bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Ngenuity and Traditional Microscope in Vitreoretinal Surgeries from Surgeon’s Perspective
Authors: Singh Niharika , Priya Swathi , Shah Haard , Raman Rajiv
Published: March 2021

Purpose: To compare Ngenuity with traditional microscope in vitreoretinal surgeries from surgeon’s perspective Methods: In this retrospective study, we recruited patients who have underwent vitreoretinal (VR) surgeries from 1st August 2017 to 30th August 2017. Patient’s clinical parameters were extracted from electronic medical records (EMR), and also video recordings of the surgeries using the Ngenuity 3D visualization system were analysed. The surgeons were asked to compare Ngenuity 3D visualization system and traditional microscope during each step of the surgery. We administered a questionnaire to compare the two modalities in each step during the surgery in terms of the preferred system, comfort, ergonomic and visual parameters. Results: Out of 31 eyes, primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) was 35% (11 eyes), complex recurrent RRD was 13% (4 eyes) and diabetic TRD was 16% (3 eyes). The educational value, upper body comfort and image resolution was found to be better with Ngenuity than microscope. The depth of perception, field of view and the lower body comfort was graded as similar and time lag was experienced more with Ngenuity. On comparison of the preference of traditional microscope and Ngenuity during surgical steps, preference for Ngenuity was significantly more for posterior segment steps like the truncation of cone (p= <0.00001), PVD induction (p= 0.0001), Endo laser (p=0.0001), Fluid gas exchange (p= 0.0005) and tamponade injection (p=<0.00001). Conclusions: Ngenuity provided improved neck and upper body comfort, greater field of view and was more preferred for posterior segment procedures than anterior segment during VR surgeries.
Assessing Research Misconduct in Iran: A Perspective from Iranian Medical Faculty Members
Authors: Shamsoddin Erfan , Torkashvand Zahra , Sofi-Mahmudi Ahmad , Janani Leila , Kabiri Payam , Gooshki Ehsan Shamsi , Mesgarpour Bita
Published: March 2021

Background

Research misconduct is a global concern in almost every scientific field. There is no comprehensive data regarding the prevalence of research misconduct among Iran's medical faculties. This study aims to conduct a nationwide survey regarding research misconduct in the faculty members of medical universities in Iran.
Methods

We used the Persian version of the research misconduct questionnaire (PRMQ) in an online survey on the Google Forms platform. Using Google Froms, the survey link was sent to a systematic random sample of medical faculty members in Iran (N = 4986). Descriptive analyses were performed on the individual items of PRMQ, with frequencies and percentages for categorical and Likert-type response items and means and standard deviation (S.D.) for continuous variables. Chi-square analysis was conducted to test hypotheses examining differences in frequency of responses related to factors influencing misconduct. All the analyses were performed using R 3.6.0.
Results

The response rate was 13.8% (692 responses). Nearly three-quarters (N = 499, 72.1%) of the respondents had first-hand witted some instances of research misconduct during the previous year. Academic scholars in various tenure categories rated investigator competitiveness differently (df:9, p = 0.008), with the highest difference in the mean scores between tenure categories one (TC1) (2.7, SD:0.87) and four (2.4, SD:0.77). Only 18.5% of participants perceived the effectiveness of their associated organization’s rules for reducing research misconduct to be high or very high. Pressure for tenure was identified as the most perceived as having a strong behavioral influence on engaging in research misconduct (80.2%).
Conclusions

Research misconduct is a living trouble among medical faculty members in Iran and needs a more proactive approach to tackle.
Study the Oxygen Vacancies and Fe Oxidation States in CaFeO3-δ Perovskite Nanomaterial
Authors: khalaf eid , Abdel-Khalek E. K. , Motawea M. A. , Aboelnasr Mohamed A. , El-Bahnasawy H. H.
Published: March 2021

In this study, CaFeO3-δ perovskite nanomaterial has been synthesized by sol-gel method. The oxygen vacancies and Fe oxidation states in CaFeO3-δ perovskite nanomaterial were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetry analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Rietveld analysis of the XRD shows that the sample was crystallized in orthorhombic perovskite structure with space group pcmn. The oxygen vacancies and oxidation states of Fe ions in CaFeO3-δ sample were determined from Mössbauer spectroscopy. XPS shows the presence of different states of Fe ions and oxygen vacancies in the surface of CaFeO3-δ sample. The thermal and magnetic properties of this sample have been investigated.
lncRNA-ENST00000513396 is associated with multiple tumor signaling pathways, promotes the cell proliferation, invasion and migration in colorectal cancer
Authors: Zhu Jinxin , Wang Hui , Du Yangbin , He Zhenyu
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Recently, many studies have revealed that Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were abundant in kinds of cells and might have multiple functions in a wide range of biological processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis, or cell migration. However, the role of lncRNA in the development of colorectal cancer has not been systematically reported and needs to be studied.
Methods

We applied Agilent microarray in tumoral tissues and paired para-cancer tissues for detecting different expression of lncRNAs and mRNAs. Bioinformatics analysis were used to identify the relationship between lncRNAs and corresponding mRNAs and the potential function of the lncRNAs. lncRNA-ENST00000430471 was chosen for further functional study through constructing overexpression plasmid, cell invasion, and cell migration.
Results

We found that 460 lncRNAs were significantly deregulated in cancer tissues. More importantly, they may participate in a variety of tumor-related signaling pathways through functional enrichment analysis with their co-expressed mRNAs, suggesting that these lncRNAs might play critical roles in tumorigenesis and development. Recently, we found lncRNA-ENST00000513396 was significantly upregulated in cancer tissues compared with para-cancer tissues. The overexpression of ENST00000513396 promotes tumor cell proliferation. Meanwhile ENST00000430471 could promote migration and invasion ability of colorectal cells.
Conclusion

LncRNAs play an important role in the development of colorectal cancer. Differentially expressed lncRNAs are associated with multiple tumor signaling pathways. Overexpression of lncRNA- ENST00000513396 in colorectal cancer cells can promote tumor cell proliferation and increase the ability of cell invasion and migration, which leads to the development of tumor.
Investigation of the Polishing Mechanism of Magnetorheological Elastic Polishing Composites
Authors: Xu Zhiqiang , Wang Jun , Wang Qiuliang , Wu Heng , Zhang Gaofeng , Jiang Shengqiang
Published: March 2021

Computer-controlled ultra-precision polishing technology is widely used for high-quality surface processing. However, its polishing tool has some shortcomings, such as limited adaptability to the complex surface and easy to cause surface damage. Therefore, a new smart material-based abrasive tool named magnetorheological elastic polishing composites (MREPCs) and its flexible polishing method are proposed. This study first prepared MREPCs and developed a polishing tool for MREPCs. Then, the material properties of MREPCs were obtained by theoretical and experimental analysis, and the tool influence function (TIF) of the hemispherical MRPECs was established according to the Hertz contact theory, the variable rheological theory and the Preston equation. Finally, the TIF and the polishing performance of MREPCs were verified by polishing experiments. The results show that the theoretical and the experimentally measured TIF models have a high coincidence, and the developed MREPCs can remove surface material with high precision. The above preliminary study indicates that MREPCs are promising for ultra-precision machining of small-sized parts with complex profiles.
Cyclophilin A/CD147 Induces the Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition and Renal Fibrosis in Chronic Allograft Dysfunction by Regulating MAPK Signaling
Authors: Liu Xuzhong , Tang Zhiwang , Jiang Xi , Wang Tianwei , Zhao Lun , Xu Zongyuan , Liu Kun
Published: March 2021

Objectives: Our study was designed to explore the role of Cyclophilin A (CyPA)/CD147 interactions in renal allograft fibrosis and chronic allograft dysfunction (CAD). Methods and materials: A rat renal transplant model with significant CAD was successfully identified. Renal allograft tissues and blood samples were collected. HE, Masson and immunohistochemistry staining were performed. Then human HK-2 cells were intervened by certain concentrations of CyPA, and total protein and mRNA were extracted. Western blot assay and PCR were performed to explore the protein and mRNA expression of CyPA, CD147 and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related biomarkers. CD147 siRNA and specific inhibitor of MAPK were used to explore the involved cellular mechanism.Results: We have successfully established and identified a 20-weeks renal transplant CAD model. We observed significant distributed and expressed CyPA and CD147 in the renal allograft fibrosis tissues. We also found the significant expression of CD147 and EMT-related markers in the HK-2 cells stimulated by CyPA. The CD147 siRNA confirmed the previous results in vitro. The selective inhibition of MAPK suggested the notable role of MAPK signaling pathway in the CyP/CD147 interactions involved in renal allograft fibrosis.Conclusions: Our study reported the positive relationship of CyPA/CD147 interactions with the renal allograft dysfunction. In vitro study suggested that CyPA could bind to CD147 and then induce the development of EMT process by MAPK signaling, thus contributing to the renal allograft fibrosis and CAD.
Transfluthrin Eave-Positioned Targeted Insecticide (EPTI) Reduces Human Landing Rate of Pyrethroid Resistant and Susceptible Malaria Vectors in a Semi-Field Simulated Peridomestic Space
Authors: Tambwe Mgeni , Moore Sarah J , Hofer Lorenz , Kibondo Ummi Abdul , Saddler Adam
Published: March 2021

Introduction: Volatile pyrethroids (VPs) are proven to reduce human–vector contact for mosquito vectors. With increasing resistance to pyrethroids in mosquitoes, the efficacy of VPs such as transfluthrin may be compromised. Therefore, experiments were conducted to determine if the efficacy of transfluthrin eave-positioned targeted insecticide (EPTI) depends on the resistance status of malaria vectors.Methods: Ribbons treated with 5.25 g transfluthrin or untreated controls were used around the eaves of an experimental hut as EPTI inside a semi-field system. Mosquito strains with different levels of pyrethroid resistance were released simultaneously, recaptured by means of human landing catches (HLCs) conducted 2.5 m outside the hut, and monitored for 24-hour mortality. Technical-grade (TG) transfluthrin was used, followed by emulsifiable concentrate (EC) transfluthrin and additional mosquito strains. Generalised linear mixed models with binomial distribution were used to determine the impact of transfluthrin and mosquito strain on mosquito landing rates and 24-hour mortality. Results: A significant interaction between strain and treatment indicated that the effect of the transfluthrin EPTI varied between three strains under investigation (P < 0.001). Whether TG or EC, EPTI significantly reduced the odds of landing of pyrethroid-susceptible mosquitoes Anopheles gambiae (Ifakara) and An. gambiae (Kisumu) and of pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes An. arabiensis (Mbita), An. gambiae Kisumu knockdown-resistant (Kisumu-kdr) and An. arabiensis (Kingani), with PE > 40% for all strains (P < 0.001). In the control, An. gambiae mosquitoes were more likely to land than An. arabiensis (P < 0.05). Conclusions: This study confirms that the efficacy of EPTI was not dependent on mosquito pyrethroid resistance status. However, it remains unclear whether resistance to pyrethroids undermines the efficacy of transfluthrin for bite prevention. It is important to consider mosquito anthropophagy, strain, years of colonisation and fitness when assessing vector control interventions. Overall, these findings suggest that transfluthrin-treated EPTI could be useful in areas with highly pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes. At this dosage, transfluthrin EPTI cannot be used to kill exposed mosquitoes.
Perceived and Actual Risks of Drought : Household and Expert Views From Lower Teesta River Basin of Northern Bangladesh
Authors: Salam Roquia , Ghose Bonosri , Shill Badhon Kumar , Islam Md. Aminul , Islam A R M Towfiqul , Sattar Md. Abdus , Alam G M Monirul , Ahmed Bayes
Published: March 2021

Disaster risk perception, as well as risk appraisal, play a pivotal role in making the disaster risk reduction policy. This study examines the actual vs perceived drought risks by constructing risk indices at the household and expert levels using survey data from the lower Teesta River Basin in northern Bangladesh. Survey data were collected from 450 farmers based on the structural questionnaire. A composite drought risk index was developed to understand households’ perceived and actual risks in the designated areas. The results show that the actual and perceived risk values differ significantly among the three designated sites of Ganai, Ismail, and Par Sekh Sundar. The risk levels also differ significantly across the household’s gender, income, occupation, and educational attainment. People with poor socio-economic status are more prone to drought risk than others. Results also reveal that the mean level of perceived risk agrees well with the actual risk; females perceive comparatively higher risk than males. Expert views on drought risk are similar to the individual household level perceived risk. The outcomes of this study would help the policy-makers and disaster managers to understand the concrete risk scenarios of the study areas and to take timely and appropriate disaster risk reduction actions for ensuring a drought-resistant society.
Prevalence of Bacterial Infections and the use of Multiplex Pcr Assay for Rapid Detection in Cultured Fish in Ghana.
Authors: Diyie Rhoda Lims , Aheto Dennis W. , Osei-Atweneboana Mike Y. , Armah Emmanuel , Yankson Kobina
Published: March 2021

The modern and rapid avenue for detecting pathogens provided by molecular genetic techniques including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was explored in the present study to identify prevalent disease pathogens, from six aquaculture farms and in two commonly cultured fish in Ghana. The specific detection was carried out directly on clinical samples of naturally infected fish (O. niloticus and C. gariepinus) based on syber-mix reaction protocol in traditional PCR. Molecular diagnostic techniques allowed the detection of six most common and important bacteria pathogens in aquaculture farms in Ghana. Also, three of the pathogens (Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus iniae and Staphylococcus aureus) were simultaneously isolated in a multiplex reaction. The results indicated 90% - 100% sensitivity and specificity for each of the six bacterial pathogens tested. Streptococcosis and motile aeromonad septicemia were found to be highly prevalent in most aquaculture farms in Ghana with severity in infections traced to the 85.7% and 14.9% co-infections with all six target pathogens in catfish and tilapia respectively. Prevalence rate of infections significantly correlated with variations in salinity, conductivity and dissolved oxygen concentrations in the thermal stressed condition of the culture water.
Dynamic Response Characteristics of a Toppling Rock Slope Under Seismic Excitation using Time-frequency Joint Analysis Method: A Case Study from the Southwest of Sichuan Basin, China
Authors: Song Danqing , chen zhuo , Dong Lihu , Du Han
Published: March 2021

The two-dimensional dynamic analysis was used to study the dynamic response characteristics of a toppling rock slope based on the time-frequency joint analysis method using the FLAC (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua). Two-dimensional dynamic analyses were carried out on two numerical models. The results of the numerical dynamic analyses show that the toppling slope has an topographic and geological dynamic amplification effect. There are an elevation and surface dynamic amplification effect in the toppling slope. The impacts of the structural planes in the models on their wave propagation characteristics and magnification effect were discussed. Directions of ground motion have impacts on the dynamic response of the models. Based on the frequency-domain analysis, the relationship between the frequency of waves and the dynamic response of the models was further studied. The geological structure have a great effect on the high-frequency components of waves. The analyses of marginal spectrum show that the energy mainly concentrated in the frequency band of seismic wave (7-10 Hz). Moreover, the seismic failure mechanism of the toppling rock slope was discussed. Geological structure determines the seismic failure mode of the slope. Cracks initiate in the top toppling plane, and the surface slope is damaged firstly under earthquake excitation; with the increase of seismic loading, a large-scale slip mass further forms gradually from the upper to the lower slope body.
Evaluation of the Self-reported Questionnaires used to Assess Mental Health After the January 2015 Terrorist Attacks in the Paris Region: IMPACTS Survey
Authors: Bertuzzi Leticia , Heron Megane , Aubert Lyderic , Motreff Yvon , Pirard Philippe , Paranhos Mariana Esteves , Corte Francesco Della , Vuillermoz Cécile , Vandentorren Stéphanie , Aarbaoui Tarik El
Published: March 2021

Background: Gold standard measures in mental health are composed of structured clinical interviews. The design of a study could impede using gold standard measures. Several self-report questionnaires are then used to screen for a number of psychiatric symptoms. Therefore, the need to understand which among those would be most appropriate to be applied after terrorism. The present study examined the performance of self-report questionnaires used to assess post-traumatic stress disorder (PCL-S) and symptoms of depression and anxiety (HADS) compared to the MINI among civilians and first responders involved in terror attacks. Methods: This study was based on the data from the IMPACTS Survey conducted from 6 to10 months among civilians (N=190) and first responders (N=232) after the January 2015 terrorist attacks in the Paris Region, France. Sensitivity and specificity of the PCL-S and HADS were estimated by the ROC curve. The optimal threshold for each of the questionnaires was defined using the Youden index. The area under the curve was determined to assess the ability of the instruments to diagnose or score the proposed disorders. Results: Data of 190 civilians and 232 first responders were used to assess the performance of PCL-S and HADS. Concerning the PCL-S: for civilians, the overall AUC was 0.947, and the optimal threshold was 38.5; for first responders, the overall AUC was 0.899, and the optimal threshold was 39.5. Regarding the HADS-D: for civilians, the overall AUC was 0.908 and optimal threshold was 7.5; for first responders, the overall AUC was 0.617 and the “optimal” threshold was 1.5. About the HADS-A for civilians, the overall AUC was 0.823 and the optimal threshold was 9.5; for first responders, the overall AUC was 0.717 and the optimal threshold was 6.5. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated a satisfactory performance of the PCL-S and the HAD-D to screen for PTSD or depression (respectively) compared to the MINI, and an unsatisfactory performance of the HAD-A to assess anxiety disorders compared to the MINI. It would be interesting if the study were replicated in other countries and in different types of disaster.
FLOURY ENDOSPERM19 encoding a class I glutamine amidotransferase affects grain quality in rice
Authors: Lou Guangming , Chen Pingli , Zhou Hao , Li Pingbo , Xiong Jiawang , Wan Shanshan , Zheng Yuanyuan , Alam Mufid , Liu Rongjia , Zhou Yin , Yang Hanyuan , Tian Yahong , Bai Jingjing , Rao Wenting , Tan Xuan , Gao Haozhou , Li Yanhua , Gao Guanjun , Zhang Qinglu , Li Xianghua , Liu Chuanguang , He Yuqing
Published: March 2021

As a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, the importance of rice is self-evident. Compared with ordinary rice, rice cultivars with superior eating quality and appearance quality are more popular with consumers due to its unique taste and ornamental value, even if their price is much higher. Appearance quality and CEQ (cooking and eating quality) are two very important aspects in the evaluation of rice quality. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study on chalkiness rate in a diverse panel of 533 cultivated rice accessions. We identified a batch of potential chalky genes and prioritize one (LOC_Os03g48060) for functional analyses. Two floury outer endosperm mutants (flo19-1 and flo19-2) were generated through editing LOC_Os03g48060 (named as FLO19 in this study), which encodes a class I glutamine amidotransferase. The different performance of the two mutants in various storage substances directly led to completely different changes in CEQ. The mutation of FLO19 gene caused the damage of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in rice, which affected the normal growth and development of rice, including decreased plant height and yield loss by decreased grain filling rate. Through haplotype analysis, we identified a haplotype of FLO19 that can improve both CEQ and appearance quality of rice, Hap2, which provides a selection target for rice quality improvement, especially for high-yield indica rice varieties.
Impact of the extent of resection on the survival of patients with lower-grade gliomas using awake brain mapping
Authors: Motomura Kazuya , Chalise Lushun , Ohka Fumiharu , Aoki Kosuke , Tanahashi Kuniaki , Hirano Masaki , Nishikawa Tomohide , Yamaguchi Junya , Shimizu Hiroyuki , Wakabayashi Toshihiko , Saito Ryuta
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess the effect of the extent of resection (EOR) of tumors on survival in a series of patients with lower-grade gliomas (LGGs) who underwent awake brain mapping.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 126 patients with LGGs in the dominant and non-dominant hemisphere who underwent awake brain surgery at the same institution between December 2012 and May 2020.ResultsThe median progression-free survival (PFS) rate of patients with LGGs in the group with an EOR > 100 %, including supratotal resection (n = 47; median survival [MS], not reached), was significantly higher than that in the group with an EOR < 100% (n = 79; MS, 43.1 months; 95% CI: 37.8–48.4 months; p = 0.04). In patients with diffuse astrocytomas and anaplastic astrocytomas, the group with EOR > 100 %, including supratotal resection (n = 25; MS, not reached), demonstrated a significantly better PFS rate than did the group with an EOR < 100% (n = 45; MS, 35.8 months; 95% CI: 19.9–51.6 months; p = 0.03). Supratotal or gross total resection was correlated with better PFS in IDH-mutant type of diffuse astrocytomas and anaplastic astrocytomas (n = 19; MS, not reached vs. n = 35; MS, 40.6 months; 95% CI: 22.3–59.0 months; p = 0.02). By contrast, supratotal or gross total resection was not associated with longer PFS rates in patients with IDH-wild type of diffuse astrocytomas and anaplastic astrocytomas. ConclusionsIt is noteworthy that supratotal or gross total resection significantly correlated with better PFS in IDH-mutant type of WHO grade II and III astrocytic tumors. In light of our finding that EOR did not correlate with PFS in patients with aggressive IDH-wild type of diffuse astrocytomas and anaplastic astrocytomas, we suggest treatments that are more intensive will be needed for the control of these tumors.
Improvement of the optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnAl2O4: 1% La3+, x% Pb2+ nanoparticles synthesized by citrate sol-gel route
Authors: Filali Hichem , Boukheit Nahman , Bouhroum Rafika , Chekirou Wassila , Karaali Ahcène
Published: March 2021

Samples of pure zinc aluminate (ZnAl2O4) and doped both with lead (Pb2+) at different ratios (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5% mol) and a constant amount of lanthanum (La: 1% mol), were prepared by the citrate sol-gel technique, and then annealed at 900°C for 2h. In order to study the structural, optical and thermal properties; different characterization methods were used, such as: powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), TGA, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. The Analyzes by XRD revealed the presence of the cubic single phase ZnAl2O4 for all samples, with a crystallites size between 19 and 25 nm. These results were confirmed using FTIR, Raman spectroscopy and SEM. Also, photocatalytic study for different samples of ZnAl2O4 shows that they can be used like as photocatalyst and good adsorbents for degradation of Hexamethyl crystallized violet dye in aqueous solution.
Clinical Phenotypes from Fatal Cases of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Caused by Pneumonia
Authors: Ichikado Kazuya , Kawamura Kodai , Johkoh Takeshi , Fujimoto Kiminori , Shintani Ayumi , Hashimoto Satoru , Eguchi Yoshitomo , Yasuda Yuko , Anan Keisuke , Shingu Naoki , Sakata Yoshihiko , Hisanaga Junpei , Nitawaki Tatsuya , Iio Miwa , Sekido Yuko , Nishiyama Kenta , Nakamura Kazunori , Suga Moritaka , Ichiyasu Hidenori , Sakagami Takuro
Published: March 2021

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed interest and discussion about clinical phenotypes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Since the Berlin definition, various clinical disease courses with fatal outcome have been described but early objective indicators predicting distinct clinical courses have remained elusive. Objectives: Identify clinically available predictors that distinguish between two phenotypes of fatal ARDS due to pneumonia.Methods: 104 Japanese patients with pneumonia induced ARDS were extracted from our prospectively collected database. Fatal cases were divided into early (< 7 days after diagnosis) and late death (≥ 7 days) groups and their clinical variables and prognostic factors were statistically evaluated.Results: Of 50 cases, fatal within 180 days, 18 (36%) comprised the early death group (median 2 days, IQR [1, 5]) and 32 (64%), the late death group (median 16 days, IQR [13, 29]). Multivariate regression analyses showed APACHE II score (HR 1.14, 95%CI 1.01-1.28, p 0.047) was the only independent prognostic factor for early death. Late deaths were associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation score (HR 1.30, 95%CI 1.07-1.58, p 0.007), culture sensitivity to initial antimicrobials (HR 3.42, 95%CI 1.86-6.29, p <0.0001), and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) score indicating early fibroproliferation. ROC analyses estimated a late death propensity score for HRCT score ≥ 211, of 5.42 (95%CI 1.54–19.12; p 0.008).Conclusions: The extent of fibroproliferation on HRCT, along with coagulation abnormalities and APACHE II scores, should be considered for use in predictive trial enrichment and personalized medicine for patients with ARDS due to pneumonia.
Real-Time Chatter Detection via Iterative Vold-Kalman Filter and Energy Entropy
Authors: Dong Xingjian , Tu Guowei , Wang Xiaoshan , Chen Shiqian
Published: March 2021

Real-time chatter detection is important in improving the surface quality of workpieces in milling. Since the process from stable cutting to chatter is characterized by the progressive variation of the vibration energy distribution, entropy has been utilized to capture the decreasing randomness of vibration signals when chatter occurs. To make such an index more sensitive to transitions of the cutting state, the entropy can be computed based on signal components obtained through signal decomposition techniques. However, the classic empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is difficult to put into practice due to its weak robustness to noises. The up-to-date variational mode decomposition (VMD) has strict requirements on priori information of the signal and thus is not applicable either. In this paper, a novel method named the iterative Vold-Kalman filter (I-VKF) is proposed under the framework of the greedy algorithm, where the Vold-Kalman filter (VKF), a classic order-tracker for rotating machinery, is improved to recursively extract each signal component. In the meantime, a spectrum concentration index-based technique is developed for the instantaneous chatter frequency estimation to adaptively determine the filter parameter. Numerical examples demonstrate the superiority of the I-VKF over the original VKF, EMD, and VMD, especially in the presence of strong noises. Combined with the energy entropy of extracted components and an automatically calculated threshold, the proposed strategy greatly helps in timely chatter detection, which has been verified by dynamic simulation and experiments.
Serum exosomal miR-4787-3p as potential lymph node metastasis and prognostic marker in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Authors: Liu Shuang , Lin Zheng , Wang Jianwen , Zheng Zerong , Rao Wenqing , Liu Zhiqiang , Chen Yuanmei , Zeng Qiaoyan , Li Shanshan , Hu Zhijian
Published: March 2021

Background: To explore the miR-4787-3p expression levels in the serum exosome and tissue and its role in lymph node metastasis and prognosis in ESCC. Methods: The miRNA array was conducted to detect the ESCC serum exosomal miRNAs expression. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to determine the predictive ESCC with lymph node metastasis efficacy of serum exosomal miR-4784-3p. The Cox regression analysis was preformed to explore prognostic factors for ESCC. Transwell assay and CCK-8 assays were utilized to evaluate cell migration, invasion, and proliferation, respectively. Results: High serum exosomal miR-4787-3p expression was demonstrated in lymph node metastasis group (P =0.011). The serum exosomal miR-4787-3p expression was significantly associated with histologic grade (P = 0.010), and TNM stage (P = 0.033). However, there was no significant relationship between tissue miR-4787-3p expression and clinical characteristics (P >0.05). ROC analyses revealed that the AUCs of serum exosomal miR-4787-3p for lymph node metastasis prediction was 0.787. The Cox regression analysis found that high expression serum exosomal miR-4787-3p were correlated with poor prognoses (for OS, HR=2.68, 95% CI: 1.02~7.04; for DFS, HR = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.05~6.68). Nevertheless, no association between tissue miR-4787-3p expression and ESCC prognosis. In addition, upregulated expression of miR-4787-3p could promote migration and invasion in vitro. Conclusions: Serum exosomal miR-4787-3p can be promising biomarkers for ESCC metastasis and prognosis
Text Fingerprinting and Topic Mining in the Prescription Opioid Use Literature
Authors: Le Huyen , Zhou Junxiu , Zhao Weizhong , Perkins Roger , Ge Weigong , Lyn-Cook Beverly , Francis Henry , Hong Huixiao , Tong Weida , Zou Wen
Published: March 2021

Background Prescription opioids are powerful pain-reducing medications, but they may cause a variety of adverse effects. Long-term prescription opioid use (POU) is contributing to an opioid-related epidemic of addiction and death, and the scope of the opioid crisis continues to expand. As such, there is a need to identify the adverse effects associated with prescription opioid use (POU). Thousands of articles that focus on POU and its associated medical disorders have been published. However, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to extract and understand the information of all POU-related published articles.Methods In this study, we applied the well-adapted topic modeling method, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), to perform text mining on POU-related literature. We compiled six large academic abstract datasets by searching PubMed using the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): prescription opioid, codeine, morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and methadone. We then applied topic modeling to identify topics and analyze topic similarities/differences in these six datasets. Word clouds and histograms were used to depict the distribution of vocabularies over each topic in which the most prevalent words conveyed a topic’s substance.Results The LDA topics recaptured the search keywords in PubMed, and further revealed relevant themes, such as patients, drugs, side effects, and association links between different POU and risk factors, such as gender and age. Moreover, based on the topic modeling results, TreeMap was used to fingerprint abstracts, which revealed the possibility of constructing a visualized literature index by combining topic modeling and visualization tools such as TreeMap. Meanwhile, while performing trend analysis to explore the prevalent topic dynamics in the POU-related literature, we found that an increasing trend in opioid prescription and its associated health risks are assessed as the most central issues.Conclusion The topic modeling results presented in this study not only convey an understandable and thematic structure of the POU literature, but also provide a means to discover which documents contain information about medical disorders associated with POU, thus, reducing the time and effort needed to review the literature for relevant articles. These results can be used as a preliminary study to systematically understand the risk factors related to increased POU-associated medical disorders.
Modulation of neural activity in frontopolar cortex drives reward-based motor learning
Authors: Ruiz Maria Herrojo , Maudrich Tom , Kalloch Benjamin , Sammler Daniela , Kenville Rouven , Villringer Arno , Sehm Bernhard , Nikulin Vadim
Published: March 2021

The frontopolar cortex (FPC) contributes to tracking the reward of alternative choices during decision making, as well as their reliability. Whether this FPC function extends to reward gradients associated with continuous movements during motor learning remains unknown. We used anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right FPC to investigate its role in reward-based motor learning. Nineteen healthy human participants completed a motor sequence learning task using trialwise reward feedback to discover a hidden goal along a continuous dimension: timing. As additional conditions, we modulated the contralateral motor cortex (left M1) activity, and included a control sham stimulation. Right FPC-tDCS led to faster learning compared to lM1-tDCS and sham through regulation of motor variability. Computational modelling revealed that in all stimulation protocols, an increase in the trialwise expectation of reward was followed by greater exploitation, as shown previously. Yet, this association was weaker in lM1-tDCS suggesting a less efficient learning strategy. The effects of frontopolar stimulation were dissociated from those induced by lM1-tDCS and sham, as motor exploration was more sensitive to inferred changes in the reward tendency (volatility). The findings suggest that rFPC-tDCS increases the sensitivity of motor exploration to updates in reward volatility, accelerating reward-based motor learning.
Blue Light Directly Modulates the Quorum Network in the Human Pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Tuttobene Marisel Romina , Müller Gabriela Leticia , Blasco Lucía , Diacovich Lautaro , Cribb Pamela , Tomás María del Mar , Peñalver Carlos Nieto , Mussi María Alejandra
Published: March 2021

Quorum sensing modulates bacterial collective behaviors including biofilm formation, motility and virulence in the important human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. Disruption of quorum sensing has emerged as a promising strategy with important therapeutic potential. In this work, we show that light modulates the production of secreted molecules that complement motility in the acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) synthase mutant, abaI, at environmental temperatures. Also, AHLs were produced in higher levels in the dark than under blue light at environmental temperatures, a response that depends on AbaI and on the photoreceptor BlsA. BlsA interacts with the transcriptional regulator AbaR in the dark at environmental temperatures, inducing abaI expression. Under blue light, BlsA does not interact with AbaR, but induces expression of the lactonase aidA and quorum quenching, consistently with lack of motility at this condition. At temperatures found in warm-blooded hosts, the production of AHLs, quorum quenching as well as abaI and aidA expression were also modulated by light in a BlsA-independent manner. Finally, AbaI reduces A. baumannii's ability to kill C. albicans only in the dark both at environmental as well as at temperatures found in warm-blooded hosts. The overall data indicate that light directly modulates quorum network in A. baumannii.
Affinibrenneria salicis gen. nov. sp. nov. isolated from Salix matsudana bark canker
Authors: Bian Dan-ran , Xue Han , Wang Guang-ming , Piao Chun-gen , Li Yong
Published: March 2021

L3-3HAT, a Gram-negative-staining, facultatively anaerobic, motile bacterial strain, was isolated from the symptomatic bark of Salix matsudana canker in China. 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the novel strain shares the highest sequence similarity with Brenneria goodwinii FRB141T (95.5 %). In phylogenetic trees based on four housekeeping genes (gyrB, rpoB, atpD and infB) and the 16S rRNA gene sequence, the novel strain formed a separate branch from the five genera of the family Pectobacteriaceae (Lonsdalea, Brenneria, Dickeya, Pectobacterium and Sodalis), suggesting that the novel strain should belong to a novel species of a novel genus within the family Pectobacteriaceae. The result was also supported by phylogenomics, amino acid identity and average nucleotide identity. The major fatty acids were C14:0, C16:0, C17:0 cyclo, and C19:0 cyclo ɷ8c. Genome analysis showed that the novel strain has a large genome (5.89 Mb) with 5,052 coding genes, including 181 virulence genes by searching the pathogen-host interactions database (PHI-base), indicating that the novel strain is a potential pathogen of plants and animals. Based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, the L3-3HAT strain represents a novel species of a novel genus in the Pectobacteriaceae family, for which the name Affinibrenneria salicis gen nov. sp. nov. is proposed. The strain type is L3-3HAT (= CFCC 15588T = LMG 31209T).
A Dosimetric and Radiobiological Evaluation of VMAT Following Mastectomy for Patients With Left-sided Breast Cancer
Authors: Zhang Yun , Huang Yuling , Ding Shenggou , Yuan Xingxing , Shu Yuxian , Liang Jinhui , Mao Qingfeng , Jiang Chunling , Li Jingao
Published: March 2021

Background: To compare the dosimetric normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), secondary cancer complication probabilities (SCCP), and excess absolute risk (EAR) differences of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for left-sided breast cancer after mastectomy. Methods and materials: Thirty patients with left-sided breast cancer treated with post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) were randomly enrolled in this study. Both IMRT and VMAT treatment plans were created for each patient. Planning target volume (PTV) doses for the chest wall and internal mammary nodes, PTV1, and PTV of the supraclavicular nodes, PTV2, of 50 Gy were prescribed in 25 fractions. The plans were evaluated based on PTV1 and PTV2 coverage, homogeneity index (HI), conformity index, conformity number (CN), dose to organs at risk, NTCP, SCCP, EAR, number of monitors units, and beam delivery time. Results: VMAT resulted in more homogeneous chest wall coverage than did IMRT. The percent volume of PTV1 that received the prescribed dose of VMRT and IMRT was 95.9 ± 1.2% and 94.5 ± 1.6%, respectively (p < 0.001). The HI was 0.11 ± 0.01 for VMAT and 0.12 ± 0.02 for IMRT, respectively (p = 0.001). The VMAT plan had better conformity (CN: 0.84 ± 0.02 vs. 0.78 ± 0.04, p < 0.001) in PTV compared with IMRT. As opposed to IMRT plans, VMAT delivered a lower mean dose to the ipsilateral lung (11.5 Gy vs 12.6 Gy) and heart (5.2 Gy vs 6.0 Gy) and significantly reduced the V5, V10, V20, V30, and V40 of the ipsilateral lung and heart; only the differences in V5 of the ipsilateral lung did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.409). Although the volume of the ipsilateral lung and heart encompassed by the 2.5 Gy isodose line (V2.5) was increased by 6.7% and 7.7% (p < 0.001, p = 0.002), the NTCP was decreased by 0.8% and 0.6%, and SCCP and EAR were decreased by 1.9% and 0.1% for the ipsilateral lung. No significant differences were observed in the contralateral lung/breast V2.5, V5, V10, V20, mean dose, SCCP, and EAR. Finally, VMAT reduced the number of monitor units by 31.5% and the treatment time by 71.4%, as compared with IMRT. Conclusions: Compared with IMRT, VMAT is the optimal technique for PMRT patients with left-sided breast cancer due to better target coverage, a lower dose delivered, NTCP, SCCP, and EAR to the ipsilateral lung and heart, similar doses delivered to the contralateral lung and breast, fewer monitor units and a shorter delivery time.
The effects of Rf5 and Rf6 on fertility restoration in Honglian-type cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines of japonica rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica)
Authors: Zhang Honggen , Wang Ruixuan , Xu Zuopeng , Zhao Xiangqiang , Gao Hailin , Liu Qiaoquan , Tang Shuzhu
Published: March 2021

The Honglian (HL)-type cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) has only been used in the development of three-line indica rice hybrids, and the fertility of HL-type indica CMS lines can be restored by two nonallelic fertility-restorer (Rf) genes, Rf5 and Rf6. For the development of HL-type japonica hybrid combinations, it is therefore necessary to determine whether Rf5 and Rf6 can restore the fertility of HL-type japonica CMS lines. Here, we genetically characterized HL-type japonica CMS lines and the ability of Rf5 and Rf6 to restore fertility for breeding HL-type japonica hybrids. I2-KI pollen staining revealed that HL-type japonica CMS lines and their derived testcross F1 hybrids had stained abortive pollen grains, unlike HL-type indica CMS lines. Crossing experiments showed that Rf5 and Rf6 partially restored the fertility of HL-type japonica CMS lines, and Rf6 showed higher restorability than Rf5. Furthermore, we found that there were additive and dosage effects of Rf5 and Rf6 with respect to fertility restoration in HL-type japonica CMS lines. These results give critical insight into the breeding of HL-type japonica CMS lines and restorers, which will be helpful for the development of commercial HL-type japonica hybrids.
A first case report of nasopharyngeal mycobacterium abscessus ssp. massilliense infection
Authors: Oki Yamato , Hatakeyama Hiromitsu , Komatsu Masanori , Isono Yasuhiro , Ikemiyagi Hidetaka , Tsukiji Jun , Higa Ryoko , Oridate Nobuhiko
Published: March 2021

BackgroundMycobacterium abscessus ssp. massiliense is a non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis and was subdivided from Mycobacterium abscessus in 2006. There are no reports to date on nasopharyngitis caused by Mycobacterium abscessus ssp. massiliense.Case PresentationA 45-year old woman was referred to Yokohama City University Medical Center with an 18-month history of recurrent nasopharyngitis and presented with pain in the throat. Mycobacterial tissue culture and polymerase chain reaction testing revealed the presence of Mycobacterium abscessus ssp. massiliense in the nasopharyngeal tissue. This patient underwent surgery, followed by multiple rounds of chemotherapy with oral and intravenous antibiotic agents for four months. She has had no recurrence during the 8 months since treatment.ConclusionThere are few reports on Mycobacterium abscessus ssp. massiliense infection in the head and neck region, and none in the pharynx. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with a nasopharyngeal Mycobacterium abscessus ssp. massiliense infection. It is difficult to prove the presence of Mycobacterium abscessus ssp. massiliense in a pharyngeal “swab,” and tissue culture from a biopsy specimen is mandatory for the identification of the species. Currently, no definite treatment policy is available and only empirical treatment is applied. Further reports are needed to accumulate supporting evidence.
Establishment and Application of Dual TaqMan Fluorescence Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for the Detection of Porcine Circovirus Types 2 and 3
Authors: Cao Fengyang , Luan Xiaoning , Wang Wenwen , Li Yuyan , Guo Longzong , Wang Yinxin , Li Jianliang
Published: March 2021

To establish a rapid method for the simultaneous differential detection of porcine circovirus types 2 (PCV2) and 3 (PCV3), two pairs of primers and two TaqMan probes were designed according to the gene sequences of PCV2 and PCV3, and a dual TaqMan fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the simultaneous detection of two virus nucleic acids was established. The results showed that the correlation coefficients (R2) of the standard curves drawn using the recombinant plasmids of PCV2 and PCV3 were greater than 0.99 and had a good linear relationship. The specific detection results of PCV type 1, Porcine parvovirus, and Porcine pseudorabies virus were negative. The detection limits of this experimental method for PCV2 and PCV3 were 10 and 1 copies/μL, respectively, which were more sensitive than those of the common PCR detection methods. The established method was used to detect 76 samples from some pig farms in Shandong Province. 11 of the 76 samples were PCV3 positive (positive rate of 14.47%), 24 were PCV2 positive (positive rate of 34.58%), and PCV3 and PCV2 were mixed in six samples (positive rate of 7.89%). The whole-genome sequence of PCV3 was amplified and sequenced to further understand the molecular biological characteristics and genetic variation of PCV3 in Shandong Province. The genomes of 11 PCV3 strains were all 2000 bp long, and the whole-genome sequence homology between them ranged from 98.4% to 99.9%. There were mutation sites in the amino acid sequences of Cap and Rep proteins, and the strains isolated in this experiment were concentrated in the PCV3a and PCV3c subgroups. This study provides technical support and molecular biological basis for nucleic acid detection, epidemiological characteristics, genetic variation, and control of PCV3 in Shandong Province.
Uptake of phosphorus by epilithon in three oligo- to mesotrophic post-mining lakes
Authors: Konopáčová Eliška , Nedoma Jiří , Čapková Kateřina , Čapek Petr , Znachor Petr , Pouzar Miloslav , Říha Milan , Řeháková Klára
Published: March 2021

Epilithon contributes to phosphorus (P) cycling in lakes, but its P uptake traits have been rarely studied. We measured the chemical composition of epilithon and its inorganic P uptake kinetics using isotope 33P in three deep oligo- to mesotrophic post-mining lakes in April, July, and October 2019. Over the sampling period, epilithon biomass doubled, while the P content in biomass dropped to 60% of the April values. High epilithic C:P molar ratios (677 on average) suggested strong P deficiency in all investigated lakes.
Regarding the kinetic parameters of phosphorus uptake, maximum uptake velocity (Vmax, seasonal range 0.9–101 mg P g OM–1 h–1) decreased by an order of magnitude from April to October, while half-saturation constant (KS, 1.6–103 mg P L–1) did not show any consistent temporal trend. We found a general decrease in the specific P uptake affinity (0.1–2.2 L g OM–1 h–1) and the estimated in-situ P uptake (0.04–2.3 µg P g OM–1 h–1) of epilithon over the season, which might have resulted from changes in epilithon community composition, a decreasing ratio of living biomass to extracellular polymers and detritus, rapid internal recycling, and/or thickening of the epilithic biofilm. Additionally, we observed a phenomenon of reversible abiotic P adsorption on epilithon.