bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A novel gene from the acidophilic bacterium Leptospirillum sp. CF-1 and its role in oxidative stress and chromate tolerance
Authors: Javier Rivera-Araya , Matías Riveros , Alonso Ferrer , Renato Chávez , Gloria Levicán
Published: May 2022

Background

Acidophilic microorganisms likeLeptospirillumsp. CF-1 thrive in environments with extremely low pH and high concentrations of dissolved heavy metals that can induce the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Several hypothetical genes and proteins fromLeptospirillumsp. CF-1 are known to be up-regulated under oxidative stress conditions.

Results

In the present work, the function of hypothetical gene ABH19_09590 fromLeptospirillumsp. CF-1 was studied. Heterologous expression of this gene inEscherichia coli led to an increase in the ability to grow under oxidant conditions with 5 mM K2CrO4or 5 mM H2O2. Similarly, a significant reduction in ROS production inE. colitransformed with a plasmid carrying ABH19_09590 was observed after exposure to these oxidative stress elicitors for 30 min, compared to a strain complemented with the empty vector. A co-transcriptional study using RT-PCR showed that ABH19_09590 is contained in an operon, here named the “och” operon, that also contains ABH19_09585, ABH19_09595 and ABH19_09600 genes. The expression of theochoperon was significantly up-regulated inLeptospirillumsp. CF-1 exposed to 5 mM K2CrO4for 15 and 30 min. Genes of this operon potentially encode a NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase, a CXXC motif-containing protein likely involved in thiol/disulfide exchange, a hypothetical protein, and a di-hydroxy-acid dehydratase. A comparative genomic analysis revealed that theochoperon is a characteristic genetic determinant of theLeptospirillumgenus that is not present in other acidophiles.

Conclusions

Altogether, these results suggest that theochoperon plays a protective role against chromate and hydrogen peroxide and is an important mechanism required to face polyextremophilic conditions in acid environments.
Long-term patterns of an interconnected core marine microbiota
Authors: Krabberød Anders K. , Deutschmann Ina M. , Bjorbækmo Marit F. M. , Balagué Vanessa , Giner Caterina R. , Ferrera Isabel , Garcés Esther , Massana Ramon , Gasol Josep M. , Logares Ramiro
Published: May 2022

Background

Ocean microbes constitute ~ 70% of the marine biomass, are responsible for ~ 50% of the Earth’s primary production and are crucial for global biogeochemical cycles. Marine microbiotas include core taxa that are usually key for ecosystem function. Despite their importance, core marine microbes are relatively unknown, which reflects the lack of consensus on how to identify them. So far, most core microbiotas have been defined based on species occurrence and abundance. Yet, species interactions are also important to identify core microbes, as communities include interacting species. Here, we investigate interconnected bacteria and small protists of the core pelagic microbiota populating a long-term marine-coastal observatory in the Mediterranean Sea over a decade.

Results

Core microbes were defined as those present in > 30% of the monthly samples over 10 years, with the strongest associations. The core microbiota included 259 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) including 182 bacteria, 77 protists, and 1411 strong and mostly positive (~ 95%) associations. Core bacteria tended to be associated with other bacteria, while core protists tended to be associated with bacteria. The richness and abundance of core OTUs varied annually, decreasing in stratified warmers waters and increasing in colder mixed waters. Most core OTUs had a preference for one season, mostly winter, which featured subnetworks with the highest connectivity. Groups of highly associated taxa tended to include protists and bacteria with predominance in the same season, particularly winter. A group of 13 highly-connected hub-OTUs, with potentially important ecological roles dominated in winter and spring. Similarly, 18 connector OTUs with a low degree but high centrality were mostly associated with summer or autumn and may represent transitions between seasonal communities.

Conclusions

We found a relatively small and dynamic interconnected core microbiota in a model temperate marine-coastal site, with potential interactions being more deterministic in winter than in other seasons. These core microbes would be essential for the functioning of this ecosystem over the year. Other non-core taxa may also carry out important functions but would be redundant and non-essential. Our work contributes to the understanding of the dynamics and potential interactions of core microbes possibly sustaining ocean ecosystem function.
Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. Root-associated microbiota: the multifaceted hubs associated with environmental factors, growth status and accumulation of secondary metabolites
Authors: Chen Chaoyun , Zhong Chaofang , Gao Xi , Tan Chongyang , Bai Hong , Ning Kang
Published: May 2022

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. is an important, perennial medicinal plant whose root microbiome is considered to play an important role in promoting accumulation of effective medicinal ingredients (liquiritin and glycrrhizic acid). Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of the microbial community structural composition and metabolite-plant-microbes association of G. uralensis Fisch. We collected both soil and rhizosphere samples of G. uralensis from different environmental conditions (cultivated and wild) and growth years (grown for one year and three years). Our data revealed higher species diversity in the wild group than in the cultivated group. The core rhizosphere microbiome of G. uralensis comprised 78 genera, including Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, some of which were potential plant beneficial microbes. Our results suggest that the growth of G. uralensis has a correlation with the root-associated microbiota assemblage. Integrated analysis among rhizosphere microbial taxa, plant gene expressions, and liquiritin and glycrrhizic acid accumulation showed that the liquiritin and glycrrhizic acid accumulation exhibited associations with the rhizosphere microbial composition at the genus level. The results provide valuable information to guide cultivation of G. uralensis, and potentially to harness the power of the root-associated microbiota to improve medicinal plant production.
Health systems strengthening interventions for perinatal common mental disorders and experiences of domestic violence in Cape Town, South Africa: protocol for a pilot implementation study
Authors: Abrahams Zulfa , Schneider Marguerite , Honikman Simone , Olckers Patti , Boisits Sonet , Seward Nadine , Lund Crick
Published: May 2022

Background

During the perinatal period, common mental disorders (CMDs) such as depression and anxiety are highly prevalent, especially in low-resource settings, and are associated with domestic violence, poverty, and food insecurity. Perinatal CMDs have been associated with several adverse maternal and child outcomes. While the Department of Health in South Africa provides healthcare workers with the tools to detect psychological distress and experiences of domestic violence, few healthcare workers routinely screen pregnant women at clinic visits, citing discomfort with mental health issues and the lack of standardised referral pathways as the key barriers. The aim of this study is to select and evaluate a set of health systems strengthening (HSS) interventions aimed at improving the care and outcomes for perinatal women with CMDs and experiences of domestic violence, attending public healthcare facilities in Cape Town.

Methods

This study consists of a pre-implementation, development, and implementation phase. Contextual barriers identified during the pre-implementation phase included poor patient knowledge and health-seeking behaviour, high levels of stigma, and poor detection, referral, and treatment rates. Implementation science determinant frameworks were applied to findings from the pre-implementation phase to identify determinants and gaps in delivering high-quality evidence-informed care. A participatory Theory of Change workshop was used to design a HSS programme, consisting of awareness raising, detection, referral, and treatment. HSS interventions selected to support the delivery of the HSS programme includes training, health promotion, change to the healthcare environment, task-sharing, audit and feedback, and performance monitoring. The implementation phase will be used to assess several implementation and clinical outcomes associated with the delivery of the HSS programme, which will be piloted at three healthcare facilities. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to evaluate the implementation and clinical outcomes.

Discussion

This pilot implementation study will inform us about a range of implementation and clinical outcome measures that are relevant for assessing HSS interventions for perinatal women with depression, anxiety, or experiences of domestic violence in low-resource settings. Lessons learnt from the pilot study will be incorporated into the design of a cluster randomised control trial for which further funding will be sought.
Digital adoption and efficiency in the maritime industry
Authors: Gavalas Dimitris , Syriopoulos Theodoros , Roumpis Efthimios
Published: May 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has augmented pre-existing digitalization and environmental trends. In the maritime industry, one of the marked impacts of the pandemic is how the regard for technology has changed. There is now greater appetite and acceptance of digital solutions across the industry. This study investigates the ways the adoption of a series of digital technologies impact shipping firms’ efficiency, that will shed light on how industry stakeholders may derive value from data solutions, for making better operational decisions. We use cross-country firm-level data to evaluate the efficiency effects of maritime industry-level digital adoption. The results provide robust proof that working in a digitalized ecosystem is a way to promote efficiency, though not to the same extent across shipping firms and divisions. Impacts are relatively stronger in water transport activities than warehousing/support activities for transportation. Digital technologies may add to the growing diffusion in efficiency across shipping firms.
Recovery of ro-pax ferry traffic from covid-19 under tightening environmental regulations: case Helsinki-Tallinn
Authors: Tapaninen Ulla , Palu Riina
Published: May 2022

In 2020, the number of passengers on international ro-pax ferries collapsed due to the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus and subsequent travel restrictions. At the same time, both the International Maritime Organisation and the European Union are setting stringent regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from ships. In this research, we look at what options companies offering ro-pax services have to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic under-tightening environmental regulations and the future options for the industry. The case under study is ro-pax ferry traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn. It is one of the busiest international passenger ferry connections in the world. The economics of transport are based on large high-speed vessels, the combination of passengers and cargo, and sales onboard. We created four scenarios for the traffic: to continue the same high-speed ro-pax system as in 2019, to reduce the number of vessels, to switch to new types of ships, to slow down the speed of the vessels or to divide traffic into faster and slower ships. The research contributes to discussion of competitive strengths of ro-pax transport.
The effectiveness of improving healthcare teams’ human factor skills using simulation-based training: a systematic review
Authors: Abildgren Lotte , Lebahn-Hadidi Malte , Mogensen Christian Backer , Toft Palle , Nielsen Anders Bo , Frandsen Tove Faber , Steffensen Sune Vork , Hounsgaard Lise
Published: May 2022

Background

Simulation-based training used to train healthcare teams’ skills and improve clinical practice has evolved in recent decades. While it is evident that technical skills training is beneficial, the potential of human factor training has not been described to the same extent. Research on human factor training has been limited to marginal and acute care scenarios and often to validate instruments. This systematic review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of simulation-based training in improving in-hospital qualified healthcare teams’ human factor skills.

Method

A review protocol outlining the study was registered in PROSPERO. Using the PRISMA guidelines, the systematic search was conducted on September 28th, 2021, in eight major scientific databases. Three independent reviewers assessed title and abstract screening; full texts were evaluated by one reviewer. Content analysis was used to evaluate the evidence from the included studies.

Results

The search yielded 19,767 studies, of which 72 were included. The included studies were published between 2004 and 2021 and covered research from seven different in-hospital medical specialisms. Studies applied a wide range of assessment tools, which made it challenging to compare the effectiveness of human factor skills training across studies. The content analysis identified evidence for the effectiveness. Four recurring themes were identified: (1) Training human factor skills in qualified healthcare teams; (2) assessment of human factor skills; (3) combined teaching methods, and (4) retention and transfer of human factor skills. Unfortunately, the human factor skills assessments are variable in the literature, affecting the power of the result.

Conclusion

Simulation-based training is a successful learning tool to improve qualified healthcare teams’ human factor skills. Human factor skills are not innate and appear to be trainable similar to technical skills, based on the findings of this review. Moreover, research on retention and transfer is insufficient. Further, research on the retention and transfer of human factor skills from simulation-based training to clinical practice is essential to gain knowledge of the effect on patient safety.
Dimensional variability characterization of additively manufactured lattice coupons
Authors: Snodderly Kirstie Lane , Fogarasi Magdalene , Badhe Yutika , Parikh Ankit , Porter Daniel , Burchi Albert , Gilmour Laura , Di Prima Matthew
Published: May 2022

Background

Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly called 3D Printing (3DP), for medical devices is growing in popularity due to the technology’s ability to create complex geometries and patient-matched products. However, due to the process variabilities which can exist between 3DP systems, manufacturer workflows, and digital conversions, there may be variabilities among 3DP parts or between design files and final manufactured products. The overall goal of this project is to determine the dimensional variability of commercially obtained 3DP titanium lattice-containing test coupons and compare it to the original design files.

Methods

This manuscript outlines the procedure used to measure dimensional variability of 3D Printed lattice coupons and analyze the differences in external dimensions and pore area when using laser and electron beam fabricated samples. The key dimensions measured were the bulk length, width, and depth using calipers. Strut thickness and pore area were assessed for the lattice components using optical imaging and µCT.

Results

Results show a difference in dimensional measurement between printed parts and the computer-designed files for all groups analyzed including the internal lattice dimensions. Measurements of laser manufactured coupons varied from the nominal by less than 0.2 mm and results show averages greater than the nominal value for length, width, and depth dimensions. Measurements of Electron Beam Melting coupons varied between 0.4 mm-0.7 mm from the nominal value and showed average lengths below the nominal dimension while the width and depths were greater than the nominal values. The length dimensions of Laser Powder Bed Fusion samples appeared to be impacted by hot isostatic press more than the width and depth dimension. When lattice relative density was varied, there appeared to be little impact on the external dimensional variability for the as-printed state.

Conclusions

Based on these results, we can conclude that there are relevant variations between designed files and printed parts. However, we cannot currently state if these results are clinically relevant and further testing needs to be conducted to apply these results to real-world situations.
Prior experience with target encounter affects attention allocation and prospective memory performance
Authors: Moore Kara N. , Lampinen James Michael , Adams Eryn J. , Nesmith Blake L. , Burch Presley
Published: May 2022

We examined how prior experience encountering targets affected attention allocation and event-based prospective memory. Participants performed four color match task blocks with a difficult, but specified prospective memory task (Experiment 1) or an easier, but unspecified prospective memory task (Experiment 2). Participants were instructed to search for targets on each block. Participants in the prior experience condition saw targets on each block, participants in the no prior experience condition only saw targets on the fourth block, and, in Experiment 2, participants in the mixed prior experience condition encountered some of the targets on the first three blocks, and saw all the targets on the fourth block. In Experiment 1, participants in the no prior experience condition were less accurate at recognizing targets and quicker to respond on ongoing task trials than participants in the prior experience condition. In Experiment 2, we replicated the effect of prior experience on target accuracy, but there was no effect on ongoing trial response time. The mixed experience condition did not vary from the other conditions on either dependent variable, but their target accuracy varied in accordance with their experience. These findings demonstrate that prospective memory performance is influenced by experience with related tasks, thus extending our understanding of the dynamic nature of search efforts across related prospective memory tasks. This research has implications for understanding prospective memory in applied settings where targets do not reliably occur such as baggage screenings and missing person searches.
Icon arrays reduce concern over COVID-19 vaccine side effects: a randomized control study
Authors: Fansher Madison , Adkins Tyler J. , Lalwani Poortata , Boduroglu Aysecan , Carlson Madison , Quirk Madelyn , Lewis Richard L. , Shah Priti , Zhang Han , Jonides John
Published: May 2022

On April 13, 2021, the CDC announced that the administration of Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine would be paused due to a rare blood clotting side effect in ~ 0.0001% of people given the vaccine. Most people who are hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine list potential side effects as their main concern (PEW, 2021); thus, it is likely that this announcement increased vaccine hesitancy among the American public. Two days after the CDC’s announcement, we administered a survey to a group of 2,046 Americans to assess their changes in attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines. The aim of this study was to investigate whether viewing icon arrays of side effect risk would prevent increases in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy due to the announcement. We found that using icon arrays to illustrate the small chance of experiencing the blood clotting side effect significantly prevented increases in aversion toward the Johnson and Johnson vaccine as well as all other COVID-19 vaccines.
Non-monotonic developmental trend of holistic processing in visual expertise: the case of Chinese character recognition
Authors: Tso Ricky Van-yip , Au Terry Kit-fong , Hsiao Janet Hui-wen
Published: May 2022

Holistic processing has been identified as an expertise marker of face and object recognition. By contrast, reduced holistic processing is purportedly an expertise marker in recognising orthographic characters in Chinese. Does holistic processing increase or decrease in expertise development? Is orthographic recognition a domain-specific exception to all other kinds of recognition (e.g. face and objects)? In two studies, we examined the developmental trend of holistic processing in Chinese character recognition in Chinese and non-Chinese children, and its relationship with literacy abilities: Chinese first graders—with emergent Chinese literacy acquired in kindergarten—showed increased holistic processing perhaps as an inchoate expertise marker when compared with kindergartners and non-Chinese first graders; however, the holistic processing effect was reduced in higher-grade Chinese children. These results suggest a non-monotonic inverted U-shape trend of holistic processing in visual expertise development: An increase in holistic processing due to initial reading experience followed by a decrease in holistic processing due to literacy enhancement. This result marks the development of holistic and analytic processing skills, both of which can be essential for mastering visual recognition. This study is the first to investigate the developmental trend of holistic processing in Chinese character recognition using the composite paradigm.
Target-rate effect in continuous visual search
Authors: Chan Louis K. H. , Chan Winnie W. L.
Published: May 2022

From infrared body temperature surveillance to lifeguarding, real-life visual search is usually continuous and comes with rare targets. Previous research has examined realistic search tasks involving separate slides (such as baggage screening and radiography), but search tasks that require continuous monitoring have generally received less attention. In this study, we investigated whether continuous visual search would display a target-rate effect similar to the low-prevalence effect (LPE) in regular visual search. We designed a continuous detection task for a target feature (e.g., a green color) among items of continuously and gradually changing features (e.g., other colors). In four experiments, we demonstrated target-rate effects in terms of slower hit response times (RTs) and higher miss rates when targets were rare. Similar to regular search, target-rate effects were also observed for relative frequencies across two target features. Taken together, these results suggest a target-rate effect in continuous visual search, and its behavioral characteristics are generally similar to those of the LPE in regular visual search.
Coupled Cluster Downfolding Theory: towards universal many-body algorithms for dimensionality reduction of composite quantum systems in chemistry and materials science
Authors: Bauman Nicholas P. , Kowalski Karol
Published: May 2022

The recently introduced coupled cluster (CC) downfolding techniques for reducing the dimensionality of quantum many-body problems recast the CC formalism in the form of the renormalization procedure allowing, for the construction of effective (or downfolded) Hamiltonians in small-dimensionality sub-space, usually identified with the so-called active space, of the entire Hilbert space. The resulting downfolded Hamiltonians integrate out the external (out-of-active-space) Fermionic degrees of freedom from the internal (in-the-active-space) parameters of the wave function, which can be determined as components of the eigenvectors of the downfolded Hamiltonians in the active space. This paper will discuss the extension of non-Hermitian (associated with standard CC formulations) and Hermitian (associated with the unitary CC approaches) downfolding formulations to composite quantum systems commonly encountered in materials science and chemistry. The non-Hermitian formulation can provide a platform for developing local CC approaches, while the Hermitian one can serve as an ideal foundation for developing various quantum computing applications based on the limited quantum resources. We also discuss the algorithm for extracting the semi-analytical form of the inter-electron interactions in the active spaces.
P2X7 1513A/C loss-of-function polymorphism and active tuberculosis disease in a cohort of Egyptian population: a pilot study
Authors: Shafiek Hanaa , Shabana Ahmed , El-Seedy Ayman , Khalil Yehia
Published: May 2022

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is a multifactorial disease, and increasing evidence shows that genetic variants in regulating genes of immune response confer susceptibility to active TB at the individual level. We aimed to identify the contribution of P2X7 receptor 1513A/C genetic polymorphisms to different clinical forms of active tuberculosis in a cohort of Egyptian population.

Methods

A case–control study that enrolled 25 newly diagnosed pulmonary TB (PTB) patients by positive sputum for AFB or positive culture, 25 extrapulmonary TB (EPTB) diagnosed by pathological/bacteriological/immunological studies and 25 healthy controls. A blood sample was taken before starting of therapy for P2X7 1513A/C polymorphism genotyping using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Results

Fifty-two percent of the participants were in the third decade with equal gender distribution. P2X7 receptor 1513AA (homozygote wild), AC (heterozygote) and CC (homozygote mutant) genotypes were identified. AC and CC genotypes distribution were significantly more frequent in the active TB cases (either PTB or EPTB) rather than controls (p < 0.05). Further, P2X7 1513A/C genotypes’ distribution did not associate with old TB or gender (p > 0.05), but significantly associated with history of smoking (x2 trend analysis p = 0.036).

Conclusions

There is positive association between P2X7 receptor 1513A/C polymorphism and active tuberculosis in the Egyptians.
Eosinophil count: a predictor of in-hospital mortality in a cohort of cirrhosis patients with sepsis
Authors: Anoop K. V. , Devadas Krishnadas , Varghese Jijo
Published: May 2022

Background

Declining eosinophil count has recently been associated with sepsis. Thus, absolute eosinophil count (AEC) can be used as a marker of the severity of sepsis, which helps in the early identification of high-risk patients, and better management can be offered to such patients. The aim of this study was to assess whether AEC at the time of ICU admission can be used as a predictor of in-hospital mortality in cirrhotics with sepsis.

Results

This was a retrospective study which was conducted in 105 cirrhotic patients admitted with sepsis in the Department of Gastroenterology, Medical College Trivandrum, from May 2014 to October 2014. Every consecutive patient with cirrhosis and sepsis (defined as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and the presence of infections) admitted to the ICU/high dependency unit was recruited for the study. Among the various parameters analyzed, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, Child-Pugh Turcot (CTP) score, albumin levels, total count, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), bilirubin, creatinine, urea, and absolute eosinophil count were statistically significant in predicting in-hospital mortality. The AUROC of AEC was plotted and found to be 0.881, which was better than other parameters for predicting in-hospital mortality. The cutoff of AEC by Youden’s index was 110 cells/cumm (sensitivity 91.3%, specificity 89%, positive predictive value 87.5%, and negative predictive value 93%) to predict in-hospital mortality. The AUROC of MELD was 0.78 with a cutoff of > 24 (sensitivity 89%, specificity 74.6%, positive predictive value 73%, and negative predictive value 89%) to predict the mortality. The odds ratio for predicting mortality was highest for absolute eosinophil count (92.75) followed by MELD (24.57), total count (20.475), CTP (10), and the presence of SIRS (9.08).

Conclusion

In critically ill cirrhosis patients with sepsis, AEC < 110 cells/cumm can predict in-hospital mortality.
Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome in COVID-19: rare, not uncommon
Authors: Kumawat Renu , Lal Mahesh , S. Jagadeesan , Varshney Prarit
Published: May 2022

COVID-19 is a contagious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). As humanity continues to fight this virus, it keeps presenting with new manifestations and complications. Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) is a rare clinical syndrome characterized by dyspnea and oxygen desaturation, in the supine to sitting position, which resolves with recumbency and can be diagnosed with a simple pulse oximeter. We report three cases of COVID-19 pneumonia, who developed POS during the recovery phase, in the absence of pulmonary hypertension.
Transformation of Ritonavir Nanocrystal Suspensions into a Redispersible Drug Product via Vacuum Drum Drying
Authors: Schönfeld Barbara V. , Westedt Ulrich , Keller Benjamin-Luca , Wagner Karl G.
Published: May 2022

The present study explored vacuum drum drying (VDD) as potential drying technique for the solidification of crystalline ritonavir nanosuspensions prepared by wet-ball milling. In detail, the impact of drying protectants (mannitol, lactose, trehalose) added to the ritonavir nanosuspension was assessed in dependence of the drum temperature with respect to processibility via VDD, resulting intermediate powder properties, remaining nanoparticulate redispersibility and crystallinity. A clear impact of the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the drying protectant on the redispersibility/crystallinity of the VDD intermediate was observed. Increased Tg of the drying protectant was associated with improved redispersibility/crystallinity at a defined drum temperature. Consequently, the high Tg-substance trehalose and lactose showed a better performance than mannitol at higher drum temperatures. However, the processability and related powder properties were not in accordance with this observation. Mannitol containing formulations showed superior processibility to those containing trehalose/lactose. Moreover, the impact of the tableting and encapsulation process on the redispersibility of the VDD intermediate was studied for a selected formulation. Neither process demonstrated a negative impact on redispersibility. In conclusion, vacuum drum drying is a promising drying technique for the solidification of nanosuspensions to result in dried powder still containing ritonavir nanoparticles while demonstrating acceptable to good downstream processibility to tablets/capsules.

Graphical Abstract
Epidural Steroid Injections Acutely Suppress Bone Formation Markers in Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Clare Shannon , Dash Alexander , Liu Yi , Harrison Jonathan , Vlastaris Katelyn , Waldman Seth , Griffin Robert , Cooke Paul , Vad Vijay , Casey Ellen , Bockman Richard S , Lane Joseph , McMahon Donald , Stein Emily M
Published: May 2022

Context

Over 9 million epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are performed annually in the United States. Although these injections effectively treat lumbar radicular pain, they may have adverse consequences, including bone loss.

Objective

To investigate acute changes in bone turnover following ESI. We focused on postmenopausal women, who may be at greatest risk for adverse skeletal consequences due to the combined effects of ESIs with aging and estrogen deficiency.

Methods

Single-center prospective observational study. Postmenopausal women undergoing lumbar ESIs and controls with no steroid exposure were included. Outcomes were serum cortisol, markers of bone formation, osteocalcin, and procollagen type-1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP), and bone resorption by C-telopeptide (CTX) measured at baseline, 1, 4, 12, 26, and 52 weeks after ESIs.

Results

Among ESI-treated women, serum cortisol declined by ~50% 1 week after injection. Bone formation markers significantly decreased 1 week following ESIs: osteocalcin by 21% and P1NP by 22%. Both markers remained suppressed at 4 and 12 weeks, but returned to baseline levels by 26 weeks. There was no significant change in bone resorption measured by CTX. Among controls, there were no significant changes in cortisol or bone turnover markers.

Conclusion

These results provide evidence of an early and substantial reduction in bone formation markers following ESIs. This effect persisted for over 12 weeks, suggesting that ESIs may have lasting skeletal consequences. Given the large population of older adults who receive ESIs, further investigation into the long-term skeletal sequelae of these injections is warranted.
Streptozotocin-induced Diabetes Represses Hepatic CYP2R1 Expression but Induces Vitamin D 25-Hydroxylation in Male Mice
Authors: Elkhwanky Mahmoud-Sobhy , Kummu Outi , Hakkola Jukka
Published: May 2022

Vitamin D deficiency [ie, low plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D)] associates with the prevalence of metabolic diseases including type 1 diabetes; however, the molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. Recent studies have indicated that both fasting and metabolic diseases suppress the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2R1, the major hepatic vitamin D 25-hydroxylase. We specifically studied the effect of a mouse model of type 1 diabetes on the regulation of Cyp2r1 and vitamin D status. We show that streptozotocin-induced diabetes in mice suppresses the expression of the Cyp2r1 in the liver. While insulin therapy normalized the blood glucose levels in the diabetic mice, it did not rescue the diabetes-induced suppression of Cyp2r1. Similar regulation of Cyp2r1 was observed also in the kidney. Plasma 25-OH-D level was not decreased and was, in contrast, higher after 4 and 8 weeks of diabetes. Furthermore, the vitamin D 25-hydroxylase activity was increased in the livers of the diabetic mice, suggesting compensation of the Cyp2r1 repression by other vitamin D 25-hydroxylase enzymes. Cyp27b1, the vitamin D 1α-hydroxylase, expression in the kidney and the plasma 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D level were higher after 4 weeks of diabetes, while both were normalized after 13 weeks. In summary, these results indicate that in the mouse model of type 1 diabetes suppression of hepatic Cyp2r1 expression does not result in reduced hepatic vitamin D 25-hydroxylase activity and vitamin D deficiency. This may be due to induction of other vitamin D 25-hydroxylase enzymes in response to diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes Sensitizes Mice to Future Metabolic Syndrome That Can Be Relieved by Activating CAR
Authors: Feng Ye , Xu Dan , Cai Xinran , Xu Meishu , Garbacz Wojciech G , Ren Songrong , Jurczak Michael J , Yu Chaohui , Wang Hui , Xie Wen
Published: May 2022

Diabetes and related metabolic syndrome are common metabolic disorders. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is rather prevalent in the clinic. Although most GDM resolves after therapeutic intervention and/or after delivery, the long-term health effect of GDM remains to be better understood. The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), initially characterized as a xenobiotic receptor, was more recently proposed to be a therapeutic target for obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this study, high-fat diet (HFD) feeding was used to induce GDM. Upon delivery, GDM mice were returned to chow diet until the metabolic parameters were normalized. Parous non-GDM control females or metabolically normalized GDM females were then subjected to HFD feeding to induce nongestational obesity and T2DM. Our results showed that GDM sensitized mice to metabolic abnormalities induced by a second hit of HFD. Treatment with the CAR agonist 1,4-bis [2-(3,5 dichloropyridyloxy)] benzene efficiently attenuated GDM-sensitized and HFD-induced obesity and T2DM, including decreased body weight, improved insulin sensitivity, inhibition of hyperglycemia and hepatic steatosis, increased oxygen consumption, and decreased adipocyte hypertrophy. In conclusion, our results have established GDM as a key risk factor for the future development of metabolic disease. We also propose that CAR is a therapeutic target for the management of metabolic disease sensitized by GDM.
Primary Hyperparathyroidism From Ectopic Parathyroid Adenoma in a 12-Year-Old With Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis
Authors: Vitale Rebecca J , Shieh Hester F , Modi Biren P , Gordon Rebecca J
Published: May 2022

Primary hyperparathyroidism has been reported in pediatric patients presenting with slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE), but never in patients with ectopic parathyroid adenoma. A 12-year-old boy with obesity and autism spectrum disorder presented with a limp and was found to have bilateral SCFE. Calcium was elevated to 12.3 mg/dL with parathyroid hormone (PTH) of 1191 pg/mL. Neck ultrasound revealed no parathyroid adenoma. He was discharged following bilateral surgical pinning with plans for outpatient workup. Repeat labs 5 days later demonstrated calcium had risen to 16.7 mg/dL. Technetium-99m sestamibi scintigraphy and a computed tomography scan revealed a 2.7 × 1.6 × 1.9 cm intrathymic mediastinal lesion. He underwent a thoracoscopic resection of the mass, and intraoperative PTH levels fell appropriately. Pathology revealed a parathyroid adenoma. Postoperatively, the patient developed hungry bone syndrome followed by normocalcemic secondary hyperparathyroidism which resolved with high-dose vitamin D supplementation. Primary hyperparathyroidism presenting as SCFE in a pediatric patient has been reported in 13 previous cases. This is the first reported case of bilateral SCFE arising from an ectopic parathyroid adenoma. Thoracoscopic resection is a relatively new approach in pediatrics. Primary hyperparathyroidism can be associated with SCFE, especially bilateral, and should be considered in patients with traditional risk factors for SCFE. Pediatric patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and negative neck imaging should be further evaluated for ectopic parathyroid adenomas with nuclear medicine or cross-sectional imaging that includes the head, neck, and mediastinum. Thoracoscopic resection can be considered in pediatric patients with mediastinal ectopic parathyroid adenoma.
Evaluation of additive manufacturing processes in the production of oculo-palpebral prosthesis
Authors: Eyzaguirre Diego , Salazar-Gamarra Rodrigo , Binasco Lengua Salvatore , Lauria Dib Luciano
Published: May 2022

Background: Prosthetic restorations are made to adapt or attach missing human parts in order to restore function and appearance. Maxillofacial defects connote a greater impact on patients, since the face cannot be concealed, and all the senses of the human body are expressed in it. Therefore, in order to restore the patient’s quality of life, they are the ones that require the best possible adaptation to the characteristics of the patients.

Methods: For the maxillofacial prostheses to fit patients, they must be personalized for each patient. The NGO “Mais Identidade” is a multidisciplinary team that specializes in the rehabilitation of patients with maxillofacial trauma. They use digital manufacturing as a tool to manufacture personalized maxillofacial prostheses for patients. With the help of the NGO, the following research is conducted with the purpose of evaluating different methods of additive manufacturing, 3D printing, in order to select the equipment that suits the needs of the method used in the manufacture of maxillofacial prostheses. To this end, eyelid models will be manufactured in different additive manufacturing equipment, and these will be evaluated according to their economic, physical, and aesthetic characteristics.
Analysis of contact tracing surveillance for COVID-19 among healthcare workers in secondary referral hospital, Indonesia
Authors: Asmarawati Tri Pudy , Sukartini Tintin , Ekasari Ardhena , Sofia Devi Rahma , Kamariyah Nurul , Novendrianto Dwiki , Yuliasari Putri , Rusca P Kuswantoro , Acob Joel Rey , Windradi Choirina , Mahdi Bagus Aulia , Martani Okla Sekar , Agustin Esthiningrum Dewi
Published: May 2022

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. Tracing and screening cases among healthcare workers are essential to overcome the spread of COVID-19. We held surveillance at the second-referral hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia, to inspect the associating factors of infected HCWs.

Methods: From 776 HCWs, we conducted a structured retrospective review of all COVID-19-confirmed HCWs and ones having contact with COVID-19 patients between February-July 2021. We associated general characteristics (i.e age, gender, working sites, etc) of the sample with the positive cases, analyzed the vaccination status, then did bivariate and multivariate regression logistic analyses to determine related factors putting HCWs at risk for COVID-19 infection.  

Results: Bivariate analysis significantly revealed that 72.86% patients had a close contact (OR = 2.61; p<0.05), with medical staffs as the most frequent source (85.71%; OR = 2.19; p=0.033), for > 15 minutes contact duration (90%; OR = 1.1; p<0.05). Healthcare workers wearing proper PPE (N-95 and face shields) were significantly less exposed to COVID-19 (OR = 0.47; p<0.05; and OR = 0.46; p<0.05). Even fully-vaccinated samples were still prone to infection. (OR=1.25; p= 0.042). Common symptoms consisted of fever, rhinorrhea, sore throat, and vomiting (p=0.025l p=0.002; p<0.05; p=0.002). Multivariate regression logistic analysis disclosed that the use of N95 masks, contact duration >15 minutes, and the vaccine were the most influential factors (aOR = 1.72. 95% CI (1.029-2.88); aOR = 3.92. 95% CI (1.75-8.78); aOR = 0.39. 95% CI (0.13-0.82 ))

Conclusions: Close contact, lack of compliance in wearing N95 masks, and unvaccinated status are risk factors for COVID-19 exposure to HCWs; thus, to achieve maximum prevention of intra-hospital transmission, the use of N-95 masks, contact avoidance, and vaccination, along with immediate tracing and strict health-protocols are all compulsory.
Planowanie aktywności ruchowej oraz korzyści z niej płynące u osób po 60. roku życia
Authors: Gałuszka Aleksandra
Published: May 2022

Starzenie się człowieka jest naturalnym procesem, nieodwracalnym, wywołującym zmiany w każdym z układów organizmu człowieka. Wiążąe się  ze  stopniowym narastaniem zmian na poziomach: biologicznym, psychicznym oraz społecznym. W efekcie tych złożonych i jednocześnie nieodwracalnych procesów naturalnych dochodzi do osłabienia możliwości regeneracyjnych i psychofizycznych organizmu ludzkiego, które dodatkowo są ograniczone poprzez przebyte w ciągu życia choroby czy urazy. U ludzi w wieku geriatrycznym sprawność fizyczna i psychiczna jest  zróżnicowana, a występujące niedomogi w psychice i motoryce wymuszają indywidualne zlecanie ćwiczeń dostosowanych do ogólnego stanu zdrowia chorego oraz okresu choroby. Mnogość dostępnych form ruchu umożliwia dopasowanie ćwiczeń do konkretnych potrzeb. U osób w podeszłym wieku i cierpiących na dolegliwości ważnym zagadnieniem staje się profilaktyka wtórna i trzeciorzędowa, czyli przestrzeganie obowiązujących zasad w leczeniu podstawowej jednostki chorobowej oraz chorób współistniejących. Aktywność fizyczna u osób starszych powinna oddziaływać w obszarach takich jak: wytrzymałość, siła, równowaga, gibkość. Ważny jest właściwy dobór aktywności aby były one możliwe do wykonania w związku z występującymi schorzeniami oraz by sprawiały ćwiczącemu przyjemność.
An Accurate Nonintrusive Type AC Voltage Measurement System
Authors: Khan Anwar Ulla , Hasan Mashhood , Khan Mohammad Ehtisham , Ali Wahid , Alhazmi Waleed , Zakri Waleed
Published: May 2022

In this work, a completely non-intrusive type alternating current (a.c) voltagemeasurement system based on the novel capacitively coupled technique isproposed. In literature, most of the reported capacitive coupling techniquerequire a direct contact of sensor to the ground potential of power system.Human operator, whose body is in contact with the ground must touch thecapacitive sensor to provide the power system ground. The reliability ofthose types of approach is limited, as the human operator must be in directcontact to a conductive part of the sensor. Also, there is the effect of nature ofimpedance exist between the body of the human operator and the ground,which is not taken care by most of the existing methods. In this work, a new method regardless of the variations in the impedance exist between themeasurement unit and the ground potential through the earth, is proposed.Simulation analysis has been conducted in detail to validate the proposedapproach. A prototype measurement system has been developed and thentested for a line voltage (200 to 250 V), at 60 Hz. The capacitance outputw.r.t applied voltage was linear and the worst-case non-linearity error wasrecorded as
GDUS-Modified Topp-Leone Distribution: A New Distribution with Increasing, Decreasing, and Bathtub Hazard Functions
Authors: Kaushik Arun , Nigam Unnati
Published: May 2022

In this paper, we propose an extension to the Topp-Leone distribution, as introduced by [20] using the Generalized-DUS transformation given by [8]. The Topp-Leone distribution is defined on interval (0,1) and has a characteristic J-shaped frequency curve. The newly extended version of Topp-Leone distribution accommodates a variety of shapes of hazard rate functions making it a versatile distribution. We have also derived explicit expressions for some properties like ordinary moments, conditional moments, distribution of order statistics, quantiles, mean deviation, and entropy. Further, we have also discussed results on identifiability, stress-strength reliability, and stochastic ordering that are concerned with two independent random variables. For inference regarding the unknown parameters of the distribution, we derive the equations which give their maximum likelihood estimators. We also present the asymptotic confidence intervals of the unknown parameters of the distribution, based on large sample property, using the Fisher information matrix. To facilitate further studies, a step-by-step algorithm is presented to produce a random sample from the distribution. Further, extensive simulation experiments are done to study the long-term behavior of the maximum likelihood estimators of the parameters through their mean squared error and mean absolute bias on the basis of large number of samples. The consistency of the MLEs is empirically proved. Lastly, the application of the proposed distribution is shown by fitting a real-life dataset over some existing distributions in the same range.
Thermally reconfigurable extraordinary terahertz transmission using vanadium dioxide
Authors: Badri S. Hadi , Soofi Hadi , SaeidNahaei Sanam
Published: May 2022

We numerically demonstrate a reconfigurable extraordinary terahertz transmission based on a phase-change material of vanadium dioxide (

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). The proposed hybrid metasurface is composed of an array of subwavelength apertures perforated on a gold film. The holes are partially filled with annular

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and gold disks to control the effective aperture area and the modes inside the aperture. Switching between the insulator and the metallic phase of

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provides a convenient way to shift the transmission window. We present two designs offering redshift or blueshift of the extraordinary terahertz transmission. Upon phase transition from the insulator to the metallic phase, in the first design, the transmission peak redshifts from 1.02 to 0.82 THz while in the second design the transmission peak blueshifts from 0.71 to 0.77 THz. Furthermore, the transmission level and resonance frequency can be modulated by controlling the partial phase transition of the

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. The potential applications for the proposed structures are terahertz modulators and reconfigurable filters.