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An interrupted time series study of the leprosy case detection in Brazil after the COVID-19 pandemic
Genomic analysis of bovine respiratory disease resistance in preweaned dairy calves diagnosed by a combination of clinical signs and thoracic ultrasonography
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) poses a significant risk of morbidity and mortality in preweaned dairy calves. Research indicates that this multifactorial disorder can be attributed to the involvement of various pathogens. Currently, there is little information from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for BRD resistance in young calves based on objective measures and classification of the disease. In this study, we moved forward in phenotyping BRD by coupling two diagnostic tests, the thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) and Wisconsin respiratory score (WISC), in order to assess susceptible and resistant animals to BRD. A total of 240 individuals were scored for BRD using TUS and WISC. A GWAS was performed using a selective genotyping approach to identify Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for BRD resistance. A total of 47 calves classified as BRD resistant (TUS ≤ 1/ WISC ≤ 4) and 47 as BRD susceptible (TUS = 5/ any WISC) were genotyped with the NEOGEN’s GGP Bovine 100K SNP chip. QTL were then identified comparing the SNPs allelic frequencies between the two groups. A total of 28 QTL regions (QTLRs) were defined according to significative SNPs, 141 genes were annotated in the defined QTLRs. The genes were functionally classified into 4 main categories, i.e., i) regulation of systemic arterial blood pressure, ii) fertility, iii) immune function, and iv) filament cytoskeleton. Furthermore, 61 out of 141 genes identified here can be considered promising candidate genes since they were already associated with BRD resistance in published GWAS studies in dairy cattle. The ASB9, BMX, EPSTI1, and OLFM4 genes were identified in 4 of the 6 considered studies. This study paves the way for further research to mine the genome for resistance to respiratory diseases, utilizing an accurate classification process.
Construction of a traffic flow prediction model based on neural ordinary differential equations and Spatiotemporal adaptive networks
Retraction: Tanshinone IIA inhibits HIF-1α and VEGF expression in breast cancer cells via mTOR/p70S6K/RPS6/4E-BP1 signaling pathway
A cytometric bead array for the measurement of plasma biomarker levels in patients with Alzheimer’s disease
A mixed-methods study protocol: Perinatal depression screening systems and outcomes in obstetrics clinics
Perinatal depression (PND) is an underrecognized and underdiagnosed public health issue with long-term adverse impacts on birthing parents and their children. While obstetrics practices are increasingly encouraged to use existing evidence-based screening tools, there is little data describing the extent to which screening practices and subsequent referrals to care are implemented in clinical settings. The Screening and Treatment Enhancement for Perinatal Depression (STEPS for PPD) study aims to characterize PND screening and referral procedures and identify areas for system improvements. We describe a protocol for an observational study, guided by implementation science frameworks, examining the role of embedded perinatal social workers in managing PND across Mass General Brigham system obstetrics clinics. Our mixed-methods approach integrates qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of sources, including electronic health records, patient-reported surveys, and qualitative interviews, to capture complex screening and referral practices across a large academic medical system. We aim to characterize nuances within the screening and referral system and identify barriers and facilitators to care to inform future hybrid-implementation effectiveness research and improve patient outcomes.
Resting state connectivity patterns associated with trait anxiety in adolescence
Targeting HIV-1 conserved regions: An immunoinformatic pathway to vaccine innovation for the Asia
A combination of humoral and cell-mediated immune system stimulation is essential for developing an effective HIV vaccine. Traditional treatment options and the challenges posed by drug resistance necessitate the discovery of a viable vaccine candidate capable of eliciting a robust immunological response. This research aims to develop an HIV vaccine with a multi-epitope component using a unique immunoinformatics approach. A subunit vaccine comprising B-cell, helper T-cell, and cytotoxic T-cell epitopes, along with appropriate adjuvants and linkers, was employed to identify conserved regions in the Pol, Vpr, Gag, Tat, Env, Nef, and Vif proteins. The HIV subunit vaccine demonstrated the potential to activate both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses, indicating its immunogenicity. The application of homology modeling and refinement further enhanced the model’s accuracy. Subsequently, the molecular docking procedure utilized the refined model structure to bind to the immunological receptor TLR-3 in lymphocyte cells. Following this, the potential interactions of the subunit vaccine with TLR-3 were investigated using molecular dynamics modeling. The vaccine’s stability was improved through a meticulous disulfide engineering technique that involved inserting cysteine residues into highly flexible regions. Finally, in silico cloning was employed to validate the efficacy of translating and producing the vaccine in a microbiological setting. The vaccine shows promising results in terms of population coverage, reaching 82% of the global population, with extraordinary efficacy in Asia, covering up to 95% of the population. Our HIV vaccine candidate is highly stable and elicits a robust immune response against HIV-1.
Drying characteristics, environmental and economic analysis of a solar dryer with evacuated tube solar collector for drying Nile Tilapia slices
Abstract Lake Nasser in Egypt contains significant tilapia fish quantities, yet consumption remains low due to its geographical isolation from marketing and consuming areas. Therefore, investigating efficient and economical Tilapia fish drying methods is essential. The current study developed and tested a solar dryer based on solar energy collection, using evacuated tubes at three Nile Tilapia slice (NTS) thicknesses of 4, 8, and 12 mm, and an air velocity of 0.5 m/s. The obtained result of the solar dryer with evacuated tubes (SDET) was compared with the other results of the oven liquid petroleum gas (OLPG) as an industrial drying method. The results obtained showed that the air temperature inside the drying room of the SDET ranged between 44 and 75 °C. The average initial moisture content (MC) was 74.83% (w.b.). For both systems, the drying time ranged between 13 and 17 h at the same slice thickness. The effective moisture diffusivity was in the range of 0.87 × 10–11 to 5.66 × 10–11 m2/s. Furthermore, the mathematical modeling revealed the Modified Midilli (II) and Modified Henderson and Pabis models as the most suitable models to describe the drying behavior of NTS dried on SDET. On the other hand, the environmental analysis indicates that the developed SDET can mitigate approximately 273.6 tons of CO2 during its lifetime, resulting in a carbon credit equivalent of approximately 19,838.89 $. Additionally, the economic analysis of the SDET showed that the annual production of dried fish was 450 kg; this may result in substantial cost savings, amounting to a total of 608.4 $ per year. Also, the developed SDET had a payback period of approximately 0.413 years or less than half a year.
Influence of internal variability on future changes in surface wind speed in China with two large ensemble simulations
Wind energy, as one of the renewable energy sources, plays a crucial role in the global energy system’s transition to clean energy. China possesses vast and widely distributed wind energy resources, and in recent years, it has rapidly developed and begun large-scale commercial utilization. Therefore, studying changes in surface wind speeds (SWSs) is highly important for wind energy development in China. This study utilizes two initial condition large ensemble simulations to project future changes in SWSs over China. The two sets of initial large ensemble models used are CanESM2-LE and CESM1-LE. By comparing the results from these two large ensemble models, the influence of internal variability of the climate system on SWSs in China are studied. Both models can effectively reproduce the climatological spatial distribution of SWSs in reanalysis. Results from both models indicate that external forcing leads to an increase in winter SWSs in eastern China, while SWSs decreases in the southeastern coastal areas and southwestern Tibet. In summer, SWSs exhibits a pattern of decrease in the north and increase in the south. The magnitude of wind speed changes is greater in winter than in summer. Additionally, as the projected period extends, the magnitude of these changes intensifies. The research results can provide a scientific basis for the future planning of wind power deployment.
Identifying and validating immunological biomarkers in obstructive sleep apnea through bioinformatics analysis
Correction: GAN-WGCNA: Calculating gene modules to identify key intermediate regulators in cocaine addiction
Lung recruitment state during induction of general anaesthesia in a prospective observational clinical study in patients without and with obesity
Abstract We investigated lung aeration during preoxygenation, mask ventilation, ventilation via endotracheal tube, and the two apnoeic phases in-between. Using electrical impedance tomography we assessed global inhomogeneity, ventral-to-dorsal ventilation distribution, the area of ventilated lung and end-expiratory lung volume loss. Global inhomogeneity was increased after the apnoeic phases (non-obese: 25%, obese: 66%, p<0.005 for both) and re-improved with the first breaths of mechanical ventilation (non-obese) or during mask ventilation only (obese). Ventral ventilation increased after the first (non-obese: 52%, obese: 36%) and second apnoeic phase (non-obese: 46%, obese: 36%) compared to spontaneous breathing (all p<0.005). Ventral ventilation was highest in the first eight breaths following the second apnoeic phase in non-obese patients and in the first breath during mask ventilation in patients with obesity. The area of ventilated lung was smallest during the first or first eight breaths following each apnoeic phase in both patient groups. The decrease of end-expiratory lung volume was more pronounced during the first (non-obese: 411 [95%CI 273, 549] ml, obese: 417 [95%CI 325, 509] ml) compared to the second apnoeic phase (non-obese: 239 [95%CI 166, 312] ml, obese: 285 [95%CI 188, 382] ml, p<0.02 for all cases). We conclude that lung derecruitment occurs during the apnoeic phases of anaesthesia induction and resolves partly with subsequent mechanical ventilation.
ANXA11 biomolecular condensates facilitate protein-lipid phase coupling on lysosomal membranes
Abstract Phase transitions of cellular proteins and lipids play a key role in governing the organisation and coordination of intracellular biology. Recent work has raised the intriguing prospect that phase transitions in proteins and lipids can be co-regulated. Here we investigate this possibility in the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granule-ANXA11-lysosome ensemble, where ANXA11 tethers RNP granules to lysosomal membranes to enable their co-trafficking. We show that changes to the protein phase state within this system, driven by the low complexity ANXA11 N-terminus, induces a coupled phase state change in the lipids of the underlying membrane. We identify the ANXA11 interacting proteins ALG2 and CALC as potent regulators of ANXA11-based phase coupling and demonstrate their influence on the nanomechanical properties of the ANXA11-lysosome ensemble and its capacity to engage RNP granules. The phenomenon of protein-lipid phase coupling we observe within this system serves as a potential regulatory mechanism in RNA trafficking and offers an important template to understand other examples across the cell whereby biomolecular condensates closely juxtapose organellar membranes.
Correction: MaskDGNets: Masked-attention guided dynamic graph aggregation network for event extraction
A few-shot network intrusion detection method based on mutual centralized learning
Leveraging pleiotropic clustering to address high proportion correlated horizontal pleiotropy in Mendelian randomization studies
Kinetic modelling reveals the presence of multistability in normal and stressful conditions in translational initiation mechanism
Protein synthesis involves translation initiation, elongation, termination, and ribosome recycling, and each step is controlled intricately by many signaling proteins. Translation initiation can be compactly categorized into two mechanisms: primary and secondary. The primary mechanism involves the recruitment of three important eukaryotic initiation factors, eIF2-GDP, eIF5, and eIF2B, and their interactions, followed by the GDP-GTP exchange by eIF2B to form an active dimer eIF2-GTP. The dimer binds with Met-tRNA to form a robust ternary complex (TC). The secondary mechanism closely mirrors the primary reaction mechanism, except that the interactions of eIF2B and eIF5 happen with the TC to form complexes. These interactions happen with high fidelity and precision, failing which fail-safe mechanisms are invoked instantaneously to delay the initiation process. In this work, we build a mathematical model to unravel how the transition between translation initiation and termination occurs at the initiation stage based on the elementary mechanisms we built from the network assembled from experimental observations. We focus only on the dynamics of primary and secondary mechanisms involved in the translation initiation process under normal and integrated stress response (ISR) conditions that act as a fail-safe mechanism by through phosphorylation-dephosphorylation (PdP) reactions. Since the network is huge and has many unknown kinetic parameters, we perform structural analysis using chemical reaction network theory (CRNT) and find hidden positive feedback loops that regulate the initiation mechanism. We apply bifurcation theory to show that the model exhibits ultrasensitivity and bistability under normal conditions, while under ISR, it exhibits both bistability and tristability for the choice of kinetic parameters. We attribute bistability to translation initiation and termination and tristability in ISR to translation recovery and attenuation. We conclude that the translation initiation process is a highly regulated process guided by the threshold and switching mechanisms to make quick decisions on the translation initiation, termination, recovery or attenuation under different conditions.