bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Willingness of Households to Pay Community Based Health Insurance and its Associated Factors in Mecha District, Northwest Ethiopia: Community based Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Demeke Getaneh Bizuayehu
Published: February 2021

Background

Community-based health insurance schemes helps to give financial protection and decrease direct out- of-pocket payment for health care based on the assumption of risk-pooling and community solidarity to risks of falling sick. Ethiopia is a low income country with more of health spending out of pocket payment by households. Community based health insurance was introduced in Ethiopia in 2010.It covers only the rural community and informal sector.
Objectives

this study aimed to assess willingness of households to pay community based health insurance and its associated factors in Mecha district, Northwest, Ethiopia.
Methods

Community based cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from 285 household heads using multistage sampling techniques in Mecha district Northwest Ethiopia. The data were collected by using trained data collectors and using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. A binary logistic regression model was used to determine the presence of statistically significant associations between the dependent and independent variables at p-value < 0.05 and AOR values with 95% CI.
Results

From the total of 296 sampled respondents, 285 participated in the study with the response rate of 96.3%. Of these, 251(88.1%) were willing to join voluntary as well as 34(11.9%) were join mandatory and 256(89.8%) of them were willing to pay community based health insurance services. The average amount of money the households were willing to pay per household per annum was 334.02 ETB found with the interval of (317.32–351.30) with the range between 240–1000 ETB.
Conclusions

The willingness of house hold heads to pay for the community-based health insurance was high. Residence, join CBHI, premium affordable, CBHI have an advantage and distance from households home to HF were more willing to pay CBHI schemes. The study indicated that high willing to pay and low CBHI package fulfil the needs of HH treatment as well as overall CBHI service level was poor. Therefore, Mecha district CBHI coordinating office should be scale up the community-based health insurance services in the scheme.
The relationship between demographic features, anthropometric parameters, sleep hours, and physical activity and ECG parameters in Fasa Persian cohort study
Authors: Mirahmadizadeh Alireza , Farjam Mojtaba , Sharafi Mehdi , Fatemian Hossein , Kazemi Maryam , Geraylow Kiarash Roustai , Dehghan Azizallah , Amiri Zahra , Afrashteh Sima
Published: February 2021

Backgrounds: Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are the first leading cause of death worldwide. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between demographics, anthropometrics, sleep time, and physical activity and ECG parameters in Fasa Persian cohort study. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the basic information of 10,000 participants aged 35-70 years in Fasa cohort study was used. The information used in this study included demographic data, main Electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters, anthropometric data, sleep time, and physical activity. Data analysis was performed using t-test, chi-square, and linear regression model. Results: The findings of this study suggested that increased age was significantly associated with all study parameters. Nevertheless, gender and body mass index showed no significant relationship with SV3 and PR. Wrist circumference، hip circumference, and waist circumference significantly increased the mean values of the ECG parameters. However, sleep time was not significantly associated with the ECG parameters. In addition, hypertension was a major comorbidity, which was shown to increase the mean values of the ECG parameters. Conclusion: A number of factors affected the ECG parameters. Thus, in order to interpret ECGs, in addition to age and gender, anthropometric indices, physical activity, and previous history of comorbidities, such as hypertension and ischemic heart disease, should be taken into consideration.
WITHDRAWN: Development of ceramide and honey based biodegradable hydrogel dressing’s materials for the application to burn skin
Authors: Rana S. M. Masud , Ashrafuzzaman Md.
Published: February 2021

Ceramide is well known for its skin barrier function where hydrogel is an ideal one for wound healing, on the other hand honey is used for antibacterial activity and burn wound treatment from many years ago. So our aim to develop a ceramide loaded honey based hydrogel biomaterial for burn wound healing. The biomedical hydrogel biomaterial have been prepared by solution casting method. The developed Hydrogel membranes were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and UV- Vis Spectrophotometer. Besides that, swelling behavior in physiological solution, moisture retention capability, gel fraction, water vapor transmission rate (WVT), porosity and antimicrobial study were also evaluated. After all the hydrogel were evaluated for burn wound healing activity in mice model. Ceramide Hydrogel (C2) & Ceramide & Honey Hydrogel (CH) showed significant wound healing rate but only CH hydrogel showed significant antibacterial activity against Staphallycoccus aureus bacteria. Other physicochemical, swelling, WVT, porosity, gel fraction, weight loss, and FTIR, FESEM & UV study was very satisfactory and all experimented data strongly support the use of the hydrogel membrane as a burn wound healing.
Preparation of microcrystalline cellulose from Rabdosia rubescens and study on its membrane properties
Authors: Wei Tong , Li Meng , Shi Wenrui , Liang Zhengyong
Published: February 2021

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from Rabdosia rubescens was prepared by acid hydrolysis, and the corresponding yield of MCC was about 94% when the hydrochloric acid concentration was 10%, the acid hydrolysis time was 70min and the acid hydrolysis temperature was 70℃. The MCC was dissolved in N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide(NMMO)by phase transformation method to prepare MCC membrane. The structure and mechanical properties of MCC membrane were studied systemically. The results showed that the cellulose structure changed from type I to type II in the process of membrane formation, and the thermal stability also decreased. The content of MCC in the casting solution has a great influence on the mechanical properties of the membranes. The higher the content of MCC, the better the comprehensive mechanical properties of the membranes. When the MCC content is 9%, the tensile strength is 8.38 MPa and the elongation at break is 26.72%. Finally, the separation properties of membrane studed by separation bovine serum albumin (BSA) from water. The results showed that the rejection rate and water flux changed positively and negatively with the change of MCC content. When the content was 5%, MCC membrane showed the best comprehensive performance, its rejection of BSA was 37.23 g/(m2·h), and the corresponding rejection rate and water flux were 88.87% and 41.89 L/(m2·h) respectively.
Disparate Genetic Variants Associated With Distinct Components of Cowpea Resistance to the Seed Beetle Callosobruchus Maculatus
Authors: Messina Frank J , Lish Alexandra M , Gompert Zachariah
Published: February 2021

Cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata ) is an important grain and fodder crop in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa, Asia, and South America, where the cowpea seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus , is a serious post-harvest pest. Development of cultivars resistant to C. maculatus population growth in storage could increase grain yield and quality and reduce reliance on insecticides. Here, we use a MAGIC (multi-parent, advanced-generation intercross) population of cowpea consisting of 305 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) to identify genetic variants associated with resistance to seed beetles. Because inferences regarding the genetic basis of resistance may depend on the source of the pest or the assay protocol, we used two divergent geographic populations of C. maculatus and two complementary assays to measure several aspects of resistance. Using polygenic genome-wide association mapping models, we found that the cowpea RILs harbor substantial additive-genetic variation for most resistance measures. Variation in several components of resistance, including larval development time and survival, was largely explained by one or several linked loci on chromosome 5. A second region on chromosome 8 explained increased seed resistance via the induction of early-exiting larvae. Neither of these regions contained genes previously associated with resistance to insects that infest grain legumes. We found some evidence of gene-gene interactions affecting resistance, but epistasis did not contribute substantially to resistance variation in this mapping population. The combination of mostly high heritabilities and a relatively consistent and simple genetic architecture increases the feasibility of breeding for enhanced resistance to C. maculatus.
Simultaneous in Situ Detection of Protein Expression of Multiple Tumor Markers of CTC and Heteroploid of Chromosome 8 in Primary Lung Cancer
Authors: Yao Hanqing , Wang Zhengdong , Yang Junjun , Xu Xingxiang , Song Yong
Published: February 2021

Background

Past studies have shown that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play an important role in the clinical staging, efficacy monitoring and prognosis evaluation of lung cancer.
Methods

In this study we investigated the expression of CK18 and Vimentin on the surface of CTC and the aneuploidy of chromosome 8 in peripheral blood of 24 patients with metastatic primary lung cancer which were detected by subtraction enrichment and immunofluorescence in situ hybridization (SE-iFISH), and their correlation with clinicopathological features, curative effect and prognosis was analyzed.
Results

The positive rate of CTC was 95.83% (23/24). There was a certain correlation between the positive rate of CTC and smoking and a correlation between the number of CTC and the histopathological type of patients. The number of monoploid, diploid, triploid and polyploid CTC had no statistical correlation with progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS). However, a tetraploid CTC count of two or more was an unfavorable predictor of response and a tetraploid CTC count ≥ 1 is an unfavorable prognostic predictor of poor OS. The positive rate of CK18 + CTC in all 24 patients was 4.35% (1/23). Meanwhile, 7 out of these 24 patients were also tested for Vimentin, and the positive rate of Vimentin + CTC was 85.71% (6/7). Small-cell (≤ 5µm) CTC was found in 6 of these 7 patients and it accounted for 11.83% (11/93) of the total CTC. The tumor marker phenotype of small-cell CTC was CK18 - Vimentin +. In addition, circulating tumor microthrombi (CTM) were found in 2 of these 7 patients (28.57%).
Conclusion

SE-iFISH has a high detection rate of CTC in peripheral blood of patients with metastatic primary lung cancer, and it can identify small-cell CTC. Tetraploid CTC count ≥ 2 can predict poor PFS in patients with advanced lung cancer. Tetraploid CTC count ≥ 1 may predict poor OS in patients with advanced lung cancer. CTM can predict poor prognosis in patients with lung cancer.
The Inherent Relationship between Carbon Nanodots and Carbon Source in the Determination of Metal Ions
Authors: Chen Manling , Liu Xue
Published: February 2021

Carbon nanodots (CDs) have exhibited excellent sensing capability for various metal ions. However, it is difficult to determine the selectivity of CDs to metal ions. In this work, we chose appropriate carbon source to design CD sensors against Cu(II) and Ag(I). Glycine, histidine and leucine have been confirmed to form complexes with Cu(II) and Ag(I), and were applied to prepare CDs using microwave heating method. The as-prepared CDs inherited the specific ion-binding capability from their carbon source and could response to both Cu(II) and Ag(I). The response sensitivity corresponded to the binding energy between the carbon source and metal ions. These experimental results are very important for the further design of CD sensors for a large variety of analytes.
The Curative Effect of Zingiber Officinale and Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Extracts on Experimental Trichinella Spiralis Infection
Authors: Salama Marwa Ahmed Mohamed , Mostafa Nahed Elsayed , El-Aal Naglaa Fathy Abd , Moawad Howayda S. F. , Hammad Samar Kamel , Adel Rasha , Mostafa Eman Mostafa Abd El Rahman
Published: February 2021

Trichinellosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease that has become a public health concern since its reported human outbreaks in many countries. The traditional therapy has many adverse effects in addition to the developing resistance. So, this necessitates finding effective natural alternatives. The current study targeted to assess the potential therapeutic effects of Zingiber officinale and Cinnamomum zeylanicum in comparison to albendazole, a conventional therapy for treatment of trichinosis. Sixty mice were classified into five groups (12 mice each), non-infected control, infected control, combined albendazole and prednisolone, Zingiber officinale, and Cinnamomum zeylanicum treated groups. Mice sacrifice was performed on the 7th and 35th days post infection for intestinal and muscular phases respectively. Efficiency of the used preparations was assessed by parasitological, histopathological, immunohistochemical, biochemical studies in addition to ultrastructural evaluation using transmission electron microscopy. A significant reduction in the mean number of T. spiralis adults and larvae was observed in Zingiber officinale and Cinnamomum zeylanicum treated groups, (64.5%, 50.8%) and (68%, 54.6%) respectively. Also, both extracts showed moderate cytoplasmic reactivity for TGF-β1, (69.3% & 67.8%) respectively. The highest reduction in serum TNF- α level was observed in Zingiber officinale treated group during the muscle phase (58.4%) while in the intestinal phase was 50%. The ultrastructural study revealed degenerative effects on both adults and larvae in addition to obvious improvement of the histopathological changes in the small intestine and muscles. We concluded that these herbal extracts especially Zingiber officinale can be considered a practical and successful alternative for the treatment of trichinellosis.
Influence of Water Supply Conditions and Water Storage Containers on Aedes Mosquito Abundance in Makassar City, Indonesia
Authors: Ane Ruslan La , Herbuela Von Ralph Dane M. , Wahid Isra , Susilawaty Andi , Ishak Hasanuddin , Ibrahim Erniwati , Chiu Ming-Chih , Watanabe Kozo
Published: February 2021

Background: High water demand accompanied with an unreliable piped water supply has forced urban residents to store water in containers. This situation potentially increases the number of breeding sites for mosquito vectors, such as Aedes. Method: This study aimed to test the hypothesis if piped water connection availability, tap water use, and highly stable tap water supply can help minimize the use of water storage containers as well as the presence of larvae and number of adult Aedes mosquitoes. We conducted a community-based entomological survey of 343 households from 36 neighborhoods or Rukun Tetangga in Makassar City, Indonesia. Our model based on the hypothesis was tested by piecewise structural equation modeling analysis. Results: A significant negative correlation was found between the stability of tap water supply and the number of water storage containers (−0.16, P < 0.05). Of the two categories of water storage containers, the unintentional water storage containers demonstrated a significantly (P < 0.001) higher effect on larval prevalence than the intentional one. Further, both container categories have significant indirect effects on the number of adult mosquitoes mediated by larval presence. Conclusion: Improving water supply condition, particularly by assuring a stable tap water supply, could minimize the use of intentional water storage containers. Furthermore, a regular community-wide health education program that targets the elimination of unintentional water storage containers, which can be breeding grounds for Aedes larvae mosquitoes, is necessary.
Application of 2D Hydrodynamic Model for the Assessment of the Influencing Factor in Xiangxi Bay of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China
Authors: DUTTA RANOJIT KUMAR , DAS BAISHAKHI
Published: February 2021

A two-dimensional (2D), laterally averaged, hydrodynamic and water quality model, CE-QUAL-W2, was used to simulate the hydrodynamics and water temperatures of Xiangxi Bay (XXB) of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). Algal blooms occurred seasonally in XXB which is influenced by density currents. The CE-QUAL-W2 model was calibrated using data collected in XXB from January to December 2010. The model was then used to examine the environmental factors that affect the density currents. The model predicted density currents such as overflows, interflows and underflows of the XXB. The results suggest that more than 25%, 58.33% and 16.67% of the density currents that occurred in the XXB were overflow, interflow and underflow, respectively. Field observations were conducted including travel distance and thickness of intrusion layer for 24 days in 2010. The average travel distance of overflow, interflow and underflow in XXB was 15.50 km, 8.78 km, and 9 km based on observations and 16 km, 9.40 km, 9.60 km based on the model results. Therefore, numerical simulations of density currents can be predicted to better understand the hydrodynamics and aquatic ecosystems in XXB of TGR.
A Behavioural Explanation of Smallholder Entrepreneurship with Empirical Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Authors: Zaca Fortunate Nosisa , Wale Edilegnaw , Chipfupa Unity
Published: February 2021

This study aimed to investigate the impact of social grant dependence on on-farm entrepreneurial spirit of smallholders. A sample of 175 farmers was obtained from two communities in KwaZulu-Natal. The study employed Principal Components Analysis and Tobit regression. The entrepreneurial spirit indices were constructed from revealed preference-based questions. The study found a positive relationship between the social grant and on-farm entrepreneurial spirit. The positive impact on rural household farming activities implies that the prevailing low entrepreneurial levels among farmers are not the result of social grant dependence but lack of opportunity and other resource constraints. However, to remain effective, policy should ensure that the grant money benefits (directly/indirectly) the intended beneficiary and their households. The other factors found to be associated with on-farm entrepreneurship include age of the farmer, gender, psychological capital, access to training, access to education, access to land, inadequate farming assets, water insecurity, extension, off-farm income and group membership. The study also recommends the need for strategies that improve psychological capital and thus enhance positive on-farm entrepreneurial behaviour among smallholder farmers. Addressing institutional and farming constraints related to access to resources and services (land, credit, extension, and water) and collective action will positively contribute to on-farm entrepreneurship.
Analysis of the Deformation Characteristics of the Surrounding Rock Mass a Deep Tunnel during Excavation through a Fracture Zone
Authors: Huang Junhong , Zhang Guang , Luo Yi , Hu Shaohua , Gong Hangli , Li Xinping , Liu Xin
Published: February 2021

Aiming at geological disasters triggered by fracture zones in surrounding rocks during the excavation of deep railway tunnels, the research investigated deformation and failure of surrounding rocks triggered by sudden changes of rock quality encountered in a tunnel excavation project. The research started from analysis of a field case: the Daliang Tunnel on the Gansu–Qinghai section of the Lanzhou-Urumuqi second double-track railway in China. The deformation profiles of surrounding rocks at different distances from the fracture zone was evaluated. The deformation of surrounding rocks in and around the fracture zone was studied by combining in-situ measurement, theoretical research, and numerical simulation. In addition, relationships of deformation of surrounding rocks in the section of the fracture zone with the materials and length of advanced support as well as the excavation footage behind the fracture zone were discussed. Analysis of the results showed that there is an inflection point on the deformation curves of surrounding rocks far ahead of the fracture zone; however, it is difficult to observe the inflection point on deformation curves of surrounding rocks in engineering practice as the rocks there have undergone substantial deformation before being exposed. A combination of material properties and length of advanced support is conducive to controlling the deformation of surrounding rocks in the fracture zone. Taking a rate of deformation of surrounding rocks in the fracture zone as less than 0.1 mm/d as the stability criterion, the excavated length of that rock mass behind the zone at a footage of 1 m/d is about two thirds of that at 2 m/d and half of that at 3 m/d when the deformation stabilizes.
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test, mMRC and GAP score Can Predict 1-year Mortality in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Prospective Study
Authors: Cheng Yuan-Yang , Lin Shih-Yi , Chang Shin-Tsu , Lin Chu-Hsing , Fu Pin-Kuei
Published: February 2021

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare lung disease with high mortality. Finding an effective predictor of survival is therefore important for both clinicians and patients. In this prospective observational study, we evaluated the prognostic value of the parameters of cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), pulmonary function test (PFT), 6-min walk test (6MWT), and certain questionnaires on mortality in Asian patients with IPF. A total of 34 patients diagnosed with IPF were enrolled and followed up for 12 months, during which 6 patients died. The non-survivors had significantly higher minute ventilation to carbon dioxide output (VE/VCO2) slope, more oxygen desaturation during CPET and 6MWT, less heart rate recovery one minute after CPET, higher dead space, higher Gender-Age-Physiology (GAP) index and Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) score. GAP index, mMRC score, VE/VCO2 slope, and end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PETCO2) at maximal exercise demonstrated an area under curve (AUC) of >0.7, and the corresponding cutoff values were 4, 2, 35.1 and 3.6 kPa. Therefore, GAP index, mMRC scores, VE/VCO2 slope, and PETCO2 at maximal exercise could be important predictors for mortality in Asian patients with IPF.
Sequential development of embryoblast like memory entities in human malignant tumors, an evidence of cancer cell metamorphosis retrodifferentiation.
Authors: Diaz Jairo , Diaz Luis A , Murillo Mairicio , Poveda Laura , Mora Katherine , Suescun Oscar F , Cardenas Monica , Castro Laura , Sanchez Liliana
Published: February 2021

Every cancer cell can partially or completely return to an embryonic genotype-phenotype: We capture the cycle of the activation of an individual cellular memory, which allowed a group of squamous tumor cells with mutations caused by the Human Papilloma Virus to return collectively to an embryoblast- like entities. Somatic injured cells have the plasticity to transform their morphology into an embryonic phenotype by expression of dormant genes when they enter a state of cellular emergency.
Relationship of the Standard Uptake Value of 18F-FDG-PET-CT with Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes in Breast Tumors Measuring ≥1 cm
Authors: Park Soeun , Min Eun-ki , Bae Soong June , Cha Chihwan , Kim Dooreh , Lee Janghee , Cha Yoon Jin , Ahn Sung Gwe , Jeong Joon
Published: February 2021

Evidence suggests that tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) compete for glucose in the tumor microenvironment and that tumor metabolic parameters correlate with localized immune markers in several solid tumors. We investigated the relationship of the standardized uptake value (SUV) of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET-CT) with stromal TIL levels in breast cancer. We included 202 patients who underwent preoperative 18F-FDG-PET-CT and had a tumor measuring ≥ 1 cm. Maximum SUV (SUVmax) was determined using 18F-FDG-PET-CT. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors related to high TIL levels (≥ 40%). All tumors were treatment naïve. A significant and weak correlation existed between continuous SUVmax and continuous TIL levels (p = 0.002, R = 0.215). Tumors with high SUVmax (≥ 4) had higher mean TIL levels than those with low SUVmax (< 4). In multivariable analysis, continuous SUVmax was an independent factor associated with high TIL levels; each 1-unit increment in SUVmax corresponded to an odds ratio of 1.14 (95% confidence interval: 1.01–1.29) for high TIL levels. Our study imply that SUV is associated with TILs in breast cancer and provides clinical evidence that elevated glucose uptake by breast tumors can predict the immune system-activated tumor micromilieu.
Clinical Teachers' Perceptions of Role Modeling: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Mohammadi Elaheh , Mirzazadeh Azim , Shahsavari Hooman , Sohrabpour Amir Ali
Published: February 2021

Background: Role modeling has been significantly considered in medical education in recent decades. In the clinical course, students learn necessary skills and accordingly their professional identity is formed by observing and working among clinical educators. Given the importance of the role modeling in medical education, in the present study, it was attempted to explore the clinical teachers' perceptions of being a role model for medical students using a qualitative method. Methods: A qualitative design, based on the content analysis approach, was used to analyze the perspectives of 15 clinical teachers. Participants were chosen by purposeful sampling. Data were collected using reflection paper writing. Results: During the data analysis, five main themes emerged: influencing others, developing different dimensions of student, situational self-awareness, feedback and continuous effort.Conclusions: This study will be useful to form role modeling educational programs. Encouraging clinical teachers to make continuous efforts to improve role modeling and educating time management and self-control skills can help reduce the challenges of role modeling for clinical teachers.
Research on The Evolution Law of Spatial Structure of Overlying Strata and Evaluation of Rock Burst Risks in Deep Well Strip Mining
Authors: Wen Jinglin , Yu Zhengxing , Ma Haitao , Wei Quande
Published: February 2021

Strip mining in mines is one of the main mining methods to control surface subsidence and protect the ecological environment. In recent years, strip mining has induced frequent rock burst accidents due to the increase in mining intensity and mining depth. Based on two typical deep strip mining accidents, the characteristics of the changes in spatial structure of the overlying strata caused by strip mining are studied, and the influencing factors of the occurrence of strip mining rock burst are analyzed. A support pressure calculation model is proposed, and estimated and verified in a mine after an analysis of the change law of the overlying strata structure in strip mining and research on the distribution and evolution law of support pressure. Based the above research, a risk evaluation model of the strip mining face is proposed based on the possibility index method, the 4203 working face of a mine is evaluated. Compared with the numerical simulation results, this method is well consistent with the theoretical calculation model. It can be seen that this method has strong practicability and is of great significance for studying the rock burst characteristics of coal seams in strip mining and evaluating the risk of rock burst of coal seams.
The Beneficial Effect of Low-Dose Aspirin on the Survival of Pathological Advanced-Stage Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients
Authors: Luo Sheng-Dean , Wu Shao-Chun , Chen Wei-Chih , Wu Ching-Nung , Chiu Tai-Jan , Yang Yao-Hsu , Li Shau-Hsuan , Fang Fu-Min , Huang Tai-Lin , Hsiao Chang-Chun , Chen Chang-Han
Published: February 2021

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains one of the most challenging clinical problems in the field due to its high rate of locoregional and distant metastases. However, studies that assess the association between aspirin use and survival in patients with OSCC are limited. Moreover, patients that recruited from those studies might have tumors that arose from different anatomic regions of the head and neck, including the oral cavity, oropharynx, etc. Since tumors within these distinct anatomic regions are unique in the context of epidemiology and tumor progression, we sought to evaluate the association of aspirin use with squamous cell carcinomas located within the oral cavity only. In this 10-year cohort study, we evaluated aspirin use and survival rates in relation to clinical characteristics as well as duration of aspirin use in patients with OSCC. Our findings suggest that OSCC patients with aspirin use for more than 180 days showed improved overall and disease-specific survival rates. Aspirin also improves survival in patients across various stages of OSCC. Cox regression models indicated that aspirin use was associated with a good prognosis. In conclusion, this evidence indicates that aspirin may be potentially used as an adjuvant therapy for OSCC.
The Analysis of the Effect of Covid 19 on Macroeconomic Indicators via MDS and Clustering Methods
Authors: koc pinar , KUTLAR Aziz , GÜLMEZ Ahmet , ÖNCEL Abidin
Published: February 2021

BackgroundCovid 19, which emerged in China in December 2019 and affected the whole world in a short period, caused serious contractions in the world economy. Analyzing these effects is important in terms of reducing economic losses and measuring the effectiveness of the measures taken.MethodsThe aim of this study, covering the period 2019: q1- 2020q3 is to is to analyze the volatility in macroeconomic indicators caused by the pandemic process, taking into account the % changes in macroeconomic indicators and whether OECD countries show similar tendencies in terms of volatilities during the pandemic process. The period 2019: q1-2019: q3 represents the pre-pandemic period, while the period 2019: q4-2020: q3 represents the pandemic process. By using cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling analysis, countries that have similar characteristics in terms of the change in macroeconomic indicators for each period were grouped, and it was investigated whether this grouping changed during the pandemic process. Clustering and multidimensional scaling analysis are the most appropriate methods for the purpose of the study. Exports, imports, inflation, unemployment, private consumption and economic growth are macroeconomic indicators used in the model. ResultsAccording to the results of the analysis, although most OECD countries showed similar characteristics in terms of economic impact before the pandemic, countries such as Turkey, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand and Mexico differ significantly from other countries in terms of economic impact during the pandemic process. The separation in question continues throughout the period discussed for Turkey. In addition, it was concluded that Spain, Britain, Mexico and Colombia suffered the most economic losses due to COVID-19 in the second quarter of 2020, when the pandemic was felt the most. Conclusion﻿The economic variable that has seen the most contraction is the volume of foreign trade. Unemployment rates have increased more slowly in countries where employment is sought to protect with employment packages, while unemployment rates have increased more in other countries. The contraction in the volume of production and consumption also negatively affected economic growth. Differences in economic impact have diversified the cluster between countries.
Influence of Strong and Weak Alkaline Medium on Microstructural and Morphological Investigation of Surfactant Based Synthesis of CdO Nanorods
Authors: Thangaraj Prakash , Murugesan D. , Ramakrishnan K.
Published: February 2021

A noval microwave irradiated wet chemical method was adopted to prepare cadmium oxide nanostructures by using sodium dodecyl benzenesulphonate (SDBS) as surfactant in presence of strong and weak 0.1M alkaline medium (NaOH and NH4OH). The X-ray diffraction measurement shows that the particle is crystallized in the cubic phase, average grain size of the samples are found to be in the range 54 nm for NH4OH reagant and 60 nm for NaOH reagent. The XRD pattern value based lattice constant, dislocation density, X-ray density, specific surface area, microstrain–Williamson Hall and texture coefficient have been calculated. The surface functionality of the samples were analysed by using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The ultra visble transmittance and K-M plot analysed from the diffuse reflection spectra and photoluminescence spectra also been calculated. The morphological changes of cadmium oxide nanostructures with strong and weak 0.1M alkaline medium are clearly recored through transmission electron miscroscopy. The reaction mechanism confirms that the experiment carried out in presence of 0.1M NaOH shows rod shaped nanostructures through four step mechanism such as hydaration, intermediate formation, metal hydroxide formation and the formation of metal oxide.
Added Cutting Teeth to Promote Surface Crack Incisions for Cutting Sandstone
Authors: LIU JIE , Jiang Gangyuan , Liu Taoying , Liang Qiao
Published: February 2021

To promote surface crack incisions between indentations, we first prefabricated CCS (constant cross section) indenters and modified indenters by adding cutting teeth on the CCS indenters. The subsequent indentation tests, using the modified indenters and the CCS indenters, indicate that the modified indenters can effectively promote surface crack incisions, initiating from the contact points between the cutting teeth and the rock. In addition, the promoted surface crack incisions form more thick chips between indentations, whereas the consumed indentation energy of the modified indenters is close to that of the CCS indenter. Thus, the modified indenter can effectively promote indentation efficiency.
NiO Nanoparticles: A Highly Efficient Catalyst For One-Pot Three-Component Synthesis of Pyrano[2, 3-d]Pyrimidine Derivatives in Green Media
Authors: Sabbaghnasab Elahe , Sheikhhosseini Enayatollah
Published: February 2021

In this paper NiO nanoparticles are utilized for effective strengthening of annulated pyrano [2, 3- d] pyrimidine synthesis through primary Knoevenagel, the following Micheal and ultimate heterocyclization reactions of aldehyde, malononitrile and barbituric acid. The NiO nanoparticles characteristics are identified through using advanced techniques like IR, UV, EDX, XRD, SEM and TEM. The nano-NiO particles are mostly of below < 100 nm sizes with uniform sphere shapes. The adopted approach is advantages due to its simple processing, relatively short reaction time, often good to high average yields, convenient workability, and environmental friendliness.
Quality Assessment of Clinical Trials Included in Cochrane Oral Health Systematic Reviews
Authors: Sofi-Mahmudi Ahmad , Iranparvar Pouria , Shakiba Maryam , Shamsoddin Erfan , Mohammad-Rahimi Hossein , Naseri Sadaf , Motie Parisa , Mesgarpour Bita
Published: February 2021

Background: Risk of Bias (RoB) and other characteristics of randomised clinical trials included in Cochrane oral health systematic reviews were assessed.Methods: All the trials included in Cochrane oral health systematic reviews were identified and examined. The RoB was evaluated for all the included clinical trials according to the Cochrane review standards. The Overall Risk of Bias (ORoB) was defined in this study based on the criteria in Cochrane’s RoB tool-v2. Descriptive analyses were carried out to determine the frequency of each intended variable.Results: In a total of 2565 included studies, the majority (n=1600) had 50 or higher sample sizes. As for blinding, 907 studies were labelled as double-blind. Performance bias showed the highest rate of high risk (31.4%). Almost half of the studies had a high ORoB compared to 11.1% with low ORoB. The studies that used placebos had higher low ORoB (14.8% vs 10.7%). The double-blind studies had the highest low ORoB (23.6%). The studies with a cross-over design had the highest low ORoB (28.8%).Conclusion: The RoB of oral health studies in Cochrane reviews was deemed high. Special efforts may be required to improve conducting and reporting of trials in this area.
Chronic Diseases in the Geriatric Population: Morbidity and use of Primary Care Services According to Risk Level.
Authors: Cortes Jaime Barrio , Reguillo Almudena Castaño , Martínez María Teresa Beca , Oliveira Mariana Bandeira de , Rodríguez María Carmen López , Sisó María Ángeles Jaime
Published: February 2021

Background: Geriatric patients have significant morbidity and greater needs for care and assistance. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics, morbidity, and use of services in primary care (PC) of patients with chronic diseases older than 65 years according to their risk level assigned by the adjusted morbidity groups (AMG) and to analyse the factors associated with the use of PC services.Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive observational study. Patients older than 65 years from a basic health area, classified as chronically ill by the AMG classification system of the PC electronic medical record of the Community of Madrid, were included. Sociodemographic, clinical-care, and PC service utilization variables were collected. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were done.Results: A total of 3,292 chronic patients older than 65 years were identified, of whom 1,628 (49.5%) were low risk, 1,293 (39.3%) were medium risk and 371 (11.3%) were high risk. Their mean age was 78.1 (SD=8.1) years and 2,167 (65.8%) were women. Their mean number of chronic diseases was 3.8 (SD=2), 89.4% had multimorbidity and 1,550 (47.1%) were polymedicated. The mean number of contacts/year with PC was 19.5 (SD=18.2) [men: 19.4 (SD=19.8); women: 19.5 (SD=17.4)]. The mean number of contacts/year in people over 85 years was 25.2 (SD=19.6); in people 76-85 years old, it was 22.1 (SD= 20.3); and in people 66-75 years old, it was 14.5 (SD=13.9). The factors associated with greater use of services were age (B coefficient [BC]= 0.3; 95%CI= 0.2 – 0.4), high risk level (BC=1.9; 95%CI =0.4 – 3.2), weight of complexity (BC=0.7; 95%CI=0.5 – 0.8), and ≥ 4 chronic diseases (BC=0.7; 95%CI=0.3 – 1.1).Conclusions: In the geriatric population, we found a high number of patients with chronic diseases and there were three levels of risk by AMG with differences in characteristics, morbidity, and use of PC services. The greatest use of services was by patients with older age, high risk level, greater weight of complexity and ≥ 4 chronic diseases. Further research is needed to develop an intervention model more adapted to the reality of the geriatric population based on risk levels by AMG.
Prevalence of Betanodavirus in Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus Labrax) for All Production Stages in Turkey
Authors: KAPLAN Murat , KARAOĞLU Mehmet Taner
Published: February 2021

Viral Nervous Necrosis (VNN) is one of the most important problems in sea bass aquaculture. Although there are many studies in the world on detection and molecular characterization of betanodaviruses causative agent of VNN, there are not enough studies related to prevalance to provide epidemiological maps. The purpose of this study was to investigate the betanodavirus prevalence in all bass hatcheries actively operating and in some farms in Turkey by RT-qPCR. A total of 2460 samples including fertilized egg, prelarva, postlarva, and fingerling were collected from 16 hatcheries as covering all production stages. A total of 600 sea bass were also collected from 20 farms. Betanodavirus was detected in a hatchery and a farm in fingerling sized sea bass and prevalances were found to be 6.25% and 5%, respectively. Virus isolation initially could not be achieved in E-11 but later SSN-1. Partial genome analysis of both RNA1 and RNA2 segments of the viruses, revealed that they were Redspotted grouper nervous necrosis virus genotype endemic in the Mediterranean basin. The absence of mortality related to VNN in the hatchery and farm, the healthy appearance of the sea bass, the low viral load detected and also output of retrospective epidemiological studies indicate that the infection is subclinical. Not detecting betanodavirus in other age groups where biosafety is implemented indicates that there is no active infection. In the light of these findings, it can be concluded that there are no circulating betanodavirus in hatcheries and the detected virus could be of sea-water origin.
The Sensitivity of River Catchments to Dissolved Organic Carbon Release During Rain Events - A Study of Eight Catchments in Southern Patagonia
Authors: Pérez-Rodríguez Marta , Biester Harald
Published: February 2021

Understanding the role of catchment properties is crucial for anticipating soil-derived dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export to aquatic systems, especially under changing climatic conditions. We present natural variations in DOC concentrations and fluxes in eight catchments differing in size (3 – 300 km 2 ), morphology (very steep to flat), and landscape type (Patagonian steppe, forest and peatland) along a steep precipitation gradient in remote pristine southern Patagonia, Chile. Discharge, precipitation and water chemical parameters were used to differentiate the mechanisms controlling DOC release in different catchment types. The results show large differences between catchments in terms of DOC concentrations (2 - 47 mg L -1 ) and fluxes (1 to 44 tons km -2 yr -1 ) but also in response to changes in precipitation. Small steep and forested catchments are the most reactive in terms of DOC export; specifically, changes in discharge produce fast, high and exponential increases in DOC release. DOC leaching by surface run-off through the organic soil layer is the main source of DOC during high precipitation events, and steep catchments became short-term hotspots for DOC export. In the flat catchments of the Patagonian steppe, the generally lower precipitation rates favour temporal accumulation of DOC in soils, and seasonal high discharge events produce one-off increases in DOC fluxes. Although peatlands constitute a large and continuous source of DOC export, the influence of discharge variation on DOC fluxes in peatland-dominated catchments appears to be low, despite the large carbon pools. Thus, in DOC catchments with similar precipitation regimes, morphology is the dominant factor determining ecosystem responses, where the steepest catchments show the highest sensitivity to rain events in terms of DOC export. Morphology and hydrological buffer capacity rather than the size of the carbon pools or precipitation intensity determine the export of DOC from catchments during strong rain events.
A Case of Acute Ischemic Stroke Associated with Hookworm Anemia.
Authors: Ke Jiang-qiong , Huang Huicong , Zhou Guangyao , Li Yan , Shao Shengmin , Fu Fangwang
Published: February 2021

Background: Hookworm disease discovered in a patient presenting with cerebral infarction due to severe iron-deficiency anemia and confirmed by gastroduodenoscopy has not been reported especially with negative stool routine. Case presentation: We report a male patient who presented himself to us with acute cerebral stroke verified as hookworm disease. Routine laboratory tests revealed low Hemoglobin (Hb) concentration but stool routine and occult blood test were normal. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed left-sided parietal-occipital lobe and centrum semiovale (“watershed”) infarction verified the diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke. Bone marrow aspiration showed proliferative bone marrow image with obvious red system hyperplasia. Gastroduodenoscopy discovered adult hematophagic hookworms in the bulb and descending part of duodenum of the patient. A series of conservative drug treatment was initiated and the patient was subsequently treated with albendazole after the gastroduodenoscopy. Twenty-five days later, the patient's physical function improved gradually and he was discharged without neurological deficit. Conclusion: Hookworm disease could be manifest in acute ischemic stroke. It was concluded that patients with severe iron-deficiency anemia should also be examined for rare intestinal parasitic diseases. Screening for these intestinal parasitic diseases in patients presenting with cerebral infarction and anemia could effectively avoid misdiagnosis and make increase the efficacy of treatment.
A Machine Learning Approach to Predict Body Composition in Advanced Cancer Patients.
Authors: Morgado Pablo Cresta , Navigante Alfredo , Pérez Adriana
Published: February 2021

BACKGROUND:Body composition and its changes affect cancer patient outcomes. Its determination requires specific and expensive devices. We designed a study to evaluate machine learning approaches to predict fat and skeletal muscle mass using daily practice clinical variables.METHODS:We designed a cross-sectional study in advanced gastrointestinal cancer patients. Response variables were skeletal muscle mass and body fat mass, measured by bioimpedance analysis. Predictors were laboratory and anthropometric variables. Imputation methods were applied. Six approaches were analyzed: (1) multicollinearity analysis, best subset selection (BSS) and multiple linear regression; (2) multicollinearity, BSS and generalized additive models (GAM); (3) multicollinearity, lasso to perform variable selection and GAM; (4) ridge regression; (5) lasso regression; (6) random forest. Model selection was performed evaluating the Mean Squared Error calculated by leave-one-out cross-validation.RESULTS:We included 101 patients under chemotherapy treatment. For skeletal muscle mass, the best approach was the combination of multicollinearity analysis followed by BSS and GAM using smoothing splines with 6 variables (albumin, Hb, height, weight, sex, lymphocytes). The adjusted R2 was 0.895. The best approach for fat mass was multicollinearity analysis, variable selection by lasso, and GAM using smoothing splines with 3 variables (waist-hip ratio, weight, sex). The adjusted R2 was 0.917.CONCLUSION:We developed the first accurate predictive models for body composition in cancer patients applying daily practice clinical variables. This study shows that machine learning is a useful tool to apply in body composition. This is a starting point to evaluate these approaches in research and clinical practice.