title: PeerJ description: Articles published in PeerJ link: https://peerj.com/articles/index.rss3?journal=peerj&page=644 creator: info@peerj.com PeerJ errorsTo: info@peerj.com PeerJ language: en title: The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans is not detected in wild and captive amphibians from Mexico link: https://peerj.com/articles/14117 last-modified: 2022-10-03 description: The recent emergence of the pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) is associated with rapid population declines of salamanders in Europe and its arrival to new areas could cause dramatic negative effects on other amphibian populations and species. Amphibian species, present in areas with high amphibian diversity such as Mexico, could be highly threatened due to the arrival of Bsal, particularly salamander species which are more vulnerable to chytridiomycosis caused by this pathogen. Thus, immediate surveillance is needed as a strategy to efficiently contend with this emerging infectious disease. In this study, we analyzed 490 wild and captive amphibians from 48 species across 76 sites in the North, Central, and South of Mexico to evaluate the presence of Bsal. Amphibians were sampled in sites with variable degrees of amphibian richness and suitability for Bsal according to previous studies. From the 76 sampling sites, 10 of them were located in areas with high amphibian richness and potential moderate to high Bsal habitat suitability. We did not detect Bsal in any of the samples, and no signs of the disease were observed in any individual at the time of sampling. Our results suggest that Bsal has not yet arrived at the sampled sites or could be at low prevalence within populations with low occurrence probability. This is the first study that evaluates the presence of Bsal in different regions and amphibian species in Mexico, which is the second most diverse country in salamander species in the world. We highlight the risk and the importance of continuing surveillance of Bsal in Mexico and discuss control strategies to avoid the introduction and spread of Bsal in the country. creator: M. Delia Basanta creator: Victor Avila-Akerberg creator: Allison Q. Byrne creator: Gabriela Castellanos-Morales creator: Tanya M. González Martínez creator: Yurixhi Maldonado-López creator: Erica Bree Rosenblum creator: Ireri Suazo-Ortuño creator: Gabriela Parra Olea creator: Eria A. Rebollar uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14117 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Basanta et al. title: Effects of quarantine on Physical Activity prevalence in Italian Adults: a pilot study link: https://peerj.com/articles/14123 last-modified: 2022-10-03 description: BackgroundCOVID-19 is a respiratory disease that caused a global pandemic status in March 2020. Due to its fast diffusion, many governments adopted forced solutions including social restrictions, which could negatively affect citizens’ habits as physical activity. Our study aimed to investigate how and why the physical activity prevalence varied from the period before the quarantine up to the period after it, and understand what citizens thought of physical inactivity COVID-19 related to and whether they were satisfied with physical activity promotion during the lockdown.MethodsA new questionnaire was created and administered online. A sample of 749 interviews (female = 552 (73.7%), male = 197 (26.3%)) was collected and analysed.ResultsThe prevalence of people who were older than 50 years reduced both during and after the lockdown (P < 0.05) and the most common reason for which they have quitted physical activity practice was related to psychological problems (lockdown = 64.57%; post-lockdown = 62.17%). In addition, youngers seemed to be more sensitive than elders to unhealthy consequences generated by forced isolation (P < 0.05), and they believed that children/adolescents and older adults practised an insufficient amount of physical activity and/or sport, which could negatively impact public health.ConclusionsAlthough many strategies were implemented during the lockdown to promote regular physical activity practice, several results suggested that quarantine negatively affected citizens’ habits. The future government should focus on adequate measures to improve health behaviours. creator: Mario Mauro creator: Stefania Toselli creator: Silvia Bonazzi creator: Alessia Grigoletto creator: Stefania Cataldi creator: Gianpiero Greco creator: Pasqualino Maietta Latessa uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14123 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Mauro et al. title: Soil microbial diversity and functional capacity associated with the production of edible mushroom Stropharia rugosoannulata in croplands link: https://peerj.com/articles/14130 last-modified: 2022-10-03 description: In recent years, a rare edible mushroom Stropharia rugosoannulata has become popular. S. rugosoannulata has the characteristics of easy cultivation, low cost, high output value, and low labor requirement, making its economic benefits significantly superior to those of other planting industries. Accumulating research demonstrates that cultivating edible fungus is advantageous for farming soil. The present experiment used idle croplands in winter for S. rugosoannulata cultivation. We explored the effects of S. rugosoannulata cultivation on soil properties and soil microbial community structure in paddy and dry fields, respectively. We cultivated S. rugosoannulata in the fields after planting chili and rice, respectively. The results showed that Chili-S. rugosoannulata and Rice-S. rugosoannulata planting patterns increased the yield, quality and amino acid content of S. rugosoannulata. By analyzing the soil properties, we found that the Chili-S. rugosoannulata and Rice-S. rugosoannulata cropping patterns increased the total nitrogen, available phosphorus, soil organic carbon, and available potassium content of the soil. We used 16s amplicons for bacteria and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region for fungi to analyze the microbial communities in rhizosphere soils. Notably, S. rugosoannulata cultivation significantly increased the abundance of beneficial microorganisms such as Chloroflexi, Cladosporium and Mortierella and reduce the abundance of Botryotrichumin and Archaeorhizomyces. We consider S. rugosoannulata cultivation in cropland can improve soil properties, regulate the community structure of soil microorganisms, increase the expression abundance of beneficial organisms and ultimately improve the S. rugosoannulata yield and lay a good foundation for a new round of crops after this edible mushroom cultivation. creator: Shaojun Tang creator: Tingting Fan creator: Lei Jin creator: Pin Lei creator: Chenxia Shao creator: Shenlian Wu creator: Yi Yang creator: Yuelin He creator: Rui Ren creator: Jun Xu uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14130 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Tang et al. title: Identification of neoplasm-specific signatures of miRNA interactions by employing a systems biology approach link: https://peerj.com/articles/14149 last-modified: 2022-10-03 description: MicroRNAs represent major regulatory components of the disease epigenome and they constitute powerful biomarkers for the accurate diagnosis and prognosis of various diseases, including cancers. The advent of high-throughput technologies facilitated the generation of a vast amount of miRNA-cancer association data. Computational approaches have been utilized widely to effectively analyze and interpret these data towards the identification of miRNA signatures for diverse types of cancers. Herein, a novel computational workflow was applied to discover core sets of miRNA interactions for the major groups of neoplastic diseases by employing network-based methods. To this end, miRNA-cancer association data from four comprehensive publicly available resources were utilized for constructing miRNA-centered networks for each major group of neoplasms. The corresponding miRNA-miRNA interactions were inferred based on shared functionally related target genes. The topological attributes of the generated networks were investigated in order to detect clusters of highly interconnected miRNAs that form core modules in each network. Those modules that exhibited the highest degree of mutual exclusivity were selected from each graph. In this way, neoplasm-specific miRNA modules were identified that could represent potential signatures for the corresponding diseases. creator: Reza Arshinchi Bonab creator: Seyedehsadaf Asfa creator: Panagiota Kontou creator: Gökhan Karakülah creator: Athanasia Pavlopoulou uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14149 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Arshinchi Bonab et al. title: Association between clinical oral health status and perceived oral health in different age groups link: https://peerj.com/articles/14152 last-modified: 2022-10-03 description: ObjectiveThe perceived oral health refers to the very own perception of a person’s oral health (OH). This study aims to explore the association of perceived oral health status (PSR-OHS) with clinically determined OHS in three age groups: young adults, adults and older adults. This study also aims to identify demographic, socio-economic and/or clinical factors that influence PSR-OHS.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in ten different dental hospitals of Pakistan. The one-way ANOVA test was used to analyze patient’s demographic distribution with PSR-OHS and oral functions. The complex sample general linear model was used to determine association between clinical OH and PSR-OHS. Analyses of each age group were conducted separately.ResultsA total of 1,804 outdoor patients participated in the study, out of which 660 were young adults, 685 adults and 459 were older adults. Overall self-perception of all age groups about their oral health was ‘good’ (mean = 3.71). Female gender and education status were a significant factor in young adults and adults. Family income affected PSR-OHS of only the adult age group. Frequent visit to dental clinic and preventive reason of dental attendance were associated with good PSR-OHS. DMFT score, prosthesis score and periodontal score also affected the PSR-OHS of individuals. Association between PSR-OHS and clinical examination was confirmed by complex general linear model.ConclusionThere are differences in the perceived oral health status of young adults, adults and older adults. The variables, age, education, family income, DMFT score, prosthesis score and periodontal score directly influence the self-perception of individuals. creator: Ayesha Fahim creator: Rizwan Mahmood creator: Irsam Haider creator: Mamoona Luqman creator: Ifra Ikhlaq creator: Tariq Mahmood creator: Mohammad Khursheed Alam uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14152 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Fahim et al. title: Distorted body schema after mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction: a 4-month follow up study link: https://peerj.com/articles/14157 last-modified: 2022-10-03 description: BackgroundAfter breast cancer, some patients report residual pain-related upper limb disability without physical impairment. Although pain and altered proprioception are known to affect the working body schema (WBS), there is little available evidence investigating the WBS of breast cancer survivors (BrCS). WBS—body representations in the brain—affect the “neuromatrix” that modulates pain sensitivity and the threshold for threatening stimuli. The aim of this study was to investigate whether WBS was disrupted after mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) for breast cancer and whether pain and proprioceptive changes affected WBS.MethodsThirty-five BrCS participated in the 4-month follow-up study. They were observed at 1 and 4 months postoperatively. The main outcome measures were the left right judgement test (LRJT) results, absolute angle error, pectoralis minor length index (PMI), pain, and Quick-Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (Q-DASH) score. They were measured at each observation, and parametric tests were performed to identify the nature of WBS.ResultsBoth the reaction time and accuracy of the hand LRJT were poorer than those of the foot and back LRJT (p < 0.001). The hand LRJT reaction time and accuracy were unchanged over the total follow-up period (p = 0.77 and p = 0.47, respectively). There was a weak correlation between the LRJT reaction time and PMI (r = −0.26, p = 0.07), pain severity (r = 0.37, p = 0.02), and Q-DASH score (r = 0.37, p = 0.02). There was also a weak correlation between LRJT accuracy and Q-DASH score (r = −0.31, p = 0.04). The LRJT accuracy of BrCS who underwent surgery on their dominant side was higher than that of BrCS who underwent surgery on their non-dominant side (p = 0.002). Regression analysis found a weak but significant relationship between the early hand LRJT results and late pain severity (adjusted R2 = 0.179, p = 0.007). A similar relationship was found between early hand LRJT results and Q-DASH score (adjusted R2 = 0.099, p = 0.039).ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study providing the nature of WBS after mastectomy with IBR. In this population, it is necessary to postoperatively preserve WBS integrity for pain and upper limb disability. creator: Asall Kim creator: Eun Joo Yang creator: Myungki Ji creator: Jaewon Beom creator: Chunghwi Yi uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14157 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Kim et al. title: An in silico study of how histone tail conformation affects the binding affinity of ING family proteins link: https://peerj.com/articles/14029 last-modified: 2022-09-30 description: BackgroundDue to its intrinsically disordered nature, the histone tail is conformationally heterogenic. Therefore, it provides specific binding sites for different binding proteins or factors through reversible post-translational modifications (PTMs). For instance, experimental studies stated that the ING family binds with the histone tail that has methylation on the lysine in position 4. However, numerous complexes featuring a methylated fourth lysine residue of the histone tail can be found in the UniProt database. So the question arose if other factors like the conformation of the histone tail affect the binding affinity.MethodsThe crystal structure of the PHD finger domain from the proteins ING1, ING2, ING4, and ING5 are docked to four histone H3 tails with two different conformations using Haddock 2.4 and ClusPro. The best four models for each combination are selected and a two-sample t-test is performed to compare the binding affinities of helical conformations vs. linear conformations using Prodigy. The protein-protein interactions are examined using LigPlot.ResultsThe linear histone conformations in predicted INGs-histone H3 complexes exhibit statistically significant higher binding affinity than their helical counterparts (confidence level of 99%). The outputs of predicted models generated by the molecular docking programs Haddock 2.4 and ClusPro are comparable, and the obtained protein-protein interaction patterns are consistent with experimentally confirmed binding patterns.ConclusionThe results show that the conformation of the histone tail is significantly affecting the binding affinity of the docking protein. Herewith, this in silico study demonstrated in detail the binding preference of the ING protein family to histone H3 tail. Further research on the effect of certain PTMs on the final tail conformation and the interaction between those factors seem to be promising for a better understanding of epigenetics. creator: Nadir Gül creator: Ahmet Yıldız uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14029 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Gül and Yıldız title: MicroRNA-21 as a potential biomarker for detecting esophageal carcinoma in Asian populations: a meta-analysis link: https://peerj.com/articles/14048 last-modified: 2022-09-30 description: BackgroundMicroRNA-21 (miR-21) is significantly expressed in a variety of cancers and could be used as a tumor biomarker. However, the results are varied, and no studies on the diagnostic usefulness of miR-21 in Asian esophageal cancer (EC) patients have been published. This meta-analysis was aimed at exploring whether miR-21 can be used as a diagnostic marker and assessing its effectiveness.MethodsThe relevant literature was identified in six main databases: Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Two researchers independently selected the literature based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias. The meta-analysis was carried out using Review Manager 5.4, Meta-Disc 1.4 and STATA 15.1 software. In the end, 987 patients from 12 different studies were included. Quality evaluation of diagnostic accuracy studies 2 (QUADAS—2) was used to examine the risk of bias.ResultsThe pooled sensitivity (SEN) was 0.72 (95% CI [0.69–0.75]), the pooled specificity (SPE) was 0.78 (95% CI [0.75–0.81]), the pooled positive likelihood ratio (PLR) was 2.87 (95% CI [2.28–3.59]), the pooled negative likelihood ratio (NLR) was 0.36 (95% CI [0.31–0.43]), the pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 10.00 (95% CI [7.73–12.95]), and the area under the curve 0.82 (95% CI [0.79–0.85]). A Deeks’ funnel plot shows that there was no publication bias (P = 0.99).ConclusionOur findings suggest miR-21 might be the potential biomarker for detecting EC in Asian populations, with a good diagnostic value. creator: Zheng Han creator: Lingbo Pan creator: Bangjie Lu creator: Huixia Zhu uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14048 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Han et al. title: Irradiation with carbon ion beams affects soybean nutritional quality in early generations link: https://peerj.com/articles/14080 last-modified: 2022-09-30 description: As people’s demand for healthy diet increases, improving soybean seed nutritional quality is becoming as important as yield. Carbon ion beam radiation (CIBR) is an effective method to create soybean mutants, and thus breeding cultivars with better seed nutritional quality. In this study, the high-yield soybean line ‘Dongsheng 28’ was used, and three CIBR doses (100, 120, and 140 Gy) were used to explore the characteristics of quality separation and variation in the offspring of early mutant populations. Eleven quality traits, including protein, oil, sucrose, soluble sugar, iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), cupper (Cu), daidzin, glycitin, and genistin concentrations were analyzed in the M2 and M3 generations. The results revealed that the range of protein and oil concentration of all three CIBR doses changed by 38.5–42.9% and 18.8–23.8% in the M2 and M3 generations, respectively, while soluble sugar and sucrose concentrations changed by 48.1–123.4 and 22.7–74.7 mg/g, with significant effects by 140 Gy across the two generations. Therefore, around the optimum range, a higher CIBR dose is better for high protein, oil, and sugar varieties selection. In general, irradiation raised isoflavone concentrations, but 140 Gy had an inhibitory effect on isoflavone concentrations in the M3 generation. Although a variety could not be released in the M2 or M3 generation, the results of this study have important guiding significance for the targeted cultivation of specific nutritional quality materials. For instance, a lower irradiation dose is preferable when breeding targets are higher isoflavones and Mn concentrations. It is essential to increase the irradiation dose if the breeding targets contain high levels of protein, oil, sucrose, soluble sugars, Fe, Zn, and Cu. creator: Changkai Liu creator: Xue Wang creator: Yansheng Li creator: Heng Chen creator: Qiuying Zhang creator: Xiaobing Liu uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14080 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Liu et al. title: Rapid restructurization of conformationally-distinct alpha-synuclein amyloid fibrils at an elevated temperature link: https://peerj.com/articles/14137 last-modified: 2022-09-30 description: Protein aggregation in the form of amyloid fibrils is linked with the onset and progression of more than 30 amyloidoses, including multiple neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Despite countless studies and years of research, the process of such aggregate formation is still not fully understood. One peculiar aspect of amyloids is that they appear to be capable of undergoing structural rearrangements even after the fibrils have already formed. Such a phenomenon was reported to occur in the case of alpha-synuclein and amyloid beta aggregates after a long period of incubation. In this work, we examine whether incubation at an elevated temperature can induce the restructurization of four different conformation alpha-synuclein amyloid fibrils. We show that this structural alteration occurs in a relatively brief time period, when the aggregates are incubated at 60 °C. Additionally, it appears that during this process multiple conformationally-distinct alpha-synuclein fibrils all shift towards an identical secondary structure. creator: Mantas Ziaunys creator: Andrius Sakalauskas creator: Kamile Mikalauskaite creator: Vytautas Smirnovas uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14137 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Ziaunys et al.