authors: Kenyon Chris 
Published: August 2022

Background: The incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has been noted to vary dramatically between population groups and over time. Here, the hypothesis that changes in network connectivity underpin these changes is explored. Methods: The incidence/prevalence estimates of HIV, herpes simplex virus-2, syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea, as well as two markers of sexual network connectivity (partner concurrency and multiple partnering) by ethnic group and sexual orientation in Kenya, South Africa, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (USA) were extracted from published studies. Pearson’s correlation was used to test the association between the markers of network connectivity and the incidence/prevalence of these five STIs. A literature review was performed to evaluate the possible causes of the increases and decreases in syphilis incidence over the past 60 years. Results: In each country, the five STIs were found to cluster in particular ethnic groups and sexual orientations and to be positively associated with the two markers of network connectivity. Syphilis incidence in the UK and USA was found to increase dramatically in the 1960s/1970s, decline in the 1980s and again increase in the late 1990s. These changes took place predominantly in men who have sex with men, and were preceded by corresponding changes in network connectivity. The large decline in antenatal syphilis prevalence in Kenya and South Africa in the 1990s were likewise preceded by declines in network connectivity. Conclusions: Although other explanatory variables are not controlled for, the present analysis is compatible with the hypothesis that differential network connectivity is a parsimonious explanation for variations in STI incidence over time and between populations.
Stability characterization of microfluidics lipid-stabilized double emulsions under physiologically-relevant conditions
Authors: Betterelli Giuliano Camila , Moran Joseph , Ayache Jessica , Muiznieks Lisa 
Published: August 2022

Background: Double emulsions (DEs) are water-in-oil-in-water (or oil-in-water-in-oil) droplets with the potential to deliver combinatory therapies due to their ability to co-localize hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules in the same carrier. However, DEs are thermodynamically unstable and only kinetically trapped. Extending this transitory state and rendering DEs more stable, would widen the possibilities of real-world applications, yet characterization of their stability in physiologically-relevant conditions is lacking. Methods: In this work, we used microfluidics to produce lipid-stabilized DEs with reproducible monodispersity and high encapsulation efficiency. We investigated DE stability under a range of physicochemical parameters such as temperature, pH and mechanical stimulus. Results: Stability through time was inversely proportional to temperature. DEs were significantly stable up to eight days at 4°C, five days at room temperature and two days at 37°C. When encapsulating a cargo, DE stability decreased significantly. When exposed to a pH change, unloaded DEs were only significantly unstable at the extremes (pH 1 and 13), largely outside physiological ranges. When exposed to flow, unloaded DEs behaved similarly regardless of the mechanical stimulus applied, with approximately 70% remaining after 100 flow cycles of 10s. Conclusions: These results indicate that lipid-stabilized DEs produced via microfluidics could be tailored to endure physiologically-relevant conditions and act as carriers for drug delivery. Special attention should be given to the composition of the solutions, e.g. osmolarity ratio between inner and outer solutions, and the interaction of the molecules, e.g. carrier and cargo, involved in the final formulation.
Developing and using ontologies in behavioural science: addressing issues raised
Authors: Michie Susan , Hastings Janna , Johnston Marie , Hankonen Nelli , Wright Alison J. , West Robert 
Published: August 2022

Ontologies are ways of representing aspects of the world in terms of uniquely defined classes of ‘entities’ and relationships between them. They are widely used in biological science, data science and commerce because they provide clarity, consistency, and the ability to link information and data from different sources. Ontologies offer great promise as representational systems in behavioural science and could revolutionise descriptions of studies and findings, and the expression of models and theories. This paper discusses issues that have been raised about using ontologies in behavioural science and how these can be addressed. The issues arise partly from the way that ontologies represent information, which can be perceived as reductionist or simplistic, and partly from issues to do with their implementation. However, despite the simplicity of their structure, ontologies can represent complex entities that change over time, as well as their inter-relationships and highly nuanced information about them. Nevertheless, ontologies are only one of many ways of representing information and it is important to recognise when other forms are more efficient. With regard to implementation, it is important to build ontologies with involvement from the communities who will be using them. Far from constraining intellectual creativity, ontologies that are broadly-based can facilitate expression of nuance, comparison of findings and integration of different approaches and theories. Maintaining and updating ontologies remain significant challenges but can be achieved through establishing and coordinating communities of practice.
Rapid screening of a photochromic Padparadscha-like sapphire using absorption spectroscopy
Authors: Wang Zhen , Tsai Tsung-Han , Takahashi Hiroshi 
Published: August 2022

The Padparadscha sapphire is attracting increasing interest due to its unique color combination of pink and orange. However, some Padparadscha sapphires exhibit an unstable orange color component; the stone turns from pink to orangey pink after longwave ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and the orange color fades out under a room light or halogen light source. This is of interest and concern since accuracy and consistency are important in colored stone identification services. This study investigates the UV visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectra of photochromic Padparadscha sapphires under illumination of different wavelengths between 250 and 600 nm. Our results show that shortwave UV induces the orange color more effectively than longwave UV, and Vis light near 450 nm reduces the orange color more effectively than a halogen light source. Based on these findings, we developed a prototype UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy device with two fiber-coupled light-emitting diodes at 265 and 455 nm. It can perform rapid screening of photochromic Padparadscha sapphires and has faster color recovery compared to current techniques.
Analysis of reaction between vitamin B6 and bovine serum albumin based on a terahertz metamaterial sensor
Authors: Wang Yuee , Qin Binyi , Li Zhi , Li Dongxia , Hu Fangrong , Zhang Huo , Yu Lingyao 
Published: August 2022

A four-peak terahertz metamaterial sensor was used to detect the reaction between different concentrations of vitamin

B

6

(

V
B

6

) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), which achieves a concentration range (0.015–0.125 mg/µl) of

V
B

6

and a maximum binding concentration (0.05 mg/µl) of

V
B

6

and 0.0875 mg/µl BSA. To understand the combination of

V
B

6

and BSA, the reactants between VB (

V
B

1

,

V
B

3

, and

V
B

5

) with the same concentration (0.05 mg/µl) and a BSA solution with a concentration of 0.0875 mg/µl were carried on the surface of the sensor. Experimental results show that the reactants cause the four resonance peaks of the sensor to produce the coincident redshift, which is the same as the order of their binding coefficients determined by the fluorescence method. The experimental process indicates that it is feasible to use terahertz metamaterials to detect the reaction process of organic matter.
Edge-enhanced graph neural network for DU-CU placement and lightpath provision in X-Haul networks
Authors: Wang Ruikun , Zhang Jiawei , Gu Zhiqun , Yan Shuangyi , Xiao Yuming , Ji Yuefeng 
Published: August 2022

The emerging mobile services have imposed several new challenges on the radio access network (RAN), which stimulates its evolution from cloud-RAN to next-generation RAN (NG-RAN). In NG-RAN, baseband functions are redefined as the radio unit (RU), distributed unit (DU), and central unit (CU), which are, respectively, connected by optical front/mid/backhaul (X-Haul) networks. The DU-CU placement and lightpath provision need an elaborate strategy for allocating resources tailored to user requests. However, most existing methods fail to fully perceive network conditions and then make inappropriate solutions, which may result in over-consumption of processing and transmission resources. Therefore, we propose a reinforcement-learning-based DU-CU placement and lightpath provision strategy using an edge-enhanced graph neural network, i.e, EGNN-RL. The EGNN is leveraged to adequately exploit graph-structured features in X-Haul networks, while proximal-policy-optimization-based RL is introduced to maintain policy stability. In addition, this problem is formulated as an integer linear programming model to find the optimal solution. We validate the proposed strategy under different service types (i.e., enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low latency communication, and massive machine connections) and different numbers of services, respectively. The results show that our scheme can achieve higher resource efficiency compared with existing methods. Moreover, it also adapts to new networks with the same nodes through fine-tuning the model. This can decrease nearly 15% of the retaining time and obtain similar performance with retaining.