bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differences in Genetics and Microenvironment of Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients with or without TP53 Mutation
Authors: Zeng Dejun , Hu Zhengyang , Yi Yanjun , Valeria Besskaya , Shan Guangyao , Chen Zhencong , Zhan Cheng , Lin Miao , Lin Zongwu , Wang Qun
Published: July 2021

Background: Differences in genetics and microenvironment of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients with or without TP53 mutation were analyzed to illustrate the role of TP53 mutation within the carcinogenesis of LUAD, which will provide new concepts for the treatment of LUAD.Methods: In this study, we used genetics and clinical info from the TCGA database, including somatic mutations data, RNA-seq, miRNA-seq, and clinical data. More than one bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the unique genomic pattern of TP53-related LUAD.Results: According to TP53 gene mutation status, we divided the LUAD patients into two groups, including 265 in the mutant group (MU) and 295 in the wild-type group (WT). 787 significant somatic mutations were detected between the groups, includingmutations in titin (TTN), type 2 ryanodine receptor (RYR2) and CUB and Sushi multiple domains 3(CSMD3), which were up-regulated in the MU. However, no significant survival difference was observed. At the RNA level, we obtained 923 significantly differentially expressed genes; in the MU, α-defensin 5(DEFA5),pregnancy-specific glycoprotein 5(PSG5) and neuropeptide Y(NPY) were the most up-regulated genes, glucose-6-phosphatase (G6PC), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and carry gametocidal (GC) were the most down-regulated genes. GSVA analysis revealed 30 significant pathways. Compared with the WT, the expression of 12 pathways in the mutant group was up-regulated, most of which pointed to cell division. There were significant differences in tumor immune infiltrating cells, such as Macrophages M1, T cells CD4 memory activated, Mast cells resting, and Dendritic cells resting. In terms of immune genes, a total of 35 immune-related genes were screened, of which VGF (VGF nerve growth factor inducible) and PGC (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator) were the most significant up-regulated and down-regulated genes, respectively. Research on the expression pattern of immunomodulators found that 9 immune checkpoint molecules and 6 immune costimulatory molecules were considerably wholly different between the two groups.Conclusion: Taking the mutant group as a reference, LUAD patients in the mutant group had significant differences in somatic mutations, mRNA-seq, miRNA-seq, immune infiltration, and immunomodulators, indicating that TP53 mutation plays a crucial role in the occurrence and development of LUAD.
FDI and Health Expenditure Dynamics in ASEAN
Authors: Verma Rakhi
Published: July 2021

Background: Given ASEAN’s steadily increasing levels of foreign direct investment over time, it is imperative to understand how FDI can assist to improve healthcare capacity level which will help the country stay on course to achieve target 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of achieving equal health by 2030. Health is important for any country’s economic development and has been a major goal under United Nations assigned Sustainable Development Goals. Health expenditure is a necessity good at the state level. Studies suggest although globalization is an important engine of growth, role of globalization in health has been rarely studied. Some of the traditional benefits include technology transfer and human skills. Its impact on health been under-investigated. In this paper we aim to understand the dynamics between FDI and health expenditure in ASEAN. Three models, ordinary least square, Quantile and two stage least square regression using Instrumental variables were employed to test the relationship between FDI and healthcare expenditure. Instrumental variables include market size, population health and labor productivity.Results: The correlation index showed that except labor productivity, all variables were strongly correlated. The OLS and quantile regression confirmed that the market size, population health and labor productivity are significant for health expenditure for ASEAN. In the 2SLS instrumental approach, the study finds that there is a strong causal relation between FDI and health expenditure.Conclusion: Our results confirms that FDI is an important factor of human capital and influences the health expenditure capacity of a country in a short and long run. We advocate that the potential of FDI in building nation’s healthcare expenditure capacity is very critical and should be included in policy making. This is among very rare studies which has tested the role of FDI on health expenditure.
The Relationship Between Markers Derived From Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring and Preterm Birth and Neonatal Weight in Patients With Preeclampsia
Authors: Shi Yifu , Cao Wenchao , Feng Zewen , Mai Haolin , Xie Renjie , Zhong Liuying
Published: July 2021

Background: In order to discern the relationship between ambulatory blood pressure monitoring-related indices and preterm birth and newborn weight in patients with preeclampsia. Methods: Sixty-seven patients with preeclampsia were included in the present study. We used logistic regression analysis to determine the relationship between blood pressure index and preterm birth risk, and to find the best threshold to predict preterm birth using an ROC curve. The relationship between the blood pressure index and neonatal weight was best described by linear regression analysis. Results: The main result are as follows. Nocturnal diastolic blood pressure load (OR =1.045, 95% Cl 1.016–1.076, P=0.002) has significant statistical association with preterm birth, but there was no statistical association between other indicators and preterm birth. Nocturnal systolic blood pressure, nocturnal systolic blood pressure load, and nocturnal diastolic blood pressure load each showed a significant negative correlation with neonatal weight. Other indicators were also negatively correlated, but these were not statistically significant. The predictive thresholds for nDBP load, as follows: for nDBP load at 73.8% a sensitivity of 0.78 and specificity of 0.70. Conclusions: In conclusion, in women with preeclampsia, elevated nDBP load has significant positive correlation with the risk of preterm birth, and nSBP, nSBP load and nDBP load has negative correlation with birth weight in newborns.Trial registration: Not applicable
Genome Wide Association Study on Development and Evolution of Glutinous Rice
Authors: Jiang Conghui , Rashid Muhammad Abdul Rehman , Zhang Yanhong , Zhao Yan , Pan Yinghua
Published: July 2021

Background: Glutinous rice as a special endosperm type is consumed as a staple food in East Asian countries by consumers’ preference. Genetic studies on glutinous rice could be conducive to improve rice quality and understand its development and evolution. Therefor，we sought to explore more genes related to glutinous by genome wide association study and research the formation history for glutinous .Results: Here, genome-wide association study was performed to explore the associated loci/genes underlying glutinous rice by using 2108 rice accessions. Combining the expression patterns analysis, 127, 81, and 48 candidate genes were identified to be associated with endosperm type in whole rice panel, indica, and japonica sub-populations. There were 32 genes, including three starch synthesis-related genes Wx, SSG6, and OsSSIIa, detected simultaneously in the whole rice panel and subpopulations, playing important role in determining glutinous rice. The combined haplotype analyses revealed that the waxy haplotypes combination of three genes mainly distributed in Southeast Asia (SEA), SEA islands (SER) and East Asia islands (EAR). Through population structure and genetic differentiation, we suggest that waxy haplotypes of the three genes firstly evolved or were directly inherited from wild rice in japonica, and then infiltrated into indica in SER, SEA and EAR. Conclusions: The cloning and natural variation analysis of waxy-related genes are of great significance for the genetic improvement of quality breeding and comprehend the history in glutinous rice. This work provides valuable information for further gene discovery and understanding the evolution and formation for glutinous rice in SEA, SER and EAR.
Research on Geometric Error Modeling and Compensation Method of CNC Precision Cylindrical Grinder Based on Differential Motion Matrix and Jacobian Matrix
Authors: Fan Jinwei , Ye Qian
Published: July 2021

In this paper, the geometric error modeling method of CNC cylindrical grinder based on the differential motion relationship between coordinate systems, the function fitting model method of basic geometric error terms based on cftool toolbox and the error compensation method based on Jacobian matrix are proposed. Firstly, the differential motion theory, which is widely used in the field of robot kinematics error modeling, is used to build the machine tool space machining error model of CNC cylindrical grinder. Different from the multi-body theory, this modeling method can clearly reflect the influence degree of each moving part on the grinding wheel cutter. Secondly, SJ6000 laser interferometer was used to measure and identify the geometric error terms of B2-K3032 CNC precision cylindrical grinder. MATLAB cftool toolbox was used to perform mathematical function fitting on the known error data, and the mathematical relationship between 24 geometric errors and machining instructions was found. Finally, combining with the 24 Sum of Sine function model, the known verticality error and position deviation, the differential motion matrix of each moving part in the tool coordinate system and the corresponding Jacobian matrix, the compensation quantity (dx dz db dc) of the comprehensive geometric error in the tool coordinate system by the CNC precision cylindrical grinder is obtained. In order to verify the feasibility of the above method, RA1000 series roundness meter was used to measure the radial circular runout error before and after the correction. The experimental results show that the precision of each shaft section is increased by 17.54%, 15.22%, 15.71%, 18.4%, 12.87%, respectively, and the average machining accuracy is increased by 15.948%. Therefore, the above methods are effective and reasonable for improving the precision of spindle workpieces, and can also be used for reference in the initial design stage of CNC cylindrical grinder manufacturing enterprises or improving the machining accuracy of existing machine tools.
Reasons for SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children and Their Role in the Transmission of Infection According to Age: a Case-control Study.
Authors: Mauro Calvani , Cantiello Giulia , Cavani Maria , Lacorte Eleonora , Mariani Bruno , Panetta Valentina , Parisi Pasquale , Parisi Gabriella , Roccabella Federica , Silvestri Paola , Vanacore Nicola
Published: July 2021

Background. The locations where children get exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection and their contribution in spreading the infection are still not fully understood. Aim of the article is to verify the most frequent reasons for SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and their role in the secondary transmission of the infection. Methods. A case-control study was performed in all SARS-CoV-2 positive children (n= 81) and an equal number of age- and sex- matched controls who were referred to the S. Camillo-Forlanini Pediatric Walk-in Center of Rome. The results of all SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swabs performed in children aged <18 years from October 16 to December 19, 2020 were analyzed. Results. School contacts were more frequent in controls than in cases (OR 0.49; 95% CI: 0.3-0.9), while household contacts were higher in cases (OR 5.09; 95% CI: 2.2-12.0 ). In both cases and controls, school contacts were significantly less frequent, while on the contrary household contacts seemed to be more frequent in nursery school children compared to primary school or middle/high school children. A multivariate logistic regression showed that the probability of being positive to SARS-CoV-2 was significantly lower in children who had school contacts or who had flu symptoms compared to children who had household contacts. Results showed a 30.6% secondary attack rate for household contacts. Conclusion. In our study population, the two most frequent reasons for SARS-CoV-2 infection were school and home contacts. The risk of being positive was 5 times lower in children who had school contacts than in children who had household contacts.
­PlGF Regulates Angiopoietin-1 and Tie-2 Expression in Human Retinal Endothelial Cell-Pericyte Cocultures and iPSC-Derived Vascular Organoids through VEGFR1
Authors: Huang Hu , Saddala Madhu , Mohan Rajiv Ravindra
Published: July 2021

Placental growth factor (PlGF) and Angiopoietin (Ang)-1 are two angiogenic factors that play vital roles in vascular cell growth and stabilization. The present study's objective is to examine PlGF's regulation of Ang-1 and its Tie-2 receptor expression in human vascular cells and vasculature. We exploited the cocultures of human primary retinal endothelial cells (HREC) and pericytes (HRP) and the blood vessel or vascular organoids derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) as experimental models. In the HREC-HRP cocultures, PlGF blockage upregulated the expressions of Ang-1 and Tie-2 in an antibody dose-dependent manner. Upregulation of Ang-1 and Tie-2 by PlGF blockade did not occur in HREC and HRP monocultures but only in HREC-HRP cocultures, indicating the interactions of the two cell types. VEGFR1 inhibition diminished Ang-1 and Tie-2 upregulation caused by PlGF blockade and reduced pericyte variability in high glucose conditions. In the iPSC-derived vascular organoids (VO), PlGF, Ang-1, and Ang-2 were expressed mainly by perivascular cells. Bioinformatics analysis of RNA sequencing data revealed that diabetes-mimicking conditions upregulated PlGF and Ang-2 expressions in the VO cultures. PlGF blockade upregulated Ang-1 and Tie-2 expression and promoted pericyte coverage and association with ECs in the VO. Together, the data suggest that PlGF regulates Ang-1 and Tie-2 expression in part through VEGFR1, which is involved in vascular cell function and stabilization. The findings may help design new therapeutic interventions for diabetic vasculopathy, such as diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, by targeting PlGF and Ang signaling pathways.
Metagenomic Analysis of Microbial Communities From Acidic Marshland Habitat of India
Authors: Nisha Khairun , Sunny Jithin S , Natrajan Anuradha , Saleena Lilly M.
Published: July 2021

Understanding the diversity and functioning of microbial communities in acidic marsh land is extremely less investigated in contrast to soils and aquatic ecosystems. This study implemented Illumina high-throughput sequencing to explore the microbial communities and xenobiotic degrading enzymes in the acidic marshland. Taxonomic analysis using SILVA SSU database stated that Proteobacteria (66.74 %), Bacteroidetes (6.98%) and acidobacteria (2.35 %) were the most abundant phylum in the acidic marshland. Functional analysis by SEED subsystems showed that 1.62 % substitute to metabolism of aromatic compound while KO indicates 1.86% of metabolism are involved in xenobiotic biodegradation. KO analysis also indicated the benzoate degradation pathway (ko00362) are predominant while Chlorocyclohexane and chlorobenzene degradation pathway (ko00361), Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation pathway (ko00624) Aminobenzoate degradation pathway (ko00627) is largely present in the acidic marshland.
Molecular characterization of the Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on maize in southern Rajasthan, India
Authors: Babu Sakthivel Ramesh , Pachippan Perumal , Manoharan Raja , Joshi Sonika , Kalyan Deepika , Penuballi Swathi , K Kalyan R , Singh Beerendra , K Mahla M , Pramod Rokadia
Published: July 2021

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is a polyphagous Lepidopteran pest, a native to tropical and sub-tropical America and recently it has invaded the African and Asian countries. Presently, the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (COI) - gene based molecular characterization of FAW samples from the maize fields of southern Rajasthan has revealed the occurrence of corn and rice strains there. The occurrence of such S. frugiperda population of Rajasthan region could be traced its origin from the Florida-Caribbean region or African region. Further, the Tpi gene region analysis showed that the S.frugiperda forms found in the maize fields are only the corn strains. In the Indian Rajasthan populations of FAW, the Tpi-variant2 category is the highest one and is then followed by the Tpi-variant1 and Tpi-variant3 was unique with C and T at Tpie4192 and Tpie4198, respectively. Further research is needed towards the confirmation of these tentatively identified strains of S. frugiperda that would in turn helpful for the proper monitoring, host-plant identification and the effective management of such pests.
Identification of Key Genes with Prognostic Value in Gastric Cancer by Bioinformatics Analysis
Authors: Lin Zhiying
Published: July 2021

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a digestive system tumor with high morbidity and mortality. It is urgently required to identify genes that are associated with GC prognosis and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. The aim of this study aims to identify the key genes which may affect the prognosis of GC patients and be a therapeutic strategy for GC patients by bioinformatic analysis. Methods: The significant prognostic differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out from TCGA and the GEO datasets. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established by STRING and screen key gene by MCODE and CytoNCA plug-ins in Cytoscape. Function enrichment analysis, construction of prognostic risk model and nomogram verify key genes as potential therapeutic target. Results: In total, 997 genes and 805 genes related to the prognosis of GC in the GSE84427 and TCGA datasets, respectively. We define the 128 genes shared by the two datasets as PRG. Then, the first 4 genes (MYLK、MYL9、LUM and CAV1) with great node importance in the PPI network of PRG were identified as key genes. Independent prognostic risk analysis found that patients with high PRG expression had poor prognosis, excluding their own age, gender and TNM stage. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that key genes may exert influence through the PI3K-Akt pathway, in which, extracellular matrix organization and focal adhesion may play important roles in key genes influencing the prognosis of GC patients. Conclusion: We identified that MYLK、MYL9、LUM and CAV1 are potential reliable biomarkers prognosis key genes and invasion and migration target in GC.
Differential Expression Profiling of microRNAs in hPMSCs Co-culture With a Novel Porous Hydroxyapatite Scaffold
Authors: Deng Li , Qing Wei , Liu Cong , Zheng Jiajun , Huang Hao , Peng Pairan , Lai Shuang , Mu Yandong
Published: July 2021

Background and objective: Scaffold materials used for bone defect repair are often limited by the osteogenic efficacy. Meanwhile, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be involved in regulating the expression of osteogenic related genes. In previous studies, we have verified that the enhancement of osteogenesis using a novel porous hydroxyapatite scaffold (HAG). In this study, we analyzed the contribution of HAG to osteogenic differentiation of Human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hPMSCs) from the perspective of miRNA differential expression.Methods: The properties of hPMSCs were identified by flow cytometry, including CD44, CD90 and CD45 surface marker. The expression of osteogenic differentiation related genes mRNA and protein were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. The mineral depositions were measured by Alizarin red S (ARS) staining. The miRNA profiles were performed by microarray assay, and then further summarized through target, gene ontology and pathway analysis. The expression of differential miRNA were verified by qRT-PCR.Results: The results showed that HAG promoted the osteogenic differentiation of hPMSCs. Meanwhile, sequencing results showed that 16 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated and 29 miRNAs were down-regulated with HAG. In addition, bioinformatics analyses showed that the differentially expressed miRNAs are involved in a variety of biological processes including signal transduction, cell metabolic, cell junction, cell development and differentiation and connect to osteogenic differentiation through axon guidance, MAPK, and TGF-beta signaling pathway. Furthermore, multiple potential target genes of miRNA are closely related to osteogenic differentiation.Conclusion: The work first confirmed that differential expression of miRNAs in the process of osteogenic differentiation promoted by HAG scaffold, which also lays the foundation for the further construction of bone scaffolds loaded with miRNAs.
Simulation comparisons between Bayesian and de-biased estimators in low-rank matrix completion
Authors: Mai The Tien
Published: July 2021

In this paper we perform numerous numerical studies for the problem of low-rank matrix completion. We compare the Bayesian approaches and a recently introduced de-biased estimator which provides a useful way to build confidence intervals of interest. From a theoretical viewpoint, the de-biased estimator comes with a sharp minimax-optimal rate of estimation error whereas the Bayesian approach reaches this rate with an additional logarithmic factor. Our simulation studies show originally interesting results that the de-biased estimator is just as strong as the Bayesian estimators. Moreover, Bayesian approaches are much more stable and can outperform the de-biased estimator in the case of small samples. In additions, we also find that the coverage rate of the confidence intervals revealed by the de-biased estimator for an entry is absolutely lower than of the considered credible interval. These suggest further theoretical studies on the estimation error and the concentration for Bayesian methods as they are being quite limited up to present.
Environmentally Clean Ceramics Manufacturing With Application of Hazardous Car Production Mud and Galvanic Process Glass Waste
Authors: Mymrin Vsevolod , Alekseev Kirill , Avanci Monica A. , Rolim Paulo H.B. , Pedroso Cleber L. , Pedroso Daniela E.
Published: July 2021

It was developed new ceramics composites with hazardous car production mud (CPM) and galvanic process glass waste with high content of heavy metals. They were applied as valuable components of red ceramics sintered at 700°, 750°, 800°, 850°, 900°, and 950°C to provide flexural resistance of up to 17.6 MPa, water absorption at 950°C 6.53 -10.45%, linear shrinkage – 5.24-6.29%, density 2.7 – 3.2 g/cm³, and dilatation coefficient 5.3 -13.8%. Structure formation studies by the XRD, SEM, EDS, and LAMMA methods demonstrated the synthesis of amorphous glassy material with small inclusion of mullite Al6Si2O13. Car production mud and galvanic process glass waste play the role of the intensifiers of the ceramics’ structures formation processes. The ceramics' leaching and solubility tests by the atomic absorption spectroscopy method showed strong chemical bond of heavy metals of the hazardous raw materials in insoluble structures. According to Brazilian standards, they can be used to produce tiles, bricks, blocks, and similar materials with high environmental eficiency.
Beyond Raw Performance: Neural Machine Translation Based Multi-lingual Classification of Tweets for Automated Disease Surveillance
Authors: Magumba Mark Abraham , Nabende Peter
Published: July 2021

Twitter and social media as a whole have great potential as a source of disease surveillance data however the general messiness of tweets presents several challenges for standard information extraction methods. Most deployed systems employ approaches that rely on simple keyword matching and do not distinguish between relevant and irrelevant keyword mentions making them susceptible to false positives as a result of the fact that keyword volume can be influenced by several social phenomena that may be unrelated to disease occurrence. Furthermore, most solutions are intended for a single language and those meant for multilingual scenarios do not incorporate semantic context. In this paper we experimentally examine a translation based approach that allows for incorporation of semantic context in multi-lingual disease surveillance in the social web.
Finite Element Analysis of the Optimal Configuration of Bridging Combined Internal Fixation System in The Treatment of Vancouver B1 Periprosthetic Femoral Fractures
Authors: Zhang Long , Haque Md Ariful , Xiong Ying , Qin Jing , Liu Luyun , Zhang Yingjie , Xiao Jiayu
Published: July 2021

Background and Objective: The incidence of periprosthetic fracture increases with the increase of total hip arthroplasty. The treatment of periprosthetic fracture is always a difficult point. The bridged combined internal fixation system (Ortho-bridge System, OBS) is well adapted to the characteristics of periprosthetic fractures.In this study, finite element analysis was used to evaluate the optimal configuration of OBS for fixation of Vancouver B1 periprosthetic femoral fractures.Methods: A three-rod combination OBS fixation model was established to evaluate the optimal position of the third rod, the cross Angle of proximal screws, the diameter of the connecting rod, and the number of screws. Femoral displacement and the maximum Von Mises (equivalent) stress of OBS were used as evaluation indexes.Results: The third rod is located at 35mm below the lateral fovea of the femur and the minimum Von Mises peak stress of OBS, which is the best location for placing the third rod. It is feasible for proximal screw intersection Angle to be about 71° and 84°.To fix the strength, the 6mm connecting rod is better. Considering the number of screws scheme comprehensively, scheme D is the best number of screws scheme.Conclusion: The personalized and diversified fixation mode of OBS is well adapted to the characteristics of periprosthetic fracture and provides an effective means for the treatment of periprosthetic femoral fracture.
Pneumonia caused by Lichtheimia ramosa during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei Province, China：mNGS assists diagnosis
Authors: Song Jiangqin , Li Hui , Hu Fuying , Li Huashun , Chen Youping , Zhu Weifang , Tian Youjun , Zhou Benjian , Wei Hui
Published: July 2021

BackgroundRecently, COVID-19 is still pandemic in worldwide. India has reported multiple cases of COVID-19 combined with mucormycosis(MM)(1). This paper reports a case during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei Province, China. Case PresentationA anesthesiology doctor was initially diagnosed as COVID-19 due to changes in lung imaging. Later Lichtheimia ramose was found by Metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) in the Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).After adjusting amphotericin B for anti-infective treatment, the patient's infection lesions were shranked and the symptoms were significantly relieved.ConclusionThe diagnosis of invasive fungal infections is very difficult, mNGS can make an accurate pathogenic diagnosis of invasive fungal diseases for the clinic and provide a basis for clinical treatment.
Comparison of the Values of a Novel Exolytic and Two Endolytic Alginate Lyases with Mannuronate Preference for Direct Preparation of Oligosaccharides, Action Modes, and Underlying Catalytic Mechanisms
Authors: Zeng Lianghuan , Li Junge , Cheng Yuanyuan , Wang Dandan , Gu Jingyan , Han Wenjun
Published: July 2021

Recent exploration of tool-like alginate lyases has focused on their oligosaccharide products and corresponding substrate action modes, and most were characterized as endolytic lyases with guluronate (G) preference. Herein, we elucidated a novel exolytic lyase, Aly-6, and two typical endolytic lyases, AlgL-Pae and AlgL-Avi, all with mannuronate (M) preferences. AlgL and heparinase_II_III modules play essential roles in determining the similar characteristics of these enzymes, although they are quite different in sequence characteristics. Aly-6 degraded substrates completely by continuously cleaving various monosaccharide units from nonreducing ends and producing various size-defined ΔG-terminated oligosaccharide fractions as intermediate alginate digests, which was inhibited by fluorescent labeling of reducing ends. Distinctly, AlgL-Pae and AlgL-Avi varied their action modes toward associated alginate substrates and therefore eventually degraded alginate into various size-defined oligosaccharide products with a specific structure-based succession rule. This study provided new insights into the action modes, associated mechanisms, and enzyme applications of M-preferred lyases.
Quantified Explainability: Convolutional Neural Network Focus Assessment in Arrhythmia Detection
Authors: Varandas Rui , Gonçalves Bernardo Brás , Gamboa Hugo , Vieira Pedro
Published: July 2021

Background: Deep Learning (DL) models are able to produce accurate results in various areas. However, the medical field is specially sensitive, because every decision should be reliable and explained to the stakeholders. Thus, the high accuracy of DL models pose a great advantage, but the fact that they function as a black-box hinders their application to sensitive fields, given that they are not explainable per se. Hence, the application of explainability methods became important to provide explaination DL models in various problems. In this work, we trained different classifiers and generated explanation of their classification of electrocardiograms (ECG) by applying well-known methods. Finally, we extract quantifiable information to evaluate the explanation of our classifiers. Methods: In this study two datasets were built consisting of image representation of ECG that were labelled given one specific heartbeat: 1. labelled given the last heartbeat and 2. labelled given the first heartbeat. DL models were trained with each dataset. Three different explainability methods were applied to the DL models to explain their classification. These methods produce attribution maps in which the intensity of the pixels are proportional to their importance to the classification task. Thus, we developed a metric to quantify the focus of the models in the region of interest (ROI) of the ECG representation. Results: The developed classification models achieved accuracy scores of around 93.66% and 91.72% in the testing set. The explainability methods were successfully applied to these models. The quantification metric developed in this work demonstrated that, in most cases, the models did have a focus around the heartbeat of interest. The results ranged from around 8.8% in the worst case, until 32.4%, where the random focus would mean a value of approximately 10%. Conclusions: The classification models performed accurately in the two datasets, however, even though their focus is higher in the ROI of the figures compared with the random case, the results allow the interpretation that other regions of the figures might also be important for classification. In the future, it should be investigated the importance of regions outside the ROI and also if specific waves of the ECG signal contribute to the classification.
Estimating Population Norms for the Health-Related Quality of Life of Adults in Southern Jiangsu Province, China
Authors: Hu wei , Zhou Liang , Chu Jiadong , Sun Na , Xiong Shuting , Chen Xuanli , Liu Siyuan , Shen yue ping
Published: July 2021

PurposeHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) population norms have been published in China but only for urban populations. Moreover, China is large and diverse in culture and social development, and regional population norms may be more appropriate than national norms. The purpose of the study was to derive the HRQoL population norms for adults in southern Jiangsu Province and explored potential influencing factors. MethodsThe data were based on a cross-sectional survey conducted in Liyang City from March 2019 to July 2020. EQ-5D-5L utility scores based on Chinese value set and EQ-VAS scores were used to assess HRQoL. The Tobit regression model and generalized linear model were performed to identify the association among potential covariates and HRQoL. ResultsThe means (95% confidence interval) of the EQ-5D-5L utility scores and VAS scores were 0.981(0.980-0.983) and 83.6(83.2-83.9), respectively. Younger people were more likely to experience problems with anxiety or depression. Lower HRQoL was associated with elderly individuals, lower socioeconomic status, no spouse, lack of regular physical activities, smoking cessation, and chronic non-communicable diseases. Subjects who declared that they were afflicted by diseases presented significantly lower utility scores, ranging from 0.823(0.766-0.880) for memory-related diseases to 0.978 (0.967-0.989) for hepatic diseases. ConclusionsRegional population norms of HRQoL are needed in the health economic study owing to the great socioeconomic differences across regions in China. The present study provides HRQoL population norms for adults in southern Jiangsu. These norm values could help policy makers better allocate limited health resources and prioritize service plans.
Controlled Sampling Approach in Improving Multiple Imputation for Missing Seasonal Rainfall Data
Authors: Burhanuddin Siti Nur Zahrah Amin , Deni Sayang Mohd , Shaadan Norshahida
Published: July 2021

Missingness in rainfall data is one of the well-known and challenging issues faced by meteorologists and researchers from all over the world. The problem would affect the quality of the data which is very important in representing the actual meteorological characteristics of a particular location. Therefore, the missing data should be properly treated in order to provide good quality dataset for the public domain. In furtherance of ensuring the accuracy of imputed missing data, the original structure of the rainfall data series must be specifically preserved when the data are having seasonal patterns. Most of the environmental datasets are generally characterized by outliers and seasonal patterns. These characteristics have certainly affected the performance of missing data imputation methods. The problem of missing data can be treated, but a specific structured approach must be employed when involving dataset that contains outliers and seasonal patterns. This study has highlighted and discussed the structured and comprehensive procedures on how to tackle the problem of missing data by emphasizing on controlled sampling approach for their implementation. The missing values were estimated by using multiple imputation based on block bootstrap approach associated with normal ratio methods compared to the conventional sampling (i.e. general bootstrap approach). The analysis and experimentation are illustrated using several datasets obtained for several locations in Peninsular Malaysia. The block bootstrap approach has revealed its advantage of preserving time series structure in its process and successfully improved the estimates of missing rainfall data imputation.
Complement C5a and Clinical Markers to predict COVID-19 Disease Severity and Mortality in a Multi-ethnic Population
Authors: Cyprian Farhan S , Suleman Muhammad , Abdelhafez Ibrahim , Doudin Asmma , Danjuma Ibn Mohammed Masud , Mir Fayaz Ahmad , Parray Aijaz , Yousaf Zohaib , Siddiqui Mohammed Yassin Ahmed , Eldin Ala , Mulhim Mohammad , Al-Shokri Shaikha , Abukhattab Mohammad , Shaheen Ranad , Elkord Eyad , Al-khal Abdul Latif , Zouki Abdel Naser Al , Girardi Guillermina
Published: July 2021

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) was declared as a pandemic by WHO in March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 causes a wide range of illness from asymptomatic to life-threatening. There is an essential need to identify biomarkers to predict disease severity and mortality during the earlier stages of the disease, aiding treatment and allocation of resources to improve survival. The aim of this study was to identify at the time of SARS-COV-2 infection patients at high risk of developing severe disease associated with low survival using blood parameters, including inflammation and coagulation mediators, vital signs, and pre-existing comorbidities. This cohort included 89 multi-ethnic COVID-19 patients recruited between July 14th and October 20th 2020 in Doha, Qatar. According to clinical severity, patients were grouped into severe (n = 33), mild (n = 33) and asymptomatic (n = 23). Common routine tests such as complete blood count (CBC), glucose, electrolytes, liver and kidney function parameters and markers of inflammation, thrombosis and endothelial dysfunction including complement component split product C5a, Interleukin-6, ferritin and C-reactive protein were measured at the time COVID-19 infection was confirmed. Correlation tests suggest that C5a is a novel predictive marker of disease severity and mortality, in addition to 40 biological and physiological parameters that were found statistically significant between survivors and non-survivors. Survival analysis showed that. high C5a levels, hypoalbuminemia, lymphopenia, elevated procalcitonin, neutrophilic leukocytosis, acute anemia along with increased acute kidney and hepatocellular injury markers were associated with a higher risk of death in COVID-19 patients. Altogether, we created a prognostic classification model, the CAL model (C5a, Albumin, and Lymphocyte count) to predict severity with significant accuracy. Stratification of patients using the CAL model could help the identification of patients likely to develop severe symptoms in advance so that treatments can be targeted accordingly.
Estimating hidden models and trends in COVID-19 Infected cases
Authors: ARUNACHALAM RAJARATHINAM , PAKKIRISAMY TAMILSELVAN
Published: July 2021

The main aim of the present investigation is to estimate the hidden models and trends in COVID-19 infected cases in all the thirty seven district of from the period from 1st August,2020 to 31st December, 2020. Different statistical curve fitting tools like, Linear, Quadratic, S-Curve, Simple Exponential Smoothing, Holt’s Linear Exponential, Brown’s Linear Exponential Smoothing and Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average models were employed to study the COVID-19 infected trends and it’s future predictions.
COVID-19: About the inequality of the territorial distribution of the number of deaths in the world and the indicator of the quality of epidemic management
Authors: Wilinski Antoni , MK Arti , Kupracz Lukasz
Published: July 2021

The aim of the article is to present some kind of injustice of fate in the aspect of uneven territorialdistribution of post-Covid-19 deaths. On a global scale, this unevenness is evident because it is notcontrolled by anything. In particular countries, it should be the result of efficient and honestmanagement of the spread of the epidemic. The authors assume in the proposed algorithm that thenumber of deaths in individual organizational units of the state (regions, states, provinces, etc.) isknown in the existing administrative division. By considering the population numbers in these units,the Lorentz curve is prepared, and the Gini coefficient is calculated - for the entire world and forindividual countries such as the USA, India, Brazil, Poland, and the Balkan and Eastern Europeancountries with the highest number of deaths per million inhabitants in the world. Moreover, anattempt was made to present the universal mortality rate in a given country in the form of abicriterion combining the Gini index and the number of deaths per million inhabitants achieved
Innovation approaches to estimate financial performance of banking sector: the case for Saudi Arabia
Authors: Dhawan Sanjeev , Nazneen Afroze
Published: July 2021

A robust financial structure is considered essential for the swift development and growth and of an economic system. The banking structure is a vital constituent of the financial structure of a nation. The banking system performance assessment is an influential determinant and indicator of the economy's financial strength. Financial Innovation approaches resulting from new technology helps in better estimation of Financial Performances of the banking sector. Banks need to be more closely and accurately watched as they play the role of facilitator of monetary policy of the economy. The prime objective is to examine the financial performance of Saudi Arabia's banking sector through Innovative approaches. With this view, a case study of XYZ Bank has been undertaken. For financial performance evaluation, the CAMEL model has been applied as one of the innovative approaches. This tool is a widely accepted criterion in the field of financial performance evaluation of the banking sector. CAMEL is a ratio-supported mechanism that evaluates bank performance through capital adequacy, quality of assets, management efficiency, quality of earnings, and liquidity. For analyzing the CAMEL model, the various ratios of the model in terms of proxy ratios are given below: For the analysis, nine-year data from 2009 to 2018 has been analyzed using a multiple linear regression model using the SPSS package. The study observed that this innovative approach, i.e., CAMEL specific factors, has mixed influence on the financial performance of XYZ Bank. Capital adequacy and asset quality have a positive effect on bank performance. Moreover, the study also highlights that management efficiency insignificantly affects the profitability of the bank. Moreover, earning quality also signifies a negative influence on profitability. The correlation between asset quality and ROA is negative. It is inferred that those banks with more operating profits and better liquidity management could report high profits. The study further advocates that XYZ Bank must improve its earning quality and management efficiency to come at the same level with the banks having good financial performance and should use innovative methods to estimate financial performance from time to time.
Sarcomatoid Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Conjunctiva: A Rare Entity and A Brief Review of Literature
Authors: Agrawal Sahil , Modaboyina Sujeeth , Sen Seema , Meena Suman Kumari , Gupta Saloni , Das Deepsekhar
Published: July 2021

Sacrcomatoid variant of squamous cell carcinoma has been known to involve numerous tissues like an aerodigestive tract, skin. A reddish mass of the left bulbar conjunctiva, with intraocular extension on ultra-bio-microscopy (UBM) was present. Histopathologic examination showed the characteristic spindle-shaped cells in continuity with the overlying epithelium with positive immunostains for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen and vimentin. The presence of such an entity in the conjunctiva is rare and here we report such a case, this being the 37th case to be documented in literature. We also give a brief review of literature.
A teoria da expectativa de Vroom no encontro de capacitação da equipe do projeto de extensão Esporte Sem Parar
Authors: ROCHA Cristiane Rodrigues da , PONTES Giulia Neres , DOURADO Thalia Jardim , FERREIRA Andre Luis do Nascimento , PEREIRA Vinicius Antônio Alves , RIBEIRO Luisa Colares , NUNCIARONI Andressa Teoli , GONÇALVES Édira Castello Branco de Andrade , ISRAEL Vinicius Pinheiro
Published: July 2021

O Esporte Sem Parar é um projeto de extensão da Secretaria Nacional de Esporte, Lazer e Inclusão Social, em parceria com a ONG Contato e a Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Este artigo objetiva relatar a experiência do encontro de capacitação presencial da equipe do projeto durante a pandemia de COVID-19, na perspectiva da Teoria da Expectativa de Vroom. Estudo qualitativo, do tipo relato de experiência. Os resultados mostram que a biossegurança, diante de estabilidade epidemiológica, viabiliza treinamentos presenciais. A expectativa encontrada foi que o esforço empregado pela equipe conduzirá à realização pessoal, criação de vínculo, inclusão social, melhora da saúde, relacionamento interpessoal, espaço de convivência e apoio às pessoas socialmente vulneráveis. Conclui-se que a melhora na qualidade de vida possui valência para estes participantes, segundo a Teoria da Expectativa de Vroom, e pode ser a motivação para profissionais e participantes continuarem as atividades
A mathematical model for production routing of mechanical engineering products
Authors: Fokin I. V. , Smirnov A. N.
Published: July 2021

The aim was to create a mathematical model describing the development of a production (shop-to-shop) routing of mechanical engineering products based on a 3D model and allowing the cost of the final product to be reduced. The developed mathematical model was simulated based on 3D models designed in the Siemens NX system, which were subsequently imported into the *stp format and recognized by a designed module written in the Phyton programming language. The factors of the production environment affecting the formation of the production routing of mechanical engineering products were determined. A diagram of the algorithm for the “constructive element - technological operation - means of technological equipment (equipment-tool)” relationship was developed. Based on the results of testing the developed mathematical model, the use of neural networks as a tool for the implementation and automation of the work was found advantageous as compared to the standard scheme of work of a process engineer when developing a production routing of mechanical engineering products. These advantages include a decrease in the time for the development of a routing and the cost of the final product. The developed model has a practical limitation consisting in a rather complex geometry of some structural elements of a unit, which impedes the development of an algorithm for recognizing their structure. The use of a neural network prototype in automatic mode is advisable for relatively simple parts (including a flange, hole, chamfer and rounding). However, since the number of simple units from the recognition point of view amounts to about 40% among the nomenclature of manufactured units, the reduction in the development time of the technological process in comparison with the conventional approach comprises only 10–25% of the total time of technological preparation.