PeerJ
type: channel
link: https://peerj.com/articles/
description: Articles published in PeerJ
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
publication name: PeerJ
issn: 2167-8359
items: Evaluation of film stimuli for the assessment of social-emotional processing: a pilot study
items: Comprehensive proteomic and metabolomic analysis uncover the response of okra to drought stress
items: Targeting fibroblast growth factor receptors causes severe craniofacial malformations in zebrafish larvae
items: Augmented anticancer effect and antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles synthesized by using Taxus wallichiana leaf extract
items: Sarcopenia and echocardiographic parameters for prediction of cardiovascular events and mortality in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis
items: Co-occurrence of seagrass vegetation and coral colonies supports unique fish assemblages: a microhabitat-scale perspective
items: Chronic toxicity of shrimp feed added with silver nanoparticles (Argovit-4®) in Litopenaeus vannamei and immune response to white spot syndrome virus infection
items: “Double whammy”: a rapid review of rural vs urban psychosocial cancer experiences and telehealth service in five countries during the COVID-19 pandemic
items: The effects of Saccharomyces boulardii on rat colonic hypermotility induced by repeated water avoidance stress and the potential mechanism
items: Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus chemotherapy or radiotherapy in advanced endometrial cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Evaluation of film stimuli for the assessment of social-emotional processing: a pilot study
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Difficulties in top-down and bottom-up emotion generation have been proposed to play a key role in the progression of psychiatric disorders. The aim of the current study was to develop more ecologically valid measures of top-down interpretation biases and bottom-up evoked emotional responses. Methods A total of 124 healthy female participants aged 18–25 took part in the study. We evaluated two sets of 18 brief film clips. The first set of film clips presented ambiguous social situations designed to examine interpretation biases. Participants provided written interpretations of each ambiguous film clip which were subjected to sentiment analysis. We compared the films in terms of the valence of participants interpretations. The second set of film clips presented neutral and emotionally provoking social scenarios designed to elicit subjective and facial emotional responses. While viewing these film clips participants mood ratings and facial affect were recorded and analysed using exploratory factor analyses. Results Most of the 18 ambiguous film clips were interpreted in the expected manner while still retaining some ambiguity. However, participants were more attuned to the negative cues in the ambiguous film clips and three film clips were identified as unambiguous. These films clips were deemed unsuitable for assessing interpretation bias. The exploratory factor analyses of participants’ mood ratings and evoked facial affect showed that the positive and negative emotionally provoking film clips formed their own factors as expected. However, there was substantial cross-loading of the neutral film clips when participants’ facial expression data was analysed. Discussion A subset of the film clips from the two tasks could be used to assess top-down interpretation biases and bottom-up evoked emotional responses. Ambiguous negatively valenced film clips should have more subtle negative cues to avoid ceiling effects and to ensure there is enough room for interpre…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Jenni Leppanen
creator: Olivia Patsalos
creator: Sophie Surguladze
creator: Jess Kerr-Gaffney
creator: Steven Williams
creator: Ketevan Tchanturia
subject: Psychiatry and Psychology
subject: Mental Health
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14160
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Leppanen et al.
abstract: Background Difficulties in top-down and bottom-up emotion generation have been proposed to play a key role in the progression of psychiatric disorders. The aim of the current study was to develop more ecologically valid measures of top-down interpretation biases and bottom-up evoked emotional responses. Methods A total of 124 healthy female participants aged 18–25 took part in the study. We evaluated two sets of 18 brief film clips. The first set of film clips presented ambiguous social situations designed to examine interpretation biases. Participants provided written interpretations of each ambiguous film clip which were subjected to sentiment analysis. We compared the films in terms of the valence of participants interpretations. The second set of film clips presented neutral and emotionally provoking social scenarios designed to elicit subjective and facial emotional responses. While viewing these film clips participants mood ratings and facial affect were recorded and analysed using exploratory factor analyses. Results Most of the 18 ambiguous film clips were interpreted in the expected manner while still retaining some ambiguity. However, participants were more attuned to the negative cues in the ambiguous film clips and three film clips were identified as unambiguous. These films clips were deemed unsuitable for assessing interpretation bias. The exploratory factor analyses of participants’ mood ratings and evoked facial affect showed that the positive and negative emotionally provoking film clips formed their own factors as expected. However, there was substantial cross-loading of the neutral film clips when participants’ facial expression data was analysed. Discussion A subset of the film clips from the two tasks could be used to assess top-down interpretation biases and bottom-up evoked emotional responses. Ambiguous negatively valenced film clips should have more subtle negative cues to avoid ceiling effects and to ensure there is enough room for interpre…
bibliographic citation: Leppanen et al. (2022) Evaluation of film stimuli for the assessment of social-emotional processing: a pilot study. PeerJ 10:e14160 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14160
date submitted: 2022-04-08
date accepted: 2022-09-09
issued: 2022-11-23
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Leppanen
  given name: Jenni
author list: Agent
  family name: Patsalos
  given name: Olivia
author list: Agent
  family name: Surguladze
  given name: Sophie
author list: Agent
  family name: Kerr-Gaffney
  given name: Jess
author list: Agent
  family name: Williams
  given name: Steven
author list: Agent
  family name: Tchanturia
  given name: Ketevan
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14160
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-23
copyright: ©2022 Leppanen et al.
attribution name: Leppanen et al.

Comprehensive proteomic and metabolomic analysis uncover the response of okra to drought stress
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: The response of okra to drought stress is very complicated, and the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remains ambiguous up to now. In this study, different degrees of water-stress responses of okra leaf were explained by using transcriptomics and metabolomic approaches. The photosynthesis and glycometabolism in okra leaf were both adversely affected by drought stress, leading to inhibition of the carbohydrate metabolic process, and then influencing the secondary plant metabolism. Further, drought stress disturbed amino acid metabolism, especially for the tyrosine-derived pathway as well as arginine and proline metabolism, which have been shown to be significantly enriched under water withholding conditions based on multi-omics conjoint analysis (transcriptome, proteome and metabolome). In-depth analysis of the internal linkages between differentially expressed transcripts, proteins, and metabolites decidedly indicate that tyrosine metabolism could confer tolerance to drought stress by influencing carbon and nitrogen metabolism. These findings provide a whole framework of the regulation and relationships of major transcripts and peptides related to secondary metabolism, particularly, the role of critical proteins and metabolite involved in the change of amino acid metabolism in response to drought stress.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Jiyue Wang
creator: Denghong Shi
creator: Yu Bai
creator: Ting Zhang
creator: Yan Wu
creator: Zhenghong Liu
creator: Lian Jiang
creator: Lin Ye
creator: Zele Peng
creator: Hui Yuan
creator: Yan Liu
subject: Agricultural Science
subject: Biochemistry
subject: Bioinformatics
subject: Genomics
subject: Plant Science
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14312
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Wang et al.
abstract: The response of okra to drought stress is very complicated, and the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remains ambiguous up to now. In this study, different degrees of water-stress responses of okra leaf were explained by using transcriptomics and metabolomic approaches. The photosynthesis and glycometabolism in okra leaf were both adversely affected by drought stress, leading to inhibition of the carbohydrate metabolic process, and then influencing the secondary plant metabolism. Further, drought stress disturbed amino acid metabolism, especially for the tyrosine-derived pathway as well as arginine and proline metabolism, which have been shown to be significantly enriched under water withholding conditions based on multi-omics conjoint analysis (transcriptome, proteome and metabolome). In-depth analysis of the internal linkages between differentially expressed transcripts, proteins, and metabolites decidedly indicate that tyrosine metabolism could confer tolerance to drought stress by influencing carbon and nitrogen metabolism. These findings provide a whole framework of the regulation and relationships of major transcripts and peptides related to secondary metabolism, particularly, the role of critical proteins and metabolite involved in the change of amino acid metabolism in response to drought stress.
bibliographic citation: Wang et al. (2022) Comprehensive proteomic and metabolomic analysis uncover the response of okra to drought stress. PeerJ 10:e14312 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14312
date submitted: 2022-07-08
date accepted: 2022-10-06
issued: 2022-11-23
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Wang
  given name: Jiyue
author list: Agent
  family name: Shi
  given name: Denghong
author list: Agent
  family name: Bai
  given name: Yu
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhang
  given name: Ting
author list: Agent
  family name: Wu
  given name: Yan
author list: Agent
  family name: Liu
  given name: Zhenghong
author list: Agent
  family name: Jiang
  given name: Lian
author list: Agent
  family name: Ye
  given name: Lin
author list: Agent
  family name: Peng
  given name: Zele
author list: Agent
  family name: Yuan
  given name: Hui
author list: Agent
  family name: Liu
  given name: Yan
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14312
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-23
copyright: © 2022 Wang et al.
attribution name: Wang et al.

Targeting fibroblast growth factor receptors causes severe craniofacial malformations in zebrafish larvae
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background and Objective A key pathway controlling skeletal development is fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and FGF receptor (FGFR) signaling. Major regulatory functions of FGF signaling are chondrogenesis, endochondral and intramembranous bone development. In this study we focus on fgfr2, as mutations in this gene are found in patients with craniofacial malformations. The high degree of conservation between FGF signaling of human and zebrafish (Danio rerio) tempted us to investigate effects of the mutated fgfr2sa10729 allele in zebrafish on cartilage and bone formation. Methods We stained cartilage and bone in 5 days post fertilization (dpf) zebrafish larvae and compared mutants with wildtypes. We also determined the expression of genes related to these processes. We further investigated whether pharmacological blocking of all FGFRs with the inhibitor BGJ398, during 0–12 and 24–36 h post fertilization (hpf), affected craniofacial structure development at 5 dpf. Results We found only subtle differences in craniofacial morphology between wildtypes and mutants, likely because of receptor redundancy. After exposure to BGJ398, we found dose-dependent cartilage and bone malformations, with more severe defects in fish exposed during 0–12 hpf. These results suggest impairment of cranial neural crest cell survival and/or differentiation by FGFR inhibition. Compensatory reactions by upregulation of fgfr1a, fgfr1b, fgfr4, sp7 and dlx2a were found in the 0–12 hpf group, while in the 24–36 hpf group only upregulation of fgf3 was found together with downregulation of fgfr1a and fgfr2. Conclusions Pharmacological targeting of FGFR1-4 kinase signaling causes severe craniofacial malformations, whereas abrogation of FGFR2 kinase signaling alone does not induce craniofacial skeletal abnormalities. These findings enhance our understanding of the role of FGFRs in the etiology of craniofacial malformations.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Liesbeth Gebuijs
creator: Frank A. Wagener
creator: Jan Zethof
creator: Carine E. Carels
creator: Johannes W. Von den Hoff
creator: Juriaan R. Metz
subject: Aquaculture, Fisheries and Fish Science
subject: Biochemistry
subject: Developmental Biology
subject: Molecular Biology
subject: Translational Medicine
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14338
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Gebuijs et al.
abstract: Background and Objective A key pathway controlling skeletal development is fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and FGF receptor (FGFR) signaling. Major regulatory functions of FGF signaling are chondrogenesis, endochondral and intramembranous bone development. In this study we focus on fgfr2, as mutations in this gene are found in patients with craniofacial malformations. The high degree of conservation between FGF signaling of human and zebrafish (Danio rerio) tempted us to investigate effects of the mutated fgfr2sa10729 allele in zebrafish on cartilage and bone formation. Methods We stained cartilage and bone in 5 days post fertilization (dpf) zebrafish larvae and compared mutants with wildtypes. We also determined the expression of genes related to these processes. We further investigated whether pharmacological blocking of all FGFRs with the inhibitor BGJ398, during 0–12 and 24–36 h post fertilization (hpf), affected craniofacial structure development at 5 dpf. Results We found only subtle differences in craniofacial morphology between wildtypes and mutants, likely because of receptor redundancy. After exposure to BGJ398, we found dose-dependent cartilage and bone malformations, with more severe defects in fish exposed during 0–12 hpf. These results suggest impairment of cranial neural crest cell survival and/or differentiation by FGFR inhibition. Compensatory reactions by upregulation of fgfr1a, fgfr1b, fgfr4, sp7 and dlx2a were found in the 0–12 hpf group, while in the 24–36 hpf group only upregulation of fgf3 was found together with downregulation of fgfr1a and fgfr2. Conclusions Pharmacological targeting of FGFR1-4 kinase signaling causes severe craniofacial malformations, whereas abrogation of FGFR2 kinase signaling alone does not induce craniofacial skeletal abnormalities. These findings enhance our understanding of the role of FGFRs in the etiology of craniofacial malformations.
bibliographic citation: Gebuijs et al. (2022) Targeting fibroblast growth factor receptors causes severe craniofacial malformations in zebrafish larvae. PeerJ 10:e14338 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14338
date submitted: 2022-08-22
date accepted: 2022-10-13
issued: 2022-11-23
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Gebuijs
  given name: Liesbeth
author list: Agent
  family name: Wagener
  given name: Frank A.
author list: Agent
  family name: Zethof
  given name: Jan
author list: Agent
  family name: Carels
  given name: Carine E.
author list: Agent
  family name: Von den Hoff
  given name: Johannes W.
author list: Agent
  family name: Metz
  given name: Juriaan R.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14338
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-23
copyright: ©2022 Gebuijs et al.
attribution name: Gebuijs et al.

Augmented anticancer effect and antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles synthesized by using Taxus wallichiana leaf extract
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Taxus wallichiana is an evergreen tree species found in the Himalayan region of Pakistan. The tree possesses important secondary metabolites such as Taxol that has been implicated in treating breast, ovarian and colon cancer. Therefore keeping in view the importance of this plant species, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using Taxus wallichiana aqueous leaf extract and evaluated for their anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties. Methods Silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized for their optical, morphological and structural features using techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and were evaluated for their antibacterial activity and anti-cancer activity using U251 cell line. Results The study showed that the UV-absorbance peak of Ag2O NPs at 450 nm shifted to 410 nm, affirming the formation of leaf extract Ag NPs. Similarly structural studies revealed the crystalline nature of the cubic structure of the Ag crystal with an average crystallite size of 29 nm. FTIR analysis exhibited the existence of different functional elements including O-H and N-H and phenolic groups. Non-spherical glomerular shaped Taxus wallichiana Ag NPs were observed from SEM studies and EDX profile showed Ag as the main element along with constituent of biological origin. The synthesized Ag NPs showed significant antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. The cytotoxic activity of Ag NPs on U251 brain cancer cells showed a synergistic effect with 10 ug/mL concentration after 48 and 72 h incubation based on cell viability assay indicating promising glioblastoma drug potential.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Aliya Yousaf
creator: Muhammad Waseem
creator: Aneela Javed
creator: Sofia Baig
creator: Bushra Ismail
creator: Ayesha Baig
creator: Irum Shahzadi
creator: Shamyla Nawazish
creator: Iftikhar Zaman
subject: Biochemistry
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Microbiology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14391
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Yousaf et al.
abstract: Background Taxus wallichiana is an evergreen tree species found in the Himalayan region of Pakistan. The tree possesses important secondary metabolites such as Taxol that has been implicated in treating breast, ovarian and colon cancer. Therefore keeping in view the importance of this plant species, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using Taxus wallichiana aqueous leaf extract and evaluated for their anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties. Methods Silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized for their optical, morphological and structural features using techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and were evaluated for their antibacterial activity and anti-cancer activity using U251 cell line. Results The study showed that the UV-absorbance peak of Ag2O NPs at 450 nm shifted to 410 nm, affirming the formation of leaf extract Ag NPs. Similarly structural studies revealed the crystalline nature of the cubic structure of the Ag crystal with an average crystallite size of 29 nm. FTIR analysis exhibited the existence of different functional elements including O-H and N-H and phenolic groups. Non-spherical glomerular shaped Taxus wallichiana Ag NPs were observed from SEM studies and EDX profile showed Ag as the main element along with constituent of biological origin. The synthesized Ag NPs showed significant antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. The cytotoxic activity of Ag NPs on U251 brain cancer cells showed a synergistic effect with 10 ug/mL concentration after 48 and 72 h incubation based on cell viability assay indicating promising glioblastoma drug potential.
bibliographic citation: Yousaf et al. (2022) Augmented anticancer effect and antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles synthesized by using Taxus wallichiana leaf extract. PeerJ 10:e14391 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14391
date submitted: 2022-06-15
date accepted: 2022-10-23
issued: 2022-11-23
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Yousaf
  given name: Aliya
author list: Agent
  family name: Waseem
  given name: Muhammad
author list: Agent
  family name: Javed
  given name: Aneela
author list: Agent
  family name: Baig
  given name: Sofia
author list: Agent
  family name: Ismail
  given name: Bushra
author list: Agent
  family name: Baig
  given name: Ayesha
author list: Agent
  family name: Shahzadi
  given name: Irum
author list: Agent
  family name: Nawazish
  given name: Shamyla
author list: Agent
  family name: Zaman
  given name: Iftikhar
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14391
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-23
copyright: © 2022 Yousaf et al.
attribution name: Yousaf et al.

Sarcopenia and echocardiographic parameters for prediction of cardiovascular events and mortality in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Sarcopenia is prevalent and is associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular complications in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). It is unknown how skeletal muscle may be associated with aspects of myocardial structure and function. This study aimed to evaluate the association between sarcopenia and cardiac structure and function in patients undergoing MHD. We also examined the prognostic role of sarcopenia for mortality and cardiovascular events (CVE) in this population. Methods Participants from a single center underwent bioimpedance body composition analysis to measure skeletal muscle and echocardiography to assess myocardial structure and function. Sarcopenia was diagnosed based on the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria. The end points were all-cause mortality and CVE. Results Of the 158 participants, 46 (29.1%) had sarcopenia, 102 (64.6%) had left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD), and 106 (67.0%) had left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Participants with sarcopenia had smaller right ventricular sizes (2.54 ± 0.77 vs 2.76 ± 0.28; P < 0.01), inter-ventricular thickness (1.07 ± 0.19 vs 1.14 ± 0.20; P = 0.039), and left ventricular posterior wall thickness (0.96, 0.89–1.10 vs 1.06, 0.95–1.20; P = 0.018). Skeletal muscle mass was strongly correlated with left ventricular mass (LVM) (r = 0.577; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the risk of LVDD (OR: 4.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.73–13.95]) and LVH (OR: 4.88, 95% CI [1.08–21.96]) was much higher in the sarcopenic group than in the non-sarcopenic group. During a follow-up period of 18 months, 11 (6.9%) patients died, of which seven died (4.4%) of CVE, and 36 (22.8%) experienced CVE. The presence of sarcopenia (adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 6.59; 95% CI [1.08–39.91]; P = 0.041) and low skeletal muscle index (HR, 3.41; 95% CI [1.01–11.57]; P = 0.049) and handgrip strength (HR, 0.88; 95% CI [0.78–0.99]; P = 0.037) independently predicted death. Sarcopenia was a significant predi…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Mengyan Zhang
creator: Liuping Zhang
creator: Yezi Hu
creator: Ying Wang
creator: Shengchun Xu
creator: Xiaotong Xie
creator: Tian Xu
creator: Zuolin Li
creator: Hui Jin
creator: Hong Liu
subject: Cardiology
subject: Nephrology
subject: Nutrition
subject: Orthopedics
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14429
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Zhang et al.
abstract: Background Sarcopenia is prevalent and is associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular complications in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). It is unknown how skeletal muscle may be associated with aspects of myocardial structure and function. This study aimed to evaluate the association between sarcopenia and cardiac structure and function in patients undergoing MHD. We also examined the prognostic role of sarcopenia for mortality and cardiovascular events (CVE) in this population. Methods Participants from a single center underwent bioimpedance body composition analysis to measure skeletal muscle and echocardiography to assess myocardial structure and function. Sarcopenia was diagnosed based on the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria. The end points were all-cause mortality and CVE. Results Of the 158 participants, 46 (29.1%) had sarcopenia, 102 (64.6%) had left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD), and 106 (67.0%) had left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Participants with sarcopenia had smaller right ventricular sizes (2.54 ± 0.77 vs 2.76 ± 0.28; P < 0.01), inter-ventricular thickness (1.07 ± 0.19 vs 1.14 ± 0.20; P = 0.039), and left ventricular posterior wall thickness (0.96, 0.89–1.10 vs 1.06, 0.95–1.20; P = 0.018). Skeletal muscle mass was strongly correlated with left ventricular mass (LVM) (r = 0.577; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the risk of LVDD (OR: 4.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.73–13.95]) and LVH (OR: 4.88, 95% CI [1.08–21.96]) was much higher in the sarcopenic group than in the non-sarcopenic group. During a follow-up period of 18 months, 11 (6.9%) patients died, of which seven died (4.4%) of CVE, and 36 (22.8%) experienced CVE. The presence of sarcopenia (adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 6.59; 95% CI [1.08–39.91]; P = 0.041) and low skeletal muscle index (HR, 3.41; 95% CI [1.01–11.57]; P = 0.049) and handgrip strength (HR, 0.88; 95% CI [0.78–0.99]; P = 0.037) independently predicted death. Sarcopenia was a significant predi…
bibliographic citation: Zhang et al. (2022) Sarcopenia and echocardiographic parameters for prediction of cardiovascular events and mortality in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. PeerJ 10:e14429 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14429
date submitted: 2022-08-16
date accepted: 2022-10-30
issued: 2022-11-23
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhang
  given name: Mengyan
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhang
  given name: Liuping
author list: Agent
  family name: Hu
  given name: Yezi
author list: Agent
  family name: Wang
  given name: Ying
author list: Agent
  family name: Xu
  given name: Shengchun
author list: Agent
  family name: Xie
  given name: Xiaotong
author list: Agent
  family name: Xu
  given name: Tian
author list: Agent
  family name: Li
  given name: Zuolin
author list: Agent
  family name: Jin
  given name: Hui
author list: Agent
  family name: Liu
  given name: Hong
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14429
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-23
copyright: © 2022 Zhang et al.
attribution name: Zhang et al.

Co-occurrence of seagrass vegetation and coral colonies supports unique fish assemblages: a microhabitat-scale perspective
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Numerous studies have suggested that seagrass beds provide nursery habitats for juvenile fish in both tropical and subtropical regions. Most of these previous studies applied a landscape-scale perspective, in which seagrass beds and coral reefs are treated as independent, homogenous habitats. However, this perspective might overlook the microhabitat-scale perspective within the habitats, for example, the possibility that small-sized hard substrates (e.g., coral colonies) within seagrass beds might serve as fish nurseries. The present study aimed to examine the effects of the presence of microhabitats (small-sized coral colonies) within seagrass beds on the structure of fish assemblages. Fieldwork was conducted at Urasoko Bay, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. Four habitat zones were selected: (1) seagrass bed with presence of massive coral colonies (SGCO), (2) seagrass bed without coral colonies (SG), (3) sandy bottom (without seagrass vegetation) with massive coral colonies (CO), and (4) sandy bottom without seagrass vegetation or coral colonies (SA). Six 20 m × 2 m line transects were established and monthly underwater observations were conducted between June and October in 2018 and 2019. A cluster analysis, analysis of similarity, and principal component analysis revealed that the fish assemblage at SGCO was significantly different from the other three habitat zones. This was because some fish species (e.g., Ostorhinchusishigakiensis and Lutjanus gibbus) were almost exclusively present at SGCO and rarely seen at CO, SG, and SA. Most individual fish belonging to these species were found on coral colonies at SGCO, suggesting that the co-occurrence of seagrass vegetation and coral colonies is essential for the habitats of these fish species. Although other fish species present at SGCO were also found at SG, three species, Parupeneus barberinus, Stethojulis strigiventer, and Lethrinus atkinsoni, were more abundant at SGCO with some found on coral colonies in this habi…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Atsushi Nanami
subject: Aquaculture, Fisheries and Fish Science
subject: Biodiversity
subject: Ecology
subject: Marine Biology
subject: Zoology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14466
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Nanami
abstract: Numerous studies have suggested that seagrass beds provide nursery habitats for juvenile fish in both tropical and subtropical regions. Most of these previous studies applied a landscape-scale perspective, in which seagrass beds and coral reefs are treated as independent, homogenous habitats. However, this perspective might overlook the microhabitat-scale perspective within the habitats, for example, the possibility that small-sized hard substrates (e.g., coral colonies) within seagrass beds might serve as fish nurseries. The present study aimed to examine the effects of the presence of microhabitats (small-sized coral colonies) within seagrass beds on the structure of fish assemblages. Fieldwork was conducted at Urasoko Bay, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. Four habitat zones were selected: (1) seagrass bed with presence of massive coral colonies (SGCO), (2) seagrass bed without coral colonies (SG), (3) sandy bottom (without seagrass vegetation) with massive coral colonies (CO), and (4) sandy bottom without seagrass vegetation or coral colonies (SA). Six 20 m × 2 m line transects were established and monthly underwater observations were conducted between June and October in 2018 and 2019. A cluster analysis, analysis of similarity, and principal component analysis revealed that the fish assemblage at SGCO was significantly different from the other three habitat zones. This was because some fish species (e.g., Ostorhinchusishigakiensis and Lutjanus gibbus) were almost exclusively present at SGCO and rarely seen at CO, SG, and SA. Most individual fish belonging to these species were found on coral colonies at SGCO, suggesting that the co-occurrence of seagrass vegetation and coral colonies is essential for the habitats of these fish species. Although other fish species present at SGCO were also found at SG, three species, Parupeneus barberinus, Stethojulis strigiventer, and Lethrinus atkinsoni, were more abundant at SGCO with some found on coral colonies in this habi…
bibliographic citation: Nanami (2022) Co-occurrence of seagrass vegetation and coral colonies supports unique fish assemblages: a microhabitat-scale perspective. PeerJ 10:e14466 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14466
date submitted: 2022-06-01
date accepted: 2022-11-04
issued: 2022-11-23
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Nanami
  given name: Atsushi
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14466
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-23
copyright: © 2022 Nanami
attribution name: Nanami

Chronic toxicity of shrimp feed added with silver nanoparticles (Argovit-4®) in Litopenaeus vannamei and immune response to white spot syndrome virus infection
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: In recent years, the application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as antibacterial compounds has been widely used in human and veterinary medicine. In this work, we investigated the effects of AgNPs (Argovit-4®) as feed additives (feed-AgNPs) on shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) using three different methods: 1) chronic toxicity after 28 days of feeding, 2) Effects against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) challenged by oral route, and 3) transcriptional responses of immune-related genes (PAP, ProPO, CTL-3, Crustin, PEN3, and PEN4) following WSSV infection. The results showed that the feed-AgNPs did not interfere with the growth and survival of shrimp. Also, mild lesions in the hepatopancreas were recorded, proportional to the frequency of the feed-AgNP supply. Challenge test versus WSSV showed that feeding every 7 days with feed-AgNPs reduced mortality, reaching a survival rate of 53%, compared to the survival rates observed in groups fed every 4 days, daily and control groups of feed-AgNPs for the 30%, 10%, and 7% groups, respectively. Feed-AgNPs negatively regulated the expression of PAP, ProPO, and Crustin genes after 28 days of treatment and altered the transcriptional responses of PAP, ProPO, CTL-3, and Crustin after WSSV exposure. The results showed that weekly feeding-AgNPs could partially prevent WSSV infection in shrimp culture. However, whether or not transcriptional responses against pathogens are advantageous remains to be elucidated.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Carlos R. Romo Quiñonez
creator: Píndaro Alvarez-Ruiz
creator: Claudio H. Mejía-Ruiz
creator: Nina Bogdanchikova
creator: Alexey Pestryakov
creator: Carina Gamez-Jimenez
creator: Wenceslao Valenzuela-Quiñonez
creator: Magnolia Montoya-Mejía
creator: Eusebio Nava Pérez
subject: Agricultural Science
subject: Aquaculture, Fisheries and Fish Science
subject: Microbiology
subject: Zoology
subject: Ecotoxicology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14231
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Romo Quiñonez et al.
abstract: In recent years, the application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as antibacterial compounds has been widely used in human and veterinary medicine. In this work, we investigated the effects of AgNPs (Argovit-4®) as feed additives (feed-AgNPs) on shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) using three different methods: 1) chronic toxicity after 28 days of feeding, 2) Effects against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) challenged by oral route, and 3) transcriptional responses of immune-related genes (PAP, ProPO, CTL-3, Crustin, PEN3, and PEN4) following WSSV infection. The results showed that the feed-AgNPs did not interfere with the growth and survival of shrimp. Also, mild lesions in the hepatopancreas were recorded, proportional to the frequency of the feed-AgNP supply. Challenge test versus WSSV showed that feeding every 7 days with feed-AgNPs reduced mortality, reaching a survival rate of 53%, compared to the survival rates observed in groups fed every 4 days, daily and control groups of feed-AgNPs for the 30%, 10%, and 7% groups, respectively. Feed-AgNPs negatively regulated the expression of PAP, ProPO, and Crustin genes after 28 days of treatment and altered the transcriptional responses of PAP, ProPO, CTL-3, and Crustin after WSSV exposure. The results showed that weekly feeding-AgNPs could partially prevent WSSV infection in shrimp culture. However, whether or not transcriptional responses against pathogens are advantageous remains to be elucidated.
bibliographic citation: Romo Quiñonez et al. (2022) Chronic toxicity of shrimp feed added with silver nanoparticles (Argovit-4®) in Litopenaeus vannamei and immune response to white spot syndrome virus infection. PeerJ 10:e14231 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14231
date submitted: 2022-06-14
date accepted: 2022-09-22
issued: 2022-11-22
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Romo Quiñonez
  given name: Carlos R.
author list: Agent
  family name: Alvarez-Ruiz
  given name: Píndaro
author list: Agent
  family name: Mejía-Ruiz
  given name: Claudio H.
author list: Agent
  family name: Bogdanchikova
  given name: Nina
author list: Agent
  family name: Pestryakov
  given name: Alexey
author list: Agent
  family name: Gamez-Jimenez
  given name: Carina
author list: Agent
  family name: Valenzuela-Quiñonez
  given name: Wenceslao
author list: Agent
  family name: Montoya-Mejía
  given name: Magnolia
author list: Agent
  family name: Nava Pérez
  given name: Eusebio
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14231
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-22
copyright: ©2022 Romo Quiñonez et al.
attribution name: Romo Quiñonez et al.

“Double whammy”: a rapid review of rural vs urban psychosocial cancer experiences and telehealth service in five countries during the COVID-19 pandemic
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Cancer is a long-term condition with biopsychosocial components. People with cancer living in rural areas can have poorer treatment outcomes and higher rates of unmet psychosocial needs than those in urban areas. Cancer, as opposed to other chronic conditions, poses a unique challenge in this current COVID-19 pandemic context, given immunocompromised states of patients and long-term survivor treatment effects. The disaggregated impact of psychosocial issues potentiated by the pandemic on rural vs. urban cancer populations is yet to be quantified. This rapid review investigates whether (i) people with cancer are experiencing pandemic-related psychosocial impacts, (ii) these impacts are equivalent in urban and rural locations, and (iii) whether the rapid uptake of telehealth mitigates or reinforces any identified impacts. Method A rapid review was conducted for literature published between December 2019 and 13 August 2021. Results Fifteen papers were included, incorporating evidence from five countries. The available literature suggests people affected by cancer living in rural areas are evidencing disproportionate psychosocial impacts of COVID-19, compounding cancer experiences. Despite its widespread and necessary use during the pandemic, telehealth was identified as an additional challenge for rural people with cancer. Conclusions Clinicians working with rural people affected by cancer should ensure recognition of the greater risks of psychosocial concerns in their rural patients, and reduced access to health services. Whilst telehealth and other remote technologies are useful and necessary in this pandemic era, clinicians should consider whether its use benefits their rural clients or reinforces existing disparities.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Marisa Barnes
creator: Kylie Rice
creator: Clara Murray
creator: Einar Thorsteinsson
subject: Global Health
subject: Oncology
subject: Psychiatry and Psychology
subject: Mental Health
subject: Healthcare Services
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14382
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Barnes et al.
abstract: Background Cancer is a long-term condition with biopsychosocial components. People with cancer living in rural areas can have poorer treatment outcomes and higher rates of unmet psychosocial needs than those in urban areas. Cancer, as opposed to other chronic conditions, poses a unique challenge in this current COVID-19 pandemic context, given immunocompromised states of patients and long-term survivor treatment effects. The disaggregated impact of psychosocial issues potentiated by the pandemic on rural vs. urban cancer populations is yet to be quantified. This rapid review investigates whether (i) people with cancer are experiencing pandemic-related psychosocial impacts, (ii) these impacts are equivalent in urban and rural locations, and (iii) whether the rapid uptake of telehealth mitigates or reinforces any identified impacts. Method A rapid review was conducted for literature published between December 2019 and 13 August 2021. Results Fifteen papers were included, incorporating evidence from five countries. The available literature suggests people affected by cancer living in rural areas are evidencing disproportionate psychosocial impacts of COVID-19, compounding cancer experiences. Despite its widespread and necessary use during the pandemic, telehealth was identified as an additional challenge for rural people with cancer. Conclusions Clinicians working with rural people affected by cancer should ensure recognition of the greater risks of psychosocial concerns in their rural patients, and reduced access to health services. Whilst telehealth and other remote technologies are useful and necessary in this pandemic era, clinicians should consider whether its use benefits their rural clients or reinforces existing disparities.
bibliographic citation: Barnes et al. (2022) “Double whammy”: a rapid review of rural vs urban psychosocial cancer experiences and telehealth service in five countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. PeerJ 10:e14382 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14382
date submitted: 2022-08-31
date accepted: 2022-10-21
issued: 2022-11-22
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Barnes
  given name: Marisa
author list: Agent
  family name: Rice
  given name: Kylie
author list: Agent
  family name: Murray
  given name: Clara
author list: Agent
  family name: Thorsteinsson
  given name: Einar
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14382
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-22
copyright: © 2022 Barnes et al.
attribution name: Barnes et al.

The effects of Saccharomyces boulardii on rat colonic hypermotility induced by repeated water avoidance stress and the potential mechanism
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) has been reported to have the potential to regulate gut motility. The aim of this experiment was to explore the possible function of Sb in gut hypermotility elicited by repeated water avoidance stress (WAS). Methods Adult male Wistar rats (N = 24) were divided into one of the following three groups: control (C), NS (normal saline) + WAS group (N), and Sb + WAS group (S). A diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) model in rats was induced using the WAS method. Gut motility was evaluated by stool pellet expulsion per hour. The contractile activity of the colonic muscle strips was measured using an RM6240 multichannel physiological signal instrument. qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to assess Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression in colon tissue. ELISA was used to measure the level of cytokines in the serum and colonic tissue. Also, the microbiota composition was determined using high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing. Result The results showed that oral Sb decreased the WAS-induced increased defecation and colonic hypermotility in vivo. Furthermore, Sb also decreased the contractile amplitude of colonic circular muscle (CM) and longitudinal muscle (LM) strips in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Repeated WAS increased TLR4 expression, but Sb reversed it. Sb also reduced interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) levels in serum and colonic tissue, while increasing IL-10 levels in colonic tissue. Meanwhile, the rats from the NS + WAS group had decreased microbiota diversity and had lower relative abundances of Patescibacteria, Epsilonbacteraeota, Cyanobacteria, and Turicibacter compared with controls. The rats in the Sb + WAS group showed a tendency to increase the relative abundance of Blautia when compared to control rats and had lower relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Anaerostipes compared with the NS + WAS group. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that Sb improved colonic hypermotilit…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Jingwen Liu
creator: Haixia Ren
creator: Fangting Yuan
creator: Ming Shao
creator: Hesheng Luo
subject: Gastroenterology and Hepatology
subject: Nutrition
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14390
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Liu et al.
abstract: Background Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) has been reported to have the potential to regulate gut motility. The aim of this experiment was to explore the possible function of Sb in gut hypermotility elicited by repeated water avoidance stress (WAS). Methods Adult male Wistar rats (N = 24) were divided into one of the following three groups: control (C), NS (normal saline) + WAS group (N), and Sb + WAS group (S). A diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) model in rats was induced using the WAS method. Gut motility was evaluated by stool pellet expulsion per hour. The contractile activity of the colonic muscle strips was measured using an RM6240 multichannel physiological signal instrument. qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to assess Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression in colon tissue. ELISA was used to measure the level of cytokines in the serum and colonic tissue. Also, the microbiota composition was determined using high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing. Result The results showed that oral Sb decreased the WAS-induced increased defecation and colonic hypermotility in vivo. Furthermore, Sb also decreased the contractile amplitude of colonic circular muscle (CM) and longitudinal muscle (LM) strips in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Repeated WAS increased TLR4 expression, but Sb reversed it. Sb also reduced interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) levels in serum and colonic tissue, while increasing IL-10 levels in colonic tissue. Meanwhile, the rats from the NS + WAS group had decreased microbiota diversity and had lower relative abundances of Patescibacteria, Epsilonbacteraeota, Cyanobacteria, and Turicibacter compared with controls. The rats in the Sb + WAS group showed a tendency to increase the relative abundance of Blautia when compared to control rats and had lower relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Anaerostipes compared with the NS + WAS group. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that Sb improved colonic hypermotilit…
bibliographic citation: Liu et al. (2022) The effects of Saccharomyces boulardii on rat colonic hypermotility induced by repeated water avoidance stress and the potential mechanism. PeerJ 10:e14390 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14390
date submitted: 2022-07-06
date accepted: 2022-10-23
issued: 2022-11-22
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Liu
  given name: Jingwen
author list: Agent
  family name: Ren
  given name: Haixia
author list: Agent
  family name: Yuan
  given name: Fangting
author list: Agent
  family name: Shao
  given name: Ming
author list: Agent
  family name: Luo
  given name: Hesheng
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14390
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-22
copyright: ©2022 Liu et al.
attribution name: Liu et al.

Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus chemotherapy or radiotherapy in advanced endometrial cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Endometrial cancer is one of the most common gynecological cancer in the world. However, the available adjuvant therapies, chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT), demonstrated several limitations when used alone. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the clinical effectiveness of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) based on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Methods A literature search was performed on five databases and one clinical trial registry to obtain all relevant articles. Search for studies was completed on September 9, 2021. A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the overall hazard ratio with the 95% Confidence Interval. Results A total of 17 articles with 23,975 patients in the CRT vs RT group and 50,502 patients in the CRT vs CT group were included. The OS Hazard Ratios (HR) of CRT compared to RT was 0.66 (95% CI [0.59–0.75]; P < 0.00001). Compared to CT, the OS HR was 0.70 (95% CI [0.64–0.78]; P < 0.00001). CRT also significantly improved the DFS compared to CT only (HR 0.79, 95% CI [0.64–0.97]; P = 0.02) However, CRT did not improve the DFS compared to RT only, with HR of 0.71 (95% CI [0.46–1.09]; P = 0.12). Conclusion Adjuvant CRT can significantly improve OS compared to CT or RT alone and improve the DFS compared to CT alone in patients with advanced endometrial cancer. Further research is needed to identify the optimal CRT regimen, and to whom CRT will be most beneficial.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Hariyono Winarto
creator: Naufal A. A. Ibrahim
creator: Yan M. Putri
creator: Faiqueen D. S. F. Adnan
creator: Eka D. Safitri
subject: Clinical Trials
subject: Drugs and Devices
subject: Gynecology and Obstetrics
subject: Oncology
subject: Women’s Health
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.14420
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2022 Winarto et al.
abstract: Background Endometrial cancer is one of the most common gynecological cancer in the world. However, the available adjuvant therapies, chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT), demonstrated several limitations when used alone. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the clinical effectiveness of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) based on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Methods A literature search was performed on five databases and one clinical trial registry to obtain all relevant articles. Search for studies was completed on September 9, 2021. A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the overall hazard ratio with the 95% Confidence Interval. Results A total of 17 articles with 23,975 patients in the CRT vs RT group and 50,502 patients in the CRT vs CT group were included. The OS Hazard Ratios (HR) of CRT compared to RT was 0.66 (95% CI [0.59–0.75]; P < 0.00001). Compared to CT, the OS HR was 0.70 (95% CI [0.64–0.78]; P < 0.00001). CRT also significantly improved the DFS compared to CT only (HR 0.79, 95% CI [0.64–0.97]; P = 0.02) However, CRT did not improve the DFS compared to RT only, with HR of 0.71 (95% CI [0.46–1.09]; P = 0.12). Conclusion Adjuvant CRT can significantly improve OS compared to CT or RT alone and improve the DFS compared to CT alone in patients with advanced endometrial cancer. Further research is needed to identify the optimal CRT regimen, and to whom CRT will be most beneficial.
bibliographic citation: Winarto et al. (2022) Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus chemotherapy or radiotherapy in advanced endometrial cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PeerJ 10:e14420 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14420
date submitted: 2022-07-25
date accepted: 2022-10-28
issued: 2022-11-22
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Winarto
  given name: Hariyono
author list: Agent
  family name: Ibrahim
  given name: Naufal A. A.
author list: Agent
  family name: Putri
  given name: Yan M.
author list: Agent
  family name: Adnan
  given name: Faiqueen D. S. F.
author list: Agent
  family name: Safitri
  given name: Eka D.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14420
volume: 10
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2022-11-22
copyright: © 2022 Winarto et al.
attribution name: Winarto et al.

PeerJ
type: Periodical
uri: PeerJ
issn: 2167-8359