Human Life Research Articles

PTPN11 is a potential biomarker for type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated with colorectal cancer

Epidemiological surveys have shown that the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and malignancies is rapidly increasing worldwide and has become a major disease that threatens human life. In this study, we quantitatively analyzed the proteome of tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues from six patients withT2DM combined with colorectal cancer (CRC) and eight non-diabetic CRC, focusing on the effect of T2DM on tumor tissues. We analyzed the functional enrichment of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) using clusterProfiler in R and the expression level of protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 11 (PTPN11) and other key proteins in the TIMER and GEPIA2 databases. The HPA database was used to validate PTPN11 protein expression. The correlation between PTPN11 expression and clinicopathological features was analyzed by UALCAN database. The impact of PTPN11 on clinical prognosis was evaluated utilizing Kaplan-Meier Plotter. The correlation between PTPN11 expression and tumor-infiltrated immune cells was investigated via TIMER and TISIDB databases. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to examined the pathway of PTPN11 enrichment in CRC using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Furthermore, small interfering (si) RNA was used to knock down PTPN11 in CRC cell line SW480. Western blot analysis was used to detect PTPN11 expression in tissue samples or cells and the effect of PTPN11 knockdown on key proteins related to PI3K/AKT and cell cycle pathway in SW480 cells. Cell proliferation and wound healing assays were used to detect the effects of cell proliferation and migration after knockdown of PTPN11 or treatment with high glucose. We found that metabolic pathways such as oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and insulin secretion were significantly enriched in tumor tissues from diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic patients. In addition, PTPN11, a marker gene associated with T2DM and CRC, were mined in diabetic tumor tissues. PTPN11 showed high expression in diabetic tumor tissues compared to normal tissues. High PTPN11 expression predicted poor prognosis in CRC. PTPN11 expression was strongly associated with immune infiltrating cells in CRC. GSEA analysis revealed that PTPN11 was enriched in cancer-related pathways. Western blotting analysis indicated that PTPN11 knockdown reduced the protein levels of p-PI3K, p-AKT, CDK1 and CYCLIN D, without altering PI3K and AKT protein levels. Cell proliferation and wound healing data showed that PTPN11 and high glucose could increase the proliferation and migration ability. These findings showed that PTPN11 may be a potential key biomarker for CRC in patients with diabetes, which will provide new potential targets for future intervention of T2DM complicated with CRC.

Between Religion and Religiosity: Between the Death and Resurrection of God

The main thesis presented in this article rejects the identification of the “death of God” idea with atheism. Atheism is a metaphysical claim stating that the signifier God has no signified. By contrast, the “death of God” notion conveys a moment of crisis in believers’ lives where the God that had been present in their lives is dead. The “death of God” idea led, on the one hand, to the negation of God’s relevance in human life, as presented by Nietzsche, and, on the other, to its perception as a constitutive moment for religion itself due to God’s presence in the believer’s inner life, as outlined by Kierkegaard, Simone Weil, and others. Both approaches agree on the crucial role of religiosity, whether or not it has a transcendent object. This analysis challenges the dichotomy claiming that, on the one hand, believers cannot accept the idea of the death of God and, on the other hand, those who endorse the death of God negate the idea of religiosity.

Analysis of Children's Development Pathways based on Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

Childhood is a critical stage in human life, during which an individual's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development progresses rapidly. Early development is not only essential for children's future achievements but also plays a significant role in societal structure, economic growth, and cultural transmission. Promoting the holistic development of children is the responsibility not only of families and educational systems but also of society as a whole. This study, grounded in Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, aims to analyze how various ecological system levels influence children's cognitive, emotional, and social development, and explores the impact of these systems' interactions on overall child growth. The research encompasses the microsystem (e.g., family and school), mesosystem (e.g., family-school interactions), exosystem (e.g., parental socioeconomic status and work environment), macrosystem (e.g., cultural background and social policies), and chronosystem (e.g., significant life events and historical context). The findings reveal that the interactions between these ecological systems play a pivotal role in children's development and influence their holistic development.

KAMİL İNSAN FORMALAŞDIRMAQ TƏHSİLİN ANA XƏTTİDİR

The article shows that the main value in preschool education is the child. The pre-school period is not only the stage of preparation for school life, but also the most responsible and important period of human life, during which the foundation of all moral values is laid in a person. It is known that the foundation of moral and spiritual qualities should be laid from an early age. Be-cause the future of the new world depends on how the growing generation acquires spiritual and moral qualities. It is from this point of view that today the human factor is gaining more and more importance in our globalized world. We all know that a country with citizens who are physically and morally healthy, culturally and intellectually high is considered the richest country in the world.

Voices without words: the spectrum of nonverbal vocalisations

ABSTRACT Nonverbal vocalisations are a fundamental part of human life. Here, we use Tinbergen’s ethological framework to examine the functions, ontogenetic trajectories, evolutionary history, and underlying mechanisms of five types of vocalisations: cries, laughter, moans, screams, and sighs. Integrating insights from evolutionary biology and social psychology, we demonstrate how biological functions and social factors shape vocalisations. Tracing the development of vocalisations from infancy to adulthood emphasises the role of innate tendencies, as well as delineating processes of social learning. For each vocalisation type, we map their distinct nature and communicative potential: cries are crucial for survival and caregiving responses; laughter fosters social bonding and group cohesion; moans convey a wide range of internal states from pleasure to discomfort; screams serve as urgent alarms in critical situations; and sighs regulate emotions and signal shifts in emotional states. We conclude that both biological and social factors must be considered to understand nonverbal vocalisations.

Analyzing the impact of elastomer spiral bearings as seismic isolators in a reinforced concrete structure in Algeria

Over the past few years, Algeria has experienced numerous seismic events, particularly in the northern region of the country, due to its geographical position between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. These earthquakes pose significant risks, leading to severe damage to both human life and property, including buildings and infrastructure. In response, civil engineers have increasingly advocated for the adoption of advanced seismic isolation techniques aimed at mitigating the transmission of seismic acceleration from the foundation to the superstructure. As a result, Algeria has seen the implementation of a few key projects incorporating seismic isolators, such as the Grand Mosque of Algiers. This article focuses on the design and analysis of the impact of typical aseismic elastomer spiral bearings in a reinforced concrete building located in the city of Oran, Algeria. The study utilizes ETABS software to evaluate the effectiveness of these bearings in enhancing the seismic resilience of the structure.

A spatially explicit assessment of factors shaping attitudes toward African elephant conservation.

Conservation plans that explicitly account for the social landscape where people and wildlife co-occur can yield more effective and equitable conservation practices and outcomes. Yet, social data remain underutilized, often because social data are treated as aspatial or are analyzed with approaches that do not quantify uncertainty or address bias in self-reported data. We conducted a survey (questionnaires) of 177 households in a multiuse landscape in the Kenya-Tanzania borderlands. In a mixed-methods approach, we used Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify and map local attitudes toward African elephant (Loxodonta africana) conservation while accounting for response bias and then combined inference from attitude models with thematic analysis of open-ended responses and cointerpretation of results with local communities to gain deeper understanding of what explains attitudes of people living with wildlife. Model estimates showed that believing elephants have sociocultural value increased the probability of respondents holding positive attitudes toward elephant conservation in general (mean increase=0.31 [95% credible interval, CrI, 0.02-0.67]), but experiencing negative impacts from any wildlife species lowered the probability of respondents holding a positive attitude toward local elephant conservation (mean decrease=-0.20 [95% CrI -0.42 to 0.03]). Qualitative data revealed that safety and well-being concerns related to the perceived threats that elephants pose to human lives and livelihoods, and limited incentives to support conservation on community and private lands lowered positive local attitude probabilities and contributed to negative perceptions of human-elephant coexistence. Our spatially explicit modeling approach revealed fine-scale variation in drivers of conservation attitudes that can inform targeted conservation planning. Our results suggest that approaches focused on sustaining existing sociocultural values and relationships with wildlife, investing in well-being, and implementing species-agnostic approaches to wildlife impact mitigation could improve conservation outcomes in shared landscapes.

A Global Analysis of Historical and Future Changes in Mediterranean Climate‐Type Regions

ABSTRACTMediterranean climate‐type regions (MCRs) are characterised by warm‐to‐hot dry summers and mild‐wet winters. These regions are typically found on the western or southern edges of continents, for example, in the Mediterranean Basin, the west coast of North and South America, southern Africa and southwest Australia. The MCRs are vulnerable to climate variability and change related to their unique characteristics, such as pronounced rainfall seasonality and prolonged hot and dry summers. Based on historical observations and CMIP6 climate projections, we apply an empirical bio‐climatic assessment of how the geographic distribution of MCRs has changed during the last century and how these zones will be further impacted under continued warming. Results indicate a poleward and eastward expansion of MCRs in the Mediterranean Basin, North America‐California and South America‐Central Chile regions. For parts of Southern Africa and Southern Australia, a retreat of the MCR margins and an expansion of more arid climate zones are projected. These shifts are particularly profound according to high emission and radiative forcing pathways and future scenarios. The warming in MCRs is projected to accelerate (e.g., mean regional warming of up to 5.5°C under a 4°C global warming scenario), and precipitation will decrease by about 5%–10% for every additional degree of global warming. One exception is the California MCR, where rainfall will likely increase. Such changes can challenge water resources, food security and other aspects of human livelihood and ecosystems in these unique geographical zones.

The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on sports – reporting in the daily newspapers of the Czech Republic

The Czech quality (non-tabloid) nationwide daily newspapers never published fewer sports pages during the two first decades of twenty-first century than they did during the COVID-19 pandemic. A reduction in the number of pages devoted to sports and other topics was a logical reaction to the paralysis of professional sports and many other domains of human life. But a comparison of data from the first wave of the pandemic, from March to May of 2020 with the same period in the following years proves that the trend to downsize sports sections continued in many cases. This study applied quantitative content analysis to the Monday editions of the Czech daily newspapers Hospodářské noviny, Lidové noviny, Mladá fronta Dnes, and Právo. It confirmed that the position of sport in the daily newspapers has weakened in the long term, and the pandemic accelerated the tendency, especially in the case of more specialised daily newspapers.

Advancements in Technologies and Methodologies of Machine Learning in Landslide Susceptibility Research: Current Trends and Future Directions

Landslides are pervasive geological hazards that pose significant risks to human life, property, and the environment. Understanding landslide susceptibility is crucial for predicting and mitigating these disasters. This article advocates for a comprehensive review by systematically compiling and analyzing 146 relevant studies up to 2024. It assesses current progress and limitations and offers guidance for future research. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the diverse challenges encountered by machine learning models in landslide susceptibility assessment, encompassing aspects such as model selection, the formulation of evaluation index systems, model interpretability, and spatial heterogeneity. The construction of an evaluation index system, which serves as the foundational data for the model, profoundly influences its accuracy. This study extensively investigates the selection of evaluation factors and the identification of positive and negative samples, proposing valuable methodologies. Furthermore, this paper briefly deliberates and compares classical machine learning models, offering valuable insights for model selection. Additionally, it delves into discussions concerning model interpretability and spatial heterogeneity issues. These research findings promise to enhance the precision of landslide susceptibility assessments and furnish effective strategies for risk management.

Smart forest monitoring: A novel Internet of Things framework with shortest path routing for sustainable environmental management

AbstractForests play a pivotal role in protecting the environment, preserving vital natural resources, and ultimately sustaining human life. However, the escalating occurrences of forest fires, whether of human origin or due to climate change, poses a significant threat to this ecosystem. In recent decades, the emergence of the IoT has been characterised by the utilisation of smart sensors for real‐time data collection. IoT facilitates proactive decision‐making for forest monitoring, control, and protection through advanced data analysis techniques, including AI algorithms. This research study presents a comprehensive approach to deploying a dynamic and adaptable network topology in forest environments, aimed at optimising data transmission and enhancing system reliability. Three distinct topologies are proposed in this research study: direct transmission from nodes to gateways, cluster formation with multi‐step data transmission, and clustering with data relayed by cluster heads. A key innovation is the use of high‐powered telecommunication modules in cluster heads, enabling long‐range data transmission while considering energy efficiency through solar power. To enhance system reliability, this study incorporates a reserve routing mechanism to mitigate the impact of node or cluster head failures. Additionally, the placement of gateway nodes is optimised using meta‐heuristic algorithms, including particle swarm optimisation (PSO), harmony search algorithm (HSA), and ant colony optimisation for continuous domains (ACOR), with ACOR emerging as the most effective. The primary objective of this article is to reduce power consumption, alleviate network traffic, and decrease nodes' interdependence, while also considering reliability coefficients and error tolerance as additional considerations. As shown in the results, the proposed methods effectively reduce network traffic, optimise routing, and ensure robust performance across various environmental conditions, highlighting the importance of these tailored topologies in enhancing energy efficiency, data accuracy, and network reliability in forest monitoring applications.

Iodine Bioavailability and Biochemical Effects of Brassica oleracea var. sabellica L. Biofortified with 8-Hydroxy-7-iodo-5-quinolinesulfonic Acid in Wistar Rats

Background: Iodine is one of the essential trace elements for human life. The main objective of the biofortification of plants with iodine is to obtain food with a higher content of this element compared to conventional food. Biofortification of plants with iodine can increase the intake of this trace element by different populations. In addition, it may reduce the risk of iodine deficiency diseases. Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of kale biofortified with 8-hydroxy-7-iodo-5-quinolinesulfonic acid (8-OH-7-I-5QSA) on iodine bioavailability and biochemical effects in Wistar rats. Methods: Kale biofortified with (8-OH-7-I-5QSA) was tested for iodine levels in urine, feces, and selected tissues using the ICP-MS/MS technique. The feeding experiment was designed to investigate potential changes in selected thyroid-regulated biochemical parameters in blood serum of Wistar rats. Results: The dietary intake of Wistar rats fed kale biofortified with (8-OH-7-I-5QSA) from both the “Oldenbor F1” and “Redbor F1” cultivars for 8 weeks resulted in significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher iodine concentrations in the urine and kidneys of rats, which proves iodine bioavailability. Rats’ diets with “Oldenbor F1” and “Redbor F1” kale non- and -biofortified with 8-OH-7-I-5QSA had a significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower or a tendency for lower concentration of TSH, triglyceride, total and direct bilirubin, TBARs, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentrations in serum. Dietary intake of “Oldenbor F1” and “Redbor F1” kale biofortified with 8-OH-7-I-5QSA significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased the total antioxidant status (TAS). Conclusions: Our study confirms that kale biofortified with iodine in organic form iodoquinoline 8-OH-7-I-5QSA is bioavailable and well absorbed by the Wistar rat and has a positive effect on selected biochemical parameters. The results obtained in this study may be highly predictive for further studies in humans.

TABARRUJ: SAYYID QUTHB'S PERSPECTIVE IN TAFSIR FI ZHILAL AL-QUR’AN

This study focuses on the concept of Tabarruj as interpreted by Sayyid Quthb in his Tafsir fi Zhilal al-Qur’an. The research explores the essence, existence, and impact of Tabarruj from Quthb's perspective, offering an in-depth analysis of how this concept is related to faith, social behavior, and gender roles in Islam. The essence of Tabarruj is linked to the weakening of faith and human morality, influenced by destructive social environments, and the fading of one's spiritual essence. Its existence manifests in specific behaviors, particularly among women, such as leaving the house without necessity, excessive social interaction with men, flirtatious behavior, and immodest dress. The study identifies significant impacts of Tabarruj, including the rise of social ills, the erosion of women's dignity, and the diminishing blessings of Allah in human life. The research contributes to the scholarly understanding of Islamic teachings on modesty, faith, and gender by examining Quthb’s interpretation of Tabarruj and its relevance to contemporary issues. Future research could compare Quthb’s views on Tabarruj with modern interpretations of modesty across different cultural and historical contexts, as well as examine the influence of digital and social media on the concept of Tabarruj among younger generations in Muslim societies.

A new virtual water qualimeter with a changeable broken linear pointer based on a quadrant circular constellation graph

ABSTRACT As water is a very important natural resource for humans and its quality is closely related to human health, water quality evaluation (WQE) is very important for the protection of human health, livelihoods, environment, and management of water. Although various WQE methods have been developed and used, a common drawback is that the methods lack visualization of the WQE results and require additional complicated graphical techniques. The Pointer meter is an analogue measuring device with a pointer indicating the measured value with its location. A constellation graph (CG) enables to map multi-dimensional data on a two-dimensional plane. By introducing the pointer meter and CG for WQE, this paper proposes a new visualized pointer meter-type virtual water qualimeter (VWQ-meter) based on a quadrant circular constellation graph (QCCG). It has a changeable broken linear pointer with variable lengths and shapes, while the traditional pointer meters have straight-line pointers with a fixed length and a straight-line shape. It evaluates the water quality not only quantitatively but also intuitively as in the pointer meters. To demonstrate its effectiveness, it is applied to one example of WQE. It could be widely applied to not only WQE but also various multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems arising in water pollution evaluation, water resource management, water supply, and wastewater treatment.

Building solidarities and alliances between degrowth and food sovereignty movements

Degrowth and food sovereignty movements share commitments to social-ecological transformation, democracy and the flourishing of human and non-human life. Encounters between the two movements have been relatively limited, however. This contribution is based on a literature review and a workshop held at the 9th International Degrowth Conference in Zagreb, Croatia, in 2023, where activists, academics, and practitioners collectively explored alliance formation between degrowth and food sovereignty movements. It explores the barriers, gaps, and differences in their political and organizing traditions that may block opportunities for collaboration in different contexts. It also investigates cases of mutual support and collective organizing for transformation already in existence.

Ultrabright silicon nanoparticles combined with o-phenylenediamine for ratiometric fluorescence and smartphone imaging dual-mode detection of nitrite

Nitrite (NO2−) is widely present in the natural environment and human daily life. Excessive NO2− can cause harm to the environment and human health. Herein, silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) with a fluorescence quantum yield of up to 70 % were synthesised using a one-pot hydrothermal method and combined with the common and inexpensive o-phenylenediamine (OPD) to achieve the detection of NO2−. Upon the addition of NO2−, the blue fluorescence of the SiNPs was quenched due to static quenching and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), while the yellow fluorescence of benzotriazole, the reaction product of OPD and NO2−, was enhanced, resulting in the fluorescence color change from blue to yellow. Based on these phenomena, a ratiometric fluorescence sensor integrated with smartphone imaging technology was developed. This sensor is notable for its portability, cost-effectiveness, and satisfactory detection limits (0.016 μM for ratiometric fluorescence and 1.64 μM for smartphone imaging). Importantly, it demonstrates high reliability and practicability in detecting NO2− in real water and food samples. This broadens the application of SiNPs in the sensing field and introduces new possibilities for NO2− detection in complex sample matrices.

Clones reactive to apoptotic cells and specific chemical adducts are prevalent among human thymic B cells

IntroductionThymus resident B cells were described more than 40 years ago. In early human life, these cells are found predominantly in the medulla and overwhelmingly display an unswitched IgM+ phenotype. The reactivity of thymic IgM B cells, however, is still unclear.MethodsHere, we generated 120 IgM-producing B cell clones from 3 separate thymus specimens obtained from infant, adolescent, and adult donors. Using flow cytometry and a unique high-dimensional ELISA platform, we investigated the clones’ reactivity to apoptotic cells as well as to common chemical adducts exposed on modified amino acids and other macromolecules.ResultsRegardless of the age, approximately 30-40% of thymic IgM B cells reacted to apoptotic cells. Further, 30-40% displayed reactivity to at least one adduct, including malondialdehyde, Homocysteine, and NEDD 8. Four distinct reactivity patterns were identified through this profiling. Notably, a significant association was observed between reactivity to apoptotic cells, and to one or more adducts, suggesting that the same determinants were recognized in both assays. Additionally, thymic IgM B cells reactive to adducts were more likely to recognize intra-nuclear or intra-cytoplasmic structures in Hep-2 cells as revealed by immunofluorescence staining.Conclusion/DiscussionCollectively, our findings suggest that thymic IgM B cells actively uptake apoptotic bodies and cellular debris in the medulla by binding specific chemical adducts. This mechanism could underpin their antigen-presenting function and further support their role in T-cell negative selection.

ER-MACG: An Extreme Precipitation Forecasting Model Integrating Self-Attention Based on FY4A Satellite Data

Extreme precipitation events often present significant risks to human life and property, making their accurate prediction an essential focus of current research. Recent studies have primarily concentrated on exploring the formation mechanisms of extreme precipitation. Existing prediction methods do not adequately account for the combined terrain and atmospheric effects, resulting in shortcomings in extreme precipitation forecasting accuracy. Additionally, the satellite data resolution used in prior studies fails to precisely capture nuanced details of abrupt changes in extreme precipitation. To address these shortcomings, this study introduces an innovative approach for accurately predicting extreme precipitation: the multimodal attention ConvLSTM-GAN for extreme rainfall nowcasting (ER-MACG). This model employs high-resolution Fengyun-4A(FY4A) satellite precipitation products, as well as terrain and atmospheric datasets as inputs. The ER-MACG model enhances the ConvLSTM-GAN framework by optimizing the generator structure with an attention module to improve the focus on critical areas and time steps. This model can alleviate the problem of information loss in the spatial–temporal convolutional long short-term memory network (ConvLSTM) and, compared with the standard ConvLSTM-GAN model, can better handle the detailed changes in time and space in extreme precipitation events to achieve more refined predictions. The main findings include the following: (a) The ER-MACG model demonstrated significantly greater predictive accuracy and overall performance than other existing approaches. (b) The exclusive consideration of DEM and LPW data did not significantly enhance the ability to predict extreme precipitation events in Zhejiang Province. (c) The ER-MACG model significantly improved in identifying and predicting extreme precipitation events of different intensity levels.

Research Progress in the Medicine-Food Dual Use of Astragalus for Gastrointestinal Tumors.

Gastrointestinal tumors have a major impact on human life expectancy and quality of life and are a major cause of personal and social hygiene stress. Gastrointestinal tumors are the main cause of cancer-related death, and the main treatment methods are surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, they also cause great damage to the body and have a poor prognosis after surgery. Therefore, we urgently need safe and effective drugs to intervene in gastrointestinal tumors. In recent years, Traditional Chinese Medicine has been widely used in tumor treatment as a complementary and alternative therapy. Astragalus membranaceus is one of the main herbal medicines with tonic effect and one of the important components of many antitumor herbal compounds. Astragalus polysaccharides, saponins, and flavonoids are the main active components of Astragalus, all of which have antitumor effects. In this article, we studied the mechanism of action of Astragalus and its active ingredients in the intervention of gastrointestinal tumors in recent years and suggested a new approach for the study of Astragalus intervention in gastrointestinal tumors from the perspective of the homology of medicine and food.

Computer Aided Based Performance Analysis of Glioblastoma Tumor Detection Methods using UNET-CNN

Brain tumors are the life killing and threatening disease which affects all age groups around the world. The timely detection and followed by the perspective treatments saves the human life. The tumor regions in brain are detected and segmented using UNET-CNN architecture in this paper. During training process of the proposed work, both Glioblastoma and Healthy brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is preprocessed and then multi level transform is applied on the preprocessed image. The features are further computed from the transformed coefficients and these features are trained by UNET-CNN architecture to obtain trained vectors. During testing process of the proposed work, the test brain MRI image is preprocessed and then decomposed coefficients are obtained by multi level transform. Features are computed from these decomposed coefficients and they are classified using UNET-CNN architecture with the trained vectors. The simulation results of the developed methodology are compared with similar studies on both BRATS 2017 and BRATS 2018 datasets