bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Capsaicin microcapsules with high encapsulation efficiency and storage stability based on sodium caseinate-acetylated wheat starch: Preparation and characterization
Authors: Liu Xinyue , Zhang Bo , Liang Wei , Zhao Wenqing , Zheng Jiayu , Ge Xiangzhen , Shen Huishan , Zhang Xiuyun , Lu Yifan , Sun Zhuangzhuang , Ospankulova Gulnazym , Li Wenhao
Published: May 2022

To improve the stability of capsaicin, different mass ratios of sodium caseinate and acetylated wheat starch (10:0, 9:1,7:3, 5:5, 3:7, 1:9, 0:10) were used as the wall material to prepare the emulsion, and it was microencapsulated by spray drying technology. The results showed that the sodium caseinate and wheat starch acetate exhibited a perfect emulsification effect. The composite wall material could significantly improve the encapsulation degree of the whole system, and the highest was 84.05% (3:7). The shape of the capsaicin microcapsule was almost spherical, and the size was not uniform, while the color and dispersion of the particles were consistent. The capsaicin microcapsules had a high solubility between 77.88% and 97.64%. The retention rates of capsaicin prepared with the sodium caseinate/wheat starch acetate ratio were 7:3, 5:5 and 3:7 exhibited high storage stability, which was more than 60.00% after 15 days of storage at different light and temperatures. This study may provide more theoretical support for applying starch acetate in edible vectors and expand the application range of capsaicin.
Individual Immune Cell and Cytokine Profiles Impact Platelet-Rich Plasma Composition
Authors: Niemann Marcel , Ort Melanie , Streitz Mathias , Wilhelm Andreas , Grütz Gerald , Fleckenstein Florian N. , Graef Frank , Blankenstein Antje , Reinke Simon , Stöckle Ulrich , Perka Carsten , Duda Georg N. , Geißler Sven , Winkler Tobias , Maleitzke Tazio
Published: May 2022

Objective: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is increasingly popular to treat musculoskeletal diseases, including tendinopathies and osteoarthritis (OA). To date, it remains unclear to which extent PRP compositions are determined by the immune profile of individuals or by the preparation method. To investigate this, we compared leukocyte and cytokine distributions of different PRP products to donor blood samples.Design: For each of three PRP preparations (ACP®, Angel™, and nSTRIDE® APS), products were derived using blood samples from twelve healthy donors. The cellular composition of PRP products was analyzed by flow cytometry using DURAClone antibody panels (DURAClone IM Phenotyping Basic and DURAClone IM T Cell Subsets). The MESO QuickPlex SQ 120 system was used to assess cytokine profiles (V-PLEX Proinflammatory Panel 1 Human Kit, Meso Scale Discovery). Results: All three PRP products showed elevated portions of leukocytes compared to baseline levels in donor blood (p < 0.0001). Further, the pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ (p = 0.039) and TNF-α (p = 0.013) were significantly increased in nSTRIDE® APS samples compared to donor blood and other PRP products. The characteristics of all other cytokines and immune cells from the donor blood, including pro-inflammatory T cell subsets, were maintained in all PRP products.Conclusions: Individuals with elevated levels of cells with pro-inflammatory properties maintain these in the final PRP products. The concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines strongly varies between PRP products. These observations may help to unravel the previously described heterogeneous response to PRP in OA therapy. Both the individual’s immune profile and the concentration method appear to impact the final PRP product.Trial registration: This study was prospectively registered in the Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien (DRKS) on 4th November 2021 (registration number DRKS00026175).
Identification of breast cancer targets by functional genetic screening of overexpressed genes for tumor-promoting function and tumor cell dependency
Authors: Mofunanya Adaobi , Powers Scott , Celeste Frank , Zhao Xiaoyu , Cameron Eleanor , Braun Christian , Hemann Michael , Scott Kenneth , Li Jinyu
Published: May 2022

There are several hundreds of genes overexpressed in a typical breast cancer cell, and their overexpression is often assumed to have a pro-cancer function, but what percentage of these overexpressed genes have a role in promoting and maintaining tumorigenicity isn’t known. To address this question, we screened an unbiased set of seventy-five genes overexpressed in breast cancer for their ability to induce malignant transformation and for breast cancer cell expression dependency. Barcoded open-reading frames under the control of a constitutive promoter were tested by pooled screening for their ability to promote tumor formation of premalignant mammary epithelial cells and growth in 2D and 3D culture. We found that growth in 3D cell culture was more strongly correlated with tumorigenic growth than was 2D growth, validating a long-standing hypothesis. Genes with high activity in promoting both 3D growth and in vivo tumor formation included CEACAM5, CXCL8, NKX2-5, PYGO2 and WWTR1/TAZ. To screen for corresponding tumor dependencies on these six genes, we performed shRNA screening of breast cancer cell lines and found uniform dependency on expression of the Hippo pathway transcriptional activator WWTR1, selective dependencies on CEACAM5 expression, but no consistent effects for the other three genes. Since breast cancer dependency upon WWTR1 is well established, we focused our follow-up studies on CEACAM5. We confirmed that CEACAM5 overexpression conferred tumorigenicity to pre-malignant mammary epithelial cells and that reduced expression selectively decreased the clonogenicity of luminal breast cancer cell lines. Protein analysis indicated that CEACAM5 activated Cdk4/6 and mTOR signaling. We also determined that CEACAM5 overexpression strongly promoted cell number increase in 3D spheroid culture by a novel mechanism that increased the number of epithelial cell layers from a single layer to multiple layers. These results outline a strategy for functional genomic identification of cancer targets, starting with a set of genes overexpressed in cancer, then using pooled approaches to identify those that promote tumorigenicity and cancer cell dependency, followed by validation experiments and exploration of oncogenic mechanisms. We propose that larger screens would substantially increase the number of potential targets for treating breast cancer.
Community Detection Using Various Deep Algorithms: a Review
Authors: Ankem Gopi Chand , Singh Dhanpratap
Published: May 2022

Communities represent similar interests, similar opinions, similar functions. Complex networks are gained much attention with the advancement of the internet in the owing to their prominence and popularity in recent years. Community detection is a significant and tremendously beneficial implementation in both technical and data study. However, relevance of classic community identification approaches such as a spectral community and statistical inference, are decreasing as deep learning algorithms reveal a growing ability with excellent performance to handle high-dimensional data. As a result, the present review divides this subject into three key streams: Graph neural networks (GNN), deep neural networks (DNN), deep graph embedding (DGE). Jia proposed a best algorithm over overlapping communities with 0.98 accuracy by using Graph embedding. This paper outlines the contributions of many algorithms, models, and frameworks in an individual stream, as well as the present difficulties that remain unresolved and upcoming prospects that remain unexplored.
Methodology to optimize rainwater tank sizing and cluster configuration for a group of buildings
Authors: Jersain Gómez Núñez , Magdalena García Martínez , Rojacques Mompremier , A. González Beltrán Beatriz , Dagmar Barceló Quintal Icela
Published: May 2022

The behavior of a rainwater harvesting system depends on some variables that cannot be controlled, such as precipitation, building roof size and water demand. The selection regarding rainwater tank-size will affect the performance of the system and the cost-benefit ratio. The criterion employed for this selection is based on the need for volume-storage and typically, yield large-sized rainwater-tanks, especially when the amount of rainwater is higher during rainy seasons. This article presents a methodology for modelling the rainwater harvesting, storage, and water consumption, for different configurations of a set of buildings, called clusters, where all buildings collect, store and same collected water. This methodology allows for analyzing based on different indicators what is the best recommended configuration and tank sizing, based on configuration and storage ratio exhibited, thus avoiding the situation of being underutilized. The proposed methodology is applied to case of study at a university (Mexico). In this study case, the dynamics per day is modeled over a year, considering monthly rainfall averages, over 2 groups made up of 4 buildings with different collecting capabilities and consumption each, allowing for the analysis of 9 cluster configurations and 4 tank sizing dimensions. The results are analyzed by means of annual indicators such as: the decrease in the volume of water used from the public network, the days of autonomy of the system, and a coefficient R (which relates the volume spilled to the empty volume). This coefficient is then used selection regarding tank sizing and the most recommended cluster configuration.
DUROPLASTY: REVIEW OF MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES
Authors: Kravtsova Anna V. , Pyatikop Volodymyr O. , Sergiyenko Yuliya G.
Published: May 2022

Introduction. Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common diseases of the musculoskeletal system, characterized by dystrophic changes in the intervertebral disc and vertebral bodies adjacent to it. The main symptoms of this disease are pain and sensory and motor disorders, which, according to various authors, occur in 50–80% of adults.
The main objective of the study was to find and implement the optimal set of treatment measures for degenerative disc disease depending on the age of a patient.
Materials and Methods. The medical records of inpatients who were treated in the Neurosurgical Department of the Sumy Regional Clinical Hospital in 2019–2020 were analyzed. The course of treatment of 93 patients (61 men and 32 women) was studied. The patients were divided into groups according to their age: young age (under 25) – 13 men and 8 women; middle age (under 60) – 24 men and 19 women; and elderly age (over 60 years) – 18 men and 11 women.
The combined use of pathogenetically justified physiotherapeutic measures in the treatment complex is gaining more and more interest. Their distinctive features are physiologic nature, absence of allergic manifestations, the ability to influence most of the pathogenesis of the disease, and the organic combination with other therapeutic factors. Unfortunately, there is an increase in the incidence of temporary incapacitation and progressive course, which often leads to disability and significant financial costs associated with expensive modern methods of diagnosis, treatment, and further provision of employment to patients.
The results of our study show that complex treatment including pathogenetic drug therapy, complex paravertebral block, therapeutic physical exercise, and physiotherapy treatment methods provides adequate recovery of spinal function regardless of dystrophic and degenerative changes severity and patient's age.
Treatment of degenerative disc disease should be comprehensive and directed at the various symptoms and links of the pathological process.
Study of the haematopoietic and immune effect of microalgae extracts
Authors: Lykov A. P. , Uvarov I. P. , Gevorgiz R. G. , Zheleznova S. N. , Poveshchenko O. V.
Published: May 2022

Microalgae, as a source of numerous biologically active substances, are promising candidates for the development of novel biologically active supplements. An important aspect determining the possibility of using microalgae involves the absence of adverse effects on the organs and systems of the human and animal body. At the development stage, special attention should be paid to the safety of microalgae for biomedical use in terms of the absence of significant negative effects on the haematopoiesis and the functional status of immune cells. In this regard, the present study investigates the effect of oil extracts obtained from five microalgae species on haematopoietic parameters, the number and functional activity of spleen and thymus cells, as well as on immunoglobulin levels in the blood serum of laboratory animals. According to the obtained results, Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) and Cylindrotheca closterium (C. closterium) extracts decrease the number of leukocytes in the peripheral blood. Coelastrella sp., C. closterium, and Porphyridium purpureum (P. purpureum) increase the proportion of neutrophils. P. purpureum was found to initiate an increase in the proportion of eosinophils. Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis (A. platensis) and C. closterium produce a decrease in the proportion of monocytes. C. closterium and P. purpureum induce a reduction in the proportion of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of laboratory mice. All microalgae extracts had no effect on erythropoiesis and haemoglobin. In addition, all microalgae extracts were found to reduce splenocyte proliferation, while their effect on thymocyte proliferation depended on the microalgae type. In the mice serum, Coelastrella sp. microalgae extract increases IgG levels, while P. purpureum and C. vulgaris decrease IgM and IgA levels, respectively.
Energy profile of formal 1,2-dyotropic rearrangement of diarylethenes
Authors: Kouame E. K. , Lvov A. G.
Published: May 2022

Diarylethenes with thiophene substituents belong to photoswitchable compounds (photoswitches or photochromes). Upon UV irradiation, their colorless open-ring isomers (DAE-o) convert to the colored closed-ring isomers (DAE-c), while the back reaction is induced only by visible light irradiation. A multiple photoswitching of diarylethenes usually results in irreversible photorearrangement of DAE-c to the so-called annulated isomers DAE-a, that are stable thermally and photochemically. In the present communication, structures of a series of diarylethenes as well as their isomers were optimized on the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. It was disclosed for the first time, that DAE-a destabilized relatively DAE-c by 1.71–14.00 kcal/mol. These results are important for design of photocontrollable molecules and materials, operated in the oneway (permanent manner).
Sorption of silver (I) ions from aqueous solutions using the synthetic sorbent
Authors: Afandiyeva N. T. , Maharramov A. M. , Chyragov F. M.
Published: May 2022

We study the sorption of silver ions from aqueous solutions by a synthetic chelating sorbent. In the presence of formaldehyde, a polymeric sorbent based on a copolymer of styrene with maleic anhydride, modified with N,N’-diphenylguanidine, was synthesized and further used for extracting Ag(I) ions. The composition and structure of the synthesized polymeric chelating sorbent were studied using IR and UV spectroscopy methods. A simple, inexpensive, and efficient method for extracting Ag(I) ions from aqueous solutions was used. The effect of various parameters on the sorption process was studied, including the acidity of the medium (pH), the initial concentration of the metal ion, the time required to establish complete sorption equilibrium, and ionic strength. The optimum pH value for the extraction of Ag(I) was found to be 6. The process is characterized by a high adsorption capacity reaching 547.2 mg/g. The research results showed that the time required to establish a complete sorption equilibrium for the sorbent modified with N,N’- diphenylguanidine is 60 min. Ag(I) adsorption increases up to the value of ionic strength of μ = 1, after which its intensity decreases. At the final stage, the process of desorption of absorbed silver ions was carried out. During desorption, the best eluting agent for the extraction of Ag(I) was determined to be 0.5 M HNO3. The sorbent can be re-used after regeneration. The copolymer of styrene and maleic anhydride modified with N,N’-diphenylguanidine has a high sorption capacity and, therefore, can be used as a potential adsorbent for the extraction of silver (I) from aqueous solutions.
Features of long-term preservation of Azhurnaya and Bergamotnaya mint cultivars in an in vitro collection
Authors: Yegorova N. A. , Zagorskaya M. S. , Abdurashytov S. F.
Published: May 2022

Mint represents a valuable medicinal and essential oil plant widely used in pharmacology, perfumery, cosmetics, and food industry. In order to maintain collections of cultivars and valuable samples, as well as to carry out breeding, the application of biotechnology appears to be promising for in vitro preservation of plant objects under the conditions of slow growth at low positive temperatures. The present study is focused on the morphometric parameters and genetic stability of the explants of two mint cultivars during their in vitro preservation at 4–6 ºС for a year without illumination. Meristems with two leaf primordia were cultivated on a nutrient medium in a culture room at 26 ºС and illumination of 2–3 klx with a 16-hour photoperiod. Microshoots developing from meristems were divided into single-node stem segments to be used as explants for deposition. After a year of deposition at 4–6 ºС without illumination, the number of viable explants in the Azhurnaya and Bergamotnaya cultivars was established to be 56.5 and 85.7%, respectively. The explants under study were characterized by the development of up to 2.5 shoots up to 13.2 mm long and rhizogenesis with a frequency of up to 52.3%. Following the deposition, microshoots were cut and transferred to a culture room to resume growth. After two subcultivations, viability (100%), morphometric parameters of microshoots, and multiplication index (up to 5.5–7.3) were fully restored. The ISSR-analysis performed according to four studied DNA markers revealed the microshoots of these cultivars to be completely identical to the original plants after in vitro preservation. The conducted studies proved the effectiveness of the conditions used for in vitro preservation of mint explants and confirmed the explant genetic stability after a year of deposition at 4–6 ºС.
Recycling methods
Authors: Dorofeeva N. L. , Vikulowa A. P.
Published: May 2022

The paper addresses the issues of recycling, which contributes to the environment protection. Recycling contributes to the use and circulation of industrial or household waste, or its conversion into energy. Recycling is a labor-intensive and energy-intensive process which can reduce the volume of primary raw materials used, the level of air, water and soil pollution. There are different processing technologies for each type of raw material: metals are melted; waste paper is crushed, dissolved and cleaned; plastic is sorted, foreign objects are removed and crushed. The method of removal and subsequent recycling of waste can have a positive impact on the environment pollution. Safety of the most common methods of waste disposal, such as burning, burial and composting, for humans and the environments was analyzed. It is difficult to select a recycling method, since each one has both advantages and disadvantages. Separate collection of household waste and pre-sorting make it possible to reuse most materials. The development of processing factories and enterprises can reduce the area of landfills.
The Digital future of labor protection
Authors: Timofeev S. S. , Timofeeva S. S.
Published: May 2022

Labor protection is the most important element of the social policy of the modern state. Without compliance with labor protection laws and modernizing measures intended to ensure safe working conditions, effective business development is hindered. The labor protection legislation has been amended, the “regulatory guillotine” is being implemented, new legislative acts have been adopted, significant changes have been made to the Labor Code, and the digital transformation of the economy is underway. This paper considers changes in legal and regulatory documents on risk management and labor protection in the context of digitalization, analyzes potential for development of labor protection. In particular, the phenomenon of digitalization is considered, and directions of digitalization in labor protection are classified: achievements in the field of automatic documentation of labor protection procedures are described; control over the safe production of work and working conditions, the state of health of workers and the process of labor protection training of workers are analyzed.
The Manageability of Country Communication Regimes
Authors: Komleva V. V.
Published: May 2022

The article introduces results of the first Russian fundamental research of communication regimes, that, in particular, contains scientific understanding and analysis methods of manageability of country communication regimes. Based on systemic, institutional, structural methodological approaches and theories (theories of complex systems, structuration, communication and concepts of political regimes), the author examines communication regime as sociopolitical phenomenon, requiring polyparadigmatic and interdisciplinary research. The author considers communication regime as a socio-political phenomenon that requires a polyparadigm, interdisciplinary research, control over communication regime – as a process, and manageability – as an attributive qualitative characteristic of the communication regime, as the goal and result of control. The manageability is interpreted as a measure of control by the managing center over control objects, and implies a measure of voluntary consent of governed objects with the degree of its subordination and autonomy. Hence, the manageability is reached when society voluntarily interiorizes, negotiates and admits institutionalized practices, strictures, forms, instruments, the degree of communication control and sanctions for deviations from the established norms. Ensuring manageability requires effective implementation such functions of governance subjects as control and implementation, achieving solidarity and coherence of all communication participants. The criteria of manageability are as follows: (1) capability of non-conflict transferring the system from one state to another; (2) ability of governance subjects to reach controlled parameters of communication regime; (3) capability to use mechanisms of self-organization and self-reflection for adjustment of communication regimes. Besides, the author proposes the methods for analyzing the controllability of communication modes. Its application allows: (1) to identify the type of managing of communication regime (by the degree of conventionality and location of the communications managing center) and to determine its level of independence and legitimacy; (2) to determine features of manageability of communication regime in one or another governance type of communication regime. The author’s thoughts and conclusions are illustrated by examples of communication regimes in different countries.
Models of Party-Electoral Aggregation in the Political Life of Modern Russia
Authors: Davydova N. S.
Published: May 2022

The article analyzes the concept of party-electoral aggregation based on the material of democratic processes in modern Russia. Currently, Russia’s electoral policy is largely focused on parliamentary parties, which also influence the structuring of politics in the State Duma. Parties have become an important element of the Russian political scene. Partyelectoral aggregation is represented today in three basic models: political-marketing, cluster, civil-identical. The study of the evolution of these models shows that as the “democratic transit” passes, the specific weight and leading role of these models in demand in political practice changes. At the initial stages of party building in post-Soviet Russia, the political and marketing model is more in demand as a basic one, in the future – a cluster model in combination with political and marketing model. Currently, party and electoral activities are being reformatted to a model focused on civic identity and political technologies of its formation and functioning. The subsequent in-depth analysis of the evolution and interrelation of these models will allow to form the possibilities of more in-depth party-political analytics and the basis for effective management of these processes
Apresentação do Dossiê XV CINFORM – Encontro Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa em Ciência da Informação
Authors: Machado Raymundo das Neves , Lima Gillian Leandro de Queiroga
Published: May 2022

Este dossiê da Revista Informação na Sociedade Contemporânea (RISC) contempla as temáticas que foram apresentadas no XV CINFORM – Encontro Nacional de Ensino e Pesquisa em Ciência da Informação, realizado pelo Instituto de Ciência da Informação/UFBA, no período de 22 a 25 de novembro de 2021. Momento que reuniu professores, pesquisadores e estudantes da Arquivologia, Biblioteconomia, Documentação, Ciência da Informação, áreas afins e demais membros da comunidade que apresentaram e promoveram discussões em torno do tema central "Espaços Informacionais Multirreferenciais: pensamento contemporâneo no mundo digital".
A Platform to Develop and Apply Digital Methods for Empirical Bioethics Research: Mixed Methods Design and Development Study (Preprint)
Authors: Schneider Manuel
Published: May 2022

BACKGROUND

The rise of digital methods and computational tools has opened up the possibility of collecting and analyzing data from novel sources, such as discussions on social media. At the same time, these methods and tools introduce a dependence on technology, often resulting in a need for technical skills and expertise. Researchers from various disciplines engage in empirical bioethics research, and software development and similar skills are not usually part of their background. Therefore, researchers often depend on technical experts to develop and apply digital methods, which can create a bottleneck and hinder the broad use of digital methods in empirical bioethics research.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to develop a research platform that would offer researchers the means to better leverage implemented digital methods, and that would simplify the process of developing new methods.

METHODS

This study used a mixed methods approach to design and develop a research platform prototype. I combined established methods from user-centered design, rapid prototyping, and agile software development to iteratively develop the platform prototype. In collaboration with two other researchers, I tested and extended the platform prototype in situ by carrying out a study using the prototype.

RESULTS

The resulting research platform prototype provides three digital methods, which are composed of functional components. This modular concept allows researchers to use existing methods for their own experiments and combine implemented components into new methods.

CONCLUSIONS

The platform prototype illustrates the potential of the modular concept and empowers researchers without advanced technical skills to carry out experiments using digital methods and develop new methods. However, more work is needed to bring the prototype to a production-ready state.
Health Care Professionals’ Experiences of Web-Based Symptom Checkers for Triage: Cross-sectional Survey Study (Preprint)
Authors: Kujala Sari , Hörhammer Iiris
Published: May 2022

BACKGROUND

Web-based symptom checkers are promising tools that provide help to patients seeking guidance on health problems. Many health organizations have started using them to enhance triage. Patients use the symptom checker to report their symptoms online and submit the report to the health care center through the system. Health care professionals (registered nurse, practical nurse, general physician, physiotherapist, etc) receive patient inquiries with urgency rating, decide on actions to be taken, and communicate these to the patients. The success of the adoption, however, depends on whether the tools can efficiently support health care professionals’ workflow and achieve their support.

OBJECTIVE

This study explores the factors influencing health care professionals’ support for a web-based symptom checker for triage.

METHODS

Data were collected through a web-based survey of 639 health care professionals using either of the two most used web-based symptom checkers in the Finnish public primary care. Linear regression models were fitted to study the associations between the study variables and health care professionals’ support for the symptom checkers. In addition, the health care professionals’ comments collected via survey were qualitatively analyzed to elicit additional insights about the benefits and challenges of the clinical use of symptom checkers.

RESULTS

Results show that the perceived beneficial influence of the symptom checkers on health care professionals’ work and the perceived usability of the tools were positively associated with professionals’ support. The perceived benefits to patients and organizational support for use were positively associated, and threat to professionals’ autonomy was negatively associated with health care professionals’ support. These associations were, however, not independent of other factors included in the models. The influences on professionals’ work were both positive and negative; the tools streamlined work by providing preliminary information on patients and reduced the number of phone calls, but they also created extra work as the professionals needed to call patients and ask clarifying questions. Managing time between the use of symptom checkers and other tasks was also challenging. Meanwhile, according to health care professionals’ experience, the symptom checkers benefited patients as they received help quickly with a lower threshold for care.

CONCLUSIONS

The efficient use of symptom checkers for triage requires usable solutions that support health care professionals’ work. High-quality information about the patients’ conditions and an efficient way of communicating with patients are needed. Using a new eHealth tool also requires that health organizations and teams reorganize their workflows and work distributions to support clinical processes.
Accuracy of COVID-19-Like-Illness Diagnoses in Electronic Health Record Data (Preprint)
Authors: Rao Suchitra , Bozio Catherine , Butterfield Kristen , Reynolds Sue , Reese Sarah , Ball Sarah , Steffens Andrea , Demarco Maria , McEvoy Charlene , Thompson Mark , Rowley Elizabeth , Porter Rachael , Fink Rebecca , Irving Stephanie , Naleway Allison
Published: May 2022

BACKGROUND

Electronic health record (EHR) data provide a unique opportunity to study COVID-19 and vaccine effectiveness but require a well-defined computable phenotype of COVID-19-like illness (CLI).

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated the performance of diagnostic codes in identifying COVID-19 cases in emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) and inpatient settings.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using EHR, claims, and laboratory data from four U.S. health systems. Patients aged ≥18 years with an ED/UC or inpatient acute respiratory illness (ARI) encounter and SARS-CoV-2 PCR test during March 2020-March 2021 were included. We evaluated CLI definitions using combinations of ICD codes as follows: COVID-19-specific codes; CLI definition used in VISION network studies (VISION CLI); ARI signs, symptoms and diagnosis codes only; signs and symptoms of ARI only; random forest model definitions. We evaluated sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) using a positive test reference standard.

RESULTS

Among 90,952 hospitalizations and 137,067 ED/UC visits, 5,627 (6.2%) and 9,866 (7.2%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2, respectively. COVID-19-specific codes had high sensitivity (91.6%) and specificity (99.6%) for hospitalized patients. The VISION CLI definition maintained high sensitivity (95.8%) but lowered specificity (45.5%). All CLI definitions had lowered sensitivity for ED/UC encounters. Random forest approaches identified distinct CLI definitions with high performance for hospital encounters and moderate performance for ED/UC encounters.

CONCLUSIONS

COVID-19-specific codes have high sensitivity and specificity for identifying SARS-CoV-2 positivity. Separate combinations of COVID-19-specific codes and ARI codes enhance the utility of CLI definitions for studies using EHR data in hospital and ED/UC settings.

CLINICALTRIAL

n/a
Impact of COVID-19 on chronic pain structures: data from French national survey
Authors: Melchior Meggane , Dziadzko Mikhail , Conradi Séverine , Poisbeau Pierrick , Aubrun Frédéric
Published: May 2022

Aims:
The authors evaluated the impact of the first COVID-19 pandemic wave on French chronic pain structures (CPS).
Methods:
An online survey assessed CPS resource allocation, workflow and perceived impact on patient care.
Results:
All CPS workflow was severely impacted by the reallocation of 42% of specialists. In-person appointments were cancelled by 72% of participants. Follow-up was maintained in 91% of participants (telemedicine). Skills in end-of-life decision-making/counseling were rarely solicited. The perceived impact of the crisis on the experience of patients was high (eight out of ten), with a significant increase in access-to-care delay.
Conclusion:
CPS maintained patient follow-up. Special features of CPS specialists were rarely solicited by COVID-19 teams experiencing a high workload. Recommendations on optimal CPS resource reallocations have to be standardized in crisis conditions.
Experimental Investigation of Ball Burnishing Process Optimization for Aluminum Alloy 6063 with Blast Furnace Slag Using Taguchi Technique
Authors: Goud Meka Pavansai Sankar , Veerendra Palukuri
Published: May 2022

Abstract: The process of burnishing is performed by applying a highly polished and hardened ball or roller with external force onto the surface of a cylindrical work piece. The burnishing process increases the surface hardness of the work piece, which in turn improves wear resistance, increases corrosion resistance, improves tensile strength, maintains dimensional stability and improves the fatigue strength by inducing residual compressive stresses in the surface of the work piece. The conventional methods of finishing process viz. grinding, broaching used to improve the surface finish of the metallic components, but the burnishing process which is having same role to play in finishing process has many advantages associated with it fulfilling above said requirement successfully. This paper presents results of the study about design and developmental issues of Ball burnishing tool. This tool is used to perform burnishing process successfully by controlling different parameters. Ball burnishing process is mainly considered in industrial cases to restructure surface characteristic. Ball burnishing process is employed on aluminum alloy AA 6063 with BFS (Blast FurnaceSlag) work piece for current study. In this thesis, work the effect of burnishing parameter like speed, and feed and the number of passes is going to be examined on the surface roughness characteristics of aluminum with BFS (Blast Furnace Slag). Index Terms: Burnishing, Ball burnishing, Surface roughness, Surface hardness, AA6063, Blast furnace slag
A Comprehensive Review on Indian Sign Language for Deaf and Dumb People
Authors: Raghuvanshi Kuldeep , Singh Maan Pratap , Yadav Himanshu , Singh Bhavyajeet , Kaur Upinder
Published: May 2022

Abstract: In sign language, hand gestures are one of the nonverbal modes used. It is most commonly used by deaf and dumb people who have hearing or speech problems to communicate with other deaf and dumb people or non-deaf people. It is also a piece of software that demonstrates a system prototype capable of automatically recognizing sign language, allowing deaf and dumb people to communicate more effectively with one another and with the general public. Dumb people are permitted to refuse normal communication with other members of society. Ordinary people find it difficult to understand and communicate with them. Deaf and Dumb people must communicate with an interpreter or some form of visual communication. Visual communication is notoriously difficult to learn, and a translator will not always be accessible. understand. The deaf and dumb community's principal mode of communication is sign language. Because the average person does not understand the syntax or meaning of many of the gestures used in sign language, it is mostly utilized by the families of the deaf and dumb. Keywords: Deaf and Dumb, Visual Communication, Disability, Machine learning, Indian Sign Language, Sign Language Recognition, Gestures.
Multi-class Classification of Twitter Sentiments using Frequency based, LSTM and BERT Methods
Authors: Thakur Pankaj M , M Tejas
Published: May 2022

Abstract: Twitter is one of the most popular social media applications used by people of diverse age groups. Tweet has become an important mode of communication. Tweets are unstructured and often consist of different kinds of data tokens like mentions, hash tags, emoticons etc. Analysing the sentiment of this kind of unstructured data is challenging. In this paper, the experimentation of multiclass twitter sentiment analysis is presented, using three different approaches. Starting with the simple approach of frequency based feature extraction method, that helps capture the features from a text document by counting the frequency of the occurrence of words, to more advanced approaches like LSTM and BERT have been used. Different preprocessing techniques and different classifiers are explored in this paper. The performance of all the three methods is evaluated using metrics (precision, recall and f1 score). At the end the results of all three approaches are discussed and compared against one another. Keywords: NLP, BERT, LSTM, MLP Classifier, Multiclass Classification, Embeddings, Tweets.
Assessment of Ferritin Level In Covid‐19 Patients: Does It Predict Severity?
Authors: Elamin Mohamed Osman , Elamin. A Almathani Mubarek. , Kheir Musa Mohamed , Noor Sufian Khalid , Osman Ahmed A. , Natto Hatim Abdullah , Elshareef Awadelkareem A.A. , Elamin Fowzi O. , Alshehri Ali .M.
Published: May 2022

Corona-virus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) increased burdens on health systems. A hyper inflammatory response including high ferritin has been a hallmark of COVID‐19 infection and is thought to be a key mediator of morbidity and mortality. We aimed to measure ferritin level and investigate its correlation with disease severity and outcome of Sudanese COVID-19 patients. A prospective study enrolled 100 COVID-19 patients in Khartoum state during the period from July to October 2020. We collected participants’ data regarding demographics, clinical presentations, comorbidities, disease severity, and clinical courses during hospitalization, and outcomes. Serum ferritin level was measured for all patients and ferritin level more than 250 μg/L was considered elevated. Among 100 patients, 68(68%) were males, the most common age group was 51-70 years 58(58%). The major comorbidities were Hypertension 48 (48%) and DM 47 (47%). Just under half of the patients presented with mild pneumonia (n=45; 45%) and about one-third (n=37; 37%) received mechanical ventilation. Hyperferritinemia (ferritin>250 μg/L) was observed in 74(74%) patients. Additionally, 40(40%) had ferritin levels above 1000 μg/L. High ferritin levels were significantly common among patients with shortness of breath (P. value= 0.002), hypertension (P. value= 0.01), diabetes (P. value= 0.025), chronic renal diseases (P. value= 0.007), cardiovascular disease (P. value= 0.036), smoking (P. value= 0.03), need for mechanical ventilation (P. value= 0.000), and longer hospital stay duration above 7 days (P. value= 0.000). On the other hand, high ferritin level was correlated with severe pneumonia (P. value= 0.000), ARDS (P. value= 0.000) and sepsis (P. value= 0.009). As well, high ferritin level was associated with high mortality (P. value= 0.000). we concluded that the ferritin level was very high among COVID-19 patients and associated with increased severity of the disease and poor outcome.
A Study on Disease Resistance on Rice: Strategies and Challenges
Authors: Siddiqui Nadeem , Sreeja Nannapaneni , Supriya Chadalavada , Sarvani Vemuri , Bhavana Potluri , Reddy Siva
Published: May 2022

Though Rice is cultivated in huge quantities, various disease causing agents will reduce the yield leading to not only losing the economy but also a food crisis. Production of rice is constrained by fungal, bacterial and viral diseases. In the current review, we focused on various pathological symptoms in Oryza species that cause high yield losses. In this context, plant breeders are attempting progressive research activity to achieve more yield and disease-resistant varieties that balance the world’s rice demand and increase the farmers' income. Rice was recognized as a genetic model for research in genetics and molecular biology, for understanding growth, development, tolerance to stress and disease resistance because of its small genome. The present review focuses on the various causative agents of diminishing rice yield along with the strategies to eradicate the pathogen and thereby increasing the yield. Recent research advances at genetic level have paved a way for novel approach to understand the significance between the pheno-genotypic variations with the crop yield of rice. Further, the review also includes the advanced methodologies at molecular level so as to save the rice cultivators from economic crisis. Disease resistant genes are identified and screened using molecular markers like SSR (simple sequence repeats), RAPD (Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA), and RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphisms) analysis. There exist few reports in the literature about rice cultivation, but to the best of our knowledge in a single review both cause and remedy were not discussed in detail. In this context, our review provides an insight into the aspects attributing the crop loss followed by suggesting the suitable alternative method for enhancing crop yield.
Synthesis Characterization and Antibacterial Activity of 4-Ethynyl Chalcone Derivatives
Authors: Raju Dachepally , Sreeramulu J. , Malleswarareddy P. , Nagaraju N. , Ramamohan G.
Published: May 2022

Chalcones are polyhydroxylated aryl rings with most of their biological importance. The chemistry of chalcones remained fascinating among researchers due to their simple chemistry, ease of synthesis, large number of replaceable hydrogens and variety of pharmacological activities. In this present investigation our aim is to synthesize a set of 4-ethynylchalcones (3a-j) and to evaluate their Anti-bacterial activity. Synthesis of chalcone derivatives 3a-j was achieved using the classical Claisen- Schmidt reaction. The synthesized chalcone derivatives (3a-j) were tested against Gram negative strains of (i) Escherichia coli (MTCC 443) and (ii) Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC 424) and Gram-positive strains of (iii) Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC 96) and (iv) Streptococcus pyogenes (MTCC 442) using agar well diffusion method. The compounds were dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) to obtain solutions of concentration 250 μg mL-1. Ciprofloxacin was used as the reference antibacterial drug. Yields of the chalcone derivatives differed from 70 to 85%. The structures of newly synthesized chalcone derivatives 3a-j were established by spectroscopic techniques like 1H NMR, mass and IR spectra of the chalcone derivatives 3a-j are in agreement with the desired structures. Chalcone derivatives (3a-j) characterized by Infrared, ESI-Mass and NMR spectroscopy. Chalcones (3b, 3g, 3h and 3j) with R = 4-OMe, 3-OH, 3-CN and 3,4,5-OMe exhibit good antibacterial activity, the chalcones (3e and 3f) with R = H and 3-NO2 show moderate antibacterial activity and the remaining chalcones in the series such as 3a, 3c, 3d and 3i with R = 4-Br, 3-Br, (3-Br, 4-F) and 4-CH3 display weak antibacterial activity against tested bacterial strains. Now a days health care became a more necessity thing in every one life. So, these chalcone derivatives are may helpful in development of less side effect radical quenching drugs.
Promotion Preparation Tips for Academic Family Medicine Educators
Authors: Keating Michelle K. , Pasarica Magdalena , Stephens Mark B. , Drowos Joanna , Clithero-Eridon Amy , Hartmark-Hill Jennifer , de la Cruz Maria Syl , Holley Matthew , Hayes Vicki , Schiel Kimberly S. , Biagioli Frances E.
Published: May 2022

Background and Objectives: Promotion has historically valued the scholarship of discovery over the scholarship of teaching. The clinician-educator promotion pathway is an attractive option for academic family physicians engaged in significant teaching. However, clinician-educators are less often promoted than peers on other tracks. Family medicine educators face unique challenges in promotion due to clinical requirements and often less guidance on how to meet promotion criteria. Promotion recognizes achievements of faculty and is often tied to higher base salary. We aimed to identify promotion preparation tips for academic family medicine educators.
Methods: We surveyed members of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Medical Student Education Collaborative electronically on promotion preparation lessons learned in (1) curriculum vitae preparation, (2) personal statement preparation, (3) selecting external reviewers, and (4) identifying measurable achievements. This qualitative study used grounded theory and constant comparison.
Results: Fourteen individuals from 13 medical institutions responded with tips for success in promotion preparation. The tips identified actionable steps for promotion preparation of academic family medicine educators. Several main themes emerged, including the importance of timely and thorough documentation, detailed planning, and being knowledgeable about institutional-specific criteria early.
Conclusions: The tips provided in this study support family medicine educators in preparing for promotion and can be used as a tool for mentors, chairs and faculty development.
The role of early life gut microbiota composition in the development of allergic diseases
Authors: Tuniyazi Maimaiti , Li Shuang , Hu Xiaoyu , Zhang Naisheng , Fu Yunhe
Published: May 2022

Allergic diseases are becoming a major healthcare issue in many
developed nations, where living environment and lifestyle are most
predominantly distinct. Such differences include urbanized,
industrialized living environments, overused hygiene products,
antibiotics, stationary lifestyle, and fast-food based diets tend to
reduce microbial diversity and lead to impared immune protection, which
further increase the development of allergic diseases. In the same time,
studies also showed that modulating microbiomes can ameliorate allergic
symptoms. Therefore, in this paper, we aimed to review recent findings
on the potential role of the human microbiome in the gastrointestinal
tract, surface of skin and respiratory tract for the development of
allergic diseases. Furthermore, we addressed a potential therapeutic or
even preventive strategy for such allergic diseases by modulating the
human microbial composition.