bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Objective assessment of progressive increase in bite force post surgical correction of mandibular fractures using Nupai bite scan analyser
Authors: Rafique Soheb , Rakesh Devika , Uppal Sanjeev K. , Garg Ramneesh , Mittal Rajinder K. , Shah Sheerin
Published: May 2021

Background: Fracture of mandible is a common condition which is increasing in incidence in the trauma centers due to increasing motor vehicles and failure to abide by traffic regulations. Patients undergo surgical open reduction and internal fixation where post-operative occlusion and normal masticatory functions are targeted. Bite force can be taken as a guide of normal masticatory function of an individual which is dependent upon craniomandibular biomechanics. The aim of the study was to analyse bite force measurements post-operatively in patients who underwent open reduction and internal fixation for mandible fractures at different sites.Methods: Molar bite force was recorded in 31 post-operative patients who underwent open surgical procedure for fracture mandible in the department of plastic surgery from January 2018 to June 2019 by a pre-scale bite force recorder-Nupai bite force prescale system (FujiTM). Various parameters were recorded pre and post-operatively including age, gender, history, comorbidities, requirement of MMF, site and number of fractures and age of injury. Bite force were compared and improvement of bite force every 2 weeks was noted and analyzed upto 6 weeks postoperatively.Results: Bite force improvement was seen in all types of mandible fractures irrespective of the site and type of fractures over a period of 6 weeks post-operatively. This improvement was however not statistically significant. Decreased time interval form injury to surgery resulted in improved bite force measurements though not statistically significant.Conclusions: Although objective improvement in bite force could be demonstrated but extensive study involving more subjects and more patient variables would have statistical significance.
Inter-American Development Bank Annual Report 1997
Authors:   Inter-American Development Bank
Published: May 2021

The Annual Report contains a review of the Bank's operations in 1997.
Integrating Palliative Care Services in Pandemics and Emergencies Preparedness and Response Plans
Authors: Al Saadi Aisha
Published: May 2021

NONE
AVALIAÇÃO FÍSICA E QUÍMICA DE GELEIAS COMERCIAIS COM E SEM ADIÇÃO DE ACIDULANTES
Authors: Furtini Haddad Felipe , Alice Andrade Oliveira Ana
Published: May 2021

As tendências do setor alimentício são ditadas pelo mercado consumidor, que cada vez mais vem buscando adquirir produtos saudáveis e de alta qualidade sensorial. A geleia, produto elaborado com frutas e de elevado consumo pela população brasileira, apresenta uma oportunidade para a utilização de diversas formulações diferentes em sua elaboração, podendo minimizar a utilização de aditivos alimentares, aumentando suas tendências de sensorialidade e saudabilidade. Diante disso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar física e quimicamente geleias comerciais com e sem a adição de acidulantes. As geleias foram analisadas quanto ao pH, acidez titulável total, sólidos solúveis totais, cor, atividade de água e perfil de textura. Geleias sem acidulantes em sua formulação apresentaram menor acidez titulável total e saturação na tonalidade, além de maiores valores no pH e em parâmetros de textura como dureza, gomosidade e elasticidade, evidenciando a possibilidade do desenvolvimento de geleias com menor teor de aditivos, mantendo-se características sensoriais desejáveis ao consumidor.
DESENVOLVIMENTO DE TECNOLOGIA DE PRODUÇÃO DE BEBIDA FERMENTADA DE LARANJA (CITRUS SINENSIS)
Authors: De Sá Pinto Patrícia , Hernandes Ogeda Cláudia
Published: May 2021

A elaboração de bebidas fermentadas de frutas, como a de laranja (Citrus sinensis), vem a ser uma ótima alternativa para evitar o desperdício, além de poder gerar novos empregos e tecnologias. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo desenvolver uma tecnologia para produção de bebida fermentada utilizando suco de laranja. Para a metodologia foi utilizado um fermentador caseiro de plástico com capacidade para 18 L, equipado de airlock. O mosto foi obtido da extração de 15,5 L de suco a partir de 30 kg de laranjas maduras e sadias, utilizando-se um espremedor de frutas elétrico e, posteriormente, foi duplamente filtrado por meio de processo manual. Ao mosto foi adicionado bissulfito de sódio (0,15 g/L), bem como corrigido os sólidos solúveis totais (° Brix) e aferida a densidade inicial do mesmo. A levedura utilizada foi a Saccharomyces bayanus na proporção de 5 g em 14 L de mosto. Além do teor de açúcar, analisou-se, também, a acidez total titulável e a determinação do teor alcoólico do produto final. Para os testes de clarificação do fermentado, realizou-se a colagem utilizando ovoalbumina, bentonita, Whirfloc e gelatina sem sabor, seguida de trasfega. A última etapa do processo foi a inativação das leveduras através da pasteurização a 65 ºC. O fermentado de laranja elaborado neste trabalho, apresentou 9,3% de teor alcoólico e características, tanto físico-químicas quanto sensoriais, aceitáveis o suficiente para ser uma fonte de investimento, podendo ser comercializado e dando ênfase à ideia de agregar valor a uma matéria-prima por meio da elaboração de um produto inovador. 

Palavras-chave: Reaproveitamento. Clarificação. Fruta.
Fungicide management in the Asian soybean rust
Authors: Viegas Neto Antonio Luiz , Márcio Alves de Souza Cristiano , Fernandes Bertoncello Bruno , Dos Santos Lima Júnior Izidro , Maria Maraschi da Silva Piletti Ligia , Roberto Rigotte Márcio
Published: May 2021

Asian soybean rust is the major crop disease and the management of the use of the fungicide is important for effective control. The objective of this work was to evaluate the management of fungicides with sequential applications to control Asian soybean rust. The experimental design used was a randomized block with four replications and eight treatments with different combinations of fungicides from the following chemical groups: triazole, strobilurin, carboxamide, and dithiocarbamate. The applications were carried out with backpack spray equipment at constant pressure (CO2) and a spray rate of 200 L ha-1. The severity of rust, the area under the disease progress curve, control efficiency, mass of 1,000 grains, and productivity were evaluated. The protective fungicide mancozeb, in mixtures with systemic fungicides, were more effective for the control of Asian soybean rust than the systemic fungicides applied without the protective fungicide.
The Role of Estate and Land Commissions and Committees in Solving the Agrarian Question in the Central Caucasus in the 40-70s of 19th Century
Authors: Afaunova Diana F.
Published: May 2021

The article is devoted to the work of the committees and commissions that worked in the Terek region in the 40-70s of 19th century. The article analyzes the reasons for the creation, composition, tasks and main activities of the committees. The study examines the attempts of these committees and commissions to resolve the agrarian issue in the Central Caucasus. The conclusion shows the importance of their activities for the study of agrarian and class relations in the region. The author comes to the conclusion that the activities of the committees and commissions were of great practical importance. Thanks to their work, it was possible to ease the severity of social conflicts in the region. They laid the foundation for the settlement of the land issue, which continued in the following decades. Thanks to the painstaking work of the committees and commissions, a huge amount of materials was collected. They are of great importance for studying the history of that time. The materials of these committees and commissions in most cases were the main source of information, which formed the basis for the research of historians and ethnographers of different generations.
A Note on 3×3-valued Łukasiewicz Algebras with Negation
Authors: Gallardo Carlos , Ziliani Alicia
Published: May 2021

In 2004, C. Sanza, with the purpose of legitimizing the study of \(n\times m\)-valued Łukasiewicz algebras with negation (or \(\mathbf{NS}_{n\times m}\)-algebras) introduced \(3 \times 3\)-valued Łukasiewicz algebras with negation. Despite the various results obtained about \(\mathbf{NS}_{n\times m}\)-algebras, the structure of the free algebras for this variety has not been determined yet. She only obtained a bound for their cardinal number with a finite number of free generators. In this note we describe the structure of the free finitely generated \(NS_{3 \times 3}\)-algebras and we determine a formula to calculate its cardinal number in terms of the number of free generators. Moreover, we obtain the lattice \(\Lambda(\mathbf{NS}_{3\times 3})\) of all subvarieties of \(\mathbf{NS}_{3\times 3}\) and we show that the varieties of Boolean algebras, three-valued Łukasiewicz algebras and four-valued Łukasiewicz algebras are proper subvarieties of \(\mathbf{NS}_{3\times 3}\).
Serum concentration of copeptin in newborns with congenital heart defect
Authors: Tarko Anna , Suchojad Anna , Kordyś Julia , Simonova Svetlana , Maruniak-Chudek Iwona
Published: May 2021

Wstęp

Noworodki z wrodzoną wadą serca (WWS) wymagają ostrożnej terapii płynami z uwagi na ryzyko wystąpienia niewydolności krążenia. Rutynowe badania laboratoryjne nie są optymalnym narzędziem w identyfikacji stanu przewodnienia i dlatego konieczne są poszukiwania nowych markerów. Kopeptyna (CTproAVP) może być jednym z nich. Celem pracy była analiza wpływu aktualnie obowiązującego protokołu nawadniania noworodków z WWS na homeostazę wolemii z wykorzystaniem CTproAVP.

Materiał i metody

Do badania włączono 10 noworodków z WWS hospitalizowanych na oddziale intensywnej terapii noworodka przed zabiegiem kardiochirurgicznym. Cztery z nich prezentowały objawy niewydolności oddechowej, a wszystkie z wyjątkiem dwóch otrzymywały alprostadil. Postępowanie kliniczne było rutynowe, z wyjątkiem pomiaru CTproAVP w pierwszych pięciu dniach życia wraz z oceną osmolalności surowicy i moczu. Podaż płynów mieściła się w zakresach normy dla wieku. Grupę kontrolną stanowiło 200 zdrowych donoszonych noworodków.

Wyniki

Aktualny protokół nawadniania nie powodował, w porównaniu z grupą kontrolną, wzrostu stężenia osmolalności surowicy i moczu. Efektywna osmolalność analizowanych płynów ustrojowych była nawet niższa u noworodków z WWS. Również stężenie CTproAVP było niższe w grupie badanej, lecz różnica nie była istotna statystycznie. Nie obserwowano klinicznych objawów niewydolności krążenia lub przewodnienia. Nie zidentyfikowano czynników, które wyjaśniałyby zmienność w stężeniu CTproAVP.

Wnioski

Wstępne wyniki sugerują, że aktualny protokół nawadniania nie powoduje odwodnienia ani nie stymuluje uwalniania CTproAVP. Wydaje się, że u noworodków z WWS i ryzykiem przeciążenia krążenia płucnego można za-stosować nawet bardziej restrykcyjny protokół nawadniania. Konieczna jest dłuższa obserwacja, z włączeniem okresu pooperacyjnego, aby otrzymać bardziej miarodajne dane na temat optymalnego nawodnienia i roli kopeptyny w monitorowaniu wolemii.
Migration Behavior of Students in a Northern Russia City
Authors: Zhuravlev Nazar Y.
Published: May 2021

The problem of insufficient population of the Arctic territories is one of the urgent problems of the state. A possible source of population and potential labor is the northern regions located in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic zone. Demographic and social problems of the North are reflected in the social behavior of young people. The inability to meet their own needs leads young people to decide on migration and, accordingly, to reduce the labor potential of the region. In this paper, issues related to the definition of migration attitudes, causes and factors of youth migration were raised. The purpose of the study: to determine the migration attitudes of young people and the migration behavior that implements these attitudes. The object of the study was the final year students of various fields and levels of education. A semi-structured interview was chosen as the research method. Based on the interviews conducted, the main groups of strategies that reflect the migration behavior of young people, as well as their key features, were identified. The main criteria for the formulation of strategies were the orientation of migration plans and the activity in the manifestation of migration behavior. On their basis, 4 groups of migration strategies were identified: active (“Moving”, “Settling”) and passive (“Waiting for moving”, “ Waiting for conditions»). The tendency of informants to active or passive strategies of migration behavior is determined by a number of factors that are significant for a particular individual, having both internal and external nature. Of the external factors, the current place of residence is more affected, and of the internal factors, the level of education. The factors are differentiated depending on the group of strategies. Those seeking to move are more likely to pay attention to the development of the entertainment infrastructure and career prospects, who have chosen their current place of residence – predictability and stability of future conditions, the ability to communicate with loved ones. Based on the results of the research, it is proposed to focus on the factors that are important for passive strategies, since this will allow for a more effective impact on the migration behavior of young people.
Problems of Moldovan Migrants in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Ostavnaia Alla N.
Published: May 2021

The migration process is associated with great health risks. The factors of health vulnerability of migrants are: the complexity of the migration route; poor living and working conditions; limited access to health care; linguistic and cultural barriers when interacting with healthcare providers, etc. The COVID 19 pandemic has created new health vulnerabilities for migrants. The combination of political, legal, economic and socio-cultural factors creates vulnerabilities for migrants and increases the likelihood of: being infected with COVID 19; lack of access to adequate care; the occurrence of serious symptoms; poor psychosocial impact; lack of income and livelihood. The content of this study is based on: analysis of bibliographic sources on the health of migrants in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; secondary analysis of the results of studies of Moldovan migrants abroad; analysis of statistical information on the state of incidence of COVID-19 on the territory of the Republic of Moldova; analysis of publications on the topic of Moldovan migrants in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in the media; analysis of comments in online groups of the Moldovan diaspora abroad. The legal status of Moldovan migrants in the country of destination, their field of activity, the type of employment contract concluded, as well as the policy of protecting the countries of destination of migrants have become factors of vulnerability of Moldovan migrants abroad in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. When returning home, Moldovan migrants faced a number of problems and became an object sharp criticism, and stigmatization from their own compatriots. The inability of the country’s leadership to cope with the problems that arose caused a sharp reaction in the ranks of Moldovan citizens abroad and contributed to an unprecedented turnout of the Moldovan diaspora in the presidential elections in November 2020. The victory of the pro-Western candidate Maia Sandu became possible thanks to the support of the diaspora, which made up 1⁄4 of the entire electorate elected president. The study showed that in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, international migrants have become a social problem for both receiving countries and donor countries. A timely policy of comprehensive measures to support the health of migrants and their social protection can be a decisive factor in effectively containing the spread of COVID-19 and reducing the emergency and social tensions in both receiving countries and countries that are donor migrants.
Colour Preferences and Personality Traits
Authors: Watten Reidulf G. , Fostervold Knut Inge
Published: May 2021

Colours are important features in human and natural environments and are related to several psychological functions. However, a possible relation between colour preferences and personality traits is scarcely investigated. The aim of the present study was to find out whether differences in preferences for colours also reflected differences in Big Five personality traits. The sample consisted of 206 individuals voluntarily recruited from a student sample. The participants chose one of six primary colours (blue, green, red, yellow, black, white) from the Natural Colour System (NCS) as their favorite colour. Personality traits were measured with the Big Five Inventory-44 (BFI-44. Blue and yellow was the most and least preferred chromatic colour, respectively. There were no gender differences in preferences for the chromatic colours, but more women preferred white and men preferred black. Compared to the rest of the sample, the blue group had higher scores on agreeableness and extraversion, and the red group had lower scores on agreeableness. Pairwise comparisons showed that the blue group had higher scores on agreeableness and extraversion than the red group, and higher scores on agreeableness compared to the green group. There were no significant personality differences for the other chromatic and achromatic colour groups.
Multicentric Osteolysis, Nodulosis, and Arthropathy in Two Unrelated Children with Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 Variants: Genetic-Skeletal Correlations
Authors: Elsebaie Hanan , Mansour Mohamed A. , Elsayed Solaf M. , Mahmoud Shady , El-Sobky Tamer A.
Published: May 2021

Objectives: Multicentric Osteolysis, Nodulosis, and Arthropathy (MONA) syndrome is a rare genetic skeletal dysplasia. Its diagnosis can be deceptively similar to childhood-onset genetic skeletal dysplasias and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. We aimed to report the syndrome’s clinical and radiologic features with emphasis on skeletal manifestations. And establish relevant phenotype-genotype correlations. Methods: We evaluated two boys, 4-and-7-years-old with MONA syndrome. Both patients had consanguineous parents. We verified the diagnosis by correlating the outcomes of clinical, radiologic and molecular analysis. We specifically evaluated the craniofacial morphology and clinical and radiographic skeletal abnormalities. We contextualized the resultant phenotype-genotype correlations to publications on MONA and its differential diagnosis. Results: Skeletal manifestations were the presenting symptoms and mostly restricted to hands and feet in terms of fixed extension deformity of the metacarpophalangeal and flexion deformity of the interphalangeal joints with extension deformity of big toes. There were arthritic symptoms in the older patient especially of the wrists and minute pathologic fractures. The skeletal radiographs showed osteopenia/dysplastic changes of hands and feet. Both patients had variants in the matrix metalloproteinase2 gene which conformed to phenotype of previously reported literature in one patient while the other had a novel variant which conformed to MONA phenotype. Craniofacial abnormalities were present. However, minimal extra-skeletal manifestations. Conclusion: Overall, there is an emerging distinctive skeletal pattern of involvement in terms of both clinical and radiographic features. This includes age of onset and location of presenting skeletal manifestations, chronological order of joint affection, longitudinal disease progression, specifics of skeletal radiographic pathology and craniofacial features. Nevertheless, physicians are cautioned against differential diagnosis of similar genetic skeletal dysplasias and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Predicting Polymer’s Glass Transition Temperature by A Chemical Language Processing Model
Authors: Chen Guang , Tao Lei , Li Ying
Published: May 2021

We propose a chemical language processing model to predict polymers’ glass transition temperature (Tg) through a polymer language (SMILES, Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System) embedding and recurrent neural network. This model only receives the SMILES strings of polymer’s repeat units as inputs and considers the SMILES strings as sequential data at the character level. Using this method, there is no need to calculate any additional molecular descriptors or fingerprints of polymers, and thereby, being very computationally efficient and simple. More importantly, it avoids the difficulties to generate molecular descriptors for repeat units containing polymerization point `*’. Results show that the trained model demonstrates reasonable prediction accuracy on unseen polymer’s Tg. Besides, this model is further applied for high-throughput screening on an unlabeled polymer database to identify high-temperature polymers that are desired for applications in extreme environments. Our work demonstrates that the SMILES strings of polymer’s repeat units can be used as an effective feature representation to develop a chemical language processing model for predictions of Tg. The framework of this model is general and can be used to construct structure-property relationships for other polymer’s properties.
Biomarker Discovery for Meta-Classification of Melanoma Metastatic Progression using Transfer Learning
Authors: Miñoza Jose Marie Antonio , Rico Jonathan Adam , Zamora Pia Regina Fatima , Bacolod Manny , Laubenbacher Reinhard , de Castro Romulo
Published: May 2021

Melanoma is considered the most serious and aggressive type of skin cancer, and metastasis appears to be the most important factor in prognosticating this type of cancer. With the emergence of new therapeutic strategies for metastatic melanoma that have shown improvement in patient survival, we developed a transfer learning-based biomarker discovery model that could help in the diagnosis and prognosis of this disease. After applying it to the ensemble machine learning model, results reveal that the genes we found show consistency with other methodologies previously applied to the same TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) data set, and our methods found novel biomarker genes as well. Our ensemble model achieved Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUC) of 0.9861, an accuracy of 91.05, and an F1 score of 90.60 using an independent validation data set. This study was able to identify potential genes for diagnostic classification (C7 and GRIK5) and diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers (S100A7, S100A7, KRT14, KRT17, KRT6B, KRTDAP, SERPINB4, TSHR, PVRL4, WFDC5, IL20RB). We also assessed the potential sources of bias for our model and confirmed some of them by the model's performance.
Supervised Analysis for Phenotype Identification: The Case of Heart Failure Ejection Fraction Class
Authors: Lopez Cristina , Holgado Jose Luis , Cortes Raquel , Sauri Inma , Fernandez Antonio , Calderon Jose Miguel , Nuñez Julio , Redon Josep
Published: May 2021

Artificial Intelligence are creating a paradigm shift in health care, being phenotyping patients through clustering techniques one of the areas of interest. Objective: To develop a predictive model to classify heart failure (HF) patients according to their left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), by using available data in Electronic Health Records (EHR). Subjects and methods: 2854 subjects more than 25 years old with diagnose of HF and LVEF measured by echocardiography were selected to develop an algorithm to predict patients with reduced EF using supervised analysis. Performance of the algorithm developed were tested in heart failure patients from Primary Care. To select the most influencing variables, LASSO algorithm setting was used and to tackle the issue of one class exceed the other one by a large proportion we used the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE). Finally, Random Forest (RF) and XGBoost models were constructed. Results: Full XGBoost model obtained the maximized accuracy, a high negative predictive value and the highest positive predictive value. Gender, age, unstable angina, atrial fibrillation and acute myocardial infarct are the variables that most influence FE value. Applied in the EHR data set with a total 25594 patients with an ICD-code of HF and no regular follow-up in Cardiology clinics, 6170 (21.1%) were identified as those pertaining to the reduced EF group. Conclusion: The algorithm obtained is able to rescue a number of HF patients with reduced ejection fraction that can be take benefit for a protocol with strong recommendation to succeed. Furthermore, the methodology can be used for studies with data extracted from the Electronic Health Records.
When 'Leadership' Means Acknowledging Others Might Know Better
Authors: Fletcher Gillian
Published: May 2021

Humanitarian work in the early twenty-first-century is steeped in the rhetoric of ‘inclusion’ and ‘leave no one behind’. Yet, “too often it is the most vulnerable people and the people most in need [who] fall through the cracks” of humanitarian responses (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 2018, p. 5).

This paper argues that humanitarian leadership is in need of a major paradigm shift: one requiring agencies to actually learn from people’s lived reality, rather than trying to fit that lived reality into pre-existing international systems and procedures. Humanitarians should reconsider tools that are not fit for purpose and reconsider ways of working that are built on a flawed logic of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘protection’. This paradigm shift is vital for ensuring that those “most vulnerable people”, the most marginalised and excluded, are at the forefront of humanitarian (and development) thinking.

(International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) 2018, ‘Leaving no one behind’, World Disasters Report, IFRC, Geneva, https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/world-disaster-report-2018/)
Anti-Silencing Function 1B Overexpression Affects Prognosis and Promotes Invasion in Cervical Carcinoma via Activation of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway
Authors: Zhang Weijing , Li Han , Sun Xiaoying , Shi Yongjie , Yang Yadi , Xie Chuanmiao , Yanna Zhang
Published: May 2021

Background: Anti-silencing function 1B histone chaperone (ASF1B) has been identified to compensate for growth defects and sensitivity to replication stress. Recent studies demonstrated that ASF1B plays an important role in the tumorigenesis of human cancer. However, its relationship with clinical outcome of cervical carcinoma is unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the expression pattern and clinical significance of ASF1B in cervical cancer and its role in regulating invasion and metastasis of cervical cancer cell lines.Methods: Expression of ASF1B was analyzed in eight cervical cancer cell lines, and eight pairs of cervical cancer samples and the adjacent normal specimens, using real-time PCR and western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze ASF1B expression in paraffin-embedded tissues from 147 cervical cancer patients. The association between ASF1B expression levels, clinicopathological parameters, and prognosis was analyzed statistically. Moreover, the biological function and potential mechanism of ASF1B in migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells were investigated by in vitro experiments and Western blotting.Results: ASF1B mRNA and protein levels were overexpressed in cervical cancer cell lines and tissues compared with normal cells and adjacent normal cervical specimens. In paraffin-embedded cervical carcinoma tissues, upregulation of ASF1B protein was identified in 86 (58.5%) of 147 cases, and was remarkably associated with pelvic lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular space involvement, property of surgical margin, FIGO stage, sqaumous cell carcinoma antigen and poor survival. Cox analysis demonstrated that ASF1B expression was an independent risk predictor for survival in patients with cervical carcinoma. Additionally, down-regulation of ASF1B significantly inhibited invasion and migration of cervical cancer cells. Moreover, it was demonstrated that ASF1B regulated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in cervical carcinoma.Conclusions: This study suggested that ASF1B might serve as a important prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for patients with cervical carcinoma.
Neonatal Repair of Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection with Goldenhar Syndrome and Unilateral Lung Agenesis：A Case Report
Authors: Ito Takahiro , Hagino Ikuo , Aoki Mitsuru
Published: May 2021

Background: Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection with unilateral lung agenesis and Goldenhar syndrome is extremely rare and high mortality.Case presentation: We present a case of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection with unilateral lung agenesis and Goldenhar syndrome. It was diagnosed from Transthoracic echocardiography and enhanced Computed Tomography. Total absence of the lung, the bronchial tree, and vascular structures were detected on the right side, and the left pulmonary veins returned abnormally to the innominate vein. There was apparent indication of pulmonary venous obstruction, the operation was performed at 3 days after birth. The common pulmonary venous chamber with vertical vein and the left atrium was anastomosed using 7-0 PDS running sutures through a median sternotomy. Postoperative echocardiography and Computed Tomography 1 year after the surgery, between the common pulmonary venous chamber and the left atrium was no stenosis.Conclusion: A extremely rare case of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection with unilateral lung agenesis and Goldenhar syndrome successfully repaired at 3 day after birth was reported. Anastomosis between the common pulmonary venous chamber and the left atrium using the vertical vein is a reasonable choice in patient with small common pulmonary venous chamber.
Cys183, and Cys258 in Cry49Aa Toxin From Lysinibacillus Sphaericus Are Essential for Toxicity to Culex Quinquefasciatus Larvae
Authors: Guo Qingyun , Ding Lu , Gao Yuan , Niu Yingchao , Dai Xiaohua
Published: May 2021

The two-component Cry48Aa/Cry49Aa toxin produced by Lysinibacillus sphaericus shows specifically toxic to Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae. Cry49Aa C-terminal domain is responsible for specific binding to the larval gut cell membrane, while its N-terminal domain is required for interaction with Cry48Aa. To investigate functional role of cysteine in Cry49Aa, four cysteine residues at positions 70, 91, 183, and 258 were substituted by alanine. All mutants showed similar crystalline morphology and comparable yield to that of the wild type except that the yield of the C91A mutant was low. These cysteine residues did not involve in disulfide bond formation within or between Cry49Aa molecules. Cys91, Cys183 and Cys258 are essential for toxicity against C. quinquefasciatus larvae, while Cys70 is not. Substitution at C91, C183 and C258 caused weak Cry48Aa- Cry49Aa interaction, while mutations at C183 and C258 reduced the binding capacities to the larval gut cell membrane. Thus, Cysteine residues at position 91, 183 and 258 in Cry49Aa are required for full toxicity of Cry48Aa/Cry49Aa toxin.
Effect of Combined Treatment With Fallopia Japonica and Prunella Vulgaris Extract on Myopia Progress
Authors: Lin Chia-Hung , Chen Chih-Sheng , Wang Yao-Chien , Lin En-Shyh , Chang Ching-Yao , Chen Jamie Jinn-Yi , Wu Ming-Yen , Lin Hui-Ju , Wan Lei
Published: May 2021

BackgroundThe increased global incidence of myopia requires the establishment of therapeutic approaches. Previous studies have suggested that inflammation plays an important role in the development and progression of myopia. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Fallopia Japonica (FJ) and Prunella Vulgaris (PV) extract on myopia caused by monocular form deprivation (MFD) and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. MethodsWe used human retinal pigment epithelial cell to study the molecular mechanisms on how FJE and PVE lowering the inflammation of the eye. The effect of FJE and PVE in MFD induced hamster model and explore the role of inflammation cytokines in myopia.ResultsMyopia progression was enhanced upon tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α or interleukin (IL)-6 administration. Expression levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were upregulated in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells treated with IL-6 and TNF-α. FJ extract (FJE) + PV extract (PVE) reduced IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α expression in RPE cells. Furthermore, FJE and PVE inhibited inflammation by attenuating the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (AKT), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B (NF-κB) pathway. In addition, we report two resveratrol + ursolic acid compounds from FJ and PV and their inhibitory activities against IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α expression levels in RPE cells treated with IL-6 and TNF-α. FJE, PVE, and FJE + PVE were applied to MFD hamsters and their axial length was measured after 21 days. The axial length showed statistically significant differences between phosphate-buffered saline- and FJE-, PVE-, and FJE + PVE-treated MFD eyes. FJE + PVE suppressed expressions of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α. They also inhibited myopia-related transforming growth factor-beta (TGF)-β1, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and NF-κB expression while increasing type Ⅰ collagen expression. ConclusionOverall, these results suggest that FJE + PVE may have a therapeutic effect on myopia and be used as a potential treatment option.
Water-Soluble Total Flavonoids Isolated from Isodon Lophanthoides Var.Gerardianus (Benth.) H.Hara Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Sensitivity to 5-Fluorouracil
Authors: Feng chuan-ping , Xia Ding hai , Liu ying-xin , Di Qing-feng , Liu Yan , Liang Jian , Liu Guang-xi
Published: May 2021

Background: Isodon lophanthoides var. gerardianus (Benth.) H. Hara is an autochthonous plant produced chiefly in South China, and as one of mainstream varieties of Xihuangcao, which has been applied for prevention and treatment of common diseases of liver and gall for several hundred years. The water-soluble total flavonoids (WSTF) from the folk herbal medicine has many pharmacological effects. This study investigate whether WSTF has a synergistic effect of combination treatment with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on HCC.Methods: Cells were treated with WSTF alone or combination treatment with 5-FU and we implied cell viability, colony formation assay and cell cycle, reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptosis analysis and western blot, immunohistochemistry and xenograft tumorigenicity assay for investigating the roles of WSTF on HCC in vitro and in vivo.Results: WSTF caused G0/G1-phase arrest, and increased ROS levels. The generation of ROS levels could cause cell apoptosis and inhibite colony formation. WSTF decreased the expression of bcl-2, but promoted the expression of bax. These showed that WSTF-mediated apoptosis is associated with mitochondria-dependent. WSTF combined with 5-Fu has a synergistic effect to significantly suppress tumorigenicity both in vitro and in vivo. Reduction of ROS changed the synergistic effect of WSTF and 5-FUConclusions: WSTF inhibits the growth of HCC and enhances chemosensitivity to 5-FU in HCC. WSTF combined with 5-FU in HCC can play synergistic effect when applied in the clinical setting.
Effects of Parity Order on Performance, Metabolic, and Hormonal Parameters of Grazing Beef Cows During Pre-calving and Lactation Periods
Authors: Ferreira Matheus Fellipe de Lana , Rennó Luciana Navajas , Rodriquez Isabela Iria , Detmann Edenio , Paulino Mário Fonseca , Filho Sebastião de Campos Valadares , Martins Hudson Caio , Moreira Samira Silveira , Lana Daniela Silveria
Published: May 2021

Background: Metabolic profile evaluation is a tool widely used in ruminant nutrition as metabolic cues that relate nutrition to physiology. Metabolic and hormonal traits change during pre-partum and lactation according to parity in dairy cows, but studies of beef cows under grazing are scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate how metabolic and hormonal traits change over time, their relationship to performance, and determine if these factors differ according to the parity order of grazing beef cows. Thirty-six pregnant Nellore cows (12 nulliparous, 12 primiparous, and 12 multiparous) were used. The study started at 60 d prepartum until 203 d of lactation.Results: The initial body weight (BW) and final BW were higher for multiparous cows (P > 0.05). An interaction occurred between parity and day (P <.0001) for body condition score (BCS). Nulliparous and primiparous BCS were reduced from -60 prepartum to 30 postpartum, then stabilized 60 postpartum (P < 0.05), while multiparous maintained BCS from -60 days until 60 days postpartum (P > 0.05). Calf BW, final BW, and ADG did not differ between parities (P > 0.05). Effect of day (P < 0.05) was detected for NEFA, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, progesterone, and insulin. An interaction was observed between parity and days for glucose, βHB, creatinine and IGF-1 (P < 0.05). Parity affected SUN, total proteins, albumin, and globulins (P < 0.05). Parity and day relative to calving did not impact total T3 and T4 (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Hormonal and metabolic profile is strongly influenced by the stage of lactation. Time effects (pre-partum and lactation period) were more pronounced in nulliparous since they displayed more unbalanced metabolic and hormonal traits and lowered BCS pre- and postpartum.
Long-Lasting ZnO-P2O5-SiO2:Mn2+ Glass for Optical Information Storage
Authors: Zheng Tao , Xu Haoran , Wang Xiangfu , Yan Xiaohong
Published: May 2021

The optical information storage ZnO-P2O5-SiO2:Mn2+ glass was prepared by the melting method. The photoluminescence (PL), long persistence luminescence (LPL) and photo-stimulated luminescence (PSL) show the same luminescence spectra with main peaks located at 607 nm. The research shows that the color of luminescence depends on the coordination environment of Mn2+ in the crystal lattice and the red luminescence depends on the 4T1(4G)→6A1g(6S) electronic transition of Mn2+. PSL and LPL phenomenon can’t be observed in 70ZnO-10P2O5-20SiO2 glass, which indicates that Mn2+ ions serve as glowing centers in PSL and LPL phenomenon. Thermo-luminescence (TL) shows that the depth of the traps in glass is as high as 0.908eV. The 254 nm ultraviolet light was used to record information in the glass and read it under 980 nm infrared light excitation. The ZnO-P2O5-SiO2:Mn2+ glass in this work is a high-security level optical information storage medium.
Deterring Non-Target Birds From Toxic Bait Sites for Wild Pigs
Authors: Snow Nathan P. , Halseth Joseph M. , Foster Justin A. , Lavelle Michael J. , Fischer Justin W. , Glow Michael P. , Messer Ingrid A. , Cook Seth M. , VerCauteren Kurt C.
Published: May 2021

Toxic baiting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is a potential new tool for population control and damage reduction in the US. Field trials testing a prototype toxic bait (HOGGONE® 2 containing 5% sodium nitrite [SN]), though, revealed that wild pigs spilled small particles of toxic bait outside of bait stations which subsequently created hazards for non-target species that consumed those particles, primarily passerine birds. To deter non-target birds from consuming particles of spilled bait, we tested four deterrents at mock bait sites (i.e., baited with bird seed) in north-central CO, USA during April–May 2020. We found a programable, inflatable deterrent device (scare dancer) reduced bird visitation by an average of 96%. Then, we evaluated the deterrent devices at SN-toxic bait sites in north-central TX, USA during July 2020, where the devices were activated the morning following deployment of SN-toxic bait. Overall, we found 139 dead wild pigs at 10 bait sites following one night of toxic baiting, which represented an average of 91% reduction in wild pigs visiting bait sites. We found that deterrent devices were 100% effective at deterring birds from toxic bait sites. We found two dead non-target mice at bait sites without deterrent devices. We noted that deploying toxic bait in mid-summer rather than late-winter/early-spring reduced hazards to migrating birds because they were not present in our study area during July. We recommend using deterrent devices (i.e., novel, programmable, battery operated, continuous and erratic movement, and snapping sounds) to reduce hazards to non-target birds at SN-toxic bait sites. We further recommend deploying SN-toxic bait during seasons when migrating birds are not as abundant until further research demonstrates minimal risks to migrating birds.
Response and Oil Degradation Activities of a Northeast Atlantic Bacterial Community to Biogenic and Synthetic Surfactants
Authors: Nikolova Christina , Ijaz Umer Zeeshan , Magill Clayton , Kleindienst Sara , Joye Samantha B. , Gutierrez Tony
Published: May 2021

Background: Biosurfactants, however, are naturally derived products that play a similar role to synthetic dispersants in oil spill response but are easily biodegradable and less toxic. Using a combination of analytical chemistry, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and simulation-based approaches, this study investigated the microbial community dynamics, ecological drivers, functional diversity and robustness, and oil biodegradation potential of a northeast Atlantic marine microbial community to crude oil when exposed to rhamnolipid or synthetic dispersant Finasol OSR52. Results: Psychrophilic Colwellia and Oleispira dominated the community in both the rhamnolipid and Finasol OSR52 treatments initially but later community structure across treatments diverged significantly: Rhodobacteraceae and Vibrio dominated the Finasol-amended treatment, whereas Colwellia, Oleispira, and later Cycloclasticus and Alcanivorax, dominated the rhamnolipid-amended treatment. The key aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria like Cycloclasticus was not observed in the Finasol treatment but it was abundant in the oil-only and rhamnolipid-amended treatments. Overall, Finasol had a significant negative impact on the community diversity, weakened the taxa-functional robustness of the community, and caused a stronger environmental filtering, more so than oil-only and rhamnolipid-amended oil treatments. Rhamnolipid-amended and oil-only treatments had the highest functional diversity, however, the overall oil biodegradation was greater in the Finasol treatment, but aromatic biodegradation was highest in the rhamnolipid treatment. Conclusion: Overall, the natural marine microbial community in the northeast Atlantic responded differently to crude oil dispersed with either synthetic or biogenic surfactants over time, but oil degradation was more enhanced by the synthetic dispersant. Collectively, our results advance the understanding of how rhamnolipid biosurfactants and synthetic dispersant Finasol affect the natural marine microbial community in the FSC, supporting their potential application in oil spills.
The Value of MRI in Diagnosing and Classifying Acute Traumatic Multiple Ligament Knee Injuries
Authors: Li Xusheng , Hou Qian , Zhan Xuehua , Chang Long , Ma Xiaobing , Yuan Haifeng
Published: May 2021

Background Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely used examination for knee injuries, however, the accuracy of MRI in classifying multiple ligament knee injuries (MLKIs) has not been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of MRI in diagnosing and classifying acute traumatic MLKIs.Methods The clinical data of 97 patients who were diagnosed with acute traumatic MLKIs and managed by multi-ligament reconstruction were retrospectively reviewed. Intraoperative findings were considered as the standard pattern of injured structures. The value of MRI in detecting injuries of ligaments and meniscus was evaluated by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and kappa coefficients analysis. The value of MRI in classifying MLKIs was evaluated by calculating the agreement between MRI and intraoperative findings.Results For detecting the specific injured structures in MLKIs, MRI had high sensitivity and moderate specificity in detecting cruciate ligament injuries, moderate sensitivity and specificity in detecting collateral ligament injuries, fair sensitivity and low specificity in the diagnosis of injuries to the meniscus. For classifying the MIKIs, MRI had a moderate agreement with intraoperative findings in classifying KD-Ⅴ (kappa value=0.57), poor agreement in the KD-Ⅰ (kappa value=0.39) and KD-ⅢM (kappa value=0.31), meaningless in the KD-Ⅱ and KD-ⅢL (kappa value <0). The overall agreement in classifying MLKIs was poor (kappa value =0.23). Conclusions MRI can be used for the early detection of MLKIs, however, the value of MRI in classifying MLKIs is limited, management of MLKIs should be based on intraoperative findings.
Carrot Yield and Shape Altered by Seeding Rate and Raised Beds in Clay-loam Soil
Authors: Rohwer Charlie L.
Published: May 2021

Carrots (Daucus carota L. var sativus) in the midwestern United States are generally raised commercially on sandy-loam or muck soils. Some smaller growers may not have the luxury of an ideal soil type, so raised beds are often recommended to improve taproot growth. To determine specific yield and shape responses of carrots to raised-bed culture in heavy soil, three hybrids (‘Cupar’, ‘Envy’, and ‘Naval’) were grown in 2019 and 2020 on raised or flat beds in clay-loam soil. In addition, two seeding rates (high or low) were incorporated into the split-split plot design. ‘Cupar’ was larger and less misshapen than the other hybrids, but total marketable yields were similar among all three. ‘Naval’ was the most cylindrical. High seeding rate generally resulted in more numerous but smaller marketable roots and no change in total marketable weight. Raised beds caused a 10.6% increase in total marketable weight by allowing more marketable roots classified as “short” (between 76 and 127 mm long, diameter >25 mm) to grow to lengths more than 127 mm long. The average taproot cylindricity was increased and diameter decreased by growing on raised beds. Soil penetration resistance at 7.6 cm was correlated with many of the measured responses.
Similarity between the kinematic viscosity of quark-gluon plasma and liquids at the viscosity minimum
Authors: Trachenko Kostya , Brazhkin Vadim , Baggioli matteo
Published: May 2021

Recently, it has been found that the kinematic viscosity of liquids
at the minimum, \nu_mνm,
can be expressed in terms of fundamental physical constants, giving
\nu_mνm
on the order of 10^{-7}~{m^2/s}10−7m2/s.
Here, we show that the kinematic viscosity of quark-gluon plasma (QGP)
has a similar value and support this finding by experimental data and
theoretical estimations. The similarity is striking, given that the
dynamic viscosity and the density of QGP are about 16 orders of
magnitude larger than in liquids and that the two systems have disparate
interactions and fundamental theories. We discuss the implications of
this result for understanding the QGP including the similarity of flow
and particle dynamics at the viscosity minimum, the associated dynamical
crossover and universality of shear diffusivity.