bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gender Difference in Health Condition Among Emirati Adolescent: Role of Environment and Parent Perceptions
Authors: Maghelal Praveen , Alawadi Khaled , Wahdain Abeer
Published: June 2021

Background: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the developed nations in the middle-east with the obesity rate among the youth two to three times greater than the international standards. Therefore, this research aims to study the variation of perception of the built environment among Emirati male and female adolescents and their parents. Also, the role of determinants of the health condition of Emirati adolescents is analyzed. Method: A total of 335 students (aged 14-20) from six schools in the Al Ain region of Abu Dhabi Emirate and 250 parent responses were used to conduct the mean-test of perception of hindrances and multinomial logit of the health condition using the perception, behavior and built environment measures. Results: Emirati males perceive the built environment factors as barriers more than female adolescents. Parents perceive street-crossing (p<0.016) and sidewalk characteristics (p<0.020) to be more of a hindrance to walking to school than students. Traffic exposure and walkability at home and schools report a significant effect on the health condition of the Emirati adolescents along with the self-reported physical activity. Marginal effect reports sedentary and low-levels of activity predicts the probability of an Emirati adolescent being not just overweight or obese (p<0.001), but also underweight (p<0.05)Conclusion: Recommendations for parents and school authorities, Abu Dhabi Municipality and Urban Planning department, and to enhance the built environment are discussed. Also recommendation to address both, levels of obesity and being underweight, are discussed.
In Vitro Induction and Assessment of Tetraploid Plants From Shoot Cultures of Diploid Niger (Guizotia Abyssinica (L.f.) Cass): a Multipurpose Oilseed Crop
Authors: Chambhare Mahadev Ramkisan , Nikam Tukaram Dayaram
Published: June 2021

Agronomic traits improvement in crop plant can be accomplished by induction of polyploidy. Niger (Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass.) is one of the important edible oil yielding diploid crop (2n = 30). In the present study, the tetraploidization in Niger plants was achieved by treating apical portion of in vitro raised shoots with colchicine and their confirmation by chromosome counting and flow cytometry. The in vitro shoots were raised from leaf explants on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l BAP (6-benzylaminopurine). The survival and nature of growth of treated shoots was variable with colchicine concentration (0.0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04%) and exposure time (4, 8, 12, and 16 h). The maximum tetraploid induction ratio was recorded with 0.02% colchicine treatment for 8 h which yielded 38.4% tetraploids. The chromosome number in root cells of tetraploid plantlets was 2n=4x=60 and the DNA content in leaf cells was 10.34 pg which was double to the diploid plant (4.70 pg) cells. In addition, there was significant difference exist in leaf characteristics of diploid and tetraploid plantlets. Compared to diploid plantlets, the tetraploid plantlets showed larger leaves, larger stomatal size, low stomatal index, larger capitula, larger seeds, and a greater number of seeds per capitula. The oil content in seeds was higher and associated with altered fatty acid profile. The results demonstrated that the tetraploid plantlets obtained in this study exhibited some superior agronomical traits (as mentioned above) compared to diploid. The developed protocol and produced tetraploid plantlets will open the new door in improvement of edible oil yielding crop Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass.
CK2α/CSNK2A1 Induces Resistance to Doxorubicin Through SIRT6 Mediated Activation of the DNA Damage Repair Pathway
Authors: Hussein Usama Khamis , Ahmed Asmaa Gamal , Song Yiping , Park See-Hyoung , Kim Kyoung Min , Moon Young Jae , Ahn Ae-Ri , Park Ho Sung , Ahn Su Jin , Kim Jung Ryul , Jang Kyu Yun
Published: June 2021

BackgroundCK2α/CSNK2A1 is involved in cancer progression by phosphorylating various signaling molecules. Considering the role of CSNK2A1 in cancer progression and phosphorylation of SIRT6 and the role of SIRT6 in chemoresistance through the DNA damage repair pathway, CSNK2A1 and SIRT6 might be involved in resistance to the conventional anti-cancer therapies.MethodsWe evaluated the expression of CSNK2A1 in the 37 osteosarcoma patients and investigated the effects of CSNK2A1 and phosphorylation of SIRT6 on Ser338 on the resistance to the anti-cancer effects of doxorubicin. Results Higher expression of CSNK2A1 predicted shorter overall survival and relapse-free survival in both general osteosarcoma patients and sub-population of patients who received postoperative chemotherapies. U2OS and KHOS/NP osteosarcoma cells with induced overexpression of CSNK2A1 were resistant to cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin, and knock-down of CSNK2A1 potentiated the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin. CSNK2A1 overexpression-mediated resistance to doxorubicin was associated with SIRT6 phosphorylation and induction of the DNA damage repair pathway molecules ATM and Chk2. CSNK2A1 and SIRT6 mediated resistance to doxorubicin in vivo was attenuated via mutation of SIRT6 at the Ser338 phosphorylation site. Emodin, a CSNK2A1 inhibitor, potentiated the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin in osteosarcoma cells in vitro. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that the expression of CSNK2A1 might be used as a prognostic indicator of osteosarcoma. In addition, it suggests that CSNK2A1 induces resistance to doxorubicin through phosphorylation of SIRT6-mediated activation of the DNA damage repair pathway. Therefore, blocking the CSNK2A1-SIRT6-DNA damage repair pathway might be a new therapeutic stratagem for the poor prognostic subgroup of osteosarcomas with high expression of CSNK2A1.
Hexokinases 2 Promoted Cell Motility and Distant Metastasis by Elevating Fibronectin Through Akt1/p-Akt1 in Cervical Cancer Cells
Authors: Chen Qian , Li Lu , Liu Xian , Feng Qian , Zhang Yanru , Zheng Pengsheng , Cui Nan
Published: June 2021

Background: Hexokinases 2 (HK2) is a member of the hexokinases, linking with malignant tumor growth and distant metastasis. However, evidence regarding the potential role of HK2 in regulating cell motility and tumor metastasis during the cervical cancer malignant progression remains limited.Methods: In vitro migration and invasion assay, in vivo metastasis experiments were performed to detected the effective of HK2 on regulating cell motility and tumor metastasis in cervical cancer cells. RNA-Seq was performed to explore the potential molecules that participate in HK2-mediated cell motility and tumor metastasis in cervical cancer cells. The correlation between HK2 and Akt1, p-Akt1, FN1 expression in cervical cancer cells and human squamous cervical carcinoma (SCC) samples was verified in this study.Results: In this study, cervical cancer cells with exogenous HK2 expression exhibited enhanced cell motility and distant metastasis. Transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed that fibronectin (FN1) was significantly increased in HK2-overexpressing HeLa cells, and the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was identiﬁed by KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Further studies demonstrated that this promotion of cell motility by HK2 was probably a result of it inducing FN1, MMP2 and MMP9 expression by activating Akt1 in cervical cancer cells. Additionally, HK2 expression was altered with the changing of Akt1/p-Akt1 expression, implying that HK2 expression is also modulated by Akt1/p-Akt1. Moreover, the positive correlation between HK2 and Akt1, p-Akt1, FN1 expression in human squamous cervical carcinoma (SCC) samples was verified by using Pearson correlation analysis.Conclusions: This study demonstrated that HK2 could activate Akt1 in cervical cancer cells, subsequently enhancing cell motility and tumor metastasis by inducing FN1, MMP2 and MMP9 expression. There likely exists an interactive regulatory mechanism between HK2 and Akt1 during the malignant process of cervical cancer.
A Novel Ferroptosis-Related Lncrnas Signature for Prognosis Prediction in Patients with Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Jin Meiling , Li Diangeng
Published: June 2021

BackgroundPapillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) is a common renal cell carcinoma. Recent studies have reported that ferroptosis is involved in the occurrence and development of tumors. Long non-coding RNAs could be used as independent biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of a variety of tumors, and many lncRNAs are related to the pathogenesis of PRCC. However, there are few studies on the ferroptosis-related lncRNAs of PRCC. This study aimed to establish ferroptosis-related lncRNAs prognostic signature in patients with PRCC.MethodsGene expression profile and clinical information of patients with PRCC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Lasso-Penalzed Cox regression and univariate Cox regression analysis were utilized for model construction. The Kaplan-Meier (K-M) and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to validate the predictive effect of the prognostic signature. Immune cell infiltration and immune function were compared between the high-risk and low-risk groups. Chemotherapy sensitivity analysis was also performed. ResultsWe constructed a prognostic signature consisted of 15 ferroptosis-related lncRNAs. The Kaplan-Meier curves validated the fine predictive accuracy of the prognostic signature (p < 0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) of the lncRNAs signature was 0.930, exhibiting robust prognostic capacity. The high-risk group had a greater degree of immune cell infiltration, such as B cells, T cell CD8, macrophages, NK cell, etc., compared with the low-risk group. There were significant differences in inflammation-promoting, parainflammation and Type I IFN reponse between the low-risk and high-risk groups. The expressions of immune checkpoints including CD80, IDO1, LAG3, etc. were significantly higher in high-risk group. Chemotherapy sensitivity analysis showed that MNX1-AS1, ZFAS1, MIR4435-2HG and ADAMTS9-AS1 were significantly correlated with the sensitivity of some chemotherapy drugs. ConclusionWe demonstrated that a ferroptosis-related lncRNAs prognostic signature could be a novel biomarker for PRCC. Our findings could provide a new insight for immune research and treatment strategies for patients with PRCC.
Does a Hospital Palliative Care Team Have the Potential to Reduce the Cost of a Terminal Hospitalization? A Retrospective Case-control Study in a Czech Tertiary University Hospital
Authors: Kremenova Zuzana , Svancara Jan , Kralova Petra , Moravec Martin , Hanouskova Katerina , Knizek-Bonatto Mayara
Published: June 2021

Background: More than 50% of patients worldwide die in hospitals. It is well known that end-of-life hospital care is costly.Our aims were to test whether the support of the palliative team can reduce end-of-life costs and to study the mechanisms of cost reduction.Methods: This was a one-centre descriptive retrospective case-control study. Big data from registries of routine visits were used for case-control matching. We included the expenses billed to the insurance company and added separately charged drugs and materials. We compared the groups over the duration of the terminal hospitalization, ICU days (ICU=intensive care unit), IV antibiotic use (IV=intravenous), MRI/CT scans (MRI/CR=magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography), oncologic treatment in the last month of life, and documentation of the dying phase.We searched for all in-hospital cases who died in the university hospital in Prague with the support of the hospital palliative team from January 2019 to April 2020 and matched them with similar controls. The controls were matched according to age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index and diagnosis recorded on the death certificate.Results: We identified 213 dyads. The average daily costs were three times lower in the palliative group (4,392.4 CZK per day=171.3 EUR) than in the non-palliative group (13,992.8 CZK per day=545.8 EUR), and the difference was caused by the shorter time spent in the ICU (16% vs 33% of hospital days). This was probably due to better documentation of the dying phase in the medical records.Conclusions: To date, there are sparse hospital data available on the economic aspects of end-of-life care. We showed that the integration of the palliative care team in the dying phase can be cost saving. The evidence that hospital palliative care can save a substantial amount of money can be used to support the integration of palliative care in hospitals in middle- and low-income countries. A multicentre study with the same design is planned in the future to increase the strength of the results.
Clinical efficacy of OASIS Preloaded Punctal Plug in Comparison to Smart Plug Punctal Plug in Aqueous-Deficient Dry Eye Disease
Authors: Luo Fei , Tian Lei , Deng Shijing , Hao Jie , jie ying
Published: June 2021

BackgroundAt present, there are few clinical studies comparing OASIS preloaded punctal plug and Smart Plug punctal plug for dry eye. This study intends to evaluate the effect of OASIS preloaded punctal plug versus Smart Plug punctal plug in the treatment of aqueous-deficient Dry Eye. Methods47 patients with aqueous-deficient dry eye were selected and randomly divided into control group and experimental group. The control group was treated with Smart Plug punctal plug treatment, and the experimental group was treated with OASIS preloaded punctal plug treatment. The OSDI questionnaire score, Schirmer I test and BUT results before and after treatment, and the incidences of postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Follow up for six months. ResultsThe results of this study showed that compared with before treatment, the OSDI scores of patients were significantly improved at 6 months after treatment in both the experimental group and control group. After treatment, there was no significant difference in OSDI score, Schirmer I test, and BUT level between the two groups. Besides, the Smart Plug punctal plug treatment group had a significant improvement in BUT at 3 months after operation compared with before treatment. Conclusion﻿The OASIS preloaded punctal plug is comparable to the Smart Plug punctal plug in treating aqueous-deficient dry eye, and both can significantly improve dry eye symptoms. Furthermore, the OASIS preloaded punctal plug can facilitate intraoperative procedures, lacrimal punctum expansion and plug implantation can be completed in one step, and the loss of embolization before implantation and the abnormal implantation due to the expansion of the embolic volume can be reduced, which is worthy of clinical application.Clinical registration number: researchregistry6629; Registered 4 March 2021 - Retrospectively registered
The Effect of SNPs in IncRNA as CeRNA on The Risk and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Mo Han , Wang Xi , Ji Guohua , Liang Xiao , Yang Yi , Sun Wenjing , Jia Xueyuan , Xu Lidan , Qiao Yuandong , Zhou Henan , Zhao Wenhui , Fu Songbin , Zhang Xuelong
Published: June 2021

Background

Most the HCC susceptible loci identified by GWAS are located in non-coding regions, and the mechanism of action remains unclear. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship among SNPs on lncRNA that affects ceRNA mechanism and the risk and prognosis of HCC.
Methods

In this study, combined with multiple databases, eight lncRNA genes that affect HCC were systematically screened through the mechanism of lncRNA-mediated ceRNA, and 15 SNPs that affect miRNA binding in the eight lncRNA genes were annotated. Genotyping was conducted in 800 HCC cases and 801 healthy controls from a Han population in Northeast China to examine the genetic risk associated with HCC.
Results

The GG, GC and GG + GC genotypes of HOTAIR rs7958904 were found to be associated with a 0.65, 0.59 and 0.63-fold decreased HCC risk, respectively. Moreover, in the stratified analysis of clinical characteristics, HCC patients with PVT1 rs3931282 AA + GA genotypes were less prone to develop late-stage tumors. When stratified by clinical biochemical indexes, rs1134492 and rs10589312 in PVT1 and rs84557 in EGFR-AS1 showed significant associations with AST, ALT or AST/ALT ratio. In addition, the potential ceRNA regulatory axes might be affected by the five positive SNPs were constructed to explain the causes of these genetic associations.
Conclusions

This first study demonstrated the association of SNPs on lncRNA -mediated ceRNAs with HCC. The results provide new insights of how non-coding loci confer the interindividual differences to susceptibility and progression of HCC.
Efficient Use of Nitrogen, Gibberellic Acid and Potassium on Canola Production under Sub-tropical Regions
Authors: Aslam Muhammad Mahran , Siddiqui Mohammad Aquil
Published: June 2021

The global demand for crop production is rapidly growing due to the continued rise in world population. Crop productivity varies generally with soil nutrient profile and climate. The optimal use of fertilizers might help to attain higher crop yield in canola. To circumvent nutrient imbalance issues in soil, two separate field trials were conducted to determine the best source of nitrogen (ammonium sulfate/ammonium nitrate), foliar application of gibberellic acid (GA3) and potassium (K) for the canola yield and yield attributes for four consecutive years (2014 to 2018). Both experiments were carried out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates. The nitrogen source in the form of ammonium sulfate (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg/ha) and ammonium nitrate (0, 50, 75 and 100 kg/ha) was applied in the rhizosphere. In another experiment, the canola crop was sprayed with four level of gibberellic acid (GA3; 0, 10, 15, 30g/ha) and potassium (K; 0, 2.5, 3.5, 6g/ha) separately or in combination by using hydraulic spryer. The analysis showed that fertilization with nitrogen in the form of ammonium nitrate (100 kg/ha) and ammonium sulfate (30 kg/ha) had a positive effect on the plant height, number of branches, fruiting zone, seed yield per plant, seed yield per hectare of canola except oil percentage. Moreover, canola plants displayed a significant improvement on all studied features with high dosses of GA3 (30 g/ha) and K (6 g/ha) individualy and in combined form. In a nutshell, compared to both source of nitrogen, ammonium nitrate was more efficient and readily available source of nitrogen. Gibbrellic acid being a natural growth elicitor and potassium as a micronutrient serve as potential source to improve yield and to mange nutrient profile of canola.
Three-dimensional CBCT Based Evaluation of the Maxillary Sinus by Facial Index: Retrospective Study
Authors: Lee Jeong-Hyun , Han Won-Jeong , Park Jong-Tae
Published: June 2021

The maxillary sinus growth is initiated 3 months after birth, and it grows lateral and inferior until the pneumatization of the alveolar bone occurs. Maxillary sinus size is determined around the age of 18 years. The facial skeleton has recently been determined as affecting the maxillary sinus, prompting additional studies on changes in the size of the maxillary sinus. This study aimed to determine the size of the maxillary sinus using a 3D program after categorizing South Korean adults according to their FI classification. Upon categorizing the subjects based on their FI classification, they were grouped into the mesoprosopic, leptoprosopic, and hyperleptoprosopic types, with no subjects fitting the euryprosopic type. In this study, the maxillary sinus size varied based on the shape of the face when classified by FI. The maxillary sinus tended to be wider in those with mesoprosopic type, and tended to be higher in the hyperleptoprosopic type, suggesting a need for clinicians to focus to the shape of the face during clinical treatments.
Catastrophic Health Expenditures and Its Inequality in Rural Poor Households in China
Authors: Wang Yihuan , Zhang Chu , Guo Mengdi
Published: June 2021

Background: Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) is an important indicator to measure health equity. Reducing risk of CHE and breaking vicious cycle between poverty and poor health are original intentions of medical security system design in various countries. This paper fulfills a research gap on CHE and its inequality in Chinese rural poor households.Methods: Based on 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Data (CHARLS), Logit and Tobit regression models were used to analyze CHE incidence and intensity among rural poor households, and its socioeconomic inequality.Results: The results showed that CHE incidence of rural poor households was 28.20%, and the average intensity was 0.076. For rural poor households, CHE incidence and intensity were higher than those in non-poor households at each given threshold from 20% to 60%. Socioeconomic factors including household size, chronic disease status, disability status, health service utilization, whether to have older adults ≥ 65 significantly associated with household CHE. Conclusions: Although China's social health insurance has almost achieved universal coverage, CHE incidence of rural poor households still remains high. A more refined health insurance policy with expanding current benefits packages, increasing reimbursement level is essential for protecting rural poor households from incurring CHE. Policy makers should also establish a new medical assistance system based on healthcare expenditure, which can effectively relieve medical economy burden of rural impoverished households.
Remote-Controllable Bone-Targeted Delivery of Estradiol For the Treatment of Ovariectomy-Induced Osteoporosis in Rats
Authors: Fu Dehao , Guo Yuanyuan , Liu Yongwei , Shi Chen , Wu Tingting , Cui Yongzhi , Wang Siyuan , Liu Ping , Feng Xiaobo , He Yu
Published: June 2021

BackgroundOsteoporosis (OP) is a systemic skeletal disease marked by bone mass reduction and bone tissue destruction. Hormone replacement therapy is an effective treatment for post-menopausal OP, but estrogen has poor tissue selectivity and severe side effects.ResultsIn this study, we constructed a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs)-based drug delivery system to co-load 17β estradiol (E2) and iron oxide (Fe3O4) together, modified with alendronate (AL) to achieve bone targeting and realize a magnetically remote-controllable drug release. The NPs were fabricated through the emulsion solvent diffusion method. The particle size was approximately 200 nm while the encapsulation efficiency of E2 was 58.34 ± 9.21%. The NPs were found to be spherical with a homogenous distribution of particle size. The NPs showed good stability, good biocompatibility, high encapsulation ability of E2 and excellent magnetic properties. The NPs could be effectively taken up by Raw 264.7 cells and were effective in enriching drugs in bone tissue. The co-loaded NPs exposed to an external magnetic field ameliorated OVX-induced bone loss through increased BV/TV, decreased Tb.N and Tb.Sp, improved bone strength, increased PINP and OC, and downregulated CTX and TRAP-5b. The haematological index and histopathological analyses displayed the NPs had less side effects on non-skeletal tissues.ConclusionsThis study presented a remote-controlled release system based on bone-targeted multifunctional NPs and a new potential approach to bone-targeted therapy of OP.
Safety and Effectiveness Outcomes of a Novel Sterile Titanium Clip Device-based Heart Valve Surgery in a Preclinical Disease Model
Authors: Li Bin , Yue Guangxin , Zhu Jinyan , Zhang Min , Yang Baiqing , Luo Jiafei , Sun Yang , Zhang Leisheng , Wang Xin
Published: June 2021

Background: Valvular heart disease (VHD) is a major subtype of life-threatening myocardial disease with high mortality, and in particular, among inpatients with degenerative valve diseases. There is an urgent need for the evaluation of the operability, effectiveness and safety of the novel sterile titanium clip device-based valve surgery with minimal level of invasion for VHD administration via preclinical studies. Methods: 18 small fat-tail sheep were prepared with extracorporeal circulation and performed upon thoracotomy and mitral valve shaping ring implantation. A total of 12 needles were conducted for mitral annulus suture, including 6 needles by utilizing the novel sterile titanium clip device (denoted as the experimental group) and another 6 needles by manual knotting (denoted as the control group), and the self-comparison was made at the indicated timepoints after surgery (30-day, 60-day, 90-day, 180-day). Along with recording the knotting time, echocardiography and blood tests were performed, with samples collected at the aforementioned timepoints. Pathological examination of the heart and vital organs was conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the implanted device. Results: Of the 18 sheep, 16 survived the operation for past-operation experimental data collection, including 3 at day 30, 3 at day 60, 4 at day 90, and 6 at day 180, respectively. Compared to the control group, the operation time was significantly reduced with clip implantation (P<0.01). The mitral valve forming ring was fixed firmly without disengagement or displacement, endothelializations were successful, with no peri-valvular leakage or marked thrombosis observed. The rate of thrombosis caused by thread ends in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group at day 90, whereas no significant difference at day 180. Notably, with exception of two cases with visceral complications such as diffuse renal infarction caused by thromboembolism and small focal renal infarction, no significant differences in inflammatory response and other tissue responses or embolisms were observed in other organs. Conclusions: The novel aseptic clip device is much simpler and more convenient for significantly shortening the knot tying time during the flap annular implantation process, which demonstrated overall effectiveness and safety compare to manual knot tying.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depression and Fear Of COVID-19 Among Pregnant Women During the Rapid Rise Period of the Coronavirus Pandemic in a Middle Eastern Country: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Barakat Zainab , Fares Youssef , Abou-Abbas Linda
Published: June 2021

Background

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging public health issue. Pregnant women are susceptible to its negative psychological impact. Particularly, pre-natal psychological health is critical as it can affect the well-being of the mothers and their fetuses. The present study aimed to assess the Covid-19 psychological impact on pregnant women, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and fear related to COVID-19 as well as to investigate their associated factors.
Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women in Lebanon between 17th November 2020 and 27th February 2021. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data about participants’ baseline characteristics and psychological status, including PTSD, depression as well as fear related to COVID-19.
Results

Out of the 466 respondents, 28.5% (n = 133) had PTSD related to Covid-19, and 22.1% (n = 133) had depression. The mean score for the fear of Covid-19 was 18.51 ± 5.55. Pregnant women’s depression and fear of Covid-19 were significantly associated with PTSD (adjusted OR = 5.85 with 95% CI of 3.37 to10.16; adjusted OR = 1.19 with 95% CI of 1.13 to 1.26, respectively). Furthermore, smoking during pregnancy and encountering difficulties in accessing healthcare during the pandemic were found to be associated with depression, while practicing home quarantine was found to be associated with the fear of Covid-19. Pregnant women who perceived high risks towards Covid-19 and those who experienced PTSD had high levels of both depression and the fear of Covid-19 compared to their counterparts.
Conclusion

High levels of PTSD, depression, and fear of Covid-19 were detected among Lebanese pregnant women. This recommends further psychological interventions to mitigate these levels.
Extracting and analyzing inorganic material synthesis procedures in the literature
Authors: Makino Kohei , Kuniyoshi Fusataka , Ozawa Jun , Miwa Makoto
Published: June 2021

Analyzing synthesis procedures from a considerable amount of literature is required to collect structural information of material names and synthesis procedures for designing materials computationally. There are databases comprising structural data of material names and material synthesis procedures. However, the types of material in these databases and the material property values included are limited and insufficient. Moreover, they are primarily described in the literature in the natural language of the researcher who proposed the procedure, and thus they cannot be understood universally. It is, therefore, necessary to create a framework that represents textual synthesis procedures in a flow graph that contains crucial information for material development such as the order of operations and the linkage between operations and conditions. This will facilitate obtaining material insights from the literature. However, there are no large-scale studies on the extraction of synthesis procedures in the form of a graph and analysis thereof. In this study, we propose a pipeline system that extracts synthesis procedures from a text in the form of a graph with a clear order of operations and objects of conditioning from the literature. The system consists of preprocessing, entity extraction, which is based on Mat-ELMo and Bi-LSTM-CRF models, rule-based relation extraction, and selection for paragraph-containing procedures. We applied the system to a large body of literature and extracted various synthesis procedures. We performed basic analyses of the extracted procedures to examine their usability. We experimentally confirmed that some extracted procedures were specific to the target material, and some of the obvious procedures were correctly extracted.
A Moving Liver Phantom in An Anthropomorphic Thorax for SPECT MP Imaging
Authors: Panagi Sotiris , Hadjiconstanti Anastasia , Charitou George , Kaolis Demetris , Petrou Ioannis , Kyriacou Costas , Parpottas Yiannis
Published: June 2021

Cranio-caudal respiratory motion and liver activity cause a variety of complex myocardial perfusion (MP) artifacts, especially in the inferior myocardial wall, that may also mask cardiac defects. To assess and characterize such artifacts, an anthropomorphic thorax with moving thoracic phantoms can be utilized in SPECT MP imaging. In this study, a liver phantom was developed, and anatomically added into an anthropomorphic phantom, that encloses an ECG beating cardiac phantom and breathing lungs phantom. A cranio-caudal respiratory motion was also developed for the liver phantom and it was synchronized with the corresponding ones of the cardiac and lungs phantoms. This continuous motion could also be further divided into dynamic respiratory phases, from end-exhalation to end-inspiration, to perform SPECT acquisitions in different respiratory phases. The motion parameters, displacements and volumes, were validated by the acquired CT slices, the OsiriX and Vitrea software. Sample SPECT/16-slice-CT myocardial MP acquisitions were also performed and compared to the literature. The cardiac, lungs and liver phantoms can precisely perform, in time interval of 0.1 sec, physiological thoracic motions within an anthropomorphic thorax. This dynamic phantom assembly can be utilized for SPECT MP supine and, for first time, prone imaging to access and characterize artifacts due to different cranio-caudal respiratory amplitudes and cardiac-liver activity ratios.
Pan-Cancer Analysis of VIM Expression in Human Cancer Tissues
Authors: Blatkiewicz Małgorzata , Białas Piotr , Taryma-Leśniak Olga , Hukowska-Szematowicz Beata
Published: June 2021

In 2020, more than 19 million cancer cases were diagnosed. One of the best paths to more effective treatment with a chance of being cured for patients is early detection. Vimentin (VIM), as an intermediate filament protein, is broadly expressed in mesenchymal cells. VIM is responsible for several biological processes such as cellular component organization and biogenesis, metabolic processes, and biological regulation. A growing body of literature indicates that expression of the VIM gene (VIM) is disrupted in carcinomas during epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Herein, we broadly analyzed the gene expression and promoter methylation profile of VIM in 19 cancer types across The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Furthermore, the protein–protein interactions (GeneMANIA and Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database) and the alteration frequency of mutations (cBioPortal database) in VIM were analyzed. We proved that VIM is overexpressed in seven of the 19 studied cancer types. For two of them, we observed an association of VIM expression with gene promoter methylation. It must be emphasized that VIM overexpression can be a potential diagnostic biomarker in selected types of cancers.
Construction of Complete Diallel Crosses Plans
Authors: A RAJARATHINAM , Adhira S.V , Ghosh D.K.
Published: June 2021

In this paper Complete Diallel Crosses (CDC) plan is constructed using two Balanced Incomplete Block Designs and the Galois field with the same set of parametersI. The designs were isomorphic on each other and the crossing is made between the lines. The analysis of CDC plans to estimate the general combining ability (GCA) effects and specific combining ability (SCA) effects were excluded from the model. The efficiency value of the constructed CDC plan is tends to 1, and universally optimum when v is very large. The construction is also illustrated with the suitable example.
Trade of Economically and Physically Scarce Virtual Water
Authors: Vallino Elena , Ridolfi Luca , Laio Francesco
Published: June 2021

The virtual water (VW) trade associated to food is composed by the quantity of water utilized for the production of the crops exchanged on the global market. In assessing a country’s water abundance or scarcity when entering the international VW trade, scholars consider only physical water availability, neglecting economic water scarcity, that indicates situations in which socio-economic obstacles impede the productive use of water. We weight the global VW trade associated to primary crops with a newly proposed composite water scarcity index (CWSI) that combines physical and economic water scarcity. Almost half of VW volumes is exported from countries with a higher CWSI than the one of the destination country. Such unfair routes occur both from low- to high-income countries and among low- and middle-income countries themselves. High-income countries have a predominant role in import of CWSI-weighted VW, while low- and middle-income countries dominate among the largest CWSI-weighted VW exporters. For many of them economic water scarcity dominates over physical scarcity. The application of the CWSI elicits also a status change from net exporter to net importer for some wealthy countries and viceversa for some low- and middle-income countries. The application of CWSI allows one to quantify to what extent VW exchanges flow along environmentally and economically unfair routes, and it can inform the design of compensation policies.
Refractory Craniopharyngioma: Successful Treatment with LINAC Based Stereotactic Radio surgery (SRS): First Case in Nepal
Authors: Thakur Subhash , Yadav Birendra , Nagamuthu Karthik , Chawla Saloni , Dubey Amit
Published: June 2021

Purpose: To present first case of refractory craniopharyngioma treated successfully with SRS in Nepal. Background: Craniopharyngioma is a benign tumor, which progresses slowly and compresses the pituitary gland and nearby structures. First line of treatment is surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy as complete resection is usually not feasible. Here, we are reporting a case of recurrent craniopharyngioma treated with LINAC based SRS. Case Presentation: A 43 years old man diagnosed case of craniopharyngioma in May 2019. He underwent left pterional craniotomy and subtotal resection of tumor and kept on observation. He developed symptomatic as well as radiological recurrence in July 2020. Second debulking was not possible, so we did SRS on 23rd August 2020; 14Gy Dose was delivered to gross tumor volume. Six months after SRS, Patient is doing well.Conclusions: LINAC based SRS is a frameless, non-invasive and safe procedure with excellent clinical outcomes for recurrent or residual craniopharyngioma.
Acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine for allergic rhinitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Yan Le , Gou Haocheng , Feng Jun , Dai Lintong
Published: June 2021

Background
Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a prevalent yet underappreciated inflammatory disorder of nasal mucosa, which is characterized by pruritus, sneezing, rhinorrhoea, and nasal congestion, some studies have pointed out that if combine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with acupuncture, which can enhance the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion. However, safety and efficacy of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine for treating allergic rhinitis remain largely uncertain. In our study, we will perform the first systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture combined with TCM for AR.
Methods
We will search the randomized controlled (RCT) literatures involving acupuncture combined with TCM for treating AR in seven electric databases, including PubMed, Web of science, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), WanFang Database. We will define the total effective rate or cure rate, and recurrence rate as the primary outcomes. the rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire (RQLQ) score, symptom score (nasal congestion, snot, sneezing) will be regarded as the secondary outcomes. Quality assessment of included studies will be independently performed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Meanwhile, the level of evidence for results will be assessed by using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) method. All analysis will be conducted by using the RevMan software V5.4.
Conclusion
The conclusion of this study will confirm safety and efficacy of acupuncture combined with TCM in the treatment of allergic rhinitis, which can provide new evidence to guide appropriate interventions on AR with acupuncture combine with TCM in future.
Systematic review registration:
PROSPERO CRD42021247621
Sex-specific effects of neonatal progestin receptor antagonism on juvenile social behavior in rats.
Authors: Forbes-Lorman Robin M
Published: June 2021

Developing mammals are exposed to progesterone through several sources; however, the role of progesterone in early development is not well understood. Males express more progestin receptors (PRs) than females within several brain regions during early postnatal life, suggesting that PRs may be important for the organization of the sex differences in the brain and behavior. Indeed, previous studies showed cognitive impairments in male rats treated neonatally with a PR antagonist.
In the present study, we examined the role of PRs in organizing juvenile behaviors. Social play behavior and social discrimination were examined in juvenile male and female rats that had been treated with CDB, a PR antagonist, during the first week of postnatal life. Interestingly, neonatal PR antagonism altered different juvenile behaviors in males and females. A transient disruption in PR signaling during development had no effect on social discrimination but increased play initiation and pins in females. These data suggest that PRs play an important role in the organization of sex differences in some social behaviors.
Mapping the Aspergillus niger metabolite biomarkers for in situ and early evaluation of table grapes contamination
Authors: Belinato João Raul , Costa Carina Pedrosa , Almeida Adelaide , Rocha Silvia , Augusto Fabio
Published: June 2021

Aspergillus niger volatilome was recently explored using advanced gas chromatography tools tandem with multivariate analysis, which allowed to propose a molecular biomarker pattern for this fungus. A. niger is a ubiquitous fungus responsible for food contamination, being reported as one of the main agents of the black mold disease, a serious post-harvest pathology of table grapes. In this work the metabolite pattern already proposed was tested in three different conditions, i.e., by using : (i) 1 day of growth time for A. niger cultures; (ii) 1 day of growth time through A. niger cultures obtained from previously contaminated grapes and iii) in situ SPME approach directly on previously contaminated table grapes with A. niger. Supervised multivariate analysis was performed which revealed that after 1 day of inoculation it was possible to detect the A. niger biomarkers, which allows to infer its presence. Furthermore, the follow-up of this set of metabolites showed that they can be employed to confirm the presence of the pathogen in two varieties of table grapes. The results obtained confirm the potential applicability of the pattern of A. niger biomarkers to early detect the fungi (after 1 day of contamination) and also may be further explored for access food susceptibility to fungi contamination, based on a direct analysis of food item and taking advantage of the high sensitivity of the GC×GC-ToFMS.
Noname manuscript No. (will be inserted by the editor) COVID-19: visualizing peaks and waves in recorded cases across the globe
Authors: Dayal Vikram
Published: June 2021

COVID-19 has affected different parts of the globe in waves. Yet, waves are not specifically defined. Using a simple and transparent approach, I provide a bird’s-eye view of waves of recorded cases of COVID-19 at different locations across the globe. Using a widely available dataset, I compile and visualize the peak size and number of waves for over 150 locations, with a population of at least a million each. Most locations experienced one to three waves. Whether the waves increased or decreased in size within locations varies. I have created a Shiny app that helps the reader interact with the data graphs.
Accelerated Shelf-life Testing to Predict Quality Loss in Romaine-type Lettuce
Authors: Belisle Catherine E. , Sargent Steven A. , Brecht Jeffrey K. , Sandoya Germán V. , Sims Charles A.
Published: June 2021

The postharvest life of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is variable and negatively affected by mechanical injury, incomplete cooling, and poor genetic quality. Lettuce breeders are developing cultivars with a longer shelf life and rely on subjective, destructive, and time-consuming methods for quality analysis. One method of accelerating quality evaluations is known as accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT), which has the potential to assist breeders in assessing lettuce quality and shelf life. The objective of this research was to determine the quality traits that significantly affect shelf life to develop an ASLT procedure to rapidly assess the postharvest quality of lettuce accessions in breeding programs. In Test 1, Romaine lettuce quality was evaluated using one subjective and five objective parameters during storage at 5, 10, 15, or 20 °C. Results determined that weight loss, lightness*, and hue* angle were best correlated with the overall appearance rating, whereas storage at 10 or 15 °C differentiated the shelf-life potential quickly and without excessive deterioration. In Test 2, these objective characteristics and storage temperatures were used to study rates of quality deterioration of a commercial Romaine cultivar (Okeechobee) and a breeding line (60182), both with long shelf lives, and a Batavia lettuce cultivar (La Brillante) with a short shelf life. Lettuce was evaluated during storage at 10 °C (winter and spring seasons) or at 15 °C (winter season). Weight loss was the most appropriate quality index for lettuce at these storage temperatures for a single harvest, whereas lightness* and hue* angle were the most appropriate indices for comparing quality between harvests. To apply ASLT to postharvest assessments of lettuce, breeders and other researchers should include two controls with good and poor shelf life (similar to ‘Okeechobee’ and ‘La Brillante’, respectively) as standard baseline cultivars during storage at either 10 or 15 °C.
Emission Patterns of Esters and Their Precursors Throughout Ripening and Senescence in ‘Redchief Delicious’ Apple Fruit and Implications Regarding Biosynthesis and Aroma Perception
Authors: Ferenczi Alejandra , Sugimoto Nobuko , Beaudry Randolph M.
Published: June 2021

The volatile profile of ‘Redchief Delicious’ apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) fruit was evaluated at 18 time points from 3 weeks before to 8 weeks after onset of autocatalytic ethylene production to capture the dynamics associated with development from mature green to senescent fruit. Minor amounts of ester production began several days before the onset of ethylene production. Ester production rose rapidly as internal ethylene levels increased beyond 22 nmol·L−1 (0.5 µL·L−1). Peak ester production roughly coincided with maximum ethylene synthesis, declining thereafter. Ester production was further evaluated according to the acid- (alkanoate) and alcohol- (alkyl) derived portions of the ester. The maximum rate of production for a given ester tended to occur later in development as the chain length of the alcohol-derived portion declined. The production rate for many esters paralleled the rate of emanation of their respective alcohol substrates, suggesting that availability of the alcohols limits ester production more than availability of the acid substrates. Combining production rates with sensory descriptors and human sensitivity to individual volatiles permitted approximations of aroma sensations likely engendered by the fruit throughout ripening. Overripe and alcoholic sensations are predicted to increase 2 weeks after the initiation of ripening in response to an increase in the production of ethyl esters. Acetate esters predominated, comprising 50% to 80% of esters throughout maturation and ripening, indicating that the substrate acetyl-CoA may be at saturating levels for alcohol acyl transferase (AAT) at the final step of ester formation. Acetate feeding did not enhance ester production, although label from 13C-acetate was extensively incorporated into esters. The data are consistent with the action of multiple AAT isozymes differing in activity and substrate preference. Incorporation of labeled 13C-acetate into precursors of esters, alcohols, and acids, reflected ester biosynthesis via 1- and 2-carbon chain elongation pathways in ripening ‘Redchief Delicious’ apple fruit.
Morphological and molecular characterisation of Tripylina gorganensis from the Slovak Republic as a contribution to the redescription of the species
Authors: Renčo Marek , Rybarczyk-Mydłowska Katarzyna , Flis Łukasz , Kubicz Magdalena , Winiszewska Grażyna
Published: June 2021

Specimens of Tripylina gorganensis, collected from a natural beech forest in Slovak Republic, are described and illustrated. These nematodes were initially identified as an undescribed species, morphologically similar to Tripylina gorganensis described from Iran. An important feature distinguishing both species was the presence of post-vulval uterine sac (PUS) in specimens from Slovak Republic, which, according to the original description (Asghari et al., 2012), was absent in Tripylina gorganensis. However, a careful re-examination of type specimens performed in this study revealed that T. gorganensis also has the post-vulval uterine sac. Consequently, the findings of the morphological and molecular studies performed on the Slovak population and observations on the type material contribute to the redescription of T. gorganensis.