title: PeerJ description: Articles published in PeerJ link: https://peerj.com/articles/index.rss3?journal=peerj&page=289 creator: info@peerj.com PeerJ errorsTo: info@peerj.com PeerJ language: en title: Microplastic from beach sediment to tissue: a case study on burrowing crab Dotilla blanfordi link: https://peerj.com/articles/17738 last-modified: 2024-07-12 description: BackgroundMicroplastics (MPs) are pervasive pollutants in the marine environment, exhibiting persistence in coastal sediment over extended periods. However, the mechanism of their uptake by marine organisms and distribution in habitat is less understood. The objective of the present study was to investigate the presence of MP contamination in burrow sediment, feeding pellets, and tissue of Dotilla blanfordi in the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat State.MethodsA total of 500 g of burrow sediment, 100 g of feeding pellets, and body tissue of 10 resident D. blanfordi were pooled as one replica. Such seven replicas from each site were analyzed for MP extraction from three sites, including Asharmata, Mandvi, and Serena, located in the Gulf of Kachchh. The standard protocol was used during the analysis of the collected samples in order to isolate MPs.ResultsThe abundance of MP was found higher in burrow sediment, feeding pellets and tissue of D. blanfordi at study site Mandvi, followed by Serena and Asharmata. The abundance of MP was found higher in D. blanfordi tissue, followed by burrow sediment and feeding pellet. A significant variation was observed in MP abundance among burrow sediment, feeding pellets, and tissue. MPs with various shapes (fiber, film, and fragment), sizes (1–2, 2–3, 3–4, and 4–5 mm), and colors (blue, green, black, pink, purple, red transparent) were recorded from all the study sites. Polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride were recognized as the chemical profile of the extracted MPs. The current investigation revealed greater accumulation of MPs in D. blanfordi’s tissues compared to sediment and pellets, suggesting a risk of MP contamination in marine benthic fauna with a greater rate of bioaccumulation. D. blanfordi plays a significant role as a structuring agent for MP distribution in the intertidal flat through burrowing activity. creator: Hiralba Zala creator: Vasantkumar Rabari creator: Krupal Patel creator: Heris Patel creator: Virendra Kumar Yadav creator: Ashish Patel creator: Dipak Kumar Sahoo creator: Jigneshkumar Trivedi uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17738 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Zala et al. title: Analysis of measurement differences and causes of C, N, and P in river flooding areas—taking the Hailar River in China as an example link: https://peerj.com/articles/17745 last-modified: 2024-07-12 description: The Hailar River is located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of Northeast China. It is a connecting hub of the agricultural pastoral transitional zone on the Hulunbuir grassland, with abundant water and biodiversity resources, and important ecological conservation significance. This study takes the Hailar River as the research area to evaluate the impact and main influencing factors of soil C, N, and P ecological measurement from the upstream to downstream concave convex riverbanks of the Hailar River. The research results show that: (1) The average soil particle size shows differences in the upstream and downstream: the average soil particle size in Section 1 is 31.6–192.3 µm, Section 2 is 21–213 µm, Section 3 is 21–288 µm, and Section 4 is 42–206 µm; the pH value in the upstream area is generally low, while the pH value in the downstream area increases. The reason for this is that the convex bank area has sufficient water, which plays a role in inhibiting salt content; (2) the nutrient content in the concave bank is generally higher in the upstream region than in the downstream region, while the difference in nutrient content between the upstream and downstream regions is relatively small in the convex bank; (3) the nutrient content of concave banks is mostly positively correlated with soil moisture content, while convex banks are positively and negatively correlated with soil moisture content and soil particle size. Research has shown that different cross-sections upstream and downstream, as well as uneven riverbanks, significantly affect soil physicochemical properties and soil C, N, and P ecological measurements. Studying the content of soil C, N, and P in different riparian zones under typical cross-sections can provide new ideas for regional ecological protection and even global C, N, and P cycling. creator: Xi Dong creator: Chunming Hu uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17745 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2024 Dong and Hu title: PKMYT1 knockdown inhibits cholesterol biosynthesis and promotes the drug sensitivity of triple-negative breast cancer cells to atorvastatin link: https://peerj.com/articles/17749 last-modified: 2024-07-12 description: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) as the most aggressive molecular subtype of breast cancer is characterized by high cancer cell proliferation and poor patient prognosis. Abnormal lipid metabolism contributes to the malignant process of cancers. Study observed significantly enhanced cholesterol biosynthesis in TNBC. However, the mechanisms underlying the abnormal increase of cholesterol biosynthesis in TNBC are still unclear. Hence, we identified a member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family PKMYT1 as a key driver of cholesterol synthesis in TNBC cells. Aberrantly high-expressed PKMYT1 in TNBC was indicative of unfavorable prognostic outcomes. In addition, PKMYT1 promoted sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2)-mediated expression of enzymes related to cholesterol biosynthesis through activating the TNF/ TNF receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1)/AKT pathway. Notably, downregulation of PKMYT1 significantly inhibited the feedback upregulation of statin-mediated cholesterol biosynthesis, whereas knockdown of PKMYT1 promoted the drug sensitivity of atorvastatin in TNBC cells. Overall, our study revealed a novel function of PKMYT1 in TNBC cholesterol biosynthesis, providing a new target for targeting tumor metabolic reprogramming in the cancer. creator: Wei Gao creator: Xin Guo creator: Linlin Sun creator: Jinwei Gai creator: Yinan Cao creator: Shuqun Zhang uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17749 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 rights: © 2024 Gao et al. title: Gut microbiome-immune interactions and their role in rheumatoid arthritis development link: https://peerj.com/articles/17477 last-modified: 2024-07-11 description: ObjectiveThe primary objective is to study the impact of gut microbiota and their interactions with diverse immunological markers on the development of rheumatoid arthritis.MethodsThis study was performed in Astana, Kazakhstan, and included 77 Kazakh female patients older than 18 years, who met the American College of Rheumatology 2010 classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and 113 healthy controls. The DNA was extracted from fecal samples obtained from all study participants for subsequent sequencing at the 16S rRNA gene V1-V3 locus, facilitating the analysis of the gut microbiome. The Multiplex immunoassay was employed to measure the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and immunoglobulins in both fecal and plasma samples.ResultsOur taxonomic analysis revealed significant differences in the composition of the gut microbiota between the healthy control cohort and the cohort with rheumatoid arthritis RA. Alpha diversity was significantly lower in the RA group. Lachnospiraceae were the most abundant taxon and found to be crucial, showing correlations with immunological markers such as IL5. Additionally, Lachnospiraceae and Oscillospiraceae exhibited the most predictable power and distinguished the composition of both study groups.ConclusionOur study identifies key differences in the gut microbiome of RA patients, revealing distinct microbial patterns and specific taxa abundance. We highlight potential biomarkers in immunological and bacterial pathways, offering insights into RA development and indicating possibilities for personalized treatment. creator: Madiyar Nurgaziyev creator: Argul Issilbayeva creator: Rakhmetkazhi Bersimbaev creator: Oralbek Ilderbayev creator: Elizaveta Vinogradova creator: Zharkyn Jarmukhanov creator: Ayaulym Nurgozhina creator: Shynggys Sergazy creator: Nuray Kozhabergen creator: Zhanar Akhmetova creator: Assel Meiramova creator: Laura Chulenbayeva creator: Aigerim Ibrayeva creator: Nurislam Mukhanbetzhanov creator: Zhanel Mukhanbetzhanova creator: Samat Kozhakhmetov creator: Bayan Ainabekova creator: Almagul Kushugulova uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17477 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 rights: © 2024 Nurgaziyev et al. title: Early-life diet does not affect preference for fish in herring gulls (Larus argentatus) link: https://peerj.com/articles/17565 last-modified: 2024-07-11 description: Urban populations of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) are increasing and causing human-wildlife conflict by exploiting anthropogenic resources. Gulls that breed in urban areas rely on varying amounts of terrestrial anthropogenic foods (e.g., domestic refuse, agricultural and commercial waste) to feed themselves. However, with the onset of hatching, many parent gulls switch to sourcing more marine than anthropogenic or terrestrial foods to provision their chicks. Although anthropogenic foods may meet chick calorific requirements for growth and development, some such foods (e.g., bread) may have lower levels of protein and other key nutrients compared to marine foods. However, whether this parental switch in chick diet is driven by chicks’ preference for marine foods, or whether chicks’ food preferences are shaped by the food types provisioned by their parents, remains untested. This study tests whether chick food preferences can be influenced by their provisioned diet by experimentally manipulating the ratio of time for which anthropogenic and marine foods were available (80:20 and vice versa) in the rearing diets of two treatment groups of rescued herring gull chicks. Each diet was randomly assigned to each of the 27 captive-reared chicks for the duration of the study. We tested chicks’ individual food preferences throughout their development in captivity using food arrays with four food choices (fish, cat food, mussels and brown bread). Regardless of the dietary treatment group, we found that all chicks preferred fish and almost all refused to eat most of the bread offered. Our findings suggest that early-life diet, manipulated by the ratio of time the different foods were available, did not influence gull chicks’ food preferences. Instead, chicks developed a strong and persistent preference for marine foods, which appears to match adult gulls’ dietary switch to marine foods upon chick hatching and may reinforce the provisioning of marine foods during chick development. However, whether chicks in the wild would refuse provisioned foods, and to a sufficient extent to influence parental provisioning, requires further study. Longitudinal studies of urban animal populations that track wild individuals’ food preferences and foraging specialisations throughout life are required to shed light on the development and use of anthropogenic resource exploitation. creator: Emma Inzani creator: Laura Kelley creator: Robert Thomas creator: Neeltje J. Boogert uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17565 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Inzani et al. title: Cancer prevention recommendations: awareness in a Mexican public hospital link: https://peerj.com/articles/17593 last-modified: 2024-07-11 description: BackgroundThe recommendations of both the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) for the prevention of cancer are important public health tools. These recommendations for the prevention of specific cancers are related to body weight maintenance; physical activity; foods and drinks that promote weight gain; plant foods; foods of animal origin; alcoholic beverages; preservation, processing, and preparation of food; food supplements; and breastfeeding.MethodsThis study was a descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study. All patients provided written informed consent prior to enrollment in the study. Stratified random sampling was carried out with a convenience sample size of ≥280 participants. The characteristics of the participants were investigated using validated questions. Knowledge about the WCRF/AICR recommendations for the primary prevention of cancer was determined using 14 multiple choice questions validated in this study. Group A included participants who answered that cancer can be prevented and that lifestyle is the main factor related to the onset of cancer; the remaining participants were assigned to Group B. The χ2 test and Mann‒Whitney U test were used to determine differences in the groups. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. A multiple linear regression analysis with gamma response was performed to assess the knowledge score.ResultsA total of 289 participants were included; 168 (58%) participants were in group A, and 121 (42%) participants were in group B. Using a 0 to 14 scale, the median (P25, P75) number of correct answers was 11 (10, 12). There was no evidence of a difference between groups in sex, relationship status, literacy skills, years of education, occupation, monthly income per person, and BMI. Most of the participants reported that they did not consume tobacco (n = 259/289) or alcohol (n = 261/289) in the week prior to completing the survey.DiscussionMost of the participants (58%) considered cancer preventable and agreed that lifestyle factors were the most important factors in cancer development. The results also showed a high level of public awareness of some evidence-based associations between cancer and lifestyle factors, such as tobacco use. Some confusion among the public on other risk factors was also identified: waist circumference, a variable related to excess weight, was not identified as a risk factor for cancer by most of the participants, but the consumption of foods and beverages high in calories was identified as a risk factor by the majority of participants. Awareness of cancer protective and risk factors may lead to positive behavioral changes and eventually reduce the burden of cancer. creator: Alejandro Trujillo Rivera creator: Clara Luz Sampieri creator: Eduardo Antonio Trujillo Rivera creator: José Roberto Gómez Cruz uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17593 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Trujillo Rivera et al. title: Risk factors of bloodstream infection in erythroderma from atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and drug reactions: a retrospective observational cohort study link: https://peerj.com/articles/17701 last-modified: 2024-07-11 description: BackgroundAtopic dermatitis (AD), psoriasis, and drug reactions associated with erythroderma are frequently complicated by infections. However, bloodstream infection (BSI) have received less research attention.ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with BSI in patients with erythroderma.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 141 erythroderma cases. Eleven cases were identified as having BSI. Clinical records of both BSI and non-BSI groups were reviewed and compared.ResultsBSI was diagnosed in 7.80% (11/141) of erythroderma cases, with a breakdown of 7.14% in AD, 2.00% in psoriasis, and 17.14% in drug reactions. Notably, all positive skin cultures (7/7) showed bacterial isolates concordant with blood cultures. Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed several significant associations with BSI, including temperature (≤36.0 or ≥38.5 °C; odds ratio (OR) = 28.06; p < 0.001), chilling (OR = 22.10; p < 0.001), kidney disease (OR = 14.64; p < 0.001), etiology of drug reactions (OR = 4.18; p = 0.03), albumin (ALB) (OR = 0.86; p < 0.01), C-reaction protein (CRP) (OR = 1.01; p = 0.02), interleukin 6 (IL-6) (OR = 1.02; p = 0.02), and procalcitonin (PCT) (OR = 1.07; p = 0.03). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves demonstrated significant associations with ALB (p < 0.001; the area under curve (AUC) = 0.80), PCT (p = 0.009; AUC = 0.74), and CRP (p = 0.02; AUC = 0.71).ConclusionsIncreased awareness of BSI risk is essential in erythroderma management. Patients with specific risk factors, such as abnormal body temperature (≤36.0 or ≥38.5 °C), chilling sensations, kidney disease, a history of drug reactions, elevated CRP (≥32 mg/L), elevated PCT (≥1.00 ng/ml), and low albumin (≤31.0 g/L), require close monitoring for BSI development. creator: Qian Liufu creator: Lulu Niu creator: Shimin He creator: Xuejiao Zhang creator: Mukai Chen uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17701 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Liufu et al. title: The usefulness of peri-trigger female reproductive hormones (delta-FRH) in predicting oocyte maturation in normal ovarian reserve patients who received in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: a retrospective study link: https://peerj.com/articles/17706 last-modified: 2024-07-11 description: ObjectivesTo evaluate the efficacy of peri-trigger female reproductive hormones (FRHs) in the prediction of oocyte maturation in normal ovarian reserve patients during the in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) procedure.Materials and MethodsA hospital database was used to extract data on IVF-ET cases from January 2020 to September 2021. The levels of female reproductive hormones, including estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone (P), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), were initially evaluated at baseline, the day of the trigger, the day after the trigger, and the day of oocyte retrieval. The relative change in E2, LH, P, FSH between time point 1 (the day of trigger and baseline) and time point 2 (the day after the trigger and day on the trigger) was defined as E2_RoV1/2, LH_RoV1/2, P_RoV1/2, and FSH_RoV1/2, respectively. Univariable and multivariable regression were performed to screen the peri-trigger FRHs for the prediction of oocyte maturation.ResultsA total of 118 patients were enrolled in our study. Univariable analysis revealed significant associations between E2_RoV1 and the rate of MII oocytes in the GnRH-agonist protocol group (p < 0.05), but not in the GnRH-antagonist protocol group. Conversely, P_RoV2 emerged as a potential predictor for the rate of MII oocytes in both protocol groups (p < 0.05). Multivariable analysis confirmed the significance of P_RoV2 in predicting oocyte maturation rate in both groups (p < 0.05), while the association of E2_RoV1 was not significant in either group. However, within the subgroup of high P_RoV2 in the GnRH-agonist protocol group, association was not observed to be significant. The C-index was 0.83 (95% CI [0.73–0.92]) for the GnRH-agonist protocol group and 0.77 (95% CI [0.63–0.90]) for the GnRH-antagonist protocol group. The ROC curve analysis further supported the satisfactory performance of the models, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.79 for the GnRH-agonist protocol group and 0.81 for the GnRH-antagonist protocol group.ConclusionsP_RoV2 showed significant predictive value for oocyte maturation in both GnRH-agonist and GnRH-antagonist protocol groups, which enhances the understanding of evaluating oocyte maturation and inform individualized treatment protocols in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation during IVF-ET for normal ovarian reserve patients. creator: Lina He creator: Qing Xu creator: Fuming Wan creator: Li Hao creator: Yamin Qiu creator: Xu Ran creator: Jie Lin creator: Wei Chen uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17706 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 rights: ©2024 He et al. title: Effect of intensity training block on anxiety state and performance in competitive swimmers link: https://peerj.com/articles/17708 last-modified: 2024-07-11 description: BackgroundAn increase in training intensity could create changes in psychological and physiological variables in competitive athletes. For this reason, it is very relevant to know how an intensive training block could influence psychological variables in competitive swimmers. This study examined the effect of an intensive training block (HIT) for 2 weeks on the anxiety state and swimming performance compared to standard aerobic training.MethodsTwenty-two male competition swimmers were randomly assigned to two groups: HIT group (n = 11; age = 16.5 ± 0.29 years) and control group following the standard training program (n = 11; age = 16.1 ± 0.33 years). Psychological status variables (cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence) and swimming performance (100-m front crawl) were measured pre-and post-test.ResultsA significant effect of time was found for all psychological variables and swimming performance (F ≥ 17.6; p < 0.001; d ≥ 0.97). Furthermore, a significant group × time interaction effect was found in cognitive (F = 14.9; p < 0.001; d = 0.62) and somatic anxiety (F = 5.37; p = 0.031; d = 0.55) were found. Only a significant group effect was found in somatic anxiety (F = 27.1; p < 0.001; d = 1.2). Post hoc comparison revealed that both groups increased their cognitive anxiety and swimming performance, and decreased their self-confidence from pre to post test. However, cognitive anxiety increase significantly more in the HIT group compared to the control group. Furthermore, only the HIT training group significantly increased somatic anxiety over time, while somatic anxiety did not change significantly over time in the control group.ConclusionOur findings indicated that a sudden increase in training intensity increased state anxiety more than standard training, but both conditions similarly enhanced swimming performance. Although the current level of psychological state is not affecting swimming performance negatively over this period, it should be regularly monitored by psychologists as it over a longer training period perhaps could have a negative influence on swimming performance. creator: Hajer Aouani creator: Sofiene Amara creator: Faten Sahli creator: Tiago M. Barbosa creator: Nizar Souissi creator: Roland van den Tillaar uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17708 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Aouani et al. title: Do the effects last? A comparison between internal and external focus of attention instructions on golf putting accuracy over multiple days link: https://peerj.com/articles/17718 last-modified: 2024-07-11 description: BackgroundThe role of attentional focus is a well-explored topic in exercise sciences. Studies generally indicate that external focus (EF) enhances motor performance and learning compared with internal focus (IF). However, most studies only included one or two experimental days which limits participants’ exposure to the focus conditions. This raises the question of whether the superiority of EF varies over time.MethodsAccordingly, in this pre-registered within-subject study, we examined the effects of focus instructions on golf-putting performance over four days, with 48–72 h between them. On each day, participants performed 15 putts under three instructional conditions: (1) EF, (2) IF, and (3) control, in a randomized and counterbalanced order.ResultsWe observed trivial differences in performance between conditions but considerable improvements from day 1 to day 4. When using an exploratory analysis, we found that participants performed better under EF and control conditions compared with the IF condition on day 1, but not on subsequent days.ConclusionsSince IF instructions are more commonly used in practice, we speculate that the two other focus conditions were experienced as more novel, potentially accounting for their superiority on Day 1. Nevertheless, our results question the significance of employing EF to enhance performance. creator: Miri Nevo creator: Israel Halperin creator: Gal Ziv uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17718 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Nevo et al.