bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Aggressive growth of cranial sarcoma
Authors: Thiagarajah Ramani , Sellamuthu Pulivendhan , Bharmjit Singh Sarwinder Singh , Muniandy Rajesh Kumar
Published: August 2021

Sarcomas are a group of rare malignant tumours of the connective tissues. They can occur in almost any location, but more frequently in the extremities. The occurrence of sarcomas in the head and neck region is less than 1%. We are presenting a case report of a very large cranial sarcoma. Gross total tumour excision was done with pedicle skin graft and titanium mesh cranioplasty. The excised tumour weighed approximately 1.1 kg. Histopathological examination showed primitive intermediate-sized tumour cells arranged in sheets, nests and cords with focal palisading. Postoperative MRI done 2 weeks post surgery showed no evidence of residual tumour.
Silicone oil versus gas tamponade for primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment treated successfully with a propensity score analysis: Japan Retinal Detachment Registry
Authors: Funatsu Ryoh , Terasaki Hiroto , Koriyama Chihaya , Yamashita Toshifumi , Shiihara Hideki , Sakamoto Taiji
Published: August 2021

Background/aims

To compare the effects of silicone oil tamponade (SOT) to that of gas tamponade (GT) on the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after successful vitrectomy for retinal detachment (RD).

Methods

A retrospective, multicentre, nationwide study with RD who were registered in the Japan-RD Registry. All cases with RD treated with successful vitrectomy between February 2016 and March 2017 were studied. A propensity score matching was performed using the preoperative findings as covariates to adjust the relevant confounders. The primary outcome was the estimated mean difference of the postoperative BCVA in 6 months between eyes treated with SOT to those treated with GT.

Results

Of the 3446 cases registered, 2097 cases met the entry criteria. There were 2042 eyes that had GT and 55 eyes that had SOT. Primary success was defined as a reattached retina with no tamponade at 6 months. After propensity score matching, each group contained 40 cases. The preoperative BCVA was 0.966±0.738 logMAR units in the GT group and 1.270±0.945 logMAR units in the SOT group (p=0.177). Six months postoperatively, the BCVA in the GT group was significantly better at 0.309 logMAR units in the GT group than the 0.671 logMAR units in the SOT group (p=0.002).

Conclusions

Even after successful surgery for RD, eyes that experienced SOT had poorer BCVA than eyes treated with GOT. SOT should be considered cautiously.

Precis

Propensity score analysis of eyes with rhegmatogenous RD showed that postoperative vision was worse in eyes treated once with silicone oil than with gas even after completely successful surgery.
Hip and knee replacement as a proxy measure for lower limb osteoarthritis in Scottish military veterans
Authors: Bergman Beverly P , Mackay D F , Pell J P
Published: August 2021

Introduction

Physical activity is an important component of military training. Although injuries and musculoskeletal disorders are the most common cause of medical retirement from the Armed Forces, the long-term risk of lower limb osteoarthritis in veterans is unknown. We used data on hip and knee replacement in Scottish military veterans as a proxy measure.

Methods

Retrospective cohort study of 78 000 veterans born between 1945 and 1995 and a comparison group of 253 000 non-veterans, matched for age, sex and area of residence, followed up for up to 37 years, using survival analysis to examine the risk of hip and knee replacement.

Results

Veterans were significantly less likely to undergo hip replacement than non-veterans, Cox proportional HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.95, p<0.001. There was no significant difference between veterans and non-veterans in respect of knee replacement, HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.11, p=0.643, and there was no difference in the ages at which veterans and non-veterans underwent joint replacement. People who had served for longest in the military had similar risk to those with the shortest service.

Conclusions

Based on the likelihood of undergoing joint replacement surgery in later life, we found no evidence of a positive association between military service and an increased risk of lower limb osteoarthritis.
Prevalence of child maltreatment in India and its association with gender, urbanisation and policy: a rapid review and meta-analysis protocol
Authors: Fernandes Gwen , Fernandes Megan , Vaidya Nilakshi , De Souza Philip , Plotnikova Evgeniya , Geddes Rosemary , Holla Bharath , Sharma Eesha , Benegal Vivek , Choudhry Vikas
Published: August 2021

Introduction

India is home to 20% of the world’s children and yet, little is known on the magnitude and trends of child maltreatment nationwide. The aims of this review are to provide a prevalence of child maltreatment in India with considerations for any effects of gender; urbanisation (eg, urban vs rural) and legislation (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012).

Methods and analysis

A rapid review will be undertaken of all quantitative peer-reviewed studies on child maltreatment in India between 2005 and 2020. Four electronic databases will be systematically searched: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and PsychInfo. The primary outcomes will include all aspects of child maltreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect and physical neglect. Study participants will be between 0 and 18 years and will have reported maltreatment experiences using validated, reliable tools such as the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire as well as child self-reports and clinician reports. Study selection will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, and the methodological appraisal of the studies will be assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality assessment scale. A narrative synthesis will be conducted for all included studies. Also, if sufficient data are available, a meta-analysis will be conducted. Effect sizes will be determined from random-effects models stratified by gender, urbanisation and the pre-2012 and post-2012 POCSO Act cut-off. I2statistics will be used to assess heterogeneity and identify their potential sources and τ2statistics will indicate any between-study variance.

Ethics and dissemination

As this is a rapid review, minimal ethical risks are expected. The protocol and level 1 self-audit checklist were submitted and approved by the Usher Research Ethics Group panel in the Usher Institute (School of Medicine and Veterinary Sciences) at the University of Edinburgh (Reference B126255). Findings from this review will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and in various media, for example, conferences, congresses or symposia.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42019150403.
Efficacy and safety of abdominal paracentesis drainage on patients with acute pancreatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Lu Zongqing , Zhu Xingxing , Hua Tianfeng , Zhang Jin , Xiao Wenyan , Jia Di , Yang Min
Published: August 2021

Objectives

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of abdominal paracentesis drainage (APD) in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) when compared with conventional ‘step-up’ strategy based on percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD).

Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods

PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (OVID), China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang Database were electronically searched to collect cohort studies and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) from inception to 25 July 2020. Studies related to comparing APD with conventional ‘step-up’ strategy based on PCD were included.

Outcomes

The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. The secondary outcomes were the rate of organ dysfunction, infectious complications, hospitalisation expenses and length of hospital stay.

Results

Five cohort studies and three RCTs were included in the analysis. Compared with the conventional ‘step-up’ method, pooled results suggested APD significantly decreased all-cause mortality during hospitalisation (cohort studies: OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.89 and p=0.02), length of hospital stay (cohort studies: standard mean difference (SMD) −0.31, 95% CI −0.53 to –0.10 and p=0.005; RCTs: SMD −0.45, 95% CI −0.64 to –0.26 and p<0.001) and hospitalisation expenses (cohort studies: SMD −2.49, 95% CI −4.46 to –0.51 and p<0.001; RCTs: SMD −0.67, 95% CI −0.89 to –0.44 and p<0.001). There was no evidence to prove that APD was associated with a higher incidence of infectious complications. However, the incidence of organ dysfunction between cohort studies and RCTs subgroup slightly differed (cohort studies: OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.34 to 1.28 and p=0.22; RCTs: OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.98 and p=0.04).

Conclusions

The findings suggest that early application of APD in patients with AP is associated with reduced all-cause mortality, expenses during hospitalisation and the length of stay compared with the ‘step-up’ strategy without significantly increasing the risk of infectious complications. These results must be interpreted with caution because of the limited number of included studies as well as a larger dependence on observational trials.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42020168537.
Hospitalisation costs of malignant mesothelioma: results from the Italian hospital discharge registry (2001–2018)
Authors: Ferrante Pierpaolo
Published: August 2021

Objectives

This paper aims to establish hospitalisation costs of mesothelioma in Italy and to evaluate hospital-related trends associated with the 1992 asbestos ban.

Design

This is a retrospective population-based study of Italian hospitalisations treating pleura, peritoneum and pericardium mesothelioma in the period 2001–2018.

Settings

Public and private Italian hospitals reached by the Ministry of Health (coverage close to 100%).

Participants

157 221 admissions with primary or contributing diagnosis of pleural, peritoneal or hearth cancer discharged from 2001 to 2018.

Primary and secondary outcome measures: number, length and cost of hospitalisations with related percentages.

Results

Each year, Italian hospitals treated a mesothelioma in 6025 admissions on average. Mean annual costs by site were €20 293 733, €3183 632 and €40 443 for pleura, peritoneum and pericardium, respectively. Pericardial mesothelioma showed the highest cost per admission (€6117), followed by peritoneal (€4549) and pleural cases (€3809). Percentage of hospitalisation costs attributable to mesothelioma was higher when it is located in pleura (53.4%) and pericardium (51.8%) with respect to peritoneum (41.2%). Overall annual hospitalisation cost, percentages of number and length of admissions showed an inverted U-shape, with maxima (of €25 850 276, 0.064% and 0.096%, respectively) reached in 2011–2013. Mean age at discharge and percentages of surgery and of urgent cases increased over time.

Conclusions

The highest impact of mesothelioma on the National Health System was recorded 20 years after the asbestos ban (2011–2013). Hospitals should expect soon fewer but more severe patients needing more cares. To study the disease prevalence could help assistance planning of next decade.
Physicians’ perceptions of followership in resuscitation in Japan and the USA: a qualitative study
Authors: Akamine Yoko , Imafuku Rintaro , Saiki Takuya , Lee-Jayaram Jannet , Berg Benjamin W , Suzuki Yasuyuki
Published: August 2021

Objectives

While leadership is accepted as a crucial aspect of a successful resuscitation team, the role of followership has not been sufficiently explored. This study aims to explore physicians’ perceptions of common favourable followership in resuscitation teams in two different countries.

Design

A qualitative study with interviews and a reflexive thematic analysis.

Setting

The authors individually interviewed critical care and emergency physicians whose clinical experience exceeded 6 years in Japan and the USA.

Participants

A total of 18 physicians participated in a face-to-face, semistructured and in-depth interviews.

Results

Five themes and nine subthemes related to followership in resuscitation were identified. Under technical skills, two themes (being knowledgeable and skilled) and three subthemes (understanding guidelines/algorithms, clinical course and being competent with procedural skills), were generated. Under non-technical skills, three themes (assuming roles, team communication and flattening hierarchy) and six subthemes (taking roles spontaneously, calm tone of voice, sharing information, closed-loop communication, respectful attitude and speaking up), were generated. Each generated theme involved commonly perceived favourable attributes of followership in resuscitation teams by experienced critical care and emergency physicians in both countries.

Conclusions

This study clarified physicians’ perception of common favourable followership attributes in resuscitation teams, both in Japan and in the USA. The results of this study shed light on followership-focused resuscitation education, where followership skills are generally underestimated.
Assessing community engagement in Nigeria polio eradication initiative: application of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research
Authors: Akinyemi Oluwaseun Oladapo , Adebayo Adedamola , Bassey Christopher , Nwaiwu Chioma , Kalbarczyk Anna , Fatiregun Akinola A , Alonge Olakunle O. , Owoaje Eme
Published: August 2021

Objective

This study employed the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to assess factors that enhanced or impeded the implementation of community engagement strategies using the Nigerian polio programme as a point of reference.

Design

This study was a part of a larger descriptive cross-sectional survey. The CFIR was used to design the instrument which was administered through face-to-face and phone interviews as well as a web-based data collection platform, Qualtrics.

Setting

The study took place in at least one State from each of the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria (Nasarawa, Borno, Kano, Sokoto, Anambra, Bayelsa, Lagos, Ondo and Oyo States as well as the Federal Capital Territory).

Participants

The respondents included programme managers, policy-makers, researchers and frontline field implementers affiliated with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) core partner organisations, the three tiers of the government health parastatals (local, state and federal levels) and academic/research institutions.

Results

Data for this study were obtained from 364 respondents who reported participation in community engagement activities in Nigeria’s PEI. Majority (68.4%) had less than 10 years’ experience in PEI, 57.4% were involved at the local government level and 46.9% were team supervisors. Almost half (45.0%) of the participants identified the process of conducting the PEI program and social environment (56.0%) as the most important internal and external contributor to implementing community engagement activities in the community, respectively. The economic environment (35.7%) was the most frequently reported challenge among the external challenges to implementing community engagement activities.

Conclusion

Community engagement strategies were largely affected by the factors relating to the process of conducting the polio programme, the economic environment and the social context. Therefore, community engagement implementers should focus on these key areas and channel resources to reduce obstacles to achieve community engagement goals.
Defining and grouping children’s therapeutic footwear and criteria for their prescription: an international expert Delphi consensus study
Authors: Hill Matthew , Healy Aoife , Chockalingam Nachiappan
Published: August 2021

Objectives

This study aimed to achieve an expert consensus on how to define and group footwear interventions for children, with a further focus on the design characteristics and prescription of off-the-shelf stability footwear for children with mobility impairment.

Setting

A group of multinational professionals, from clinicians to those involved in the footwear industry, were recruited to ensure a spectrum of opinions.

Participants

Thirty panellists were contacted, of which 24 consented to participate and six withdrew before round 1, a further two withdrew after round 1. Sixteen panellists completed the consensus exercise.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

A Delphi consensus method was employed with round 1 split into three sections: (1) terms and definitions, (2) specifics of off-the-shelf stability footwear design and (3) criteria for clinical prescription of off-the-shelf stability footwear. The panel was asked to rate their level of agreement with statements and to provide further insights through open-ended questions. The opinions of the experts were analysed to assess consensus set at 75% agreement or to modify or form new statements presented through the subsequent two rounds.

Results

Therapeutic footwear was the agreed term to represent children’s footwear interventions, with grouping and subgrouping of therapeutic footwear being dependent on their intended clinical outcomes (accommodative, corrective or functional). Both the heel counter and topline as well as the stiffness and width of the sole were identified as potentially influencing mediolateral stability in children’s gait. A consensus was achieved in the prescription criteria and outcome measures for off-the-shelf stability therapeutic footwear for cerebral palsy, mobile symptomatic pes planus, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, spina bifida and Down’s syndrome.

Conclusions

Through a structured synthesis of expert opinion, this study has established a standardisation of terminology and groupings along with prescription criteria for the first time. Reported findings have implications for communication between stakeholders, evidence-based clinical intervention and standardised outcome measures to assess effectiveness.
New classification of autoimmune neuropathies based on target antigens and involved domains of myelinated fibres
Authors: Uncini Antonino , Mathis Stephane , Vallat Jean-Michel
Published: August 2021

Autoimmune neuropathies are named by eponyms, by descriptive terminology or because of the presence of specific antibodies and are traditionally classified, on the basis of pathology and electrophysiology, as primary demyelinating or axonal. However, autoimmune disorders targeting specific molecules of the nodal region, although not showing pathological evidence of demyelination, can exhibit all the electrophysiological changes considered characteristic of a demyelinating neuropathy and acute neuropathies with antiganglioside antibodies, classified as axonal and due to nodal dysfunction, can present with reversible conduction failure and prompt recovery that appear contradictory with the common view of an axonal neuropathy. These observations bring into question the concepts of demyelinating and axonal nerve conduction changes and the groundwork of the classical dichotomous classification.

We propose a classification of autoimmune neuropathies based on the involved domains of the myelinated fibre and, when known, on the antigen. This classification, in our opinion, helps to better systematise autoimmune neuropathies because points to the site and molecular target of the autoimmune attack, reconciles some contrasting pathological and electrophysiological findings, circumvents the apparent paradox that neuropathies labelled as axonal may be promptly reversible and finally avoids taxonomic confusion and possible misdiagnosis.
Using Twitter for sentiment analysis towards AstraZeneca/Oxford, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines
Authors: Marcec Robert , Likic Robert
Published: August 2021

Introduction

A worldwide vaccination campaign is underway to bring an end to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; however, its success relies heavily on the actual willingness of individuals to get vaccinated. Social media platforms such as Twitter may prove to be a valuable source of information on the attitudes and sentiment towards SARS-CoV-2 vaccination that can be tracked almost instantaneously.

Materials and methods

The Twitter academic Application Programming Interface was used to retrieve all English-language tweets mentioning AstraZeneca/Oxford, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in 4 months from 1 December 2020 to 31 March 2021. Sentiment analysis was performed using the AFINN lexicon to calculate the daily average sentiment of tweets which was evaluated longitudinally and comparatively for each vaccine throughout the 4 months.

Results

A total of 701 891 tweets have been retrieved and included in the daily sentiment analysis. The sentiment regarding Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appeared positive and stable throughout the 4 months, with no significant differences in sentiment between the months. In contrast, the sentiment regarding the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine seems to be decreasing over time, with a significant decrease when comparing December with March (p<0.0000000001, mean difference=−0.746, 95% CI=−0.915 to −0.577).

Conclusion

Lexicon-based Twitter sentiment analysis is a valuable and easily implemented tool to track the sentiment regarding SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. It is worrisome that the sentiment regarding the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine appears to be turning negative over time, as this may boost hesitancy rates towards this specific SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.
Few Canadian children and youth were meeting the 24-hour movement behaviour guidelines 6-months into the COVID-19 pandemic: Follow-up from a national study
Authors: Moore Sarah A. , Faulkner Guy , Rhodes Ryan E. , Vanderloo Leigh M. , Ferguson Leah J. , Guerrero Michelle D. , Brussoni Mariana , Mitra Raktim , O’Reilly Norm , Spence John C. , Chulak-Bozzer Tala , Tremblay Mark S.
Published: August 2021

Daily life has changed for families due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this repeated cross-sectional study was to describe movement behaviours in Canadian children and youth 6 months into the pandemic (T2; October 2020) compared with the start of the pandemic (T1, April 2020). An online survey was distributed to parents (N = 1568) of children and/or youth (5–17 years; 58% girls) in October 2020. The survey assessed changes in movement behaviours (physical activity and play, sedentary behaviours, and sleep) from before the pandemic to October 2020 (T2). We compared these data with spring data (T1; April 2020; Moore et al. 2020; Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act, 17:85) collected using identical methodology (N = 1472; 54% girls). We report correlations between movement behaviours and relevant parental factors and provide word frequency distributions for open-ended responses. During the second wave, 4.5% of children (4.6% girls; 4.3% boys) and 1.9% of youth (1.3% girls, 2.4% boys) met the movement guidelines (3.1% overall). Whereas, during the first wave, 4.8% (2.8% girls, 6.5% boys) of children and 0.6% (0.8% girls, 0.5% boys) of youth were meeting combined guidelines (2.6% overall). Parental support was correlated with their child’s movement behaviours (T1 and T2). Our study demonstrates the ongoing challenges for children and youth to engage in healthy movement during the pandemic.

Novelty: Our large-scale national study demonstrates that children and youth were not meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines during the second wave of the pandemic. Our findings illustrate the need to protect children and youth from the collateral consequences of the pandemic.
Experimental corticosterone manipulation increases mature feather corticosterone content: implications for inferring avian stress history from feather analyses
Authors: Aharon-Rotman Yaara , Buttemer William A. , Koren Lee , Wynne-Edwards Katherine
Published: August 2021

Feathers incorporate circulating steroids during development. It is therefore assumed that the corticosterone (CORT) content of feathers (CORTf) represents an integrated measure of plasma CORT over the moult period. We tested this assumption by quantifying CORTf in feathers of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758)) that were plucked before and after experimental manipulation of circulating CORT. Two of the seven flight feathers collected from each bird were fully grown throughout the CORT-manipulation period. We found that CORTf of all seven feathers corresponded with plasma CORT levels of non-moulting reference House Sparrows given the same implants. Surprisingly, the CORTf of the two mature feathers was 4- to 10-fold higher than values measured in the new replacement feathers. Our results show that CORTf of mature feathers may be affected by circulating CORT outside the moulting period. The most plausible explanation for our results is that CORT was transferred onto feather surfaces externally, but the mechanisms involved remain to be identified. Researchers are encouraged to establish effective procedures, in terms of both solvent and duration, for removing surface residues without extracting CORT from within the feather. This will increase confidence when inferring moult-related stress status from feather analyses in future ecological studies.
The Iron-Age of Storage Batteries: Techno-Economic Promises and Challenges
Authors: Sripad Shashank , Krishnamurthy Dilip , Viswanathan Venkatasubramanian
Published: August 2021

In this article, we explore the techno-economic promises and challenges related to iron electrode systems, specifically in the iron-air system. We study the discharge-charge products of an iron-air system in an aqueous electrolyte using an iron-water Pourbaix diagram. Using the discharge-charge products from the Pourbaix analysis, we construct a proposed baseline iron-air cell to estimate the basic voltage and capacity of the cell. This cell is then assembled into a battery pack to analyze the unit cost of a 150-hour iron-air system using a process-based cost model developed from the BatPaC model. With the appropriate choice of materials for an iron-air system, we estimate the total battery pack system cost for iron-air to be about US$25/kWh where the cell material costs are around US$5/kWh. The pack hardware costs, air delivery system, and manufacturing costs together account for over US$20/kWh. Through further engineering improvements, better catalysts, and cell chemistry improvements, the battery pack costs may be reduced further, which is promising for long-duration storage applications.
Natural Background Level and Contamination of Shallow Groundwater Salinity in Various Aquifers in a Coastal Urbanized Area, South China
Authors: Bi Pan , Han Dongya , Liu Chunyan , Xiao Liquan , Wu Heqiu , Zhang Meng
Published: August 2021

Assessing natural background levels (NBLs) of chemical components in groundwater is useful for the evaluation of groundwater contamination in urbanized areas. The present study assessed the NBL of total dissolved solids (TDS) in various groundwater units in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) where urbanization is a large scale and discussed factors controlling groundwater salinity contamination in the PRD. Results showed that the NBL of TDS in groundwater in the coastal-alluvial plain was more than 1.5 times that in other groundwater units because of the seawater intrusion in this groundwater unit. By contrast, interactions of water and soils/rocks were the main factors controlling the NBLs of TDS in other groundwater units. Groundwater salinity contamination in the PRD was positively correlated with the urbanization level. Wastewater from township-village enterprises and industrial wastewater were likely to be the main sources for groundwater salinity contamination in the PRD. Moreover, the wastewater leakage from sewer systems was one of the main pathways for groundwater salinity contamination in urbanized areas, because the proportion of groundwater salinity contamination in urbanized areas formed in 1988–1998 was more than 1.5 times that in urbanized areas formed in 1998–2006 regardless of groundwater units. Besides, sewage irrigation and leakage of landfill leachate were also important sources for groundwater salinity contamination in the PRD.
TCMNER and PubMed: A Novel Chinese Character-Level-Based Model and a Dataset for TCM Named Entity Recognition
Authors: Liu Zhi , Luo Changyong , Zheng Zeyu , Li Yan , Fu Dianzheng , Yu Xinzhu , Zhao Jiawei
Published: August 2021

Intelligent traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has become a popular research field by means of prospering of deep learning technology. Important achievements have been made in such representative tasks as automatic diagnosis of TCM syndromes and diseases and generation of TCM herbal prescriptions. However, one unavoidable issue that still hinders its progress is the lack of labeled samples, i.e., the TCM medical records. As an efficient tool, the named entity recognition (NER) models trained on various TCM resources can effectively alleviate this problem and continuously increase the labeled TCM samples. In this work, on the basis of in-depth analysis, we argue that the performance of the TCM named entity recognition model can be better by using the character-level representation and tagging and propose a novel word-character integrated self-attention module. With the help of TCM doctors and experts, we define 5 classes of TCM named entities and construct a comprehensive NER dataset containing the standard content of the publications and the clinical medical records. The experimental results on this dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed module.
The Role of Exercise in Reducing Hyperlipidemia‐Induced Neuronal Damage in Apolipoprotein E‐Deficient Mice
Authors: Bai Yumeng , Feng Yali , Jiang Bo , Yang Yan , Pei Zuowei , Yang Qin , Cui Yanzeng
Published: August 2021

Hyperlipidemia causes nervous system‐related diseases. Exercise training has developed into an established evidence‐based treatment strategy that is beneficial for neuronal injury. This study investigated the effect of exercise on hyperlipidemia‐induced neuronal injury in apolipoprotein E‐deficient (ApoE-/-) mice. Male ApoE-/- mice (age: 8 weeks) were randomly divided into four groups as follows: mice fed a normal diet (ND), normal diet+swimming training (ND+S), high‐fat diet (HD), and high‐fat diet+swimming (HD+S). Exercise training consisted of swimming for 40 min/day, 5 days/week for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, we measured serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐c). We also evaluated glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression levels using immunohistochemistry, real‐time PCR, and immunoblotting. In addition, NLR family pyrin domain‐containing 3 (NLRP3), interleukin‐ (IL‐) 18, caspase‐1, Bax, Bcl‐2, and phosphorylated extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (p‐ERK) expression levels were measured using immunoblotting. Serum levels of TG, TC, and LDL‐c were lower in ApoE-/- HD+S mice than in ApoE-/- HD mice. Immunohistochemistry, real‐time PCR, and immunoblotting showed increased levels of GFAP in the ApoE-/- HD group. Immunoblotting revealed increased levels of NLRP3, IL‐18, caspase‐1, Bax, Bcl‐2, and p‐ERK in the ApoE-/- HD group; however, they were significantly suppressed in the ApoE-/- HD+S group. Therefore, exercise has protective effects against neuronal injury caused by hyperlipidemia.
Physicochemical and Thermal Characteristics of Onion Skin from Fifteen Indian Cultivars for Possible Food Applications
Authors: Sagar Narashans Alok , Khar Anil , Vikas  , Tarafdar Ayon , Pareek Sunil
Published: August 2021

Every year tons of onion waste is produced worldwide. The dried outer onion skin contributed up to 70% of this waste. Outer-dried skins of fifteen prominent onion cultivars from India were selected for the study. A comparative study was done for proximate profiling, thermal characteristics, functional grouping, and mineral contents. Skin of cv. “NHRDF Red” contained the highest amount of crude protein (5.97 ± 0.15 g/100 g), ash (12.24 ± 0.59 g/100 g), and fiber (8.28 ± 0.20 g/100 g), whereas cv. “Pusa Red” possessed the highest amount of total fat (0.47 ± 0.02 g/100 g) and the maximum carbohydrates (76.66 ± 0.56 g/100 g) were found in “Pusa Riddhi.” Mineral analysis showed that cv. “NHRDF Red” had the maximum concentration of all 9 minerals along with sulphur content. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis explored the various metabolites present in each cultivar. The thermal analysis explored cv. “Agrifound Dark Red” as highly thermally stable having 70.98% residual mass. The lowest Tg temperature range was found between 64.4°C and 90.6°C for “Agrifound Dark Red.” Skin of cv. “NHRDF Red” was reported as the best source of protein, fiber, and minerals, which may be utilized for developing a food product.
Microbiological Quality of Meat and Swabs from Contact Surface in Butcher Shops in Debre Berhan, Ethiopia
Authors: Atlabachew Tefera , Mamo Jermen
Published: August 2021

Food-borne pathogens are the primary source of infection in developing countries. The widespread practice of raw beef consumption was a potential cause of food-borne diseases in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was initiated to assess the microbiological quality of fresh meat samples from butcher shops in Debre Berhan. Fresh meat samples and swab samples from contact surfaces were collected from butcher shops for microbial analysis, following standard methods. The study revealed that the mean microbial counts of morning samples for total aerobic mesophilic, Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliform, fecal coliform, aerobic spore formers, and yeasts and molds of the butcher shops were 5.31, 4.24, 4.47, 4.79, 4.74, 3.77, and 5.0 log cfu/g, respectively. The mean microbial counts from the afternoon sample for total aerobic mesophilic, Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliform, fecal coliform, aerobic spore formers, and yeasts and molds of the butcher shops were 5.47, 4.78, 4.84, 4.88, 4.94, 5.15, and 5.07 log cfu/g, respectively. A higher microbial load was found from the meat sample collected in the afternoon. The mean microbial counts of total aerobic mesophilic, Staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliform, fecal coliform, aerobic spore formers, and yeasts and molds from swabs of the contact surface were 4.17, 3.98, 4.08, 3.96, 3.86, 3.80, and 3.92 log cfu/cm2, respectively. Further characterization of the aerobic mesophilic flora indicated a dominance by Enterobacteriaceae (36%) followed by Staphylococci spp. (24%) and Bacillus spp. (19%). The prevalence of S. aureus, E. coli, and Salmonella in meat and swab samples was 37.5%, 32.5%, and 7.5%, respectively. In this study, it was observed that all samples collected from butcher shops detected a significant count of spoilage microbes. Hence, adequate sanitary measures should be taken from production to consumption stages.
Social Responsibility Decision-Making of Universities in Stackelberg Competition
Authors: Wang Xiaolei , Sun Chaoqun , Liu Jiali
Published: August 2021

This paper establishes a Stackelberg competition model of two universities considering social responsibility (SR) and market sensitivity (MS) and examines the equilibrium results of four different scenarios: only the leader implements SR; only the follower implements SR; both the leader and the follower implement SR; neither the leader nor the follower implements SR. Then, a comparative analysis is carried out on the influence of MS and SR level. The results show that the influence of MS depends on SR implementation instead of competitive position. If MS is sufficiently high, two universities have the motive to implement more SR; under different competition scenarios, universities make different SR decisions, but the leader and the government make the same decisions on the optimal SR level. Therefore, the government could encourage the leader to take SR first.
Evaluation of Chinese Transport Infrastructure Investment Performance in Countries along the Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: Yang Yanbin , Liu Wei , Li Kaiyuan , Jin Yuping , Liang Shijia
Published: August 2021

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, Chinese enterprises have invested heavily in transport infrastructure projects. In order to better promote Chinese overseas transport infrastructure investment (TII) and avoid additional risks, it is necessary to scientifically assess the performance of Chinese TII in countries along the BRI and explore the promotion path of Chinese TII performance. For this reason, we used a superefficient slacks-based measurement (SE-SBM) model to calculate Chinese TII performance based on 5 dimensions, including political environment, economic environment, institutional environment, humanistic environment, and social environment. These 5 dimensions were divided into 14 indicators, and we used quantification with indirect data to quantify all indicators. Then, according to the performance value of selected countries, we classified them into high-, medium-, and low-performance areas. Next, combined with the scale of returns and the shadow price of input indicators, we provided the promotion measures of each performance area. Our analysis generates valuable measures to reduce TII risks and better promote the connectivity of countries along the BRI.
Dynamic Resource Allocation Strategy in Mobile Edge Cloud Computing Environment
Authors: Lin Qiang
Published: August 2021

With the development of the mobile Internet, smart mobile terminals have become an indispensable tool for people's lives and mobile applications are becoming more and more powerful. This research mainly discusses the dynamic resource allocation strategy of the mobile edge cloud computing environment. The physical resource layer in the network model is responsible for providing specific resources that are actually available, such as hardware resources, computing resources, storage resources, mainly including base stations, mobile edge computing servers, spectrum, power, and other communications of different infrastructure vendor basic components of the system. The functions of the virtual machine monitor include resource virtualization and resource management. As an important component of wireless network virtualization, virtual machine monitors are usually deployed in physical base stations to provide physical resources and to consider the connection between the virtual machine stations. The business of the business cache model is an application that is requested by users running on the mobile edge computing server or cloud at the base station. The computing task scheduling in the mobile edge environment can be classified as a wireless interaction model. This model captures the user throughput in cellular network interaction. The physical layer channel access strategy (CDMA) allows all mobile users to efficiently share the same spectrum resources at the same time. When the preference coefficient for task energy consumption varies between 0.35–0.55 and 0.65–1, the superior range of maximum system efficiency achieved by RAOM accounts for 55% of the entire range. This research contributes to the reasonable allocation of resources, and the mobile edge computing model improves the fairness of users with a lower transmission cost.
Historical Spatial Distribution of Zoonotic Diseases in Domestic, Synanthropic, and Wild Animals in the Mexican Territory of the Yucatan Peninsula
Authors: Haro Paulina , Trasviña-Muñoz Enrique , May-Concha Irving , López-Valencia Gilberto , Monge-Navarro Francisco , Herrera-Ramírez Carloman , Mercado-Rodríguez Julio A. , Villanueva-Alonzo Hernán , Waleckx Etienne
Published: August 2021

The Mexican territory of the Yucatan Peninsula has a tropical climate and harbors a wide variety of domestic, synanthropic, and wild animals, as well as disease vectors. To determine the distribution of recorded zoonotic diseases in the Yucatan Peninsula, scientific publications referring to these diseases in animals and containing geographic coordinates of disease occurrence, were studied. The epidemiological bulletins of the national government were also consulted to obtain information on zoonotic diseases reported in humans in the territory. The territory harbors a wide variety of tropical zoonotic pathogens, including Trypanosoma cruzi, Leptospira interrogans, Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania mexicana, Dirofilaria immitis, and Rickettsia felis. A variety of domestic, synanthropic, and wild animals act as hosts or reservoirs in the transmission cycle of the zoonotic diseases in the Yucatan Peninsula, and some spillover into human populations has also been recorded. There are still zoonotic diseases that have rarely or never been reported in humans, but it is not clear whether this is because these diseases in humans are not common, there is a lack of viable transmission cycle or there is a lack of appropriate diagnosis. It is necessary to continue monitoring vectors, animal hosts, and humans to identify risk factors for zoonotic diseases in the Yucatan Peninsula.
Quantitative Analysis of the Impact of Wireless Internet Technology on College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship under the Background of “Internet Plus”
Authors: Lou Qinqin
Published: August 2021

Under the background of “Internet plus,” the opportunities and challenges that college students face in the process of innovation and entrepreneurship coexist. College students should make full use of the powerful function of the Internet to excavate the huge business opportunities hidden under the background of “Internet plus.” In the context of “Internet plus” of mass entrepreneurship and innovation, the quantitative analysis method is studied in the context of wireless network technology on college students’ innovation and entrepreneurship. This paper proposes a combined weight model and an evaluation model based on genetic fuzzy optimization neural network. This research initially establishes an evaluation index system (EIS) by analyzing the influence factors of wireless network technology on college students’ innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition, EIS is also analyzed by combining the objective weight of each index obtained by the entropy with the subjective weight of each index obtained by the analytic hierarchy process to construct a combined weight model. A genetic algorithm is used to optimize fuzzy optimization neural networks and establish an evaluation index system of wireless network technology based on genetic fuzzy optimization neural network. To minimize the output error, the function of output error is used as the fitness evaluation function to output the score after several iterations. The experimental results show that the evaluation model can determine the importance of the influencing factors of wireless network technology on college students’ innovation and entrepreneurship. It is further evident from the experiments that the proposed model has high accuracy, with the average relative error always less than 1%, which can further improve the effect of quantitative analysis. The proposed model also has a fast convergence speed that can prevent local minima.
Tea Polyphenols Enhanced the Antioxidant Capacity and Induced Hsps to Relieve Heat Stress Injury
Authors: Yin Bin , Lian Ruirui , Li Zhen , Liu Yueyue , Yang Shifa , Huang Zhongli , Zhao Zengcheng , Li Ying , Sun Chuanxi , Lin Shuqian , Wan Renzhong , Li Guiming
Published: August 2021

Keap1‐Nrf2‐ARE and heat shock proteins (Hsps) are important endogenous protection mechanisms initiated by heat stress to play a double protective role for cell adaptation and survival. H9C2 cells and 80 300‐day‐old specific pathogen‐free chickens were randomly divided into the control and tea polyphenol groups and used to establish a heat stress model in vitro and in vivo. This task was conducted to explore the protection and mechanism of tea polyphenols in relieving thermal injury. A supplement with 10 μg/mL tea polyphenols could effectively relieve the heat damage of H9C2 cells at 42°C. Accordingly, weaker granular degeneration, vacuolar degeneration, and nucleus deep staining were shown. A strong antioxidant capacity was manifested in the upregulation of the total antioxidant capacity (T‐AOC) (at 5 h, P < 0.05), Hemeoxygenase-1 mRNA (at 2 h, P < 0.01), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (at 2, 3, and 5 h, P < 0.05), and Nrf2 (at 0 and 5 h, P < 0.01). A high expression of Hsps was reflected in CRYAB at 3 h; Hsp27 at 0, 2, and 3 h (P < 0.01); and Hsp70 at 3 and 5 h (P < 0.01). The supplement with 0.2 g/L tea polyphenols in the drinking water also had a good effect in alleviating the heat stress damage of the myocardial cells of hens at 38°C. Accordingly, light pathological lesions and downregulation of the myocardial injury‐related indicators (LDH, CK, CK‐MB, and TNF‐α) were shown. The mechanism was related to the upregulation of T‐AOC (at 0 h, P < 0.05), GSH‐PX (at 0.5 d, P < 0.01), SOD (at 0.5 d), and Nrf2 (at 0 d with P < 0.01 and 2 d with P < 0.05) and the induced expression of CRYAB (at 0.5 and 2 d), Hsp27 (at 0, 0.5, and 5 d), and Hsp70 (at 0 and 0.5 d). In conclusion, the tea polyphenols enhanced the antioxidant capacity and induced Hsps to relieve heat stress injury.
Comparison and Analysis on the Existing Single-Herbal Strategies against Viral Myocarditis
Authors: Cao Yu , Liu Yang , Zhang Tian , Pan Jing , Lei Wei , Zhang Boli
Published: August 2021

Purpose. Herbal medicine is one of crucial symbols of Chinese national medicine. Investigation on molecular responses of different herbal strategies against viral myocarditis is immeasurably conducive to targeting drug development in the current international absence of miracle treatment. Methods. Literature retrieval platforms were applied in the collection of existing empirical evidences for viral myocarditis-related single-herbal strategies. SwissTargetPrediction, Metascape, and Discovery Studio coordinating with multidatabases investigated underlying target genes, interactive proteins, and docking molecules in turn. Results. Six single-herbal medicines consisting of Huangqi (Hedysarum Multijugum Maxim), Yuganzi (Phyllanthi Fructus), Kushen (Sophorae Flavescentis Radix), Jianghuang (Curcumaelongae Rhizoma), Chaihu (Radix Bupleuri), and Jixueteng (Spatholobus Suberectus Dunn) meet the requirement. There were 11 overlapped and 73 unique natural components detected in these herbs. SLC6A2, SLC6A4, NOS2, PPARA, PPARG, ACHE, CYP2C19, CYP51A1, and CHRM2 were equally targeted by six herbs and identified as viral myocarditis-associated symbols. MCODE algorithm exposed the hub role of SRC and EGFR in strategies without Jianghuang. Subsequently, we learned intermolecular interactions of herbal components and their targeting heart-tissue-specific CHRM2, FABP3, TNNC1, TNNI3, TNNT2, and SCN5A and cardiac-myocytes-specific IL6, MMP1, and PLAT coupled with viral myocarditis. Ten interactive characteristics such as π-alkyl and van der Waals were modeled in which ARG111, LYS253, ILE114, and VAL11 on cardiac troponin (TNNC1-TNNI3-TNNT2) and ARG208, ASN106, and ALA258 on MMP1 fulfilled potential communicating anchor with ellagic acid, 5α, 9α-dihydroxymatrine, and leachianone g via hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction, respectively. Conclusions. The comprehensive outcomes uncover differences and linkages between six herbs against viral myocarditis through component and target analysis, fostering development of drugs.