bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The relationship between spatial access and modern contraceptive use: is proximity to a healthcare facility a determinant of use among women in Kinshasa, DRC?
Authors: Babazadeh Saleh , Hernandez Julie , Anglewicz Philip , Bertrand Jane
Published: May 2021

Background: Spatial access has a direct effect on health service utilization in many settings. Distance to health facility has proven to affect family planning (FP) service use in many Sub-Saharan countries. Studies show that women who reside closer to facilities offering family planning services are more likely to use modern contraceptives. However, researchers often test the theory of distance decay. This study analyzed the significance of proximity to family planning services, service availability, and quality of family planning services on modern contraceptive use in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Methods: We used a pool of four rounds of facility- and population-based survey data in Kinshasa from PMA2020 between 2014 and 2016. We used GPS coordinates to calculate the distance between the health facilities and households. We tested if women who live closer to service delivery points with higher level of availability and quality are more likely to use modern contraceptives or less likely to have unmet need for contraceptive services.

Results: 10,968 women were interviewed over four rounds of data collection. Our findings show that living closer to an SDP is not a determinant of modern contraceptive use or having unmet need for FP services. Lack of cognitive access, economic barriers, bypassing the closest facility, and sociocultural norms are strong barriers for women in Kinshasa to use modern contraceptives. Proximity to quality services did not necessarily result in increased FP use among women of reproductive age living in Kinshasa, thus suggesting that a bypass phenomenon may occur when obtaining modern contraceptive services.

Conclusions: This study notes that barriers other than proximity to access may be substantial determinants of contraceptive use or unmet need. More research should be conducted that directly measures multidimensional components of access in order to interpret women’s contraceptive seeking behaviors in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Theory-Driven Practical Approach to Integrate R&D and Production Planning for Portfolio Management in Agribusiness
Authors: Bansal Saurabh , Gutierrez Genaro J. , Nagarajan Mahesh
Published: May 2021

Agribusiness firms, with an eye toward increasing population and evolving weather patterns, are investing heavily into developing new varieties of staple crops that can provide higher yields and are robust to weather fluctuations. In this paper, we describe a multiyear effort at Dow Agrosciences (now Corteva) to manage its seed corn portfolio, which includes several hundred seeds and is valued at more than $1 billion. The effort had two mutually interacting parts: (1) developing a decision-analytic theory to estimate the production yield distributions for new seed varieties from discrete quantile judgments provided by plant biology experts and (2) developing an optimization protocol to determine Dow's annual production plan for the seed portfolio with the flexibility of backup production in South America, under production yield uncertainty. The first part, owned by the research and development (R&D) function, provides yield probability distributions as inputs to the optimization protocol of the second part, which the production function owns. The results of the optimization problem, which include information about the attractiveness of specific future varieties, are returned to R&D. Both parts incorporate contextual details specific to this industry. In this paper, we show the optimality of linear policies for both problems. Additionally, the linear policies have many attractive structural properties that continue to hold for the more complex instances of the problems. A major strength of the theory we developed is that it is implementable in a transparent fashion, providing managers with a user-friendly, real-time decision support tool. The implementation of the theory developed has led to significant monetary and managerial benefits at Dow.
Role of Social Media in Social Protest Cycles: A Sociomaterial Examination
Authors: Tarafdar Monideepa , Kajal Ray Deepa
Published: May 2021

Contemporary social media fueled social protest is self-organized, rapidly dynamic, and decentralized, constitutes vast populations, and is shaped by multiple and concurrent channels of information flows. Such protest activity is captured in the concept of social protest cycles, which are short periods of intense and contentious protest activity characterized by temporal dynamics, a large repertoire of protest action, confrontation and potential violence, and possible institutional action. Social protest cycles are the microfoundations of long-term social movements. They contain the seeds of potential societal transformation because their intense collective action can be constructively harnessed toward change. This paper examines the role of social media in social protest cycles. Drawing from the theoretical concept of sociomaterial assemblages, we conceptualize the social media enabled social protest cycle as an assemblage having social (e.g., people, elected leaders, police, judges) and technical (e.g., social media applications, online petition applications) components. We analyze how the social protest cycle transforms through performative intra-actions. The empirical context for the study is a social media enabled social protest cycle that emerged after a fatal rape incident in New Delhi, India. Data pertaining to the social protest cycle over the period December 17–25, 2012, were collected from social media activity on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, online blogs, and newspaper websites. Through mixed methods analysis we identify three intra-actions, consolidation, expansion, and intensification, and theorize how they transform the social protest cycle over time. The paper contributes to the information systems literature that studies social media–enabled social protest action. As theoretical contributions, it develops (1) the notion of intra-actions as organizing mechanisms and (2) a relational ontology for social media–enabled social protest action. Through these contributions, we suggest that the power of social media lies in its socially produced and emergent relationships with other entities in the social protest cycle.
Evaluation of residues of pesticides on humans from medium plant of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Authors: Rosano Vitória A. , Dal Pizzol Gabriela E. , Friedrich Maria T. , Bertol Charise D. , Rossato-Grando Luciana G.
Published: May 2021

Introduction: Pesticide use in Brazil is widespread. Generalpopulation is concerned about the risks of consuming foodcontaining pesticide residues. Objective: The greatest contributionof this work is to highlight the absence of blood residualcontamination in the population of medium plant of RioGrande do Sul, Brazil, by the pesticides: atrazine, abamectin,chlorpyriphos and diuron. Materials and methods: Pesticideresidues were extracted using QuEChERS approach and werequantified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results:Most volunteers (92.75%) present normal levels of plasmacholinesterase and all volunteers do not present residues ofany pesticide tested. Conclusion: This study demonstrates thateven though the use of pesticides is widespread in our region,the population did not present blood residues or enzymaticchanges suggestive of acute intoxication..
Editorial
Authors: Bernardo-Filho Mario
Published: May 2021

xxxx falta incluir xxxxx
Role of aerospace care nursing in Brazil: Integrative review
Authors: De Morais Êmille M. , D' Agostini Flávia C. P. A. , De Oliveira Naila A.
Published: May 2021

Introduction: With mandatory “Flight Nurses” during World War II, there was a need to improve aeromedical rescue. Currently, the use of aerospace removal is crucial to rapidly take away trauma patients in large urban centers. In Brazil, ABCDE system is adopted during pre-hospital care (PHC) so that nursing needs constant updating to meet the demand for care. Objective: To identify and describe role and challenges of nursing professionals in aerospace transport. Methodology: Integrative review of indexed articles in the last 10 years (2010 to 2020) with focus on pre-hospital care and nursing role. Inclusion criteria were: country of publication, Brazil was the only one considered, publication of the full text and appropriate descriptors. Exclusion criteria included: publication from other countries, absence of descriptors and duplication of articles in databases. Descriptors were crossed in either pairs or trios. Results: A total of 1306 articles on the theme were found, 16 of which were selected by contemplating the research question. However, only 13 met all requirements in the study as excluded articles (1) did not address the research problem in any aspect or (2) were themselves integrative reviews. Conclusion: More studies on needs and particularities of aerospace removal are essential for nurses in order to fill existing knowledge gaps.
Representações Sociais de Estudantes de Odontologia sobre o Atendimento em Clínica Odontopediátrica
Authors: Dadalto Elâine Cristina Vargas , Rosa Edinete Maria , Trindade Zeidi Araújo
Published: May 2021

O objetivo da pesquisa foi analisar as representações sociais construídas por estudantes de Odontologia sobre o atendimento prestado a crianças. A população-alvo do estudo foi constituída por estudantes de graduação em Odontologia da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES), entrevistados no 10º período, após terem frequentado as disciplinas de clínica odontopediátrica. As respostas às questões norteadoras foram registradas em áudio, submetidas à análise de conteúdo e interpretadas pela abordagem processual das representações sociais. Participaram 26 estudantes, com média de 23,8±1,4 anos de idade, e a temática da entrevista semiestruturada envolveu expectativas prévias e vivência clínica. As representações que emergiram passaram pelo processo de organização em categorias. As representações sociais construídas por estudantes de Odontologia sobre o atendimento de crianças foram relacionadas à experiência gratificante e proveitosa, embora esta vivência possa ter sido complexa e desafiadora. Ademais, sob a ótica dos estudantes, é necessário ter paciência, ser compreensivo com a criança, manifestar carinho no atendimento, conquistar a confiança e usar a criatividade.
Educação especial no contexto de pandemia: reflexões sobre políticas educacionais
Authors: Cardoso Alessandra Andrade , Taveira Gustavo Diniz de Mesquita , Stribel Guilherme Pereira
Published: May 2021

A pandemia de coronavírus (Covid-19) trouxe mudanças no cenário econômico, político, social e educacional do mundo. As escolas de muitos países estão fechadas, algumas adotando aulas remotas e/ou educação à distância. Com isso, grupos que já apresentavam graus de vulnerabilidade, como o caso dos alunos e alunas com deficiência, ficam ainda mais cerceados do direito à educação escolar, principalmente na realidade brasileira. Nessa direção, esse trabalho visa fomentar discussão entre a evolução histórica dos processos de inclusão de tais alunos e as consequências ocasionadas pela necessidade do isolamento em decorrência da pandemia, a fim de evidenciar a relevância e urgência da consolidação de políticas públicas educacionais de inclusão. Para isso realizamos uma análise documental a partir de um panorama histórico das políticas públicas educacionais voltadas às pessoas com deficiência no Brasil.
EJAI na Amazônia Paraense: ataques e resistências na luta pela educação pública e gratuita
Authors: Costa Maria da Conceição dos Santos , De Farias Maria Celeste Gomes , Conceição Darinêz De Lima
Published: May 2021

O estudo objetiva analisar a Educação de Jovens, Adultos e Idosos (EJAI) por meio das orientações dos organismos multilaterais, apresentando dados concretos da realidade da Amazônia Paraense e estratégias de resistências construídas com os movimentos sociais em defesa desta modalidade de educação. A metodologia adotada teve como base o materialismo histórico dialético e o uso da análise documental e de dados oficiais do INEP. Os resultados evidenciam ataques à EJAI com grande redução de atendimento devido à diminuição de matrículas e fechamento de turmas. Concluímos que os movimentos sociais são resistências de enfrentamento na luta e defesa da EJAI, direito inalienável dos diversos sujeitos da Amazônia Paraense à educação pública, gratuita e socialmente referenciada.
Narrativas digitais, design e significados: alguns entrelaçamentos
Authors: De Paulo Moura Késsia Mileny , Kieling Franco Sérgio Roberto
Published: May 2021

As narrativas digitais são composições feitas por meio dos dispositivos tecnológicos que estão à disposição para realizar construções. Sua produção provoca transformações no e pelos processos semióticos, quando o sujeito então é chamado a gerir seus percursos e construir seus significados, resultantes das provocações a que foi submetido nas emergências do viver. Este texto tem como objetivo circunscrever os entrelaçamentos entre a construção de narrativas digitais, o design e o significado discutido na teoria dos multiletramentos. Trata-se de uma pesquisa teórica exploratória, referenciada nos estudos de design e significado do New London Group (GNL), que impõe considerar as complexidades e efeitos do contexto sociocultural tecnologizado às práticas narrativas e linguagens desenvolvidas com os usos de tecnologias.
Práticas pedagógicas alternativas em contextos de incerteza e crise: interdependências e corresponsabilidade ética do cuidado em tempo de pandemia
Authors: Pérez Oresta López , Camara Sônia
Published: May 2021

n/a
Work-related stress assessment in an emergency department in French Guiana
Authors: Pujo Jean Marc , Kraiem Hajer , Daniel Pierre , Omri Majdi , Fremery Alexis , Rémi Mutricy , Madani Galleze , Tsafehy Mosa , Resiere Dabor , Hommel Didier , Kallel Hatem
Published: May 2021

Background:

In emergency departments (EDs), the staff continually face stressful situations requiring staff to adopt various coping strategies.

Aims:

The study aimed to assess work-related stress in ED during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Method:

The study was a monocentric investigation based on a questionnaire survey that elicits general information and uses the Karasek model to analyse the data.

Findings:

A total of 117 forms were collected for analysis. The score for decision latitude (or autonomy and skills at work) was 70 (IQR: 64–74) and the score for psychological demand was 25 (IQR: 23-27). The score for social support by the management team was 11 (IQR: 9–12) and the score for social support by colleagues 12 (IQR: 10–12). Of the total number of respondents, job strain was assessed as affecting 24.8%.

Conclusion:

The study shows high levels of stress among the ED workforce. The findings indicate that it is imperative to develop simple management tools that are capable of measuring the internal causes of stress in order to develop an adapted wellness programme in ED.
Men's perception and understanding of male-factor infertility in the UK
Authors: Stevenson Eleanor L , Ching-Yu Cheng , Chia-Hao Chang , McEleny Kevin R
Published: May 2021

Male-factor infertility is a common but stigmatised issue, and men often do not receive the emotional support and the information they need. This study sought to understand awareness of male fertility issues compared to female fertility among the UK general male public, and also what were perceived as being the optimum methods for providing support for affected men, emotionally and through information. Men feel that male infertility is not discussed by the public as much as female infertility. Lifestyle issues that affect male fertility are not well understood, and men affected by infertility desire more support, including online, from health professionals and through peer support. Health professionals, including those in public health, could offer evidence-based programmes to reduce stigma and increase public knowledge about infertility, as well as offer emotional support to men with infertility problems.
Embracing virtual outpatient clinics in the era of COVID-19
Authors: Lee George , Clough Oliver T. , Hayter Edward , Morris James , Ashdown Thomas , Hardman John , Anakwe Raymond
Published: May 2021

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the profile and level of interest in the use, acceptability, safety, and effectiveness of virtual outpatient consultations and telemedicine. These models of care are not new but a number of challenges have so far hindered widespread take-up and endorsement of these ways of working. With the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote and virtual working and consultation have become the default. This paper explores our experience of and learning from virtual and remote consultation and questions how this experience can be retained and developed for the future.

Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(5):301–304.
Renda Relativa e Renda absoluta: Impacto no Bem-estar Subjetivo
Authors: Mantoan Alyne , Campi Prearo Leandro , Giatti de Sousa Daniel
Published: May 2021

Este estudo teve como objetivo principal relacionar o Bem-estar subjetivo (BES) e a Renda, tanto em sua configuração relativa, quanto absoluta, dos indivíduos domiciliados na Região do Grande ABC Paulista. O referencial teórico da contextualização de Bem-estar subjetivo sendo explicado pela renda apresenta além dos conceitos, estudos que apontam relação entre BES e desigualdade de distribuição de renda. Foram utilizadas duas variáveis explicativas, Renda absoluta e Renda relativa (renda absoluta dividida em dez grupos de renda) e quatro variáveis para compor o construto de BES. Os dados da amostra utilizada foram extraídos da pesquisa Socioeconômica da Região do Grande ABC Paulista. A análise se deu por estatísticas descritivas e Modelagem de Equações Estruturais baseada em mínimos quadrados parciais (PLS). O resultado apresentou fraco relacionamento entre o BES e ambas as rendas, porém os indicadores de qualidade global evidenciam que há boa qualidade no modelo.
Optically controlled ultrafast terahertz switching in wafer scale PtSe2 thin films
Authors: Fu Jibo , Jiang Meng , Suo Peng , Zhang Wenjie , Lin Xian , Yan Xiaona , Zhang Saifeng , Ma Guohong
Published: May 2021

In this study, we have reported a newly ultrafast optically modulated
terahertz (THz) switch based on the transition metal dichalcogenide
(TMD) material platinum diselenide (

P
t
S
e

2

) with different thicknesses. The
high-quality

P
t
S
e

2

thin films with centimeter scale are
fabricated on sapphire substrate by the chemical vapor deposition
method. The optical pump and THz probe (OPTP) spectroscopy reveals
that the THz response of the thin films is as fast as

∼

2.0

p
s

after photoexcitation of a 780 nm
pulse. Interestingly, we found that the THz response time of the

P
t
S
e

2

semimetal phase is faster than that
of the semiconducting phase. In addition, the THz response time
becomes faster when increasing the film thickness for the semimetal
phase

P
t
S
e

2

, while for the semiconducting phase,
the response time becomes slower with film thickness. Moreover,
degenerate optical pump and optical probe spectroscopy (OPOP)
demonstrated that the ultrafast photoinduced negative absorption
(photoinduced bleaching) occurs after photoexcitation of 780 nm, and
the subsequent recovery consists of two relaxation processes: the fast
component with more than 85% of weight has a lifetime of

∼

1.5

p
s

for semiconducting-phase films and
less than 1 ps for the semimetal phase, similar to the response time
obtained from OPTP measurement. The slow component with less than 15%
of weight has a lifetime of a few hundred picoseconds. The
subpicosecond response time observed in both OPTP and OPOP is ascribed
to the carrier trapping by defect states, and the slow relaxation
process appearing in OPOP arises from the defect state relevant
relaxation that is insensitive to the THz photoconductivity due to the
frozen carrier mobility in defect states. Our experimental results
demonstrate a new application of TMD materials such as

P
t
S
e

2

in THz technology, for instance, the
design and fabrication of THz modulators and THz
switches.
Compressed sensing two-dimensional Bragg scatter imaging
Authors: Webber James W. , Miller Eric L.
Published: May 2021

Here we introduce a new reconstruction technique for two-dimensional Bragg scattering tomography (BST), based on the Radon transform models of Webber and Miller [Inverse Probl. Imaging 15, 683 (2021).10.3934/ipi.2021010]. Our method uses a combination of ideas from multibang control and microlocal analysis to construct an objective function which can regularize the BST artifacts; specifically the boundary artifacts due to sharp cutoff in sinogram space (as observed in [arXiv preprint, arXiv:2007.00208 (2020)]), and artifacts arising from approximations made in constructing the model used for inversion. We then test our algorithm in a variety of Monte Carlo (MC) simulated examples of practical interest in airport baggage screening and threat detection. The data used in our studies is generated with a novel Monte-Carlo code presented here. The model, which is available from the authors upon request, captures both the Bragg scatter effects described by BST as well as beam attenuation and Compton scatter.
Red blood cell phenotyping from 3D confocal images using artificial neural networks
Authors: Simionato Greta , Hinkelmann Konrad , Chachanidze Revaz , Bianchi Paola , Fermo Elisa , van Wijk Richard , Leonetti Marc , Wagner Christian , Kaestner Lars , Quint Stephan
Published: May 2021

The investigation of cell shapes mostly relies on the manual classification of 2D images, causing a subjective and time consuming evaluation based on a portion of the cell surface. We present a dual-stage neural network architecture for analyzing fine shape details from confocal microscopy recordings in 3D. The system, tested on red blood cells, uses training data from both healthy donors and patients with a congenital blood disease, namely hereditary spherocytosis. Characteristic shape features are revealed from the spherical harmonics spectrum of each cell and are automatically processed to create a reproducible and unbiased shape recognition and classification. The results show the relation between the particular genetic mutation causing the disease and the shape profile. With the obtained 3D phenotypes, we suggest our method for diagnostics and theragnostics of blood diseases. Besides the application employed in this study, our algorithms can be easily adapted for the 3D shape phenotyping of other cell types and extend their use to other applications, such as industrial automated 3D quality control.
RNA editing at a limited number of sites is sufficient to prevent MDA5 activation in the mouse brain
Authors: Kim Jung In , Nakahama Taisuke , Yamasaki Ryuichiro , Costa Cruz Pedro Henrique , Vongpipatana Tuangtong , Inoue Maal , Kanou Nao , Xing Yanfang , Todo Hiroyuki , Shibuya Toshiharu , Kato Yuki , Kawahara Yukio
Published: May 2021

Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1), an enzyme responsible for adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing, is composed of two isoforms: nuclear p110 and cytoplasmic p150. Deletion of Adar1 or Adar1 p150 genes in mice results in embryonic lethality with overexpression of interferon-stimulating genes (ISGs), caused by the aberrant recognition of unedited endogenous transcripts by melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5). However, among numerous RNA editing sites, how many RNA sites require editing, especially by ADAR1 p150, to avoid MDA5 activation and whether ADAR1 p110 contributes to this function remains elusive. In particular, ADAR1 p110 is abundant in the mouse brain where a subtle amount of ADAR1 p150 is expressed, whereas ADAR1 mutations cause Aicardi–Goutières syndrome, in which the brain is one of the most affected organs accompanied by the elevated expression of ISGs. Therefore, understanding RNA editing–mediated prevention of MDA5 activation in the brain is especially important. Here, we established Adar1 p110–specific knockout mice, in which the upregulated expression of ISGs was not observed. This result suggests that ADAR1 p150–mediated RNA editing is enough to suppress MDA5 activation. Therefore, we further created Adar1 p110/Adar2 double knockout mice to identify ADAR1 p150–mediated editing sites. This analysis demonstrated that although the elevated expression of ISGs was not observed, only less than 2% of editing sites were preserved in the brains of Adar1 p110/Adar2 double knockout mice. Of note, we found that some sites were highly edited, which was comparable to those found in wild-type mice, indicating the presence of ADAR1 p150–specific sites. These data suggest that RNA editing at a very limited sites, which is mediated by a subtle amount of ADAR1 p150, is sufficient to prevents MDA5 activation, at least in the mouse brain.
3D facial phenotyping by biometric sibling matching used in contemporary genomic methodologies
Authors: Hoskens Hanne , Liu Dongjing , Naqvi Sahin , Lee Myoung Keun , Eller Ryan J. , Indencleef Karlijne , White Julie D. , Li Jiarui , Larmuseau Maarten H. D. , Hens Greet , Wysocka Joanna , Walsh Susan , Richmond Stephen , Shriver Mark D. , Shaffer John R. , Peeters Hilde , Weinberg Seth M. , Claes Peter
Published: May 2021

The analysis of contemporary genomic data typically operates on one-dimensional phenotypic measurements (e.g. standing height). Here we report on a data-driven, family-informed strategy to facial phenotyping that searches for biologically relevant traits and reduces multivariate 3D facial shape variability into amendable univariate measurements, while preserving its structurally complex nature. We performed a biometric identification of siblings in a sample of 424 children, defining 1,048 sib-shared facial traits. Subsequent quantification and analyses in an independent European cohort (n = 8,246) demonstrated significant heritability for a subset of traits (0.17–0.53) and highlighted 218 genome-wide significant loci (38 also study-wide) associated with facial variation shared by siblings. These loci showed preferential enrichment for active chromatin marks in cranial neural crest cells and embryonic craniofacial tissues and several regions harbor putative craniofacial genes, thereby enhancing our knowledge on the genetic architecture of normal-range facial variation.
Glucocorticoid signaling in pancreatic islets modulates gene regulatory programs and genetic risk of type 2 diabetes
Authors: Aylward Anthony , Okino Mei-Lin , Benaglio Paola , Chiou Joshua , Beebe Elisha , Padilla Jose Andres , Diep Sharlene , Gaulton Kyle J.
Published: May 2021

Glucocorticoids are key regulators of glucose homeostasis and pancreatic islet function, but the gene regulatory programs driving responses to glucocorticoid signaling in islets and the contribution of these programs to diabetes risk are unknown. In this study we used ATAC-seq and RNA-seq to map chromatin accessibility and gene expression from eleven primary human islet samples cultured in vitro with the glucocorticoid dexamethasone at multiple doses and durations. We identified thousands of accessible chromatin sites and genes with significant changes in activity in response to glucocorticoids. Chromatin sites up-regulated in glucocorticoid signaling were prominently enriched for glucocorticoid receptor binding sites and up-regulated genes were enriched for ion transport and lipid metabolism, whereas down-regulated chromatin sites and genes were enriched for inflammatory, stress response and proliferative processes. Genetic variants associated with glucose levels and T2D risk were enriched in glucocorticoid-responsive chromatin sites, including fine-mapped variants at 51 known signals. Among fine-mapped variants in glucocorticoid-responsive chromatin, a likely casual variant at the 2p21 locus had glucocorticoid-dependent allelic effects on beta cell enhancer activity and affected SIX2 and SIX3 expression. Our results provide a comprehensive map of islet regulatory programs in response to glucocorticoids through which we uncover a role for islet glucocorticoid signaling in mediating genetic risk of T2D.
Assessment of the causal relevance of ECG parameters for risk of atrial fibrillation: A mendelian randomisation study
Authors: Gajendragadkar Parag Ravindra , Von Ende Adam , Ibrahim Maysson , Valdes-Marquez Elsa , Camm Christian Fielder , Murgia Federico , Stiby Alexander , Casadei Barbara , Hopewell Jemma C.
Published: May 2021

Background

Atrial electrical and structural remodelling in older individuals with cardiovascular risk factors has been associated with changes in surface electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters (e.g., prolongation of the PR interval) and higher risks of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it has been difficult to establish whether altered ECG parameters are the cause or a consequence of the myocardial substrate leading to AF. This study aimed to examine the potential causal relevance of ECG parameters on risk of AF using mendelian randomisation (MR).

Methods and findings

Weighted genetic scores explaining lifelong differences in P-wave duration, PR interval, and QT interval were constructed, and associations between these ECG scores and risk of AF were estimated among 278,792 UK Biobank participants (mean age: 57 years at recruitment; 19,132 AF cases). The independent genetic variants contributing to each of the separate ECG scores, and their corresponding weights, were based on published genome-wide association studies. In UK Biobank, genetic scores representing a 5 ms longer P-wave duration or PR interval were significantly associated with lower risks of AF (odds ratio [OR] 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87–0.96, P = 2 × 10−4 and OR 0.94; 95% CI: 0.93–0.96, P = 2 × 10−19, respectively), while longer QT interval was not significantly associated with AF. These effects were independently replicated among a further 17,931 AF cases from the AFGen Consortium. Investigation of potential mechanistic pathways showed that differences in ECG parameters associated with specific ion channel genes had effects on risk of AF consistent with the overall scores, while the overall scores were not associated with changes in left atrial size. Limitations of the study included the inherent assumptions of MR, restriction to individuals of European ancestry, and possible restriction of results to the normal ECG ranges represented in UK Biobank.

Conclusions

In UK Biobank, we observed evidence suggesting a causal relationship between lifelong differences in ECG parameters (particularly PR interval) that reflect longer atrial conduction times and a lower risk of AF. These findings, which appear to be independent of atrial size and concomitant cardiovascular comorbidity, support the relevance of varying mechanisms underpinning AF and indicate that more individualised treatment strategies warrant consideration.
Rickettsial infections: A blind spot in our view of neglected tropical diseases
Authors: Salje Jeanne , Weitzel Thomas , Newton Paul N. , Varghese George M. , Day Nicholas
Published: May 2021

Rickettsial diseases are a group of vector-borne bacterial infections that cause acute febrile illness with potentially severe or fatal complications. These vector-borne diseases are prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide and disproportionately affect poorer communities but are scientifically underrecognized. Despite this, they are not included in the World Health Organization’s list of neglected tropical diseases nor were they mentioned in Peter Hotez’s recent reflections on “What constitutes a neglected tropical disease?” in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases [1]. Here we present the case that rickettsial infections, as an overlooked cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic losses in marginalized populations, should be recognized as neglected tropical diseases. We describe how this oversight is the result of a number of factors and how it negatively impacts patient outcomes. We then propose measures to address the neglect of rickettsial infections in both scientific research and public health interventions.
Mapping soil salinity using a combined spectral and topographical indices with artificial neural network
Authors: Habibi Vahid , Ahmadi Hasan , Jafari Mohammad , Moeini Abolfazl
Published: May 2021

Monitoring the status of natural and ecological resources is necessary for conservation and protection. Soil is one of the most important environmental resources in agricultural lands and natural resources. In this research study, we used Landsat 8 and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to monitor soil salinity in Qom plain. The geographical location of 72 surface soil samples from 7 land types was determined by the Latin hypercube method, and the samples were taken to determine the electrical conductivity (EC). Thirty percent of the data was considered as a validation set and 70% as a test set. In addition to the Landsat 8 bands, we used spectral indices of salinity, vegetation, topography, and drainage (DEM, TWI, and TCI) because of their impacts on soil formation and development. We used ANN with different algorithms to model soil salinity. We found that the GFF algorithm is the best for soil salinity modeling. Also, the TWI topography index and SI5 salinity index and NDVI vegetation index had the most effect on the outputs of the selected model. It was also found that flood plains and lowlands had the highest levels of salinity accumulation.
Effect of belt electrode-skeletal muscle electrical stimulation on immobilization-induced muscle fibrosis
Authors: Honda Yuichiro , Tanaka Natsumi , Kajiwara Yasuhiro , Kondo Yasutaka , Kataoka Hideki , Sakamoto Junya , Akimoto Ryuji , Nawata Atsushi , Okita Minoru
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Macrophage accumulation in response to decreasing myonuclei may be the major mechanism underlying immobilization-induced muscle fibrosis in muscle contracture, an intervention strategy suppressing these lesions is necessary. Therefore, this research investigated the effect of belt electrode-skeletal muscle electrical stimulation (B-SES), a new electrical stimulation device, to the macrophage accumulation via myonuclei decrease in immobilization-induced muscle fibrosis.

Materials and methods

18 Wistar male rats were divided into the control group, immobilization group (with plaster cast fixation to immobilize the soleus muscles in a shortened position for 2 weeks), and B-SES group (with muscle contractile exercise through B-SES during the immobilization period). B-SES stimulation was performed at a frequency of 50 Hz and an intensity of 4.7 mA, muscle contractile exercise by B-SES was applied to the lower limb muscles for 20 minutes/session (twice a day) for 2 weeks (6 times/week). The bilateral soleus muscles were used for histological, immunohistochemical, biochemical, and molecular biological analyses.

Results

The number of myonuclei was significantly higher in the B-SES group than in the immobilization group, and there was no significant difference between the B-SES and control groups. The cross-sectional area of type I and II myofibers in the immobilization and B-SES groups was significantly lower than that in the control group, and the cross-sectional area of type I myofibers in the B-SES group was higher than that in the immobilization group. However, Atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 mRNA expression in the immobilization and B-SES groups was significantly higher than those in the control group. Additionally, the number of macrophages, IL-1β, TGF-β1, and α-SMA mRNA expression, and hydroxyproline expression was significantly lower in the control and B-SES groups than those in the immobilization group.

Conclusion

This research surmised that muscle contractile exercise through B-SES prevented immobilization-induced muscle fibrosis, and this alteration suppressed the development of muscle contracture.
A generalized exponential-type estimator for population mean using auxiliary attributes
Authors: Ahmad Sohail , Arslan Muhammad , Khan Aamna , Shabbir Javid
Published: May 2021

In this paper, we propose a generalized class of exponential type estimators for estimating the finite population mean using two auxiliary attributes under simple random sampling and stratified random sampling. The bias and mean squared error (MSE) of the proposed class of estimators are derived up to first order of approximation. Both empirical study and theoretical comparisons are discussed. Four populations are used to support the theoretical findings. It is observed that the proposed class of estimators perform better as compared to all other considered estimator in simple and stratified random sampling.
The impact of genetic background and sex on the phenotype of IL-23 induced murine spondyloarthritis
Authors: Haley Emma K. , Matmusaev Mederbek , Hossain Imtiyaz N. , Davin Sean , Martin Tammy M. , Ermann Joerg
Published: May 2021

Background

Overexpression of IL-23 in adult mice by means of hydrodynamic tail vein injection of IL-23 minicircles has been reported to result in spondyloarthritis-like disease. The impact of genetic background and sex on the disease phenotype in this model has not been investigated.

Methods

We compared male B10.RIII mice with male C57BL/6 mice, and male with female B10.RIII mice after hydrodynamic injection of IL-23 enhanced episomal vector (EEV) at 8–12 weeks of age. We monitored clinical arthritis scores, paw swelling, and body weight. Animals were euthanized after two weeks and tissues were harvested for histology, flow cytometry and gene expression analysis. Serum cytokine levels were determined by ELISA.

Findings

Male B10.RIII mice developed arthritis in the forepaws and feet within 6 days after IL-23 EEV injection; they also exhibited psoriasis-like skin disease, colitis, weight loss, and osteopenia. In contrast to previous reports, we did not observe spondylitis or uveitis. Male C57BL/6 mice injected with IL-23 EEV had serum IL-23 levels comparable with B10.RIII mice and developed skin inflammation, colitis, weight loss, and osteopenia but failed to develop arthritis. Female B10.RIII mice had more severe arthritis than male B10.RIII mice but did not lose weight.

Conclusions

The phenotype of IL-23 induced disease in mice is controlled by genetic background and sex of the animals. The development of extra-articular manifestations but absence of arthritis in C57BL/6 mice suggests that organ-specificity of IL-23 driven inflammation is genetically determined. The mechanisms behind the strain-specific differences and the sexual dimorphism observed in this study may be relevant for human spondyloarthritis and warrant further exploration.
Clinical course and management of 73 hospitalized moderate patients with COVID-19 outside Wuhan
Authors: Peng Xiaojuan , Liu Qi , Chen Zhaolin , Wen Guiyan , Li Qing , Chen Yanfang , Xiong Jie , Meng Xinzhou , Ding Yuanjin , Shi Ying , Tang Shaohui
Published: May 2021

Moderate cases account for the majority in hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and can also progress to severe/critical condition. Here, we investigated the clinical course and management of hospitalized moderate SARS-CoV-2 patients. The medical records and follow-up data were analyzed from the SARS-CoV-2 patients outside Wuhan. A total of 73 moderate patients (38 men, 35 women) were included, with median age of 47.0 (38.5–57.5) years. Among them, only one patient (1.4%) died using active treatment to improve symptoms. The median duration of the four main symptoms cough, fever, chest tightness, and fatigue were 11.0, 8.0, 11.0, and 7.0 days, respectively; the median duration of the positive nucleic acid test (NAT) results for SARS-CoV-2 was 16.5 days; the median hospitalization time was 25.0 days in 72 moderate survivors. The duration of cough and fever was positively correlated with the duration of the positive NAT results. On admission, 50% had lymphopenia; less than 30% had abnormal blood biochemistry findings involving hyperglycemia, liver function and myocardial enzymes. At discharge, the laboratory indexes were substantially improved. Two weeks after discharge, 5.6% survivors experienced a recurrence of the positive NAT results. Moderate SARS-CoV-2 patients have a good prognosis by the active treatment. A small proportion of the recovered moderate patients still may be virus carriers and require an additional round of viral detection.
Identification of recombinant Fabs for structural and functional characterization of HIV-host factor complexes
Authors: Sevillano Natalia , Green Evan M. , Votteler Jörg , Kim Dong Young , Ren Xuefeng , Yang Bei , Liu Xi , Lourenço André Luiz , Hurley James H. , Farr-Jones Shauna , Gross John D. , Cheng Yifan , Craik Charles S.
Published: May 2021

Viral infection and pathogenesis is mediated by host protein—viral protein complexes that are important targets for therapeutic intervention as they are potentially less prone to development of drug resistance. We have identified human, recombinant antibodies (Fabs) from a phage display library that bind to three HIV-host complexes. We used these Fabs to 1) stabilize the complexes for structural studies; and 2) facilitate characterization of the function of these complexes. Specifically, we generated recombinant Fabs to Vif-CBF-β-ELOB-ELOC (VCBC); ESCRT-I complex and AP2-complex. For each complex we measured binding affinities with KD values of Fabs ranging from 12–419 nM and performed negative stain electron microscopy (nsEM) to obtain low-resolution structures of the HIV-Fab complexes. Select Fabs were converted to scFvs to allow them to fold intracellularly and perturb HIV-host protein complex assembly without affecting other pathways. To identify these recombinant Fabs, we developed a rapid screening pipeline that uses quantitative ELISAs and nsEM to establish whether the Fabs have overlapping or independent epitopes. This pipeline approach is generally applicable to other particularly challenging antigens that are refractory to immunization strategies for antibody generation including multi-protein complexes providing specific, reproducible, and renewable antibody reagents for research and clinical applications. The curated antibodies described here are available to the scientific community for further structural and functional studies on these critical HIV host-factor proteins.
Asthma severity as a contributing factor to cancer incidence: A cohort study
Authors: Salameh Laila , Mahboub Bassam , Khamis Amar , Alsharhan Mouza , Tirmazy Syed Hammad , Dairi Youssef , Hamid Qutayba , Hamoudi Rifat , Al Heialy Saba
Published: May 2021

Background

A putative link between asthma and asthma severity with the occurrence of cancer has been suggested but has not been fully investigated. The objective of this study is to assess the incidence of all types of cancer in a cohort of asthmatic patients.

Methods and findings

A single center cohort retrospective study was conducted to investigate the role of asthma as a potential risk factor for various cancers. Participants were followed for a period of 9 years from 01/01/2010 to 30/12/2018 and cancer incidence and its determinants were collected in asthmatic patients and controls from the same population source but without any respiratory disease. Overall, 2,027 asthma patients and 1,637 controls were followed up for an average of 9 years. The statistical analysis showed that 2% of asthma patients were diagnosed with various cancers, resulting in an incidence rate of cancer of 383.02 per 100,000 persons per year which is significantly higher than the 139.01 per 100,000 persons per year observed in matched controls (p-value < 0.001). The top four cancers reported among asthmatics were breast, colon, lung and prostate cancer. Lung cancer in asthmatics had the longest diagnosis period with a mean of 36.6 years compared to the shortest with prostate cancer with 16.5 years.

Conclusions

This study shows that asthma patients are at increased risk of different types of cancers with asthma severity and goiter as the main factors that may increase the risk of developing cancers among asthmatic patients.
A novel (targeted) kinesio taping application on chronic low back pain: Randomized clinical trial
Authors: Peñalver-Barrios María Lourdes , Lisón Juan Francisco , Ballester-Salvador Javier , Schmitt Julia , Ezzedinne-Angulo Aida , Arguisuelas María Dolores , Doménech Julio
Published: May 2021

The aim of the present clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of kinesio taping on patients with chronic low back pain, when the exploration identifies skin/fascia mobilization as a factor that could modify the treatment effect. This study is a randomized controlled trial with intention-to-treat analysis. Sixty-two participants with chronic low back pain were therefore recruited from a tertiary referral hospital. Targeted kinesio taping, according to skin/fascia mobility exploration, was applied in the experimental group (17 female/13 male; 49.47 ± 11.15 years) once a week for four sessions. The control group (17 female/14 male; 48.87 ± 9.09 years) underwent a placebo taping application. At post-treatment time there was a statistically significant reduction both in disability (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire) and pain (Numeric Pain Rating Scale) in the experimental group (disability: −2.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] −4.56 to −1.21, P < .001; pain: −1.58, 95% CI −2.67 to −0.54 P = .001) and the control group (disability: −1.82, 95% CI −3.46 to −0.17 P = .025; pain: −1.30, 95% CI −2.32 to −0.28 P = .008). However, at six months, these changes only remained significant in the experimental group (disability: −2.95, 95% CI −4.72 to −1.18, P < .001; pain: −1.06, 95% CI −2.07 to −0.04, P < .05). As a conclusion, the application of targeted kinesio taping produced a significant reduction in pain and disability, at 4 weeks and at 6 moths follow-up, although there were no differences between groups at any measurement time point.
Determining a target SpO2 to maintain PaO2 within a physiological range
Authors: Röttgering Jantine G. , de Man Angelique M. E. , Schuurs Thomas C. , Wils Evert-Jan , Daniels Johannes M. , van den Aardweg Joost G. , Girbes Armand R. J. , Smulders Yvo M.
Published: May 2021

Objective

In the context of an ongoing debate on the potential risks of hypoxemia and hyperoxemia, it seems prudent to maintain the partial arterial oxygen pressure (PaO2) in a physiological range during administration of supplemental oxygen. The PaO2and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) are closely related and both are used to monitor oxygenation status. However, SpO2values cannot be used as an exact substitute for PaO2. The aim of this study in acutely ill and stable patients was to determine at which SpO2level PaO2is more or less certain to be in the physiological range.

Methods

This is an observational study prospectively collecting data pairs of PaO2and SpO2values in patients admitted to the emergency room or intensive care unit (Prospective Inpatient Acutely ill cohort; PIA cohort). A second cohort of retrospective data of patients who underwent pulmonary function testing was also included (Retrospective Outpatient Pulmonary cohort; ROP cohort). Arterial hypoxemia was defined as PaO2< 60 mmHg and hyperoxemia as PaO2> 125 mmHg. The SpO2cut-off values with the lowest risk of hypoxemia and hyperoxemia were determined as the 95th percentile of the observed SpO2values corresponding with the observed hypoxemic and hyperoxemic PaO2values.

Results

220 data pairs were collected in the PIA cohort. 95% of hypoxemic PaO2measurements occurred in patients with an SpO2below 94%, and 95% of hyperoxemic PaO2measurements occurred in patients with an SpO2above 96%. Additionally in the 1379 data pairs of the ROP cohort, 95% of hypoxemic PaO2measurements occurred in patients with an SpO2below 93%.

Conclusion

The SpO2level marking an increased risk of arterial hypoxemia is not substantially different in acutely ill versus stable patients. In acutely ill patients receiving supplemental oxygen an SpO2target of 95% maximizes the likelihood of maintaining PaO2in the physiological range.