bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Practice of Indigenous Education for Students with Disabilities in the Selected Church Schools of South Gondar Administrative Towns-Ethiopia
Authors: Asres Getachew Walelign
Published: December 2021

The main objective of this study is to assess the practice of indigenous education for students with disabilities in Ethiopian indigenous schools. Therefore, 20 Orthodox Church schools were purposefully selected in order to make them representatives of South Gondar Administrative towns. The result of the study showed that there was no ability difference between students with disabilities and students without disabilities in the different levels of the church schools(X 2 =0.62 and its Chi-square per item is 1.509, .521, .036, 1.393, .158, .015, .793, .100, and 1.050 at df =1, p =.220, .471, .850, .238, .691, .902, .373, .751 and .305 >0.05 from items 1-9 respectively). In addition, church scholars could not use special assessment techniques for students with disabilities in the different church schools. Inaccessible environment is the major challenge that impede the educational performance of students with disabilities. Therefore, students with disabilities need different support services from stakeholders.
Australian General Practitioner Perceptions to Sharing Clinical Data for Secondary Use: A Mixed Method Approach
Authors: Varhol Richard J , Randall Sean , Boyd James H , Robinson Suzanne
Published: December 2021

ObjectiveThe potential for data collected in general practice to be linked and used to address health system challenges of maintaining quality care, accessibility and safety, including pandemic support, has led to an increased interest in public acceptability of data sharing, however practitioners have rarely been asked to share their opinions on the topic. This paper attempts to gain an understanding of general practitioners’ perceptions on routinely sharing practice data for both population health planning and healthcare research both from an Australian and international perspective.Materials and MethodsA mixed methods approach combining an initial online survey followed by face-to-face interviews (before and during COVID-19), designed to identify the barriers and facilitators to sharing data, were conducted on a representative sample of general practitioners across Western Australia (WA).ResultsEighty online surveys and ten face-to-face interviews with general practitioners were conducted from Nov 2020 – May 2021. Although respondents overwhelmingly identified the importance of population health research, their willingness to participate in data sharing programs was determined by a perception of trust associated with the organisation collecting and analysing shared data; a clearly defined purpose and process of collected data; including a governance structure providing confidence in the data sharing initiative simultaneously enabling a process of data sovereignty and autonomy.DiscussionResults indicate strong agreement around the importance of sharing patient’s medical data for population and health research and planning. Concerns pertaining to lack of trust, governance and secondary use of data continue to be a setback to data sharing with implications for primary care business models being raised.ConclusionTo further increase general practitioner’s confidence in sharing their clinical data, efforts should be directed towards implementing a robust data governance structure with an emphasis on transparency and representative stakeholder inclusion as well as identifying the role of government and government funded organisations, as well as building trust with the entities collecting and analysing the data.
The Next “G” On ESG: The Strategic Thinking of Businesses Towards Supply Chain Fraud
Authors: Sariannidis Nikolaos , Ragazou Konstantina , Passas Ioannis , Garefalakis Alexandros
Published: December 2021

Supply Chain Management is in the core of businesses’ operational activities worldwide. Its main purpose is the proper management of resources and the assurance of the sustainable operation of the economic entities. However, Supply Chain Management is exposed to breaches related to the code of conduct as well as fraud. Integrating the principles of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) can help build a healthy, sustainable, and resilient supply chain. The purpose of the research is twofold and refers to: (i) highlight those factors of the ESG that contribute to the decrease and mitigation of the fraud in supply chain and (ii) the business strategies that can be developed from businesses and can be based on ESG factors. In this context, a log-log model of multiple linear regression was proposed. Secondary data were extracted from the Thomson Reuters database. The model was based on 681 observations concerning companies operating in Europe. The results have led to the conclusion that the existence of policies related to human resources and technology contribute significantly to tackling supply chain fraud. Regarding the first factor, Human Resource is important to feel safe and their rights should be protected by companies. Securing their rights can lead individuals to their commitment to the work environment, as well as to their protection from threats and violations. Finally, the role of technology is fully consistent with transparency in the supply chain. For this reason, the adoption of reliable solutions and technologies, which turn to the green economy, offer visibility and optimization of processes.
Hippocampal Representations for Deep Learning on Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Sarasua Ignacio , Pölsterl Sebastian , Wachinger Christian
Published: December 2021

Deep learning offers a powerful approach for analyzing hippocampal changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) without relying on handcrafted features. Nevertheless, an input format needs to be selected to pass the image information to the neural network, which has wide ramifications for the analysis, but has not been evaluated yet. We compare five hippocampal representations (and their respective tailored network architectures) that span from raw images to geometric representations like meshes and point clouds. We performed a thorough evaluation for the prediction of AD diagnosis and time-to-dementia prediction with experiments on an independent test dataset. Our results show that choosing an appropriate representation of the hippocampus for predicting Alzheimer's disease with deep learning is crucial, since it impacts performance and ease of interpretation.
Accelerated biological aging in people with Down syndrome with full and segmental trisomy 21 begins in childhood as revealed by immunoglobulin G glycosylation
Authors: Cindric Ana , Vuckovic Frano , Koschut David , Borelli Vincenzo , Juric Julija , Pucic-Bakovic Maja , Slana Anita , Deris Helena , Frkatović Azra , Murray Aoife , Alic Ivan , Groet Jurgen , O’Brien Niamh , Petrovic Drazen , Hamburg Sarah , Startin Carla , Hithersay Rosalyn , D’Souza Hana , Consortium LonDownS , Spector Tim , Mitrecic Dinko , Kero Mijana , Odak Ljubica , Barisic Ingeborg , Thomas Michael , Strydom Andre , Rebillat Anne-Sophie , Franceschi Claudio , Lauc Gordan , Kristic Jasminka , Nizetic Dean
Published: December 2021

Cells from people with Down syndrome (DS) show faster accumulation of DNA damage and epigenetic aging marks. Causative mechanisms remain un-proven and hypotheses range from amplified chromosomal instability to actions of several supernumerary chromosome 21 genes. Plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) glycosylation profiles are established as a reliable predictor of biological and chronological aging. We performed IgG glycan profiling of n=246 individuals with DS (208 adults and 38 children) from three European populations and compared these to age-, sex- and demography-matched general populations. We uncovered very significantly increased IgG glycosylation aging marks associated with DS. Average levels of IgG glycans without galactose (G0) and those with two galactoses (G2) as a function of age in persons with DS corresponded to levels detected in 19 years older euploid individuals. Some aging marks were significant already in children with DS. Remarkably, the IgG glycan profiles of a child with segmental duplication of only 31 genes on chromosome 21 had values similar to those of age-matched DS children, outside the normal children’s range. This is the first non-epigenetic evidence of accelerated systemic biological aging in DS, suggesting it begins very early in childhood. It points to a causative contribution of the overdose of genes in a short segment of chromosome 21, not previously linked to accelerated aging, opening a route to discovery of hitherto unrecognised mechanisms.
Molecular Characterization of Parental Lines and Validation of Snp Markers for Disease Resistance in Common Bean
Authors: Gomes-Messias Lucas Matias , Vianello Rosana Pereira , Monteiro-Júnior Joney Pereira , Rodrigues Luana Alves , Mota Ana Paula Simplício , Pereira Helton Santos , Melo Leonardo Cunha , Raatz Bodo , Souza Thiago Lívio P. O.
Published: December 2021

The implementation of molecular tools that help the early selection of genotypes carrying target alleles increases efficiency and reduces the time and costs of breeding programs. The present study aimed the molecular characterization and validation of SNPs targeting disease resistance alleles for assisted selection. A total of 376 common bean lines with contrasting responses for anthracnose and angular leaf spot resistance were used, as well as 149 F2 plants from the cross between BRS Cometa x SEL 1308 (carrying the Anthracnose resistance gene Co-42). Seven of the ten SNP markers evaluated showed potential for assisted breeding: snpPV0025 (Phg-2), snpPV0027 (Phg-5), snpPV0079 (Phg-5), snpPV0046 (Co-u), snpPV0068 (Co-42), snpPV0070 (Co-42) and snpP8282v3-817 (Co-42). Markers snpPV0070 and snpP8282v3-817 showed high efficiency of selection (99.7 and 99.8%, respectively). These markers exhibit great potential to assist in the selection at different stages of the breeding program and may be readily incorporated into marker-assisted selection.
Genome-wide Investigation of Genetic Diversity in the Poultry Red Mite, Dermanyssus Gallinae, From European Farms Utilising a NGS-Multiplex Platform
Authors: Karp-Tatham Eleanor , Xia Dong , Nisbet Alasdair J , Mateus Teresa Letra , Tomley Fiona M. , Blake Damer P.
Published: December 2021

The poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae), an obligatory blood feeding ectoparasite, is primarily associated with egg laying hens where it is estimated to cause losses of ~€230 million per annum from European farmers. Current control strategies, including the use of acaricidal chemicals and desiccant dusts, are often ineffective and there is widespread resistance to acaricides across Europe. Alternative methods to control D. gallinae are urgently required and strategies include development of recombinant subunit vaccines and discovery of new potential acaricides. These strategies will benefit hugely from knowledge of the extent and rates of occurrence of genetic diversity within D. gallinae populations. In this study, genetic diversity of mites harvested from the UK and from sites across mainland Europe was studied at inter- and intra-farm levels. To achieve this, the genome analysis toolkit (GATK) best practices pipeline for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and insertion/deletion variant calling was modified to be self-validating and used to identify 32,599 D. gallinae SNPs by comparing transcriptomic sequences (derived from mites harvested in Germany, Schicht et al.) with a D. gallinae genome assembly (derived from mites harvested in Scotland, Burgess et al.). Dermanyssus gallinae populations were sampled from 22 UK farms and 57 farms from 15 countries in mainland Europe. Analysis of 144 high-quality SNP markers across 117 pooled D. gallinae samples showed high spatial genetic diversity with significant linkage disequilibrium. Revisiting a subset of farms revealed notable temporal changes in genetic diversity.
Reliability and Generalization of Gait Biometrics Using 3D Inertial Sensor Data and 3D Optical System Trajectories
Authors: Santos Geise , Tavares Tiago , Rocha Anderson
Published: December 2021

Particularities in the individuals’ style of walking have been explored for at least three decades as a biometric trait, fueling the automatic gait recognition field. Whereas, gait recognition works usually focus on improving end-to-end performance measures, and this work aims at understanding which individuals’ traces are more relevant to improve subjects’ separability. For such, a manifold projection technique and a multi-sensor gait dataset were adopted to investigate the impact of each data source characteristics on this separability. The assessments have shown it is hard to distinguish individuals based only on their walking patterns in a subject identification scenario. In this scenario, the subjects’ separability is more related to their physical characteristics than their movements related to gait cycles and biomechanical events. However, this study’s results also points to the feasibility of learning identity characteristics from individuals’ walking patterns learned from similarities and differences between subjects in a verification setup. The explorations concluded that periodic components occurring in frequencies between 6Hz and 10Hz are more significant for learning these patterns than events and other biomechanical movements related to the gait cycle, as usually explored in the literature.
Efficacy and Safety Testing of a COVID-19 Era Emergency Ventilator in a Healthy Rabbit Lung Model
Authors: White Luke A. , Maxey Benjamin S. , Solitro Giovanni F. , Takei Hidehiro , Conrad Steven A. , Alexander J. Steven
Published: December 2021

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a substantial and unmet need for low-cost, easily accessible mechanical ventilation strategies for use in medical resource-challenged areas. Internationally, several groups developed non-conventional COVID-19 era emergency ventilator strategies as a stopgap measure when conventional ventilators were unavailable. Here, we compared our FALCON emergency ventilator in a rabbit model and compared its safety and functionality to conventional mechanical ventilation. Methods: New Zealand white rabbits (n = 5) received mechanical ventilation from either the FALCON or a conventional mechanical ventilator (Engström CarestationTM) for 1 hour each. Airflow and pressure, blood O2 saturation, end tidal CO2, and arterial blood gas measurements were measured. Additionally, gross and histological lung samples were compared to spontaneously breathing rabbits (n = 3) to assess signs of ventilator induced lung injury.Results: All rabbits were successfully ventilated with the FALCON. At identical ventilator settings, tidal volumes, pressures, and respiratory rates were similar between both ventilators, but the inspiratory to expiratory ratio was lower using the FALCON. End tidal CO2 was significantly higher on the FALCON, and arterial blood gas measurements demonstrated lower arterial partial pressure of O2 at 30 minutes and higher arterial partial pressure of CO2 at 30 and 60 minutes using the FALCON. However, when ventilated at higher respiratory rates, we observed a stepwise decrease in end tidal CO2. Poincaré plot analysis demonstrated small but significant increases in short-term and long-term variation of peak inspiratory pressure generation from the FALCON. Wet to dry lung weight and lung injury scoring between the mechanically ventilated and spontaneously breathing rabbits were similar. Conclusions: Although conventional ventilators are always preferable outside of emergency use, the FALCON ventilator safely and effectively ventilated healthy rabbits without lung injury. Emergency ventilation using accessible and inexpensive strategies like the FALCON may be useful for communities with low access to medical resources and as a backup form of emergency ventilation.
Human Infrapatellar Fat Pad Mesenchymal Stem Cells Show Immunomodulatory Exosomal Signatures
Authors: Kouroupis Dimitrios , Kaplan Lee D , Best Thomas M
Published: December 2021

Within the human knee infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) and synovium, resident synoviocytes and macrophages contribute to the onset and progression of inflammatory joint diseases. Our hypothesis is that IFP-derived mesenchymal stem cells (IFP-MSC) robust immunomodulatory therapeutic effects are largely exerted via their exosomal (IFP-MSC EXOs) secretome by attenuating synoviocyte and macrophage pro-inflammatory activation. IFP-MSC EXOs showed distinct miRNA and protein immunomodulatory profiles. Reactome analysis of 24 miRNAs highly present in exosomes showed their involvement in the regulation of six gene groups, including immune system. Exosomes were enriched for immunomodulatory and reparative proteins that are involved in positive regulation of cell proliferation, response to stimulus, signal transduction, signal receptor activity, and protein phosphorylation. Stimulated synoviocytes or macrophages exposed to IFP-MSC EXOs demonstrated significantly reduced proliferation, altered inflammation-related molecular profiles, and reduced secretion of pro-inflammatory molecules compared to stimulated alone. In an acute synovial/IFP inflammation rat model, IFP-MSC EXOs therapeutic treatment resulted in robust macrophage polarization towards an anti-inflammatory therapeutic M2 phenotype within the synovium/IFP tissues. Based on these findings, we propose a viable cell-free alternative to MSC-based therapeutics as an alternative approach to treating synovitis and IFP fibrosis.
Discovery of Antimicrobials By Mex : Massively Parallelized Growth Assays
Authors: Koch Philipp , Schmitt Steven , Cardner Mathias , Beerenwinkel Niko , Panke Sven , Held Martin
Published: December 2021

The number of newly approved antimicrobial compounds has been steadily decreasing over the past 50 years emphasizing the need for novel antimicrobial substances. Here we present Mex, a method for the high-throughput discovery of novel antimicrobials, that relies on E.coli self-screening to determine the bioactivity of more than ten thousand naturally occurring peptides. Analysis of thousands of E. coli growth curves using next-generation sequencing enables the identification of more than 1,000 previously unknown antimicrobial peptides. Additionally, by incorporating the kinetics of growth inhibition, a first indication of the mode of action is obtained, which has implications for the ultimate usefulness of the peptides in question. The most promising peptides of the screen are chemically synthesized and their activity is determined in standardized susceptibility assays. Ten out of 15 investigated peptides efficiently eradicate bacteria at a minimal inhibitory concentration in the lower µm or upper nm range. This work represents a step-change in the high-throughput discovery of functionally diverse antimicrobials.
Ornaments are equally informative in males and females: a bivariate meta-analysis in birds
Authors: Nolazco Sergio , Delhey Kaspar , Nakagawa Shinichi , Peters Anne
Published: December 2021

Female ornaments are often reduced, male-like traits. Although these were long perceived as nonadaptive, it is now broadly accepted that female ornaments can be functional. However, it is unclear whether this is as common in females as it is in males, and whether ornaments fulfil similar signalling roles. To test this, we conduct a systematic review and apply a phylogenetically controlled bivariate meta-analysis to a large dataset of ornaments in mutually ornamented birds. As expected, female ornament expression tends to be reduced compared to males. However, ornaments are equally strongly associated with indicators of body condition and aspects of reproductive success in both sexes, regardless of the degree of sexual dimorphism. Thus, ornaments in birds provide similar information in both sexes: more ornamented individuals are in better condition and achieve higher reproductive success. Although limited by their correlational nature, these outcomes imply that female ornaments could widely function in a similar manner as male ornaments.
The Role of TOP2A Protein Expression and Aneuploidy in NSCLC
Authors: Chen Zhenwen , Zeng Zijuan , Wang Qi , Xi Yanfeng , Xu Yirong , Yang Ning , Chai Fei , Zhao Yingying , Gong Yuanyuan , Qian Siyi , Wen Tingting
Published: December 2021

Purpose

DNA topoisomerase II alpha (TOP2A) is a cell-cycle dependent protein associated with cell proliferation and division. Abnormal regulation of TOP2A and aneuploidy induces tumorigenesis and poor prognosis. Data related to TOP2A protein in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is limited to few studies on gene status. The present study aimed to investigate the consistency between aneuploidy and expression of TOP2A gene and protein, respectively, and the role of aneuploidy in the prognosis of NSCLC patients.
Methods

Clinical data and lung cancer tissues were collected from 244 patients with NSCLC. TOP2A protein and gene expression were detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), respectively. Nonparametric Spearman’s rank sum test was used to analyze clinicopathological data. Kaplan–Meier and multivariate Cox regression methods were used for survival analysis.
Results

Enhanced expression and amplification rate of TOP2A protein and gene were 29.9% (73/244) and 0.4% (1/244), respectively. The aneuploidy rate was 31.6% (77/244). In NSCLC, patients with enhanced expression of TOP2A protein and aneuploidy correlated with clinical stages (p < 0.001) Enhanced expression of TOP2A protein was consistent with aneuploidy as detected by Kappa test (K = 0.307) and this correlation was confirmed by chi-square test (p < 0.001). The overall survival of patients with aneuploidy was shorter than diploidy (p < 0.001). Clinically advanced patients with aneuploidy together with TOP2A overexpression had poor prognosis (p < 0.001).
Conclusion

Aneuploidy and overexpression of TOP2A is a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with advanced NSCLC.
Drug Knowledge Extraction Framework with Entity Pair Calibration for Chinese Drug Instructions
Authors: Zhang Xiaoliang , Zhou Lunsheng , Gao Feng , Wang Zhongmin , Wang Yongqing , Guo Jianjun , Jing Shenqi , Miao Shumei , Zhang Xin , Shan Tao , Liu Yun
Published: December 2021

Existing pharmaceutical information extraction research often focus on standalone entity or relationship identification tasks over drug instructions. There is a lack of a holistic solution for drug knowledge extraction. Moreover, current methods perform poorly in extracting fine-grained interaction relations from drug instructions. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an information extraction framework for drug instructions. The framework proposes deep learning models with fine-tuned pre-training models for entity recognition and relation extraction, in addition, it incorporates an novel entity pair calibration process to promote the performance for fine-grained relation extraction. The framework experiments on more than 60k Chinese drug description sentences from 4000 drug instructions. Empirical results show that the framework can successfully identify drug related entities (F1 >= 0.95) and their relations (F1 >= 0.83) from the realistic dataset, and the entity pair calibration plays an important role (~5% F1 score improvement) in extracting fine-grained relations.
IL-17 Exacerbates Experimental Autoimmune Prostatitis via CXCL1/CXCL2-Mediated Neutrophil Infiltration
Authors: Zhang Cheng , Chen Jia , Wang Hui , Chen Jing , Zheng Mei-Juan , Chen Xian-Guo , Zhang Li , Liang Chao-Zhao , Zhan Chang-Sheng
Published: December 2021

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a poorly understood disease. Accumulating evidence suggests that autoimmune dysfunction is involved in the development of CP/CPPS. IL-17 is associated with the occurrence and development of several chronic autoimmune inflammatory diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of IL-17 in CP/CPPS remain unclear. Herein, we first confirmed that IL-17 was increased in the prostate tissues of experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) mice. Corresponding to the increase of IL-17 in the prostate of EAP, neutrophil infiltration and the levels of CXCL1 and CXCL2 (CXC chemokine ligands 1 and 2) were also increased. Treatment of EAP mice with IL-17-neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb) resulted in a decreased number of infiltrated neutrophils, as well as the CXCL1 and CXCL2 level. Depletion of neutrophil by anti-Ly6G antibodies ameliorated inflammatory changes and hyperalgesia caused by EAP. Fucoidan, which could potently inhibit neutrophil migration, could also ameliorate the manifestations of EAP. Our finding suggested that IL-17 promoted the production of CXCL1 and CXCL2, which subsequently triggered neutrophil chemotaxis to prostate tissues. And fucoidan might be a potential drug for the therapy of EAP by the effectively inhibiting on neutrophil infiltration.
Birefringent elastomers with Multiple Stimuli-Responses
Authors: Gao Yiyang , Sun Danqi , Chen Jing , Shi Lei , Da Xinyu , Guo Haoyu , Xi Kai , Zhang Dongyang , Gao Ting , Gao Guoxin , Lu Tongqing , Ding Shujiang
Published: December 2021

Currently, even though birefringent soft materials have attracted considerable attention for many sensors and optical devices, it is still difficult for most of them to achieve multiple responses. Herein, we have designed a multiple-responding birefringent elastomer with high birefringence but low modulus by using 2-phenoxy-ethanoacrylate (PHEA) as monomer and 4-cyano-4'pentylbiphenyl as solvent. The excellent transparency (~90%) exhibited by the designed birefringent elastomer allowed us to observe the change of interference color. The obtained birefringent elastomer not only can be used as a photoelastic strain sensor with high sensitivity and fast response but also show a very sensitive response to heat, particularly in the range of the human body temperature. More interestingly, it shows excellent dielectric properties with a strong correlation between the interference color and the applied electric field, which allows easily writing and erasing the encrypted information. These unique multi-signal response features of our obtained birefringent elastomer shed light on the multiple information encryptions, the anti-counterfeiting, and the multifunctional sensors.
Evaluation of transplacental transfer of mRNA vaccine products and functional antibodies during pregnancy and early infancy
Authors: Prahl Mary , Golan Yarden , Cassidy Arianna , Matsui Yusuke , Li Lin , Alvarenga Bonny , Chen Hao , Jigmeddagva Unurzul , Lin Christine , Gonzalez Veronica , Chidboy Megan , Warrier Lakshmi , Buarpung Sirirak , Murtha Amy , Flaherman Valerie , Greene Warner , Wu Alan , Lynch Kara , Rajan Jayant , Gaw Stephanie
Published: December 2021

Studies are needed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccination during pregnancy, and the levels of protection provided to their newborns through placental transfer of antibodies. We evaluated the transplacental transfer of mRNA vaccine products and functional anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies during pregnancy and early infancy in a cohort of 20 individuals vaccinated during pregnancy. We found no evidence of mRNA vaccine products in maternal blood, placenta tissue, or cord blood at delivery. However, we found time-dependent efficient transfer of IgG and neutralizing antibodies to the neonate that persisted during early infancy. Additionally, using phage immunoprecipitation sequencing, we found a vaccine-specific signature of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein epitope binding that is transplacentally transferred during pregnancy. In conclusion, products of mRNA vaccines are not transferred to the fetus during pregnancy, however timing of vaccination during pregnancy is critical to ensure transplacental transfer of protective antibodies during early infancy
The impact of lymphadenectomy on lymph node recurrence after performing various treatments for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Shigeno Takashi , Hoshino Akihiro , Matsunaga Shiho , Shimano Rumi , Ishibashi Naoya , Shinohara Hajime , Shiobara Hiroyuki , Tomii Chiharu , Saito Katsumasa , Fujiwara Naoto , Sato Yuya , Kawada Kenro , Tokunaga Masanori , Kinugasa Yusuke
Published: December 2021

BackgroundTreatment for regional lymph node recurrence after initial treatment for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) differs among institutions. Though some retrospective cohort studies have shown that lymphadenectomy for cervical lymph node recurrence is safe and leads to long-term survival, the efficacy remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the long-term outcomes of patients who underwent lymphadenectomy for regional recurrence after treatment for ESCC.Patients and methodsWe retrieved 20 cases in which lymphadenectomy was performed for lymph node recurrence after initial treatment for ESCC in our hospital from January 2003 to December 2016. Initial treatments included esophagectomy, endoscopic resection (ER) and chemoradiotherapy/chemotherapy (CRT/CT). Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) after lymphadenectomy were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. We also used a univariate analysis with a Cox proportional hazards model to determine factors influencing the long-term outcomes.ResultsThe 5-year OS and RFS of patients who underwent secondary lymphadenectomy for recurrence after initial treatment were 55.0% and 35.3%, respectively. The 5-year overall survival rates of patients who received esophagectomy, ER and CRT/CT as initial treatments, were 45.5%, 80.0% and 50.0%, respectively. The 5-year OS rates of patients with pStage I and pStage II-IVB lymph node recurrence were 75.0% and 41.7%, respectively.ConclusionsLymphadenectomy for regional recurrence after initial treatment for ESCC is effective to some degree. Patients with regional recurrence after initial treatment for Stage I ESCC have a good prognosis; thus, lymphadenectomy should be considered for these cases.
Deep Learning Analysis of Polar Maps from SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging for Prediction of Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Zahiri Narges , Asgari Rhona , Razavi-Ratki Seid-Kazem , parach Ali-Asghar
Published: December 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of deep convolutional neural networks for classifying the polar map images in Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) by considering the physician’s diagnosis as reference.Methods: 3318 images of stress and rest polar maps related to patients (67% women and 33% men) who underwent 99mTc-sestamibi MPI were collected. The images were manually labeled with normal and abnormal labels according to the doctor’s diagnosis reports. The proposed deep learning model was trained using stress and rest polar maps and evaluated for prediction of obstructive disease in a stratified 5-fold cross-validation procedure.Results: The mean values of accuracy, sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, f1 score, and the area under the roc curve were 0.7562, 0.7856, 0.5748, 0.7434, 0.6646, and, 0.8450, respectively over 5 folds using both stress and rest scans. The inclusion of rest perfusion maps significantly improved AUC of the deep learning model (AUC: 0.845; 95% CI: 0.832-0.857), compared with using stress polar maps only (AUC: 0.827; 95% CI: 0.814-0.840); P < 0.05.Conclusion: The results of the present work reveal the possible applications of deep learning for polar map images classification in SPECT MPI.
Social Determinants of Emergency Department Visits in Mild Compared To Moderate and Severe Asthma
Authors: Alachraf Kamel , Currie Caroline , Wooten William , Tumin Dmitry
Published: December 2021

Social determinants of health (SDH) influence emergency department (ED) use among children with asthma. We aimed to examine if SDH were more strongly associated with ED use among children with moderate/severe compared to mild asthma. This study utilized the 2016-2019 data from the National Survey of Children’s Health. Children with asthma ages 0-17 years (N=9,937) were included in the analysis. Asthma severity and all-cause ED use in the past year were reported by caregivers. The association between patient factors and ED visits was evaluated using ordinal logistic regression. Based on the study sample, 29% of children with asthma had moderate/severe asthma. In the mild group, 30% visited the ED at least once in the past 12 months, compared to 49% in the moderate/severe group. SDH associated with ED visits included race/ethnicity, insurance coverage, and parental educational attainment, but the strength of these associations did not vary according to asthma severity. In a nationally-representative data set, SDH were equally predictive of ED use regardless of children’s asthma severity. Interventions to reduce ED use among children with asthma should be considered for children with any severity of asthma, especially children in socially disadvantaged groups at higher risk of ED utilization.
WITHDRAWN: Analyzing the institutional and regulatory framework for operationalizing the blue economy in Bangladesh: Lessons from Australia
Authors: Rahman Md. Mizanur
Published: December 2021

This study's overarching objective was to assess the suitability and applicability of the existing legal and institutional framework for managing the coastal and marine resources in Bangladesh. Besides, the legal and institutional arrangement of Australia was examined to adopt the best practices for Bangladesh. The glimpse of potential coastal and marine resources of Bangladesh was assessed to have an idea of the untapped resources' dimensions. Together with, the fundamental challenges faced by the artisanal and small-scale fishers in Bangladesh were critically scrutinized. The empirical data collection followed a multi-approach like mini-symposium, consultation workshops, focus group discussions, case studies, visiting, personal, and key informant interviews. The study revealed that the vast provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services of the Bay of Bengal, including its coast and mangrove, is mostly unexplored. The regulatory framework in Bangladesh is characterized by jurisdictional overlapping followed by the conflict of interests among the public institutes, which originated from the aged and fragmented laws and ambiguous business allocation; consequently, the artisanal and small-scale fishers suffer a lot. On the flip side, despite some limitations, Australia established sectoral governance enacting strong legislative measures. The local government and community’s right in resource management locally has been institutionalized in Australia, which remains fuzzy in Bangladesh. Taking lessons from Australia, Bangladesh can enact new sectoral laws followed by business reallocation for the line ministries. The study will help policymakers identify the bottlenecks rooted in Bangladesh’s existing regulatory and institutional framework.
Multifunctional Flexible and Wearable Sensing System Based on Optical Microfiber Interferometry
Authors: Mishra Pratik , Kumar Hemant , Sahu Subrat , jha Rajan
Published: December 2021

Optical segments based flexible systems are the key for the development of futuristic advanced wearable devices for health monitoring, robotics, and ultraprecision positioning in industrial applications. Here, we have demonstrated an processed optical microfiber based multifunctional sensing system, which overcomes the various limitations of most widely reported electronics and material-based flexible devices. By optimizing the position of the post processed microfiber configuration in optimized Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thickness and controlling the interference between the fundamental mode and higher order modes of microfiber to form and tunable interference pattern, we are able to make an efficient, simple, flexible and economical optical wearable vector bending system with a sensitivity as high as 1.01nm/degree. In addition, this skinmountable sensing sensor shows a remarkable and ultrasensitivity of -3.07 nm/oC. This ultrahigh sensitivity, mechanical robustness, with the excellent flexible and biocompatible nature also makes this sensing system a dominant candidate for wearable medical devices for elder-care facilities, physioclogical monitoring, athletic training, and rehabilitation program.
The Quantitative Evaluation of the Political Cost of Environmental Issues: A Case Study of a Typical Public Protest in China
Authors: Li Xintao , Cheng Tongshun , Zhang Zaisheng , Liu Li
Published: December 2021

It is of great reference significance for broadening the research perspective of environmental issues, improving the efficiency of government environmental governance and the credibility of the government, to scientifically measure and analyze the political cost of environmental issues. This article takes the typical case “protest event of power generation project of R steel plant in T city, China” as the research background. First, the generation process and action mechanism of the political cost of environmental issues in the actual situation are investigated. Then, through in-depth interview, multi-case grounded theory and fuzzy subordinate function analysis, the scientific construction of the political cost index system of environmental issues are completed. Finally, based on G1 method/entropy method combined with weighting and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, the political cost of the protest events of R iron and steel plant in T city is measured. The results show that (1) it is important that good single dimensions and reliable indicators are embodied in the overall political cost scale. Among them, the behavioral political cost of the masses is the largest proportion of all indicators; (2) after the entire environmental mass incident is over, the political costs are difficult to repair, and some lagging ideas and behaviors shown by local governments lead to a continuous expansion of the political cost associated with environmental issues; and (3) local governments should not conceal information asymmetry. Instead, local governments should give greater freedom to other actors to deal with environmental problems. This will mitigate the effect of political costs. Corresponding policy recommendations are proposed.
A Randomized Controlled Trial Enhancing Non-Communicable Diseases Health Literacy of Indian Youth
Authors: Shah Ankita R. , Jindal Rahul M , Subramanyam Malavika A.
Published: December 2021

Background

There is a theory-praxis gap related to health literacy interventions focused on non-communicable diseases (NCD) among young people. We designed a NCD curriculum and investigated its’ effect on health literacy in non-medical, non-nursing college students in India. We deliberately selected non-medical and non-nursing college students as we hypothesized they would have minimal baseline knowledge of NCDs.
Methods

We initially carried out a pilot study in 85 students in a four-day long workshop (12 teaching hours) using empirically developed health literacy instrument. We administered the curriculum to 120 randomly selected students in 4 colleges, while 50 students were controls. The curriculum was given over 4 days for a total of 32 hours. Each lecture comprised of didactic lecture followed by discussion and skills testing of measuring BP and blood sugar. Health literacy was measured using a specifically designed tool at baseline and endline. Difference in health literacy scores between the two time-points was analyzed using the t-test. Multiple linear and Poisson regression models were used for covariates.
Results

Study groups were comparable at baseline. The intervention group showed 20.6% higher health literacy score at endline versus control group (p<0.001). Participants scoring 40% or above on the health literacy measure in both groups were comparable at baseline. However, the proportion of participants scoring 40% or above was higher in the intervention group versus control group at endline (p<0.001).
Conclusions

We provide empirical data to support incorporation of NCDs as a credit course in college curricula in low and middle income countries. This is the first study in the Indian context that addressed NCD-related health literacy in a randomized trial.
A Socio-spatial Approach to the First Legal Hall Cohousing Setting in Switzerland: The Case Study of Hallenwohnen in Zurich
Authors: Khatibi Maryam
Published: December 2021

This study explores the collective settings of Hallenwohnen (hall dwelling) as a section of the Zollhaus settlement, which is the follow-up project by the Kalkbreite housing cooperative and has been in function since January 2021 in Zurich, Switzerland. Hallenwohnen is the first legal hall cohousing arrangement in Switzerland. The private and semiprivate spaces of Hallenwohnen consist of a large open hall with collective basic structures and mobile residential towers (roll spaces) as the core concept, which offer an affordable, self-managed/self-build, collaborative coliving and coworking arrangement in the center of Zurich. The qualitative case study method was applied through semistructured interviews with occupants of Hallenwohnen, direct observations, spatial investigations and document analyses. The results reveal that the innovative socio-spatial potentials of the intermediate spaces have been activated through the participatory intentions of the community. Living as one household in a collective arrangement and multiplicity usage of hybrid spaces have activated participation-capable housing spaces, while constraints and conflicts have mobilized the (re)negotiations and reinterpretations of collective housing spaces.
Rainfall distribution and tea production in Bangladesh: Socio-economic impact analysis
Authors: Rahman Md. Mizanur
Published: December 2021

The study aimed to assess the present pattern of tea production and the impacts of rainfall patterns on tea yield and made tea quality. The cost of production and profit-loss were examined to link with rainfall distribution. Likewise, the daily income of permanent workers, the job market of the contractual workers, and the workers' associated welfare were critically analyzed to understand the social impact. The Rangpur division showed an incremental dryness; in contrast, the Sylhet division showed a steady pattern with a high frequency of continuous heavy rainfall. The rainfall pattern of the Chottogram division was highly unpredictable and oscillated. Long spell drought and heavy showers followed by flash floods affect tea yield. According to respondents' perception, the rainfall pattern showed changing behaviours that are not favourable for tea production. The emergence of new pests and deterioration of soil characteristics were reported. Bangladesh enjoyed the most pleasant weather for tea production in 2019. The cost of production increased with the adverse weather, which increases the loss for the growers. Profit loss of growers is a determinant of the welfare of the workers impacting their livelihoods. The organic tea garden is not affected by climatic events. Consequently, the socio-economic conditions of the organic garden are safeguarded. Hence, the study recommends following organic farming to cope with climate change. Differently, it was reported that the intermediaries' hegemony in the market chain is more problematic than climate change. Policy initiatives are warranted to correct the market and to establish growers and consumers' rights.
Release of endogenous chondroitin sulfate and heparin as consequence of dysregulated proteolysis in COVID-19
Authors: Ruggiero Marco
Published: December 2021

Infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathogen responsible for COVID-19, is associated with immune-mediated responses that lead to dysregulated activation of proteolytic enzymes; these contribute to damage to the endothelium, thrombosis, hypercoagulability, and other hematologic complications that include thrombotic thrombocytopenia, a complication of severe COVID-19 as well as a potentially fatal adverse effect of COVID-19 vaccination. Here, it is demonstrated that proteolysis of plasma proteins leads to sequential release of endogenous glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), first chondroitin sulfate (CS), followed by heparin (HP). The extension and degree of what is called "proteolytic storm" determines whether only one endogenous type of GAGs (CS), or both (CS and HP), are released. Sulfated GAGs such as CS and HP exert a protective role against SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, sustained and excessive release of endogenous HP may be responsible for thrombotic thrombocytopenia just as it happens in HP-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) a well-known side effect of HP administration that results in thromboembolisms in atypical sites, thrombocytopenia, and synthesis of autoantibodies directed against platelet factor 4 (PF4) that contribute to platelet aggregation. It is concluded that release of endogenous HP as consequence of dysregulated proteolysis occurring during COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccination may play a fundamental role in the pathophysiology of the disease as well as in adverse reactions to vaccination.
Financial Burden and Health-seeking Behaviors Related to Chronic Diseases Under the National Health Insurance Scheme in Bolikhamxay Province, Lao PDR: A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: ITO TOMOO , Kounnavong Sengchanh , Miyoshi Chiaki
Published: December 2021

BackgroundFinancial protection is a key dimension of universal health coverage. In 2016, Lao PDR implemented a National Health Insurance system covering the entire population of certain provinces. This cross-sectional study investigated the health-seeking behavior and financial burden of households, including those with chronic patients, post coverage. MethodThe study was conducted in Bolikhamxay province from January 15 to February 13, 2019. In total, 487 households, selected via stratified random sampling, were surveyed, and questionnaire-based interviews were conducted. Health care service utilization and financial burden were examined.ResultsA total of 370 households had at least one member with some type of self-reported health problem within the last 3 months prior to the interview, while 170 had at least one member with a chronic condition. More than 75% of the households accessed a health facility when a member experienced health problems. The prevalence of catastrophic health expenditure (health expenditure/income between 20% and 40%) was 25.1% (threshold of 20%) and 16.2% (threshold of 40%). Through logistic regression, we found that the major factors determining financial catastrophes owing to health problems were household members with chronic illness, hospitalization, household poverty status, family size (both 20% and 40% thresholds), visiting a private facility (20% threshold), and distance from the province to the referral hospital (40% threshold).ConclusionsThe National Health Insurance system has positively impacted households’ access to health facilities. However, catastrophic health expenditure remains high, especially among chronic patients. Facilities under the National Health Insurance should be strengthened to provide more services, including care for chronic conditions.