bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A national survey of sedation practice and clinicians’ attitudes regarding sedation-related research in United Kingdom paediatric intensive care units
Authors: Mitting Rebecca , Tume Lyvonne M , Ramnarayan Padmanabhan
Published: June 2022

PurposeResearch involving analgo-sedation is a priority for both parents and professionals in paediatric intensive care, and guidelines are based on low quality evidence. Previous attempts at large-scale trials have faced recruitment challenges. Future research will require an understanding of current practice, research priorities of healthcare professionals and acceptability to parents. This survey aimed to describe current United Kingdom analgo-sedation practice, assess priorities for future research and identify perceived barriers to trials. MethodsA 26-question web-based survey was emailed to all Paediatric Critical Care Society members (n=1000) in April/May 2021. Responses were analysed both by ‘unit’ or at individual respondent level. Questions related to 4 patient categories: ‘neonatal (< 3 months of age) ‘paediatric’ > 3 months of age, ‘cardiac’ and ‘non-cardiac’.ResultsTwo hundred and sixteen healthcare professionals answered at least one question and responses were available from 100% of UK paediatric intensive care units (n=29) for all questions. Most units (96%, 28/29) routinely use scoring systems for sedation adequacy and presence of withdrawal (72%, 21/29), but few routinely screen for delirium (24%, 7/29). The most highly prioritised outcome measure for future trials was duration of mechanical ventilation. Respondents were most likely to agree to randomise paediatric general intensive care patients to trials comparing two different alpha agonists, and least likely to randomise neonatal cardiac patients to trials comparing benzodiazepines with alpha agonists. The most common perceived barrier to research was unit preference or familiarity with a particular regimen, followed by the perception that parents would not provide consent.ConclusionsThis study provides a snapshot of current United Kingdom analgo-sedation practice, and highlights the importance of parent/patient involvement in planning future trials.
In-vitro NLRP3 functional test assists the diagnosis and therapeutic choice of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) patients: a Brazilian cooperation
Authors: Mendonca Leonardo Oliveira , Toledo-Barros Myrthes Anna Maragna , Leal Vinicius Nunes Cordeiro , Roa Mariela Estefany Gislene Vera , Cambuí Raylane C , Toledo Eliana , Barros Samar Freschi , Melato Amanda de Oliveira , Rivitti-Machado Maria Cecília , Francescantonio Isadora Carvalho Medeiros , Grumach Anete Sevciovic , Cunha Ana Luiza , Penido Norma de Oliveira , Castro Fabio Fernandes Morato , Kalil Jorge , Pontillo Alessandra
Published: June 2022

Objective To report our five-years experience on the use of NLRP3 inflammasome functional assays in the differential diagnosis of Brazilian patients with a clinical suspicion of CAPS. Patients and methods: The study included 9 patients belonging to 2 families (I, II) and 7 unrelated patients with a clinical suspicion of AID according to Eurofever/PRINTO classification, recruited between 2017 and 2022. The control group for the NLRP3 functional assay consisted of 10 healthy donors and for the CBA cytokines measurement of 19 healthy controls. Patients underwent clinical evaluation, genetic and functional analysis. Results: All members of the family I received the diagnosis of Muckle-Wells Syndrome (MWS), carried the NLRP3 Thr348Met variant and resulted positive for the functional assay. The 2 patients of the family II resulted negative for the mutational screening but positive for the functional assay compatible with a MWS clinical phenotype. In 2 unrelated patients with NLRP3 mutations, including a novel mutation (​​Gly309Val, Asp303His), a positive functional test confirmed the clinical diagnosis of NOMID. 3 unrelated MWS and 1 FCAS patients resulted negative to the genetic screening and positive for the functional test. One patient with a FCAS-like phenotype harbored the NLRP12 His304Tyr variant confirming the diagnosis of FCAS2. Conclusion: The NLRP3 inflammasome functional assay can assist the clinical diagnosis of CAPS even in patients with unknown genetic defects.
Effects of Substrate Bias on the Sputtering of High Density (111)- Nanotwinned Cu films on SiC Chips
Authors: Yang Zi-Hong , Lee Pei-Ing , Chuang Tung-Han
Published: June 2022

This article presents a study of the influence of the substrate bias on the microstructure, preferred orientation, and mechanical and electrical properties of nanotwinned Cu film. The formation of a nanotwinned structure and (111) surface orientation can be properly controlled by applied substrate bias. High density nanotwinned structures were introduced into Cu films sputtered on SiC substrates with over 90% of (111)-orientation at -150 V. Densely packed Cu nanotwins were observed within the columnar grains stacked up on each other along the film growth direction, with an average twin spacing of 19.4 nm. The Cu films deposited on SiC substrate via bias sputtering had surface roughness of 8.6 to 15.8 nm. The sheet resistivity of the copper nanotwinned film increased with nanotwin density. The optimal indentation, 2.3 GPa, was found in the nanotwinned Cu film sputtered with a bias voltage of -150 V. The effects of Ar ion bombardment on microstructure, surface morphology and properties are further discussed.
Geotechnical Assessment Using Kinematic Analysis for an Unstable Road Cut, Along Haibat Sultan Mountain, Iraqi Kurdistan Region
Authors: Sissakian Varoujan K. , Vanarelli Mark J. , Jassim Hamed M. , Omer Hassan O.
Published: June 2022

There are many hazardous roads in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) which traverse through mountainous terrains. One of these roads was selected for a geotechnical assessment in this paper. The road crosses the Haibat Sultan Mountain, north of Koya town in IKR; it is one of the most dangerous roads in this region. Annually, traffic is blocked by various types of slope failures along this road. There are numerous observed examples where bedding planes in the slope face daylight next to the road. To assess the road geotechnically, several stations of the Haibat Sultan Crossing road were studied to determine their stability using the Kinematic Analysis Method. A total of 11 stations were identified with the highest potential for slope failure. It was determined that only four stations (Nos. 4, 5, 7 and 9) could be evaluated using kinematic analyses. The kinematic analyses for the four stations were performed using DipAnalyst 2.0 software. The analyses identified the potential failure areas and their factors of safety (F.S.). The factors of safety at these four stations were calculated and ranged between 0.66 – 0.85 indicating unstable slopes. Based on this information, remedial measures were recommended at these locations and along associated sections of the road.
Hollow Spherical Hierarchical MoO 3 /SiO 2 –TiO 2 Structures for Photocatalytic Decomposition of Organic Pollutant in Water
Authors: Kuznetsova Svetlana A. , Khalipova Olga S. , Lisitsa Konstantin V. , Selunina Liliya A. , Khasanov Victor V. , Malchik Alexandra G. , Chen Yu-Wen
Published: June 2022

MoO3/TiO2–SiO2 layered spherical composites with hierarchical structures have been synthesized via a template and sol-gel methods in which TOKEM-320Y anion exchanger was used as template. The properties of MoO3/TiO2–SiO2 spherical composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, 3D X-ray microtomography, N2 sorption, Infrared and Raman spectroscopies and ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The photocatalytic activity of MoO3/TiO2–SiO2 composites was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) aqueous solution under irradiated with an I2 excilamp (λmax = 312 nm) and its photoabsorption energy properties are related to the interaction between TiO2–SiO2 and MoO3 which occurs through oxygen in Ti-O-Mo and Si-O-Mo. The layered hierarchical structure results in lower oxygen vacancy concentrations in composites (0.0425) and a reduced bandgap width (2.58 eV in compare to 3.18 eV for MoO3 spheres), which increases the composite's absorption of light in the visible light regime (λ absorption edge is 480.5 nm). Photocatalytic degradation of the MB dye followed the pseudo-first-order-kinetics. Degradation product analysis was done using the HPLC-MS technique. The dye degradation is initiated by demethylation of the molecule and lead to formation of azure A, B and C and thionin. The results showed that MoO3/TiO2–SiO2 composites exhibited a much higher photocatalytic activity (rate constant is 0.0645 min‒1) than that of MoO3 spheres and other MoO3 samples in the literature. This investigation demonstrates that MoO3/TiO2–SiO2 layered spherical composites is a promising candidate material for photocatalytic decomposition of organic dyes in textile waste water which are considered as one of the greatest threats to the environment.
CLIC1 mediated autophagy confers resistance to DDP in gastric cancer
Authors: Nong Zhen-liang , Zhao Kun , Wang Ye , Yu Zhu , Wang Chong-jun , Huang Wei-jia , Chen Jun-qiang
Published: June 2022

As one of the most ordinary malignant tumors worldwide, gastric cancer has been concerned by researchers all the year round. The treatment of gastric cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy, and traditional Chinese medicine. Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for patients with advanced gastric cancer. As a critical chemotherapeutic drug, DDP has been approved to treat many kinds of solid tumors. Although DDP is an effective chemotherapeutic agent, many patients develop drug resistance in treatment, which has become a severe problem in clinical chemotherapy. This study aimed to research the mechanism of DDP resistance in gastric cancer. The results showed that compared to the parental cells, CLIC1 expression was increased in AGS/DDP and MKN28/DDP, and autophagy was activated. In addition, the sensitiveness of gastric cancer cells to DDP was decreased compared to the control group, and the autophagy was enhanced after overexpression of CLIC1. Conversely, gastric cancer cells were more sensitive to cisplatin after transfection of CLIC1siRNA or treatment with autophagy inhibitors. These experiments suggested that CLIC1 could alter the sensitiveness of gastric cancer cells to DDP by activating autophagy. Overall, the results of this study recommend a novel mechanism of DDP resistance in gastric cancer.
Bifrontal-parietal Ratio: A Novel Risk Factor for Cerebrospinal Fluid Overdrainage After Ventriculoperitoneal Shunting
Authors: Chaisawasthomrong Chonnawee , Saetia Kriangsak
Published: June 2022

Objective: This study aimed to examine potential risk factors associated with cerebrospinal fluid overdrainage after ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting. Methods: We retrospectively examined the medical records of hydrocephalus patients who underwent VP shunting at a single institution between January 2011 and December 2017 and had a minimum 3-year follow-up. Variables studied included age, gender, hydrocephalus etiology, symptoms, shunt valve, ventricular catheter entry point, and neurosurgical history, including history of external ventricular drainage. Radiographic variables included Evans index, bicaudate index, callosal angle, measurements of frontal lobe thickness, and bifrontal-parietal ratio. Results: Among the 182 study patients, 11 experienced overdrainage. Age, gender, etiology, symptoms, and surgical history did not significantly differ between patients who experienced overdrainage and those who did not. Evans index, bicaudate index, and callosal angle did not significantly differ between the groups. Measurements of frontal lobe thickness and bifrontal-parietal ratio were significantly lower in the overdrainage group. Conclusion: Bifrontal-parietal ratio may be useful to predict overdrainage after VP shunt surgery.
First Record of Two Egyptian Fungal Genera; The Myxomycete: Lepidoderma carestianum and the Ascomycete: Arthrinium bambusicola
Authors: El-Debaiky Samah A. , Mahmoud Yehia A.G.
Published: June 2022

Background: Slime molds (Myxomycetes) considered a separate group of protozoal organisms, related to rhizopoda and primitive fungi. They are characterized by forming large multinuclear plasmodia devoid of cell walls and their complex life cycles. On the other hand, ascomycetous fungi are considered large group which includes diversity of fungal genera ranged between pathogenic and saprophytic habitat. Results: The tested fungi, Lepidoderma carestianum which belongs to (Myxogastria, Amoebozoa) and the ascomycetous fungus; Arthrinium bambusicola were recorded for the first time in Egypt. Detailed morphological description and microscopic examination for these fungi were exhibited in this study. Conclusions: Sporocarp of L. carestianum was appeared at cold climate at November 2021 on the surface of cultivated soil while, A. bambusicola was isolated from dead branch of Melia azedarach tree on PDA medium as a saprobe. The most obvious feature of the isolate colony was the presence of the black colour regions due to conidiomata embedded in the white mycelia. The fungal conidia are distinguished by dark brown colour, oval shaped with tapered ends. The definition of the tested Lepidoderma and Arthrinium species was confirmed by molecular characterization using COIF1/COIR1 primers for Lepidoderma and ITS1 and ITS4 primers for Arthrinium.
Climate Change and Its Impact on Agricultural GDP Growth in Ethiopia: a Time Series Analysis
Authors: Mammo Behailu
Published: June 2022

Climate change is now a global phenomenon with growth, poverty, food security, and stability implications, and is one of the greatest challenges the world is facing today. The economic impact of climate change mainly depends on the sectoral composition of the economy. That is certain sectors like agriculture are more sensitive to climate change and the associated variability. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of climate change on agricultural gross domestic product growth in Ethiopia. This study uses time-series annual data from 1992/93to 2017/18 and, an effort is made to identify the long run and short-run impact of climate change in Ethiopia using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and error correction methods. The results of the study provide evidence that climate change and variability affect real agricultural gross domestic product growth negatively in the long run. The coefficient of the error term that captures the speed of adjustment toward the long-run equilibrium is found with the correct sign and magnitude. The overall findings of the study underlined the importance of building resilience to climate change and minimizing the adverse impacts of climate change to promote agricultural output and hence economic growth in Ethiopia.
Addressing the Uncertainty in Urban Traffic Prediction via Bayesian Graph Neural Network
Authors: Guo Ziyu , Liu Shijun , Pan Li , Li Qian
Published: June 2022

With the growth of intelligent transportation, reliable urban traffic prediction has become increasingly important in people’s lives. It does, however, confront the following challenges: First, the structure of traffic networks is usually constructed by researchers using domain knowledge , which is thus frequently uncertain. Second, the spatio-temporal dependence is complex, which is embodied in that the influence weights of various nearby roads section are uncertain and the status of roads section changes over time. Thus, even though the network structure is fully known, the spatio-temporal dependencies between roads’ sections are uncertain. However, to the best of our knowledge, few existing works have been able to address all challenges, and the performance of existing methods can be further improved. In this paper, the motivation is to address the uncertainty of traffic network in terms of connectivity and the dependency among nodes. Thus, we propose a Bayesian Spatio-Temporal Graph Attention Neural Networks (BST-GAT), which uses Bayesian theorem and a random block model of mixed membership to reconstruct the network during the neighborhood aggregation process to address the uncertainty of the network structure. In addition, BSTGAT uses the attention mechanism and RNN to address the uncertainty of the spatio-temporal dependence. Extensive experiments on two benchmark datasets demonstrate that BSTGAT is capable of effectively solving the uncertainty of the network structure and spatio-temporal dependencies, and it significantly outper-forms state-of-the-art model due to its higher effect and robustness.
Evaluation of Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Patients with ≥pT2 Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma after Radical Nephroureterectomy and Prediction of Postoperative Intravesical Recurrence
Authors: Zhou Jie , Li 李帅帅 , Zhu Jiawei , Wen Rumin , Li Hailong
Published: June 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether UTUC patients with pathologic ≥T2 and without distant metastasis (M0) benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy following radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) and look for the factors of postoperative bladder recurrence. Materials and Methods: We revised the clinical data of 398 pT2-4NxM0 patients treated with RNU between 2011 and 2021. Patients were treated with gemcitabine plus platinum adjuvant chemotherapy strategy within 90 days after RNU. All patients received at least 4 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. The Cox regression risk model was used to evaluate prognostic factors and risk factors for intravesical recurrence. Overall survival (OS) and Cancer-specific survival (CSS) were assessed using the Kaplan- Meier method. Possible side effects of chemotherapy were also actively monitored. Results: 105(26.4%) received adjuvant chemotherapy and 293(73.6%) did not. The median age was 61.5 years (mean66, range 33.0 to 90). The Median follow-up for the whole cohort after surgery was 64 months (mean34.7, range 1 to 129). The COX analysis revealed that gender (p= 0.023; HR 0.721), adjuvant chemotherapy(p＜0.001; HR 0.381), grade(p= 0.021; HR 1.693), and N stage (p＜0.001; HR 2.650) were independent clinicopathologically risk factors for predicting OS as well as CSS. The Kaplan–Meier curves showed that adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved the OS and CSS in UTUC patients. In addition, adjuvant chemotherapy improved the OS and CSS curves of lymph node-positive patients compared with the non-chemotherapy group. There were no serious or fatal adverse effects that occurred during chemotherapy. Meanwhile, the COX analysis presented that UTUC patients with concomitant bladder tumor are independent risk factors for intravesical recurrence after RNU. Conclusions: Gemcitabine combined with platinum chemotherapy after RNU significantly improved OS and CSS in UTUC patients with stage ≥ pT2 without severe side effects. UTUC patients with bladder tumors may be one of the high-risk groups for bladder tumor recurrence after RNU.
Adapting field-mosquito collection protocols for near-infrared spectroscopy implementation
Authors: Somé Bernard Mouonniba , Da Dari Fréderic Yannick , McCabe Ruth , Djègbè Nicaise Denis Codjo , Paré Lawata Inès Géraldine , Wermé Kadidia , Mouline Karine , Lefèvre Thierry , Ouédraogo Anicet Georges , Churcher Thomas S , Dabiré Roch Kounbobr
Published: June 2022

Background: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has the potential to be a useful tool for assessing key entomological parameters including age, infectious status, and species of wild malaria mosquitoes. Before NIRS can be reliably used in the field at scale, methods for killing mosquitoes and conserving samples prior to NIRS scanning need to be further optimized. Studies have historically killed mosquitoes using chloroform, though this is not without health hazards and should not be used in human dwellings. It is also unclear which mosquito preservation method to use.Methods: Here we investigate the use of pyrethrum sprays, a commercially available insecticide spray in Burkina Faso, for killing mosquitoes. Laboratory-reared Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii were killed using either Kaltox Paalga®, a pyrethrum insecticide spray routinely used as part of indoor mosquito collections, or chloroform (the “gold standard”). Preservative methods were also investigated to determine their impact on NIRS accuracy in predicting laboratory-reared Anopheles and wild-caught mosquito species. After analysis of fresh samples, mosquitoes were stored in 80% ethanol or in silica gel for two weeks and reanalyzed by NIRS. In addition, experimentally-infected An. coluzzii and wild-caught An. gambiae sensus lato were scanned fresh to determine whether they contained sporozoites then stored in preservatives mentioned above for two weeks before being reanalyzed. Results: There is not a substantial difference in NIRS accuracy in differentiating between laboratory-reared An. gambiae and An. coluzzii killed with either insecticide (90%) or chloroform (92%). After preservation, NIRS accuracy was 90% when mosquitoes were killed using chloroform and preserved in silica gel or ethanol. The same accuracy was obtained using Kaltox to kill mosquitoes and silica gel for preservation, but was diminish when ethanol was used as a preservative (80%). For infection status, NIRS is able to differentiate infectious and uninfectious mosquitoes with slightly lower accuracy for both laboratory and wild-caught mosquitoes preserved in silica gel or ethanol. Conclusions: NIRS can classify An. gambiae s.l species killed by pyrethrum spray with no loss of accuracy. This insecticide may have practical advantages over chloroform for mosquitoes killing in NIRS analysis.
Optimal Dichotomy of Temporal Scales and Boundedness/ Stability of Time – Varying Multidimensional Nonlinear Systems
Authors: Pinsky Mark
Published: June 2022

This paper develops a new approach to the estimation of the degree of boundedness/stability of multidimensional nonlinear systems with time-dependent nonperiodic coefficients – an essential task in various engineering and natural science applications. Known approaches to assessing the stability of such systems rest on the utility of Lyapunov functions and Lyapunov first approximation methodologies, typically providing conservative and computationally elaborate criteria for multidimensional systems of this category. Adequate criteria of boundedness of solutions to nonhomogeneous systems of this kind are rare in the contemporary literature. Lately, we develop a new approach to these problems which rests on bounding the evolution of the norms of solutions to initial systems by matching solutions of a scalar auxiliary equation we introduced in [1], [2] and [3]. Still, the technique advanced in [3] rests on the assumption that the average of the linear components of the underlying system is defined by a stable matrix of general position. The current paper substantially amplifies the application domain of this approach. It is merely assumed that the time – dependent linear block of the underlying system can be split into slow and fast varying components by application of any smoothing technique. This dichotomy of temporal scales is determined by the optimal criterion reducing the conservatism of our estimates. In turn, we transform the linear subsystem with slow-varying matrix in a diagonally dominant form by successive applications of the Lyapunov transforms. This prompts the development of novel scalar auxiliary equations embracing the estimation of the norms of solutions to our initial systems. Next, we formulate boundedness/ stability criteria and estimate the relevant regions of the underlying systems using analytical and abridged numerical reasoning. Lastly, we authenticate the developed methodology in inclusive simulations.
Should prostatectomy be performed in patients with bladder calculi concomitant benign prostatic obstruction who have not received medical treatment?
Authors: Anıl Hakan , Ünal Umut , Karamık Kaan , Ortoglu Ferhat , Erçil Hakan
Published: June 2022

Background: The historical dogma that bladder calculi comprise the main indication for prostatic surgery has recently been questioned. In this study, we aimed to predict which patients should undergo simultaneous prostate and bladder calculi surgery or only bladder calculi removal by evaluating preoperative risk factors.Methods: One-hundred seventeen men with bladder stones and concomitant benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) who had not received medical treatment before were included in the study. In the first step, only the bladder calculi of the patients were removed and medical treatment for BPO was given. The patients who benefited from medical treatment during the follow-up were defined as Group 1, and the patients who required prostate surgery for any indication were Group 2. Risk factors for prostate surgery requirements were determined by comparing preoperative characteristics between the two groups with a logistic regression model.Results: In the follow-up of 117 patients with bladder stones removed and medical treatment initiated, 49 (41.9%) patients were found to have prostate surgery indications. The indication in 33 of 49 (67.3%) patients was medical treatment failure. Presence of intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP) and post-voiding high residual urine volume was found to be preoperative risk factor for the requirement of future prostate surgery (Odds ratio: 2.071, 95% CI: 1.05-4.05, P=0.034, odds ratio:1.013, 95% CI:1.007-1.019, P <0.001). Conclusion: In patients who have not received medical treatment for BPO before, bladder calculi developing secondary to BPO do not always constitute an indication for prostate surgery.
Efficient relay-aided device-to-device communication in 5G mm-Wave cellular network: A dual mode approach
Authors: Sarma Subhra Sankha , Hazra Ranjay
Published: June 2022

Relay aided device-to-device (D2D) communication has the potential to increase the capacity and coverage of the network and enhance the quality of service (QoS). Here, in this paper we propose a single cell where D2D and cellular users co-exist in an underlaying 5G mm-Wave cellular network. Two modes are proposed for D2D communication which minimizes the interference namely, direct and relay mode. Direct mode operates at 2 GHz carrier frequency while relay mode implements full duplex amplify and forward (FDAF) relay strategy at 28 GHz frequency. Conditions are applied on the derived expression for radius of coverage, R t for switching of modes. The closed form expressions of performance metrices namely, spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE) are derived using stochastic geometry as a tool for both the modes to evaluate the system performance. Expressions for probability distribution function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) are also derived and verified using simulation. Further, simulation results validate the efficacy of the proposed scheme. Also, comparison of the proposed method with the existing methods depicts the better performance of the system.
Exploring Factors Associated with Preferences for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Self-Sampling among Racially- and Ethnically-Diverse Women: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Xiong Serena , Ghebre Rahel , Kulasingam Shalini , Mason Susan , Pratt Rebekah , Lazovich DeAnn
Published: June 2022

BACKGROUND
Cervical cancer rates have declined since the implementation of cervical cancer screening methods such as Pap tests. However, Pap tests are still underutilized by many minority women due to limited awareness about human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, difficulties accessing health care services, and cultural or religious beliefs. HPV self-sampling has been proposed as an alternative to overcome some of these barriers. The objective of this study was to assess awareness, self-efficacy, and preferences of HPV self-sampling among racially- and ethnically-diverse women.
METHODS
From May – November 2021, women, ages 30–65 years old, were recruited in person and virtually to complete an online survey. The survey included 15 sociodemographic questions and five outcome measures related to HPV self-sampling: (1) awareness of test; (2) self-efficacy to conduct test; (3) location preference of test (clinic vs. home); 4) collector preference for screening strategy (self-collected vs. clinician-collected); and 5) preference of cervical cancer screening strategy (HPV self-sampling vs. Pap test). Modified Poisson regression was conducted to assess exploratory associations between sociodemographic variables and each outcome measure; relative risks were adjusted for age.
RESULTS
A total of 420 women completed the online survey, of which 32.4% identified as Non-Hispanic white, 22.2% as Hispanic, 12.6% as Black/African-American, 28.3% as Asian, 1.9% as American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 1.4% as more than two races. The majority of women had not heard of HPV self-sampling (93.5%), but reported high self-efficacy (75.3%). Women also reported higher preferences for completing an HPV test in the clinic (52.2%) and for performing a self-collected HPV test themselves (58.7%), yet would choose a traditional Pap test over HPV self-sampling (56.0%).
CONCLUSION
The low level of HPV self-sampling awareness, across all racial and ethnic groups, suggests a strong opportunity to promote widespread educational efforts around this new tool. While many women, including those that are racially- and ethnically-diverse, still prefer the Pap test, the biggest barrier to their potential uptake of HPV self-sampling is a strong reliance on provider expertise. Future research should leverage the provider role in HPV self-sampling interventions as well as explore the feasibility of home-based or clinic-based HPV self-sampling approaches.
SARS-CoV-2 infection of human brain microvascular endothelial cells leads to inflammatory activation through NF-κB non-canonical pathway and mitochondrial remodeling
Authors: Torices Silvia , Motta Carolline , Rosa Barbara da , Marcos Anne , Alvarez-Rosa Liandra , Siqueira Michele , Moreno-Rodriguez Thaidy , Matos Aline , Caetano Braulia , Martins Jessica , Gladulich Luis , Loiola Erick , Bagshaw Olivia , Stuart Jeffrey , Siqueira Marilda , Stipursky Joice , Toborek Michal , Adesse Daniel
Published: June 2022

Neurological effects of COVID-19 and long-COVID-19 as well as neuroinvasion by SARS-CoV-2 still pose several questions and are of both clinical and scientific relevance. We described the cellular and molecular effects of the human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) in vitro infection by SARS-CoV-2 to understand the underlying mechanisms of viral transmigration through the Blood-Brain Barrier. Despite the low to non- productive viral replication, SARS-CoV-2-infected cultures displayed increased apoptotic cell death and tight junction protein expression and immunolocalization. Transcriptomic profiling of infected cultures revealed endothelial activation via NF-κB non-canonical pathway, including RELB overexpression, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 led to altered secretion of key angiogenic factors and to significant changes in mitochondrial dynamics, with increased mitofusin-2 expression and increased mitochondrial networks. Endothelial activation and remodeling can further contribute to neuroinflammatory processes and lead to further BBB permeability in COVID-19.
Dietary micro-fibrillated cellulose improves gut health and piglet performance at weaning
Authors: Uddin Md Karim , Mahmud Md. Rayhan , Hasan Shah , Peltoniemi Olli , Oliviero Claudio
Published: June 2022

Background: Weaning is an abrupt and stressful event for piglets, characterized by reduced feed intake, low weight- gain, indigestion, and diarrhea. In addition, during this period, piglets face different stressors and possible infections, making it very urgent to develop alternative feeding strategies to prevent these clinical problems. Dietary fiber (DF) supplementation is one of the strategies to prevent on-farm infections, which has the capability to improve gut health and piglet performance. Among the beneficial DFs, micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC), is a new-generation plant-derived innovative feed ingredient; it originates from sugar-beet pulp and has a hyper-branched structure with the ability to form shear-thinning hydrogel and a high water-binding capacity. We therefore aimed to determine the effects of MFC supplementation on performance of piglets before and after weaning. We included 45 sows and their piglets in this trial and monitored the results until piglets were seven weeks of age. Sows received 75 g during gestation and 100 g MFC during lactation. Pre-weaning and post-weaning piglets’ diets contained 1% of MFC for creep feed and 2% as post-weaning feed.Results: Piglets supplemented with MFC had higher body weight and average daily growth (ADG) at pre- and post-weaning than did control piglets. MFC supplementation also increased fecal total volatile fatty acids (VFA), especially butyrate content, and reduced diarrhea incidence post-weaning. Ruminococcus, Roseburia, Intestinibacter, and Oribacterium genera were highly abundant in MFC piglets, whereas, Escherichia_Shigella, Campylobacter, and Parabacteroides were higher in control piglets.Conclusion: MFC-supplemented piglets exhibited superior intestinal health and production performance after weaning, perhaps due to changes in their intestinal development, and improved intestinal permeability attributable to the MFC supplementation to piglets at different stages until seven weeks of age. In addition, VFA, specially butyrate, may play a crucial role in growth of mucosa and in enterocyte differentiation, and may improve barrier function. MFC supplementation stimulated growth of butyrate- producing bacteria and reduced pathogenic bacteria. It is evident that supplementation of MFC in feed to young piglets can improve growth performance and volatile fatty-acid content and reduce post-weaning diarrhea.
Kein ‹normales› Review
Authors: Bolten-Bühler Ricarda , Thielsch Angelika
Published: June 2022

Der Prozess des Hineinfindens in das System Hochschule kann herausfordernd sein – und das nicht nur für angehende Forscher:innen, sondern auch für neue Mitarbeitende im Bereich des Third Space, der zwischen Wissenschaft und Administration verortet ist. Um der Gruppe der Wissenschaftler:innen in der Qualifizierungs- und Orientierungsphase, die thematisch an der Schnittstelle von Medien und Bildung arbeiten, diesen Prozess zu erleichtern, haben vier deutschsprachige Fachgesellschaften das «Junge Forum für Medien und Hochschulentwicklung», kurz JFMH initiiert. Ein besonderes Element dieser jährlich stattfindenden Veranstaltung ist, dass in der Entstehung des Tagungsbandes statt eines Review-Verfahrens auf den mit dem Mentoring verwandten Shepherding-Prozess zurückgegriffen wird, in dem erfahrene Mentor:innen die Finalisierung der Veröffentlichung in einem offenen und dialogischen Vorgehen begleiten. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt eine Interviewstudie vor, in der Mentorierende zu ihren Erfahrungen mit dem JFMH-Shepherding befragt werden und Qualitätsmerkmale, aber auch Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten dieses Vorgehens skizzieren. Die so entstandenen Einblicke bieten erstmals einen systematisch ausgewerteten Zugang, um das Besondere und die Chancen dieser Variante eines wissenschaftlichen Reviews greifbar zu machen. Das Shepherding, wie es im JFMH seit zehn Jahren realisiert wird, wird so als wertvolles Instrument der akademischen Sozialisation erkennbar.
PENGEMBANGAN PENDIDIKAN AKHLAK MELALUI PEMBERDAYAAN MANAJEMEN ORGANISASI PEMUDA
Authors: Putra Ilham Andika , Santosa Achadi Budi
Published: June 2022

Abstract: Adolescent morality is the most strategic foundation for the nation's future development. The emergence of organizations that focus on moral development such as youth hijrah, better known as shift organizations, has attracted a lot of interest among young millennials to join them. The purpose of this study is to reveal the management of the hijrah youth organization in instilling moral education among adolescents. The approach is carried out through a qualitative approach using the literature review method (narrative literature review). This research reveals that hijrah youth organizations have used the strategy of planting branding images in managing their organizations. The organization's members are driven by a millennial youth, a community leader who is appointed as a driving figure for the moral improvement of young people. The implementation of shift organization management is carried out through; (1) the relationship between members is quite communicative, (2) the cool style of young people as branding in instilling a positive impression, (3) the selection of material content close to real life, and (4) blended learning educational methods.
Students as customers of higher education: Perceptions of South African students
Authors: K. Govender Krishna , Soni Sanjay , David Estelle
Published: June 2022

An increase in the number of privately-owned higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa has created greater competition among private and public HEIs since all are competing for the same pool of potential students. Thus, marketers of HEIs have begun to realize the importance of placing a renewed focus on their students’ (customers’) needs. This study aimed to establish whether students perceive themselves as customers of HEIs, as well as the extent to which they perceive the attitude of academic and administrative staff toward them as being customer-focused. A total of 411 online questionnaires were administered to students at select private and public HEIs in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted on the survey data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. As a result, the majority of students perceived themselves as customers of the HEI. Furthermore, students’ perception of the attitude of academic and administrative staff toward them reinforced the view that they are indeed customers of their HEI. Thus, by working with the academics and administrators, HEIs should consistently identify and satisfy the service needs of students.
Özel Gereksinimli Bireylere Matematik Öğretiminde Somut-Yarı Somut-Soyut Öğretimin Kanıta Dayalı Uygulama Olarak Belirlenmesi
Authors: ÖZLÜ ÜNLÜ Özge , ARSLANOĞLU Aslin , YIKMIŞ Ahmet
Published: June 2022

Giriş: Bu çalışmada özel gereksinimli bireylere matematik becerilerinin öğretiminde Somut-Yarı Somut-Soyut (SY-YS-S) öğretim uygulamalarının kanıta dayalı olma durumunun değerlendirmesi amaçlanmaktadır.Yöntem: Bu çalışmada, 1980-2020 yılları arasında ulusal ve uluslararası kaynaklarda yayımlanan çalışmaların, betimsel analiz ve kanıta dayalı olma standartlarına göre analiz süreçleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. İlk taramalar sonucunda toplamda 52 çalışmaya ulaşılmıştır. Bu çalışmalardan dâhil etme ölçütlerini karşılayan toplam 21 çalışma betimsel analiz sürecine dâhil edilmiştir. Ardından, tek-denekli araştırmalar için belirlenmiş olan niteliksel ölçütler dikkate alınarak bu çalışmalar yöntemsel açıdan değerlendirilmiştir. Niteliksel ölçütlerin tamamını karşılayan 17 çalışma görsel ve meta-analiz sürecine alınmıştır.Bulgular: Betimsel analiz bulgularına göre, çalışmaların 2011-2019 yılları arasında yoğunlaştığı ve sıklıkla özel öğrenme güçlüğü olan çocuklara yönelik gerçekleştirildiği görülmüştür. Yöntemsel özelliklere bakıldığında; araştırma deseni olarak sıklıkla denekler arası yoklama denemeli çoklu yoklama modelinin kullanıldığı; bağımlı değişken olarak problem çözme alanında en çok onluk bozma gerektiren çıkarma işlemi içeren problemleri çözme becerisi ve dört işlem becerileri alanında ise sıklıkla çarpma işlemi becerisine yer verildiği görülmüştür. S-YS-S stratejisinin sıklıkla doğrudan öğretim yöntemi ile sunulduğu ve RENAME stratejisi ile desteklendiği görülmektedir. İncelenen araştırmaların tümünde grafiksel analiz kullanılmış; ancak istatistiksel analizlere tüm çalışmalarda yer verilmemiştir. Kanıta dayalı değerlendirmeye ilişkin bulgulara bakıldığında, niteliksel ölçütlerin tamamını karşılayan 17 çalışmadan 16’sında olumlu etki görülmüştür. Meta-analiz çalışmalarında, ÖVY ve Tau-U etki büyüklüğü analiz sonuçları ise bulgular başlığında ayrıntılandırılmıştır.Tartışma: Elde edilen bu bulgular, S-YS-S öğretiminin kanıta dayalı bir uygulama olduğunu gösterir niteliktedir. Elde edilen bulgular alanyazın dikkate alınarak tartışılmış, araştırmacılara ve uygulamacılara önerilerde bulunulmuştur.
Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in Relation to Reproductive Health Among Young Albanian Women
Authors: Zazo Alketa , Kulluri Eliona , Vrapi Enxhi
Published: June 2022

OBJECTIVE: National and international health policies focus on improving the sexual and reproductive health among women, therefore, understanding the factors that motivate or refrain women from accessing reproductive health services is central to those policies. This study aimed to document the level of sexual health-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices among women of reproductive age (24-49 years old) in Tirana, Albania.
STUDY DESIGN: The main study instrument was a structured questionnaire focusing on knowledge, attitudes, and practices in relation to sexual and reproductive health. Quantitative data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 632 women of reproductive age in Tirana who were randomly selected to participate in the survey. Consent was taken and the data remained confidential. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 14.
RESULTS: Women, participating in this study, appeared to be well-informed regarding the risk factors associated with cervical cancer, yet only 32.7% had carried out a Pap-smear test. ‘Being healthy’, lack of diseases, lack of time, and for a minority of 9% the lack of knowledge were the main reasons listed for not undertaking cervical screening. More than half of the women report having good knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases-information that was mainly acquired through television (73.4%) and the internet (50.7%). The majority, 81.2%, of the women perceived themselves as not being at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and only 12% of women report to have gone to the health care center to ask for information or advice on sexually transmitted diseases prevention methods. A similar trend was witnessed regarding contraception. Most participants admitted to not using any mode of contraception or preferring the withdrawal method despite being informed of the main contraceptive options. Reasons for using or not the appropriate method were different. Major factors influencing decision-making on the contraception method were the male partner preferences and lack of knowledge about the role of the primary health care center as information and prescription provider for contraceptives.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings do confirm the gap between knowledge and practices and suggest the need to develop and implement sexual and reproductive health services, which integrate adequately communication and health promotion strategies. Equally important is to continually monitor and collect data to better understand the population’s needs and where to focus the efforts to be able to deliver an improved, efficient, and satisfactory sexual health service.
Investigation on the feasibility of recycled polyvinylidene difluoride polymer from used membranes for removal of methylene blue: experimental and DFT studies
Authors: Patel Raj Vardhan , Raj Gopika B. , Chaubey Shweta , Yadav Anshul
Published: June 2022

This study reports the feasibility of recycled polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) beads to decolourize methylene blue (MB) from aqueous streams. The beads were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) for its morphological and structural analysis. The effect of various process parameters such as adsorbent dose, initial concentration, contact time, and pH was studied. The first principle density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the underlying mechanism behind the adsorption process. The MB dye adsorption on recycled PVDF beads followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm, indicating the adsorption was chemical and monolayer. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained was 27.86 mg g−1. The adsorption energy of MB-PVDF predicted from the DFT study was –64.7 kJ mol−1. The HOMO-LUMO energy gap of PVDF decreased from 9.42 eV to 0.50 eV upon interaction with MB dye due to the mixing of molecular orbitals. The DFT simulations showed that the interaction of the MB dye molecule was from the electronegative N atom of the MB dye molecule, implying that electrostatic interactions occurred between the recycled PVDF beads and the positively charged quaternary ammonium groups in MB dye. The present study demonstrates the potential of recycled PVDF beads for a low-cost dye removal technique from textile wastewater.
Structure and Activity of Protegiun-1 in Model Lipid Membranes
Authors: Waring Alan J. , Harwig Sylvia S.L. , Lehrer Robert L
Published: June 2022

Protegrin (PG)-1, an antimicrobial peptide from porcine leukocytes, mediated the release of encapsulated fluorescent dye from vesicles of simulated microbial lipids, suggesting that the peptide interacted strongly with membrane-mimetic ensembles. Circular dichroism measurements of PG-1 in membrane-lipid dispersions and liposomal systems indicated that the peptide assumed a predominantly β-sheet conformation in these environments. Fourier transform infrared measurements of the peptide in microbial lipid films showed that the P­ sheet component was oriented approximately parallel to the surface of the lipid film The ability of PG-1 to associate with and lyse model microbial-lipid membranes is likely to underlie its potent antibiotic properties.
New Bicyclic Lactone by Biotransformation of β-caryophyllene using
Aspergillus niger
Authors: Al-Dulaimi Qutaiba , Mohammad Mohammad Yasin , Al-Najdawi Manal , Al-Hiari Yusuf M. , Haniffa Haroon M. , Choudhary M. Iqbal
Published: June 2022

Microbial transformation of β-caryophyllene (1) by suspended cell cultures of the plant
pathogen fungus Aspergillus niger, resulted in the production of one major metabolite. This metabolite
was identified as (3aR,11aS, E)-9-methyl-4-methylene-3a,4,7,10,11,11a-hexahydro-2H-furo[3,2-
c]oxecine-2,6(3H)-dione (2), by different spectroscopic methods. Metabolite 2 was found to be a new
compound. The proposed pathway for the synthesis of compound 2 was also explained.
Phytosome: An Effective Transdermal Drug Delivery System for Phytoconstituents
Authors: Mahmoudabad Arezoo Gohari , Shirshahi Vahid , Mehrabi Mohsen , Gheybi Fatemeh , Gharravi Anneh Mohammad , Salehi Majid , Masoudi Alireza
Published: June 2022

Herbal medicine and phytochemicals have always been great therapeutic options to treat various diseases due to their compatibility, safety, easy production, low cost and side effects. However, low absorption rate ,and poor bioavailability are notable challenges that have limited the use of most phytoconstituents. To address these challenges, different drug delivery methods have been proposed for generating operative carrier systems for phytochemicals. Among them, transdermal drug delivery (TDD) using nanophytosome has been introduced as a promising candidate for the delivery of insoluble phytoconstituents. Phytosomes can overcome skin barriers, and are therefore effective carriers for herbal medicines. They are generally produced by combining phytoconstituent agents in medicinal plant extracts with phospholipid molecules. They have improved the clinical applications of phytoconstituents such as polyphenols by enhancing their bioavailability and uptake. In this review, main benefits of transdermal delivery systems, advantages of nanophytosome over other lipid nanoparticles in TDD of phytochemicals, and methods of phytosome preparation and characterization are briefly reviewed.