bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health insurance coverage in Ethiopia: financial protection in the Era of sustainable development goals (SDGs)
Authors: Merga Bedasa Taye , Balis Bikila , Bekele Habtamu , Fekadu Gelana
Published: August 2022

Background

Health insurance is among the healthcare financing reforms proposed to increase the available healthcare resources and to decrease the risk of household financial crisis. Recently, Ethiopia has been implementing community-based health insurance which mainly targets the very large rural agricultural sector and small and informal sector in urban settings. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the coverage of health insurance and its determinants in Ethiopia.

Methods

Data were extracted from the 2019 mini Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) to assess determinants of health insurance coverage in Ethiopia. The analysis included a weighted sample of 8663 respondents. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted and the results were presented as adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% confidence interval (CI), statistical significance was declared at a p-value < 0.05 in all analyses.

Results

The health insurance coverage in Ethiopia was 28.1% (95%CI: 27.2%, 29%). Administration regions (Tigray: AOR = 16.9, 95%CI: 5.53, 51.59, Amhara: AOR = 25.8, 95%CI: 8.52, 78.02, Oromia, AOR = 4.27, 95%CI: 1.41, 12.92, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region, AOR = 4.06, 95%CI: 1.34, 12.32, Addis Ababa, AOR = 4.65, 95%CI: 1.46, 14.78), place of residence (rural, AOR = 1.38, 95%CI: 1.17, 1.63), sex of household head (male; AOR = 1.23, 95%CI: 1.07, 1.41), wealth index (middle, AOR = 1.75, 95%CI: 1.46, 2.09, richer, AOR = 1.86, 95%CI: 1.55, 2.24), family size (≥ 5 members, AOR = 1.17, 95%CI: 1.03, 1.33), having under-five children (AOR = 1.22, 95%CI: 1.076, 1.38), and age of household head (31–40 years, AOR = 1.71, 95%CI: 1.45, 2.01, 41–64 years, AOR = 2.49, 95%CI: 2.12, 2.92, 65 + years, AOR = 2.43, 95%CI: 2.01, 2.93) were factors associated with health insurance coverage.

Conclusions

Less than one-third of Ethiopians were covered by health insurance. Socio-economic factors and demographic factors were found to associate with health insurance coverage in Ethiopia. Therefore, enhancing health insurance coverage through contextualized implementation strategies would be emphasized.
Chemical journey of somatic cells to pluripotency
Authors: Abbey Deepti
Published: August 2022

Reprogramming somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells has revolutionized the biomedical field by providing enormous hopes and opportunities for the regeneration of tissues and organs for transplantation. Using a small molecule cocktail of epigenetic modifiers and cell signalling inhibitors, a chemical-based easy and controllable technique for converting human somatic cells into chemically induced pluripotent stem cells was recently reported (Guan, Nature 605:325–31, 2022). This novel approach offers well-defined, safe, simple, easy, and clinical-grade manufacturing strategies for modifying the fate of human cells required for regenerative therapeutics.
Integrating metagenomic binning with flux balance analysis to unravel syntrophies in anaerobic CO2 methanation
Authors: De Bernardini Nicola , Basile Arianna , Zampieri Guido , Kovalovszki Adam , De Diego Diaz Beatrix , Offer Elisabetta , Wongfaed Nantharat , Angelidaki Irini , Kougias Panagiotis G. , Campanaro Stefano , Treu Laura
Published: August 2022

Background

Carbon fixation through biological methanation has emerged as a promising technology to produce renewable energy in the context of the circular economy. The anaerobic digestion microbiome is the fundamental biological system operating biogas upgrading and is paramount in power-to-gas conversion. Carbon dioxide (CO2) methanation is frequently performed by microbiota attached to solid supports generating biofilms. Despite the apparent simplicity of the microbial community involved in biogas upgrading, the dynamics behind most of the interspecies interaction remain obscure. To understand the role of the microbial species in CO2 fixation, the biofilm generated during the biogas upgrading process has been selected as a case study. The present work investigates via genome-centric metagenomics, based on a hybrid Nanopore-Illumina approach the biofilm developed on the diffusion devices of four ex situ biogas upgrading reactors. Moreover, genome-guided metabolic reconstruction and flux balance analysis were used to propose a biological role for the dominant microbes.

Results

The combined microbiome was composed of 59 species, with five being dominant (> 70% of total abundance); the metagenome-assembled genomes representing these species were refined to reach a high level of completeness. Genome-guided metabolic analysis appointed Firmicutes sp. GSMM966 as the main responsible for biofilm formation. Additionally, species interactions were investigated considering their co-occurrence in 134 samples, and in terms of metabolic exchanges through flux balance simulation in a simplified medium. Some of the most abundant species (e.g., Limnochordia sp. GSMM975) were widespread (~ 67% of tested experiments), while others (e.g., Methanothermobacter wolfeii GSMM957) had a scattered distribution. Genome-scale metabolic models of the microbial community were built with boundary conditions taken from the biochemical data and showed the presence of a flexible interaction network mainly based on hydrogen and carbon dioxide uptake and formate exchange.

Conclusions

Our work investigated the interplay between five dominant species within the biofilm and showed their importance in a large spectrum of anaerobic biogas reactor samples. Flux balance analysis provided a deeper insight into the potential syntrophic interaction between species, especially Limnochordia sp. GSMM975 and Methanothermobacter wolfeii GSMM957. Finally, it suggested species interactions to be based on formate and amino acids exchanges.
Depression and anxiety among online learning students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Authors: Pelucio Luísa , Simões Pedro , Dourado Marcia Cristina Nascimento , Quagliato Laiana A. , Nardi Antonio Egidio
Published: August 2022

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a global need to explore the potential and challenges of online education.

Objective

To evaluate the presence of depression and anxiety in university students and their level of satisfaction with online learning during the period of social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

A cross-sectional design was used to evaluate 152 online learning students from six different university courses: Medicine, Psychology, Law, Engineering, Physiotherapy, and Business. The evaluation of the participants was carried out through an online survey in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Also, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess participants mental health.

Results

Most of the participants reported emotional impact, followed by learning impact, financial impact, social impact, and technological impact, with a significant difference in the presence of depressive symptoms, but no significant difference in anxiety. The participants presented moderate anxiety levels, with no significant differences between genders, and mild levels of depressive symptoms with significant differences between genders. Also, younger students were more anxious than older students. In addition, female students with less social contact presented more depressive symtoms.

Conclusion

From a clinical perspective, the findings provide insights into mental health among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings may help in the development of effective screening strategies and in the formulation of interventions that improve the mental health of students.
Targeting microglial autophagic degradation of the NLRP3 inflammasome for identification of thonningianin A in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Zhou Xiao-Gang , Qiu Wen-Qiao , Yu Lu , Pan Rong , Teng Jin-Feng , Sang Zhi-Pei , Law Betty Yuen-Kwan , Zhao Ya , Zhang Li , Yan Lu , Tang Yong , Sun Xiao-Lei , Wong Vincent Kam Wai , Yu Chong-Lin , Wu Jian-Ming , Qin Da-Lian , Wu An-Guo
Published: August 2022

Background

NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated neuroinflammation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Microglial autophagic degradation not only decreases the deposits of extracellular Aβ fibrils but also inhibits the activation of NRLP3 inflammasome. Here, we aimed to identify the potent autophagy enhancers from Penthorum chinense Pursh (PCP) that alleviate the pathology of AD via inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome.

Methods

At first, autophagic activity-guided isolation was performed to identify the autophagy enhancers in PCP. Secondly, the autophagy effect was monitored by detecting LC3 protein expression using Western blotting and the average number of GFP-LC3 puncta per microglial cell using confocal microscopy. Then, the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome was measured by detecting the protein expression and transfected fluorescence intensity of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1, as well as the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Finally, the behavioral performance was evaluated by measuring the paralysis in C. elegans, and the cognitive function was tested by Morris water maze (MWM) in APP/PS1 mice.

Results

Four ellagitannin flavonoids, including pinocembrin-7-O-[4″,6″-hexahydroxydiphenoyl]-glucoside (PHG), pinocembrin-7-O-[3″-O-galloyl-4″,6″-hexahydroxydiphenoyl]-glucoside (PGHG), thonningianin A (TA), and thonningianin B (TB), were identified to be autophagy enhancers in PCP. Among these, TA exhibited the strongest autophagy induction effect, and the mechanistic study demonstrated that TA activated autophagy via the AMPK/ULK1 and Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways. In addition, TA effectively promoted the autophagic degradation of NLRP3 inflammasome in Aβ(1–42)-induced microglial cells and ameliorated neuronal damage via autophagy induction. In vivo, TA activated autophagy and improved behavioral symptoms in C. elegans. Furthermore, TA might penetrate the blood-brain barrier and could improve cognitive function and ameliorate the Aβ pathology and the NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated neuroinflammation via the AMPK/ULK1 and Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways in APP/PS1 mice.

Conclusion

We identified TA as a potent microglial autophagy enhancer in PCP that promotes the autophagic degradation of the NLRP3 inflammasome to alleviate the pathology of AD via the AMPK/ULK1 and Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways, which provides novel insights for TA in the treatment of AD.
Understanding Swiss real interest rates in a financially globalized world
Authors: Bacchetta Philippe , Benhima Kenza , Renne Jean-Paul
Published: August 2022

This paper proposes long-run estimates of ex ante real interest rates in Switzerland and other developed economies, and it describes their relative evolution. Our results highlight the decline in—and convergence of—global real interest rates that has unfolded over the last three decades for all maturities. While Swiss yields stand out as being particularly low and stable from a historical perspective, we find that Swiss interest rates have fallen less than in many other countries during the last decade. We then examine whether the reduction in the interest differential is related to a lower attractiveness of the Swiss franc. Focusing on the difference of Swiss minus German real government bonds yields, we find a significant increase in expected real depreciation of the Swiss franc and a somewhat lower convenience yield for Swiss bonds—the convenience yield reflecting the non-pecuniary value that investors impute to the liquidity of a given bond. In contrast, the safety premium in favor of the Swiss franc increased and therefore cannot explain the smaller decline in real interest rates in Switzerland. The last part of the paper analyzes the negative convenience yield on Swiss government bonds and its recent decline. We show that both the purchase of government bonds by foreign central banks and foreign exchange interventions by the Swiss National Bank may have contributed to this decline by reducing the relative supply of foreign versus domestic government bonds.
Sarve: synthetic data and local differential privacy for private frequency estimation
Authors: Varma Gatha , Chauhan Ritu , Singh Dhananjay
Published: August 2022

The collection of user attributes by service providers is a double-edged sword. They are instrumental in driving statistical analysis to train more accurate predictive models like recommenders. The analysis of the collected user data includes frequency estimation for categorical attributes. Nonetheless, the users deserve privacy guarantees against inadvertent identity disclosures. Therefore algorithms called frequency oracles were developed to randomize or perturb user attributes and estimate the frequencies of their values. We propose Sarve, a frequency oracle that used Randomized Aggregatable Privacy-Preserving Ordinal Response (RAPPOR) and Hadamard Response (HR) for randomization in combination with fake data. The design of a service-oriented architecture must consider two types of complexities, namely computational and communication. The functions of such systems aim to minimize the two complexities and therefore, the choice of privacy-enhancing methods must be a calculated decision. The variant of RAPPOR we had used was realized through bloom filters. A bloom filter is a memory-efficient data structure that offers time complexity of O(1). On the other hand, HR has been proven to give the best communication costs of the order of log(b) for b-bits communication. Therefore, Sarve is a step towards frequency oracles that exhibit how privacy provisions of existing methods can be combined with those of fake data to achieve statistical results comparable to the original data. Sarve also implemented an adaptive solution enhanced from the work of Arcolezi et al. The use of RAPPOR was found to provide better privacy-utility tradeoffs for specific privacy budgets in both high and general privacy regimes.
Open-source algorithm and software for computed tomography-based virtual pancreatoscopy and other applications
Authors: Huang Haofan , Yu Xiaxia , Tian Mu , He Weizhen , Li Shawn Xiang , Liang Zhengrong , Gao Yi
Published: August 2022

Pancreatoscopy plays a significant role in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic diseases. However, the risk of pancreatoscopy is remarkably greater than that of other endoscopic procedures, such as gastroscopy and bronchoscopy, owing to its severe invasiveness. In comparison, virtual pancreatoscopy (VP) has shown notable advantages. However, because of the low resolution of current computed tomography (CT) technology and the small diameter of the pancreatic duct, VP has limited clinical use. In this study, an optimal path algorithm and super-resolution technique are investigated for the development of an open-source software platform for VP based on 3D Slicer. The proposed segmentation of the pancreatic duct from the abdominal CT images reached an average Dice coefficient of 0.85 with a standard deviation of 0.04. Owing to the excellent segmentation performance, a fly-through visualization of both the inside and outside of the duct was successfully reconstructed, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of VP. In addition, a quantitative analysis of the wall thickness and topology of the duct provides more insight into pancreatic diseases than a fly-through visualization. The entire VP system developed in this study is available at https://github.com/gaoyi/VirtualEndoscopy.git.
Characterization of the expressed RNA variants from young patients with critical and non-critical SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Okendo Javan
Published: August 2022

Background

Since the COVID-19 outbreak emerged, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has continuously evolved into variants with underlying mutations associated with increased transmissibility, potential escape from neutralizing antibodies, and disease severity. Although intensive research is ongoing worldwide to understand the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, there is a lack of information on what constitutes the expressed RNA variants in critical and non-critical comorbidity-free young patients. The study sought  to characterize the expressed RNA variants from young patients with critical and non-critical forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methodology

The bulk ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing data with the identifier GSE172114 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The study participants were divided into critical, n = 46, and non-critical, n = 23. FastQC version 0.11.9 and Cutadapt version 3.7 were used to assess the read quality and perform adapter trimming, respectively. Spliced Transcripts Alignment to a Reference (STAR) version 2.7.10a was used to align reads to the human (hg38) reference genome. Genome Analysis Tool Kit (GATK) best practice was followed to call variants using the rnavar pipeline, part of the nf-core pipelines.

Results

Our research demonstrates that critical and non-critical SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals are characterized by a unique set of expressed RNA variants. The expressed gene variants are enriched on the innate immune response, specifically neutrophil-mediated immune response. On the other hand, the expressed gene variants are involved in both innate and cellular immune responses.

Conclusion

Deeply phenotyped comorbidity-free young patients with critical and non-critical SARS-CoV-2 infection are characterized by a unique set of expressed RNA variants. The findings in this study can inform the patient classification process in health facilities globally when admitting young patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Egyptian recommendations for treating to target of lupus nephritis: an evidence-based consensus on clinical practice recommendations for the management of lupus nephritis and pregnancy
Authors: El Miedany Yasser , Kamel Nadia Salah , Abu-Zaid Mohammed Hassan , El Hadidi Khaled , Mahmoud Geilan Abdelmoneim , El Gaafary Maha , Sarhan Eman , Abdel-Nasser Ahmed , Abualfadl Esam M. , Azim Atef Abdel , Fathi Nihal Ahmed , Mokbel Abir , Hassan Waleed , Eissa Mervat , Tabra Samar Abd Alhamed , Mortada Mohamed , Fouad Nermeen Ahmed , Elnemr Rehab , Mansour Ahmed Ezzat , Elaraby Ismail , Medhat Basma M. , Mohamed Sally S. , Abdelradi Eman Ragab , Ibrahim Rehab Ali , Saber Sally
Published: August 2022

Background

Nephritis is known to be one of the most serious complications of lupus and a strong predictor of poor outcome. This study was carried out aiming at setting up an up-to-date recommendation for the management of women living with lupus nephritis and planning for a family throughout conception, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.

Ten key clinical questions were identified by the scientific committee according to the Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes and Timing (PICOT) approach. The literature review team performed a systematic review to summarise evidence advocating the benefits and harms of available pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies for women living with lupus nephritis (LN) and planning for a family. Subsequently, recommendations were formulated. The level of evidence was determined for each section using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) system. A 2-round Delphi process was conducted with 24 experts. All rounds were conducted online. A consensus was achieved on the direction and the strength of the recommendations.

Results

An online questionnaire was sent to an expert panel who participated in the two rounds (response rate 100%). At the end of round 2, a total of 20 recommendation items, categorised into 10 domains to address the main LN with pregnancy categories, were obtained. The percentage of those who agreed with the recommendations (rank 7–9) ranged from 88.5 to 100%. On the phrasing of all the clinical standards defined by the scientific committee, a consensus was reached (i.e., 75% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed). An algorithm for the management of LN with pregnancy has been suggested.

Conclusion

These recommendations provide an updated consensus on the pharmacological treatment of LN with pregnancy and strategies to reach optimal outcomes for both the mother and newborn in common clinical scenarios, based on a combination of evidence and expert opinion. Best treatment decisions should be tailored to each individual patient’s situation.
Effects of inflammatory cytokines on eradication and recurrence of Helicobacter pylori infection in children
Authors: Zhang Sisi , Zhang Yuanda , Chen Songsong , Teng Yongnan , Li Chen
Published: August 2022

Objectives: To study the correlation of eradication and recurrence with IL-1 β, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in children with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection.

Methods: Children confirmed with Hp infection (n = 153) in our hospital from January to June 2019 and successfully followed up for one year were selected as the study subjects, and 73 healthy children of the same period were selected as the control group. The levels of IL-1 β, IL-6 and TNF-α in children confirmed with Hp infection and healthy children were detected, respectively.

Results: Results of triple therapy: 113 cases (73.9%) reexamined with negative 13C-urea breath test were included in Group-A; and 40 cases (26.1%) reexamined with positive 13C-urea breath test were included in Group-B. Follow up results: 23 cases (20.4%) positive in 13C-urea breath test in one year follow-up were included in Group-C; and 90 cases (79.6%) negative in 13C-urea breath test in one year follow-up were included in Group-D. Group-B showed significantly higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α when compared with the Group-A and the control group, respectively (P < 0.05). Obviously higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were observed in Group-C and Group-D in comparison with the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in IL-1 β level between Group-C and Group-D (P > 0.05). IL-6 and TNF-α levels in Group-C were remarkably higher than those in Group-D (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α may affect the eradication effect of triple therapy in Children with Hp infection, and increased levels of IL-6 and TNF-α may affect the recurrence rate of Hp infection in children.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.7.5281

How to cite this:Zhang S, Zhang Y, Chen S, Teng Y, Li C. Effects of inflammatory cytokines on eradication and recurrence of Helicobacter pylori infection in children. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(7):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.7.5281

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publication audit & ever increasing problems faced by editors of Biomedical Journals
Authors: Jawaid Shaukat Ali
Published: August 2022

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.7.6920

How to cite this:Jawaid SA. Publication audit & ever increasing problems faced by editors of Biomedical Journals. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(7):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.7.6920

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
target: an R package to predict combined function of transcription factors
Authors: Ahmed Mahmoud , Kim Deok Ryong
Published: August 2022

Researchers use ChIP binding data to identify potential transcription factor binding sites. Similarly, they use gene expression data from sequencing or microarrays to quantify the effect of the transcription factor overexpression or knockdown on its targets. Therefore, the integration of the binding and expression data can be used to improve the understanding of a transcription factor function. Here, we implemented the binding and expression target analysis (BETA) in an R/Bioconductor package. This algorithm ranks the targets based on the distances of their assigned peaks from the transcription factor ChIP experiment and the signed statistics from gene expression profiling with transcription factor perturbation. We further extend BETA to integrate two sets of data from two transcription factors to predict their targets and their combined functions. In this article, we briefly describe the workings of the algorithm and provide a workflow with a real dataset for using it. The gene targets and the aggregate functions of transcription factors YY1 and YY2 in HeLa cells were identified. Using the same datasets, we identified the shared targets of the two transcription factors, which were found to be, on average, more cooperatively regulated.
Developing and deploying an efficient genotyping workflow for accelerating maize improvement in developing countries
Authors: Offornedo Queen , Menkir Abebe , Babalola Deborah , Gedil Melaku
Published: August 2022

Background: Molecular breeding is an essential tool for accelerating genetic gain in crop improvement towards meeting the need to feed an ever-growing world population. Establishing low-cost, flexible genotyping platforms in small, public and regional laboratories can stimulate the application of molecular breeding in developing countries. These laboratories can serve plant breeding projects requiring low- to medium-density markers for marker-assisted selection (MAS) and quality control (QC) activities.

Methods: We performed two QC and MAS experiments consisting of 637 maize lines, using an optimised genotyping workflow involving an in-house competitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) genotyping system with an optimised sample collection, preparation, and DNA extraction and quantitation process. A smaller volume of leaf-disc size plant samples was collected directly in 96-well plates for DNA extraction, using a slightly modified CTAB-based DArT DNA extraction protocol. DNA quality and quantity analyses were performed using a microplate reader, and the KASP genotyping and data analysis was performed in our laboratory.

Results: Applying the optimized genotyping workflow expedited the QC and MAS experiments from over five weeks (when outsourcing) to two weeks and eliminated the shipping cost. Using a set of 28 KASP single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) validated for maize, the QC experiment revealed the genetic identity of four maize varieties taken from five seed sources. Another set of 10 KASP SNPs was sufficient in verifying the parentage of 390 F1 lines. The KASP-based MAS was successfully applied to a maize pro-vitamin A (PVA) breeding program and for introgressing the aflatoxin resistance gene into elite tropical maize lines.

Conclusion: This improved workflow has helped accelerate maize improvement activities of IITA's Maize Improvement Program and facilitated DNA fingerprinting for tracking improved crop varieties. National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in developing countries can adopt this workflow to fast-track molecular marker-based genotyping for crop improvement.
Immunoglobulin G isolation by fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC): Method validation and implementation in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – a preliminary study
Authors: Aru Basak , Simsek Turkay , Ormeci Burcu , Gurel Gizem , Milićević Katarina , Radenović Lidija , Andjus Pavle , Yanikkaya Demirel Gulderen
Published: August 2022

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, heterogenous neurodegenerative disease which is characterized by weakness and muscle atrophy. While more than 50 genes linked with the familial ALS have been identified, sporadic ALS accounts for the majority of cases and genetic factors contributing to the sporadic form of the disease remain largely elusive. Involvement of the immune system in disease progression, including presence of circulating autoimmune complexes, associations with other autoimmune diseases, as well as immunoglobulin (Igs) levels have been described. However, investigations involving immunoglobulins requires isolation of patient antibodies, while so far, there is no validated fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) protocol. For this purpose, we evaluated specificity, accuracy and precision parameters; limit of detection, limit of quantification and correlation coefficient were calculated from the calibration curve.  Our results indicated the limit of detection and limit of quantification as 0.045 and 0.13 mg respectively, while r2 was calculated as 0.9992. Our preliminary data suggest that this protocol can be implemented for the isolation of IgGs of ALS patients’ sera samples for in vitro and in vivo analyses, while more studies involving larger patient groups are required.
To the question of constructing of the concept "crisis of the 1990s" in the modern socio-political discourse
Authors: Martynov Mihail , Serdyukov D.
Published: August 2022

The article analyzes the sources, process and mechanisms of constructing of the concept "crisis of the 1990s" in modern socio-political discourse. The aim was to study this concept as a tool for shaping public opinion. The crisis issues of the 1990s were widespread in the President's messages, continued in the programs of political parties and modern mass media. In this regard, the study of the concept "crisis of the 1990s" was carried out using the tools of content analysis and qualitative text analysis. As a result of the analysis of the selected types of sources, the hypothesis was confirmed that a stable concept of the "crisis of the 1990s" was formed in the socio-political discourse. It was also found that the volume of content characterizing the 1990s as a crisis period prevails to a greater extent on the federal agenda. The state media turn to the stories of the 1990s in order to demonstrate differences in the approaches of state policy of the 2000s-2020s, and the opposition media note the pattern in the work carried out in shaping public opinion.
Catatonic syndrome during COVID-19 - a case study
Authors: Florek Szymon , Sołtys Wojciech , Bielówka Marta , Kołodziejska Aleksandra
Published: August 2022

Katatonia jest stanem neuropsychiatrycznym obejmującym jakościowe zaburzenia psychomotoryczne i wolicjonalne. Jako jednostka nozologiczna została ujęta w międzynarodowych klasyfikacjach chorób - ICD-10 i DSM-5, jednak kryteria diagnostyczne znacznie różnią się pomiędzy tymi klasyfikacjami. COVID-19 jest chorobą zakaźną obejmującą przede wszystkim układ oddechowy, czasami również inne narządy. W literaturze istnieją pojedyncze doniesienia dotyczące współistnienia COVID-19 z katatonią. Opisywany przypadek dotyczy młodego mężczyzny, który trafił do szpitala z objawami ostrego zaburzenia psychotycznego. W trakcie diagnostyki rozpoznano zakażenie wirusem SARS-CoV-2, a następnie rozwinęła się u niego pełnoobjawowa katatonia. Etiologia tych zaburzeń pozostaje niejasna do dnia dzisiejszego. Leczenie natomiast było wysoce skomplikowane z uwagi na konieczność stosowania dużych dawek leków z grupy benzodiazepin działających depresyjnie na ośrodek oddechowy i mogących tym samym pogorszyć przebieg COVID-19. Przypadek ten skłania do rozważań nad umieszczeniem zespołu katatonicznego w międzynarodowych klasyfikacjach, potencjalnymi przyczynami jego wystąpienia u omawianego pacjenta oraz prawidłowego i bezpiecznego leczenia zaburzeń katatonicznych współwystępujących z infekcją COVID-19.
The latest reports on biomarkers used in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer
Authors: Chałupnik Aleksandra , Chilimoniuk Zuzanna , Dobosz Maciej , Sobstyl Anna , Sobstyl Małgorzata
Published: August 2022

Introduction: Ovarian cancer ranks seventh in terms of incidence and eighth in terms of mortality among women worldwide. It is divided into several subtypes. The epithelial type of ovarian cancer is responsible for 90% of cases. The clinical picture is usually an appendage tumor detected by palpation or during pelvic imaging. Symptoms are usually non-specific such as abdominal pushing or bloating. 

State of knowledge: Ovarian cancer is usually detected at an advanced stage due to the long duration of absence of symptoms. Therefore, there is an urgent need to look at existing and identify potential biomarkers that can lead to the development of new and more effective predictors for the diagnosis and prognosis of ovarian cancer. The ability of these biomarkers to predict the existence and stages of ovarian cancer could improve early diagnosis and survival of ovarian cancer patients. Currently, the biomarkers CA-125 and HE4 play the most important role in diagnosis. However, there are an increasing number of reports on other biomarkers such as kallikreins, bikunin, VEGF, and mesothelin. 

Summary: Partly due to the lack of effective screening, ovarian cancer is usually diagnosed in the final stages. This is why ongoing research into new biomarkers that could contribute to faster detection of the disease is so important. They would also increase the effectiveness of the therapies used and enable a better prognosis of the course of the disease.
Impact of neurological disorders occurring in neurodegenerative diseases on the conversation process and patients' quality of life
Authors: Mielniczek Katarzyna , Kowalska Aleksandra , Jóźwik Katarzyna , Lipiec Marta , Dołomisiewicz Diana
Published: August 2022

Introduction : Dialogue, or conversation, is the ability to speak as well as listen.  It plays a very important role in interpersonal relations.Speech disorders are a group of of disorders that includes various types of speech production difficulties. Speech production depends on the coordination of several motor acts: respiration, phonation, articulation, resonance and prosody. Phonation is the complex activity of producing sound by vibration of the vocal cords.  Resonance is the amplification of sounds at specific frequencies through vibration in the chest, throat and sinuses. Prosody includes a set of phonetic features, such as tone, loudness, tempo, and the overall timbre of speech, which are designed to intended to preserve the meaning and character of speech. Disruption of any of these related elements results in motor speech disorders.

Material and method : An overview is presented of language disorders in diseases neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease(PD) and Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA). Their impact on the conversation process and the patient's quality of life assessment was evaluated. The paper was based on scientific publications posted on the PubMed scientific platform.

Results : Speech and language disorders are the main symptoms of FRDA, which significantly affect the patients' quality of life. Patients often present with dysarthria, resulting from causes of central and peripheral and additional primary language disorders. The classic speech disorder in PD is hypokinetic dysarthria, manifested by hypophonia; monotonous, uneven and strained speech; reduced prosody (melodic voice); crowded articulation; inadequate pauses in speech; freezing of speech, unclear articulation.

Conclusions : The described disease entities show a significant impact on the deterioration of the process of of conversation by the patient, thus showing a significantly negative impact on the patients' quality of life.
Business Method Innovation in U.S. Manufacturing and Trade
Authors: Chan Tian Heong , Bharadwaj Anandhi , Varadarajan Deepa
Published: August 2022

Problem definition: In what kinds of business method innovation do firms in the manufacturing and trade sectors engage? Does engaging in business method innovation create value for these firms? The present paper answers these questions using empirical evidence. Methodology/results: Using text analysis of business method patents, we show that business method innovation in the U.S. manufacturing and trade sectors is aimed primarily at improving the business operations that support the sales of tangible products—that is, how the firm targets customers, manages product delivery, or enhances the product through service offerings. We then evaluate the effect of having business method innovation, as evidenced by patents, on a firm’s value. Leveraging the exogenous shock of the State Street ruling, which first recognized business methods as a patentable category of innovation, we identify a set of firms that possess business method patents and a matched set of comparable firms without such patents. Then, using a difference-in-differences with firm fixed effects model on the matched sample, we show that the valuation of the former set of firms increased by 9% after State Street, as measured by Tobin’s q. We further show that (1) business method innovators in the manufacturing sector gained a 7% increase, whereas business method innovators in the trade sectors gained a 25% increase; and (2) only firms with broader innovation scope—that is, business method innovations covering the range of customer targeting, product delivery, and service support of products—experienced a significant (18%) value bump. Managerial implications: This research provides evidence that business method innovation in the manufacturing and trade sectors primarily involves innovating in business operations that support product sales. Our work also provides empirical support for the proposition that engaging in business method innovation drives manufacturing and trade firms’ market performance.

Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1129 .
How Plummers is plugging a gap
Authors: Barber Marijka
Published: August 2022

Dental nurse Marijka Barber talks about her practice's bid to improve its community's access to dental care.
Development and validation of a gene signature predicting the risk of postmenopausal osteoporosis
Authors: Yuan Wei , Yang Maowei , Zhu Yue
Published: August 2022

Aims

We aimed to develop a gene signature that predicts the occurrence of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) by studying its genetic mechanism.

Methods

Five datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Unsupervised consensus cluster analysis was used to determine new PMOP subtypes. To determine the central genes and the core modules related to PMOP, the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WCGNA) was applied. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis was used to explore the biological processes underlying key genes. Logistic regression univariate analysis was used to screen for statistically significant variables. Two algorithms were used to select important PMOP-related genes. A logistic regression model was used to construct the PMOP-related gene profile. The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve, Harrell’s concordance index, a calibration chart, and decision curve analysis were used to characterize PMOP-related genes. Then, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to verify the expression of the PMOP-related genes in the gene signature.

Results

We identified three PMOP-related subtypes and four core modules. The muscle system process, muscle contraction, and actin filament-based movement were more active in the hub genes. We obtained five feature genes related to PMOP. Our analysis verified that the gene signature had good predictive power and applicability. The outcomes of the GSE56815 cohort were found to be consistent with the results of the earlier studies. qRT-PCR results showed that RAB2A and FYCO1 were amplified in clinical samples.

Conclusion

The PMOP-related gene signature we developed and verified can accurately predict the risk of PMOP in patients. These results can elucidate the molecular mechanism of RAB2A and FYCO1 underlying PMOP, and yield new and improved treatment strategies, ultimately helping PMOP monitoring. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2022;11(8):548–560.
Knowledge and Awareness of COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh: An Exploratory Data Analysis
Authors: Sharma Prayas , Adichwal Nitesh Kumar , Singh Ashish Kumar
Published: August 2022

Corona viruses, commonly called COVID-19, are a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Worldwide Covid-19 is affecting 210 countries and territories around the world and two international conveyances. As of 2 June 2020, there are 6,408,869 confirmed 2,935,368 recovered and 378,317 deaths cases has been reported in world of Coronavirus diseases, India is not untouched from this situation. Currently, it has reported infected 190,535 and 5,394 death cases due to COVID-19 in India. (https://covid19.who.int/region/searo/country/in). The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on 4 March 2020, with the first positive case in Ghaziabad. As of 1 June 2020, the state has 8361 confirmed cases, resulting in 222 deaths and 5030 recoveries. The situation is getting worst day by day as COVID-19 outbreaks and patients are increasing by every minute and become the most important issue for the whole world and So accessing knowledge and awareness among the people is very important. The present study using the exploratory data analysis we tried to demonstrate the knowledge and awareness of individuals about the COVID-19 pandemic in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. The findings of the present study can be utilized by the researchers and policy makers to handle this worst situation.
Active mode lock optoelectronic oscillator based on the simulated Brillouin scattering effect
Authors: Lin Chengji , Wang Yalan , Wang Anle , Zhang Jin , Peng Xiaoniu
Published: August 2022

An active mode-locked optoelectronic oscillator (AML-OEO) based on the simulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effect without an electrical filter is demonstrated here. By using phase modulation and SBS-based selective sideband amplification, the central frequency of the proposed SBS-AML-OEO is easily adjusted by simply changing the pump laser frequency instead of the filters. A microwave frequency comb signal with an adjustable central frequency and fixed bandwidth are generated by injecting a mode-locking external RF synchronizing with the free spectral ranging FSR. In addition, the harmonic SBS-AML-OEO is also achieved by harmonic signal injection. The proposed method reveals a simple solution to tune the central frequency and has the potential to be integrated on a chip since there is no structure changing in the scheme.
Absolute EUV reflectivity measurements using a broadband high-harmonic source and an in situ single exposure reference scheme
Authors: Abel Johann J. , Wiesner Felix , Nathanael Jan , Reinhard Julius , Wünsche Martin , Schmidl Gabriele , Gawlik Annett , Hübner Uwe , Plentz Jonathan , Rödel Christian , Paulus Gerhard G. , Fuchs Silvio
Published: August 2022

We present a tabletop setup for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reflection spectroscopy in the spectral range from 40 to 100 eV by using high-harmonic radiation. The simultaneous measurements of reference and sample spectra with high energy resolution provide precise and robust absolute reflectivity measurements, even when operating with spectrally fluctuating EUV sources. The stability and sensitivity of EUV reflectivity measurements are crucial factors for many applications in attosecond science, EUV spectroscopy, and nano-scale tomography. We show that the accuracy and stability of our in situ referencing scheme are almost one order of magnitude better in comparison to subsequent reference measurements. We demonstrate the performance of the setup by reflective near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure measurements of the aluminum L2/3 absorption edge in α-Al2O3 and compare the results to synchrotron measurements.
Self-healing WDM-based point-to-multipoint coherent passive optical network system with ONU-collaborative star topology for access-span robustness
Authors: Kodama Takahiro
Published: August 2022

This study proposed a new small star topology network architecture connecting a secondary fiber link between adjacent small cell base stations for disaster tolerance in the access span of a short-reach point-to-multipoint optical communication system. Compared to the edge-side optical node independent architecture, the proposed network architecture exhibits a high robustness and small number of optical components. We compared the conventional and proposed configurations for survivability in the case of a major disaster with a triple-link failure. The proposed method made it easy to add a small star-shaped network with secondary links for significant edge-side optical nodes while maintaining the basic configuration of the conventional passive optical network.
1.7 µm figure-9 Tm-doped ultrafast fiber laser
Authors: Lin Zi-Wei , Chen Ji-Xiang , Li Ti-Jian , Zhan Ze-Yu , Liu Meng , Li Can , Luo Ai-Ping , Zhou Pu , Xu Wen-Cheng , Luo Zhi-Chao
Published: August 2022

The evolution of multiphoton microscopy is critically dependent on the development of ultrafast laser technologies. The ultrashort pulse laser source at 1.7 µm waveband is attractive for in-depth three-photon imaging owing to the reduced scattering and absorption effects in biological tissues. Herein, we report on a 1.7 µm passively mode-locked figure-9 Tm-doped fiber laser. The nonreciprocal phase shifter that consists of two quarter-wave plates and a Faraday rotator introduces phase bias between the counter-propagating beams in the nonlinear amplifying loop mirror. The cavity dispersion is compensated to be slightly positive, enabling the proposed 1.7 µm ultrafast fiber laser to deliver the dissipative soliton with a 3-dB bandwidth of 20 nm. Moreover, the mode-locked spectral bandwidth could be flexibly tuned with different phase biases by rotating the wave plates. The demonstration of figure-9 Tm-doped ultrafast fiber laser would pave the way to develop the robust 1.7 µm ultrashort pulse laser sources, which could find important application for three-photon deep-tissue imaging.
Terahertz microresonators for material characterisation
Authors: Vogt Dominik Walter
Published: August 2022

Terahertz (THz) technology is rapidly evolving, and the advancement of data and information processing devices is essential. Silicon THz microresonators provide perfect platforms to develop compact and integrated devices that could transform THz technology. Here we present a systematic study on the key figure of merit of silicon THz disc microresonators - the quality factor (Q-factor) - in dependence on the substrate’s resistivity. Our results show that the Q-factor depends linearly on the resistivity and a variation in resistivity from 10 kΩcm to 15 kΩcm changes the Q-factor from 50k to 76k at 0.6 THz. Moreover, we experimentally determine that the silicon material absorption is inversely proportional to the substrate’s resistivity. In general, the presented methodology is ideally suited to precisely measure the material absorption of low-loss materials in the THz domain, which is challenging using conventional THz spectroscopy.