bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Surgical excision of complex lipoma from the foot: a case report 
Authors: Uddin Akram , Flanagan George , Reilly Ian
Published: October 2020

Background: Soft tissue malignant tumours of the foot and ankle are rare. Diagnostic imaging and interventional biopsy are vital to establish the nature and grading of a suspicious tumour prior to surgical intervention. The purpose of the study is to provide an account on how a symptomatic mass to the plantar aspect of the foot warranted a referral to a sarcoma centre, highlighting the importance of having urgent access to diagnostic imaging and a pathway to refer suspected cases to specialist centres. Method: A single patient with a symptomatic soft tissue tumour of the plantar foot was referred from our service to the regional sarcoma centre. It was considered to be benign and therefore open surgical resection was performed under local anaesthesia by our team, and the lesion sent for histopathological examination. Results: Histopathological analysis identified the excised mass as a lipoma to show no atypia or necrosis and mature adipose tissue with fibrous bands. At 2 years postoperatively there was no recurrence and the patient presented an asymptomatic foot. Favourable patient reported outcomes measures were observed. Conclusion: United Kingdom (UK) Guidelines suggest that all soft tissue masses of suspicious nature, greater than 50mm, deep seated irrespective of size, or fast growing should be referred to a sarcoma unit prior to surgical management. European guidance identifies a threshold of 15mm for a mass in the foot. Patients presenting with red flag symptoms irrespective of size of mass should be referred to a sarcoma centre. Advanced imaging and multidisciplinary input to enable appropriate surgical planning is recommended for these soft tissue tumours that present to the foot and ankle surgeon. Level of evidence: V case study.
Behavioral changes and hygiene practices of older adults in Japan during the COVID-19 emergency
Authors: Arai Yasumichi , Oguma Yuko , Abe Yukiko , Takayama Midori , Hara Azusa , Urushihara Hisashi , Takebayashi Toru
Published: October 2020

Background: On April 7, 2020, Japan declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with the associated social distancing likely to have had a great impact on older adults’ lifestyle and health. The aim of this study was to explore the behavioral changes and personal hygiene practices of older adults during the COVID-19 emergency. Methods: A cross-sectional telephonic survey was conducted with the participants of the Kawasaki Aging and Wellbeing Project (KAWP), which is an on-going longitudinal cohort study of older adults aged 85 years or older. The interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire consisting of 11 closed questions regarding behavioral changes and personal hygiene practices during the state of emergency. Sociodemographic and health data were obtained from the KAWP baseline survey conducted 2.2 years prior to the telephonic survey.Results: Overall, 487 participants from the KAWP responded to the telephonic survey (response rate: 89.2%). 94.5% of the respondents reported no changes in basic lifestyle habits, such as eating, sleeping, smoking, and drinking, whereas 28.1% reported a decrease in the amount of physical activity, and 54.6% reported going out less frequently. One third of the respondents reported a decrease in the number of people to converse with, as well as the amount of time to converse. For personal hygiene practices, 93.8% reported wearing a mask when they went out, and 50.3% reported a more frequent washing of hands. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that engagement in leisure time physical activity at baseline (odds ratio [OR] = 2.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.45–3.82), smartphone ownership (OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.23–2.99), and visual impairment (OR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.11–2.82) were independently associated with decreased physical activity. Female respondents, engagement in leisure-time physical activity, frequent community interaction, and smartphone ownership were significantly associated with more frequent handwashing.Conclusions: The study revealed that older adults in an urban setting responded to the COVID-19 emergency with behavioral changes. The findings of this study have implications for the design of preventive strategies to maintain the health and wellbeing of at-risk older adults.
The Neurological Exam of a Comatose Patient: An Essential Practical Guide
Authors: Zakaria Zaitun , Abdullah Mohamad Muhaimin , Abdul Halim Sanihah , Ghani Abdul Rahman Izaini , Idris Zamzuri , Abdullah Jafri Malin
Published: October 2020

A thorough examination of a comatose patient is essential given the spectrum of clinical diagnoses. The most immediate threat to patients is airway, breathing and circulation. All attending physician should employ a structured and focused approach in dealing with a comatose patient. It is important to recognise the urgent steps needed at the time to prevent further deterioration, followed by the final diagnosis of patient’s neurologic status. Here we provide the essential practical guide to the neurological exam of a comatose patient that would assist to determine the aetiology, location and nature of the neurological lesion.
Exercise Interventions as the Primary Treatment for Depression: Evidence from a Narrative Review
Authors: Md Zemberi Nur Fatin Nabilah , Ismail Muhammad Mokhzani , Leong Abdullah Mohammad Farris Iman
Published: October 2020

There is an increasing evidence supporting the efficacy of exercise interventions in the treatment of depression, which is a growing global health concern. However, data on the efficacy of exercise as the primary treatment for depression are scarce. This narrative review explored the efficacy of exercise interventions as the primary treatment for depressive disorders. A comprehensive search for English-language literature published between January 1965 and November 2019 was conducted via PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane database and Medline. Thirteen randomised control trials (RCTs) were included in the final analysis. Their results indicated that supervised aerobic exercise and high-intensity progressive resistance training (PRT) were effective in ameliorating depressive symptoms as the primary treatment compared with control groups, but they were not superior to other active treatments, such as antidepressants and cognitive behavioural therapy. Aerobic exercise and high-intensity PRT may be a promising primary treatment for depression as they may induce biopsychosocial effects (effects on neurotrophic factor, pro-inflammatory cytokines, monoamine, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, self-efficacy, mastery experience, adaptive coping and social interaction), which may ameliorate the severity of depressive symptoms. However, future RCTs with more comprehensive and well-designed methodologies are warranted to confirm our findings.
Six Months Guided Exercise Therapy Improves Motor Abilities and White Matter Connectivity in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Authors: Samsir Md Safwan , Zakaria Rahimah , Abdul Razak Salmi , Ismail Mohamed Saat , Abdul Rahim Mohd Zulkifli , Lin Chia-Shu , Nik Osman Nik Mohammad Faez , Asri Mohammad Afiq , Mohd Nor Haslina , Ahmad Asma Hayati
Published: October 2020

Background: Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) provides the state of putative connectivity from lesioned areas to other brain areas and is potentially beneficial to monitor intervention outcomes. This study assessed the effect of a 6 months guided exercise therapy on motor abilities and white matter diffusivity in the brains of cerebral palsy (CP) children.

Methods: This is a single arm pre- and post-test research design involving 10 spastic CP children, aged 8–18 years and whose Gross Motor Function Classification System Expanded and Revised (GMFCS-E & R) at least Level 21 with the ability to ambulate independently. They were recruited from Paediatric Neurology Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) from December 2015–December 2016. All participants underwent 6 months of therapist-guided exercise session comprising progressive strength training at a frequency of twice a week, 1 h duration per session. The effect of exercise on motor abilities was assessed using the Gross Motor Function Measures (GMFM)-88. Six out of the 10 children consented for dMRI. Probabilistic tractography of the corticospinal tract (CST) was performed to determine the connectivity index of the tracts pre- and post-intervention.

Results: All the participants displayed statistically significant increment in GMFM88 scores pre- to post-exercise intervention. This improvement was concurrent with increased connectivity index in the CST of upper limbs and lower limbs in the brain of these children.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that 6 months guided exercise therapy improves motor abilities of CP children concurrent with strengthening the connectivities of the motor pathways in the brain.
Odnos zadovoljstva tijelom, zadovoljstva romantičnom vezom i komentara partnera/ice o tjelesnom izgledu
Authors: Herkov Dora , Erceg Inja
Published: October 2020

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati spolne razlike u izraženosti zadovoljstva tijelom, važnosti slike tijela i čestini dobivanja pozitivnih i negativnih komentara o tjelesnom izgledu od partnera/ice te provjeriti prediktivnost nekih bioloških i psiholoških varijabli te varijabli vezanih uz romantičnu vezu u objašnjavanju zadovoljstva tijelom. U istraživanju je sudjelovao 371 sudionik (74,7% ženskog spola), dobnog raspona od 18 do 54 godine (M = 24,7; SD = 5,07). Podaci su prikupljani online metodom, primjenom seta upitnika za mjerenje zadovoljstva tijelom i romantičnom vezom, važnosti slike tijela te pozitivnih i negativnih komentara partnera/ice o tjelesnom izgledu. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju kako između muškaraca i žena ne postoji razlika u zadovoljstvu tijelom, kao ni u važnosti koju pridaju slici tijela. Iako podjednako često dobivaju pozitivne komentare svojih partnera/ica, muškarci češće dobivaju one negativne. Hijerarhijskom regresijskom analizom utvrđeno je kako su kod žena manja željena promjena tjelesne težine i pozitivni komentari partnera/ica o njihovu tjelesnom izgledu značajni pozitivni prediktori zadovoljstva tijelom, dok je kod muškaraca varijabla negativni komentari partnera/ice o tjelesnom izgledu značajan negativni prediktor zadovoljstva tijelom. Ključne riječi: zadovoljstvo tijelom, važnost slike tijela, zadovoljstvo romantičnom vezom, komentari partnera o tjelesnom izgledu, tjelesna težina.
Light-induced topological magnons in two-dimensional van der Waals magnets
Authors: Vinas Boström Emil , Claassen Martin , McIver James , Jotzu Gregor , Rubio Angel , Sentef Michael
Published: October 2020

Driving a two-dimensional Mott insulator with circularly polarized
light breaks time-reversal and inversion symmetry, which induces an
optically-tunable synthetic scalar spin chirality interaction in the
effective low-energy spin Hamiltonian. Here, we show that this mechanism
can stabilize topological magnon excitations in honeycomb ferromagnets
and in optical lattices. We find that the irradiated quantum magnet is
described by a Haldane model for magnons that hosts
topologically-protected edge modes. We study the evolution of the magnon
spectrum in the Floquet regime and via time propagation of the magnon
Hamiltonian for a slowly varying pulse envelope. Compared to similar but
conceptually distinct driving schemes based on the Aharanov-Casher
effect, the dimensionless light-matter coupling parameter
\lambda = eEa/\hbar\omegaλ=eEa/ℏω
at fixed electric field strength is enhanced by a factor
\sim 10^5∼105.
This increase of the coupling parameter allows to induce a topological
gap of the order of \Delta \approx 2Δ≈2
meV with realistic laser pulses, bringing an experimental realization of
light-induced topological magnon edge states within reach.
Sensitivity analysis of potential evapotranspiration to key climatic factors in the Shiyang River Basin
Authors: Zhang Xuelei , Xiao Weihua , Wang Yicheng , Wang Yan , Kang Miaoye , Wang Hejia , Huang Ya
Published: October 2020

This paper focuses on determining the spatial and temporal characteristics of the sensitivity coefficients (SCs) between potential evapotranspiration (ET0) and key climatic factors across the Shiyang River Basin (SYRB) from 1981 to 2015. Penman–Monteith equation and a sensitivity analysis were used to calculate ET0 and the SCs for key climatic factors. Sen's slope was used to analyze the observed series. According to the results, the sensitivity significances were in the order of relative humidity (RH) > net solar radiation (NSR) > wind speed (WS) > maximum air temperature (Tmax) > minimum air temperature (Tmin). The SCs for the RH and NSR were larger in the upper mountainous region, while the other three coefficients were larger in the middle and lower reaches. All five climatic factors for the ET0 SCs showed increasing trends in the mountainous region, and the Tmax, WS and RH SCs increased in the middle and lower reaches. Over the past 35 years, the change in ET0 was dominated by the air temperature (T), RH and NSR, and the increase in ET0 during the studied period was mainly due to the increases in T and NSR.
WATER DROPLET EVAPORATION IN A CHAMBER ISOLATED FROM THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Batishcheva KSENIA A. , Nurpeiis ATLANT E.
Published: October 2020

With an increase in the productivity of power equipment and the miniaturization of its components, the use of traditional thermal management systems becomes insufficient. There is a need to develop drip heat removal systems, based on phase transition effects. Cooling with small volumes of liquids is a promising technology for microfluidic devices or evaporation chambers, which are self-regulating systems isolated from the external environment. However, the heat removal during evaporation of droplets into a limited volume is a difficult task due to the temperature difference in the cooling device and the concentration of water vapor that is unsteady in time depending on the mass of the evaporated liquid.
This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the distilled water microdrops’ (5-25 μl) evaporation on an aluminum alloy AMg6 with the temperatures of 298-353 K in an isolated chamber (70 × 70 × 30 mm3) in the presence of heat supply to its lower part. Based on the analysis of shadow images, the changes in the geometric dimensions of evaporating drops were established. They included the increase in the contact diameter, engagement of the contact line due to nano roughening and chemical composition inhomogeneous on the surface (90-95% of the total evaporation time) of the alloy and a decrease in the contact diameter. The surface temperature and droplet volume did not affect the sequence of changes in the geometric dimensions of the droplets. It was found that the droplet volume has a significant effect on the evaporation time at relatively low substrate temperatures.
The results of the analysis of droplet evaporation rates and hygrometer readings have shown that reservoirs with salt solutions can be used in isolated chambers to control the concentration of water vapor. The water droplets evaporation time was determined. The analysis of the time dependences of the evaporation rate has revealed that upon the evaporation of droplets in an isolated chamber under the conditions of the present experiment, the air was not saturated with water vapor. The latter did not affect the evaporation rate.
Identification of Peptide Binders to Truncated Recombinant Chikungunya Virus Envelope Protein 2 Using Phage Display Technology and Their In Silico Characterization
Authors: Agarwal Garima , Gabrani Reema
Published: October 2020

Aim:

To identify and characterize peptide binders to truncated recombinant chikungunya virus envelope protein
2.

Background:

Despite extensive research on the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), the specific antiviral treatment’s unavailability has stressed the need for the urgent development of therapeutics. The Envelope protein 2 (E2) of CHIKV that displays
putative receptor binding sites and specific epitopes for virus neutralizing antibodies is a critical target for the therapeutic intervention.

Objective:

The study aims to identify the unique peptides that can bind to truncated E2 protein of CHIKV and further explore their properties as potential therapeutic candidate.

Methods:

A stretch of CHIKV-E2 (rE2), which is prominently exposed on the surface of virion, was used as bait protein to
identify peptide binders to the CHIKV-rE2 using a 12-mer phage display peptide library. Three rounds of biopanning yielded several peptide binders to CHIKV-rE2 and their binding affinities were compared by phage ELISA. Additionally, a fully
flexible-blind docking simulation investigated the possible binding modes of the selected peptides. Furthermore, the selected
peptides were characterized and their ADMET properties were explored in silico.

Results:

Five peptides were identified as potential binders based on their robust reactivity to the bait protein. The selected
peptides appeared to interact with the crucial residues that were notably exposed on the surface of E1-E2 trimeric structure.
The explored in silico studies suggested their non-allergenicity, non-toxicity and likeliness to be antiviral.

Conclusion:

The potential binding peptides of CHIKV-rE2 protein were identified using phage display technology and
characterized in silico. The selected peptides could be further used for the development of therapeutics against the CHIKV
infection.
An Overview of the Antimicrobial Activity of Polymeric Nanoparticles Against Enterobacteriaceae
Authors: de Oliveira Maísa Soares , Oshiro-Junior João Augusto , Dantas Mariana Morais , da Fonsêca Naara Felipe , Ramos Hilthon Alves , da Silva João Victor Belo , de Medeiros Ana Claudia Dantas
Published: October 2020

Bacterial resistance is considered one of the most important public health problems of the century,
due to the ability of bacteria to rapidly develop resistance mechanisms, which makes it difficult to treat infections,
leading to a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Based on this, several options are being sought as an alternative
to currently available treatments, with a particular focus on nanotechnology. Nanomaterials have important
potential for use in medical interventions aimed at preventing, diagnosing and treating numerous diseases
by directing the delivery of drugs. This review presents data on the use of polymeric nanoparticles having in
vitro and in vivo activity against bacteria belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family.
DLX6-AS1: An Indispensable Cancer-related Long Non-coding RNA
Authors: Hu Chengyu , Liu Kai , Wang Bei , Xu Wen , Lin Yexiang , Yuan Chengfu
Published: October 2020

Background:

There is increasing evidence that lncRNA, a type of transcript that is over 200 nucleotides
in length and may serve as oncogenes or suppressor genes, is implicated in the pathophysiology of human
diseases. In particular, tumorigenesis and progress are closely correlated with its abnormal expression. In addition,
it may become a promising target for many oncology biotherapies. Abnormal DLX6-AS1 expression affects
different cellular processes such as proliferation, aggression and metastasis. This review aims to probe into
the pathophysiological functions and molecular mechanisms of DLX6-AS1 in various cancers.

Methods:

By retrieving the literature, this review summarizes the biological function and mechanism of
LncRNA DLX6-AS1 in tumor occurrence.

Results:

The lncRNA DLX6-AS1 is a new tumor-related RNA that has recently been found to be aberrantly
expressed in diverse cancers, such as pancreatic cancer, osteosarcoma, non-small cell lung cancer, gastric carcinoma,
glioma, hepatocellular cancer, colorectal carcinoma, renal carcinoma, esophageal squamous cell cancer,
ovarian cancer, Ewing sarcoma, cervical cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, neuroblastoma, pulmonary adenocarcinoma,
nasopharyngeal carcinoma, squamous laryngeal cancer and bladder cancer, etc. Meanwhile, it is
identified that DLX6-AS1 regulates the aggression, translocation and proliferation of diverse cancers.

Conclusion:

LncRNA DLX6-AS1 may be viable markers in tumors or a potential therapeutic target for multiple
tumors.
Recognition of Ion Ligand Binding Sites Based on Amino Acid Features with the Fusion of Energy, Physicochemical and Structural Features
Authors: Wang Shan , Hu Xiuzhen , Feng Zhenxing , Liu Liu , Sun Kai , Xu Shuang
Published: October 2020

Background:

Rational drug molecular design based on virtual screening requires the
ligand binding site to be known. Recently, the recognition of ion ligand binding site has become an
important research direction in pharmacology.

Methods:

In this work, we selected the binding residues of 4 acid radical ion ligands (NO2 -, CO3 2-, SO4 2- and PO4 3-) and 10 metal ion ligands (Zn2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Na+, K+ and Co2+) as research objects. Based on the protein sequence information, we extracted amino acid features, energy, physicochemical, and structure features. Then, we incorporated the above features and input them into the MultilayerPerceptron (MLP) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms.

Results:

In the independent test, the best accuracy was higher than 92.5%, which was better than
the previous results on the same dataset. In addition, we found that energy information is an important
factor affecting the prediction results.

Conclusion:

Finally, we set up a free web server for the prediction of protein-ion ligand binding
sites (http://39.104.77.103:8081/lsb/HomePage/HomePage.html). This study is helpful for molecular
drug design.
The Protective Effect of Metformin against Oxandrolone-Induced Infertility in Male Rats
Authors: Abed Abdulqader Fadhil , Jarrar Yazun Bashir , Al-Ameer Hamzeh J , Al-Awaida Wajdy , Lee Su-Jun
Published: October 2020

Background:

Oxandrolone is a synthetic testosterone analogue that is widely used among bodybuilders and athletes. However, oxandrolone causes male infertility. Recently, it was found that metformin reduces the risk of infertility associated with diabetes mellitus.

Aim:

This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of metformin against oxandrolone-induced infertility in male rats.

Methods:

Rats continuously received one of four treatments (n=7) over 14 days: control DMSO administration, oxandrolone administration, metformin administration, or co-administration of oxandrolone and metformin. Doses were equivalent to those used for human treatment. Subsequently, testicular and blood samples were collected for morphological, biochemical, and histological examination. In addition, gene expression of the testosterone synthesizing enzyme CYP11A1 was analyzed in the testes using RT-PCR.

Results:

Oxandrolone administration induced male infertility by significantly reducing relative weights of testes by 48%, sperm count by 82%, and serum testosterone levels by 96% (ANOVA, P value < 0.05). In addition, histological examination determined that oxandrolone caused spermatogenic arrest which was associated with 2-fold downregulation of testicular CYP11A1 gene expression. However, co-administration of metformin with oxandrolone significantly ameliorated toxicological alterations induced by oxandrolone exposure (ANOVA, P value < 0.05).

Conclusion:

Metformin administration protected against oxandrolone-induced infertility in male rats. Further clinical studies are needed to confirm the protective effect of metformin against oxandrolone-induced infertility among athletes.
The Function of LncRNA FTX in Several Common Cancers
Authors: Lin Yexiang , Shen Yujie , Chen Jinlan , Hu Chengyu , Zhou Zixian , Yuan Chengfu
Published: October 2020

Background:

LncRNA is a kind of non-coding RNA and its research is more popular in recent
years, which has more than 200 nucleotides. It plays a significant part in various biological functions, including
chromosome modification, genome modification, transcriptional activation, transcriptional interference, and
other processes. FTX, at the center of the X chromosome inactivation and it has been shown that lncRNA FTX
regulates cancer cells’ development, migration, and invasion in many studies.

Methods:

Relevant literatures were collected through PubMed system search and summarized.

Results:

LncRNA FTX abnormally increased in tumor cells, such as liver cancer, stomach cancer, leukemia, renal cell
carcinoma, colorectal cancer, glioma, osteosarcoma, etc. However, the expression level decreased in temporal lobe epilepsy,
liver cirrhosis, heart failure, etc.

Conclusion:

FTX may be an important regulatory factor and a potential therapeutic target in cancers.
EVALUATION OF PARTNERSHIP RELATIONSHIP IN ORGANIC VEGETABLE SUPPLY CHAIN IN CV. KURNIA KITRI AYU FARM MALANG
Authors: Amir Nur , Ibrahim Jabal , Ningsih Gumoyo , Asror Zubdatul
Published: October 2020

Market demand for organic vegetables at CV. Kurnia Kitri Ayu Farm continues to grow according to consumer needs. Market development is determined by the quality and continuity of the marketing distribution. To maintain this, in its business activities CV. Kurnia Kitri Ayu Farm established partnerships with several parties. The objectives of the research were 1) Knowing the supply chain of organic vegetables both in partnership and non-partnership with CV. KKAF, 2) Knowing the partnership patterns formed in the CV. KKAF, 3) Evaluating trust, commitment, communication, satisfaction, and dependence in organic vegetable supply chain partnerships. Respondents in this study consisted of the head of partner farmer groups, owners of CV. Kurnia Kitri Ayu Farm and the head of staff as a permanent partner for the home industry (baby care). The results showed 1) The flow of the organic vegetable supply chain consisted of the flow of goods, the flow of money, and the flow of information, 2) the partnership patterns contained in the organic vegetable supply chain, namely the plasma core partnership pattern, subcontracts, and general trading, 3) All parties in the supply chain on average feel very confident, have a very good commitment, communicate frequently, feel satisfied, and are very dependent on the performance of its partner members.
From the Editor - September 2011
Authors: Stark Ernie
Published: October 2020

A letter from the editor.
Idoneidad de hábitat para Swietenia macrophylla en escenarios de cambio climático en México
Authors: Ramírez-Magil Gregorio , Botello Francisco , Navarro-Martínez María Angélica
Published: October 2020

Los modelos de nicho ecológico permiten determinar la idoneidad de hábitat de las especies. El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar la idoneidad de hábitat de Swietenia macrophylla King (caoba) en dos escenarios de cambio climático en México. Para la modelación se empleó el algoritmo MaxEnt 3.3.3. Como fuente primaria de información se utilizaron los registros de la especie obtenidos del Inventario Nacional Forestal y de Suelos 2009-2014. Los predictores fueron los raster de 19 variables bioclimáticas de las interpolaciones de datos observados y representativos de 1960-1990, 2050 (promedio de 2041 a 2060) y 2070 (promedio de 2061-2080), los RCP 4.5 y el modelo de circulación general MRI-CGCM3 de Worldclim, con una resolución espacial aproximada a 1 km2 y el raster de edafología de la Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad con una resolución espacial de 90 m2. Para el escenario 2050 se proyecta una pérdida de hábitat idóneo de 39.79%; mientras que para el escenario 2070, esta es de 47.60% respecto al escenario presente. Se concluye que en los dos escenarios las condiciones de hábitat idóneo permanecerán principalmente en los estados de Campeche y Quintana Roo, pero este último conservará cerca de 50% del hábitat idóneo. Los resultados permitirán generar estrategias de conservación, aprovechamiento y mitigación del impacto del cambio climático que aseguren la sobrevivencia y aprovechamiento de la caoba y los ecosistemas en los que habita.
Особенности взаимодействия нанокластеров BiFeO-=SUB=-3-=/SUB=-, синтезированных методом растворного горения
Authors: Ястребов С.Г. , Ломанова Н.А.
Published: October 2020

The peculiarities presented of the magnetization for BiFeO3 nanoclusters with approximately 50 nm in size. They synthesized under conditions of solution combustion. When synthesized, the magnetic response of nanoclusters differs drastically depending on the type of fuel. If for the case of tartaric acid, the magnetic behaviour of the material follows a model of non-interacting particles, a model of aggregated particles with amorphous or fractal magnetic shell suits the case of sucrose usage.
Аномалии частотной отсечки полупроводниковых диодов на сверхвысоких частотах
Authors: Абдурахманов Г. , Есбергенова А. , Рейимбаева С.
Published: October 2020

Results of the experimental investigations of frequency dependence of detected voltage of various types of semiconductor diodes (detectors, parametric amplifiers, low-frequency rectifiers) are presented. It is found that diodes having low frequency cut-off (less then 100 MHz) can display detector properties at 10 GHz.
Прохождение электронов с энергией 10 keV через массив диэлектрических каналов
Authors: Вохмянина К.А. , Мышеловка Л.В. , Колесников Д.А. , Сотникова В.С. , Каплий А.А. , Кубанкин А.С. , Жукова П.Н. , Иониди В.Ю.
Published: October 2020

The passage of 10 keV electron beam through a bundle of a hollow polysulfone fiber with an inner channel diameter of 160 ± 60 μm was studied. Dependence of a fraction of the electron beam transmitted through the channels on the tilt angle of the channels relative to the incident beam axis is measured. The fraction of electrons that experienced energy losses of less than 10% after passing through the channels was estimated.
Генерация последовательности мощных ультракоротких микроволновых импульсов на основе эффекта сверхизлучения релятивистской лампы обратной волны с отражателями на концах пространства взаимодействия
Authors: Тотьменинов Е.М. , Ростов В.В.
Published: October 2020

In a non-stationary numerical experiment, it is shown that introducing the reflections at the ends of the slow wave structure of a relativistic backward-wave oscillator operating in the superradiance mode provides the conditions for the formation of a sequence powerful ultrashort microwave pulses during a single pulse of the current. The conversion factor, defined as the ratio of the peak power of an ultrashort pulse to the power of an electron beam, is about 3 for the first (main) pulse and decreases to ≈ 2 for subsequent pulses
The Relationship Between Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health-Related Parameters and the Impact of COVID-19 on 24 Regions in India: Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Rajkumar Ravi Philip
Published: October 2020

Background

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has varied widely across nations and even in different regions of the same nation. Some of this variability may be due to the interplay of pre-existing demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors in a given population.

Objective

The aim of this study was to examine the statistical associations between the statewise prevalence, mortality rate, and case fatality rate of COVID-19 in 24 regions in India (23 states and Delhi), as well as key demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related indices.

Methods

Data on disease prevalence, crude mortality, and case fatality were obtained from statistics provided by the Government of India for 24 regions, as of June 30, 2020. The relationship between these parameters and the demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related indices of the regions under study was examined using both bivariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

COVID-19 prevalence was negatively associated with male-to-female sex ratio (defined as the number of females per 1000 male population) and positively associated with the presence of an international airport in a particular state. The crude mortality rate for COVID-19 was negatively associated with sex ratio and the statewise burden of diarrheal disease, and positively associated with the statewise burden of ischemic heart disease. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the COVID-19 crude mortality rate was significantly and negatively associated with sex ratio.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the transmission and impact of COVID-19 in a given population may be influenced by a number of variables, with demographic factors showing the most consistent association.
Machine-Learning Monitoring System for Predicting Mortality Among Patients With Noncancer End-Stage Liver Disease: Retrospective Study
Authors: Lin Yu-Jiun , Chen Ray-Jade , Tang Jui-Hsiang , Yu Cheng-Sheng , Wu Jenny L , Chen Li-Chuan , Chang Shy-Shin
Published: October 2020

Background

Patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) have limited treatment options and have a deteriorated quality of life with an uncertain prognosis. Early identification of ESLD patients with a poor prognosis is valuable, especially for palliative care. However, it is difficult to predict ESLD patients that require either acute care or palliative care.

Objective

We sought to create a machine-learning monitoring system that can predict mortality or classify ESLD patients. Several machine-learning models with visualized graphs, decision trees, ensemble learning, and clustering were assessed.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using electronic medical records of patients from Wan Fang Hospital and Taipei Medical University Hospital. A total of 1214 patients from Wan Fang Hospital were used to establish a dataset for training and 689 patients from Taipei Medical University Hospital were used as a validation set.

Results

The overall mortality rate of patients in the training set and validation set was 28.3% (257/907) and 22.6% (145/643), respectively. In traditional clinical scoring models, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio, which was significant in the Cox regression (P<.001, hazard ratio 1.288), had a prominent influence on predicting mortality, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve reached approximately 0.75. In supervised machine-learning models, the concordance statistic of ROC curves reached 0.852 for the random forest model and reached 0.833 for the adaptive boosting model. Blood urea nitrogen, bilirubin, and sodium were regarded as critical factors for predicting mortality. Creatinine, hemoglobin, and albumin were also significant mortality predictors. In unsupervised learning models, hierarchical clustering analysis could accurately group acute death patients and palliative care patients into different clusters from patients in the survival group.

Conclusions

Medical artificial intelligence has become a cutting-edge tool in clinical medicine, as it has been found to have predictive ability in several diseases. The machine-learning monitoring system developed in this study involves multifaceted analyses, which include various aspects for evaluation and diagnosis. This strength makes the clinical results more objective and reliable. Moreover, the visualized interface in this system offers more intelligible outcomes. Therefore, this machine-learning monitoring system provides a comprehensive approach for assessing patient condition, and may help to classify acute death patients and palliative care patients. Upon further validation and improvement, the system may be used to help physicians in the management of ESLD patients.
A Patient-Centered Framework for Measuring the Economic Value of the Clinical Benefits of Digital Health Apps: Theoretical Modeling (Preprint)
Authors: Powell Adam , Torous John
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

As digital health tools such as smartphone apps evolve and enter clinical use, questions regarding their value must be addressed. Although there are scarce generalizable data on the value of health apps given their nascency and diverse use cases, it is possible to estimate the economic value of the clinical improvement they bring to patients using a quality-adjusted life-year (QALY)-based approach and generalized values from existing literature.

OBJECTIVE

This paper aims to provide a patient-centered framework for assessing the economic value of the clinical benefits delivered by digital health apps.

METHODS

We proposed a model based upon 5 levers: country-specific monetary value of a QALY, QALYs lost due to the condition, engagement rate of app users, average effect size of the app’s health impact, and duration of the app’s impact before remission.

RESULTS

Using 2 digital health apps from the United States and United Kingdom as examples, we explored how this model could generate country-specific estimates of the economic value of the clinical benefits of health apps.

CONCLUSIONS

This new framework can help drive research priorities for digital health by elucidating the factors that influence the economic value.
Machine-Learning Monitoring System for Predicting Mortality Among Patients With Noncancer End-Stage Liver Disease: Retrospective Study (Preprint)
Authors: Lin Yu-Jiun , Chen Ray-Jade , Tang Jui-Hsiang , Yu Cheng-Sheng , Wu Jenny L , Chen Li-Chuan , Chang Shy-Shin
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

Patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) have limited treatment options and have a deteriorated quality of life with an uncertain prognosis. Early identification of ESLD patients with a poor prognosis is valuable, especially for palliative care. However, it is difficult to predict ESLD patients that require either acute care or palliative care.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to create a machine-learning monitoring system that can predict mortality or classify ESLD patients. Several machine-learning models with visualized graphs, decision trees, ensemble learning, and clustering were assessed.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using electronic medical records of patients from Wan Fang Hospital and Taipei Medical University Hospital. A total of 1214 patients from Wan Fang Hospital were used to establish a dataset for training and 689 patients from Taipei Medical University Hospital were used as a validation set.

RESULTS

The overall mortality rate of patients in the training set and validation set was 28.3% (257/907) and 22.6% (145/643), respectively. In traditional clinical scoring models, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio, which was significant in the Cox regression (P<.001, hazard ratio 1.288), had a prominent influence on predicting mortality, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve reached approximately 0.75. In supervised machine-learning models, the concordance statistic of ROC curves reached 0.852 for the random forest model and reached 0.833 for the adaptive boosting model. Blood urea nitrogen, bilirubin, and sodium were regarded as critical factors for predicting mortality. Creatinine, hemoglobin, and albumin were also significant mortality predictors. In unsupervised learning models, hierarchical clustering analysis could accurately group acute death patients and palliative care patients into different clusters from patients in the survival group.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical artificial intelligence has become a cutting-edge tool in clinical medicine, as it has been found to have predictive ability in several diseases. The machine-learning monitoring system developed in this study involves multifaceted analyses, which include various aspects for evaluation and diagnosis. This strength makes the clinical results more objective and reliable. Moreover, the visualized interface in this system offers more intelligible outcomes. Therefore, this machine-learning monitoring system provides a comprehensive approach for assessing patient condition, and may help to classify acute death patients and palliative care patients. Upon further validation and improvement, the system may be used to help physicians in the management of ESLD patients.
Synergistic effects of natural products and commercial antibiotics (Preprint)
Authors: Nitsch-Velasquez Lucia
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

The antimicrobial resistant era requires advances in the approaches and technologies to find new treatments. The enhancement of the antimicrobial activity of commercially available drugs (CADs) by natural products (NPs) has successful mixtures (e.g., clavulanic acid and amoxicillin).

OBJECTIVE

To systematically review reports of synergistic effects of CADs and NPs against opportunistic microbial strains from 2010 to April 2016.

METHODS

The databases and search engines PubMed, Medline, Scifinder, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Scholar Google were systematically searched. Among the keywords utilized were: synergistic effects natural products and antibioitcs, botanicals and antibiotics bioassays, plant extracts interaction with antibioitics and antibiotic adjuvant bioassays. Only synergistic results were tabulated and analyzed according to CADs, NPs and strains.

RESULTS

A set of 76 studies that reported in vitro synergistic effects of CADs and NPs against grampositive or gramnegative bacteria or fungi opportunistic strains was found. From the 60 reports on antibacterial adjuvants, the most frequent designs involved betalactamics or aminoglycosides against Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The assayed NPs
encompassed extracts or fractions from 22 different species distributed worldwide (45%
extracted with nonpolar solvents) and 33 purified compounds (flavonoids, other polyphenols
and alkaloids).

CONCLUSIONS

NPs as potential drug hits for antimicrobial adjuvants had been found and should continue in the drug discovery pipeline. The field certainly would benefit of advances in purification technologies, especially for polar extracts and bioassay platforms.
Determinants of Knowledge About Dietary Supplements Among Polish Internet Users: Nationwide Cross-sectional Study (Preprint)
Authors: Karbownik Michał Seweryn , Horne Robert , Paul Ewelina , Kowalczyk Edward , Szemraj Janusz
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

An accurate understanding of dietary supplements (DS) is a prerequisite for informed decisions regarding their intake. However, there is a need for studies on this understanding among the public based on validated research tools.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to assess the knowledge about DS among Polish internet users with no medical education and to identify its determinants and design an appropriate predictive model.

METHODS

The study protocol was prospectively registered with a statistical analysis plan. Polish users of a web-based health service and a social networking service were administered a survey consisting of the recently developed questionnaire on knowledge about DS, the questionnaire on trust in advertising DS, the beliefs about medicines questionnaire, and several other health-related single-item measures and sociodemographic questions. The results were subjected to general linear modeling.

RESULTS

A total of 6273 participants were included. Of the 17 yes or no questions in the questionnaire of knowledge about DS, the mean number of correct responses was 9.0 (95% CI 8.9-9.1). Health service users performed worse than social networking users by 2.3 points (95% CI 2.1-2.5) in an analysis adjusted for potential confounders. Internet users had fewer true beliefs about DS if they presented higher trust in their advertising (adjusted β=−.37; 95% CI −.39 to −.34), used DS (adjusted β=−.14; 95% CI −.17 to −.12), experienced their positive effect (adjusted β=−.16; 95% CI −.18 to −.13), were older or younger than 35 years (adjusted β=−.14; 95% CI −.17 to −.12), expressed interest in the topic of DS (adjusted β=−.10; 95% CI −.13 to −.08), reported getting information about the products from friends (adjusted β=−.13; 95% CI −.15 to −.11), and believed that medicines are harmful (adjusted β=−.12; 95% CI −.15 to −.10). The proposed 5-predictor model could explain 31.2% of the variance in knowledge about DS. The model appeared resistant to overfitting and was able to forecast most of the observed associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Polish internet users with no medical education exhibit some false beliefs regarding DS. Trusting the advertising of DS appears to conflict with knowledge about them. There is an urgent need for effective web-based educational campaigns on DS and the promotion of advertising literacy. After the proposed predictive model is externally validated, it may help identify the least informed target audience.

CLINICALTRIAL
Decreasing COVID-19 Risk Factors for Older Adults by Using Digital Technology to Implement a Plant-Based-Diet: An Opinion (Preprint)
Authors: Benavides Heidi Lynn , Meireles Christiane Lumachi , Benavente Viola , Mays Mary Helen , Wang Jing
Published: October 2020

UNSTRUCTURED

A disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases affect older, minority populations. Obese older adults are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 complications and lower survival rates, and minority older adults often experience higher rates of obesity. A plant-based diet intervention may improve COVID-19-related modifiable risk factors for obesity. Encouraging the consumption of plant-based diets comprising vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts by utilizing community outreach strategies and digital technology can contribute to improving COVID-19 risk factors among this population.
Can Real-time Computer-Aided Detection Systems Diminish the Risk of Postcolonoscopy Colorectal Cancer? (Preprint)
Authors: Madalinski Mariusz , Prudham Roger
Published: October 2020

UNSTRUCTURED

The adenoma detection rate is the constant subject of research and the main marker of quality in bowel cancer screening. However, by improving the quality of endoscopy via artificial intelligence methods, all polyps, including those with the potential for malignancy, can be removed, thereby reducing interval colorectal cancer rates. As such, the removal of all polyps may become the best marker of endoscopy quality. Thus, we present a viewpoint on integrating the computer-aided detection (CADe) of polyps with high-accuracy, real-time colonoscopy to challenge quality improvements in the performance of colonoscopy. Colonoscopy for bowel cancer screening involving the integration of a deep learning methodology (ie, integrating artificial intelligence with CADe systems) has been assessed in an effort to increase the adenoma detection rate. In this viewpoint, a few studies are described, and their results show that CADe systems are able to increase screening sensitivity. The detection of adenomatous polyps, which are associated with a potential risk of progression to colorectal cancer, and their removal are expected to reduce cancer incidence and mortality rates. However, so far, artificial intelligence methods do not increase the detection of cancer or large adenomatous polyps but contribute to the detection of small precancerous polyps.
Correction: A Novel Approach to Assessing Differentiation Degree and Lymph Node Metastasis of Extrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: Prediction Using a Radiomics-Based Particle Swarm Optimization and Support Vector Machine Model (Preprint)
Authors: Yao Xiaopeng , Huang Xinqiao , Yang Chunmei , Hu Anbin , Zhou Guangjin , Ju Mei , Lei Jianbo , Shu Jian
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

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OBJECTIVE

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