bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Role of Ferroptosis in Adverse Left Ventricular Remodeling Following Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Komai Kyoko , Kawasaki Nicholas K. , Higa Jason K. , Matsui Takashi
Published: April 2022

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death and is distinct from other conventional forms of regulated cell death. It is often characterized by the dysfunction of the antioxidant selenoprotein glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) antioxidant system. This loss of antioxidant capacity leads to the peroxidation of lipids and subsequent compromised plasma membrane structure. Disruption of the GPX4 antioxidant system has been associated with various conditions such as cardiomyopathy and ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. GPX4 regulates lipid peroxidation, and chemical or genetic inhibition of GPX4 leads to reduced cardiac function. Iron chelators or antioxidants can be used for inhibiting ferroptosis, which restores functionality in in vivo and ex vivo experiments and confers overall cardioprotective effects against I/R injury. Moreover, suppression of ferroptosis also suppresses inflammation and limits the extent of left ventricle remodeling after I/R injury. Future research is necessary to understand the role of ferroptosis following an ischemic incident and can lead to the discovery of more potential therapeutics that prevent ferroptosis in the heart.
Mitochondria Bioenergetic Functions and Cell Metabolism Are Modulated by the Bergamot Polyphenolic Fraction
Authors: Algieri Cristina , Bernardini Chiara , Oppedisano Francesca , La Mantia Debora , Trombetti Fabiana , Palma Ernesto , Forni Monica , Mollace Vincenzo , Romeo Giovanni , Nesci Salvatore
Published: April 2022

The bergamot polyphenolic fraction (BPF) was evaluated in the F1FO-ATPase activity of swine heart mitochondria. In the presence of a concentration higher than 50 µg/mL BPF, the ATPase activity of F1FO-ATPase, dependent on the natural cofactor Mg2+, increased by 15%, whereas the enzyme activity in the presence of Ca2+ was inhibited by 10%. By considering this opposite BPF effect, the F1FO-ATPase activity involved in providing ATP synthesis in oxidative phosphorylation and triggering mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) formation has been evaluated. The BPF improved the catalytic coupling of oxidative phosphorylation in the presence of a substrate at the first phosphorylation site, boosting the respiratory control ratios (state 3/state 4) by 25% and 85% with 50 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL BPF, respectively. Conversely, the substrate at the second phosphorylation site led to the improvement of the state 3/state 4 ratios by 15% only with 100 µg/mL BPF. Moreover, the BPF carried out its beneficial effect on the mPTP phenomenon by desensitizing the pore opening. The acute effect of the BPF on the metabolism of porcine aortica endothelial cells (pAECs) showed an ATP rate index greater than one, which points out a prevailing mitochondrial oxidative metabolism with respect to the glycolytic pathway, and this ratio rose by about three times with 100 µg/mL BPF. Consistently, the mitochondrial ATP turnover, in addition to the basal and maximal respiration, were higher in the presence of the BPF than in the controls, and the MTT test revealed an increase in cell viability with a BPF concentration above 200 µg/mL. Therefore, the molecule mixture of the BPF aims to ensure good performance of the mitochondrial bioenergetic parameters.
The Pharmacological Treatment of Pediatric Vertigo
Authors: Viola Pasquale , Marcianò Gianmarco , Casarella Alessandro , Pisani Davide , Astorina Alessia , Scarpa Alfonso , Siccardi Elena , Basile Emanuele , De Sarro Giovambattista , Gallelli Luca , Chiarella Giuseppe
Published: April 2022

Vertigo in children is a challenging topic. The lack of dedicated trials, guidelines and papers causes inhomogeneity in the treatment of vertigo in children. Meniere’s disease, migraine equivalents, vestibular neuritis, paroxysmal positional benign vertigo (BPPV), persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) and motion sickness may affect children with various degrees of incidence and clinical severity compared to adults. Several drugs are proposed for the management of these conditions, even if their use is subordinated to the child’s age. In this review, we summarize the existing evidence related to the use of drugs for this clinical condition in children as a start point for new trials, stating the urgent need for international guidelines.
Surface Treatment of Metals
Authors: Vizureanu Petrica
Published: April 2022

The main objective of this Special Issue was to publish outstanding papers presenting cutting-edge research in the field of surface treatment for metals [...]
Optimal Design and Processing Technology of 3D Printed Tibial Implants
Authors: Zhang Guoqing , Li Junxin , Zhou Xiaoyu , Zhou Yongsheng , Wang Anmin
Published: April 2022

It is necessary to study the design method and molding techniques of selective laser melting (SLM) tibial implants to improve the success rate of knee implant surgery and the quality of life of patients. In this study, the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of tibial implants was completed using the reverse combined with forward methods, optimization design was carried out on the constructed tibial implant model by adopting the parametric finite element method (FEM), and the SLM device was employed for the direct manufacture of tibial implants and to study its molding techniques. The results indicated that the tibial implant model completed using reverse and forward methods combined with FEM displayed favorable modeling effects, with more homogeneous stress distribution. After optimizing the molding techniques of SLM molding tibial implants, excellent molding effects could be achieved, with high tibial implant surface finish but no buckling deformation or obvious adhering slag. Studying the above modeling and molding methods can provide important foundation for the individualized design and direct manufacture of tibial implant.
Pressure Induced Superconductivity and Multiple Structural Transitions in CsCl-Type Cubic CeZn Single Crystal
Authors: Shen Xiaoling , Ma Hanming , Bhoi Dilip , Gouchi Jun , Uwatoko Yoshiya , Dalan Alisha , Kawamura Yukihiro , Sato Hiroyasu , Umehara Izuru , Uehara Masatomo
Published: April 2022

CsCl-type cubic compound CeZn exhibits a paramagnetic (PM) to antiferromagnetic (AFM) first-order transition at TN ~ 30 K accompanied by a simultaneous structural transition from cubic to tetragonal structure as temperature decreases. Applying the pressure, the coupled magnetic and crystal structural transition becomes separated above 1.0 GPa and then the AFM order changes to ferromagnetic (FM). The FM ordering temperature decreases with further applying pressure and changes to a nonmagnetic state above ~3.0 GPa. In the nonmagnetic state, we discovered superconductivity below Tsc ~ 1.3 K over 5.5 GPa, which survives even up to 9.5 GPa. Investigation of single crystal X-ray diffraction at room temperature reveals that CeZn undergoes a sequential crystal structural change with increasing pressure from cubic at ambient pressure to the monoclinic structure at 8.2 GPa via tetragonal and orthorhombic structure. The detailed analysis of crystal structure in CeZn single crystal evidenced that the emergence of superconductivity is related to the orthorhombic-to-monoclinic transition implying a nonmagnetic origin of the Cooper pair formation.
Recent Advances on the Strategies to Stabilize the α-Phase of Formamidinium Based Perovskite Materials
Authors: Zhao Hongmei , Zhao Lei , Li Song , Chu Yanfang , Sun Yucheng , Xie Bin , He Junjie , Li Jing
Published: April 2022

Perovskite solar cells (PSC) are considered promising next generation photovoltaic devices due to their low cost and high-power conversion efficiency (PCE). The perovskite material in the photovoltaic devices plays the fundamental role for the unique performances of PSC. Formamidinium based perovskite materials have become a hot-topic for research due to their excellent characteristics, such as a lower band gap (1.48 V), broader light absorption, and better thermal stability compared to methylammonium based perovskite materials. There are four phases of perovskite materials, named the cubic α-phase, tetragonal β-phase, orthorhombic γ-phase, and δ-phase (yellow). Many research focus on the transition of α-phase and δ-phase. α-Phase FA-based perovskite is very useful for photovoltaic application. However, the phase stability of α-phase FA-based perovskite materials is quite poor. It transforms into its useless δ-phase at room temperature. This instability will lead the degradation of PCE and the other optoelectronic properties. For the practical application of PSC, it is urgent to understand more about the mechanism of this transformation and boost the stability of α-Phase FA-based perovskite materials. This review describes the strategies developed in the past several years, such as mixed cations, anion exchange, dimensions controlling, and surface engineering. These discussions present a perspective on the stability of α-phase of FA-based perovskite materials and the coming challenges in this field.
Crystallization of Glasses Containing K2O, PbO, BaO, Al2O3, B2O3, and TiO2
Authors: Ponce-Peña Patricia , González-Lozano María Azucena , Escobedo-Bretado Miguel Ángel , Núñez-Ramírez Diola Marina , Rodríguez-Pulido Alicia , Quiñones Jurado Zoe V. , Poisot Martha , Sulbarán-Rangel Belkis
Published: April 2022

The objective of this work was to obtain glass-ceramics from stable glasses, with a composition of barium, lead, and potassium titanate phases, for use as semiconductors. For this purpose, the glass-ceramic technique was used to control crystal growth and obtain a fine-grained microstructure. Various glasses containing K2O, PbO, BaO, Al2O3, B2O3, and TiO2 were prepared using a melt-quenching method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a single amorphous phase of all samples. Infrared spectra confirmed the presence of B-O bonds stretching vibrations of (B3O6)3− boroxol rings and BO3 triangles, as well as Ti-O stretching vibrations of (TiO6/2) and (AlO6/2) octahedral units. Thermal analyses confirmed the presence of one or more crystallization peaks in the range of 700 to 744 °C. On this base, they were heat-treated to promote crystal growth. XRD and SEM detected Ba4Ti12O27, Ti7O13, and BaTiO3 phases, homogeneously distributed throughout the material with fine crystallite size. In addition, crystallized glasses’ (glass-ceramics) properties were determined; the density values were 2.8–3.55 g/cm3; the chemical resistance to acidic and basic media was low; and the band-gap values were in the range of 2.88 to 3.05 eV. These results suggest that crystallized glasses may have application in photocatalysis.
Measurements of User and Sensor Data from the Internet of Things (IoT) Devices
Authors: Ometov Aleksandr , Torres-Sospedra Joaquín
Published: April 2022

The evolution of modern cyber-physical systems and the tremendous growth in the number of interconnected Internet of Things (IoT) devices are already paving new ways for the development of improved data collection and processing methods [...]
Parkinson’s Disease Detection from Resting-State EEG Signals Using Common Spatial Pattern, Entropy, and Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Aljalal Majid , Aldosari Saeed A. , AlSharabi Khalil , Abdurraqeeb Akram M. , Alturki Fahd A.
Published: April 2022

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a very common brain abnormality that affects people all over the world. Early detection of such abnormality is critical in clinical diagnosis in order to prevent disease progression. Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the most important PD diagnostic tools since this disease is linked to the brain. In this study, novel efficient common spatial pattern-based approaches for detecting Parkinson’s disease in two cases, off–medication and on–medication, are proposed. First, the EEG signals are preprocessed to remove major artifacts before spatial filtering using a common spatial pattern. Several features are extracted from spatially filtered signals using different metrics, namely, variance, band power, energy, and several types of entropy. Machine learning techniques, namely, random forest, linear/quadratic discriminant analysis, support vector machine, and k-nearest neighbor, are investigated to classify the extracted features. The impacts of frequency bands, segment length, and reduction number on the results are also investigated in this work. The proposed methods are tested using two EEG datasets: the SanDiego dataset (31 participants, 93 min) and the UNM dataset (54 participants, 54 min). The results show that the proposed methods, particularly the combination of common spatial patterns and log energy entropy, provide competitive results when compared to methods in the literature. The achieved results in terms of classification accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in the case of off-medication PD detection are around 99%. In the case of on-medication PD, the results range from 95% to 98%. The results also reveal that features extracted from the alpha and beta bands have the highest classification accuracy.
Post-RNA (mRNA) Vaccination Myocarditis: CMR Features
Authors: Das Karuna M. , Mansoori Taleb Al , Shamisi Ali Al , AlBastaki Usama MH. , Gorkom Klaus V. , Alkoteesh Jamal Aldeen
Published: April 2022

RNA (mRNA) vaccines used to prevent COVID-19 infection may cause myocarditis. We describe a case of acute myocarditis in a 27-year-old male after receiving the second dose of a Pfizer immunization. Three days after receiving the second dose of vaccine, he had acute chest pain. Electrocardiographic examination revealed non-specific ST-T changes in the inferior leads. Troponin levels in his laboratory tests were 733 ng/L. No abnormalities were detected on his echocardiography or coronary angiography. The basal inferoseptal segment was hypokinetic. The LV EF was 50%, whereas the RV EF was 46%. Epicardial and mesocardial LGE were shown in the left ventricle’s basal and mid anterolateral, posterolateral, and inferoseptal segments. The native T1 was 1265 ± 54 ms, and the native T2 was 57 ± 10 ms. Myocardial strain indicated that the baseline values for LV GLS (−14.55), RV GLS (−15.8), and RVCS (−6.88) were considerably lower. The diagnosis of acute myocarditis was determined based on the clinical presentation and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) findings.
SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Testing Intervals: Twice or Thrice a Week?
Authors: Lau Chin Shern , Aw Tar-Choon
Published: April 2022

Antigen testing for SARS-CoV-2 has become an increasingly prominent screening tool in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and can be performed multiple times a week. However, the optimal weekly frequency of antigen testing is unclear; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 1–3 times a week, while some experts support testing 2–3 times a week. In our own laboratory, all staff (n = 161) underwent twice- and thrice-weekly antigen tests during different periods from August 2021 to the present as part of routine COVID-19 surveillance of healthcare workers. No cases of COVID-19 were detected with either regimen. While more frequent SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing may allow antigen testing to be an important surrogate for RT-PCR testing, performing SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests twice or thrice a week shows no inferiority to each other in screening for COVID-19.
Mode Switching Frequency of Electrohydraulic-Power-Coupled Electric Vehicles with Different Delay Control Times
Authors: Liu Shuo , Zhang Hongxin , Yang Jian
Published: April 2022

The variability of vehicle operating conditions and the multiplicity of coupler dynamics inevitably increase the frequency and complexity of cooperative power control. In this study, a novel electromechanical–hydraulic-power-coupled electric vehicle is developed and investigated. This vehicle integrates a conventional electric motor with a hydraulic pump/motor to interconvert electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic energies, while a rule-based dynamic optimal energy management strategy is designed to achieve dynamic switching of operating modes according to the operating conditions. Thus, the power-switching sensitivity is reduced by adding a delay determination link to the Stateflow. Results show that the addition of the delay link has a small effect on classical road conditions and significant suppression of road conditions with high-power-switching frequency. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper improves the energy efficiency, stability, and economic performance of electrohydraulic-power-coupled electric vehicles, which will hopefully provide a good reference for the development of electrohydraulic vehicles.
Noninvasive Sonic Tomography for Detecting Internal Defects in Old, Large Oriental White Oak in Cultural Heritage Areas
Authors: Son Jiwon , Lee Gwanggyu , Shin Jinho
Published: April 2022

Incidence rates of tree damage are increasing because of the increased intensity and frequency of abnormal climate events such as strong winds and heavy rains. Structural defects inside trees are difficult to detect by visual inspection; therefore, it is difficult to respond to them in advance based on prediction. Noninvasive sonic tomography (SoT) is a method that estimates internal defects while minimizing physical damage to trees; however, its accuracy differs depending on the species. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to compare the performance of noninvasive SoT and invasive resistance micro-drilling (RM) in detecting tree damage in oriental white oak (Quercus aliena Blume) distributed in East Asia and performed wood section analysis to verify the accuracy of noninvasive SoT. Linear regression analysis showed that defects in tomograms tended to increase with an increase in the number of defects in the RM profile, but the value of R2 was 0.405, which is lower than that of other tree species. The results from the wood section analysis and SoT were compared; the SoT tomograms appropriately reflected the location and size of the defects with a tendency to overestimate the defects when cracks were present, while the electric resistance tomography was effective for detecting incipient decay.
Fast Library Recommendation in Software Dependency Graphs with Symmetric Partially Absorbing Random Walks
Authors: Krasanakis Emmanouil , Symeonidis Andreas
Published: April 2022

To help developers discover libraries suited to their software projects, automated approaches often start from already employed libraries and recommend more based on co-occurrence patterns in other projects. The most accurate project–library recommendation systems employ Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) that learn latent node representations for link prediction. However, GNNs need to be retrained when dependency graphs are updated, for example, to recommend libraries for new projects, and are thus unwieldy for scalable deployment. To avoid retraining, we propose that recommendations can instead be performed with graph filters; by analyzing dependency graph dynamics emulating human-driven library discovery, we identify low-pass filtering with memory as a promising direction and introduce a novel filter, called symmetric partially absorbing random walks, which infers rather than trains the parameters of filters with node-specific memory to guarantee low-pass filtering. Experiments on a dependency graph between Android projects and third-party libraries show that our approach makes recommendations with a quality and diversification loosely comparable to those state-of-the-art GNNs without computationally intensive retraining for new predictions.
mRNA Vaccines: Why Is the Biology of Retroposition Ignored?
Authors: Domazet-Lošo Tomislav
Published: April 2022

The major advantage of mRNA vaccines over more conventional approaches is their potential for rapid development and large-scale deployment in pandemic situations. In the current COVID-19 crisis, two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been conditionally approved and broadly applied, while others are still in clinical trials. However, there is no previous experience with the use of mRNA vaccines on a large scale in the general population. This warrants a careful evaluation of mRNA vaccine safety properties by considering all available knowledge about mRNA molecular biology and evolution. Here, I discuss the pervasive claim that mRNA-based vaccines cannot alter genomes. Surprisingly, this notion is widely stated in the mRNA vaccine literature but never supported by referencing any primary scientific papers that would specifically address this question. This discrepancy becomes even more puzzling if one considers previous work on the molecular and evolutionary aspects of retroposition in murine and human populations that clearly documents the frequent integration of mRNA molecules into genomes, including clinical contexts. By performing basic comparisons, I show that the sequence features of mRNA vaccines meet all known requirements for retroposition using L1 elements—the most abundant autonomously active retrotransposons in the human genome. In fact, many factors associated with mRNA vaccines increase the possibility of their L1-mediated retroposition. I conclude that is unfounded to a priori assume that mRNA-based therapeutics do not impact genomes and that the route to genome integration of vaccine mRNAs via endogenous L1 retroelements is easily conceivable. This implies that we urgently need experimental studies that would rigorously test for the potential retroposition of vaccine mRNAs. At present, the insertional mutagenesis safety of mRNA-based vaccines should be considered unresolved.
Family Financial Pressure in Childhood and Telomere Length in Early Adolescence: A Prospective Study
Authors: Tung Keith T. S. , Wong Rosa S. , Tsang Hing Wai , Wong Wilfred H. S. , Tso Winnie W. Y. , Yam Jason C. , Lum Terry Y. S. , Chan Godfrey C. F. , Wong Ian C. K. , Ip Patrick
Published: April 2022

Much research on children in high-risk environments has focused on the biological consequences of maltreatment, adversity, and trauma. Whether other early-life stress sources such as family financial hardship are implicated in the cellular mechanism of disease development remains unclear. This study investigated the long-term effect of childhood exposure to family financial pressure on telomere length. It involved two waves of data collection occurring when participants reached Grade 3 (W1) and 7 (W2), respectively. In W1, parents reported family demographics and perceived financial stressors and pressure. In W2, participants provided buccal swab samples for measurement of their telomere length. Data from 92 participants (Mage in W2 = 13.2 years; 56.5% male) were analyzed. The main type of stressors reported by parents who perceived high family financial pressure in W1 were child-level stressors including affordability of their medical and educational expenses. Participants exposed to high parent-perceived family financial pressure in W1 had shorter telomeres in W2 when compared to those exposed to low parent-perceived family financial pressure (β = −0.61, p = 0.042). Subgroup analyses revealed stronger associations in girls than boys. These findings reveal an important spillover effect between parental financial perceptions and stress and children’s health at the cellular level.
Effects of Different Oxygen Levels with High-Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere on Postharvest Quality of Fresh Fig under Palliflex Storage Systems
Authors: Dogan Adem
Published: April 2022

Regulation of storage atmosphere composition with high carbon dioxide (CO2) is a highly effective and alternative approach to control quantity and quality losses in many horticultural crops. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of different O2 with constant high-level CO2 on the postharvest quality of fig cv. Bursa Siyahi in a new practical approach. For this purpose, 6% O2 + 15% CO2 (PL1), 9% O2 + 15% CO2 (PL2) and 21% O2 + 0.03% CO2 (Control) compositions were tested under a palliflex storage system during the cold storage and shelf-life. PL1 and PL2 were found to be more effective than the control for investigated parameters in general. After 28 days of cold storage and +3 days shelf-life, PL1 was also effective in controlling weight loss, ethylene production, antioxidant activity, decay incidence, decay severity, and total microorganisms. However, there were no significant differences between PL1 and PL2 for total soluble solids, titratable acidity, taste, visual appearance, firmness, respiration rate, and anthocyanin content. PL1 could be an effective composition for controlling decay and maintaining the postharvest quality of fresh figs during cold storage and shelf-life without any side effects on visual appearance and taste.
Mortiño (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth): An Underutilized Superplant from the Andes
Authors: Llivisaca-Contreras Susana A. , León-Tamariz Fabián , Manzano-Santana Patricia , Ruales Jenny , Naranjo-Morán Jaime , Serrano-Mena Lizette , Chica-Martínez Eduardo , Cevallos-Cevallos Juan M.
Published: April 2022

Mortiño is a member of the Ericaceae family native to the Andes that has been used by local communities for centuries. This species has shown potential in the areas of medicine, agronomy, and green technology. We used a multidisciplinary approach to review aspects related to the ecology, horticulture, composition and potential biotechnological applications of mortiño. As interest in this species grows, care must be taken to identify opportunities that justify its sustainable use while emphasizing the development of local communities. Mapping the wide variety of potential uses and the current state of conservation and utilization of this berry will help researchers to better target mortiño’s potential.
Interactions between Fish and Invertebrates in the Lowland Area of the Sava River following Excessive Change in Hydrological Regime
Authors: Tomljanović Tea , Špoljar Maria , Kattakulov Farrukh , Radočaj Tena , Matulić Daniel
Published: April 2022

The littoral zones of freshwaters are highly susceptible to extreme hydrological fluctuations caused by climate-induced changes in the water cycle. Disturbances in the hydrology could affect fish assemblages and their trophic interactions with invertebrates, which constitute a large part of fish diets. In 2014 and 2015, the littoral zone of the Sava River (Croatia) was studied to determine the influence of hydrological extremes on (1) fluctuations in environmental drivers and biocoenoses, and (2) the trophic relationships between fish, macroinvertebrates and zooseston, in an attempt to reveal their trophic interactions. Biocoenotic components showed different tolerance to extreme discharge, resulting in remarkable reductions in fish abundance, diversity, biomass, size and, presumably due to dilution, the abundance of zooseston, which is an important food for fish larvae. By contrast, benthic macroinvertebrates did not show significant fluctuations in abundance, but the share of benthic groups of organisms was shifted during high discharge. Gastropods and amphipods were found to be important food sources for fish. The present study helps to highlight the consequences of hydrological disturbances caused by climate change: the enhancement of stressors in riverine littoral habitats and inhabited communities.
Pharmacological Treatment of Acute Psychiatric Symptoms in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and a Case Series
Authors: Carmassi Claudia , Pacciardi Bruno , Gravina Davide , Fantasia Sara , De Pascale Gennaro , Cutuli Salvatore Lucio , Bertelloni Carlo Antonio , Dell’Osso Liliana
Published: April 2022

Delirium and psychomotor agitation are relevant clinical conditions that may develop during COVID-19 infection, especially in intensive care unit (ICU) settings. The psychopharmacological management of these conditions is receiving increasing interest in psychiatry, considering hyperkinetic delirium as one of the most common neuropsychiatries acute consequences in COVID-19 recovery patients. However, there are no actual internationally validated guidelines about this topic, due to the relatively newly introduced clinical condition; in addition, a standardized psychopharmacologic treatment of these cases is a complex goal to achieve due to the risk of both drug–drug interactions and the vulnerable conditions of those patients. The aim of this systematic review and case series is to evaluate and gather the scientific evidence on pharmacologic handling during delirium in COVID-19 patients to provide practical recommendations on the optimal management of psychotropic medication in these kinds of patients. The electronic databases PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were reviewed to identify studies, in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. At the end of the selection process, a total of 21 studies (n = 2063) were included. We also collected a case series of acute psychomotor agitation in COVID-19 patients hospitalized in ICU. Our results showed how the symptom-based choice of the psychotropic medication is crucial, and even most of the psychotropic drug classes showed good safety, one must not underestimate the possible drug interactions and also the possible decrease in vital functions which need to be strictly monitored especially during treatment with some kinds of molecules. We believe that the evidence-based recommendations highlighted in the present research will enhance the current knowledge and could provide better management of these patients.
Weekday and Weekend Physical Activity of Preschool Children in Relation to Selected Socioeconomic Indicators
Authors: Herbert Jarosław , Matłosz Piotr , Martínez-Rodríguez Alejandro , Przednowek Krzysztof , Asif Muhammad , Wyszyńska Justyna
Published: April 2022

Physical activity (PA) is as vital for improving the health of young children as it is positively associated with a broad range of psychological, cognitive, and cardio-metabolic outcomes. The aims of this study were to: (1) to assess the level of PA and meeting the WHO recommendations: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the number of steps in Polish preschool boys and girls on weekdays and on weekends; (2) to investigate the relationship between selected socioeconomic indicators (self-reported by parents) and PA, including meeting the WHO recommendation for daily MVPA and the number of steps on weekdays and on weekends among Polish preschoolers. Data were collected in the 2017/2018 school year. The study included a total of 522 boys and girls both aged between 5 and 6 years. The ActiGraph GT3X-BT tri-axial accelerometer was used to measure PA. Selected socioeconomic indicators as well as parental body weight and body height were self-reported by parents/caregivers using a questionnaire. In most of the PA indicators analyzed for girls (moderate, vigorous, total MVPA, and steps/day), the averages were higher during the week than during the weekend. Moreover, significantly more boys met the criteria of MVPA, both on weekdays and over the weekend (32.3% boys and 19.2% girls on weekdays and 31.1% boys and 18.1% girls on weekends). Additionally, more boys met the step recommendations, but only on weekends (15.5% boys and 6.6% girls). It was found that if there were two people in a household, there was an almost a three-fold greater chance (adj. OR = 2.94, p = 0.032) of meeting the MVPA criterion with an even stronger association (over fivefold greater chance) in meeting the step recommendation (adj. OR = 5.56, p = 0.033). The differences in the day schedule may potentially contribute with the level of PA in girls. Among the analyzed selected socioeconomic indicators, only the number of people in a household had a significant association on PA.
Nomophobia and Its Associated Factors in Peruvian Medical Students
Authors: Copaja-Corzo Cesar , Aragón-Ayala Carlos Jesús , Taype-Rondan Alvaro ,   Nomotest-Group
Published: April 2022

Nomophobia is the discomfort caused by not being in contact with a cell phone. Few studies have addressed nomophobia in university students. The study aimed to evaluate nomophobia and its associated factors in Peruvian medical students. We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study on Peruvian medical students between June 2020 and March 2021, using an online survey disseminated through social networks. We analyzed 3139 responses (females: 61.1%, median age: 22 years): 25.7% presented moderate nomophobia and 7.4% severe nomophobia. In the adjusted model, the nomophobia score was lower in students ≥24 years (β: −4.1, 95% CI: −7.2 to −1.0) and was higher in those who had a mobile internet data plan (β: 2.9, 0.8 to 5.0), used the cell phone >4 h (β: 4.5, 2.3 to 6.7), used a smartphone mainly for education (β: 2.5, 0.2 to 4.8), social networks (β: 8.2, 5.8 to 10.6) and entertainment (β: 3.3, 0.5 to 6.1), and those who presented possible anxious (β: 6.6, 4.3 to 8.9) or depressive (β: 19.5, 5.2 to 9.6) symptomatology. In conclusion, nomophobia in university students is a frequent and emerging problem, present mainly at younger ages and associated with symptoms of anxiety or depression. Implementing evaluation and early intervention strategies would favor the mental health of university students.
The Interplay between Multimorbidity, Physical Work Demands and Work Ability: Cross-Sectional Study among 12,879 Senior Workers
Authors: Seeberg Karina Glies Vincents , Skovlund Sebastian Venge , Bláfoss Rúni , Thomassen Kristina , Malchow-Møller Lasse , Sundstrup Emil , Andersen Lars Louis
Published: April 2022

Background: Aging increases the risk of chronic diseases, which can challenge the ability to work and thereby push senior workers out of the labour market. This study investigates the association between non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and work ability among workers ≥50 years (senior workers) with physically demanding and sedentary work, respectively. Methods: In the SeniorWorkingLife study, 12,879 senior workers replied to a questionnaire survey on work and health in 2018. Associations between the type and number of NCD and work ability (scale 0–10) were modelled using a general linear model adjusting for potential confounders and combined with model-assisted weights from national registers. Results: A higher number of NCD (multimorbidity) was progressively associated with a lower work ability (trend test, p-value < 0.001). Physical work influenced the association between the number of NCDs and work ability. For specific diseases, mental disorders, including burn-out syndrome (least square mean difference (LSMD): −1.46, 95% CI: −1.61 to −1.32) and stress ( LSMD: −1.18, 95% CI: −1.29 to −1.07), demonstrated a stronger association with a lower work ability compared with somatic diseases, such as back diseases (LSMD: −0.72, 95% CI: −0.80 to −0.64). Conclusions: Multimorbidity was progressively associated with a lower work ability in senior workers, especially among those with physical work.
How Well Environmental Design Is and Can Be Suited to People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Natural Language Processing Analysis
Authors: Zwilling Moti , Levy Beni
Published: April 2022

The quality of life of people diagnosed as having Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is essential for increasing their self-reliance and reducing their communication problems in order to allow them to work, take care of themselves, and develop a capacity to intercommunicate with their surroundings. Their need to organize their day-to-day and workplace surroundings has been addressed in the literature via long-term intervention programs aimed to imbue people with ASD with interpersonal communication capabilities. Yet, there is still a gap in the literature regarding new design methods aimed at creating a safe and friendly environment adapted to the needs of people with ASD. Therefore, this study has two objectives: (1) to shed light on the existing factors and methods related to workplaces designed to be friendly to people with ASD, specifically adults, through a natural language processing (NLP) analysis of existing scientific papers in the field of architecture and design; and (2) to explore the factors that might assist in improving the design and architecture of adaptive spaces for people with ASD by analyzing a corpus of experts’ documents. The study findings and their implications are analyzed and discussed.
A Role for Exchange of Extracellular Vesicles in Porcine Spermatogonial Co-Culture
Authors: Thiageswaran Shiama , Steele Heather , Voigt Anna Laura , Dobrinski Ina
Published: April 2022

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) provide the basis for lifelong male fertility through self-renewal and differentiation. Prepubertal male cancer patients may be rendered infertile by gonadotoxic chemotherapy and, unlike sexually mature men, cannot store sperm. Alternatively, testicular biopsies taken prior to treatment may be used to restore fertility in adulthood. Testicular SSC populations are limited, and in vitro culture systems are required to increase numbers of SSCs for treatment, demanding culture systems for SSC propagation. Using the pig as a non-rodent model, we developed culture systems to expand spermatogonia from immature testis tissue, comparing different feeders (Sertoli cells, peritubular myoid cells (PMCs) and pig fetal fibroblasts (PFFs)). Spermatogonia co-cultured with Sertoli cells, PMCs and PFFs had comparable rates of proliferation and apoptosis. To elucidate the mechanism behind the beneficial nature of feeder layers, we investigated the role of extracellular vesicles in crosstalk between spermatogonia and feeder cells. Sertoli cell-released exosomes are incorporated by spermatogonia, and inhibition of exosomal release reduces spermatogonial proliferation. Together, these results show that PMCs, PFFs and Sertoli cells promote spermatogonial proliferation in co-culture, with exosomal exchange representing one possible mechanism. Further characterization of exosomal cargo may ultimately allow the development of feeder-free culture systems for clinical use.
Structural and Hemodynamic Changes of the Right Ventricle in PH-HFpEF
Authors: Barilli Maria , Tavera Maria Cristina , Valente Serafina , Palazzuoli Alberto
Published: April 2022

One of the most important diagnostic challenges in clinical practice is the distinction between pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to primitive pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and PH due to left heart diseases. Both conditions share some common characteristics and pathophysiological pathways, making the two processes similar in several aspects. Their diagnostic differentiation is based on hemodynamic data on right heart catheterization, cardiac structural modifications, and therapeutic response. More specifically, PH secondary to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) shares features with type 1 PH (PAH), especially when the combined pre- and post-capillary form (CpcPH) takes place in advanced stages of the disease. Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is a common consequence related to worse prognosis and lower survival. This condition has recently been identified with a new classification based on clinical signs and progression markers. The role and prevalence of PH and RV dysfunction in HFpEF remain poorly identified, with wide variability in the literature reported from the largest clinical trials. Different parenchymal and vascular alterations affect the two diseases. Capillaries and arteriole vasoconstriction, vascular obliteration, and pulmonary blood fluid redistribution from the basal to the apical district are typical manifestations of type 1 PH. Conversely, PH related to HFpEF is primarily due to an increase of venules/capillaries parietal fibrosis, extracellular matrix deposition, and myocyte hypertrophy with a secondary “arteriolarization” of the vessels. Since the development of structural changes and the therapeutic target substantially differ, a better understanding of pathobiological processes underneath PH-HFpEF, and the identification of potential maladaptive RV mechanisms with an appropriate diagnostic tool, become mandatory in order to distinguish and manage these two similar forms of pulmonary hypertension.
A Proposal of the Fingerprint Optimization Method for the Fingerprint-Based Indoor Localization System with IEEE 802.15.4 Devices
Authors: Huo Yuanzhi , Puspitaningayu Pradini , Funabiki Nobuo , Hamazaki Kazushi , Kuribayashi Minoru , Kojima Kazuyuki
Published: April 2022

Nowadays, human indoor localization services inside buildings or on underground streets are in strong demand for various location-based services. Since conventional GPS cannot be used, indoor localization systems using wireless technologies have been extensively studied. Previously, we studied a fingerprint-based indoor localization system using IEEE802.15.4 devices, called FILS15.4, to allow use of inexpensive, tiny, and long-life transmitters. However, due to the narrow channel band and the low transmission power, the link quality indicator (LQI) used for fingerprints easily fluctuates by human movements and other uncontrollable factors. To improve the localization accuracy, FILS15.4 restricts the detection granularity to one room in the field, and adopts multiple fingerprints for one room, considering fluctuated signals, where their values must be properly adjusted. In this paper, we present a fingerprint optimization method for finding the proper fingerprint parameters in FILS15.4 by extending the existing one. As the training phase using the measurement LQI, it iteratively changes fingerprint values to maximize the newly defined score function for the room detecting accuracy. Moreover, it automatically increases the number of fingerprints for a room if the accuracy is not sufficient. For evaluations, we applied the proposed method to the measured LQI data using the FILS15.4 testbed system in the no. 2 Engineering Building at Okayama University. The validation results show that it improves the average detection accuracy (at higher than 97%) by automatically increasing the number of fingerprints and optimizing the values.
Enhancing Food Supply Chain Security through the Use of Blockchain and TinyML
Authors: Tsoukas Vasileios , Gkogkidis Anargyros , Kampa Aikaterini , Spathoulas Georgios , Kakarountas Athanasios
Published: April 2022

Food safety is a fundamental right in modern societies. One of the most pressing problems nowadays is the provenance of food and food-related products that citizens consume, mainly due to several food scares and the globalization of food markets, which has resulted in food supply chains that extend beyond nations or even continent boundaries. Food supply networks are characterized by high complexity and a lack of openness. There is a critical requirement for applying novel techniques to verify and authenticate the origin, quality parameters, and transfer/storage details associated with food. This study portrays an end-to-end approach to enhance the security of the food supply chain and thus increase the trustfulness of the food industry. The system aims at increasing the transparency of food supply chain monitoring systems through securing all components that those consist of. A universal information monitoring scheme based on blockchain technology ensures the integrity of collected data, a self-sovereign identity approach for all supply chain actors ensures the minimization of single points of failure, and finally, a security mechanism, that is based on the use of TinyML’s nascent technology, is embedded in monitoring devices to mitigate a significant portion of malicious behavior from actors in the supply chain.
Attention-Based Transformer-BiGRU for Question Classification
Authors: Han Dongfang , Tohti Turdi , Hamdulla Askar
Published: April 2022

A question answering (QA) system is a research direction in the field of artificial intelligence and natural language processing (NLP) that has attracted much attention and has broad development prospects. As one of the main components in the QA system, the accuracy of question classification plays a key role in the entire QA task. Therefore, not only the traditional machine learning methods but also today’s deep learning methods are widely used and deeply studied in question classification tasks. This paper mainly introduces our work on two aspects of Chinese question classification. The first is to use an answer-driven method to build a richer Chinese question classification dataset for the small-scale problems of the existing experimental dataset, which has a certain reference value for the expansion of the dataset, especially for the construction of those low-resource language datasets. The second is to propose a deep learning model of problem classification with a Transformer + Bi-GRU + Attention structure. Transformer has strong learning and coding ability, but it adopts the scheme of fixed coding length, which divides the long text into multiple segments, and each segment is coded separately; there is no interaction that occurs between segments. Here, we achieve the information interaction between segments through Bi-GRU so as to improve the coding effect of long sentences. Our purpose of adding the Attention mechanism is to highlight the key semantics in questions that contain answers. The experimental results show that the model proposed in this paper has significantly improved the accuracy of question classification.
Editorial for the Special Issue on Meaningful Human Control and Autonomous Weapons Systems
Authors: Umbrello Steven
Published: April 2022

Global discussions on the legality and ethics of using Artificial intelligence (AI) technology in warfare, particularly the use of autonomous weapons (AWS), continue to be hotly debated [...]
What Aspects of Phenotype Determine Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death in Pediatric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?
Authors: Östman-Smith Ingegerd
Published: April 2022

Sudden cardiac death due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is the most common autopsy-proven cause of unexpected medical death in children after infancy. This mode of death is preventable by implantation of an internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD), a procedure that has considerable morbidity in childhood patients, and even mortality. Since HCM is an inheritable disease (usually autosomal dominant, occasionally recessive), family screening may identify subjects at risk. This review summarizes published studies carried out to identify which phenotypic markers are important risk factors in childhood patients with HCM and reviews the performance of existing risk-stratification algorithms (HCM Risk-Kids, PRIMaCY) against those of single phenotypic markers. A significant proportion of HCM-patients diagnosed in childhood are associated with RASopathies such as Noonan syndrome, but a knowledge gap exists over risk stratification in this patient group. In conclusion, pediatric risk-stratification algorithms for sudden cardiac death perform better in children than adult HCM risk-stratification strategies. However, current multivariable algorithms overestimate risk substantially without having high sensitivity, and remain ‘a work in progress’. To include additional phenotypic parameters that can be reproducibly measured such as ECG-markers, e.g., ECG risk score (which has high sensitivity and negative predictive value), tissue Doppler diastolic function measurements, and quantification of myocardial scarring on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, has the potential to improve risk-stratification algorithms. Until that work has been achieved, these are three factors that the clinician can combine with the current algorithm-calculated per cent risk, in order better to assess risk.