bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Checklist for Determining Severity of Pain and Type and Dosage of Analgesics Administered to Patients Undergoing Breast Surgeries
Authors: Aghamohamadi Davoud , Khanbabayi Gol Mehdi
Published: May 2020

Objectives: Controlling acute pains requires proper diagnosis and prescription of appropriate drugs. Hence, it is quite necessary to develop a systematic checklist containing all factors affecting the acute postoperative pain or any acute pain associated with breast cancer in order to determine the type and dosage of analgesics administered to the patients. The aim of the present study was the design, and psychometric and pilot execution of a checklist for determining the severity of pain, as well as the type and dosage of analgesics administered to patients who underwent breast surgeries. Materials and Methods: The present methodological study was conducted in Tabriz from 2018 to 2019. The participants consisted of 340 patients who were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study was carried out in four stages including interviews with patients and the elicitation of experts’ views and opinions, checklist validity assessment, the finalization of the items, and finally, questionnaire reliability assessment. Eventually, the data were statistically analyzed using the inter-cluster correlation test and the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20) in SPSS-19. Results: In the first stage, a 100-item checklist was designed, which included 4 subscales (i.e., severe, relatively severe pain, moderate, and mild pain). Then, 66 items were eliminated due to the low content validity ratio and content validity index (CVI). The final checklist contained 34 items with an S-CVI/Ave of 0.941, as well as an inter-cluster correlation test (P=0.001) and internal consistency of 0.921. Conclusions: The final checklist entitled "Pain Diagnosis and Drug Prescription for Breast Cancer Patients" was an appropriate tool for the precise determination of the severity of pain in addition to the type and dosage of postoperative analgesics.
Successful Ablation of Ventricular Arrhythmia Without Fluoroscopy Guided by Carto 3 System in Pregnant Woman Without Structural Heart Disease
Authors: Abdrakhmanov Ayan , Smagulova Aliya , Ainabekova Bayan
Published: May 2020

Introduction: Arrhythmias can take place in any period of pregnancy. In addition, the incidence of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias in a pregnant woman without the organic pathology of the heart is rare. Interventional treatment should be carried out in cases of severe arrhythmias and drug resistance. The radiation exposure during ablation carries a potentially harmful effect on the mother and fetus although data on the zero-fluoroscopy ablation of arrhythmias in pregnant women is limited. Case Presentation: A 26-year-old female without structural heart disease at the gestation period of 26-28 weeks was admitted to a hospital due to severe symptoms of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and premature ventricular contractions. In this regard, the conservative therapy of β-blockers was ineffective and accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure to 60/40 mm Hg. Results: An intracardiac electrophysiological study and non-fluoroscopic catheter ablation were carried out considering the drug refractory and severe symptoms of VT. The ablation of the arrhythmia substrate was successfully performed using the Carto 3 System without fluoroscopy. Based on the results, the procedure was not associated with any maternal or fetal complications. Conclusions: In general, the non-fluoroscopic catheter ablation guided by electro-anatomical mapping and navigation systems is safe and applicable in the treatment of pregnant women with severe types of arrhythmias.
Fibroblast growth factors signaling in bone metastasis
Authors: Labanca Estefania , Vazquez Elba S , Corn Paul G , Roberts Justin M , Wang Fen , Logothetis Christopher J , Navone Nora M
Published: May 2020

Many solid tumors metastasize to bone, but only prostate cancer has bone as a single, dominant metastatic site. Recently, the FGF axis has been implicated in cancer progression in some tumors and mounting evidence indicate that it mediates prostate cancer bone metastases. The FGF axis has an important role in bone biology and mediates cell-to-cell communication. Therefore, we discuss here basic concepts of bone biology, FGF signaling axis, and FGF axis function in adult bone, to integrate these concepts in our current understanding of the role of FGF axis in bone metastases.
Antiangiogenic therapies for pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma
Authors: Jimenez Camilo , Fazeli Sasan , Román-Gonzalez Alejandro
Published: May 2020

Metastatic pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas are rare, highly vascular tumors that spread primarily to the lymph nodes, skeletal tissue, lungs, and liver. Tumor morbidity is related to their size, location, hormonal activity, vascular nature, and rate of progression. Systemic therapies for this indication are limited. Only high-specific-activity iodine-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine is approved in the Unites States for treatment of these patients, and not all patients are candidates for this radiopharmaceutical. Antiangiogenic medications are currently being evaluated in prospective clinical trials for patients with metastatic pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas, and preliminary results have been encouraging. Antiangiogenic medications frequently offer antineoplastic effects with sometimes durable responses. However, cardiovascular toxicity and the development of tumor resistance may limit their efficacy. Experience derived from clinical trials is being used to identify mechanisms to effectively improve drug toxicity and possibly prevent the emergence of resistance. Therefore, antiangiogenic medications represent a therapeutic option for patients with metastatic pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. Furthermore, in the world of oncology, there is strong scientific interest in the development of clinical trials that combine antiangiogenic medications with other modalities such as immunotherapy, radiopharmaceuticals, and hypoxia inhibitors since these combinations may substantially enhance clinical outcomes, including survivorship. In this review, we examine the progress made to date on antiangiogenic treatments for patients with metastatic pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas.
Management of Deep Sternal Wound Infection: Complete Sternal Osteomyelitis
Authors: Al-Ebrahim Khaled Ebrahim
Published: May 2020

Deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after cardiac surgery is a challenging complication that affects the outcome of surgery. The worst type of DSWI is mediastinitis and sternal osteomyelitis, which dramatically increase morbidity, mortality, and cost of care. This case report describes successful treatment of sternal osteomyelitis after open heart surgery with combined negative pressure wound therapy and rectus abdominis flap. This combination of negative pressure wound therapy with rectus abdominis flap in treating sternal osteomyelitis after open cardiac surgery is not well studied.
Evolution of Microbial Growth Traits Under Serial Dilution
Authors: Lin Jie , Manhart Michael , Amir Ariel
Published: May 2020

Selection of mutants in a microbial population depends on multiple cellular traits. In serial-dilution evolution experiments, three key traits are the lag time when transitioning from starvation to growth, the exponential growth rate, and the yield (number of cells per unit resource). Here, we investigate how these traits evolve in laboratory evolution experiments using a minimal model of population dynamics, where the only interaction between cells is competition for a single limiting resource. We find that the fixation probability of a beneficial mutation depends on a linear combination of its growth rate and lag time relative to its immediate ancestor, even under clonal interference. The relative selective pressure on growth rate and lag time is set by the dilution factor; a larger dilution factor favors the adaptation of growth rate over the adaptation of lag time. The model shows that yield, however, is under no direct selection. We also show how the adaptation speeds of growth and lag depend on experimental parameters and the underlying supply of mutations. Finally, we investigate the evolution of covariation between these traits across populations, which reveals that the population growth rate and lag time can evolve a nonzero correlation even if mutations have uncorrelated effects on the two traits. Altogether these results provide useful guidance to future experiments on microbial evolution.
Ontologies and Technologies for Integrating and Accessing Digital Cultural Heritage: Lithuanian Approach
Authors: Varnienė-Janssen Regina , Šermokas Albertas
Published: May 2020

Web technologies are the key for the implementing and ensuring the full range of user needs in the digital age. On the other hand, the issue of unified representation of digital content from diverse memory institutions in order to ensure semantic integrity still remains a matter of urgency. Semantic interoperability of information and data is essential in an integrated system. In this paper, we analyze and describe an ontology-based metadata interoperability approach and how this approach could be applied for memory institution data from diverse sources which do not support ontologies. In particular, we describe the use of the CIDOC CRM ontology as a mediating schema within Lithuania’s Information System of the Virtual Electronic Heritage (hereinafter ”VEPIS”) The paper introduces the role of the CIDOC CRM based Thesaurus of Personal Names, Geographical Names and Historical Chronology (hereinafter “BAVIC”), which operates as a core ontology within VEPIS by allowing to understand things and relationships between things as well as identify the time and space of things. The paper also focuses on trust of the cultural information on the Web. Users make trust judgments based on provenance that may or may not be explicitly offered to them. In particular, we describe how provenance is managed within digital preservation and access processes within VEPIS and define whether this management meets the W3C Provenance Incubator Group’s Requirements for Provenance on the Web. The paper is based on the results of the research initiated in 2018–2019 at the Faculty of Communication and the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of Vilnius University by authors of this paper.
Overcoming Discriminatory Attitudes – a Prerequisite for Women’s Participation in Economic Decision-Making
Authors: Šidlauskienė Virginija , Pocevičienė Rasa
Published: May 2020

Although research has shown that women not only have the necessary education and professional qualifications, but also want and can hold positions in the highest decision-making bodies, gender disproportion in the boards of Lithuanian listed companies is obvious, since women have less favorable conditions than men since the beginning of their careers to pursue top management positions. One of the reasons for gender inequality in company boards is the prevalence of gender-based discriminatory attitudes in the professional environment both in Lithuania and in all EU countries, so women need to overcome many obstacles related to corporate behavior and business culture in order to realize their full professional potential. In order to find out the gender balance in Lithuanian listed companies, the opinion of companies‘ board members (women and men) about the situation and opportunities to become members of the board, the possibilities of increasing the participation of women in the boards, etc., an empirical study was carried out. Analysis of the results showed that, although in theory most respondents claim that there is no external barrier for competent women to be proposed and elected to the board of directors, publicly available, let there be covert, discriminatory clauses that create limiting factors for women’s participation in company boards, the overcoming of which is highly dependent on the activity of women themselves and the change in attitudes and attitudes available. We’ve summarized the challenges to achieving gender equity on boards and suggestions to address each of the challenges into four broad categories: boards themselves, women themselves, culture, and laws. One more challenge relates to the argument whether this idea of gender equity on Boards of Directors is even worth pursuing.
The effect of additive containing an organic form of iodine on the physiological-biochemical parameters of the body of cows
Authors: Bogdanova A. A. , Alekseev A. A. , Flerova E. A. , Konovalov A. V.
Published: May 2020

Iodine deficiency in soil and water in many countries leads to its low content in plants and animal feed produced from them. The limited intake of this element in animals can lead to endemic diseases. The lack of iodine in animal feeding is most often compensated for by the use of additives with an inorganic form of iodine, which can be poorly absorbed by the body. Feed products with an organic form of iodine have a great biological effect. A study on the effect of iodine-containing additives on the physiological and biochemical parameters of the animal organism was carried out on two groups of 15 cows. The experimental group was fed an organic form of iodine as part of the additive, the control group received an inorganic form of iodine. For all animals during the experiment the biochemical parameters of blood, milk productivity and reproductive ability were studied. During the experiment, an increase in metabolic and redox processes in the body was noted in the experimental group. An increase in mineral metabolism, including iodine content, was found. Due to the sufficient intake of organic iodine in the animals of the experimental group, there was an increase in the activity of the main hepatic enzymes AST and ALT. An increase in the process of gluconeogenesis due to an increase in the glucose content in the blood of experimental cows was revealed. An increase in milk production and reproductive function of animals of the experimental group was established. Within 30 days after the termination of feeding the supplement with the organic form of iodine in the experimental group, a prolonging effect was observed, consisting in higher values of blood biochemical parameters, improved reproductive function and milk productivity relative to equivalent animals in the control. As a result, it was concluded that the use of an additive with an organic form of iodine in the amount of 1.5 g in feeding cows for 60 days increases the iodine content in the blood serum of animals and increases the performance of all types of metabolism, which may indicate the best stimulating effect of the organic form of iodine on thyroid activity glands. This in turn helps to improve the productive and reproductive qualities of animals. To recommend the studied drug as a means to replenish iodine deficiency in animals and to more accurately analyze its effect on the hormone-forming function of the thyroid gland, it is necessary to study the level of thyroid hormones in the blood.
Event-related potentials during contralateral switching over motor programs in humans
Authors: Korzhyk O. V. , Dmutrotsa O. R. , Poruchynskyi A. I. , Morenko A. H.
Published: May 2020

The study of processes related to the motor response suppression and the evaluation of the next, alternative, response after termination of the already observed initial motor response is of significant interest to modern scientists. The objective of our research is to identify the gender-specific features of the amplitude-time characteristics of induced cortical electrical activity in the process of the excitation of the motor programs of manual movement. Healthy and right-handed men and women aged 18–23 participated in the research. The research tasks investigated the time of simple and complex visual-motor responses, amplitude-temporal features of N2 and P3 components of cognitive evoked potentials in the response to launch and contralateral switching (dominant or subdominant arm) of the motor program of finger flexes (pressing the remote control button) in the Stop-Change paradigm. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were analyzed in the frontal, central, and parietal lobes of the cortex. It was established that male participants had lower time indexes of simple and complex visual-motor responses than women. In addition, during the contralateral switching of motor programs of manual movements the smaller latent periods of the ERPs components in the right central and left frontal sections (component N2), in the left hemisphere lobes (component P3) among men were observed. The amplitudes of the N2 and P3 components revealed higher values in male participants at the parietal lobes. Thus, the process of recognizing and differentiating the stimulus among men was faster, with more powerful focus and attention on the operative memory. In the left hemisphere of men and women the smaller latent periods of P3component (in the central lobe) and amplitudes of N2 and P3 components were determined compared to the right hemisphere. Thus, the motor programs switching in the paradigm of the experiment occurred with the sequential activation of the left and contralateral right hemispheres.
Influence of zinc nanoaquacitrate on the immuno-physiological reactivity and productivity of the organism of rabbits
Authors: Boiko О. V. , Honchar О. F. , Lesyk Y. V. , Kovalchuk І. І. , Gutyj B. V.
Published: May 2020

Zinc is necessary for maintaining the immune status, and its deficiency in the organisms of animals is usually accompanied by the condition of immune deficiency. The objective of the study was determining the effect of different amounts of zinc on the immune-biological reactivity and productivity of the organism of rabbits after their weaning on the 50th and 86th days of life. For the study, rabbits with the weight of 1.2–1.4 kg were selected and divided into four groups (control and three experimental). The rabbits of the control group were fed with unlimited balanced granulated compound feed, and had free access to water. The animals of the I, II and III experimental groups were watered with zinc nanoaquacitrate in the amounts of 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 mg of Zn/kg of body weight. Compared with the control group, watering of the animals of the experimental groups with zinc nanoaquacitrate to a greater extent affected the content of phagocytic activity, lysozymic and bactericidal activities of the blood serum as integral factors of non-specific cellular and humoral resistance of the organism, which manifested in the increase in their content in blood on the 12th, 24th and 36th days of the experiment. Use of organic supplement in the diet of rabbits had a stimula­ting effect on the functioning of the immune system of their organism, which was seen in the higher content of total immunoglobulins, sialic acids and ceruloplasmin in the blood of animals watered with zinc nanoaquacitrate in the quantities of 0.50 and 0.75 mg of Zn/kg of body weight on the 24th and 36th days of the experiment. Use of organic compound of zinc in the diet caused high parameters of growth of the organism of rabbits during the period of 36 days, which manifested in the highest parameters of average-day increments and body weight on the 86th day of the life of the rabbits from the III experimental group, which received zinc nanoaquacitrate in the amounts of 0.75 mg of Zn/kg of body weight compared with the control group. Watering rabbits with zinc nanoaquacitrate during the study was accompanied by probable changes in the number of erythrocytes, concentration of hemoglobin and erythrocyte indices, which could indicate a positive effect of the employed additives on the hematopoietic function of the rabbits’ organism. The data of the performed experiment suggest that watering with larger amounts of organic compound of zinc has a positive effect on the processes of formation of immuno-physiological reactivity of the rabbits’ organism and increase in their productivity. The practical purpose is the study of the impact of watering with zinc nanoaquacitrate on the immuno-biological reactivity of the organism of rabbit dams during the period of lactation.
STUDIES ON THE APPLICATION OF THE VIRTUAL BRONCHOSCOPY METHOD FOR TRACHEAL AND BRONCHIAL RUPTURES
Authors: Mitev M.
Published: May 2020

Traumatic injuries of major airways (trachea and main bronchus) are rare in medical practice but represent extremely life-threatening conditions. The study aims to present a summary of research findings on the diagnostic capabilities of Virtual bronchoscopy (VB) in ruptures of trachea and bronchi. There is very little research into the applicability of VB in Bulgaria. Still, the modern equipment for MDCT VB during the last years provides to use the VB in diagnostic practice and for scientific examinations. The method of VB is recognized as a reliable tool in diagnostic practice and the research of tracheal and bronchial ruptures.
Decreased carO gene expression and OXA-type carbapenemases among extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains isolated from burn patients in Tehran, Iran
Authors: Abbasi Elham , Goudarzi Hossein , Hashemi Ali , Chirani Alireza Salimi , Ardebili Abdollah , Goudarzi Mehdi , Sharahi Javad Yasbolaghi , Davoudabadi Sara , Talebi Ghazaleh , Bostanghadiri Narjes
Published: May 2020

A major challenge in the treatment of infections has been the rise of extensively drug resistance (XDR) and multidrug resistance (MDR) in Acinetobacter baumannii. The goals of this study were to determine the pattern of antimicrobial susceptibility, blaOXA and carO genes among burn-isolated A. baumannii strains. In this study, 100 A. baumannii strains were isolated from burn patients and their susceptibilities to different antibiotics were determined using disc diffusion testing and broth microdilution. Presence of carO gene and OXA-type carbapenemase genes was tested by PCR and sequencing. SDS-PAGE was done to survey CarO porin and the expression level of carO gene was evaluated by Real-Time PCR. A high rate of resistance to meropenem (98%), imipenem (98%) and doripenem (98%) was detected. All tested A. baumannii strains were susceptible to colistin. The results indicated that 84.9% were XDR and 97.9% of strains were MDR. In addition, all strains bore blaOXA-51 like and blaOXA-23 like and carO genes. Nonetheless, blaOXA-58 like and blaOXA-24 like genes were harbored by 0 percent and 76 percent of strains, respectively. The relative expression levels of the carO gene ranged from 0.06 to 35.01 fold lower than that of carbapenem-susceptible A. baumannii ATCC19606 and SDS – PAGE analysis of the outer membrane protein showed that all 100 isolates produced CarO. The results of current study revealed prevalence of blaOXA genes and changes in carO gene expression in carbapenem resistant A.baumannii.
Komparasi Pemanfaatan Barang Dalam Hukum Kepabeanan Dan Hukum Ekonomi Syariah
Authors: Liswardi Liswardi
Published: May 2020

Berdasarkan Undang-Undang kepabeanan No 10 tahun 1995 perubahan  batas Undang-Undang no 17 tahun 2006 tentang kepabeanan, kemudian dalam  Undang-Undang tersebut penindakan terhadap barang ilegal yang disita negara adalah dimusnahkan, maka dalam hal ini penulis tertarik untuk mengkaji kemanfaatan barang ilegal dalam hukum kepabenan dan hukum ekonomis islam yang dimusnahkan oleh negara. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis kemanfaatan barang ilegal yang dimusnahkan oleh negara berdasarkan Undang-Undang No 10 tahun 1995 atas perubahan Undang-Undang No 17 tahun 2006 tentang kepabeanan. Metode penelitian dalam penelitian ini adalah menggunakan metode studi dokumen/pustaka (library research)  Hasil penelitian Pemusnahan barang ilegal yang dilakukan oleh kepabeanan berdasarkan Undang-Undang No 10 tahun 1995 atas perubahan Undang-Undang No 17 tahun 2006 sudah tepat dan Dilihat dari segi komparasi hukum kepabeanan dan ekonomi syariah barang ilegal adalah barang yang samasama melanggar dalam cara perolehannya.
Ten maxims for out of class learning to outclass the academic challenges of COVID-19
Authors: Eachempati Prashanti , Ramnarayan Komattil
Published: May 2020

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities world over are aggressively moving their learning, teaching and assessment to online platforms. Educators suddenly feel unsettled, unprepared and unsupported.This inevitable segue from a traditional to online environment will need faculty to grapple quickly and efficiently with the technological imperatives. The purpose of this article is to present ten maxims to navigate the academic challenges posed by out of class learning. The article includes a user-friendly checklist to facilitate the blooming of online teachers.
Vocabulary Alignment in Openly Specified Interactions
Authors: Chocron Paula Daniela , Schorlemmer Marco
Published: May 2020

The problem of achieving common understanding between agents that use different vocabularies has been mainly addressed by techniques that assume the existence of shared external elements, such as a meta-language or a physical environment. In this article, we consider agents that use different vocabularies and only share knowledge of how to perform a task, given by the specification of an interaction protocol. We present a framework that lets agents learn a vocabulary alignment from the experience of interacting. Unlike previous work in this direction, we use open protocols that constrain possible actions instead of defining procedures, making our approach more general. We present two techniques that can be used either to learn an alignment from scratch or to repair an existent one, and we evaluate their performance experimentally.
Efficacy and Safety of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Patients with Microsatellite Instability-High End-Stage Cancers and Poor Performance Status Related to High Disease Burden
Authors: Pietrantonio Filippo , Loupakis Fotios , Randon Giovanni , Raimondi Alessandra , Salati Massimiliano , Trapani Dario , Pagani Filippo , Depetris Ilaria , Maddalena Giulia , Morano Federica , Corallo Salvatore , Prisciandaro Michele , Corti Francesca , Guarini Vincenzo , Bocconi Alessandro , Marra Antonio , Belli Carmen , Spallanzani Andrea , Fassan Matteo , Lonardi Sara , Curigliano Giuseppe , Fucà Giovanni , Di Bartolomeo Maria , de Braud Filippo
Published: May 2020

Background

Few real-world series on the efficacy and safety of anti-programmed cell death protein-1(PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1(PD-L1)–based therapy are available in molecularly unselected patients with poor performance status (PS) and specific types of advanced cancers, because such populations are typically excluded from clinical trials due to poor life expectancy and risk of toxicity.

Materials and Methods

This multicenter retrospective case series included patients with microsatellite instability (MSI)-high metastatic cancers with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS of 2 or 3 not related to comorbidities receiving anti-PD-1 with or without anti-CTLA-4 therapy after failure of at least one prior treatment line.

Results

We included 27 patients with six diverse tumor types: colorectal (n = 18), gastric (n = 5), biliary tract, pancreatic, small bowel, and endometrial cancers (n = 1 each). Baseline ECOG PS was 2 (74%) or 3 (26%). Overall response rate was 33%, with six partial and three complete responses. Median time to response was 3.1, months and median duration of response was 16.9 months. Median progression-free survival was 3.4 months (95% CI: 2.3 to not evaluable), and 18-month overall survival was 50.8% (95% confidence interval, 32.7–78.8). Baseline variables were not associated with survival outcomes. ECOG PS 1 was reached by 52% of patients in a median time of 6 weeks, and ECOG PS 0 was reached by 30% of patients in a median time of 10 weeks.

Conclusion

In a high proportion of patients with MSI-high cancers and poor performance status related to end-stage disease, salvage immunotherapy can induce potentially long-lasting “Lazarus responses”. Immunotherapy decisions near the end-of-life should be carefully integrated with predictive biomarkers and with palliative care measures in the real-world setting.

Implications for Practice

In this retrospective cohort study of 27 pretreated patients with microsatellite instability (MSI)-high cancers and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 or 3 not related to comorbidities, PD-1/PD-L1-based therapy induced a RECIST response in 33% of patients, with a median duration of 16.9 months, and an improvement of performance status in 52% of patients. MSI-high status can be used in clinical practice as a tumor-agnostic predictive biomarker to select critically ill patients with end-stage cancers for salvage immunotherapy.
Ultrastructural Evidence for Direct Renal Infection with SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Farkash Evan A. , Wilson Allecia M. , Jentzen Jeffrey M.
Published: May 2020

Significance Statement

The cause of kidney injury in COVID-19 is unclear. In an autopsy study of a single patient with COVID-19 and acute oliguric renal failure, the authors identified intracellular viral arrays within proximal tubular epithelial cells by electron microscopy, consistent with direct infection of the kidney by SARS-CoV-2. They also found ultrastructural features similar to those described in reports of kidney cell lines infected with the related SARS-CoV-1 virus. Virally infected tubular cells showed isometric vacuolization on light microscopy. These findings provide confirmatory evidence of direct kidney infection by SARS-CoV-2 in a patient. However, this work does not exclude other causes of kidney injury, and additional study is needed to determine the frequency and clinical significance of direct kidney infection on renal failure in COVID-19.

Background

A significant fraction of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) display abnormalities in renal function. Retrospective studies of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, report an incidence of 3%–7% progressing to ARF, a marker of poor prognosis. The cause of the renal failure in COVID-19 is unknown, but one hypothesized mechanism is direct renal infection by the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2.

Methods

We performed an autopsy on a single patient who died of COVID-19 after open repair of an aortic dissection, complicated by hypoxic respiratory failure and oliguric renal failure. We used light and electron microscopy to examine renal tissue for evidence of SARS-CoV-2 within renal cells.

Results

Light microscopy of proximal tubules showed geographic isometric vacuolization, corresponding to a focus of tubules with abundant intracellular viral arrays. Individual viruses averaged 76 µm in diameter and had an envelope studded with crown-like, electron-dense spikes. Vacuoles contained double-membrane vesicles suggestive of partially assembled virus.

Conclusions

The presence of viral particles in the renal tubular epithelium that were morphologically identical to SARS-CoV-2, and with viral arrays and other features of virus assembly, provide evidence of a productive direct infection of the kidney by SARS-CoV-2. This finding offers confirmatory evidence that direct renal infection occurs in the setting of AKI in COVID-19. However, the frequency and clinical significance of direct infection in COVID-19 is unclear. Tubular isometric vacuolization observed with light microscopy, which correlates with double-membrane vesicles containing vacuoles observed with electronic microscopy, may be a useful histologic marker for active SARS-CoV-2 infection in kidney biopsy or autopsy specimens.
Assessment of the Results of Blood Cultures Taken in the Pediatric Clinic of a Training and Research Hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia
Authors: UĞUR Cüneyt
Published: May 2020

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the distribution of microorganisms isolated in blood culture  and their antibiotic susceptibility retrospectively.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at the Mogadishu Somalia Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan Training and Research Hospital. A total of 76 patients who were hospitalized to the fpediatric clinic between the years of 2016 and 2018, who had significant reproduction in their culture tests and whose samples was performed antibiogram test were included. Demographic datas, microorganism strains and antibiogram results of these patients were recorded.Results: The subjects of this study were 37 females (48.7%) and 39 males (51.3%). The mean age of the subjects was 4.68 ± 4.74 (1 month-18 years) years. 57 (75%) of the reproduced microorganisms were Gram-positive bacteria, and 19 (25%) were Gram-negative bacteria. The most commonly isolated bacteria was coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) by 36.8%. It was followed by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) by 19.7%. The most commonly isolated Gram-negative bacteria was Escherichia coli (E. coli) by 6.6%. The antibiotic resistance of CoNS was highest against penicillin G by 85.7%, ampicillin-sulbactam (SAM) by 78.6% and trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) by 75%. The antibiotic resistance of S. aureus was also highest against penicillin G (86.7%), SAM (80%) and TMP-SMX (73.3%).Conclusion: İt is necessary that conducting studies on this subject as periodic. In this way, it was concluded that morbidity and mortality may be reduced and development of antibiotic resistance may be prevented.
Monetary Policy, Self-Fulfilling Expectations and the U.S. Business Cycle
Authors: Nicolo Giovanni
Published: May 2020

I estimate a medium-scale New-Keynesian model and relax the conventional assumption that the central bank adopted an active monetary policy by pursuing inflation and output stability over the entire post-war period. Even after accounting for a rich structure, I find that monetary policy was passive prior to the Volcker disinflation. Sunspot shocks did not represent quantitatively relevant sources of volatility. By contrast, such passive interest rate policy accommodated fundamental productivity and cost shocks that de-anchored inflation expectations, propagated via self-fulfilling inflation expectations and constituted the primary sources of the run-up in inflation from the 1960s through the late 1970s.
Estratégias Comportamentais e Cognitivas no Tratamento da Psicopatia: Uma Revisão
Authors: Manuela Guimarães Matias Pereira  , Marta Vanessa Oliveira de Souza
Published: May 2020

A definição e a identificação das principais características e traços de indivíduos psicopatas têm sido, há várias décadas, objeto de diferentes áreas de estudo. No âmbito forense, a psicopatia é um termo bastante discutido, sendo fortemente relacionado a criminalidade. No contexto de tratamento, observa-se na literatura o emprego crescente de estratégias cognitivo-comportamentais, as quais têm apresentado diversos resultados. Avaliar as principais estratégias cognitivas e comportamentais empregadas no tratamento da psicopatia a partir dos resultados de estudos empíricos, considerando as evidências de eficácia. Foram consultadas as bases de dados Scielo, PubMed, Lilacs e o portal Periódico CAPES. Critérios de inclusão: 1) artigo empírico original; 2) amostra de indivíduos diagnosticados com psicopatia ou que apresentem traços ou características psicopáticas; 3) utilizar estratégias cognitivas e comportamentais; 4) publicado entre 2014 e 2019. Foram identificados 848 artigos que após inclusão dos filtros, leitura dos títulos e resumos, 23 trabalhos foram rastreados. Posteriormente, considerando os critérios de inclusão, sete artigos foram incluídos na análise. As intervenções comportamentais e cognitivas apresentaram resultados diversos. Porém, independentemente dos resultados, os artigos analisados apresentaram consideráveis limitações, isso interferiu de forma negativa a evidência de eficácia. Os psicopatas podem responder e se beneficiar dos tratamentos comportamentais e cognitivos. Porém, o campo ainda apresenta poucas pesquisas randomizadas, exibindo as mesmas limitações apontadas em trabalhos de revisões anteriores. As intervenções apresentam evidência de eficácia controversas, por isso, são necessários novos estudos no campo com padrões científicos e metodológicos mais elaborados e criteriosos.
Clinical Nocardia species: Identification, clinical characteristics, and antimicrobial susceptibility in Shandong, China
Authors: Lu Shu-Hua , Qian Zhen-Wen , Mou Pei-Pei , Xie Lian
Published: May 2020

Nocardia is a pathogen responsible for a variety of clinical infections. Here, we aimed to investigate the species distribution, clinical manifestations, and antimicrobial susceptibility of Nocardia species in two tertiary general hospitals over 3 years in China. In this retrospective study, a total of 27 Nocardia species were isolated from 27 individuals between January 2017 and December 2019. Nocardia isolates were identified to species level by mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA PCR sequencing. Clinical data were collected from medical records. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by standard Broth microdilution method. The 27 patients with Nocardia infection included 12 males and 15 females with a mean age of 60.11 years. Among 27 Nocardia isolates, 7 species were identified, with the most common species being N. otitidiscaviarum (40.7%). The antimicrobial susceptibility profiles varied between different Nocardia species. Notably, all Nocardia isolates were linezolid susceptible. Majority of Nocardia isolates were collected from a department of respiratory medicine (55.56%) and sputum specimen (44.44%). Pulmonary region was the most involved body site (70.37%), followed by skin (7.4%) and pleural cavity (7.4%). Most patients with Nocardia infection needed combination antibiotic therapy. Two deaths were reported during the treatment period and 24 patients achieved improvement after antibiotic therapy. The clinical manifestations of Nocardia infection and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles varied with diverse Nocardia species. Thus, the accurate identification of these species is crucial for the diagnosis and the selection of antibiotic treatment.
Coating Slides with Gelatin v1
Authors: Institute for Brain Science Allen
Published: May 2020

The protocol describes how 1x3 glass microscope slides are coated with gelatin to improve adherence of fixed adult mouse brain sections or other tissue to slides. Note: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U19MH114830. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Intramuscular Injection Adult Mouse v1
Authors: Institute for Brain Science Allen
Published: May 2020

This protocol describes the general procedures used for intramuscular injection in adult mice. Note: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U19MH114830. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
2100 Bioanalyzer Operation for PCR, GTP and IVT Products v1
Authors: Institute for Brain Science Allen
Published: May 2020

This protocol describes bioanalyzer operation. The Agilent Bioanalyzer is used as a quality control step for PCR and IVT products. Peak size, shape, and sample concentration are recorded and used to evaluate samples on a pass/fail level. Note: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U19MH114830. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
PBS with 0.1% Sodium Azide v1
Authors: Institute for Brain Science Allen
Published: May 2020

This protocol describes the method for preparing PBS with 0.1% Sodium Azide for storage and/or processing of fixed tissue. Note: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U19MH114830. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Preparation of Gelatin Slide Coating Solution v1
Authors: Institute for Brain Science Allen
Published: May 2020

This protocol describes the preparation of gelatin solution to be used for coating glass microscope slides. Note: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U19MH114830. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Cognitive Political Discourse Analysis: Creative Translation Teaching Case
Authors: Ubozhenko Irina V.
Published: May 2020

The paper elaborates on teaching creative translation and analyses the case of cognitive political discourse and its translation decision-making process. The research is based on the example of modern political terminology and non-equivalent political context vocabulary. Unlike traditional approaches that mostly relate creativity to literary texts interpretation, the study deals with the didactic methodology of comprehending and translating foreign academic and popular science sources. The cognitive comparative analysis of political concepts in their context use – both in English and Russian discourse – is aimed at professional explanation of motivation in selecting and choosing translation equivalents. The algorithm of designing an associative thesaurus referred to cognitive signs of lexical marking has been a major investigation tool of political discourse analysis represented in the paper as well as the foundation for the original creative model of translation performance and didactics
Joint Inversion of High-Frequency Receiver Functions and Surface-Wave Dispersion: Case Study in the Parnaíba Basin of Northeast Brazil
Authors: Victor Thayane , Julià Jordi , White Nicholas J. , Rodríguez-Tribaldos Verónica
Published: May 2020

We assess the performance of the joint inversion of receiver functions (RF) and surface-wave dispersion in the characterization of the sedimentary package comprising the Parnaíba basin. This procedure is routinely utilized in passive-source crustal studies to retrieve S-wave velocity variations with depth, and has seldom been used with higher-frequency datasets to investigate fine sedimentary structure. The Parnaíba basin is a Paleozoic cratonic basin composed of five supersequences, accumulating ∼3.5  km of sedimentary rocks interbedded by Late Cretaceous diabase sills. The dataset used for this research was acquired between 2015 and 2017 through deployment of 10 short-period and one broadband seismic stations distributed along an approximately 100-kilometer-long linear array in the center of the basin. The deployment was carried out under the Parnaíba Basin Analysis Project, a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary effort funded by BP Energy do Brasil. High-frequency RFs (f<4.8  Hz) were calculated from deconvolution of teleseismic P waveforms (30°<Δ<90°) after rotation into the great-circle path, whereas high-frequency dispersion curves (0.25–2 Hz) were obtained through multiple filter analysis of empirical Green’s functions developed from cross-correlation (ZZ component) and stacking (six months) of time–frequency-normalized ambient seismic noise recordings. S-wave velocity–depth profiles down to ∼5  km depth were developed through an iterative, linearized joint inversion approach. Comparison to independent active-source seismic profiles overlapping with our passive-source seismic line reveals the inverted velocity models successfully retrieve sedimentary thickness (top of the Cambrian), sedimentary velocity structure, and depth to the Cenozoic sedimentary sequence. In addition, high-velocity zones at depths ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 km are observed in the inverted velocity–depth profiles, which are interpreted as due to the Late Cretaceous sills interbedding the basin’s sedimentary rocks. The relative low cost of our approach makes it ideal for basic characterization of relatively unknown sedimentary basins.
Site Characterization at Downhole Arrays by Joint Inversion of Dispersion Data and Acceleration Time Series
Authors: Seylabi Elnaz , Stuart Andrew M. , Asimaki Domniki
Published: May 2020

We present a sequential data assimilation algorithm based on the ensemble Kalman inversion to estimate the near-surface shear-wave velocity profile and damping; this is applicable when heterogeneous data and a priori information that can be represented in forms of (physical) equality and inequality constraints in the inverse problem are available. Although noninvasive methods, such as surface-wave testing, are efficient and cost-effective methods for inferring an VS profile, one should acknowledge that site characterization using inverse analyses can yield erroneous results associated with the lack of inverse problem uniqueness. One viable solution to alleviate the unsuitability of the inverse problem is to enrich the prior knowledge and/or the data space with complementary observations. In the case of noninvasive methods, the pertinent data are the dispersion curve of surface waves, typically resolved by means of active source methods at high frequencies and passive methods at low frequencies. To improve the inverse problem suitability, horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio data are commonly used jointly with the dispersion data in the inversion. In this article, we show that the joint inversion of dispersion and strong-motion downhole array data can also reduce the margins of uncertainty in the VS profile estimation. This is because acceleration time series recorded at downhole arrays include both body and surface waves and therefore can enrich the observational data space in the inverse problem setting. We also show how the proposed algorithm can be modified to systematically incorporate physical constraints that further enhance its suitability. We use both synthetic and real data to examine the performance of the proposed framework in estimation of the VS profile and damping at the Garner Valley downhole array and compare them against the VS estimations in previous studies.