bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metabarcoding Advances for Ecology and Biogeography of Neotropical Protists: What Do We Know, Where Do We Go?
Authors: Duarte Ritter Camila , Machado Arielli Fabrício , Ribeiro Karine Felix , Dunthorn Micah
Published: July 2020

The Neotropical region is one of the most diverse regions of the globe in terms of macro-organismic species. Regarding the microbial world, however, little is known about the diversity and biogeography patterns of micro-organisms in the Neotropics. In this context, the study of several microbial taxonomic groups is still missing and/or incomplete, such as the protists. Our goal here was to summarize the available information of Neotropical protists, focusing on molecular data from environmental continental samples, to explore what these data evidence on their ecology and biogeography. For this, we reviewed the findings from all articles that focused on or included the terrestrial protists using metabarcoding approach and identified the gaps and future perspectives in this research field. We found that Neotropical protists diversity patterns seem to be, at least in part, congruent with that of macro-organisms and, different than plants and bacteria, just weakly explained by environmental variables. We argue that studies with standardized protocols including different biomes are necessary to fully characterize the ecology and biogeography on Neotropical protists. Furthermore, dismember evolutionary lineages and functional guilds of protists are important to better understand the relationship between diversity, dispersal abilities and functionality of particular taxa of protists in their habitats.
Population Risk Factors for COVID-19 Deaths in Nigeria at Subnational Level
Authors: Hassan Zubaida , Hashim Muhammad Jawad , Khan Gulfaraz
Published: July 2020

Nigeria is the most populous country in the African continent. The aim of this study was to analyze risk factors for COVID-19 prevalence and deaths in all 6 geopolitical regions and 37 states in Nigeria. We analyzed the data retrieved from various sources, including Nigeria CDC, Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics, Unicef-Nigeria multiple indicator cluster survey and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington. We examined 4 clinical risk factors (prevalence of TB, HIV, smoking and BCG vaccination coverage) and 5 sociodemographic factors (age ≥65, population density, literacy rate, unemployment and GDP per capita). Multivariate modeling was conducted using generalized linear model. Our analysis showed that the incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases differed widely across the 37 states, from 0.09 per 100,000 in Kogi to 83.7 in Lagos. However, more than 70% of confirmed cases were concentrated in just 7 states: Lagos, Abuja, Oyo, Kano, Edo, Rivers and Delta. Case mortality rate (CMR) per million population also varied considerably, with Lagos, Abuja and Edo having CMR above 9. On bivariate analysis, higher CMR correlated positively with GDP and to a lesser extent with TB and population density. On multivariate analysis, which is more definitive, states with higher HIV prevalence and BCG coverage had lower CMR, while high GDP states had a greater CMR. This study indicates that COVID-19 has disproportionately affected certain states in Nigeria. Population susceptibility factors include higher economic development but not literacy or unemployment. Death rates were mildly lower in states with higher HIV prevalence and BCG vaccination coverage.
Community-Based Household Survey to Identify Disability Burden and Health-Related Quality of Life Following Road Traffic Accidents in Ujjain, India
Authors: Mathur Aditya , Mehra Love , Pathak Ashish
Published: July 2020

The objective of the study was to report the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following road traffic accidents (RTAs) among children. A community-based survey using EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) in Hindi was used to collected data from community. The survey included 2620 households from urban and rural areas of Ujjain, India. From these households 229 children aged 5–18 years with a history of RTA in the last 1 year were identified, with 27%, 63%, and 10% children reporting mild, moderate, and severe injury based on length of hospitalization. Motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians constituted most RTAs. Helmet use was low (12%). EQ-5D-5L revealed that the most severe and extreme problem was pain and discomfort, whereas the least severe problem was usual activity and self-care. The most common (65%) injuries were either abrasion or fracture and dislocation. EQ-5D-5L severity index was maximum (mean 72) for lower extremity injuries. The results of the present study highlight the ability and requirement for quality of life measurement using EQ-5D-5L among children post-RTA.
A Method Based on NLP for Twitter Spam Detection
Authors: Chowdhury Ratul , Das Kumar Gourav , Saha Banani , Bandyopadhyay Samir Kumar
Published: July 2020

Social networking applications such as Twitter have increasingly gained significance in terms of socio-economic, political, and religious as well as entertainment sectors. This in turn, has witnessed a wide gamut of information explosion in the social networking realm that can tend to be both useful as well as misleading at the same point of time. Spam detection is one such solution that caters to this problem through identification of irrelevant users and their data. However, existing research has so far laid primary focus on user profile information through activity detection and relevant techniques that may underperform when these profiles exhibit characteristics of temporal dependency, poor reflection of generated content from the user profile, etc. This is the primary motivation for this paper that addresses the aforementioned problem of user profiles by focusing on both profile information and content-based spam detection. To this end, this work delivers three significant contributions. Firstly, exhaustive use of Natural language processing (NLP) techniques has been rendered towards creation of a new comprehensive dataset with a wide range of content-based features. Secondly, this dataset has been fed into a customized state-of-art hybrid machine learning model that has been exclusively built using a combination of both machine learning and deep learning techniques. Extensive simulation based analysis not only records over 98% accuracy but also establishes the practical applicability of this proposal by proving that modeling based on the mixed profile and content-generated data is more capable of spam detection in contrast to each of these standalone approaches. Finally, a novel methodology based on logistic regression is proposed and supported by analytical formulations. This paves the way for the custom-built dataset to be analyzed and corresponding probabilities to be obtained that differentiate legitimate users from spammers. The obtained mathematical outcome can henceforth be used for future prediction of user categories through appropriate parameter tuning for any given dataset. This makes our method a truly generic one capable of identifying and classifying different user categories.
CNN-KCL: Automatic Myocarditis Diagnosis using Convolutional Neural Network Combined with K-means Clustering
Authors: Sharifrazi Danial , Alizadehsani Roohallah , Hassannataj Joloudari Javad , Shamshirband Shahab , Hussain Sadiq , Alizadeh Sani Zahra , Hasanzadeh Fereshteh , Shoaibi Afshin , Dehzangi Abdollah , Alinejad-Rokny Hamid
Published: July 2020

Myocarditis is the form of an inflammation of the middle layer of the heart wall which is caused by a viral infection and can affect the heart muscle and its electrical system. It has remained as one of the most challenging diagnoses in cardiology. Myocardial is the prime cause of unexpected death in approximately 20% of adults less than 40 years of age. Cardiac MRI (CMR) has been considered as a noninvasive and golden standard diagnostic tool for suspected myocarditis and plays an indispensable role in diagnosing various cardiac diseases. However, the performance of CMR is heavily dependent on the clinical presentation and non-specific features such as chest pain, arrhythmia, and heart failure. Besides, other imaging factors like artifacts, technical errors, pulse sequence, acquisition parameters, contrast agent dose, and more importantly qualitatively visual interpretation can affect the result of the diagnosis. This paper introduces a new deep learning-based model called Convolutional Neural Network-Clustering (CNN-KCL) to diagnose the Myocarditis. The hybrid CNN-KCL method performs the early and accurate diagnosis of Myocarditis. To the best-of-our-knowledge, a Convolutional neural network has never been used before for the diagnosis of Myocarditis. In this study, we used 47 subjects to diagnose myocarditis patients from Tehran's Omid Hospital. The total number of data examined is 10425. Our results demonstrate that CNN-KCL achieves 92.3% in terms of diagnosis myocarditis prediction accuracy which is significantly better than those reported in previous studies.
One Shot Cluster Based Approach for the Detection of COVID-19 from Chest X-Ray Images
Authors: Aradhya V.N. Manjunath , Mahmud Mufti , Agarwal Basant , Guru D.S. , Kaiser M. Shamim
Published: July 2020

Corona virus disease (COVID-19) has infected over more than 10 million people around the globe and killed at least 500K worldwide by the end of June 2020. As this disease continues to evolve and scientists and researchers around the world now trying to find out the way to combat this disease in most effective way. Chest X-rays are widely available modality for immediate care in diagnosing COVID-19. Precise detection and diagnosis of COVID-19 from these chest X-rays would be practical for the current situation. This paper proposes one shot cluster based approach for the accurate detection of COVID-19 chest x-rays. The main objective of one shot learning (OSL) is to mimic the way humans learn in order to make classification or prediction on a wide range of similar but novel problems. The core constraint of this type of task is that the algorithm should decide on the class of a test instance after seeing just one test example. For this purpose we have experimented with widely known Generalized Regression and Probabilistic Neural Networks. Experiments conducted with publicly available chest x-ray images demonstrate that the method can detect COVID-19 accurately with high precision. The obtained results have outperformed many of the convolutional neural network based existing methods proposed in the literature.
Evaluation of Non-linear Convection Aspect to Analyze Rate Type Chemically Reacted Fluid Considering Cattaneo-Christov Dual Diffusive Model
Authors: Abbas Syed Zaheer
Published: July 2020

The simultaneous evaluation of heat/mass transference procures momentous significance in the polymer industry and engineering activities. Extensive utilization of such aspects includes propylene flares, heat exchangers, energy transfiguration in chilling towers, and amputation of post fortuitous heat in nuclear reactors. Owing to such prospective demands, we interpreted the Jeffrey liquid reactive flow under non-linear convection. We scrutinized the transference of heat/mass under generalized Fourier-Fick relations. Thermal conductivity depends on temperature while mass diffusivity is dependent on concentration. Besides, heat source along with first-order chemical reaction aspects are accounted for. Relevant transformations are exerted to achieve non-linear differential systems that are solved through the homotopy scheme. Influences of divers factors are exhibited via graphical benchmark.
A Portable Fuzzy Sink Scheme for Wireless Sensor Network Life Expectancy Enhancement
Authors: SHAFIK WASSWA , Matinkhah S.Mojtaba
Published: July 2020

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is considered to be a promising research area since it entails sensing capabilities. WSNs are confronted by fabricated explosion injection attacks and in return results into draining of vitality on sensor nodes routing mainly because of increased capabilities in a broad range of applications where sensor nodes use a battery as the power source. In this paper, we reveal and claim a state-of-the-art model to minimize vitality depletion of nodes within the network in return increases network period to more realistic stretch. It is revealed that the main cause is vitality consumption unbalances in different parts of the network direct resulting from having a static sink. More still, the network nodes neighboring the sink insistently partake in progressing data of other nodes to the sink. Consequently, the network nodes are supplementarily subjected to untimely vitality exhaustion. This paper mainly provides a novel movable (mobile) fuzzy logic sink approach and an intelligent system like expect systems that are able to scrutinize network situation, and make the superlative choice for spreading the network period robotically.
Анализ геномного разнообразия SARS-Cov-2 и эпидемиологических признаков адаптации возбудителя COVID-19 к человеческой популяции (Сообщение 1)
Authors: Михайлович Краснов
Published: July 2020

Вспышка COVID-19 началась в середине декабря 2019 года в городе Ухань (Китай) и быстро переросла в пандемию, которая продолжается и в настоящее время. В этом исследовании мы проанализировали информацию о 7947 полных геномах вируса SARS-CoV-2 опубликованную в базе GISAID, для изучения эволюции генома вируса при адаптации к организму человека за последние шесть месяцев. Проведен филогенетический анализ и оценка изменений в исследуемых вирусных геномах, которые могут быть разделены на четыре основных кластера. Ключевое направление эволюции генома вируса SARS-CoV-2 сопряжено с появлением единичной мутации в гене S (D614G). Установлено, что распространение штаммов с G мутацией ассоциировано не только с ростом заболеваемости, но и со снижением летальности в мире. Наблюдаемое увеличение потенциала распространения на фоне признаков снижения вирулентности, вероятно, является основной формой адаптации нового коронавируса к человеческой популяции и, по-видимому, будет продолжаться в дальнейшем в виде интеграции SARS-CoV-2 в структуру сезонных возбудителей ОРВИ.
Анализ геномного разнообразия SARS-Cov-2 и эпидемиологических признаков адаптации возбудителя COVID-19 к человеческой популяции (Сообщение 1)
Authors: Краснов Ярослав
Published: July 2020

Вспышка COVID-19 началась в середине декабря 2019 года в городе Ухань (Китай) и быстро переросла в пандемию, которая продолжается и в настоящее время. В этом исследовании мы проанализировали информацию о 7947 полных геномах вируса SARS-CoV-2 опубликованную в базе GISAID, для изучения эволюции генома вируса при адаптации к организму человека за последние шесть месяцев. Проведен филогенетический анализ и оценка изменений в исследуемых вирусных геномах, которые могут быть разделены на четыре основных кластера. Ключевое направление эволюции генома вируса SARS-CoV-2 сопряжено с появлением единичной мутации в гене S (D614G). Установлено, что распространение штаммов с G мутацией ассоциировано не только с ростом заболеваемости, но и со снижением летальности в мире. Наблюдаемое увеличение потенциала распространения на фоне признаков снижения вирулентности, вероятно, является основной формой адаптации нового коронавируса к человеческой популяции и, по-видимому, будет продолжаться в дальнейшем в виде интеграции SARS-CoV-2 в структуру сезонных возбудителей ОРВИ.
Kontribusi Dakwah Struktural dan Dakwah Kultural dalam Pembangunan Kota Palopo
Authors: Syahruddin Syahruddin
Published: July 2020

Development strategy applied in Palopo is based on the spirit of religion, local wosdom, and geographical position of the city. Such strategy is represented on the seven dimensions of Palopo’s development strategy, namely: religion, education, health/sports, traditions and culture, trade, industry, and tourism. The contribution of Da’wa towards the development of Palopo is quite significant as structural Da’wa is implemented by Municipal Government, the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Palopo, Socio-religious Organizations, and Police Department. In addition to structural da’wa, cultural da’wa is also applied by Socio-religious Organizations in cooperation with traditional-indigeous organizations in the city. The implementation of both structural and cultural da’wa has made people in Palopo love the beauty, tranquility, safety, and hospitality of their city that is built according the principle of Madinah society. There are both internal and external hinderances on the way of da’wa in Palopo. Internal obstacles consist of the diversity of Islamic school of teachings that lead to a cinflicting image of moderate vs extreme and substantial vs symbolic teachings of Islam. External onstacles, on the other side, consist of radical understandings and practices of Islamic teachings, negative impacts of information coming from social media, and globalization.Keywords: Da’wa, development, and Palopo.
Tópicos Especiais em Geografia B
Authors: Lampert Batista Natália
Published: July 2020

Desde a chegada do novo Coronavírus ao Brasil, inúmeros desafios emergiram, impactando, de modo bastante especial, a docência. O planejamento do primeiro semestre de 2020 foi completamente alterado e novas alternativas precisaram ser encontradas para a manutenção das atividades de ensino, pesquisa e extensão na Universidades. O presente artigo, neste sentido, apresenta um relato de prática de docência realizada na disciplina de Tópicos Especiais em Geografia B (GCC896), do Programa de Pós-graduação em Geografia (PPGGeo), da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), durante o primeiro semestre do corrente ano, mediante ensino remoto. A descrição e a reflexão sobre a prática empreendida visam registrar e compartilhar as aprendizagens referentes a disciplina ministrada totalmente a distância, bem como destacar as dificuldades da turma em questão. Conclui-se que, apesar do contexto de excepcionalidade, a disciplina cumpriu seus objetivos e colaborou com as discussões que se propunha.
Medication omission rates in New Zealand Residential Aged Care Homes: a national description
Authors: Garratt Stephanie M , Kerse Ngaire M , Peri Kathryn , Jonas Monique F
Published: July 2020

Background A medication omission is an event where a prescribed medication is not taken before the next scheduled dose. Medication omissions are typically classed as errors within Residential Aged Care (RAC) homes, as they have the potential to lead to harm if poorly managed, but may also stem from good clinical decision-making. This study aimed to quantify the incidence, prevalence, and types of medication omissions in RAC homes on a national scale, using a New Zealand-based sample. Methods We conducted retrospective pharmacoepidemiology of de-identified medication administration e-records from December 1st 2016 to December 31st 2017. Four tiers of de-identified data were collected: RAC home level data (ownership, levels of care), care staff level data (competency level/role), resident data (gender, age, level of care), and medication related data (omissions, categories of omissions, recorded reasons for omission). Data were analysed using SPSS version 24 and Microsoft Excel.Results A total of 11, 015 residents from 374 RAC homes had active medication charts; 8,020 resided in care over the entire sample timeframe. A mean rate of 3.59 medication doses were omitted per 100 (±7.43) dispensed doses/resident. Seventy-three percent of residents had at least one dose omission. The most common omission category used was ‘not-administered’ (49.9%), followed by ‘refused’ (34.6%). The relationship between ownership type and mean rate of omission was significant (p=0.002), corporate operated RAC homes had a slightly higher mean (3.73 versus 3.33), with greater variation. The most commonly omitted medications were Analgesics and Laxatives. Forty-eight percent of all dose omissions were recorded without a comment justifying the omission. Conclusions This unique study is the first to report rate of medication omissions per RAC resident over a one-year timeframe. Although the proportion of medications omitted reported in this study is less than previously reported by hospital-based studies, there is a significant relationship between a resident’s level of care, RAC home ownership types, and the rate of omission.
Evaluation of gastric polyps in patients with upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
Authors: zheng lie , wen xinli , Dai Yan-Cheng , QianTu Xiao-Xiao , He Hai-Feng , Zhang Ya-Li Zhang Ya-Li
Published: July 2020

Background:According to the study population, incidence of gastric polyps (GPs) varies from 0.33% to 6.7% in various studies. Most GPs consist of hyperplastic polyps (HPs), fundic gland polyps (FGPs), and adenomatous polyps (APs). Despite the high malignant APs potential, sporadic FGPs has no malignant potential. On the contrary, HPs has a lower risk of potential harm. It is not sufficient to perform biopsies to determine the presence of polyp types and displacements, therefore, some polyps may require extensive biopsy or complete resection. MethodsThis retrospective study included GPs patients or polyphenic lesions with polyps or malignant histology found in polyps or gastroscopy at the Department of Gastroenterology, Shaanxi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from 2017 to 2019.ResultsIn a series of 10.000 upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, 384 patients (3.84%) were found to have GPs. Of these patients, 98 (25.5) were male and 286(74.5) were female. The average age of the patients was 62.8±10.4 (36-75) years. HPs, APs and FGPs frequencies were 88.5%, 5.2% and 2.1%, respectively. The polyp size of 274 (71.3%) patients was ≤ 1 cm. Polyp was identified in 262 (68.2%) patients. The most common polyps are the antrum and the corpus. Endoscopic mucosal resection was performed on 128 patients. Bleeding events have been observed and endoscopic treatment is required after ESP.Conclusion: In current study, GPs frequency was low (3.84%), and HP frequency may be high due to high frequency of Helicobacter pylori (HPy) infection in China. Due to the high frequency of HPy infection and the short-term use of proton pump use, FGP frequency may be low.
De novo transcriptome sequencing of Rhododendron molle and identification of genes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites
Authors: Zhou Guolin , Zhu Ping
Published: July 2020

Background: Rhododendron molle (Ericaceae) is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, its flower and root have been widely used to treat rheumatism and relieve pain for thousands of years in China. Chemical studies have revealed that R. molle contains abundant secondary metabolites such as terpenoinds, flavonoids and lignans, some of which have exhibited various bioactivities including antioxidant, hypotension and analgesic activity. In spite of immense pharmaceutical importance, the mechanism underlying the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites remains unknown and the genomic information is unavailable. Results: To gain molecular insight into this plant, especially on the information of pharmaceutically important secondary metabolites including grayanane diterpenoids, we conducted deep transcriptome sequencing for R. molle flower and root using the Illumina Hiseq platform. In total, 100,603 unigenes were generated through de novo assembly with mean length of 778 bp, 57.1% of these unigenes were annotated in public databases and 17,906 of those unigenes showed significant match in the KEGG database. Unigenes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites were annotated, including the TPSs and CYPs that were potentially responsible for the biosynthesis of grayanoids. Moreover, 3,376 transcription factors and 10,828 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were also identified. Additionally, we further performed differential gene expression (DEG) analysis of the flower and root transcriptome libraries and identified numerous genes that were specifically expressed or up-regulated in flower.Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to generate and thoroughly analyze the transcriptome data of both R. molle flower and root. This study provided an important genetic resource which will shed light on elucidating various secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways in R. molle, especially for those with medicinal value and allow for drug development in this plant.
Macronutrient, immunoglobulin A and total antioxidant capacity profiles of human milk: cross-sectional surveys at ages 6, 12, 18 and 24 months.
Authors: ongprasert krongporn , Ruangsuriya Jetsada , Malasao Rungnapa , Sapbamrer Ratana , Suppansan Pikul , Ayood Pisittawoot , Kittisakmontri Kulnipa , Siviroj Penprapa
Published: July 2020

Background: A longer duration of breastfeeding of up to two years is encouraged by many health authorities, but there is limited information regarding the composition of milk after one year postpartum. The goal of this study was to determine the association between human milk macronutrient, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) profiles during extended lactation.Methods: One hundred eighty-four breastfeeding mothers with full-term healthy children who had been lactating from 1 to 24 months were recruited from January 2019 to April 2019. Human milk was biochemically analyzed for protein and carbohydrate content by colorimetric assays. The fat content was determined by capillary centrifugation, and the energy content was calculated from the results of centrifugation assays. IgA levels and TAC were determined by ELISA and a Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay, respectively. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used to determine associations between milk composition with month of lactation, and multiple regression analysis was used to assess the association between covariate variables and milk composition. Differences were considered significant at p < 0.05.Results: The fat, energy and IgA contents were positively correlated with the duration of lactation (r = 0.229, p = 0.002; r = 0.229, p =0.002 and r = 0.304, p < 0.001, respectively). No significant correlations between protein, carbohydrate concentrations and TAC with the duration of lactation were observed (r = 0.106, p = 0.15; r = -0.032, p = 0.67; r = -0.056, p = 0.45, respectively). After adjusting for the covariates, the month of lactation was negatively associated with the carbohydrate concentration (p = 0.04), while similar results were observed for other components.Conclusions: We demonstrated that fat, energy, and IgA contents increased during extended lactation lasting up to two years postpartum. A slightly but significant decrease was detected in carbohydrate concentration. No association was observed in protein concentration and TAC with the duration of lactation. Based on these results, lactating mothers should be encouraged and supported to continue breastfeeding for at least two years postpartum.
Incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of lower extremity in patients undergoing surgeries for ankle fractures
Authors: Luo Zixuan , Chen Wei , Li Yansen , Wang Xiaomeng , Wang Weili , Zhu Yanbin , Zhang Fengqi
Published: July 2020

Objective To investigate the incidence of postoperative deep venous thrombosis (DVP) in patients undergoing surgeries for ankle fractures and identify the associated risk factors. Methods This was a retrospective study. A total of 1451 patients undergoing surgery of ankle fractures from January 2016 to June 2019 were included. The inpatient medical record system was inquired for data collection, including demographics, comorbidities, injury and surgery-related data and laboratory biomarkers. DVT of lower extremity was diagnosed by routine doppler examination. Univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify the independent risk factors.Results Among the 1451 patients, DVT was confirmed in 38 cases, indicating an incidence of 2.6%. DVT involved both the operated and non-operated limbs in 8 patients (21.1%). DVT involved superficial femoral vein in 4 cases (6.6%), deep femoral vein in 2 (3.3%), popliteal vein in 5 (8.2%), posterior tibial vein in 11 (18.0%) and peroneal vein in 39 (63.9%). The median interval between operation and diagnosis of DVT was7 days. Six risk factors were identified to be independently associated with DVT, including age (10-year increase) (OR, 1.44), preoperative stay (delay of each day) (OR, 1.11), anesthesia (general vs regional) (OR, 3.51), lower hemoglobin level (OR, 2.02), total cholesterol >5.2mmol/L (OR, 3.20) and reduced lymphocyte count (OR, 3.16). Conclusion These identified factors, although not easily modifiable, do help counsel patients about the risk of DVT and help individualized assessment of the risk factors and accordingly the risk stratification.
A data-driven approach for chemotherapy recommendation model based on deep learning for patients with colorectal cancer in Korea
Authors: Park Jinhyeok , Lee Kang-Yoon , Baek Jeong-Heum , Lee Youngho
Published: July 2020

Background: Recently, the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) has attracted attention as a method for minimizing medical errors. To overcome the limitation that existing CDSS does not reflect actual data, we proposed CDSS based on deep learning.Methods: We proposed Colorectal Cancer Chemotherapy Recommender (C3R), a deep learning-based chemotherapy recommendation model. This supplements the limitation that the existing CDSS is difficult to support data-based decision making. It is configured to study the clinical data generated at Gachon Gil Medical Center and recommend appropriate chemotherapy. To validate the model, we compared the treatment concordance rate with the NCCN Guidelines, a representative cancer treatment guideline, and the results of the Gachon Gil Medical Center’s Colorectal Cancer Treatment Protocol (GCCTP). Results: The treatment concordance rates of the C3R model with the NCCN guidelines were 70.5% for the Top-1 Accuracy and 84% for the Top-2 Accuracy. Also, the treatment concordance rate with the GCCTP were 57.9% for the Top-1 Accuracy and 77.8 for the Top-2 Accuracy. Conclusions: This model is meaningful in that it is Korea’s first colon cancer treatment method decision support system that reflects actual data. In the future, if sufficient data is secured through multi-organization, more reliable results can be obtained.
Clinical Outcomes of Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) Application in Couples with Chromosomal Inversion, a Study in the Chinese Han Population
Authors: Shao Yuhan , Li Jing , Lu Juanjuan , Li Hongchang , Zhu Yueting , Jiang Wenjie , Yan Junhao
Published: July 2020

Background Chromosomal inversion was considered to have adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes through abnormal gametogenesis. The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate whether preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) improves pregnancy outcomes for couples with chromosomal inversion.Methods A total of 188 cycles from 165 couples with one chromosomal inversion carrier were divided into two groups: PGT (136 cycles, 125 couples) and non-PGT (52 cycles, 50 couples). Biochemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, miscarriage and live birth rates of their first transfer cycles, as well as cumulative live birth rates of each cycle and euploidy rates, were analyzed.Results There were no statistically significant differences in the pregnancy outcomes between the two groups. The euploidy rate of pericentric inversion carriers was not higher than that of paracentric inversion carriers in PGT group (60.71% vs 50.54%, P=0.073). Similarly, the euploid rate of male carriers was not higher than that of female carriers (61.2% vs 56.1%, P=0.256).Conclusions Due to limitation of retrospective study and small sample size, our current data showed that PGT cannot provide prominent benefits for inversion carriers in the Chinese Han population. Further prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate the effects of PGT.
Association between physical activity and conversion from mild cognitive impairment to dementia
Authors: Kim Yeo Jin , Han Kyung-Do , Baek Min Seok , Cho Hanna , Lee Eun Joo , Lyoo Chul Hyoung
Published: July 2020

Background

Physical activity has been suggested to prevent the conversion of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia in patients. We investigated the association between the continuance and regularity of physical activity and the risk of developing dementia in patients with MCI.

Methods

We analyzed 6-year followed up data for 247,149 individuals in the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) cohort of Korea who were enrolled between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2015. The patients were divided into four groups: those who did not engage in physical activity consistently (Never-PA group), those who initiated physical activity (Initiation-PA group), those who ceased physical activity (Withdrawal-PA group), and those who performed physical activity consistently (Maintenance-PA group). We also divided the patients into two groups: those who engaged in physical activity irregularly (Irregular-PA) and those who undertook physical activity regularly (Regular-PA).

Results

When the risk for the Never-PA group was set as the benchmark (ref=1), the Maintenance-PA group had the lowest incidence of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) compared to the other groups (HR= 0.82, 95% CI 0.79-0.86 ). The DAT risk of Initiation-PA group (HR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.85-0.93 ) was lower than the Never-PA group. In addition, compared to the Irregular-PA group, the Regular-PA group had a 15% reduced risk for developing DAT.

Conclusions

Although no causal inference could be made, continued regular physical activity in patients with MCI is associated with a protective effect against developing DAT. Moreover, ceasing physical activity could halt this protective effect.
Optical coherence tomography angiography evaluation of the effects of phacoemulsification cataract surgery on macular hemodynamics in Chinese normal eyes
Authors: Jia Xinyu , Wei Yinjuan , Song Hui
Published: July 2020

Background：To quantitatively evaluate the possible effects of phacoemulsification cataract surgery on macular hemodynamics using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).Methods：Prospective observational study. Superficial and deep macular vascular densities as well as parameters of foveal avascular zone (FAZ) were measured preoperatively (baseline) and at 1 day, 1 week and 4 weeks postoperatively in normal eyes (≥22 mm and ≤24 mm) of patients scheduled for phacoemulsification cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation. Correlations between the rate of change of pre- and post-operative vascular densities and surgical parameters were analyzed.Results: 123 eyes of 107 patients were recruited. Compared with baseline measurements, no statistically significant variation was found in macular vascular densities of 1 day after surgery (P>0.05). While both superficial and deep macular vascular densities were significantly increased postoperatively on week 1 and week 4 (P<0.05; P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in any of the FAZ parameters between the baseline measurements and the entire follow-up period (P>0.05 for all). There were no statistically significant correlations between main surgical parameters and the changes of macular vascular densities.Conclusions: In normal eyes, macular blood perfusion gradually increased after phacoemulsification cataract surgery and was stabilized in one week. Foveal avascular zone was basically stable before and after surgery. Main parameters and intraoperative perfusion of phacoemulsification surgery may not be the key factors affecting macular hemodynamics.
A micromechanical cell stretching device compatible with super-resolution microscopy and single protein tracking
Authors: Vicente Filipe Nunes , Massou Sophie , Wetzel Franziska , Mehidi Amine , Strehle Dan , Leduc Cecile , Voituriez Raphaël , Rossier Olivier , Pierre Nassoy , Giannone Grégory
Published: July 2020

Cell mechano-sensing is based on biomolecule deformations and reorganizations, yet the molecular mechanisms are still unclear. Super-resolution microscopy (SRM) and single protein tracking (SPT) techniques reveal the dynamic organization of proteins at the nanoscale. In parallel, stretchable substrates are used to investigate cellular responses to mechanical forces. However, simultaneous combination of SRM/SPT and cell stretching has never been achieved. Here, we present a cell stretching device compatible with SRM and SPT, composed of an ultra-thin Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer. The PDMS sheet is gliding on a glycerol-lubricated glass cover-slip to ensure flatness during uniaxial stretching, generated with a 3D-printed micromechanical device by a mobile arm connected to a piezoelectric translator. This method enables to obtain super-resolved images of protein reorganization after live stretching, and to monitor single protein deformation and recruitment inside mechanosensitive structures upon stretching. This protocol is related to the publication ‘Cell stretching is amplified by active actin remodeling to deform and recruit proteins in mechanosensitive structures’, in Nature Cell Biology.
Doubly robust estimator of risk in the presence of censoring dependent on time-varying covariates: application to a primary prevention trial for coronary events with pravastatin
Authors: Kawahara Takuya , Shinozaki Tomohiro , Matsuyama Yutaka
Published: July 2020

Background: In the presence of dependent censoring even after stratification of baseline covariates, the Kaplan–Meier estimator provides an inconsistent estimate of risk. To account for dependent censoring, time-varying covariates can be used along with two statistical methods: the inverse probability of censoring weighted (IPCW) Kaplan–Meier estimator and the parametric g-formula estimator. The consistency of the IPCW Kaplan–Meier estimator depends on the correctness of the model specification of censoring hazard, whereas that of the parametric g-formula estimator depends on the correctness of the models for event hazard and time-varying covariates.
Methods: We combined the IPCW Kaplan–Meier estimator and the parametric g-formula estimator into a doubly robust estimator that can adjust for dependent censoring. The estimator is theoretically more robust to model misspecification than the IPCW Kaplan–Meier estimator and the parametric g-formula estimator. We conducted simulation studies with a time-varying covariate that affected both time-to-event and censoring under correct and incorrect models for censoring, event, and time-varying covariates. We applied our proposed estimator to a large clinical trial data with censoring before the end of follow-up.
Results: Simulation studies demonstrated that our proposed estimator is doubly robust, namely it is consistent if either the model for the IPCW Kaplan–Meier estimator or the models for the parametric g-formula estimator, but not necessarily both, is correctly specified. Simulation studies and data application demonstrated that our estimator can be more efficient than the IPCW Kaplan–Meier estimator.
Conclusions: The proposed estimator is useful for estimation of risk if censoring is affected by time-varying risk factors.
Breastfeeding support at an Australian Breastfeeding Association drop-in service: a descriptive survey
Authors: Burns Elaine , Duursma Louise , Triandafilidis Zoi
Published: July 2020

Background: In Australia, during the early establishment phase of breastfeeding, women can access telephone peer support counselling provided by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) however options for face-to-face peer support are limited. The known factors which improve ongoing and exclusive breastfeeding include face-to-face support, peer and/or professional support, and trained personnel. This study aimed to examine women’s experiences of accessing one breastfeeding drop-in peer support service provided by trained peer support volunteer counsellors from the ABA.Methods: Women who accessed the service were invited, in 2014, to participate in an anonymous online survey which collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Participants were asked about their experiences of breastfeeding support, as well as their experiences of the drop-in service. In total, 53 women completed the online survey, and subsequent analysis generated descriptive statistics and qualitative themes.Results: Responses to the survey revealed that women attended the drop-in service with infants ranging in age from less than 1 week through to 12 months of age. Most women reported attending with infants aged 0-8 weeks of age (72%). The predominant presenting problems identified were sore/damaged nipples, difficulties with infant latching to the breast, or concerns about using nipple shields. Analysis of the open text qualitative responses revealed one overarching theme ‘Support to continue breastfeeding’ and four subthemes: ‘feeling listened to and not judged’; ‘emotional support and confidence building’; ‘the importance of face-to-face, practical support'; and ‘the need for ongoing, free access’.Discussion: In this study many women were seeking support for ongoing breastfeeding difficulties. Health professionals who had limited breastfeeding knowledge and skills were identified as most unhelpful in providing support with ongoing breastfeeding difficulties. Women valued having access to trained peer counsellors, who had the capacity to provide non-judgemental, face-to-face support; who could sit through a feed; in a space that was ‘safe’; and who could enhance a woman’s confidence with breastfeeding over the course of her full breastfeeding journey. Conclusion: Women described the importance of access to a reactive style of drop-in service, in response to need, which was dedicated to breastfeeding support and which was available locally. Key words: Breast Feeding, Lactation, Community Survey, peer support, peer counsellor, thematic analysis
Magnaporthe oryzae Systemic Defense Trigger 1 (MoSDT1)-Mediated Metabolites Regulate Defense Response in Rice
Authors: Duan Guihua , Li Chunqin , Liu Yanfang , Ma Xiaoqing , Luo Qiong , Yang Jing
Published: July 2020

Background: Some of the pathogenic effector proteins play an active role in stimulating the plant defense system to strengthen plant resistance. Results: In this study, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS) was implemented to identify altered metabolites in transgenic rice containing over-expressed M. oryzae Systemic Defense Trigger 1 (MoSDT1) that was infected at three-time points. The characterized dominating metabolites were organic acids and their derivatives, organic oxygen compounds, lipids, and lipid-like molecules. Among the identified metabolites, shikimate, galactinol, trehalose, D-mannose, linolenic acid, dopamine, tyramine, and L-glutamine are precursors for the synthesis of many secondary defense metabolites Carbohydrate, as well as amino acid metabolic, pathways were revealed to be involved in plant defense responses and resistance strengthening. Conclusion: The increasing salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) content enhanced interactions between JA synthesis/signaling gene, SA synthesis/receptor gene, raffinose/fructose/sucrose synthase gene, and cell wall-related genes all contribute to defense response in rice. The symptoms of rice after M. oryzae infection were significantly alleviated when treated with six identified metabolites, i.e., galactol, tyramine, L-glutamine, L-tryptophan, α-terpinene, and dopamine for 72 h exogenously. Therefore, these metabolites could be utilized as an optimal metabolic marker for M. oryzae defense.
Barriers and associated factors for adequate antenatal care among Afghan women in Iran; findings from a community-based survey
Authors: Dadras Omid , Dadras Fateme , Taghizade Ziba , Seyedalinaghi Seyedahmad , Ono-Kihara Masako , Kihara Masahiro , Nakayama Takeo
Published: July 2020

Background: Almost a third of Afghan women living in Iran are at childbearing age. Antenatal care (ANC) is an inextricable part of healthy pregnancy and could prevent the adverse birth outcomes. Almost 97% of Iranian expectant women are receiving adequate ANC (4 or more visits). However, the situation for pregnant Afghan women is unclear. Some studies indicated low access to ANC among Afghan women. In the present study, we aimed to explore the sociodemographic factors and potential barriers associated with adequate ANC among Afghan women in Iran.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted between June 2019 and August 2019. Using time location sampling (TLS), we recruited 424 Afghan women aged 18-45 years old at three health centers in south region of Tehran. The data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics and the reported reasons for inadequate ANC using a questionnaire and analyzed applying bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Factor analysis was performed to reduce the number of potential reasons for inadequate ANC in order to improve the precision of regression analysis.Results: Almost a third of Afghan women in this study had adequate ANC (≥ 8 visits). The women in older age group, those with higher education and family income, women with longer length of stay, those of legal status were more likely to have adequate ANC. In multivariate analysis, the poor knowledge and attitude toward ANC (AOR = 0.06; 95% CI [0.03-0.15]), the poor quality of services (AOR = 0.17 95% CI [0.07-0.41]); and to some extent, the difficulties in access (AOR = 0.33; 95% CI [0.11-1.00]) were the main obstacles toward adequate ANC among the study population. Conclusion: Our study emphasized the important role of the personal knowledge and attitude toward ANC with adequate antenatal care among Afghan women in Iran. This could be addressed by well-oriented interventions and health education for Afghan women. The collaboration between central government with international agencies should be directed toward enhancing the social support, promoting the awareness and knowledge, and expanding the safety net services to improve the access and quality care among Afghan women in Iran.
How we teach children with asthma to use their inhaler: A scoping review protocol
Authors: McCrossan Patrick , Mallon Orla , Shields Michael , O'Donoghue Dara
Published: July 2020

Background One reason that asthma remains poorly controlled in children is poor inhaler technique. Current guidelines recommend checking inhaler technique at each clinical visit. However, they do not specify how best to train children to mastery of correct inhaler technique. Currently many children are simply shown how to use inhalers (brief intervention) which results in less than 50% with correct inhaler technique. The aim of this scoping review is to explore published literature on teaching methods used to train children to master correct inhaler technique. Methods This scoping review will follow the Arksey and O'Malley framework and the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. We will search (from inception onwards): MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL and the Cochrane library. We will include quantitative studies, (e.g. randomised controlled trials, cohort studies and case-control studies), published from the year 1956 to present, on teaching the skill of inhaler technique to children with asthma. Two reviewers will complete all screening and data abstraction independently. Data will be extracted onto a data charting table to create a descriptive summary of the results. Data will then be synthesised with descriptive statistics and visual mapping.Discussion This scoping review will provide a broad overview of currently used educational methods to improve inhaler technique in children with asthma. The analysis will allow us to refine future research in this area by focusing on the most effective methods and optimising them. Systematic review registration: Open Science Framework (osf.io/n7kcw).