bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Immunization data quality of routine reports in Ho Municipality of Volta Region, Ghana
Authors: Asem Livingstone , Ziema Sorengmen Amos
Published: September 2020

Background: Immunization has been an important public health intervention for preventing and reducing child morbidity and mortality over the years and coverage has increased in the past decades. However, the validity of the data from immunization coverages is usually disputed. Immunization data from health facilities show poor concordance between tallied registers and monthly reports as they are reported to higher levels of the health system. The study assessed the quality of data from routine immunization of some health facilities in the Ho central municipality in the Volta region of Ghana.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was used to review routine immunization data in tallied registers and reports submitted to the Municipal Health Directorate (MHD) from January to December, 2015. Simple random sampling was used to select three health facilities in Ho central municipality. The World Health Organization (WHO) Data Quality Self-assessment (DQS) tool was the main instrument used to present and analyze data for accuracy and discrepancy level between the tallied registers and reports. A template was created in Microsoft excel which automatically presented accuracy and discrepancy levels when data was entered. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from Ghana Health Service Ethics Review Committee. Results: The result showed discrepancies between recounted tallies at the facilities and reports submitted to the MHD. Accuracy ratios of 102%, 64% and 94% for Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG), Pentavalent (Penta) vaccine dose 3 and Measles 2 respectively indicating underreporting for BCG and over reporting for the rest were obtained. There was 460 over reported data to the municipal level representing accuracy ratio of 80% and discrepancy level of 20%. Conclusions: Immunization data was characterized by underreporting and overreporting, hence not accurate and lacked quality. Immunization data quality should be a priority among health staff at health facilities.
The use of intravenous immunoglobulin gamma for the treatment of severe coronavirus disease 2019: A randomised placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial
Authors: Gharebaghi Naser , Nejadrahim Rahim , Mousavi Seyed Jalil , Sadat-Ebrahimi Seyyed-Reza , Hajizadeh Reza
Published: September 2020

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected people in many countries worldwide. Discovering an effective treatment for this disease, particularly in severe cases, has become the subject of intense scientific investigation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in patients with severe COVID-19 infection.Methods: This study was conducted as a randomised placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial. Fifty-nine patients with severe COVID-19 infection who did not respond to initial treatments were randomly assigned into two groups. One group received IVIg (human)—four vials daily for three days (in addition to initial treatment), while the other group received a placebo. Patients’ demographic, clinical, and select laboratory test results, as well as the occurrence of in-hospital mortality, were recorded. Results: Among the total subjects, 30 patients received IVIg and 29 patients received a placebo. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and laboratory tests were not statistically different (P > 0.05) between the two groups. The in-hospital mortality rate was significantly lower in the IVIg group compared to the control group (6 [20.0%] vs. 14 [48.3%], respectively; P = 0.022). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that administration of IVIg did indeed have a significant impact on mortality rate (aOR = 0.003 [95% CI: 0.001–0.815]; P = 0.042).Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that the administration of IVIg in patients with severe COVID-19 infection who did not respond to initial treatment could improve their clinical outcome and significantly reduce mortality rate. Further multicenter studies with larger sample sizes are nonetheless required to confirm the appropriateness of this medication as a standard treatment.Trial registration: A study protocol was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (www.IRCT.ir), number IRCT20200501047259N1. It was registered retrospectively on May 17th, 2020.
Effect of a nurse-led lifestyle choice and coaching intervention on systolic blood pressure among Type 2 diabetic patients with a high atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk: study protocol for a cluster randomized trial
Authors: Lumu William , Kibirige Davis , Wesonga Ronald , Bahendeka Silver
Published: September 2020

Background:More than 50% of patients with type 2 diabetes have hypertension in Uganda. Diabetic patients with elevated systolic blood pressure experience higher all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events compared with normotensive diabetic individuals hence escalating resource utilization and cost of care. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of a nurse-led lifestyle choice and coaching intervention on systolic blood pressure among type 2 diabetic patients with a high atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk.Methods:This is a cluster-randomized study comprising of two arms (intervention and non-intervention – control arm) with four clusters per arm with 384 diabetic patients with a high predicted 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk. The study will be implemented in 8 health facilities in Uganda. The intervention arm will employ a nurse-led lifestyle choice and coaching intervention. Within the intervention, nurses will be trained to provide structured health education, protocol-based hypertension management and general atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk factor management, 24-hour phone calls, and 2-monthly text messaging. The control group will be constituted by the usual care. The primary outcome measure is the mean difference in systolic blood pressure between the intervention and usual care groups after 12 months. The study is designed to have an 80% statistical power to detect an 8.5mmhg mean reduction in systolic blood pressure from baseline to 12 months. The unit of analysis for the primary outcome is the individual participants. To monitor the effect of within-cluster correlation, generalized estimating equations will be used to assess changes over time in systolic blood pressure as a continuous variable.DiscussionThe data generated from this trial will inform change in policy of shifting task of screening of hypertension and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease from doctors to nursesTrial registration: Pan African Trials Registry; PACTR 202001916873358. Registered on 6th October 2019.http://www.pactr.org
Visualizing the RNP content of single bunyavirus virions reveals more efficient genome packaging in the arthropod host
Authors: Bermúdez-Méndez Erick , Katrukha Eugene , Spruit Cindy , Kortekaas Jeroen , Schreur Paul Wichgers
Published: September 2020

Bunyaviruses have a genome that is divided over multiple segments. Genome segmentation complicates the generation of progeny virus, since each newly formed virus particle should preferably contain a full set of genome segments in order to disseminate efficiently within and between hosts. Here, we combine immunofluorescence and fluorescence in situ hybridization techniques to simultaneously visualize bunyavirus progeny virions and their genomic content at single-molecule resolution in the context of singly infected cells. Using Rift Valley fever virus and Schmallenberg virus as prototype tri-segmented bunyaviruses, we show that bunyavirus genome packaging is influenced by the intracellular viral genome content of individual cells, which results in greatly variable packaging efficiencies within a cell population. We further show that bunyavirus genome packaging is more efficient in insect cells compared to mammalian cells and provide new insights on the possibility that incomplete particles may contribute to bunyavirus spread as well.
Corneal Structure After Small-Incision Lenticule Extraction in Diabetic Rabbits
Authors: Gao Wenjing , Guo Congrong , Shi Zhong , Wu Bowen , Gao Mengman , Guo Xiujin
Published: September 2020

Background: To assess the corneal structure after femtosecond laser small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) in diabetic rabbits with different blood glucose levels.Methods: Twelve diabetic rabbits were randomly distributed into three groups based on blood glucose levels: group A (G-A), 16-20 mmol/L (n=4); group B (G-B), 4.33-8.61 mmol/L (n=4); and group C (G-C), healthy controls (n=4). After 2 weeks, SMILE was performed. Corneas were evaluated using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) preoperatively on day 1 and postoperatively at weeks 1, 4, and 12.Results: Morphological results: Twelve weeks after surgery, a corneal interlamellar stromal scar in three eyes and corneal stroma edema in one eye were found in G-A; no obvious scar edema occurred in G-B and G-C. In G-A, the number of abnormal cells in each corneal layer increased, the cell arrangement was irregular, and nerve fibers decreased significantly; the morphology and arrangement in G-B and G-C were regular. Cell density results: Actual central corneal thickness (CCT) after SMILE was thicker than theoretical CCT in each group (P<0.05). The corneal thickness deviation (△CT) of G-A was thicker than that of G-B and G-C, and the pre-keratocyte density (pre-KD) of G-A was lower than that of G-B and G-C (P<0.05). Endothelial cell density (ECD) at 4 and 12 weeks after surgery only in G-A was lower than that before surgery.Conclusions: Hyperglycemia is an adverse factor affecting corneal structure after SMILE. SMILE is safe and effective for diabetic rabbits with good blood glucose control.
Learning burnout: evaluating the role of social support in medical students under the influence of COVID-19 epidemic
Authors: Zhang Jiayu , Shu Tao , Xiang Ming , Feng Zhanchun
Published: September 2020

Background:Learning burnout is a stress-induced syndrome, which could affect medical students.Some environmental and personal factors could give rise to serious consequences, such as depression and suicide. We aimed to evaluate the association between learning burnout and social support among our students under the influence of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19).MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional online survey among students who participated in online learning in a medical college in Wuhan. We used the Lian version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to assess learning burnout and the SSRS to assess social support.ResultsA total of 684 students completed the survey (response rate 30.9%), of which 315 (46.12%) met standard criteria for learning burnout. We found grade, area of residence, household income, learning time, and number of interactions with teachers or classmates had an effect on students’ learning burnout. These factors except grade were also associated with social support. Besides, we found subjective support and utilization of support had an inverse association with learning burnout. ConclusionsLearning burnout was highly prevalent in our college students. Results suggested that some demographic and learning characteristics were closely associated with learning burnout. The social support especially subjective support and utilization of support played an important role in reducing the risk of learning burnout.
Linkage Analysis, GWAS, Transcriptome Analysis to Identify Candidate Genes for Rice Seedlings in Response to High Temperature Stress
Authors: Wei Zhaoran , Yuan Qiaoling , Lin Hai , Li Xiaoxia , Zhang Chao , Gao Hongsheng , Zhang Bin , He Huiying , Liu Tianjiao , Shi Shandang , Gao Zhenyu , Kong Lingrang , Qian Qian , Shang Lianguang
Published: September 2020

Background: With the increase of global temperature, the problem of rice yield decline caused by the rising temperature is becoming more and more prominent, which urgently needs to be solved . Mining heat-resistant genes and applying them to rice breeding is a feasible and effective way to solve the problem. Result: Three main biomass traits, including shoot length, dry weight, and fresh weight, changed after abnormally high temperature treatment in the seedling stage of a recombinant inbred line and natural groups. Based on a comparison of the results of linkage analysis and genome-wide association analysis, the presence of two sections with lengths of 57 kb and 69 kb in qDW7 and q F W6 , respectively, was associated with the rice response to abnormally high temperatures in the seedling stage. Meanwhile, based on integrated transcriptome analysis, some genes are considered as candidate genes for subsequent research and analysis. Combining with reports of known genes and analysis of homologous genes, it was found that there are 8 genes in candidate genes that need to be focused in subsequent research. Conclusions: The results indicated several relevant beneficial loci reacted to heat stress in rice seedling stage, which would help researchers to further discover excellent heat-resistant genes that can be applied to rice heat-resistant breeding.
Serum tenascin-C predicts resistance to steroid combination therapy in high-risk Kawasaki disease: A multicenter prospective cohort study
Authors: YOSHIKANE YUKAKO , OKUMA YOSHIAKI , MIYAMOTO TATSUKI , HASHIMOTO JUNICHI , FUKAZAWA RYUJI , KATO TAICHI , TAKEDA ATSUHITO , SUDA KENJI , MATSUSHITA TAKEJI , HIROE MICHIAKI , IMANAKA-YOSHIDA KYOKO
Published: September 2020

Background

Tenascin-C (TN-C) is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein related to tissue inflammation. Our previous retrospective study conducted in 2016 revealed that the serum TN-C level was higher in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) who were resistant to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and developed coronary artery lesions (CALs). The present study is a prospective cohort study to assess if the serum level of TN-C could be used as a novel biomarker to predict the risk of resistance to initial treatment for high-risk patients.
Methods

A total of 380 KD patients were registered and provided serum samples for TN-C measurement before commencing their initial treatment. Patients who did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded from analysis; of the 181 remaining subjects, there were 144 low-risk patients (Kobayashi score: ≤4 points) and 37 high-risk patients (Kobayashi score: ≥5 points). The initial treatments for low-risk patients and high-risk patients were conventional therapy (IVIG with aspirin) and prednisolone combination therapy, respectively. The patient clinical and laboratory data, including the serum TN-C level, were compared between responders and non-responders to initial treatment.
Results

In the low-risk patients, there was no significant difference in the median levels of serum TN-C between responders and non-responders to initial therapy. However, in the high-risk patients, the median serum TN-C level in non-responders was significantly higher than that in responders (175.8 ng/ml vs 117.6 ng/ml).
Conclusions

Serum TN-C could be a biomarker for predicting the risk of high-risk patients being non-responsive to steroid combination therapy.
Trial registration:

This study was a prospective cohort study. It had been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and had been approved by the ethics committee in each institute.
Significant impact of nationwide SARS-CoV-2 lockdown measures on the circulation of other respiratory virus infections
Authors: Redlberger-Fritz Monika , Kundi Michael , Aberle Stephan W , Puchhammer-Stöckl Elisabeth
Published: September 2020

Since the worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2, different European countries reacted with temporarily nationwide lockdowns with the aim to limit the virus transmission in the population. Also Austria started a lockdown of public life in March. In this study we investigated whether the circulation of different respiratory virus infections in Austria, as assessed by using the established respiratory virus surveillance system, is affected by these measures as well and may reflect the success of the lockdown in limiting respiratory virus transmission. Sentinel data obtained for influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus and rhinovirus cases were analyzed and compared between the season 2019/ 2020 and the five previous seasons. We observed a rapid and statistically significant reduction of cumulative cases for all these viruses within short time after the lockdown in March 2020, compared to previous seasons (each p<0.001). Also, sentinel screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections was performed and a decrease of SARS-CoV-2 was seen after the lockdown. While for the seasonally occurring viruses as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus or human metapneumovirus the lockdown led to the end of the annual epidemics, a re-increase of rhinovirus infections was observed after liberalization of numerous lockdown measures. Our data provide evidence that occurrence of different respiratory virus infections reflect not only the efficiency of lockdown measures taken against SARS-CoV-2 but also the effects of their release on respiratory transmission.
Childhood stunting and associated factors among irrigation and non- irrigation user kebeles in Mecha district, northwest, Ethiopia: a comparative cross-sectional study
Authors: Sema Balew , Azage Muluken , Tirfie Mulat
Published: September 2020

Background
Stunting is a critical public health problem of developing countries like Ethiopia. Different interventions like irrigation activity have been carried out by the government of Ethiopia to improve the nutritional status of the community. However, there is scanty of data on childhood stunting and its associated factors between irrigation user and non-irrigation user.
Objective
To assess the magnitude of childhood stunting and its associated factors between irrigation and non-irrigation user in north Mecha District, Northwest Ethiopia.
Methods
A community-based comparative cross-sectional study design was employed from October to November 2019. A systematic sampling was used to draw mothers with children age 6–59 months (582 irrigated and 582 non- irrigated household users). Data were collected using questionnaire and anthropometric measurement tools. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of stunting. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% CI were used to determine the degree of association between independent and outcome variable. A-p-value < 0.05 was used as cutoff point to declare statistically significant variables with the outcome variable.
Results
The prevalence of childhood stunting among age 6–59 months children did not show significant variation between Irrigation user 32.8% at 95%CI (29–37) and non-irrigation user 40.2% at 95%CI (36–44). The odds of childhood stunting were higher among children from mother had no antenatal visit, children whose age was between 12 and 47 months, children from mothers who did not use water and soap always for washing hands, and children who had fever.
Conclusion
The prevalence of childhood stunting was high and did not show significant variation between irrigation and non-irrigation users. Children from mother had no antenatal visit, children whose age was between 12 and 47 months, children from mothers who did not use water and soap always for washing hands, and children who had fever were factors associated with higher child stunting. Thus, the identified modifiable factors are the area of intervention in reduce stunting.
The Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Ethiopian Population: A Protocol for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Ambachew Sintayehu , Endalamaw Aklilu , Biadgo Belete , Worede Abebaw , Melku Mulugeta
Published: September 2020

Background: The metabolic syndrome is a clustering of hyperglycemia/insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and obesity which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and all-cause mortality. The burden of metabolic syndrome is emerging alarmingly in low-and middle income countries like Ethiopia. This is the protocol to determine the pooled prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Ethiopian population.Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis will include original articles of observational studies published in the English language. Searches will be carried out in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Africa Journals up to April 2019. A Fixed/Random-effect model will be used to estimate the pooled prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Ethiopia. Heterogeneity will be assessed using I² statistic. Sub-group analysis will also be conducted based on sex, study subjects, and methodological differences. Funnel plots and egger’s and Begg’s test will be used to asses publication bias.Ethics and dissemination: The review is based on published data; therefore, ethical approval is not required. The systematic review and meta-analysis will summarize the existing data on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Ethiopian population. This provides the empirical evidence necessary for researchers, policy-makers, and public health stakeholders to derive health-promoting policies, allocate resources, and set priorities for monitoring future trends. The final result will be presented at annual scientific meetings, conferences, and seminars. Moreover, it will also be published in the peer-reviewed reputable journal. We also plan to review every 5 years to provide updated information.Protocol registration number: PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42018090944)
LncRNA NRON Inhibits Osteosarcoma Cell Proliferation, Invasion by Regulating MVB12B
Authors: Liu Yancheng , Zhang Jingyu , Jiao Yongqiang , Ma Shuwei , Ma Xinlong , Hu Yongcheng
Published: September 2020

Aims: Long noncoding RNA have been proved as important regulator in various diseases. NRON was a newly identified tumor-related lncRNA, and previous studies have reported its function in hepatocellular carcinoma and heart failure. However, the function and mechanism of lncRNA NRON in osteosarcoma still unknown. Methods: Cell proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis were detected via CCK-8, transwell assay and Western. Bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the potential target of NRON. Rescue experiment was performed to identify the relationship between NRON and MVB12B. Results: The expression of lncRNA NRON was significantly downregulate in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of NRON promoted cell proliferation, invasion and EMT. Overexpression of NRON inhibited cell proliferation, invasion and EMT. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that MVB12B was the direct target. The expression of MVB12B was significantly upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. Rescue experiment further confirmed the relationship between NRON and MVB12B. Overexpression of MVB12B completely reversed the function of NRON. Conclusion: Taken together, our results comprehensively analyzed the function of NRON in osteosarcoma and provided possible mechanism that NRON inhibited osteosarcoma development by regulating MVB12B. Thus, our study may offer a potential therapeutic target for treating osteosarcoma.
Job Satisfaction and Its Associated Factors Among Governmental Health Workers in West Shoa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia
Authors: Workineh Ifa , Dida Nagasa , Sileshi Tesemma
Published: September 2020

Background: Job satisfaction is an important determinant of workers' motivation, retention, and performance. Each individual working in different segments of the health sector has an impact on the quality and accessibility of the services the health care system provides to the community. Many studies assessed health care workers' job satisfaction. However, the majority of previous studies focused on specific health professionals and facilities. The present study assessed job satisfaction and its associated factors among governmental health workers in West Shoa Zone, Oromia, EthiopiaMethods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted in West Shoa, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia, from March 23/2020 to April 15/2020. A total of 429 health workers were identified from type A, B, and C districts. Participants were proportionally allocated for each district and the individual participant was selected using simple random sampling methods. Data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire and entered into EpiInfo 7. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22 software. Mean and/or median were used for continuous variables, whereas; the percentage was used for categorical variables. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was done to assess the association between each independent variable and outcome variable. Multivariate binary logistic regression using adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated to assess the strength of association. Results: From the total of 429 study participants, 422 of them were fully responded to the survey with a response rate of 98.3%. The overall level of job satisfaction was 46%. Management. The policy of the worker organization [AOR 0.07, 95% CI: 0.03-.21)], the relationship among the workers [AOR 0.08(95% CI .03-.23], presence of benefit package [AOR 0.07, (95% CI .02-.22], work environment [AOR 0.11, (95% CI: 0. 04-.31], personal growth and development [AOR 0.11 (95% CI: 0.04-.33], supportive supervision from immediate supervisor [AOR 0.04 (95% CI: 0.014-.14] and the nature of work category [AOR 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01-.1] were independently associated with job satisfaction. Conclusions: The overall job satisfaction of health workers in the study area was low. Management and policy of the worker organization, the relationship among the workers, presence of benefit package, work conditioning, personal growth, and development, supportive supervision from immediate supervisor and the nature of work category were among the predictor of job satisfaction.
Modelling COVID-19 With More Disaggregation and Less Nomothetic Parameterisation: UK and India Examples
Authors: Olsen Wendy , Bera Manasi , Kim Jihye , Wisniowski Arkadiusz , Yadav Purva
Published: September 2020

Modelling of pandemic vulnerability in a development context can be improved through combining disciplines, combining data, and recognising the many nested levels of the epidemic. Models of transmission have been constructed at national level or for multiple nations. We instead construct a model allowing for social-group differentials in risk, along with conditioning regional factors and lifestyle factors. Severe COVID-19 disease is our innovative key outcome. We use three data sources at once: National Family and Health Survey for India, Indian Census 2011, and COVID-19 deaths. We provide results for 11 states of India, enabling best-yet targeting of policy actions. The future uses of such models are many. COVID-19 deaths in north and central India were higher in areas with older populations and overweight populations, and was more common among those with pre-existing health conditions, or who smoke or live in urban areas. Policy experts may both want to ‘follow World Health Organisation advice’ and yet also use disaggregated and spatially-specific data to improve wellbeing outcomes during the pandemic.
Pre-infection global psychosocial status on SARS CoV-2 disease outcome
Authors: Sinha Nirmalya K. , Maiti Smarajit
Published: September 2020

The present pandemic situation due to Covid-19 disease has raised a severe threat on human health both physically and mentally. Globally, 794,435 persons were died from a total 22,767,009. We assumed that existed psychosocial-conditions in the pre-infection-period have a great role in disease pathogenesis-severity. This might have geographically/regionally influenced different parameters of the disease. The present aim was to delineate the impact of pre-infection or post-infection psychosocial impact on Covid-19 outcome. Existing global mental-status (depression-anxiety, economic-status, quality-of-life/QOL, Global-Health-Security/GHS, tobacco-smoking and suicide-mortality were verified with their possible correlation with the total-infection/death-rate/case-fatality-rate(CFR) analyzed in >170 countries. The data was collected from World-Health-Organization/World-Bank/United-Nations, and the Johns-Hopkins-Center for Health-Security. The SPSS/version-16.0 was utilized for student’s t test, multivariate-ANOVA, Correlation and Prediction for numerical-outcomes, Linear-regression. Pearson’s-chi-square-test was performed in the current study. Psychological wellbeing like happiness-GSH-QOL, mental-impairments like depression-anxiety have been variably-positively correlated with total-confirmed-infection-cases, total-death and CFR (p<0.05-p<0.001). Happiness has been positively associated with QOL/GSH/anxiety-depressive-disorder. Higher CFR has been noticed more in the developed countries. Virus-host interactions may have some variability depending on the race-ethnicity-and individual’s-body-compositions. Because, this study has been done >170 countries, the present outcome is important. The positive correlation between happiness-QOL index with the apparent adverse outcome of Covid-19 and the correlation between happiness/QOL with anxiety-depression disorder are found to be parallel. This suggests more characterizations of these psychosocial-indices are needed. The open-minded nations with non-conserved nature which eventuates to more transportation, tourist trafficking and more social association/collaborations, that might have affected more. Further studies are necessary in this regard.
Effect of Heterodera schachtii female age on susceptibility to three fungal hyperparasites in the genus Hyalorbilia
Authors: Becker J. Smith , Borneman J. , Becker J. O.
Published: September 2020

Three closely related nematophagous fungi in the genus Hyalorbilia were compared for their ability to parasitize females and eggs of Heterodera schachtii at different developmental stages. DoUCR50, StM, and ARF were originally isolated from Heterodera schachtii, Meloidogyne incognita, and Heterodera glycines, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis and pairwise sequence analysis showed that DoUCR50 and StM are more closely related to each other than they are to ARF. DoUCR50 parasitism suppressed 100% of the J2 hatch from 3-week-old H. schachtii females and 75% of the hatch from 4-week-old females. Eggs within 5-week-old females were resistant to parasitism, and hatch of J2 was unaffected by exposure to DoUCR50. StM and ARF did not reduce the hatch of J2 from H. schachtii females of any age. Eggs removed from females and spread onto water agar cultures of the fungi were mostly resistant to parasitism. DoUCR50 parasitized only 16% of such eggs from 3-week-old females. Extracellular hydrolytic enzyme production by the three fungal strains grown on PDA or parasitized H. schachtii females was evaluated using API ZYM (bioMérieux) test strips. All three fungi produced extracellular hydrolytic enzymes when grown on PDA or H. schachtii females. Trypsin-like protease activity was uniquely detected in DoUCR50 grown on PDA and H. schachtii females, with the highest activity associated with the fungus grown on parasitized females.
Maximum Flow Evacuation Planning Problem with Non-Conservation Flow Constraint
Authors: Bhandari Phanindra Prasad , Khadka Shree Ram
Published: September 2020

The optimization model of the maximum flow evacuation planning problem efficiently sends a maximum number of evacuees along with the routes of their transshipment from the disastrous zone, the source, to the safe zone, the sink, over a given time horizon. The limitation of the problem with the flow conservation constraint at the intermediate nodes is that even one more evacuee cannot be sent out from the source, if the evacuee cannot reach the sink. However, evacuators must attempt to send out as many evacuees as possible to safer places despite the sink. There may be relatively safe places in between the source and the sink. The limitation is due to the flow conservation constraint. In this paper, we remodel the problem with non-conservation flow constraint and propose an efficient algorithm. With this approach one can send as many evacuees as in the flow conservation case from the source to the sink. Moreover, a maximum number of evacuees can also be sent to the relatively safe places in between the source and the sink. The routes of their transshipment can also be identified.
Batch electrochemical coagulation of real textile wastewater using Cu-SS and SS-Cu electrode combinations and its settleability aspects
Authors: Srikantha Hanumanthappa , Shivaswamy Mahesh , Mahesh Sahana
Published: September 2020

Copper and stainless steel electrodes were used in batch electrochemical coagulation (BECC) for the treatment of real textile wastewater using 16 electrode combinations. Out of 16 Cu-SS and SS-Cu combinations (eight combinations each), only 4SS and 3SS-1Cu electrodes operated at cell voltage of 18 V and current density of 180 A/m2 gave maximum color and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals. The COD removal was observed to be 89.37% for 4SS and 72.34% for 3SS 1Cu electrodes from CODo 3,012 mg/L. Color removal was 97% and 98% from its initial value of 1,000 Pt-Co unit for 4SS and 3SS-1Cu combinations. Water quality parameters like total dissolved solids, chloride, nitrate, phosphate, and sulphate reduced from their initial values while using all 4SS and 3SS-1Cu electrode arrangements. Other control factors exercised for optimal operations were ECC floc settling pattern and sludge volume index (SVI). SVI values were found to be <100 mL/g for both electrode combinations.
Origanum vulgare L.: In vitro Assessment of Cytotoxicity, Molecular Docking Studies, Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activity in LPS Stimulated RAW 264.7 Cells
Authors: Mir Reyaz H. , Sawhney Gifty , Verma Rohini , Ahmad Bilal , Kumar Parveen , Ranjana Soni , Bhagat Asha , Madishetti Sreedhar , Ahmed Zabeer , Jachak Sanjay M. , Choi Sangdun , Masoodi Mubashir H.
Published: September 2020

Background:

Inflammation involves a dynamic network that is highly regulated by signals that initiate
the inflammation process as well as signals that downregulate it. However, an imbalance between the two leads to
tissue damage. Throughout the world, inflammatory disease becomes common in the aging society. The drugs
which are used clinically have serious side effects. Natural products or compounds derived from natural products
show diversity in structure and play an important role in drug discovery and development.

Objective:

Oreganum Vulgare is used in traditional medicine for various ailments including respiratory and rheumatic
disorders, severe cold, suppression of tumors. The current study aims to evaluate the anti-inflammatory
potential by evaluating various in vitro parameters.

Methods:

Inflammation-induced in macrophages via LPS is the most accepted model for evaluating the antiinflammatory
activity of various plant extracts and lead compounds.

Results:

The extracts (OVEE, OVEAF) as well as the isolated compound(OVRA)of Oreganum Vulgare inhibit
the pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) and NO without affecting cell viability.

Conclusion:

Our study established that the leaf extracts of Oreganum vulgare L. exhibit anti-inflammatory activity
and thus confirm its importance in traditional medicine.
Anti-EGFR Binding Nanobody Delivery System to Improve the Diagnosis and Treatment of Solid Tumours
Authors: Wang Long , Zhang Gengyuan , Qin Long , Ye Huili , Wang Yan , Long Bo , Jiao Zuoyi
Published: September 2020

Background:

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and members of its homologous
protein family mediate transmembrane signal transduction by binding to a specific ligand,
which leads to regulated cell growth, differentiation, proliferation and metastasis. With the development
and application of Genetically Engineered Antibodies (GEAs), Nanobodies (Nbs) constitute a
new research hot spot in many diseases. A Nb is characterized by its low molecular weight, deep
tissue penetration, good solubility and high antigen-binding affinity, the anti-EGFR Nbs are of significance
for the diagnosis and treatment of EGFR-positive tumours.

Objective:

This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the information about the
molecular structure of EGFR and its transmembrane signal transduction mechanism, and discuss
the anti-EGFR-Nbs influence on the diagnosis and treatment of solid tumours.

Methods:

Data were obtained from PubMed, Embase and Web of Science. All patents are searched
from the following websites: the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO®), the United
States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO®) and Google Patents.

Results:

EGFR is a key target for regulating transmembrane signaling. The anti-EGFR-Nbs for targeted
drugs could effectively improve the diagnosis and treatment of solid tumours.

Conclusion:

EGFR plays a role in transmembrane signal transduction. The Nbs, especially anti-
EGFR-Nbs, have shown effectiveness in the diagnosis and treatment of solid tumours. How to increase
the affinity of Nb and reduce its immunogenicity remain a great challenge.
Patent Perspective on Orodispersible Films
Authors: Gupta Suresh , Kumar Tegginamath Pramod , Gowda Devegowda Vishakante
Published: September 2020

:

The traditional oral dosage forms (tablets, capsules, syrups, and elixirs) suffer from various
disadvantages. They are pretty challenging to administer to patients with dysphagia, mucositis, and
vomiting tendency. Therefore, gaining patient compliance using conventional dosage forms is highly
cumbersome. One of the most transformative and innovative approaches to overcome such challenges
is Orodispersible Films, a Novel Drug Delivery System. They are easy to consume, no need to chew or
swallow and they do not even require water for consumption. Therefore, several drugs have been converted
into orodispersible films to gain patient compliance. With the advent of these film formulations,
new innovations are erupting and accordingly, companies in India are actively protecting them by filing
ordinary patent applications in India and internationally under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Patenting
in India poses unique patentability challenges when compared with rest of the world. Nonetheless,
meeting all the challenges and obtaining a valid patent not only help in recouping the cost involved
in developing new drugs and its novel drug delivery systems but also helps in taking legal action
against alleged infringers. This review article identifies key active Indian players in the domain of
ODF based on their patent filings in India (and abroad) and also identifies the challenges they face to
obtain a grant.
A Multiscale Model to Study the Mechanical Properties of the Graphene, Boron Nitride and Silicon Carbide Hexagonal Nanosheets
Authors: Sun Yuzhou , Hu Yingying , Li Xinming
Published: September 2020

Background:

It is very important to precisely comprehend nanosheet’s mechanical properties
for their future application, and the continuum-based methods play a vital role in this research
domain. But, most of continuum models doesn’t provide a systematical theory, and just display certain
property of nanostructures. The Cauchy-Born rule provides an alternative multiscale method, the
resulted model is not only less accurate, and but also doesn’t describe the bending effect.

Methods:

A nanosheet is viewed as a higher-order gradient continuum planar sheet, and the strain
energy density is thus a function of both the first- and second-order deformation gradient. The higher-
order Cauchy-Born rule is used to approximate the bond vectors in the representative cell, the
multiscale model is established by minimizing the cell energy, and the structural and mechanical
properties are thus obtained.

Results:

The obtained bond lengths are respectively 0.14507 nm, 0.14489 nm, 0.1816 nm for the
graphene, boron nitride and silicon carbide hexagonal nanosheets. The elastic constants, including
Young’s modulus, shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio and bending rigidity, are calculated by analyzing
the physical meaning of the first- and second-order strain gradients. The developed model can also be
used to study the nonlinear behavior of nanosheets under some simple loading situations, such as the
uniform tension, torsion and bending. The stress-strain relationship of nanosheets is presented for the
uniform tension/compression, and the three types of nannosheets exhibit better compressive resistance
far greater than tensile resistance.

Conclusion:

A reasonable multiscale model is established for the nanosheets by using the higherorder
Cauchy-Born rule that provides a good interlinking between the microscale and continuum descriptions.
It is proved that all three types of nannosheets shows the isotropic mechanical property.
The current model can be used to establish a global nonlinear numerical modeling method in which
the bending rigidity is the basic elastic constants same as the elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio.
Mobile Ad Hoc Network Security Using Mean Field Game Theoretic
Threshold-Based Scheme
Authors: Chopra Khyati
Published: September 2020

Background:

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANET’s) have recently attracted attention as it is independent of any
pre-existing network infrastructure or centralized administration. Security in MANET’s thus becomes a major concern due
to its open and dynamic architecture.

Objective:

We have introduced a dynamic mean field game theoretic approach to enable an individual node in MANETs
to make strategic security defense decisions without centralized administration.

Method:

The nodes in MANET’s act as a router to forward data packets and exchange routing information. Ad-hoc On
demand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol is one of the standard MANET routing protocols which can be easily attacked
by the fraudulent nodes. The fraudulent nodes can be deceptive and mislead the transmission of data packets in the
network by providing shorter path and highest destination sequence number. Game theory finds wide application as a
statistical and mathematical tool to model such dynamic networks and provide security.

Results:

We have implemented mean field game theory for addressing security issue in MANET’s. Each node in this
dynamic distributed network, knows the information about its own state as well as the average reflection of the whole
mean field. The players can strategically make distributed security defense decisions under adverse conditions. Unlike
static threshold-based scheme for security, in our study the threshold is estimated dynamically. Each node checks whether
the received Route REPly (RREP) sequence number is higher than a dynamically updated threshold value.

Conclusion:

The comparative performance analysis of throughput (TR), packet delivery rate (PDR) and average cost
(AC) has been demonstrated. Game theory has a vital role to validate and justify the intuitive strategic actions taken by
each player to maximize their utility by playing optimal strategy. On the basis of the dynamic threshold calculated, the
higher throughput and PDR could be achieved by eliminating the misleading paths. Simulation results corroborate that our
dynamic mean field game theoretic scheme outperforms the static scheme.

Discussion:

A dynamic approach for mobile ad hoc networks is presented in this paper to improve the performance of the
network in hostile environment. We have introduced a dynamic mean field game theoretic approach to enable an
individual node in MANETs to make strategic security defense decisions without centralized administration. In this dynamic distributed network, each node in the proposed scheme only needs to know its own state information and the
average reflection of the whole mean field.
Pathological Analysis of Blood Cells Using Deep Learning Techniques
Authors: Ranga Virender , Gupta Shivam , Agrawal Priyansh , Meena Jyoti
Published: September 2020

Introduction:

The major area of work of pathologists is concerned with detecting the diseases and helping the patients in
their healthcare and well-being. The present method used by pathologists for this purpose is manually viewing the slides
using a microscope and other instruments. But this method suffers from a lot of problems, like there is no standard way of
diagnosing, human errors and it puts a heavy load on the laboratory men to diagnose such a large number of slides daily.

Method:

The slide viewing method is widely used and converted into digital form to produce high resolution images.
This enables the area of deep learning and machine learning to deep dive into this field of medical sciences. In the present
study, a neural based network has been proposed for classification of blood cells images into various categories. When
input image is passed through the proposed architecture and all the hyper parameters and dropout ratio values are used in
accordance with proposed algorithm, then model classifies the blood images with an accuracy of 95.24%.

Result:

After training the models on 20 epochs. The plots of training accuracy, testing accuracy and corresponding
training loss, testing loss for proposed model is plotted using matplotlib and trends.

Discussion:

The performance of proposed model is better than existing standard architectures and other work done by
various researchers. Thus, the proposed model enables the development of pathological system which will reduce human
errors and daily load on laboratory men. This can also in turn help pathologists in carrying out their work more efficiently
and effectively.

Conclusion:

In the present study, a neural based network has been proposed for classification of blood cells images into
various categories. These categories have significance in the medical sciences. When input image is passed through the
proposed architecture and all the hyper parameters and dropout ratio values are used in accordance with proposed
algorithm, then model classifies the images with an accuracy of 95.24%. This accuracy is better than standard
architectures.. Further it can be seen that the proposed neural network performs better than present related works carried
by various researchers.
Improving Arabic Text Classification Using P-Stemmer
Authors: Kanan Tarek , Hawashin Bilal , Alzubi Shadi , Almaita Eyad , Alkhatib Ahmad , Maria Khulood Abu , Elbes Mohammed
Published: September 2020

Introduction:

Stemming is an important preprocessing step in text classification, and could contribute in
increasing text classification accuracy. Although many works proposed stemmers for English language, few stemmers
were proposed for Arabic text. Arabic language has gained increasing attention in the previous decades and the need is
vital to further improve Arabic text classification.

Method:

This work combined the use of the recently proposed P-Stemmer with various classifiers to find the optimal
classifier for the P-stemmer in term of Arabic text classification. As part of this work, a synthesized dataset was collected.

Result:

The previous experiments show that the use of P-Stemmer has a positive effect on classification. The degree of
improvement was classifier-dependent, which is reasonable as classifiers vary in their methodologies. Moreover, the
experiments show that the best classifier with the P-Stemmer was NB. This is an interesting result as this classifier is wellknown for its fast learning and classification time.

Discussion:

First, the continuous improvement of the P-Stemmer by more optimization steps is necessary to further
improve the Arabic text categorization. This can be made by combining more classifiers with the stemmer, by optimizing
the other natural language processing steps, and by improving the set of stemming rules. Second, the lack of sufficient
Arabic datasets, especially large ones, is still an issue.

Conclusion:

In this work, an improved P-Stemmer was proposed by combining its use with various classifiers. In order to
evaluate its performance, and due to the lack of Arabic datasets, a novel Arabic dataset was synthesized from various
online news pages. Next, the P-Stemmer was combined with Naïve Bayes, Random Forest, Support Vector Machines, KNearest Neighbor, and K-Star.