bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on the Anti-Aging Physiological Characteristics and Molecular Mechanism of Camellia Oleifera
Authors: Chen Yongzhong , Chen Jianjun , Zhang Zhen , Xu Yanming , He Zhilong , Liu Caixia , Wang Rui , Wang Xiangnan , Peng Yinghe , Peng Shaofeng , Chen Longshen , Ma Li , Li Zhigang , Tang Wei
Published: May 2021

To study the physiological and molecular regulating mechanism of ancient Camellia oleifera which kept a exuberant vitality for more than one hundred years, leaves of 30a year old and > 100 year old Camellia oleifera were selected as targets. On the basis of the study of the generation and the clearance of reactive oxygen species, sequencing analysis of the transcriptome and expression profiling by high throughput sequencing analysis technique was conducted to study differentially expressed functional genes related to the tree age. It showed that the chlorophyll content and enzyme activities increased in ancient Camellia oleifera leaves. Expression of chlorophyll a/b binding protein gene, auxin related gene, the signal transduction factor and the transcription factor gene in ancient trees were all higher than mature tree. The down regulated gene expression of inductive genes related to protein degradation in ancient tree. Under the comprehensive function of those factors, ancient Camellia oleifera leaves still kept an exuberant vitality which was very useful for studies of stress resistance molecular biology and genetic improvement of Camellia oleifera.
Is there Universality in the Dielectric Response of Polar Glass Formers?
Authors: Ngai K. L. , Wojnarowska Zaneta , Paluch Marian
Published: May 2021

The frequency dispersion of structural α-relaxation obtained from broadband dielectric spectroscopy measurements is relatively narrow in many polar glass-formers. On the other hand, it becomes much broader when probed by other techniques, including photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and mechanical shear modulus. Therefore, the dynamics of glass-formers observed by dielectric permittivity spectroscopy (DS) is called into question. Herein we propose a way to resolve this problem. First, we point out an unresolved Johari-Goldstein (JG) β-relaxation is present nearby the α-relaxation in these polar glass-formers. The dielectric relaxation strength of the JG β-relaxation is sufficiently weak compared to the α-relaxation so that the narrow dielectric frequency dispersion faithfully represents the dynamic heterogeneity and cooperativity of the α-relaxation. However, when the other techniques are used to probe the same glass-former, there is a reduction of relaxation strength of α-relaxation relative to that of the JG β-relaxation. Additionally, the separation between the α and the JG β relaxations in dielectric permittivity) decreases when probed by mechanical shear modulus. These changes in relation of α- to JG β-relaxation, when examined by the other techniques, engender the non-negligible contribution of the latter to the former. Hence the apparent α-relaxation is broader than observed by the dielectric permittivity. The broadening is artificial because it is due to a confluence of the α and JG β relaxations with a disparity in their relaxation strengths much less when the other techniques than by dielectric permittivity are used. This explanation is supported by showing the α-relaxation of polar glass-formers becomes broader when the dielectric data are represented in terms of the electric modulus instead of permittivity. The broadening, in this case, is again due to a reduction of the relaxation strength of the α-relaxation relative to that of the JG β-relaxation in the electric modulus representation. A corollary of the explanation applicable to weakly polar glass-formers having JG β-relaxation widely separated from the α-relaxation is the prediction that the frequency dispersion of dielectric α-relaxation is nearly the same as that of the electric modulus, and there is no significant additional broadening when probed by the other techniques. A host of experimental data from the literature and our new measurements are given to support the explanation for polar glass-formers and the ancillary prediction for weakly polar glass-formers. Thus the narrow frequency dispersion of the intense relaxation in polar glass-formers observed by dielectric permittivity is real and genuinely represents the dynamically heterogeneous and cooperative dynamics of α-relaxation. By contrast, the broad dispersion found by the other techniques is artificial and misleading.
Adsorption study of toxic metal ions using functionalized 3D mesostructured silica
Authors: Torad Nagy , El-Nasr Ahmed Abu , Salahuddin Nehal , ayad mohamad
Published: May 2021

Mesoporous silica KIT-6 was chemically modified using 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane (3-MPTS) via post-grafting method to prepare functionalized mesoporous KIT-6-SO3H with highly acidic ‒SO3H groups. Thin layers of KIT-6-SO3H coating onto quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) electrodes are employed as a meso-KIT-6-QCM sensor for the adsorptive removal of Pd(II), Cd(II) and Cs(I) ions with a high detection sensitivity. From ICP-OES measurements, the calculated adsorption capacity (Qe) values are much coincide with that obtained from QCM sensor. Due to the synergetic cooperation between high surface area, large pore volumes and active ‒SO3H groups, KIT-6-SO3H exhibited a remarkable adsorption capacity for metal ions. The effect of initial solution pH on the metal ions uptake was carefully studied. Kinetics and isotherm studies further reveal that adsorption of metal ions by KIT-6-SO3H obeys second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm, respectively.
Light-powered Self-excited Coupled Oscillators in Huygens ’ Synchrony
Authors: Cheng Quanbao , Li Kai
Published: May 2021

Self-excited motions have the advantages of actively collecting energy from the environment, autonomy, making equipment portable and so on, and a great number of self-excited motion modes have recently been developed which greatly expand the application in active machines. However, there are few studies on the synchronization and group behaviors of self-excited coupled oscillators, which are common in nature. Based on light-powered self-excited oscillator composed of liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) bars, the synchronization of two self-excited coupled oscillators is theoretically studied. Numerical calculations show that self-excited oscillations of the system have two synchronization modes: in-phase mode and anti-phase mode. The time histories of various quantities are calculated to elucidate the mechanism of self-excited oscillation and synchronization. Furthermore, the effects of initial conditions and interaction on the two synchronization modes of the self-excited oscillation are investigated extensively. For strong interactions, the system always develops into in-phase synchronization mode, while for weak interaction, the system will evolve into anti-phase synchronization mode. Meanwhile, the initial condition generally does not affect the synchronization mode and its amplitude. This work will deepen people's understanding of synchronization behaviors of self-excited coupled oscillators, and provide promising applications in energy harvesting, signal monitoring, soft robotics and medical equipment.
Synthesis of Novel Cationic Bleach Activator, N-[4-(N,N,N)-Triethylammoniumchloride- Butanoyl] Butyrolactam, for Cellulose : Optimization and Theoretical Limitations
Authors: Altay Pelin , Yildiirm Erol , Gursoy Nevin Cigdem , Hauser Peter J. , El-Shafei Ahmed
Published: May 2021

Activated bleach systems have the potential to produce more efficient kinetically potent bleaching systems through increased oxidation rates with reducing energy cost, saving time and, hence, causing less cellulose polymer chains damage or degradation than conventional hot peroxide bleaching. In this study, a novel cationic bleach activator, N-[4-(N,N,N)-triethylammoniumchloride- butanoyl] butyrolactam (TBUCB), was synthesized and applied for hot peroxide bleaching to determine the optimum bleaching conditions and theoretical limitations of TBUCB for low temperature bleaching of cellulose. First principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to elucidate the reaction mechanism via identifying plausible transition state(s) of the nucleophilic attack of perhydroxyl anion (HOO-) with different carbonyl carbons and identifying the advantages and limitations of TBUCB activator for hydrogen peroxide bleaching for cellulose. The results obtained showed that whiteness index greater than 80 for cellulose can be achieved by using activated H2O2-TBUCB bleaching system at lower temperature, providing reduced energy cost while maintaining the integrity of cellulose polymer chains.
The Inhibition of High Load Task on Individual Cognition：A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscope Study
Authors: Zhou Chengmao , Song Xiaohui , Ye Changqing
Published: May 2021

Background: Cognitive load plays a vital role in human cognitive activities, and effective measurement and intervention of cognitive load can improve learners' learning effect. As a new method of measurement, physiological measurement can show the neural mechanism of cognitive overload. MRI and EEG, as the first physiological measurement methods, have made great contributions to the related research of cognition，but they have unavoidable flaws to a certain extent. As a new physiological measurement method in recent years, fNIRS can effectively avoid the influence of the above equipment on the experiment. This study uses fNIRS to measure cognitive load with the N-back classic paradigm, aiming to explore whether the sensitivity of the prefrontal area to the task and the difficulty of the task will affect the cognitive load of the individual. Results: Through the GLM model to concretely analyze the brain activation area and use repeated measurement analysis of variance to compare behavioral data, it can be concluded that the prefrontal cortex can be effectively activated under the stimulation of work tasks. In a certain range, the prefrontal lobe activation becomes more obvious with the increase of cognitive load, but when the cognitive load exceeds the maximum limit that the prefrontal lobe can handle, the prefrontal lobe will be in a negative activation state.Conclusion: These results suggest when the task load is appropriate, the PFC can be most effectively activated for working memory processing. Therefore, learners should be analyzed in teaching activities so as to choose appropriate teaching content to ensure the maximization of teaching effect.
The Alzheimer’s Disease THErapy with NEuroaid II (ATHENE) Study: A Double-Blind Randomized Delayed-Start Trial to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of MLC901 (NeuroAiD™II) as an add-on Treatment to Cholinesterase Inhibitors or Memantine in Patients With Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Chen Christopher , Liu Qingshu , Moorakonda Rejesh Babu , Kandiah Nagaendran , Tan Boon Yeow , Villaraza Steven Gayoles , Cano Jemelle , Venketasubramanian Narayanaswamy
Published: May 2021

BackgroundPreclinical and clinical studies indicate a role for MLC901 (NeuroAiDTMII) in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). We investigated its safety and efficacy as add-on therapy to standard treatment and evaluated a disease modifying effect in mild to moderate AD.MethodsMild-moderate probable AD patients by NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, stable on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or memantine (n=125) were randomized to receive MLC901 (early starters) or placebo (delayed starters) for 6 months, followed by a further 6 months during which all patients received MLC901, in a delayed-start design. The primary outcome measure was serious adverse events at 6 months, secondary outcomes included the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) and other cognitive assessment scales.ResultsThere was no significant difference in the risk of serious adverse events between early and delayed starters at month (M) 6 (22.6% vs. 27.0%, risk difference = -4.4%, 90% CI -16.9 to 8.3%). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the risk of adverse events, including the occurrence of stroke or vascular events, between early and delayed starters throughout the 12-month study period. The early-starters differed significantly on ADAS-Cog from the delayed-starters at M9 (mean difference -3.36, 95% CI -5.64 to -1.09) and M12 (mean difference -2.35, 95% CI -5.45 to 0.74). Other cognitive assessment scales showed trends in favor of MLC901.Conclusions﻿MLC901 is a safe adjunct to standard treatment for mild-moderate AD. There is no indication that the risk of any adverse events, including vascular, is increased with MLC901 in the study population. The cognitive outcomes provide support for a disease-modifying effect of MLC901 which requires confirmation in further studies. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03038035. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03038035
PAI-WSIT: a Comprehensive Curated Resource for Cancerous Pathology With Deep Learning
Authors: Zhou Changjiang , Feng Xiaobing , Jin Yi , Gu Harvest F. , Zhao Youcai , Teng Xiaodong , Guo Lingchuan , Ji Jiatong , Jia Shuopeng , Xing Yan , Fan Xiangshan , Liao Jun
Published: May 2021

BackgroundThe possibility of digitizing whole-slide images (WSI) of tissue has led to the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in digital pathology. Advances in precision oncology have resulted in an increasing demand for predictive assays that enable mining of subvisual morphometric phenotypes and might improve patient care ultimately. Hence, a pathologist-annotated and artificial intelligence-empowered platform for integration and analysis of WSI data and molecular detection data in tumors was established, called PAI-WSIT (http://www.paiwsit.com).MethodsThe standardized data collection process was used for data collection in PAI-WSIT, while a multifunctional annotation tool was developed and a user-friendly search engine and web interface were integrated for the database access. Furthermore, deep learning frameworks were applied in two tasks to detect malignant regions and classify phenotypic subtypes in colorectal cancers (CRCs), respectively.ResultsPAI-WSIT recorded 8633 WSIs of 1772 tumor cases, of which CRC from four regional hospitals in China and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were the main ones, as well as cancers in breast, lung, prostate, bladder, and kidneys from two Chinese hospitals. A total of 1298 WSIs with high-quality annotations were evaluated by a panel of 8 pathologists. Gene detection reports of 582 tumor cases were collected. Clinical information of all tumor cases was documented. Besides, we reached overall accuracy of 0.933 in WSI classification for malignant region detection of CRC, and aera under the curves (AUC) of 0.719 on colorectal subtype dataset.ConclusionsCollectively, the annotation function, data integration and AI function analysis of PAI-WSIT provide support for AI-assisted tumor diagnosis, all of which have provided a comprehensive curation of carcinomas pathology.
Environmental Factors Contribute to the Transmissibility of COVID-19: Evidence from an Improved SEIR Model
Authors: Li Jie , Jia Kun , Zhao Wenwu , Yuan Bo , Liu Yanxu
Published: May 2021

COVID-19 is ravaging Brazil, and its spread shows spatial heterogeneity. Changes in the environment have been implicated as potential factors involved in COVID-19 transmission. However, considerable research efforts have not elucidated the risk of environmental factors on COVID-19 transmission from the perspective of infectious disease dynamics. The aim of this study is to model the influence of the environment on COVID-19 transmission and to analyze how the socio-ecological factors affecting the probability of virus transmission in 10 states dramatically shifted during the early stages of the epidemic in Brazil. First, this study used a Pearson correlation to analyze the interconnection between COVID-19 morbidity and socio-ecological factors, and identified factors with significant correlations as the dominant factors affecting COVID-19 transmission. Then, the time-lag effect of dominant factors on the morbidity of COVID-19 was investigated by constructing a distributed lag nonlinear model, and the results were considered to be an improvement over the SEIR model. Lastly, a machine learning method was introduced to explore the nonlinear relationship between the environmental propagation probability and socio-ecological factors. By analyzing the impact of environmental factors on virus transmission, it can be found that population mobility directly caused by human activities had a greater impact on virus transmission than temperature and humidity. The heterogeneity of meteorological factors can be accounted for by the diverse climate patterns in Brazil. The improved SEIR model was adopted to explore the interconnection of COVID-19 transmission and the environment, which revealed a new strategy to probe the causal links between them.
Identification of abnormal lipid profiles promote cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease spectrum via large-scale brain connectivity
Authors: Wang Qing , Zang Feifei , He Cancan , Zhang Zhijun , Xie Chunming
Published: May 2021

Background: Lipid metabolite dysfunction makes a substantial contribution to the clinical signs and pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is unclear that the role of dyslipidemia in the promotion of neuropathological processes and brain functional impairment that subsequently facilitates the progression of AD.Methods: Lipid pathway-based polygenic scores and large-scale resting-state networks (RSNs), was constructed. Together with canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and support vector machine (SVM) model, to explore the effects of lipid-related polygenic scores and blood lipoproteins on the molecular biomarkers, cognitive function, as well as large-scale RSNs. Associations between lipid-related genetic scores, serum lipoproteins, cognitive function, CSF biomarkers and RSNs were examined.Results: Dynamic trajectory of large-scale RSNs was exhibited significantly differential connectivity within-network, one-versus-all-others-network, and pairwise between networks across the AD spectrum (ADS). Importantly, the summative effects of lipid-pathway genetic variants and lipoproteins significantly promoted the process of β-amyloid and Tau levels and cognitive decline, and preferentially targeted functional couplings within- and between RSNs in the ADS, supporting the hypothesis that abnormal lipid profiles in the AD pathogenesis via disrupting large-scale RSNs and accelerating molecular pathological processes, consequently exacerbating cognitive decline.Conclusions: Our findings reveal the importance of lipids in the pathogenesis of AD via disruption of RSNs and acceleration of molecular pathological processes, consequently exacerbating cognitive decline. These findings provide the potential lipid-associated neuroimaging biomarkers for ADS.
Comparison of immunotherapy and prognosis of seizures caused by viral encephalitis and autoimmune encephalitis
Authors: Zhang Xianjun , Han Yanbing , Liu Xiaojuan , Yang Wenqiu , Wang Ting , Zhou Liang , Yang Wufeng , Ya Jinrong , Wang Shitao , Wu Qian
Published: May 2021

Background: The immunotherapy that is more effective for seizures caused by viral encephalitis and autoimmune encephalitis and the long-term use of anti-epileptic drugs is not clear. We aimed to compare the immunotherapy and prognosis of seizures caused by viral encephalitis and autoimmune encephalitis.Methods: Clinical data of 121 patients with seizures caused by viral encephalitis and autoimmune encephalitis diagnosed and treated in the two largest tertiary general hospitals in the Yunnan Province were retrospectively collected to compare the immunotherapy used. Dynamic follow-up was performed to observe seizures and the use of antiepileptic drugs.Results: The seizure-free rates at 6 months and 12 months after the onset of viral encephalitis were 77.8% and 80.8%, respectively. In total, 79.1% of autoimmune encephalitis cases were seizure-free at 6 months after onset, and the seizure-free rate at 12 months was 91.9%. A total of 75.0% of viral encephalitis and 67.7% of autoimmune encephalitis patients discontinued antiepileptic drugs and were seizure-free at 12 months after onset. Patients with viral encephalitis treated with glucocorticoids alone had a lower risk of seizures after the acute phase than those treated with glucocorticoids combined with immunoglobulin (P < 0.05). The risk of seizures in patients with autoimmune encephalitis treated with glucocorticoids combined with immunoglobulin was lower than that in patients treated with glucocorticoids and immunoglobulin alone (P < 0.05).Conclusions: Immunotherapy may improve the seizure prognosis of patients with acute encephalitis. The prognosis of seizures due to viral encephalitis may be determined as early as 6 months after onset, while the seizure outcome of autoimmune encephalitis is further improved 12 months after onset.
Potential Economic Value of Water Resource Sustainability for Sustainable Environment: A Case Study in South Sumatra, Indonesia
Authors: Juniah Restu , Toha Muhammad Taufik , Zakir Syaifudin , Rahmi Hisni
Published: May 2021

Effective water resource management offers a very significant value across social, economic, commercial and environmental application. For this fundamental reason, adequate sustainability becomes equally crucial. Therefore, activities geared towards the depletion in quantity, quality, and loss of potable water resources, particularly for communities, demand urgent reconsiderations. Erosion in coal mining land causes depletion in water quantity and quality, as well as inadequate drinking water resources for surrounding communities, making water resources unsustainable. Meanwhile, reclamation reduces erosion, but is unable to restore water depletion optimally, thus, these resources remain unsustainable. these resources remain unsustainable. However, recycling depleted water utilization for drinking provides economic value for the environment, as well as the community’s drinking water resources’ availability and sustainability. The objectives of this study were to develop water resource sustainability concept for a sustainable environment by analyzing the potential economic value and secondly, calculate the water resource value due to erosion, reclamation, domestic and economic importance, by recycling efforts. The method used in this study was the Extended NPV. Furthermore, the total potential economic value of water resources loss resulting in water resource unsustainability was IDR 1,137,621,671,375 or IDR 1.14 trillion, while the potential economic value of depleted water utilization for drinking was IDR 2,298,339,797,000 or IDR 2.3 trillion. Therefore, this utilization provides potential economic value worth IDR 1.16 trillion, for the resources’ sustainability in the TAL area of PTBA. The study’s results found and recommended depleted water utilization for drinking as a suitable method to replace water resources lost due to erosion, community drinking water resource loss, and to discover a sustainable environment’s water resources sustainability concept. In addition, the study formulates environmental economics as a new mining science related to natural resource economics as well as mining, for sustainable water resources and mining environment.
Magnetohydrodynamics Mixed Convective Couple Stress Hybrid Nanofluid Darcy-Forchheimer Flow through a Rotating Porous Space
Authors: Alharbi F.M , Jawad Muhammad , Zubair Muhammad , Naeem Muhammad , Amin Ibn-i- , Jan Rashid
Published: May 2021

In this study, we consider the magnetohydrodynamics mixed convective couple stress hybrid nanofluid Darcy-Forchheimer flow through a rotating porous space with velocity slip condition. The nonlinear thermal stratification and thermal radiation of Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are discussed in detail. For relative analysis, we have taken the nanoparticals samples of Aluminum oxides (Al2O3) and Titanium dioxide (TiO2). The rotation in the disk is produces for the generation of the flow in the system.Furthermore, the variable permeability and porosity of porous space is regarded as Darcy-Forchheimer expression. The resulting nonlinear system of ODE’s are solved by Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM). The governing of several sundry parameters i.e. “Couple Stress, coefficient of inertia, radiation parameter, magnetic parameter, Prandtl number, heat source or sink parameter” are presented both graphically as well as in numerical tables. The behavior of the flow predicted that the increase of both mixed convection and couple stress parameters cause increase in the momentum profile. Temperature of the system rises for higher values of radiation parameter and magnetic parameter. The higher local heat transfer rate of Aluminum oxides (Al2O3) and Titanium oxide (TiO2)or water is examined as compared to hybrid nanofluid.
Are we asking the right questions? Working with the LGBTQ+ community to prioritise healthcare research
Authors: Crowe Sally , Barker Eleanor , Roberts Meg , Lloyd Lucy , de Barros Clara M , Rebelo-Harris Ben , Meads Catherine , Saunders Catherine L
Published: May 2021

Conversations about research priorities with members of the public are rarely designed specifically to include people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) and are not researchers. We carried out a rapid review of published research priority sets covering LGBTQ+ topics, and an online workshop. The rapid review identified 18 LGBTQ+ research priority sets. Some focussed on specific populations such as women or men, younger or older people or people living within families. Five addressed transgender and gender non- conforming populations. All of the research priority sets originated from English-speaking, high and middle-income countries (UK, US, Canada, and Australia), and date from 2016 onwards. Prioritization approaches were wide-ranging from personal commentary to expert workshops and surveys. Participants involved in setting priorities mostly included research academics, health practitioners and advocacy organisations, two studies involved LGBTQ+ public in their process. Research priorities identified in this review were then grouped into themes which were prioritised during the workshop. For the workshop, participants were recruited using local (Cambridge, UK) LGBTQ+ networks and a national advert to a public involvement in research matching website to take part in an online discussion workshop. Those that took part were offered payment for their time in preparing for the workshop and taking part. Participants personal priorities and experiences contributed to a consensus development process and a final ranked list of seven research themes. Participants’ experiences of healthcare, mental health advocacy, care homes, caring responsibilities, schools and family units added additional contexts. These ranged from living with neurodiversity, and disability as well as experiencing social and economic inequalities and multigenerational health issues. From the workshop the three research themes prioritised were: healthcare services delivery, prevention, and particular challenges /intersectionality of people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. Research themes interconnected in many ways and this was demonstrated by the comments from workshop participants. This paper offers insights into why these priorities were important from participants’ perspectives and detail about how to run an inclusive and respectful public involvement research exercise. The workshop outcomes are currently being used to inform research funding applications by CLS.
Effects of Switching From Degludec to Glargine U300 in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Having Large Day-to-day Glycemic Variability: a Retrospective Study
Authors: Sawamura Toshitaka , Karashima Shigehiro , Ohbatake Azusa , Higashitani Takuya , Katsuda Yuko , Yamamoto Rika , Aono Daisuke , Kometani Mitsuhiro , Takeda Yoshiyu , Yoneda Takashi
Published: May 2021

Background: Degludec (Deg) and Glargine U300 (Gla-300) are new insulin analogues with longer and smoother pharmacodynamic action than Glargine U100. Both improve glycemic variability (GV) unlike Glargine U100. However, it is not clear which insulin analogue has a better effect on GV in insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes. We evaluated the effects of switching from Deg to Gla-300 on day-to-day GV in patients with insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes treated with Deg.Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 22 insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes patients having large day-to-day GV or frequent hypoglycemia who were treated with multiple insulin injection therapy including Deg and were advised to switch from Deg to Gla-300. We evaluated day-to-day GV and frequency of hypoglycemia in two groups. The first group included patients whose treatment was changed to Gla-300, and the second group included patients who opted to continue receiving Deg. We evaluated the change in standard deviation (SD) of fasting blood glucose (SD-FBG) calculated from self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) and frequency of hypoglycemia (total, severe, and nocturnal).Results: SD-FBG and frequency of nocturnal hypoglycemia decreased in Gla-300 group compared to those in Deg group. The change in SD-FBG had a negative correlation with SD-FBG and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) at baseline and positive correlation with serum albumin levels at baseline in Gla-300 group. On the other hands, the change in SD-FBG had no correlation with these markers in Deg group.Conclusions: Switching from Deg to Gla-300 effectively stabilized blood glucose levels and decreased nocturnal hypoglycemia in insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes treated with Deg, especially in cases with low serum albumin, large GV, and high HbA1c.
A Machine Learning Framework for Predicting Drug-drug Interactions
Authors: Mei Suyu , Zhang Kun
Published: May 2021

Understanding drug-drug interaction is an essential step to reduce the risk of adverse drug events before clinical drug co-prescription. Existing methods commonly integrate multiple heterogeneous data sources to increase model performance but result in a high model complexity. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind drug-drug interactions and reserve rational biological interpretability is a major concern in computational modeling. In this study, we propose a simple representation of drug target profiles to depict drug pairs, based on which an l2-regularized logistic regression model is built to predict drug-drug interactions. In addition, we develop several statistical metrics to measure the communication intensity, interaction efficacy and action range between two drugs in the context of human protein-protein interaction networks and signaling pathways. Cross validation and independent test show that the simple feature representation via drug target profiles is effective to predict drug-drug interactions and outperforms the existing data integration methods. Statistical results show that two drugs easily interact when they target common genes, or their target genes communicate with each other via short paths in protein-protein interaction networks or through cross-talks between signaling pathways. The unravelled mechanisms provide biological insights into potential pharmacological risks of known drug-drug interactions and drug target genes.
The relationship between health IT characteristics and organizational variables among German healthcare workers
Authors: Gaube Susanne , Cecil Julia , Wagner Simon , Schicho Andreas
Published: May 2021

Health information technologies (HITs) are widely employed in healthcare and are supposed to improve quality of care and patient safety. However, so far, their implementation has shown mixed results, which might be explainable by understudied psychological factors of human-HIT interaction. Therefore, the present study investigates the association between the perception of HIT characteristics and psychological and organizational variables among 445 healthcare workers via a cross-sectional online survey in Germany. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that good HIT usability was associated with lower levels of techno-overload and lower IT-related strain. In turn, experiencing techno-overload and IT-related strain was associated with lower job satisfaction. An effective error management culture at the workplace was linked to higher job satisfaction and a slightly lower frequency of self-reported medical errors. About 69% of surveyed healthcare workers reported making errors less frequently than their colleagues, suggesting a bias in either the perception or reporting of errors. In conclusion, the study’s findings indicate that ensuring high perceived usability when implementing HITs is crucial to avoiding frustration among healthcare workers and keeping them satisfied. Additonaly healthcare facilities should invest in error management programs since error management culture is linked to other important organizational variables.
Optimal Photon Energy Transfer on Titanium Targets for Laser Thrusters
Authors: Marcu Aurelian , Stafe Mihai , Mihail-Gabriel Barbuta , Razvan Ungureanu , Serbanescu Mihai , Calin Bogdan , Nicolae Puscas
Published: May 2021

Using two infrared pulsed lasers systems: a picosecond solid-state Nd:YAG laser with tunable repetition rate (400 kHz - 1MHz) working in a burst mode of multi-pulse train and a femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser amplifier with tunable pulse duration inthe range of tens of femtoseconds up to tens of picoseconds, working in single-shot mode (TEWALASS facility from CETAL-NILPRP), we have investigated the optimal laser parameters for kinetic energy transfer to a titanium target for laser-thrustapplications. In the single-pulse regime, we controlled the power density by changing both duration and pulse energy. Inthe multi-pulse regime, the train’s number of pulses (burst length), and the pulse energy variation were investigated. Heatpropagation and photon reflection-based models were used to simulate obtained experimental results. In the single-pulseregime, optimal kinetic energy transfer was obtained for power densities of about 500 times the ablation threshold correspondingto the specific laser pulse duration. In multi-pulse regimes, the optimal number of pulses per train increases with the trainfrequency and decreases with the pulse power density. An ideal energy transfer efficiency resulting from our experiments andsimulations is close to around 0.02%.
Global Profiling of Lysine Crotonylation in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotypic Remodeling
Authors: Cao Shan-hu , Yue Lin , Dong Li-Hua
Published: May 2021

Objective: Crotonylation of histones is a recently discovered type of post-translational modification that can regulate gene expression. However, the function of crotonylation on nonhistone proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) is unclear. In this study, we aim to use modification and proteomic analysis to find the cellular characteristic of crotonylated nonhistone proteins for deep research.Methods: In this article, we performed modification and proteomic analysis of VSMCs before and after platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) stimulation. The crotonylated pan-antibody was used to enrich the protein and then subjected to high-throughput mass spectrometry analysis. Results: As a result, there were 2138 crotonylation sites in 534 proteins. These proteins are widely distributed in the cytoplasm, nucleus, and mitochondria, and participate in the cell metabolism processes such as amino acid synthesis, glycolysis, and glycogen synthesis. Conclusions: In summary, our bioinformatics shows that nonhistone crotonylation plays an important role in the VSMC phenotypic transformation induced by PDGF-BB stimulation.
Idiopathic Megacolon in an Adolescent Girl: a Case Report on a Rare Disease
Authors: Bahrudin Sharhanin , Moahamd Abdul Malek , Nor Azmi Mohd , Elagili Faisal
Published: May 2021

Introduction: Idiopathic Megacolon is a rare condition where there is persistent dilatation of colon in the absence of identifiable cause. Symptoms start as early as in childhood or in adulthood. Colectomy have shown to have high success rate in patient with idiopathic megacolon. We reported a case of an adolescent girl with idiopathic megacolon that was successfully treated with colectomy.Presentation of case: A 15 years old girl presented with a complaint of abdominal pain associated with gradual abdominal distension for 1 week duration, not passing flatus and had multiple episodes of vomiting. She was diagnosed to have sigmoid volvulus and underwent endoscopy decompression, however symptoms recurred. Segmental colectomy was performed and she had an uneventful recovery. Discussion: Patient presented with acute intestinal obstruction attributed to sigmoid volvulus with a history of constipation. A diagnostic dilemma between Hirschsprung’s disease with other causes of megacolon occurred as these diseases have similar presenting symptoms. A confirm histopathology of presence of ganglionic cells within the plexus exclude the diagnosis of Hirschsprung’s disease hence the diagnosis of Idiopathic Megacolon was made. Segmental colectomy give good result in relieving patient symptoms of abdominal pain and constipation and one of the recommended surgical options in treating Idiopathic Megacolon.Conclusion: Idiopathic megacolon is a rare disease and for a long time has been a disease of exclusion. Rectal biopsy is important to exclude the diagnosis of Hirschsprung’s Disease. There are wide variety of surgical treatment available in treating Idiopathic megacolon. Segmental Colectomy have shown good success rate.
Using Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression to Examine the Association Between Socioeconomic Factors and Hysterectomy Incidence in Wallonia, Belgium
Authors: Poliart Aline Clara , Kirakoya-Samadoulougou Fati , Ouédraogo Mady , Collart Philippe , Dubourg Dominique , Samadoulougou Sékou
Published: May 2021

Background: Various studies have investigated geographical variations in the incidence of hysterectomy in Western countries and analyzed socioeconomic factors to explain those variations. However, few studies have used spatial analysis to characterize them. Geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR) explores the spatially varying impacts of covariates across a study area and focuses attention on local variations. Given the potential of GWPR to guide decision-making, this study aimed to describe the geographical distribution of hysterectomy incidence for benign indications in women older than 15 years old (15+) at the municipal level in Wallonia (southern region of Belgium) and to analyze potential associations with socioeconomic factors (‘Education/training’, ‘Income and purchasing power’ and ‘Health and care’) influencing the use of this surgery.Methods: We carried out an ecological study on data for women aged 15 + living in one of the 262 Walloon municipalities who underwent hysterectomies for benign indications between 2012 and 2014. We linked standardized hysterectomy rates to three municipal-level socioeconomic factors (‘Education/training’, ‘Income and purchasing power’ and ‘Health and care’). Then, a generalized linear model (GLM) for Poisson regression and a GWPR were applied to study the relationships between hysterectomy incidence and socioeconomic covariates in Wallonia.Results: The hysterectomy rate varied across the region. The GLM Poisson regression revealed a positive and significant association between the hysterectomy rate and ‘Income and purchasing power’, and a negative and significant association between hysterectomies and ‘Health and care’. The same associations were seen in the GWPR model. The latter demonstrated that the association between hysterectomies and ‘Education and training’ ranged from negative to positive over the study area.Conclusions: Hysterectomy incidence was shown to have nonstationary relationships with socioeconomic factors. These results support the development of targeted interventions for a more appropriate use of this surgery.
Factors Associated with Mammographic Breast Density among Premenopausal and Menopausal Women in Karachi Pakistan
Authors: Shamsi Uzma , Afzal Shaista , Shamsi Azra , Azam Iqbal , Callen David
Published: May 2021

Background: There are no studies done to evaluate the distribution of mammographic breast density and factors associated with it among Pakistani women. Methods: Participants included 477 women, who had received either diagnostic or screening mammography at two hospitals in Karachi Pakistan. Mammographic breast density was assessed using the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System. In person interviews were conducted using a detailed questionnaire, to assess risk factors of interest, and venous blood was collected to measure serum vitamin D level at the end of the interview. To determine the association of potential factors with mammographic breast density, multivariable polytomous logistic regression was used. Results: High-density mammographic breast density (heterogeneously and dense categories) was found in 62.4 % of women. There was a significant association of both heterogeneously dense and dense breasts with women of a younger age group < 45 years (OR= 2.68, 95% CI= 1.60-4.49) and (OR= 4.83, 95% CI= 2.54-9.16) respectively. Women with heterogeneously dense and dense breasts vs. fatty and fibroglandular breasts had a higher history of benign breast disease (OR = 1.90, 95% CI= 1.14–3.17) and (OR= 3.61, 95%CI= 1.90-6.86) respectively. There was an inverse relationship between breast density and body mass index. Women with dense breasts and heterogeneously dense breasts had lower body mass index (OR= 0.94 95% CI= 0.90-0.99) & (OR= 0.81, 95%CI= 0.76-0.87) respectively. There was no association of mammographic breast density with serum vitamin D levels, diet, and breast cancer. Conclusion: The findings of a positive association of higher mammographic density with younger age and benign breast disease and a negative association between body mass index and breast density are important findings that need to be considered in developing screening guidelines for the Pakistani population.
Biodeterioration of Microplastics: A promising step towards Plastics Waste Management
Authors: Tareen Aatikah , Iqbal Atia , Jamil Nazia
Published: May 2021

Polyethylene and Polyester materials are resistant to degradation and found as significant source of microplastics pollution, which is emerging concern. In the present study, potential of dumped site bacterial community was evaluated. After primary screening it was observed that 68.5% were linear low-density polyethylene, 33.3% were high-density and 12.9% were Polyester degraders. Up to five strains were chosen for secondary screening, where they were monitored by FTIR, SEM and weight loss degradation trials. Major results were observed by Alcaligenes faecalis (MK517568) and Bacillus cereus (MK517567), as they show highest degradation activity among others. Alcaligenes faecalis (MK517568) degrade LLDPE by 3.5%, HDPE by 5.8% and Polyester by 17.3%. Bacillus cereus (MK517567) better tolerated at 30oC and degrade Polyester by 29%. Changes in infrared spectra indicated degradation pathways of different strains with types of plastics targeted. Through SEM analysis, groves, piths and holes were observed on surface. These findings suggest that soil bacteria develop effective mechanism for degradation of microplastics and beads that enables them to utilize plastics as source of energy without need of pre-treatments, which highlights importance of these soil bacteria for fate of effective plastic waste management in soil environment.
WITHDRAWN: Experimental Study on the Law of Energy Dissipation and Damage in Coal Body Based on Local Tensile-Sliding Effect
Authors: Lv Xiangfeng , Li Xinyue , Pan Yishan
Published: May 2021

The slippage initiation and induced instability of roadway surrounding rock are highly likely to cause dynamic disasters, severely influencing the safety production of mining. With the optical-mechanical monitoring test of the deformation localization of energy dissipation, this study established the optical index of coal deformation equilibrium degree under load, and obtained the evolution law of coal deformation equilibrium degree. After analyzing the relationship between tensile-sliding effect and mechanical behavior of coal deformation field, it proposed the strain energy ratio coefficient. The results indicate that the strength reduction of coal body is affected by the deformation accumulation of loading displacement field. The sliding displacement of the stable sliding type specimen occurs 5.5s earlier than tensile displacement，which is 4.4s longer than the instantaneous instability type specimen. The instability type of coal is closely related to the tangent angle of the strain energy ratio coefficient and the damage persistence characteristics. The damage accumulation of stable equal amplitude contributes to the stable failure, and the damage accumulation of interval equal amplitude influences the instantaneous instability development. The fracture expansion stage is the main stage of energy consumption damage accumulation. That is, the main energy consumption damage accumulation stage of the stable slip coal is the stable crack expansion stage, with the damage proportion of 35.89%, while the damage proportion of instantaneous instability coal in the unsteady crack expansion stage is 84.226%. The study provides theoretical reference for the fracture law and risk monitoring of coal slippage.
Successful pregnancy in an ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor patient with heterologous elements: case report and literature review
Authors: Han Yali , Hao Shaohua , Guo Fengyi , Geng Lili , Li Jie , Du Xue
Published: May 2021

Background: Ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor (SLCT) is an extremely rare sex–cord stromal tumor of the ovary. Notably, ovarian SLCT with mucinous epithelium and liposarcoma is even rarer.There is also evidence that the presence of heterologous elements is a poor prognostic factor of SLCTs. Very often, ovarian SLCT patient first presents with high androgen levels and sometimes a clarge mass in the pelvic cavity, making it difficult for early diagnosis. Case presentation: In this study, we reported a SLCT patient with heterologous elements and elevated the serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. A 22-year old nulliparous female was first admitted with clinical symptoms of abdominal pain, a large mass in the pelvic cavity and elevated serum AFP levels, and for this she underwent left adnexectomy. Pathological examination revealed ovarian SLCT with intestinal type mucinous epithelium and liposarcoma, and immunohistochemical staining revealed positive staining for AFP in the intestinal type mucinous epithelium. The patient became pregnant naturally four years later, but SLCT was found in the opposite ovary with liposarcoma but no significant increase in serum AFP levels.Further, we reviewed the literature in order to improve preoperative diagnosis and evaluation of long-term prognosis of SLCTs with heterologous elements.Conclusion: The increase in serum AFP levels could be used for preoperative diagnosis of the presence of heterologous elements and the postoperative recurrence.