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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0349.v1

COVID-19: Beta-Thalassemia Subjects Immunised?

Edouard Lansiaux, Philippe Pierre Pebay, Jean Laurent Picard, Joachim Son-Forget

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Pulmonary And Respiratory Medicine Keywords: Novel Coronavirus; respiratory distress; Favipiravir; statistics; correlation; beta thalassemia; immunisation; Italy; Sardinia; regression; heme

Online: 19 April 2020 (13:48:56 CEST)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202008.0021.v1

Safe Fieldwork Strategies for At-Risk Individuals

Amelia-Juliette Demery, Monique Pipkin

Subject: Social Sciences, Safety Research Keywords: diversity; inclusion; equity; fieldwork; research

Online: 2 August 2020 (11:55:47 CEST)

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Working Paper ESSAY

Shifting Our Value System Beyond Citations for a More Equitable Future

Sarah Davies, Hollie Putnam, Tracy Ainsworth, Julia Baum, Colleen Bove, Sarah Crosby, Isabelle Côté, Anne Duplouy, Robinson Fulweiler, Alyssa Griffin, Torrance Hanley, Tessa Hill, Adriana Humanes, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Anna Metaxas, Laura Parker, Hanny Rivera, Nyssa Silbiger, Nicola Smith, Ana Spalding, Nikki Traylor-Knowles, Brooke Weigel, Rachel Wright, Amanda Bates

Subject: Social Sciences, Other Keywords: mentorship; citations; bias; sexism; racism; equity; diversity; inclusion; wellbeing

Online: 22 February 2021 (16:17:45 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201912.0028.v1

Diversity-Generated Image Inpainting with Style Extraction

Weiwei Cai, Zhanguo Wei

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning Keywords: deep learning; generative adversarial networks; image inpainting; diversity inpainting

Online: 3 December 2019 (12:04:01 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0284.v1

Building Consensus around the Assessment and Interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae Diversity

Sarah Davies, Matthew H. Gamache, Lauren I. Howe-Kerr, Nicola G. Kriefall, Andrew C. Baker, Anastazia T. Banaszak, Line K. Bay, Anthony J. Bellantuono, Debashish Bhattacharya, Cheong Xin Chan, Danielle C. Claar, Mary Alice Coffroth, Ross Cunning, Simon K. Davy, Javier del Campo, Erika M. Diaz-Almeyda, Jorg C. Frommlet, Lauren E. Fuess, Raul A. Gonzalez-Pech, Tamar L. Goulet, Kenneth D. Hoadley, Emily J. Howells, Benjamin C. C. Hume, Dustin W. Kemp, Carly, D. Kenkel, Sheila A. Kitchen, Todd C. LaJeunesse, Senjie Lin, Shelby McIlroy, Ryan McMinds, Matthew R. Nitschke, Clinton A. Oakley, Raquel S. Peixoto, Carlos Prada, Hollie M. Putnam, Kate Quigley, Hannah G. Reich, James Davis Reimer, Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty, Stephanie Rosalas, Osama S. Saad, Eugenia M. Sampayo, Scott Santos, Eiichi Shoguchi, Edward G. Smith, Michael Stat, Timothy G. Stephens, Marie E. Strader, David J. Suggett, Timothy D. Swain, Cawa Tran, Nikki Traylor-Knowles, Christian R. Voolstra, Mark E. Warner, Virginia M. Weis, Rachel Wright, Tingting Xiang, Hiroshi Yamashita, Maren Ziegler, Adrienne M.S. Correa, John Everett Parkinson

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Symbiodinaceae; genetic diversity; coral symbiosis

Online: 21 June 2022 (04:49:04 CEST)

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Working Paper REVIEW

Bending the Curve of Global Freshwater Biodiversity Loss – An Emergency Recovery Plan

David Tickner, Jeff Opperman, Robin Abell, Mike Acreman, Angela H. Arthington, Stuart E. Bunn, Steven J. Cooke, James Dalton, Will Darwall, Gavin Edwards, Ian Harrison, Kathy Hughes, Tim Jones, David Leclère, Abigail J. Lynch, Philip Leonard, Michael E. McClain, Dean Muruven, Julian D. Olden, Steve Ormerod, Rebecca E. Tharme, Michele Thieme, Klement Tockner, Mark Wright, Lucy Young

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: River restoration; wetlands; freshwater conservation; Sustainable Development Goals; Convention on Biological Diversity

Online: 29 October 2019 (11:13:47 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201607.0010.v1

The Choice of the Time Horizon during Estimation of the Unconditional Stock Beta

Dimitrios Dadakas, Christos Karpetis, Athanasios Fassas, Erotokritos Varelas

Subject: Business, Economics And Management, Finance Keywords: Stock Beta, Endogenous Structural Breaks, Time Horizon

Online: 8 July 2016 (08:35:15 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201607.0022.v1

Age-sensitive eHealth Applications in Smart Homes

Wiktoria Wilkowska, Philipp Brauner, Martina Ziefle

Subject: Social Sciences, Psychology Keywords: Ambient Assisted Living; eHealth; Technology Acceptance, Smart Health, User Diversity, Serious Games for Healthcare

Online: 12 July 2016 (09:39:31 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201610.0089.v1

An Improper Integral with a Square Root

Feng Qi

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Analysis Keywords: improper integral; explicit expression; unified expression; beta function; Wallis ratio; integral representation; Catalan number

Online: 21 October 2016 (08:29:08 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0359.v1

Genomic Diversity and Evolution, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Therapeutics of the Pandemic COVID-19 Disease

M. Nazmul Hoque, Abed Chaudhury, Md. Abdul Mannan Akanda, M. Anwar Hossain, Md Tofazzal Islam

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; genetic diversity; genome evolution; diagnostics; therapeutics; vaccines

Online: 20 April 2020 (02:33:15 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0236.v1

Facing Racism and Sexism in Science by Fighting against Social Implicit Bias: A Latin and Black Woman Perspective.

Karin Calaza, Fatima Erthal, Mirtes Pereira, Kita Macario, Veronica Daflon, Isabel David, Helena Castro, Maria Vargas, Laura Martins, Jasmin Stariolo, Eliane Volchan, Leticia Oliveira

Subject: Social Sciences, Psychology Keywords: implict bias; gender disparity; diversity; racial dispariry

Online: 12 January 2021 (17:51:36 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201701.0122.v1

Synergy Effects in the Chemical Synthesis and Extensions of Multicomponent Reactions (MCRs)—The Low Energy Way to Ultra-Short Syntheses of Tailor-Made Molecules

Heiner Eckert

Subject: Chemistry And Materials Science, Organic Chemistry Keywords: multicomponent reaction; MCR; post condensation modification PCM; post condensation cyclisation PCC; MFCR; multifunction catalysis; variability; diversity; complexity; efficiency of synthesis

Online: 26 January 2017 (10:04:55 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202007.0418.v1

Beta-Adrenergic Receptor Stimulation Limits the Cellular Proarrhythmic Effects of Chloroquine and Azithromycin

Henry Sutanto, Jordi Heijman

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Cardiac And Cardiovascular Systems Keywords: arrhythmia; computational modeling; COVID-19; chloroquine; azithromycin; beta-adrenergic; electrophysiology

Online: 19 July 2020 (18:35:20 CEST)

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Background: The antimalarial drug chloroquine and antimicrobial drug azithromycin have received significant attention during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Both drugs can alter cardiac electrophysiology and have been associated with drug-induced arrhythmias. Meanwhile, sympathetic activation is commonly observed during systemic inflammation and oxidative stress (e.g., in SARS-CoV-2 infection), and may influence the electrophysiological effects of chloroquine and azithromycin. Here, we investigated the effect of beta-adrenergic stimulation on proarrhythmic properties of chloroquine and azithromycin using a detailed in silico model of ventricular electrophysiology. Methods: Concentration-dependent chloroquine and azithromycin-induced alterations in ion-channel function were incorporated into the Heijman canine ventricular cardiomyocyte model. Single and combined drug effects on action-potential (AP) properties were analyzed using a population of 592 models accommodating inter-individual variability. Sympathetic stimulation was simulated by an increase in pacing rate and experimentally validated isoproterenol-induced changes in ion-channel function. Results: At 1 Hz pacing, therapeutic doses of chloroquine and azithromycin (5 and 20 µM, respectively) individually prolonged AP duration (APD) by 33% and 13%. Their combination produced synergistic APD prolongation (+161%) with incidence of proarrhythmic early afterdepolarizations in 53.5% of models. Increasing the pacing frequency to 2 Hz shortened APD and together with 1 µM isoproterenol corrected the drug-induced APD prolongation. No afterdepolarizations occurred following increased rate and simulated application of 0.1-1 µM isoproterenol. Conclusion: Sympathetic stimulation limits chloroquine- and azithromycin-induced proarrhythmia by reducing their APD-prolonging effect, suggesting the importance of heart rate and autonomic status monitoring in particular conditions (e.g., COVID-19).

Preprint CASE REPORT | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0134.v1

Avoiding COVID-19 Complications with Diabetic Patients Could Be Achieved by Multi-Dose Bacillus Calmette–Guérin Vaccine: A Case Study of Beta Cells Regeneration by Serendipity

Bassam M. Ayoub, Eman Ramadan, Nermeen Ashoush, Mariam M. Tadros, Moataz S. Hendy, Mohamed M. Elmazar, Shaker A. Mousa

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Endocrinology And Metabolism Keywords: COVID-19; multi-dose BCG; beta cells regeneration; improved C-peptide; serendipity

Online: 9 April 2020 (05:03:24 CEST)

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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major risk factors for COVID-19 complications as it is one of the chronic immune-compromising conditions especially if patients have uncontrolled diabetes, poor HbA1c &/or irregular blood glucose levels. Diabetic patient’s mortality rates with COVID-19 are higher than cardiovascular or cancer patients. Recently Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) has shown successful results in reversing diabetes in both rats and clinical trials based on different mechanisms from aerobic glycolysis to Beta cells regeneration. BCG is a multi-face vaccine that has been used extensively in protection from TB and leprosy and has been repositioned for treatment of bladder cancer, diabetes & multiple sclerosis. Recently, the COVID-19 epidemiological study confirmed that universal BCG vaccination reduced morbidity and mortality in certain geographical areas. Countries without universal policies of BCG vaccination (Italy, Nederland, USA) have been more severely affected compared to countries with universal and long-standing BCG policies that have shown low numbers of reported COVID-19 cases. Some countries have started clinical trials that included a single dose BCG vaccine as prophylaxis from COVID-19 or an attempt to minimize its side effects. This proposed research aims to use BCG vaccine as a double-edged weapon countering both COVID-19 & diabetes, not only as protection but also as therapeutic vaccination. The work includes a case study of regenerated pancreatic beta cells based on improved C-peptide & PCPRI laboratory findings after BCG vaccination for a 9 years’ patient. The patient was re-vaccinated based on a negative tuberculin test & no scar at the site of injection of the 1st BCG vaccination at birth. Furthermore, the authors in the present article described a prospective BCG multi-dose clinical study in full details that they will apply in case of acceptance of their submitted grant & the ethical committee approval. The aim of the clinical study is to check if double dose BCG (4 weeks apart) will show a significant difference in the protection of health care professionals in Egypt. The authors suggest and invite the scientific community to take into consideration the concept of direct BCG re-vaccination (after 4 weeks) because of the reported gene expressions & exaggerated innate immunity consequently. As the diabetic MODY-5 patient (mutation of HNF1B, Val2Leu) was on low dose Riomet® while eliminating insulin gradually, a simple analytical method for metformin assay was recommended to ensure its concentration before use as it is not approved yet by the Egyptian QC labs.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201704.0040.v1

Integral Representations of Catalan Numbers and Their Applications

Feng Qi, Bai-Ni Guo

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Analysis Keywords: Catalan number; integral representation; equivalent relation; application; sum of power series; Catalan--Qi function; Catalan--Qi number; beta function

Online: 7 April 2017 (04:27:13 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201611.0116.v1

Evaluation of Diversification Techniques for Legal Information Retrieval

Marios Koniaris, Ioannis Anagnostopoulos, Yannis Vassiliou

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Information Systems Keywords: diversity; algorithms; legal information retrieval

Online: 23 November 2016 (09:50:24 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0138.v1

TGF-Beta 1 and the Spinal Cord-Specific Outcome of Multiple Sclerosis Active Plaques

Serge Nataf

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Neuroscience And Neurology Keywords: multiple sclerosis; spinal cord; transforming growth factor beta 1; active plaques

Online: 20 December 2017 (07:04:10 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201804.0305.v1

The Zeros of the Dirichlet Beta Function Encode the Odd Primes and Have Real Part 1/2

Anthony Lander

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Mathematics Keywords: Catalan beta function; Riemann’s zeta function; primes; Dirichlet L-function

Online: 24 April 2018 (05:10:20 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0333.v1

Visiting Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia) from a Breeding Perspective: A Review

Hari Kesh, Prashant Kaushik

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: bitter gourd; breeding; genetic diversity; genomics; heterosis; molecular breeding; mutation breeding

Online: 19 April 2020 (06:00:00 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202110.0172.v1

The Effect of Productive Safety Net Programme on Household Food Consumption and Dietary Diversity in Ethiopia

Mebratu Feyisa

Subject: Business, Economics And Management, Economics Keywords: PSNP; household food consumption; household dietary diversity; random effect; instrumental variable

Online: 11 October 2021 (17:15:51 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201705.0145.v1

Spatial Pattern Dynamics Analysis in Coastal Area Using Spatial Metric in Pekalongan, Indonesia

Ali Wijaya, Cahyono Susetyo, Azillatin Q. Diny, Danika H. Nabila, Rahel P. Pamungkas, Mohammad Hadikunnuha, Nursakti A. Pratomoatmojo

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: spatial pattern; land use; spatial metric; aggregation; diversity

Online: 19 May 2017 (08:43:14 CEST)

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Preprint CONCEPT PAPER | doi:10.20944/preprints202011.0342.v1

You are Welcome Here: Considerations of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Embracing New Ecologists

Bonnie M. McGill, Madison J. Foster, Abagael N. Pruitt, Samantha Gabrielle Thomas, Emily R. Arsenault, Janaye Hanschu, Kynser Wahwahsuck, Evan Cortez, Kaci Zarek, Terrance D. Loecke, Amy J. Burgin

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Keywords: Undergraduate research experience; diversity; equity; inclusion; science communication

Online: 12 November 2020 (11:31:22 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201705.0149.v1

Spatial Pattern Dynamics Analysis at Coastal Area Using Spatial Metric in Pekalongan, Indonesia

Ali Wijaya, Cahyono Susetyo, Azillatin Qisthian Diny, Danika Hudani Nabila, Rahel Putri Pamungkas, Mohammad Hadikunnuha, Nursakti Adhi Pratomoatmojo

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Spatial Pattern; Land Use; Spatial Metric; Aggregation; Diversity

Online: 19 May 2017 (16:21:11 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0149.v1

Advances in Melon Breeding (Cucumis melo L.): An Update

Hari Kesh, Prashant Kaushik

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: breeding; diversity; genetic engineering; genomics; male sterility; melon; QTLs

Online: 7 October 2020 (09:22:33 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201906.0022.v1

Pursuing the potential of heirloom cultivars to improve adaptation, nutritional and culinary features in a changing climate

Sangam Dwivedi, Irwin Goldman, Rodomiro Ortiz

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Agricultural Science And Agronomy Keywords: culinary and nutritional traits; farmer-breeder-chef-consumer nexus; folk cultivars; genetic diversity; global warming; heritage seedbank; local food systems; seed savers; stress tolerance

Online: 3 June 2019 (12:34:14 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201711.0079.v1

Cryptic Species Diversity of Rice Hopper Parasitoids in Southeast Asia

Christina Sann, Franziska Wemheuer, Alexis Beaurepaire, Rolf Daniel, silvio Erler, Stefan Vidal

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Insect Science Keywords: DNA barcoding; genetic diversity; hymenopteran parasitoids; Nephotettix spp.; Nilaparvata lugens; rice

Online: 13 November 2017 (17:06:38 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201902.0135.v1

Modelling Recovery Rates for Non-performing Loans

Anthony Bellotti, Hui Ye

Subject: Business, Economics And Management, Finance Keywords: recovery rates; beta regression; credit risk

Online: 14 February 2019 (11:30:03 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201707.0047.v1

Genetic Structure and Eco-Geographical Differentiation of Wild Sheep Fescue (Festuca ovina L.) in Xinjiang, Northwest China

Chenglin Zhang, Jianbo Zhang, Yan Fan, Ming Sun, Wendan Wu, Wenda Zhao, Xiaopeng Yang, Linkai Huang, Yan Peng, Xiao Ma, Xinquan Zhang

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: Festuca ovina L.; AFLP, genetic diversity; genetic barriers; environmental factors

Online: 18 July 2017 (10:05:56 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202001.0060.v1

Doubling the Accuracy of Indoor Location: Frequency Diversity

Berthold Horn

Subject: Engineering, Electrical And Electronic Engineering Keywords: indoor location; fine time measurement; round trip time; FTM; RTT; IEEE 802.11mc; IEEE 802.11-2016; time diversity; spatial diversity; bandwidth diversity; frequency diversity; Bayesian grid; observation model; transition model

Online: 8 January 2020 (04:18:02 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201807.0366.v1

Does Islam Practice Tolerance? Some Notes from Quranic Perspective

Abur Hamdi Usman

Subject: Social Sciences, Religion Keywords: Tolerance; Religion; Islam; Society; Diversity

Online: 19 July 2018 (15:43:50 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201801.0074.v1

A New Extension of Beta and Hypergeometric Functions

Gauhar Rahman, Gulnaz Kanwal, Kottakkaran Sooppy Nisar, Abdul Ghaffar

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Analysis Keywords: beta function; extended beta function; hypergeometric function; extended hypergeometric function; confluent hypergeometric function; extended confluent hypergeometric function; Mellin transform; beta distribution; mean; variance; transformation formula; summation formula

Online: 9 January 2018 (07:08:48 CET)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0115.v1

Capillary Regression, A Key Pathogenic Feature of COVID-19 Infection?

George E. Davis, Courtney T. Griffin

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Pathology And Pathobiology Keywords: capillary regression; COVID-19; pro-inflammatory mediators; interleukin-1 beta; tumor necrosis factor; thrombin

Online: 9 June 2020 (04:12:30 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202009.0303.v1

The Strawberry Line’s Breeding Birds and their Biophilic Benefits (Vale of Winscombe Section)

Lincoln Garland

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Keywords: Breeding birds; bird diversity; birdsong; biophilic; mental wellbeing; Nature’s Fix; Strawberry Line; Vale of Winscombe; Mendip Hills

Online: 13 September 2020 (23:51:52 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201906.0019.v2

Mathematical Basis for the Assessment of Antibiotic Resistance and Administrative Counter-Strategies

Hans H. Diebner, Anna Kather, Ingo Roeder, Katja de With

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: antibiotic cycling; antibiotic mixing; antibiotic resistance; diversity; entropy; heterogeneity

Online: 27 August 2020 (08:03:07 CEST)

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Diversity as well as temporal and spatial changes of the proportional abundances of different antibiotics (cycling, mixing or combinations thereof) have been hypothesised to be an effective administrative control strategy in hospitals to reduce the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in nosocomial or community-acquired infections. However, a rigorous assessment of the efficacy of these control strategies is lacking. The main purpose here is to present a mathematical framework for the assessment of control stategies from a processual stance. To this end, we adopt diverse measures of heterogeneity and diversity of proportional abundances based on the concept of entropy from other fields and adapt them to the needs in assessing the impact of variations in antibiotic consumption on antibiotic resistance. Thereby, we derive a family of diversity measures whose members exhibit different degrees of complexity. Most important, we extent these measures such that they account for the assessment of temporal changes in heterogeneity including otherwise undetected diversity-invariant permutations of antibiotics consumption and prevalence of resistant pathogens. We apply a correlation analysis for the assessment of associations between changes of heterogeneities on the antibiotics and on the pathogen side. As a showcase, which serves as a proof-of-principle, we apply the derived methods to records of antibiotic consumption and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant germs from University Hospital Dresden. Besides the quantification of heterogeneities of antibiotics consumption and antibiotic resistance, we show that a reduction of prevalence of antibiotic-resistant germs correlates with a temporal change of similarity with respect to the first observation of antibiotics consumption, although heterogeneity remains approximately constant. Although an interventional study is pending, our mathematical framework turns out to be a viable concept for the assessment and optimisation of control strategies intended to reduce antibiotic resistance.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0101.v1

On Generalized k-Fractional Derivative Operator

Gauhar Rahman, Kottakkaran Sooppy Nisar, Shahid Mubeen

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Analysis Keywords: beta function; k-beta function; hypergeometric function; k-hypergeometric function; Mellin transform; fractional derivative; Appell's function; k-Mittag-Leffler function

Online: 15 December 2017 (06:44:08 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201902.0018.v2

Comparing Measures of Community Lineage Diversity across North American Forests

Kyle G. Dexter, Ricardo A. Segovia, Andy Griffiths

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Keywords: temperate forests; species richness; lineage diversity; phylogenetic diversity; United States; trees; TILD

Online: 13 February 2019 (10:15:50 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201801.0247.v1

Species Diversity of Oak Stands and Its Significance for Drought Resistance

Jan Kotlarz, Sylwia Nasiłowska, Karol Rotchimmel, Katarzyna Kubiak

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: drought; diversity; oaks; remote sensing

Online: 26 January 2018 (04:52:27 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201802.0036.v1

A new Generalization of Extended Beta and Hypergeometric Functions

Kottakkaran Sooppy Nisar, Gauhar Rahman, Shahid Mubeen

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Analysis Keywords: Beta function; extended beta function; hypergeometric function; extended hypergeometric function; con uent hypergeometric function; extended con uent hyperge- ometric function; Mellin transform; beta distribution; transformation formula; summation formula.

Online: 5 February 2018 (14:30:15 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0323.v1

Understanding Inclusion within Diversity: Meaning, Model, and Practice

Kaja Brix, Olivia Lee, Sorina Stalla

Subject: Social Sciences, Sociology Keywords: diversity and inclusion; science; social pain; theory of inclusion; framework model of inclusion; practice of inclusion; meaning of inclusion

Online: 28 June 2020 (08:50:35 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201812.0094.v1

Potentials of the Underutilized Kei-apple (Dovyalis caffra L.): Beyond its Nutritional and Functional Value

Abiodun Olusola Omotayo, Khayelihle Ncama, Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Food Science And Technology Keywords: economic sustainability; environment conservation; food security; income diversity; indigenous fruit.

Online: 7 December 2018 (17:15:43 CET)

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Working Paper HYPOTHESIS

Human Genetic Diversity Possibly Determines Human's Compliance to COVID-19

Yiqiang Zhao, Yunchun Gu, Yongji Liu, Sa Li, Yuzhan Wang, Lina Bu, Qi Liu, Hongyi Lv, Fang Wan, Lida Wu, Zemin Ning

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: COVID-19; severe symptoms; inactivation; genetic diversity

Online: 16 April 2020 (09:15:49 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201811.0189.v4

The Antioxidant Effect of Beta-Alanine or Carnosine Supplementation on Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Elias de França, Fábio Santos Lira, Marcio Flávio Ruaro, Vinicius Barroso Hirota, Paula A. Faria Waziry, André Rinaldi Fukushima, Maria Luiza de Jesus Miranda, Erico Chagas Caperuto

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: beta-alanine; carnosine; oxidative stress; antioxidant

Online: 28 December 2018 (04:39:00 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0173.v1

Molecular Epidemiology Surveillance of SARS-Cov-2: Mutations and Genetic Diversity One Year After Emerging

Alejandro Flores-Alanis, Armando Cruz-Rangel, Flor Rodríguez-Gómez, James González, Carlos Alberto Torres-Guerrero, Gabriela Delgado, Alejandro Cravioto, Rosario Morales-Espinosa

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; genetic diversity; molecular surveillance; natural selection; non-synonymous substitution

Online: 11 January 2021 (09:50:55 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201904.0321.v1

Whole Genome Diversity, Population Structure and Linkage Disequilibrium Analysis of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Genotypes Using Genome-Wide DArTseq-Based SNP Markers

Somayeh Farahani, Mojdeh Maleki, Rahim Mehrabi, Homayoun Kanouni, Reza Talebi

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: chickpea; genetic diversity; linkage disequilibrium; DArTseq-SNP markers

Online: 29 April 2019 (07:56:52 CEST)

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Characterization of genetic diversity, population structure and linkage disequilibrium is prerequisite for proper management of breeding programs and conservation of genetic resources. In this study, 186 chickpea genotypes including advanced “Kabuli” breeding lines and Iranian landrace “Desi” chickpea genotypes were genotyped using DArTseq-Based SNP markers. Out of 3339 SNPs, 1152 markers with known chromosomal position were selected for genome diversity analysis. The number of mapped SNP markers varied from 52 (LG8) to 378 (LG4), with an average of 144 SNPs per linkage group. The chromosome size that covered by SNPs varied from 16236.36 kbp (LG8) to 67923.99 kbp (LG5), while LG4 showed higher number of SNPs, with an average of 6.56 SNPs per Mbp. Polymorphism information content (PIC) value of SNP markers ranged from 0.05 to 0.50, with an average of 0.32, while the markers on LG4, LG6 and LG8 showed higher mean PIC value than average. Un-weighted Neighbor Joining cluster analysis and Bayesian-based model population structure grouped chickpea genotypes into four distinct clusters. Principal component analysis (PCoA) and Discriminant Analysis of Principal Component (DAPC) results were consistent with that of the cluster and population structure analysis. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was extensive and LD decay in chickpea germplasm was relatively low. A few markers showed r²≥0.8, while 2961 pairs of markers showed complete LD (r²=1) and a huge LD block was observed on LG4. High genetic diversity and low kinship value between pairs of genotypes suggesting the presence of a high genetic diversity among studied chickpea genotypes. This study also demonstrated the efficiency of DArTseq-based SNP genotyping for large scale genome analysis in chickpea. The genotypic markers provided in this study are useful for various association mapping studies when combined with phenotypic data of different traits such as seed yield, abiotic and biotic stresses and therefore can be efficiently used in breeding programs to improve chickpea.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0052.v1

Programming of Cell Resistance to Genotoxic and Oxidative Stress

Ilya O. Velegzhaninov, Vitaliy A. Ievlev, Yana I. Pylina, Dmitry M. Shadrin, Olesya M. Vakhrusheva

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: cell programming; stress resistance; gene overexpression; radiation; oxidative stress; chemical genotoxins; malignant transformation; diversity of mechanisms

Online: 9 December 2017 (13:26:14 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201804.0179.v1

Economic Diversity and the Resource Curse: A Dynamic Panel Model

Fred Olayele, Kwok Soo

Subject: Business, Economics And Management, Economics Keywords: Diversity; resource curse; economic growth.

Online: 13 April 2018 (14:18:36 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0238.v1

Artificial Reefs in the North-East Atlantic Area: Present Situation, Knowledge Gaps and Future Perspectives

Bianca Reis, Pieter van der Linden, Isabel Sousa Pinto, Emanuel Almada, Maria Teresa Borges, Alice E. Hall, Rick Stafford, Roger J.H. Herbert, Jorge Lobo-Arteaga, Maria José Gaudêncio, Miriam Tuaty-Guerra, Océane Ly, Valentin Georges, Mariane Audo, Nassim Sebaibi, Mohamed Boutouil, Elena Blanco-Fernandez, João N. Franco

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Artificial reefs; design; building material; bio-monitoring; species diversity; European Atlantic

Online: 13 January 2021 (10:31:56 CET)

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Artificial reefs have been deployed in multiple regions of the world for different purposes including habitat restoration and protection, biodiversity and fish stock enhancement, fisheries management and recreation. Artificial reefs can be a valuable tool for ecosystem protection and rehabilitation, helping mitigate the effects of anthropogenic impacts that we face today. However, knowledge on artificial reefs is unevenly distributed worldwide, with some regions having much more quality information available and published (e.g. European Mediterranean Sea area), while others, for instance the North-East Atlantic area, do not. Here, we provide a characterization of purposely built artificial reefs in North-East Atlantic area based on all available literature (i.e. research papers and reports), highlighting the needs and gaps that are vital for establishing future perspectives for artificial reef deployment and research. In the North-East Atlantic area, sixty-one purposely built artificial reefs have been deployed since 1970, mostly between the years 1990-2009, with Spain being the country with the highest number of artificial reefs. The most reported purpose for their deployment is fisheries productivity and habitat/species protection, although, most artificial reefs are multipurpose in order to maximise the benefits of a given financial investment. The majority of artificial reefs were submerged at < 50 m, mainly between 10-20 m of depth. The most used designs were cubic blocks and complex designs made by an array of combined shapes, which mostly consist of concrete (79%). From all the analysed data on artificial reefs, 67% of the cases reported surveys to assess biodiversity after the deployment. However, in 26% of those cases, data was not available. When data was available, only 31% of cases reported long-term biomonitoring surveys (3 years or more). Based upon these findings, we noticed a general lack of scientifically robust data, including records of species and abundance of both fish and invertebrates, as well as macroalgae. Preventing an adequate determination of the best balance between shape, construction material and bio-colonization. Critiques and suggestions are discussed in the light of current available data in order to perform more efficient research, evaluation and functioning of future artificial reefs.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201802.0090.v1

High-throughput Sequencing Analysis of the Actinobacterial Apatial Diversity in Moonmilk Deposits

Marta Maciejewska, Magdalena Calusinska, Luc Cornet, Delphine Adam, Igor Pessi, Sandrine Malchair, Philippe Delfosse, Denis Baurain, Hazel Barton, Monique Carnol, Sébastien Rigali

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: antibiotics; geomicrobiology; Illumina sequencing; microbiome diversity; Streptomyces; Cave microbiology

Online: 12 February 2018 (16:30:42 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0109.v1

Effects of Altered Dietary Fiber on the Gut Microbiota, Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Cecum of Chickens during Different Growth Periods

Baosheng Sun, Linyue Hou, Yu Yang

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science And Zoology Keywords: dietary fiber; SCFA; growth period; chickens; gut microbiota; microbiotal diversity; age; cecum

Online: 9 February 2020 (16:24:29 CET)

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Increasing numbers of researchers are interested in the importance of dietary fiber for the gut microbiota, microbiotal metabolite SCFA, energy metabolism and gut health of the host. However, studies have demonstrated that long-term and longitudinal observation may be needed to evaluate the effect of dietary fiber better, and few such works have been made in chickens. Therefore, we successively fed low-fiber, high--fiber and low-fiber diets to two breeds of chickens during different growth periods (1—8, 9—20 and 21—50 weeks), aiming to longitudinally observe the long-term effect of altered dietary fiber on the gut microbiota, SCFA and development of cecum of chickens with age. The results showed that the composition and function of the gut microbiota, SCFA and the development of the cecum were different during different periods, which was largly affected by dietary fiber. However, the causes of some effects were different during the different periods. For example, compared with that in low-fiber chickens at 8 weeks, dominant fiber-degradation bacteria such as Bacteroidetes, Alloprevotella and SCFA-producing bacteria such as Faecalibacterium increased due to a high-fiber diet at 20 weeks, while due to a high feed intake in 50 weeks. Moreover, the concentration of SCFA in 20 weeks was significantly higher than in 8 weeks and 50 weeks, but the causes of this difference were also distinct. It was proposed that a long-term observation was needed to evaluate the effect of dietary fiber better on chickens. The metabolite pathways of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters encoded by Firmicutes were enriched in 8 weeks, while a two-component system and β–glucosidase encoded by Bacteroidetes were enriched in 20 and 50 weeks. The trend was the same in two breeds of chickens except for Alloprevotella. In addition, the total content of SCFA in the contents of cecum was also affected by the size of the cecum. Surprisingly, the length of the cecum shortened from 20—50 weeks, maybe due to reduced dietary fiber.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201807.0209.v1

UAV Remote Sensing for Biodiversity Monitoring: Are Forest Canopy Gaps Good Covariates?

Martin B. Bagaram, Diego Giuliarelli, Gherardo Chirici, Francesca Giannetti, Anna Barbati

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Unmanned Aerial systems (UAS); , RGB high resolution imagery; forest canopy gaps; understorey; vertical species diversity; microhabitat-bearing trees; contrast split segmentation; drone

Online: 12 July 2018 (05:36:22 CEST)

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Forest canopy gaps are important for the ecosystem dynamics. Depending on tree species, small canopy openings might be also associated to intra-crown porosity and to space between crowns. Yet, little is known on the relationships between the fine-scaled pattern of canopy openings and biodiversity features. This research explored the possibility of i)- mapping forest canopy gaps from a very high resolution orthomosaic (10 cm), processed from a versatile imaging platform such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), ii)- to derive patch metrics that can be tested as covariates of variables of interest for forest biodiversity monitoring. This is attempted in a test area of 240 ha covered by temperate deciduous forest types in Central Italy and containing 50 forest inventory plots of about 530 m². Correlation and linear regression techniques were used to explore relationships between patch metrics and understorey (density, development and species diversity) or forest habitat biodiversity variables (density of micro-habitat bearing trees, vertical species profile, tree species diversity). The results revealed that small openings in the canopy cover (75% smaller than 7 m²) can be faithfully extracted from UAV RGB imagery, using the red band and contrast split segmentation. Highest correlations were observed in the mixed forest (beech and turkey oak), while beech forest had the poorest ones and turkey oak forest displayed intermediate results. Moderate to strong linear relationships were found between gap metrics and understorey variables in mixed forest type, with adjusted R² from linear regression ranging from 0.52 to 0.87. Equally good results, in the same forest types, were observed for forest habitat biodiversity variables (0.52<adjusted R²<0.79) with highest values found for density of trees with microhabitats and vertical species profile. In conclusion, this research highlights that UAV remote sensing can potentially provide covariate surfaces of variables of interest for forest biodiversity monitoring, conventionally collected in forest inventory plots. By integrating the two sources of data, these variables can be mapped over small forest areas with satisfactory levels of accuracy, at a much higher spatial resolution than would be possible by field-based forest inventory solely.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201805.0144.v1

ISSR-Markers Assisted Genetic Diversity Assessment of Acid Lime [Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle] Germplasm of Eastern Nepal

Nabin Narayan Munankarmi, Neesha Rana, Tribikram Bhattarai, Ram Lal Shrestha, Bal Krishna Joshi, Bikash Baral, Sangita Shrestha

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: citrus breeding; diversity; genetic similarity; Lime; molecular markers; PCR

Online: 9 May 2018 (11:05:37 CEST)

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Acid lime [Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle] is a fruit crop, enriched with high commercial value and is cultivated in 60 out of 75 districts representing all geographical landscapes of Nepal. Lack of high yielding cultivars is probably one of the main reason for its extremely reduced productivity which warrants a deep understanding of genetic diversity in existing germplasm. Hereby, we aim to access the genetic diversity of acid lime germplasm cultivated at 3-different ecological gradients of eastern Nepal employing PCR-based Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats markers (ISSR). Altogether, 21 polymorphic ISSR markers were used to assess the genetic diversity in 60 acid lime cultivars sampled from different geographical locations. Analysis of binary data matrix was performed on the basis of bands obtained, scoring of the data was done accordingly, and principal coordinate analysis and phenogram were constructed using different computer algorithms. ISSR profiling yielded 234 amplicons, of which 87.18% were found to be polymorphic. The number of amplified fragments ranged from 7-18 with amplicon size ranging from 250-3200 bp. The NTSYS based Cluster analysis using UPGMA algorithm taking Dice Similarity coefficient separated 60 accessions into 2-major and 3-minor clusters. The genetic diversity analysis revealed the highest for Terai and the lowest for High-hill zone. Cluster I comprised of accessions from High-hill and Mid-hill regions revealing the close genetic relationship, whereas cluster II comprised of accessions from all three agro-ecological zones and the exotic varieties. Furthermore, our results revealed the accessions harvested from different geographical gradients were not genetically distinct, but highest diversity was observed in Terai accessions in comparison to the regions belonging to the High and Mid-hills. Thus, our data indicate that the ISSR provides a better option for evaluating the genetic diversity of Nepalese Acid Lime cultivars and furnished significant information, assisting parental selection in current and future breeding programs and germplasm conservation which ultimately may help to provide a technological breakthrough for the farmers of the developing country like Nepal.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201811.0627.v1

BIOFACQUIM: A Mexican Compound Database of Natural Products

B. Angélica Pilón-Jiménez, Fernanda I. Saldívar-González, Bárbara I. Díaz-Eufracio, José L. Medina-Franco

Subject: Chemistry And Materials Science, Theoretical Chemistry Keywords: chemical space; chemical data set; chemoinformatics; consensus diversity plot; drug discovery; molecular diversity; visualization

Online: 30 November 2018 (10:06:15 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0195.v1

On Extended Caputo Fractional Derivative Operator

Gauhar Rahman, Kottakkaran Sooppy Nisar, Muhammad Arshad

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Analysis Keywords: hypergeometric function; beta function; extended hypergeometric function; Mellin transform; fractional derivative; Caputo fractional derivative; Appell's function; generating relation

Online: 28 December 2017 (08:11:51 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201803.0120.v1

Molecular Diversity of The Tidal Swamp Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Germplasm of The South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Dindin H. Mursyidin, Purnomo Purnomo, Issirep Sumardi, Budi S. Daryono

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Agricultural Science And Agronomy Keywords: Oryza sativa; genetic diversity; tidal swamp; breeding and conservation programs

Online: 15 March 2018 (06:50:32 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201801.0089.v1

A New Extension of Extended Caputo Fractional Derivative Operator

Gauhar Rahman, Kottakkaran Sooppy Nisar, Shahid Mubeen

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Analysis Keywords: hypergeometric function; beta function; extended hypergeometric function; mellin transform; fractional derivative; caputo fractional derivative; appell's function; generating relation

Online: 10 January 2018 (09:37:35 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201910.0209.v1

Agronomic Practices, Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Moringa oleifera (Lam.) in Nigeria

Jacob Popoola, David Igwe, Opeyemi Jegede, Victoria Iwu, Adegoke Adegbite, Conrad Omonhinmin

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: agronomic practices; agrobiodiversity; aflp; climate change; cluster analysis; genetic diversity; moringa oleifera; food and nutrition security

Online: 18 October 2019 (07:34:50 CEST)

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Evaluation of agronomic practices, genetic diversity and population structure of Moringa oleifera (Lam.) is crucial to its sustainable utilization to ensure food and nutritional security. Four agronomic practices of field preparation and soil analysis, regeneration, weeding and pruning, as well as harvesting, were adopted. Genetic diversity and population structure of 20 populations were evaluated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer pairs (E-ACC/M-CAC and E-ACA/M-CAG). The effects of agronomic practices on leaf quantity production were evaluated using standard procedures. The physico-chemical and morphological data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while genetic diversity, population structure, dendrogram reconstruction, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were analyzed from the AFLP genetic data. Significant effects (P ≤ 0.05) of agronomic practices on the quantity of leaf production were recorded across the accessions. The two primer pairs generated a total of 80 alleles with a mean major allele frequency of 0.0250. Gene diversity and polymorphic information content (PIC) values were high with a mean of 0.98 and 0.974, respectively. The Gst value of 0.0490 indicated that 5 % of the total genetic divergence was among the population while 95 % within the population. Dendrogram reconstruction with genetic distance ranging from 0.87 to 0.96 segregated the accessions into eleven clusters while PCA generated six cluster groups. Field preparation and physico-chemical soil properties, regeneration, weeding and pruning, and stand development, as well as harvesting, influenced the leaf yield and genetic diversity observed in this study. The genetic data revealed that some accessions were clustered along eco-geographical lines while others grouped disparately. Identified potential parent genotypes with valuable and desirable genetic traits can be exploited for commercial, breeding and conservation purposes to ensure sustainable utilization of the species in Nigeria.

Working Paper ARTICLE

Proton Detected Solid-State NMR of Membrane Proteins at 28 Tesla and 100 Khz Magic-Angle Spinning

Evgeny Nimerovsky, Kumar Tekwani Movellan, Xizhou Zhang, Marcel C. Forster, Eszter Najbauer, Kai Xue, Rıza Dervişoğlu, Karin Giller, Christian Griesinger, Stefan Becker, Loren B Andreas

Subject: Chemistry And Materials Science, Analytical Chemistry Keywords: magic-angle spinning; solid-state NMR; membrane protein; beta barrel; transmembrane; proton detection; high magnetic field

Online: 29 March 2021 (12:49:07 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0614.v1

Unlocking the Patterns of the Tunisian Durum Wheat Landraces Genetic Structure Based on Phenotypic Characterization in Relation to Farmer’s Vernacular Name

Cyrine Robbana, Zakaria Kehel, Karim Ammar, Carlos Guzmán, M’Barek Ben Naceur, Ahmed Amri

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Durum wheat; Tunisian landraces; genetic diversity; population structure; phenotypic characterization

Online: 29 January 2021 (11:53:26 CET)

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Preprint ESSAY | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0152.v1

Let's Stream! A Beginners' Guide to Live-Streaming Scientific Conferences

C. Eduardo Guerra Amorim, Serena Tucci

Subject: Social Sciences, Media Studies Keywords: live-streaming; video-conference; broadcast; scientific conferences; diversity; inclusion

Online: 10 March 2020 (02:29:22 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202008.0635.v1

Beta-Lactamase Resistance Genes in Enterobacteriaceae from Nigeria

Babafela Awosile, Michael Agbaje, Oluwawemimo Adebowale, Olugbenga Kehinde, Ezekiel Omoshaba

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Beta-lactamase gene; Nigeria; Review

Online: 28 August 2020 (11:28:20 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201903.0108.v1

Biogenesis of a Solid Condensate: Amyloid Bodies

Miling Wang, Stephen Lee

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Cell And Developmental Biology Keywords: Nucleolar sequestration, nucleolus, physiological amyloids, ribosomal intergenic spacer, rIGSRNA, liquid-liquid phase separation, liquid-to-solid phase transition, complex coacervation, biomolecular condensates, beta-amyloid, MDM2, VHL, Cdc14, low complexity RNA, acidosis, heat shock

Online: 8 March 2019 (15:12:29 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201708.0031.v1

Detection of Aβ(1-40) Protein in Human Serum as A Causative Agent of Alzheimer’s Disease by Strain Gauge Cantilever Biosensor Immobilizing Liposome Incorporating Cholesterol

Tomoya Taniguchi, Yuki Murakami , Masayuki Sohgawa , Kaoru Yamashita, Minoru Noda

Subject: Chemistry And Materials Science, Analytical Chemistry Keywords: cantilever; NiCr strain gauge; biosensor; liposome; amyloid beta; aggregation; fibrillization; interaction; human serum; digital low-pass filtering procedure

Online: 8 August 2017 (09:57:28 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201810.0315.v1

Effect of Biochar on Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions at the Laboratory and Field Scales

Rivka B. Fidel, David A. Laird, Timothy B. Parkin

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: biochar; greenhouse gas emissions; incubation; soil; corn; switchgrass; CO2; N2O; cropping system; diversity

Online: 15 October 2018 (13:10:52 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202109.0092.v1

A Bridge Between the Breath and the Brain: Synchronization of Respiration, a Pupillometric Marker of the Locus Coeruleus, and an EEG Marker of Attentional Control State

Michael Christopher Melnychuk, Ian H. Robertson, Emanuele R.G. Plini, Paul M. Dockree

Subject: Social Sciences, Behavior Sciences Keywords: breath; respiration; synchronization; coupling,; EEG; theta-beta ratio; pranayama; meditation; attention; citta vritti

Online: 6 September 2021 (12:49:41 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201906.0063.v1

Supplementing L-Isoleucine Increases Medium Protein and Alters the Expression of Genes and Proteins Involved in Milk Protein Synthesis and Energy Metabolism in Bovine Mammary Cells

Jay Ronel Conejos, Jae-Sung Lee, Jin-Seung Park, Jun-Ok Moon, Hong-Gu Lee

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biology And Biotechnology Keywords: beta casein; MAC-T cells; Ile; milk protein synthesis; omics; proteomics

Online: 7 June 2019 (14:55:03 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201803.0215.v1

Estimation of Genetic Parameters and Prediction of Genotypic Values in Common Beans Using Mixed Models

Jessica Delfini, Vania Moda Cirino, Claudete de Fátima Ruas, Paulo Mauricio Ruas, José dos Santos Neto, Leandro Simões Azeredo Gonçalves

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: Phaseolus vulgaris L.; REML/BLUP; genetic diversity

Online: 26 March 2018 (10:35:00 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201903.0057.v1

Ruderal Plants in Urban and Sub-Urban Walls and Roofs

Alperen Meral, Emrah Yalçınalp

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Keywords: Urbanization, biological diversity, ruderal vegetation, roof, walls

Online: 5 March 2019 (11:34:03 CET)

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Objective: Main purpose of this study is to identify the ruderal plant species which spontaneously grows on the wall and roof surfaces in urban and sub-urban areas due to their limited ecological needs and to contribute to the creating of the sustainable green areas in urban environments by understanding the parameters that ruderals depend on while they require little maintenance and irrigation support if not no. Material and Methods: The main material of this study is the ruderal plants which were collected from totally 60 walls and 36 roof surfaces within six districts of Trabzon city –Akçaabat, Arsin, Çaykara, Of, Ortahisar and Yomra in Turkey. From these 96 habitats, 1540 plants samples form the walls and 448 plant samples from the roofs were collected. All the plant samples collected from the research area were identified in the herbarium of the faculty of forestry in Karadeniz Technical University. Apart from this, parametres affecting coverage rate of common species on three different habitats were analysed.Results: It was found that 448 samples from the roof surfaces distributed into 61 species while 1540 samples from the walls distributed into 196 species. Plus, according to the analyses, 28 species were found on all three different habitats. As a result of the observations, measurements and analyses, it is clear from the study that coverage rate of the plant species depends on anthropogenic interaction, daylight period and depth of the media but there is no relation with the number of the species on the surfaces.Conclusion: Ruderal plants are definitely important to study on, if the world wants the term sustainability to find its real meaning as they require nearly nothing to grow in hard conditions. In urban life, maintenance is getting more and more expensive for green areas in urban life and this makes it difficult for them to survive especially when cities have limited budget on this, which has often occurred all over the world recently. There is no doubt that ruderal plants offer a great opportunity for modern era urban areas with their limited needs to grow in hard conditions. Furthermore, when thinking about the fact a serious amount of the ruderal plants detected on all three basic habitats has a great landscape plant characteristics, the approaches to their usage in urban areas are really critical.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201804.0284.v1

Insight into the Self-Assembling Properties of a Peptergent: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Jean-Marc Crowet, Mehmet Nail Nasir, Antoine Deschamps, Vincent Stroobant, Pierre Morsomme, Magali Deleu, Patrice Soumillion, Laurence Lins

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biophysics Keywords: peptide; self-assembly; molecular dynamics; peptergency; beta structure

Online: 23 April 2018 (11:27:51 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201807.0042.v1

Tree Species Diversity and Socio-economic Perspectives of the Urban (Food) Forest of Accra, Ghana

Bertrand Nero, Nana Afranaa Kwapong, Raymond Jatta, Oluwole Fatunbi

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Forestry Keywords: species, edible, food bearing, diversity, neighborhoods, urban forest

Online: 3 July 2018 (12:10:53 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201803.0008.v1

A (p,v)-Extension of Hurwitz-Lerch Zeta Function and its Properties

Gauhar Rahman, KS Nisar, Shahid Mubeen

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Analysis Keywords: Extended beta function, hypergeometric functions, Hurwitz-Lerch Zeta functions, Mellin transform, transformation formula and summation formula.

Online: 1 March 2018 (14:46:40 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201809.0188.v1

Chemical Diversity of Metal Sulfide Minerals and Its Implications for Prebiotic Catalysis

Yamei Li, Norio Kitadai, Ryuhei Nakamura

Subject: Chemistry And Materials Science, Electrochemistry Keywords: origins of life; prebiotic chemistry; mineral catalysis; sulfide minerals; mineral diversity; density functional theory; electrocatalysis

Online: 11 September 2018 (08:39:51 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202109.0073.v1

Mitochondrial Dysfunction: a Notable Contributor to the Progression of Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s Disease

Abolaji Samson Olagunju, Abiola Adeyanju Alagbe, Titilayomi Ayomide Otenaike, Babatunde Oladayo Fabiyi, John Oluwafemi Teibo, Naeem Qusty, Safaa Qusti, Eida Mohammed Alshammari, Gaber El-Saber Batiha, Olabode Omotoso

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: Mitochondrial dysfunction; Alzheimer's disease; Parkinson's disease; Neurodegeneration; Amyloid beta; Parkin

Online: 3 September 2021 (16:01:26 CEST)

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Working Paper REVIEW

Interferons and Multiple Sclerosis: Lessons from 25 Years of Clinical and Real-World Experience with Intramuscular Interferon-Beta-1a (Avonex)

Stanley Cohan, Barry Hendin, Anthony Reder, Kyle Smoot, Robin Avila, Jason Mendoza, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Immunology And Allergy Keywords: multiple sclerosis; interferon; interferon beta-1a; COVID-19

Online: 11 January 2021 (11:07:12 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201910.0103.v1

Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-Mediated Resistance to Third Generation Cephalosporins and Conjugative Transfer of Resistance in Gram-Negative Bacteria Isolated from Hospitals in Tamil Nadu, India

Nachimuthu Ramesh , Velu Rajesh Kannan, Bulent Bozdogan, Vaithilingam Krishnakumar, Prasanth Manohar

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: beta-lactamase; cephalosporin; cefotaxime; transconjugation; plasmid-borne resistance

Online: 9 October 2019 (11:03:44 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201904.0317.v1

The Role of Marketing in Cultural Institutions in the Context of Assumptions of Sustainable Development Concept—The Example of Poland

Magdalena Sobocińska

Subject: Business, Economics And Management, Marketing Keywords: marketing concept; cultural institutions; sustainable development; cultural offer diversity; culture consumer

Online: 28 April 2019 (11:39:21 CEST)

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Working Paper ARTICLE

Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Adequacy Among an Older Spanish Population with Metabolic Syndrome in the PREDIMED-Plus Study: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Naomi Cano-Ibáñez, Alfredo Gea, Miguel A. Martínez-González, Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Dolores Corella, M. Dolors Zomeño, Dora Romaguera, Jesús Vioque, Fernando Aros, Julia Wärnberg, J. Alfredo Martínez, Lluis Serra-Majem, Ramón Estruch, Francisco Tinahones, José Lapetra, Xavier Pintó, Josep A. Tur, Antonio García-Ríos, Blanca Riquelme-Gallego, Miguel Delgado-Rodríguez, Pilar Matía, Lidia Daimiel, Vicente Martín, Josep Vidal, Clotilde Vázquez, Emilio Ros, Pilar Buil-Cosiales, Andrés Díaz-López, Rebeca Fernández-Carrión, Montserrat Fitó, Jadwiga Konieczna, Leyre Notario-Barandiaran, Ángel M. Alonso-Gómez, Eugenio Contreras-Fernández, Itziar Abete, Almudena Sánchez-Villegas, Rosa Casas, Araceli Muñoz-Garach, José Manuel Santos-Lozano, Laura Gallardo-Alfaro, Josep Basora, Olga Portoles, Miguel Ángel Muñoz, Manuel Moñino, Salvador Miralles Gisbert, Anai Moreno Rodríguez, Miguel Ruiz-Canela, Antoni Palau Galindo, Karla Alejandra Pérez-Vega, Aurora Bueno-Cavanillas

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Dietetics And Nutrition Keywords: Dietary diversity; nutrient adequacy; metabolic syndrome; aging; PREDIMED-Plus study

Online: 18 March 2019 (09:25:48 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202111.0419.v1

Facing the Harsh Reality of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Legislation

Frank Michiels, Ulrich Feiter, Stéphanie Paquin-Jaloux, Diana Jungmann, Axel Braun, Mary Ann P. Sayoc, Ricard Armengol, Markus Wyss, Bruno David

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Other Keywords: Convention on Biological Diversity; Access and Benefit Sharing; Nagoya Protocol; industry perspective

Online: 23 November 2021 (10:46:33 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201804.0079.v1

Results of BACE1-Inhibitor Clinical Trials Confirm Key Predictions For App-Independent Generation of Beta-Amyloid in Sporadic AD

Vladimir Volloch, Sophia Rits

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease (AD); amyloid precursor protein (APP); familial AD (FAD); sporadic AD (SAD); BACE1 inhibitors; APP-independent generation of beta amyloid

Online: 6 April 2018 (15:16:08 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202108.0014.v1

The Aerob and Anaerob Performance Beta-Alanine Supplement and Ergogenic Aid Using to the Power Output Variables in Cyclists: A Cohort Studies Random Model Effect

Yeliz Kahraman

Subject: Chemistry And Materials Science, Analytical Chemistry Keywords: Beta-alanine; supplementation; nutrition,; aerob and anaerob performance

Online: 2 August 2021 (10:18:40 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201907.0346.v1

Biological Hotspot larva Ikan Diperairan Estuari Desa Timbulsoko, Demak

Hanityo Nugroho, Sutrisno Anggoro , Ita Widowati

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Keywords: diversity; ecology; fishes; geoscience

Online: 31 July 2019 (04:40:34 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201904.0179.v1

A New Representation of Extended Mittage-Leffler Function and Its Properties

Abdul Ghaffar, Ayesha Saif, Faheem Khan

Subject: Computer Science And Mathematics, Mathematics Keywords: Mittag-Leffler function; extended Mittag-Leffler function; Extended beta function; Fox Wright function

Online: 16 April 2019 (10:36:23 CEST)

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Preprint TECHNICAL NOTE | doi:10.20944/preprints201912.0216.v1

Microbiological Methods to Detect Intestinal Carriage of Highly-resistant Microorganisms (HRMO) in Humans and Livestock in the i-4-1-Health Dutch-Belgian Cross-border Project

Marjolein Kluytmans-van den Bergh, Christine Lammens, Natascha Perales Selva, Carlo Verhulst, Anton Buiting, Isabel Leroux-Roels, Veroniek Saegeman, Paul Savelkoul, Annette Schuermans, Jacobien Veenemans, Dewi van der Vegt, Ina Willemsen, Bas Wintermans, Herman Goossens, Jan Kluytmans

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; intestinal carriage; detection; extended-spectrum beta-lactamase; carbapenem resistance; colistin resistance; ciprofloxacin resistance; vancomcin resistance; Enterobacterales; enterococci

Online: 16 December 2019 (11:34:12 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202001.0038.v1

Responses of Individual Plant Species, Functional Groups, α- and β-Diversity to Short-Term Grazing Exclusion under Severe Drought Episode in Long-Term Grazed Alfa-Steppes

Yacine Kouba, Saifi Merdes, Badreddine Saadali, Haroun Chenchouni

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Keywords: Mediterranean steppes; drylands; alpha diversity; beta diversity; rangeland grazing; indicator species

Online: 5 January 2020 (15:22:33 CET)

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Grazing exclusion has been proved to be one of the main measures for rehabilitating degraded arid steppes. However, the effect of this management practice on plant species diversity and composition is ambiguous, specially under prolonged droughts. Concurrently considering the responses of individual plant species, diversity of functional groups, α-diversity, and β-diversity (and its components) may be crucial to the holistic understanding of grazing exclusion effects on plant communities under drought conditions. Here, we investigated the response of these diversity measures to short-term sheep exclusion under severe drought episode in arid steppes of Alfa-grass (Stipa tenacissima) with a long evolutionary history of livestock grazing. Individual species responses were tested based on species occurrence and abundance in either grazed or grazing-excluded steppes, in addition, we used indicator species analysis to assess the strength of the association between plant species and management type. Likewise, α-diversity, abundance- and incidence-based β-diversity, as well as the functional groups’ diversities were quantified using Hill Numbers and compared between the two management types. Sheep grazing exclusion enabled the recovery of various Alfa-steppe indicator species and improved the size of regional species pool, overall α-diversity, and the diversity of therophytes. This management practice decreased the abundance-based β-diversity and the nestedness-resultant fraction of the incidence-based β-diversity at the local scale, while at the landscape scale increased the abundance-based β-diversity and its balanced variation fraction and reduced the incidence-based β-diversity and its turnover component. Furthermore, protection from grazing altered β-diversities scaling patterns by maintaining higher balanced variation in species abundance at large spatial scale and greater abundance-gradient in species composition at the fine-scale. Our results suggest that the implementation of short-term grazing exclusion in degraded arid steppes would be the appropriate management practice for vegetation restoration and plant diversity conservation during prolonged drought periods.

Working Paper ARTICLE

WNT/β-catenin Signaling Promotes TGF-β-mediated Activation of Human Cardiac Fibroblasts by Enhancing IL-11 Production

Edyta Działo, Marcin Czepiel, Karolina Tkacz, Maciej Siedlar, Gabriela Kania, Przemysław Błyszczuk

Subject: Medicine And Pharmacology, Immunology And Allergy Keywords: cardiac fibroblasts; WNT3a; WNT5a; beta-catenin; TGF-beta signalling; IL-11; cardiac fibrosis

Online: 29 July 2021 (13:15:00 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201909.0206.v1

Integrating Environmental Variables by Multivariate Ordination enables the Reliable Estimation of Mineland Rehabilitation Status

Markus Gastauer, Silvio Ramos, Cecílio Caldeira, Leonardo Trevelin, Rodolfo Jaffé, Guilherme Oliveira, Mabel Vera, Eder Pires, Flavia Santiago, Marco Carneiro, Felipe Coelho, Rosilene Silva, Pedro Walfir M. Souza-Filho, José Siqueira

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Keywords: environmental monitoring; ecological processes; functional diversity; environmental indicators; primers for environmental rehabilitation; Urucum Massif

Online: 18 September 2019 (12:57:40 CEST)

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Despite the wide variety of variables commonly applied to measure different aspects of rehabilitation, the assessment and subsequent definition of indicators of environmental rehabilitation status are not simple tasks. The main challenges are comparing rehabilitated sites with target ecosystems as well as integrating individual environmental and eventually collinear variables into a single tractable measure of the state of a system before effective indicators that track rehabilitation may be modeled. For that, a consensus is lacking regarding which and how many variables need to be surveyed. Our approach considered ecological processes, vegetation structure, and community diversity from nonrehabilitated, rehabilitating and reference sites. We applied this approach to a curated set of 32 environmental variables retrieved from nonrevegetated, rehabilitating and reference sites associated with iron ore mines from the Urucum Massif, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. By integrating variables from a single attribute or the entire set of variables into a single estimation of rehabilitation status, the proposed multivariate approach is straightforward and able to adequately address collinearity among variables. The proposed approach allows for the identification of biases towards single variables, surveys or analyses, which is necessary to rank environmental variables regarding their importance to the assessment. Furthermore, we show that bootstrapping permitted the detection of the minimum number of environmental variables necessary to achieve reliable estimations of the rehabilitation status. Finally, we show that the proposed variable integration enables the definition of environmental indicators for more comprehensive monitoring of mineland rehabilitation. Thus, the proposed multivariate ordination represents a powerful tool to outline the benefits of rehabilitating sites for the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services provided that sufficient environmental variables related to ecological processes, diversity and vegetation structure are gathered from nonrehabilitated, rehabilitating and reference study sites. By identifying deviations from predicted rehabilitation trajectories and providing assessments for environmental agencies, this proposed multivariate ordination increases the effectiveness of (mineland) rehabilitation.

Preprint CONCEPT PAPER | doi:10.20944/preprints202012.0514.v1

Seeing the Trees in the World’s Forests: An Extension of the Forest Transition Concept

Jean-Daniel Bontemps, Jean-Christophe Hervé, Pascal Marty

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: forest transition; land-use change; returning forests; global change; growing stock; stand structure; composition; diversity; forest policy

Online: 21 December 2020 (11:32:35 CET)

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The forest transition – or forest-area transition – has been put forward as a land-use concept by A.S. Mather in 1992 (The forest transition. Area 24, 367-379), to describe the historical trend generally observed in the forest area of developed countries, embodied in a V-shaped curve of the forest area over time, and that may serve as a paradigm to understand and anticipate deforestation in the developing world. Well in line with a geographical approach to forests, forest transition has thus been defined as one-dimensional, forest area being the reference state variable. From a forestry perspective, the analysis appears to be reductive, as forests are described by many other state variables than area, including forest growing stock, composition in tree species, or stand structure. Whether the drivers of forest transition (population dynamics, economic modes of production and consciousness, as classified by Mather) also impact these other forest state variables in a general way thus comes forth as a logical issue.From a deductive analysis of forest transition drivers, and from forest trends brought to light in Europe, France, and at other places in the world, we here argue that the forest transition concept can be extended to a multi-dimensional space of forest attributes, characterized by typical ideal dynamics. Cumulative impacts onto forests and irreversible losses in forest biodiversity over a forest transition are hence highlighted. Global change, as a parallel consequence of countries’ developing process, further appears as one additional albeit less coupled dimension of forest transition, as it modifies forest productivity and vitality over time. Since forest ecosystem services and forest profitability primarily depend on such attributes, we argue that the extension of the forest transition concept has significance for land-use change and forest protection issues. A prospect on future changes in the forests of developed countries with the European space as a benchmark is finally proposed that leads to extend the temporal significance of forest transition. Though poorly described, returning forests on abandoned agricultural lands are significant, and deserve greater attention.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0205.v1

Fate of β-Carotene within Loaded Delivery Systems in Food: State of Knowledge

Vaibhav Maurya, Amita Shakya, Manjeet Aggarwal, K.M. Gothandam, Torsten Bohn, Sunil Pareek

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: Beta-carotene; bioavailability; delivery system; encapsulation; engineered nanomaterial; SLNs; NLCs

Online: 8 February 2021 (12:31:57 CET)

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Accruing evidence on the influence of β-carotene regarding the prevention of several chronic diseases - in addition to its well-acknowledged role in vision has been a strong driver for developing alternative delivery systems. Though oral delivery is accepted as the most fitting, mild and safe path for delivering bioactive agents, β-carotene delivery via food items poses challenges due to its lipophilic nature, poor water-solubility, high chemical/photochemical instability and poor oral bioavailability. Nanotechnology has opened new windows for delivering bioactive agents. Their physiochemical characteristics, i.e. small size, high surface area, unique composition, biocompatibility and biodegradability make these nanomaterials an attractive tool for β-carotene delivery. Delivering β-carotene through nanoparticles does not only improve its bioavailability/bioaccumulation in target tissues, but also lessens its sensitivity against environmental factors during processing. Regardless of these benefits, nanocarriers inherit some limitations, such as variations in sensory quality, modification of the food matrix, increasing costs, as well as limited consumer acceptance and regulatory challenges. This research area has been rapidly evolved, with a plethora of innovative nano-engineered materials, including micelles, nano/microemulsion, liposomes, niosomes, solid-lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers. These nano-delivery systems make conventional delivery systems appear archaic and promise better solubilization, protection during processing, improved shelf-life, higher bioavailability as well as controlled and targeted release. This review provides information on the state of knowledge on β-carotene nano-delivery systems adopted for developing functional foods: depicting their classification, composition, preparation methods, challenges, release-and absorption of β-carotene in the GIT and possible risks and future prospects.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202108.0340.v1

Prevalence, Phylogroups, Antimicrobial Susceptibility and GE-Netic Diversity of Escherichia coli Isolates From Food Products

Babak Pakbin, Samaneh Allahyari, Zahra Amani, Wolfram Manuel Bruck, Razzagh Mahmoudi, Amir Peymani

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: Escherichia coli; Antimicrobial resistance; Food samples; Phylogenetic group; Genetic diversity

Online: 16 August 2021 (13:35:58 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202009.0387.v1

Environmental Diversity Assessment to Enhance Attractineness of Eco-tourism in Asir Region, Saudi Arabia

Jamilah Al Mohaya, Mena Elassal

Subject: Social Sciences, Geography, Planning And Development Keywords: environmental diversity; eco-tourism; Asir region; GIS; RS

Online: 17 September 2020 (08:06:50 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202107.0099.v1

A Science Mapping Analysis of Sixty-Seven Years of Scientific Evolution about the Transgender Population

Mariluza Sott Bender, Michele Kremer Sott, Vitória Merten Fernandes, Mikaela Aline Bade München, Isadora Ferretti Gonçalves, Silvia Virginia Coutinho Areosa, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: transgender; nonbinary; transsexual; queer; gender diversity; gender identity disorder; bibliometrics; science mapping

Online: 5 July 2021 (12:48:02 CEST)

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Working Paper ARTICLE

In vivo-Like Hierarchical Coculture of Hepatocytes, Hepatic Stellate Cells, and Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells for TGF-b-Induced Early Liver Fibrosis Studies in vitro

Qiao You Lau, Fuad Gandhi Torizal, Marie Shinohara, Yasuyuki Sakai

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Cell And Developmental Biology Keywords: fibrogenesis; hepatic stellate cells; coculture; transforming growth factor beta; oxygen tension

Online: 16 December 2020 (08:51:19 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202104.0746.v1

Urbanization Effect on the Ant Diversity and Composition in an Arid City

Mahmoud Saleh Abdel-Dayem, Gamal Mohamed Orabi, Mostafa Rizk Sharaf, Jonathan David Majer, Mohammed Khalid Al-Sadoon, Abdulrahman Saad Aldawood, Hathal Mohammed Aldhafer

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics Keywords: abundance; diversity; indicator species; Riyadh, species richness, urbanization; Wadi Hanifa

Online: 28 April 2021 (10:42:11 CEST)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202109.0437.v2

The Glial Aging & Senescence Hypothesis of Late-onset Alzheimer’s

Victor Lau, Leanne Ramer, Marie-Ève Tremblay

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Aging Keywords: Alzheimer's; Cellular senescence; Neurodegeneration; Microglia; Astrocytes; Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells; TREM2; Braak staging; Oxidative stress; Phapoptosis; Amyloid-beta; Tau; Neuritic plaques

Online: 7 March 2022 (14:22:25 CET)

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) predominantly occurs as a late-onset form (LOAD), involving neurodegeneration and cognitive decline with progressive memory loss. Over time, risk factors and aging promote accumulation of well-known AD pathologies in oxidative stress, amyloid-beta and tau protein pathology, as well as inflammation. Homeostatic glial functions regulate and suppress these AD pathologies; however, other glial states involve increased pro-inflammatory cytokine release and further pathology accumulation. Different stresses can additionally induce cellular senescence, or an irreversible differentiation process resulting in decreased supportive functions and increased, pro-inflammatory cytokine release. While these pathophysiological underpinnings all contribute to LOAD, they require temporal and mechanistic integration. This perspective hypothesizes that when individuals have threshold senescent glia accumulation, they transition from healthy cognition into mild cognitive impairment and LOAD diagnosis. Particularly, senescent microglia are predicted to represent a final threshold required for the tau pathology burden and spreading that corresponds to sustained neurodegeneration and dementia severity. We first explore age-related decline in glia that promote increases in AD pathologies, and then discuss emerging evidence linking oxidative stress, neurons containing tau pathology, and amyloid-beta to microglia, oligodendrocyte progenitor cell, and astrocyte senescence. Our hypothesis proposes that senescent astrocytes and oligodendrocyte progenitors pressure microglia to phagocytose neurons containing tau pathology. The resulting senescent microglia would form neuritic plaques and induce paracrine senescence transitioning into a progressive clinical dementia presentation. This predictive hypothesis can potentially account for why medications used to treat LOAD fail, as previous treatments have not reduced senescent glial burden. It is also coherent with the predominant hypotheses surrounding LOAD, generates testable hypotheses about LOAD, and increases rationale in testing senolytics as targeted treatments for LOAD arrest and reversal.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0012.v1

LANaPD: Towards a Unified Latin America Natural Products Database

José L. Medina-Franco

Subject: Chemistry And Materials Science, Theoretical Chemistry Keywords: chemoinformatics; chemical space; database; LANaPD; molecular diversity; drug discovery; natural sources

Online: 2 April 2020 (04:47:13 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0520.v1

Structure and Dynamics of Meprin β in Complex with a Hydroxamate-Based Inhibitor

Miriam Linnert, Claudia Fritz, Christian Jäger, Dagmar Schlenzig, Daniel Ramsbeck, Martin Kleinschmidt, Michael Wermann, Hans-Ulrich Demuth, Stephan Schilling

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: Meprin B; Meprin beta; metalloproteinase; astacin; hydroxamate; SAR (structure activity relationship); MWT-S-270

Online: 23 February 2021 (14:27:53 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201910.0235.v1

Climate Change and Fading Genetic Resources of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) in Nigeria Based on SSR Markers

Jacob Popoola, James Agbolade, Abiodun Ajiboye, Omotolani Akinola, Francis Lewu, Joseph Kioko, Conrad Omonhinmin

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: African locust bean; climate change; cluster analysis; genetic intra-specific diversity; polymorphic information content; food and nutrition security

Online: 20 October 2019 (16:01:21 CEST)

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African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) is a multi-purpose economic tree with genetic potentials in sub-Saharan Africa. Its cultivation and production is declining with increased aging and genetically threatened throughout its natural ranges. Research efforts are needed to change the present scenario to sustainable cultivation and utilization, hence this present study. This study was aimed at evaluating genetic diversity and geographical spread relationships of twenty landraces collected from different ecological zones of Nigeria using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Ten SSR markers were screened and five primers (PbL02, PbL03, PbL04, PbL05 and PbL09) were selected based on clear amplification products and reproducible scorable bands. The SSR primers detected a total of 55 alleles ranged from 10 to 14 alleles with a mean of 11. The percentage polymorphisms were high and ranged from 68.75 % in PbL04 to 84.21 % in PbL05 with a mean of 74.16 %. The polymorphic information content (PIC) was in the range of 0.31 in PbL02 to 0.37 in PbL09. The genetic diversity and heterozygosity values ranged from 0.39 to 0.50 and 0.00 to 0.68 while the average genetic distance for all pair wise comparisons was 0.31.The first five Principal Component (PC) accounted for 70.20 % of the total variation out of which PC1 (31.50%) and PC2 (19.20%) extracted 49.70% molecular similarity. The dendrogram resulted in separation of the 19 landraces into three major clusters based on unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average. Cluster I comprised of five landraces: ABNo130 and BENo023; OYNo11, KANo125 and NiNo262 while cluster II had only one (BANo116). Cluster III was diverse comprising 13 landraces: ZANo188, KNNo162, KENo220, GMNo076 and EbNo260, ADNo64, EdNo164, KANo137, KENo217, KwNo270, NiNo241, OsNo206 and PLNo120. The homogeneity of alleles among the studied landraces suggested suspicion of loss of genetic intra-specific variation among the landraces of P. biglobosa which calls for concerted efforts toward better cultivation, conservation, management, utilization and genetic improvement of the species in Nigeria.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201912.0244.v1

Investigating Personality in Polar Bears Using the Concept of Behavioral Instability

Anika Gottschalk, Anne Cathrine Linder, Henriette Lyhne, Marie Gade Langbak, Trine Hammer Jensen, cino pertoldi pertoldi

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science And Zoology Keywords: asymmetry; ethogram; olfactory stimuli; stereotypy; Ursus maritimus; enrichment; captivity; asymmetric diversity

Online: 19 December 2019 (06:54:57 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0045.v1

Kombucha Tea as a Reservoir of Cellulose Producing Bacteria: Assessing Diversity Among Komagataeibacter Isolates

Salvatore La China, Luciana De Vero, Kavitha Anguluri, Marcello Brugnoli, Dhouha Mamlouk, Maria Gullo

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Biochemistry And Molecular Biology Keywords: Kombucha tea; microbial diversity; bacterial cellulose; Komagataeibacter xylinus; repetitive elements sequence-based rep-PCR; typing

Online: 4 January 2021 (13:24:41 CET)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202103.0478.v1

Mechanisms of Network Interactions for Flexible Cortico-Basal Ganglia-Mediated Action Control

Petra Fischer

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Neuroscience And Neurology Keywords: Gamma oscillations; beta oscillations; subthalamic nucleus; globus pallidus; movement control

Online: 18 March 2021 (12:19:11 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201812.0177.v1

The Role of Every-Day Cosmetics in Altering the Skin Microbiome: A Study Using Biodiversity

Christopher Wallen-Russell

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Immunology And Microbiology Keywords: skin allergy epidemic; skin microbiome; skin microbiome diversity; effect of synthetic cosmetics on skin; biodiversity; synthetic ingredients in modern cosmetics; skin health; healthy skin bacteria; damaged skin bacteria

Online: 17 December 2018 (07:27:34 CET)

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