bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The past experience of the Christian community as an exemplum for its present and immediate future: a study of Heb 10,32-39
Authors: Filho José Adriano
Published: June 2020

One of the striking features of the Letter to the Hebrews is the use of the rhetorical device called exemplum (“example”) to strengthen the arguments the text provides and encourage its addressees to persevere “to the end”. Heb 10:32-39 uses this rhetorical resource as it stresses the community’s commitment and courage when they “endured great struggles and suffering” in the past, and sets it forth as a model for action in its present and immediate future. This paper, after highlighting the real sufferings experienced by the community in “those earlier days”, indicates how the recollection of its endurance that time serves as a basis for an exhortation to endure in the present. The description of the community’s past suffering allows for a perspective look at its current situation. The community must maintain its “confidence”, not silence its testimony or turn away from the people of God.
Apresentação
Authors: Filho José Adriano
Published: June 2020

Apresentação Reflexus 23.
Automatic Ink Mismatch Detection in Hyper Spectral Images Using K-means Clustering
Authors: Raza Shah Noman , Talha Muhammad , Imtiaz Fizza , Azmat Aneeqah
Published: June 2020

Hyper spectral imaging (HSI) is a technique that is used to obtain the spectrum for each pixel in the image. It helps in finding objects and identifying materials etc. Such an identification is very difficult using other imaging techniques. It allows the researchers to investigate the documents without any physical contact. Nowadays detection of unequal Ink mismatch based on HSI has shown vast improvement in distinguishing the inks. Detection of unequal Ink mismatch is an unbalanced clustering problem. This paper used K-means Clustering for ink mismatch detection. K-means Clustering find same subgroups in the data based on Euclidean distance. This paper demonstrates performance in unequal Ink mismatch based on HSI.
Mechanically Actuated Capacitor Microphone Control Using MPC and NARMA-L2 Controllers
Authors: Jibril Mustefa , Tadese Messay , Alemayehu Tadese Eliyas
Published: June 2020

In this paper, a capacitor microphone system is presented to improve the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy using a nonlinear auto regressive moving average-L2 (NARMA-L2) and model predictive control (MPC) controllers for the analysis of the open loop and closed loop system. The open loop system response shows that the output voltage signal need to be improved. The comparison of the closed loop system with the proposed controllers have been analyzed and a promising result have been obtained using Matlab/Simulink.
The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic among Communities Living in Dilla Town, Ethiopia, April 2020
Authors: Kassaw Chalachew
Published: June 2020

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is the global public health emergency concern and had an impact on the day to day life of individuals. Its effect on an individual’s mental health is significant to the extent of suicide. Objective: This study aimed to assess the magnitude of psychological problems and their associated factor among communities living in Dilla town in response to the pandemic. Methods: From Apr 1- Apr 15, 2020, a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted using multi-stage sampling techniques. Self-administered the questioner, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and logistic regression analysis (95% CI, p-value <0.05) was used. Results: This study included 445 respondents with a 94% non- response rate who was living in Dilla town. In total, 34.4% of respondents had a psychological problem (11.4 % mild and 23% moderate level of the psychological problem). Female, Greater secondary level of education, monthly income below 500 ETB, more than three family size, and wearing face mask were variables associated with the outcome variable (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Nearly one-third of the respondents had mild to moderate psychological among communities living in Dilla town. There is a need for mental health support on those identified groups of peoples to enhance their resilience in response to the pandemic.
Dynamic Programming Algorithms Applied to Musical Counterpoint in Process Composition: An Example Using Henri Pousseur’s Scambi
Authors: Cochrane Louis J. , Gatherer Derek
Published: June 2020

The Needleman-Wunsch process is a classic tool in bioinformatics, being a dynamic programming algorithm that performs a pairwise alignment of two input biological sequences, either protein or nucleic acid. A distance matrix between the tokens used in the sequences is also required as input. The distance matrix is used to generate a positional pairwise similarity matrix between the input sequences, which is in turn used to generate a dynamic programming matrix. The best path through the dynamic programming matrix is navigated using a traceback procedure that maximises similarity, inserting gaps as necessary. Needleman-Wunsch can align both nucleic acids or proteins, which use alphabets of size 4 and 20 tokens respectively. It can also be applied to any other kind of sequence where distance matrices can be specified. Here, we apply it to chains of Pousseur’s Scambi electronic music fragments, of which there are 32, and which Pousseur categorised by their sonic properties, thus permitting the consecutive construction of distance, similarity and dynamic programming matrices. Traceback through the dynamic programming matrix thus produces contrapuntal duet compositions in which two Scambi chains are played in the maximally euphonious manner, providing also an illustration of the principles of biological sequence alignment in sound.
Innovation in General Education Governance Towards the School Autonomy Model: International Experiences and Implication Lessons for Vietnam’s Education
Authors: Huong Nguyen Thi , Pham Phuong Thu
Published: June 2020

Innovation in general education governance is one of the development trends not only in Vietnam but also in the world. This is also an important measure to change and improve the quality of education, especially expand autonomy of high schools and universities. The paper focuses on some main contents: overview of general education; the experiences of some countries in the implementation of the school administration model towards the school autonomy model so that give lessons for Vietnam’s education can be learned in the context of development conditions nowadays. The results in this work would be used to classify the schools into the various groups. The data also analysts on decision-making capability, on what we called an “index of school autonomy”, expressed the possible level of school-level decision-making.
Численный метод решения обыкновенных дифференциальных уравнений с помощью приведения их к форме Шеннона
Authors: Чикуров Николай Георгиевич , Chikurov Nikolay Georgievich
Published: June 2020

Рассматривается численный метод решения, основанный на приведении систем
обыкновенных дифференциальных уравнений к форме Шеннона. Уравнения Шеннона отличаются тем, что содержат лишь операции умножения и суммирования.
Отсутствие функциональных преобразований позволяет упростить и унифицировать процесс численного интегрирования дифференциальных уравнений в форме
Шеннона. Для этого достаточно в исходных уравнениях, заданных в нормальной
форме Коши, произвести простую замену переменных. В отличие от классического
метода Рунге-Кутты четвертого порядка рассматриваемый численный метод может
иметь более высокий порядок точности.
Модель нейросетевого дефаззификатора заключений в процедурах нечетко-логического вывода и еe программная реализация
Authors: Дударов Сергей Павлович , Dudarov Sergei Pavlovich , Кириллов Никита Дмитриевич , Kirillov Nikita Dmitrievich
Published: June 2020

Представлена математическая модель нейросетевого дефаззификатора. Она представляет собой двухслойный перцептрон и служит для преобразования нечеткого
решения в числовую форму в процедурах нечетко-логического вывода. Модель позволяет оптимизировать вычислительную нагрузку, которая возникает при использовании стандартного метода центра тяжести, за счет использования нейронной сети. Было проведено обучение и тестирование с различными настройками нейросетевой модели. Также была доказана эффективность такого подхода с замером времени выполнения вычислительных операций.
Introductory notes for the Acta IMEKO Special Issue on the “23rd Symposium on Measurement of Electrical Quantities” and “International Workshop on Metrology for Agriculture and Forestry - 2019”
Authors: Salceanu Alexandru , D'Arco Mauro , Tamburis Oscar
Published: June 2020

This issue of Acta IMEKO is mainly connected with the 23rd Symposium on Measurement of Electrical Quantities which has been held in the city of Xi’an, People's Republic of China on September 2019. The issue is finalized by a first selection of scientific contributions that have been presented at the IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Agriculture and Forestry held in Portici, Naples, Italy, in October 2019.
Complementary Feeding Practices and Associated Factors Among Nursing Mothers in Southwestern Nigeria
Authors: Samuel Folake Olukemi , Ibidapo Ebunoluwa Grace
Published: June 2020

Background and Objectives: The period of transition from breastfeeding to other foods and liquids, is a very vulnerable period when malnutrition is likely to start in many infants and young children, if appropriate feeding practices are not employed. This study assessed using composite indices, the appropriateness of complementary feeding practices and associated factors among nursing mothers in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

Methods: This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in selected primary health facilities in Ijebu-Ode. Multi stage sampling technique was employed to select 283 mother-child pairs. Data was collected using a pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire which included the World Health Organization Infant and Young Child Feeding Indicators (WHO IYCF) and the Infant and Child Feeding Index (ICFI).

Results: Of the total 283 mother-child pairs studied, 33.6% met minimum meal frequency, 14.5% received minimum dietary diversity (?4 food groups) and 9.2% received minimum acceptable diet when assessed using the WHO IYCF indicators. Overall, appropriate complementary feeding was low (4.2%) and associated (p?0.05) with factors such as antenatal care visits, child welfare clinic attendance and mother’s workplace. On the other hand, the ICFI categorized respondents into low (11.7%), medium (24.7%) and high (63.6%) ICFI scores and were associated (p?0.05) with mother’s education and household size.

Conclusion and Global Health Implications: This study revealed a high prevalence of inappropriate complementary feeding practices. The use of composite indices reflected these practices and their associated factors holistically as they revealed different dimensions of complementary feeding. This may be useful for monitoring, evaluation, research and the required advocacy for complementary feeding.

Key words: • Appropriate complementary feeding • IYCF indicators • Feeding practices • Infant and child feeding index

 

Copyright © 2020 Samuel and Ibidapo. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.
A New Generalized Model for Predicting the Drag Coefficient and the Settling Velocity of Rigid Spheres in Viscoplastic Fluids
Authors: Okesanya Temitope , Kuru Ergun , Sun Yanxin
Published: June 2020

An experimental study was conducted to measure the settling velocity of spherical particles in viscoplastic fluids exhibiting inelastic and elastic behavior. Using a mechanistic model dependent on the balance of the forces acting on the settling particle and detailed statistical analyses of the experimental results, a generalized model for predicting the settling velocity of spherical particles in viscoplastic fluids was developed.

A new modified shear Reynolds number (ReT*) was introduced, which physically quantifies the effects of non-Newtonian-fluid rheological properties on the settling velocity. The newly developed CD/Rep correlation and the modified shear Reynolds number were incorporated into the Wilson et al. (2003) model to develop a generalized model that can be used for predicting the particle-settling velocity in all types of viscoplastic fluids.
Evaluating the rate of contamination of raw milk with pathogenic biotypes of Yersinia enterocolitica in the North-East of Iran
Authors: Movafagh Fahimeh , Zeinali Tayebeh , Jamshidi Abdollah
Published: June 2020

The authors have withdrawn this preprint due to erroneous posting.
Modulation of Cardiac Injury by ACE inhibitor/ARB in Patients with Severe COVID-19
Authors: Du Beibei , Si Daoyuan , Yang Bo , Liu Guohui , Zhang Qian , Yang Yue , Jin Lina , Massé Stéphane , Oudit Gavin Y. , Rouleau Jean Lucien , Yang Ping , Nanthakumar Kumaraswamy
Published: June 2020

Introduction: Cardiac injury occurs in 7-22% of patient hospitalized with COVID-19 and an elevation in troponin is associated with a 4.2-fold increase in the risk of mortality. Preliminary data showed ACEi/ARB usage might not increase mortaily in COVID-19 patients. However, it is unknown if cardiac injury in patients with severe COVID-19 can be modulated by ACEi/ARB usage during evolution of the cardiac injury.Methods: In 154 COVID-19 patients with cardiac injury, the effect of ACEi/ARB treatment (17 patients) was compared with 137 patients without ACEi/ARB treatment. Cardiac injury was indicated by cTnI level.Results: In ACEi/ARB treatment group and no ACEi/ARB treatment group, peak cTnI level did not show significant difference (150.5 pg/ml [31.75-1179], vs 207 pg/ml [54.65-989.4], respectively, P = 0.21). Evolution of Cardiac injury (temporal change of cTnI at day 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, and 33) showed no statistical difference. Mortality (ACEi/ARB group vs no ACEi/ARB group; 52.9% vs 69.9%, P = 0.17), atrial arrhythmias (11.7% vs 24.4%, P = 0.36), requirement for invasive ventilatory support (29.4% vs 48.2%, P = 0.14) also showed no significant difference in two groups.Conclusions: ACEi/ARB usage during the COVID-19 was not associated with exacerbation of cardiac injury. These data should be interpreted as essentially hypothesis-generating due to small sample size.Clinical Trial Registration: This retrospective study was registered in Chinese clinical trial registry (ChiCTR 2000031301).
Ilizarov Technique Combined with Additional Procedures for the Correction of Equinocavovarus Foot Deformity in Adults
Authors: Bai Longbin , Liu Peiting , Qin Sihe , Wang Zengtao
Published: June 2020

Background: The Ilizarov technique has been used to treat equinocavovarus foot deformity and has shown good results. However, these results were mostly observed in pediatric patients, and few reports involving only adult case series exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of the Ilizarov technique combined with additional procedures for equinocavovarus deformities in adults. Methods: Total 28 adult patients (33 feet) who underwent equinocavovarus foot deformities correction using the Ilizarov technique combined with additional procedures between February 2013 and December 2017 were included. Clinical outcomes were assessed preoperatively and at final follow-up using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hind foot score, the Foot Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) score, and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. The radiographic outcomes were measured using weight-bearing ankle and foot radiographs taken preoperatively and at the last follow-up visit.Results: The mean VAS, AOFAS ankle-hind foot scores, FAAM scores were significantly improved (P < 0.0001 for each) at a mean follow-up of 37.30 ±10.94 months. SF-36 scores increased postoperatively in terms of physical function, role-physical, body pain, general health, vitality, social function, role-emotional, mental health, and health transition (P < 0.0001 for each). Early complications were found in 19 feet (57.6%) and late complications were found in 7 feet (21.2%). Radiographs showed that the tibio-talar angle (p < 0.0001), tibial-sole angle (p < 0.0001), talus-first metatarsal angle (p = 0.0004), talo-calcaneal angle (p = 0.0002), and hindfoot alignment view angle (p < 0.0001) were significantly improved. Twenty-seven (97%) patients were satisfied with their outcomes and reported that they would undergo the same procedure if they had the same preoperative deformities.Conclusion: The combination of the Ilizarov technique and additional procedures provides an effective and reliable means of correcting equinocavovarus foot deformity, yielding high levels of patient satisfaction and a low incidence of recurrence. Studies with more cases are needed to assess the results because there are many different etiological mechanisms.
Production Of Bioethanol From Different Leaves Waste And Performance And Emission Characteristics Of Single Cylinder CI Engine
Authors: Bathula Sreenivas Reddy , Ballary Vikas S. , Kumarappa S. , Guruchethan A.M. , Mali Harika
Published: June 2020

Background: The need of bioethanol is being increased nowadays; hence the production of bioethanol must be increased using cheaper and eco-friendly raw materials. Based on these criteria, different leaves wastes are considered as cheaper and eco-friendly. In the present study selected tree leaves wastes such as Rain tree, Jackfruit tree, Mango tree and Singapore cherry tree leaves waste were used as raw materials to produce bioethanol by using Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast). The operating conditions are pH 6.5, temperature 27±2°C, speed 80rpm, fermentation period 10 days. Also an attempt has been made to find out the suitability of extracted bioethanol as a fuel in CI engine. Results: Experimental work on performance and emission characteristics of ethanol blended diesel fuel was conducted on single cylinder four stroke CI engines at operating pressure 210 bar. The results obtained from this work shows that the higher rate of ethanol can be produced through fermentation of wet Jackfruit tree leaves, which gives good percentage of ethanol as compared to other tree leaves wastes. Conclusions: The conversion of waste into fuel, which forms an attractive solution towards both waste management and Biofuels generation.This study concludes that the Jackfruit tree leaves contain rich fermentable sugar can be converted into useful products like bioethanol that can serve as an alternative energy source.
Revisiting Samuelson's Models, Linear and Nonlinear, Stability Conditions and Oscillating Dynamics
Authors: TRAMONTANA Fabio , Gardini Laura
Published: June 2020

In this work we reconsider the dynamics of a few versions of the classical Samuelson's multiplier- accelerator model for national economy. First we recall that the classical one with constant governmental expenditure, represented by a linear second-order difference equation, is able to generate oscillations con- verging to the equilibrium for a wide range of values of the parameters, and give its analytic solution for all the possible cases. A delayed version proposed in the recent literature, represented by a linear third-order di¤erence equation, is also considered. We show that also this model is able to produce converging oscilla- tions, and give a complete analysis of the stability region of the equilibrium. A new simple nonlinear model is proposed, showing that it keeps oscillatory behavior, although coupled with other dynamics related to global effects. Our analysis confirms that the seminal work of Samuelson and simple modifications of it, may give powerful tools in the study of the business cycles.
Biomarkers of Myocardial Fibrosis are Associated with Diabetes but not with Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction in Women with Angina and No Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Bove Kira Bang , Mygind Naja Dam , Nielsen Signe Holm , Michelsen Marie Mide , Bechsgaard Daria Frestad , Suhrs Hannah Elena , Schroder Jakob , Prescott Eva
Published: June 2020

Background Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) is highly prevalent in women with no obstructive coronary artery disease and possibly related to myocardial fibrosis caused by excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. ECM turnover can be measured in blood indicating fibrotic activity. We hypothesized that women with DM, angina and no obstructive coronary artery disease have increased ECM turnover and that this is associated with CMD.Methods We included 344 women with angina pectoris and no obstructive coronary artery disease (187 with DM, predominantly type II) and 76 asymptomatic women without DM as controls. Biomarkers reflecting formation of type IV and VI collagen (PRO-C4 and PRO-C6) and degradation of type IV, V and VI collagen (C4M, C5M, C6M), mimecan (MIM) and titin (TIM) were measured in all participants. CMD was defined as coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) <2.0 assessed by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography.Results Median age was 64.2 (IQR 57.0-70.0), slightly higher in symptomatic women with DM. Median CFVR was 2.21 (1.89-2.55) in symptomatic women with DM, 2.35 (1.96-2.77) in symptomatic women without DM and 2.63 (2.19-2.95) in controls (age-adjusted p for trend<0.001). With exception of CM5, women with DM had significantly higher levels of all ECM biomarkers than women without DM (age-adjusted p<0.01), whereas biomarkers did not differ between symptomatic women without DM and controls. High ECM biomarker levels were associated with HbA1c, high BMI, low HDL and high triglycerides (p=0.003-0.0001). There was no correlation between ECM biomarkers and CFVR.Conclusion Women with angina pectoris and DM had increased levels of myocardial fibrosis biomarkers compared with women without DM. There was no association between CMD and biomarkers of myocardial fibrosis.
Novel analytical approach for diabetes education based on screening outcomes from Japanese physical examination
Authors: Kumakura Atsushi , Shikuma Junpei , Kan Kenshi , Ito Mariko , Kakizaki Yusuke , Miwa Takashi , Odawara Masato
Published: June 2020

Background: We examined the time-course changes in four variables, namely, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level, fasting insulin level (FIL), homeostasis model assessment beta (HOMA-b) score, and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score. The variables were examined before and after the onset of diabetes mellitus (DM).Methods: In total, 1,333 Japanese men underwent four annual screenings for diabetes from April 2006 to March 2010. DM was defined as an FPG level ³ 126 mg/dL or glycated hemoglobin level ³ 6.5%. The variables were examined in healthy men and those with DM in the body mass index [BMI] ³ 25 and < 25 kg/m2 groups. The projected FPG level and FIL were assessed based on the simulated HOMA-b and HOMA-IR scores, which is considered a novel analytical approach.Results: In total, 99 (7.4%) men developed DM at any point of the screening periods. The HOMA-b values of the BMI ³ 25 kg/m2 group were 117.6% ± 72.9%, 60.4% ± 29.8%, and 43.1% ± 28.1% at baseline, onset, and 4 years after the onset, respectively. Thus, the decrease in the values was steep. Meanwhile, the HOMA-IR values of the BMI < 25 kg/m2 group were 1.7 ± 0.8 and 2.2 ± 1.2 at 1 year before onset and at onset. Hence, there was an important but slight increase in the values. This result indicates that patients presented with reduced insulin secretion and elevated IR during the onset of diabetes. The values of the four variables remained within normal ranges in healthy men.Conclusions: The novel analytical approach has clinical relevance as it provides a visual material for diabetes education, which is useful in providing caution against the risk of developing DM.
Effect of Y/Mg Ion Ratio and Phase Assemble on Ionic Conductivity of ZrO2 Solid Electrolyte Ceramics
Authors: Hoo Y.G. , Xiao Jianzhong , Xia Feng
Published: June 2020

The phase composition design principle is introduced to obtain a balanced properties of ionic conductivity and thermo-tolerant for zirconia solid electrolyte used in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The zirconia ceramic solid electrolytes were fabricated by two-step sintering. With increasing Y/Mg ionic ratio from 1.78:1 to 1.88:1, the content of monoclinic phase was not fluctuated widely. The ionic conductivity, including the total electrical resistance; grain electrical resistance and grain boundary electrical resistance at 1223K, was gradually declining with increasing of Y/Mg ionic ratio. Furthermore, the enrichment of Mg ion in grain boundary acts as a disincentive to grain boundary ionic conductivity. In addition, the maximum ionic conductivity at high temperature in this study reaches to 0.143 Scm-1 with increase of the Y/Mg ion ratio.
Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Promotes Proliferation, Reduces Apoptosis, and Enhances Autophagy in Cardiomyocytes During Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Fang Zhi , Li Jiao , Guo Yingqiang
Published: June 2020

Background: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is reported to protect cells from ischemic injury in many diseases. However, the protective role of TERT in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIRI) remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the protective roles of TERT in MIRI.Methods: Rat myocardial H9c2 cells were exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) followed by reperfusion to mimic in vivoMIRI. A TERT overexpression model was constructed by adenovirus infection. Cell viability was detected using the CCK8 assay. Immunohistochemicalstaining of Ki67 was used to detect cell proliferation. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL and flow cytometry analysis of Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide. Apoptosis-related protein CC3 and autophagy related protein LC3 were detected by western blot analysis. Results:TERT was increased in H9c2 cells after OGD. TERT overexpression promoted the proliferation, attenuated apoptosis, and enhanced autophagy in H9c2 cells after OGD.Conclusions:This study indicates that TERT plays a protective role via promoting proliferation, suppressing apoptosis, and enhancing autophagy in myocardial cells after MIRI. Further study of TERT is expected to reveal new treatment targets for myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Differential Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis by Bioinformatics Analysis
Authors: Lin Qing , Pan Danhong , Huang Yanfeng , Wang Wenyi , Fu Changlong , Li Xihai , Ye Jinxia
Published: June 2020

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common joint disease. The aim of my current academic work is to identify important genes associated with OA and RA, clarify their underlying mechanisms, and define differences between OA and RA.Methods: Gene expression profiles of GSE55235 were available from Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes between 1) OA tissues and normal tissues, 2) RA tissues and normal tissues, were picked out by GEO2R tool, Venn diagram software, and Volcanic map. Next, we made use of the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery to analyze Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genome pathway and gene ontology. The protein-protein interaction of these DEGs was visualized by Cytoscape with Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes. Of entire PPI network analyzed by Molecular Complex Detection plug-in and obtain central nodes. Then the central nodes were re-analysis via DAVID. We next obtained the intersection of the analysis results of GSE55457 and GSE55235 to verify the results. Finally, potential biomarkers were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic.Results: Twelve genes were found to be significantly enriched in the TNF signaling pathway in OA, and eleven genes were found to be significantly enriched in the Chemokine signaling pathway in RA. Receiver operating characteristic curve suggested that the detection of JUN in OA and CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL13 in RA exhibited a high diagnostic performance.Conclusions: We have identified six significantly DEGs on the basis of integrated bioinformatical methods, which could be potential targets for differential diagnosis for OA and RA.
Regional Differences in Semen Quality Between Guangzhou and Hong Kong in South China: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Shi Xiao , Chan Carol Pui Shan , Chan David Yiu Leung , Quan Song , Li Tin-Chiu
Published: June 2020

Background: The geographic variation in semen quality has been reported in many countries. However, the situation in China is still unknown. To answer this question, we examined the variation in semen parameters between two cities in south China: Guangzhou (GZ) and Hong Kong (HK).Methods: Semen analysis data of 13507 subjects from GZ and 1106 subjects from HK were retrospectively analysed. In order to control for referral bias, we selected two well-defined subpopulations, namely, subpopulation Ⅰ: male partners of women with an underlying cause of subfertility, which is assumed to be similar to the general male population; subpopulation Ⅱ: normozoospermic men, which is assumed to represent men with normal spermatogenesis, sperm maturation and sperm transportation. In addition, we have also chosen to control for two well-recognized confounding variables, namely, age and abstinence time by using a case matching design and generalised additive models (GAM).Results: In using the case matching design, subjects from different cities with similar age and abstinence time were matched. The results of the paired T test showed that sperm concentration and motility of subjects in HK were significantly lower than that of subjects in GZ in both subpopulation Ⅰ and Ⅱ (P < 0.05); on the other hand, the sperm morphology of subjects in HK was significantly lower than that of subjects in GZ in subpopulation Ⅰ (P < 0.05) but not in subpopulation Ⅱ (P > 0.05).The results of GAM model showed that the sperm parameters were variated by age and/or abstinence time, however, the sperm concentration, motility and morphology of subjects in HK were significantly lower than that of subjects in GZ in both subpopulation Ⅰ and Ⅱ (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The semen quality of subjects in HK was significantly worse than that of subjects in GZ, which may be caused by environmental and lifestyle factors, given that the study subjects in both cities of the present study are of the same ethnic origin.Trial registration: Not applicable.
Development and Validation of a Clinical-Radiomic Model for Preoperative Prediction of Lymph Node Metastasis and Overall Survival in Rectal Cancer: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Zhu Yuzhou , Sun Kaibo , Yang Tinghan , Wu Qingbin , Shen Yinzhi , Zhang Zixin , Zhang Xubing , Wang Ziqiang
Published: June 2020

Background: Preoperative lymph node (LN) metastasis is essential to therapeutic strategies for rectal cancer (RC) patients without distal metastasis, and is one of the major predictive risk factors. Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict the preoperative LN metastasis. Thus, we established a clinical-radiomic model to assist in predicting LN metastasis and overall survival (OS) in RC patients preoperatively. Methods: The prediction model was established and validated in a primary cohort consisting of 150 patients with pathologically confirmed RC, and data was gathered from January 2013 and December 2015. Radiomic features were extracted from the CT images of portal venous phase (PVP). For selection of the features, LASSO regression method was used. We established a clinical-radiomic model by incorporating the radiomic features and independent clinical risk factors. Then we adopted this combined model to classify RC patients into high- and low-risk groups for 3-year OS analysis.Results: A total of 49 patients were proved to have LN metastasis pathologically, and 101 patients had no metastasis of LN. The Rad-score consisted of 2 selected features. The combined clinical-radiomic model included preoperative clinical T stage, preoperative clinical N stage and the Rad-score. The combined model showed good performance of discrimination, with a AUC of 0.847 in the training cohort and 0.782 in the validation cohort. Significant differences existed in OS between high- and low-risk groups in both the training (p=0.026) and validation (p=0.034) cohort. Conclusion: This combined clinical-radiomic model could be conveniently used to facilitate the preoperative prediction of LN metastasis and prognosis in patients with RC.Trial registration: This research was retrospectively registered at our institution’s medical ethics committee (NO.2019-1159)
Comprehensive Analysis of the Association Between the Glycolysis Prognostic Risk Signature and Immune Infiltration in Endometrial Cancer
Authors: Yang Xiao , Li Xingchen , Shen Boqiang , Zhou Jingyi , Cheng Yuan , Jia Yuanyuan , Wang Jianliu
Published: June 2020

Background: Glycolysis is the primary mechanism of energy metabolism in tumor cells. The purpose of this study is to develop a glycolysis-related risk signature for endometrial cancer and analyze its relationship with immune function.Methods: The mRNA expression profiling and clinical information of endometrial cancer were downloaded from TCGA database. GSEA was performed to screen out gene sets related to glycolysis, and the R software was used to screen DEGs. Univariate Cox and LASSO regression analyses were used to construct a glycolysis-related prognostic signature for endometrial cancer. WGCNA were performed to identify the potential mechanisms associated with the prognostic signature. Immune scores, stromal scores and ESTIMATE scores were calculated based on the R “ESTIMATE” algorithm. The “CIBERSORT” algorithm was used to evaluate the infiltration of immune cells. ROC curve, nomogram, gene alteration, coexpression analyses and PPIs were also performed. Results: We identified a glycolysis-related gene signature (PFKM, PSMC4, NUP85, PDHA1, CDK1, CLDN9, CENPA, GPI, NUP155 and GPCI) for predicting the prognosis of endometrial cancer. Based on this gene signature, the patients were divided into high- and low-risk subgroups. The overall survival of patients in the high-risk subgroup was significantly lower than that of the low-risk group. Multivariate Cox regression analysis results showed that the ten-gene signature was an independent prognostic factor for endometrial cancer. The ROC curve confirmed the accuracy of the prognostic signature (AUC=0.730). The immune scores and ESTIMATE scores of patients in the high-risk subgroup were lower than those of the low-risk subgroup, while the low immune score and ESTIMATE scores were closely related to the poor prognosis of patients. The high-risk group was associated with lower cellular immune infiltration of resting dendritic cells, resting memory T cells and Tregs, while the overall survival rate of resting dendritic cells and Tregs in the low-proportion group was significantly lower than that in the high-proportion group. Conclusions: we constructed a glycolysis-related ten-gene signature to predict the survival and prognosis of endometrial cancer. Our findings may help to elucidate the mechanism of glycolysis and provide new ideas for targeted therapy and prognosis of endometrial cancer.
Expression and Prognostic Roles of PRDXs Gene Family in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Xu Mingxing , Xu Jianliang , Zhu Dun , Su Rishun , Zhuang Baoding , Xu Ruiyun , Li Lingli , Chen Shuxian , Ling Yunbiao
Published: June 2020

Background: As the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the world, the therapeutic effect and 5-year overall survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are not optimistic. Previous researches indicated that the disorder of PRDXs was related to the occurrence and development of cancer. Methods: In this study,analyzing through CCLE, UALCAN, HCCDB and Human Protein Atlas database databases, PRDXs not only existedin various tumor cell lines, but alsohad maladjusted expression on mRNA and protein levelsin HCC tissues. Besides, the correlations between mRNA as well as methylation levels of PRDXs and clinical characterization wereevaluated using UALCAN. Results: Kaplan-Meier Plotter demonstrated that high expression of PRDX1 or low expression of PRDX2/3 suggested poor prognosis for HCC patients. The mutation frequency, type and biological interaction network of PRDXs were obtained from c-Bioportal. By LinkedOmics,PRDXs related differential expressions geneswere obtained, which were involved in several canonical pathways and certain amino acid metabolism, as well as miRNAs targeting PRDXs, some of which may effect on the progression of HCC. Conclusions: In conclusion, using online tools to analyze data based on several public database, it was found that disordered expression of PRDXs was correlated with the prognosis of HCC patients, suggesting that PRDXs may be new molecular targets for HCC therapy and prognosis prediction.
Laparoscopic Completion total Gastrectomy as an Alternative Procedure for Gastric Stump Cancer: A Case Control Study
Authors: Takahashi Tohru , Inaki Noriyuki , Saito Hiroshi , Sakimura Yusuke , Hayashi Kengo , Tsuji Toshikatsu , Yamamoto Daisuke , Kitamura Hirotaka , Kadoya Shinichi , Bando Hiroyuki
Published: June 2020

BackgroundComplete gastrectomy for gastric stump cancer can be challenging due to severe adhesions; therefore, advanced techniques are required to perform laparoscopic surgery. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of laparoscopic completion total gastrectomy for the treatment of gastric stump cancer.MethodsPatient records from January 2010 to October 2018 were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups depending on whether they underwent open or laparoscopic gastrectomy. We compared patient characteristics; operative, clinical, and pathological data; survival rates; and prognosis between the groups.ResultsTwenty open and 17 laparoscopic completion total gastrectomies were performed. No significant differences in the distribution of the clinical T and N categories, clinical stage, and reconstruction methods of the initial gastrectomy between the two groups were observed. Laparoscopic gastrectomy resulted in a significantly longer operation time (230 vs. 182.5 min; p = 0.026), lower blood loss (14 vs. 105 mL; p = 0.0000179), and shorter period to the first flatus passage (2 vs. 3 days; p = 0.0000401) than open gastrectomy. No significant differences in the number of retrieved lymph nodes, duration of hospital stay, complication rate, and postoperative analgesic usage between the two groups were observed. No patients required conversion to open surgery in the laparoscopic-treatment group. Pathological findings revealed that the laparoscopic group had a smaller tumor size (not pathological T category) and less metastatic lymph nodes than the open group; this led to an earlier distribution of the pathological stage and better overall or disease-free survivals in the laparoscopic group.ConclusionsLaparoscopic completion total gastrectomy was safely conducted without complications and mortality implicating the oncological validity for the treatment of gastric stump cancer. With sophistication of laparoscopic skills and advanced technologies, laparoscopic completion total gastrectomy may be the best way to perform less invasive surgery in terms of decreased blood loss and earlier recovery of intestinal peristalsis.
Identification of a Methylation-Driven Gene Panel for Survival Prediction in Colon Cancer
Authors: Peng Yaojun , Zhao Jing , Yin Fan , Sharen Gaowa , Wu Qiyan , Sun Xiaoxuan , Yang Juan , Wang Huan
Published: June 2020

Background: Prediction and improvement of prognosis is important for effective clinical management of colon cancer patients. Accumulation of a variety of genetic as well as epigenetic changes in colon epithelial cells has been identified as one of the fundamental processes that drive the initiation and progression of colon cancer. This study aimed to explore functional genes regulated by DNA methylation and the potential of these DNA methylation changes to become biomarkers predictive of colon cancer prognosis.Methods: Methylation-driven genes (MDGs) were explored by applying an integrative analysis tool (MethylMix) to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) colon cancer project. TCGA colon cancer patients with available survival information (n=281) were randomly divided into training dataset (50%) for model construction and testing dataset (50%) for model validation. The prognostic MDG panel was identified in the training dataset by combining the Cox regression model with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regularization, a widely used approach to penalize the effect of multicollineatity. GSEA was employed to determine functional pathways associated with the prognostic 6-MDG panel. CD40 expression and methylation in colon cancer samples were also examined in datasets (expression profile [GSE8671] and methylation profile [GSE42752]) from Gene Expression Omnibus. Experimental confirmation of DNA methylation in colon cancer cell lines was performed using methylation specific PCR and bisulfite sequencing.Results: We identified and internal validated a prognostic methylation-driven gene panel consisting of six gene members (TMEM88, HOXB2, FGD1, TOGARAM1, ARHGDIB and CD40). High risk phenotype classified by the 6-MDGs panel was associated with cancer-related biological processes, including invasion and metastasis, angiogenesis and tumor immune microenvironment, among others. The prognostic value of the 6-MDGs panel was independent of TNM stage, and its combination with TNM stage and age could help improve survival prediction of colon cancer patients. Additionally, we validated that the expression of CD40 was regulated by promoter region methylation in colon cancer samples and cell lines. Conclusions: The proposed 6-MDGs panel represents a promising signature for estimating overall survival in patients with colon cancer.
A Report on COVID-19 Epidemic in Pakistan: An SEIR Fractional Model
Authors: Ahmad Zubair , Arif Muhammad , Ali Farhad , Khan Ilyas , Sooppy Kottakkaran
Published: June 2020

Recently, novel coronavirus is a serious global issue and having a negative impact on the economy of the whole world. Like other countries, it also effected the economy and people of Pakistan. According to the publicly reported data, the first case of novel corona virus in Pakistan was reported on 27th February 2020. The aim of the present study is to describe the mathematical model and dynamics of COVID-19 in Pakistan. To investigate the spread of coronavirus in Pakistan, we develop the SEIR time fractional model with newly, developed fractional operator of Atangana-Baleanu. We present briefly the analysis of the given model and discuss its applications using world health organization (WHO) reported data for Pakistan. We consider the available infection cases from 19th march 2020, till 31st march 2020 and accordingly, various parameters are fitted or estimated. It is worth noting that we have calculated the basic reproduction number which shows that virus is spreading rapidly. Furthermore, stability analysis of the model at disease free equilibrium DFE and endemic equilibriums EE is performed to observe the dynamics and transmission of the model. Finally, the AB fractional model is solved numerically. To show the effect of the various embedded parameters like fractional parameter on the model, various graphs are plotted. It is worth noting that the base of our investigation, we have predicted the spread of disease for next 200 days.
WITHDRAWN: Epidemic Big Bang: development and quarantine measures for Covid-19
Authors: Trigger Sergey , Czerniawski Eugeny
Published: June 2020

New discrete approximation for the infection spread is constructed based on COVID-19 epidemic data. We consider the epidemic as dependent upon four key parameters: the size of population involved, the mean number of dangerous contacts of one infected person per day, the probability to transmit infection due to such contact and the mean duration of disease. In the simplest case of free epidemic in an infinite population, the number of infected rises exponentially day by day. Here we show the model for epidemic process in a closed population, constrained by isolation, treatment and so on. The four parameters introduced here have the clear sense and are in association with the well-known concept of reproduction number in the continuous susceptible-infected-susceptible model. We derive these parameters from the adequate statistical data. On this basis, we also found the corresponding basic reproduction number mentioned above. Our approach allows evaluating the influence of quarantine measures on free pandemic process. We found a good correspondence of the theory and reliable statistical data. The model is quite flexible and it can be expanded for situations that are more complex.
Trends of Incidence and Prognosis of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma
Authors: Mao Weipu , Xu Zhipeng , Li Jian , Chen Weijun , Kong Qingfang , Wu Jianping , Xu Bin , Chen Ming
Published: June 2020

Backgrud The purpose of this study was to investigate trends of incidence of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients and establish reliable and practical nomogram based on significant clinical factors to predict the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of UTUC patients.Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database extracts UTUC patients between 1988 and 2015. Incidence was calculated using joinpoint regression software, and trends were quantified by annual percentage change (APC). A nomogram was constructed using R software to predict the OS and CSS probabilities of a single patient. Results From 1988 to 2015, the incidence of UTUC showed a downward trend (1988: 1.57/100,000 to 2015: 1.51/100,000; APC=-0.1). After stratification according to sex, age and primary site, we found that the incidence of UTUC patients in male, 70+ years and renal pelvis were higher than those of female, <60 years,60-69 years and ureter UTUC patients. The nomogram based on age, sex, marital status, race, origin, primary site, histological type, grade, SEER stage, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy variables showed good OS and CSS accuracy (OS: C-index=0.701, AUC=0.738; CSS: C-index=0.729, AUC=0.689). In addition, the calibration curves showed a good consistency between the predicted and actual 3-, 5- and 10-year OS and CSS rates of the nomogram.Conclusion In the past 30 years, the incidence of UTUC showed a general downward trend, and the prognostic nomogram we established can provide a personalized risk assessment for the survival of UTUC patients.