bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards Heralded Two-Photon Absorption and Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence for Quantum Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Authors: Jechow Andreas
Published: February 2020

The interaction between single or a fixed number of photons with a single absorber is of fundamental interest in quantum technology. The harnessing of light matter interactions at the single particle limit has several potential applications ranging from quantum communication and quantum metrology to quantum imaging. In this letter, a setup for heralded two-photon absorption at the single absorber level is proposed. The setup is based on a heralded two-photon source utilizing spontaneous parametric down-conversion, entanglement swapping and sum frequency generation for joint detection. The feasibility of the scheme is discussed by reviewing recent achievements in utilizing entangled and correlated photons for two-photon absorption as well as single photon absorption experiments at the limit of single absorbers in the context of applications in imaging (here mainly microscopy) and spectroscopy.
PENERAPAN ANALISIS KESESUAIAN LAHAN UNTUK PENGEMBANGAN TANAMAN JANGGELAN DI KABUPATEN PACITAN
Authors: Supriyadi Supriyadi , Winarno Joko , R. MMA. Retno , Sumani Sumani
Published: February 2020

Land suitability for particular uses is usually evaluated using land characteristics or land quality. Land suitability is crucial to determining the success of a plant's production. Janggelan plants are potential commodities that are potential to be developed. Technological opportunities and innovations in the development of Janggelan are very wide open, both as a source of food, biopharmaceutical, industrial, and trade. The cultivated land has been exported to Thailand, Vietnam and China in dry form. However, during this time, janggelan plants have not been developed and only planted as side crops in agroforestry. The purpose of this activity is the development of janggelan plant based on land suitability analysis in Pacitan Regency and increase the production of grass jelly in Pacitan regency.
Keywords : janggelan, land suitability, Pacitan.
Evaluation of Quality Improvement Methods for Altering Opioid Prescribing Behavior in Hand Surgery
Authors: Schommer Jillian , Allen Scott , Scholz Natalie , Reams Megan , Bohn Deborah
Published: February 2020

Background:

The opioid epidemic in the United States continues to be problematic as morbidity and mortality rates increase yearly. Orthopaedic surgeons are the third highest prescribing group among physicians. Studies show that orthopaedic surgeons tend to overprescribe opioids, but published data on patient opioid utilization, pain management satisfaction, and national clinical practice guidelines on opioid prescribing are scarce or lacking. Furthermore, little information is available on influences on physician prescribing behavior and whether changes in prescribing habits are lasting.

Methods:

Using recently published opioid utilization and prescribing guidelines for hand surgery, we created an opioid prescribing quality improvement program with the aim of reducing postoperative opioid prescribing without negatively impacting patient pain satisfaction. The main aspect of the program was the implementation and modification of an opioid prescribing order set, but the program also included surgeon education—executed in 2 intervention steps—about how their prescribing behavior compared with that of their peers. Three phases of data representing 3 months each were collected prior to, between, and after the interventions.

Results:

Two thousand and sixty-seven hand surgery cases were reviewed (629 in Phase 1, 655 in Phase 2, and 783 in Phase 3). The average number of morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) was reduced from 142.0 in Phase 1 to 69.9 in Phase 2 (51% reduction) to 61.3 in Phase 3 (57% reduction compared with Phase 1). Significant reductions in MMEs occurred across the procedural categories as well as the hand surgeons. Patient pain satisfaction was similar before and after implementation of the first intervention (p = 0.96).

Conclusions:

Quality improvement methods were effective in altering prescribing behavior by physicians in the long term, and our approach may be effective if applied more widely. Similar studies on quality improvement methods and prescribing behavior, patient opioid utilization, and patient satisfaction with pain management are needed in other orthopaedic subspecialties.

Clinical Relevance:

Evidence-based guidelines, a quality improvement process, and unblinded information on prescribing behavior compared with that of peers may result in long-lasting reductions in surgeons’ opioid prescribing practices.
Anatomic Total Shoulder Arthroplasty and Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Authors: Occhiboi Emil P. , Clement Ryan D.
Published: February 2020

The use of shoulder arthroplasty has increased drastically since the early 2000s. Originally described as the gold standard for the treatment of advanced glenohumeral osteoarthritis, advances in implant design and type have allowed for a greater number of indications, expanding its use worldwide. These implants have led to an improvement in several specific outcomes, such as shoulder function, range of motion, and patient satisfaction. Current designs replicate shoulder anatomy and biomechanics, significantly contributing to patient success. As further studies are conducted, implant designs and clinical application will continue to advance, thus improving the future benefits of shoulder reconstruction.
SEÇİLMİŞ BÜYÜKŞEHİR BELEDİYELERİNİN SOSYAL HARCAMALARIN DÜZEYİNİ ETKİLEYEN FAKTÖRLER BAĞLAMINDA DEĞERLENDİRMESİ
Authors: KARADAĞ Yaprak , ŞAHİN İPEK Elif Ayşe
Published: February 2020

Bu çalışmanın amacı, yerel yönetimlerde sosyal harcamaların düzeyini etkileyen kritik faktörler çerçevesinde Türkiye’deki seçilmiş büyükşehir belediyelerinin değerlendirilmesi ve sosyal harcamaların, nitelik ile niceliğini arttıracak önerilerin sunulmasıdır. Bu amaçla farklı sosyo-ekonomik göstergelere sahip Adana, Ankara, İzmir ve Mersin büyükşehir belediyelerinin 2010-2017 yılları arasındaki sosyal harcamalarına ilişkin verileri incelenmiştir. Sosyal harcamaların izlenmesinde büyükşehir belediyelerinin stratejik planları, performans programları, faaliyet raporları ve kesin hesap planlarından yararlanılmıştır. Sosyal harcamalar, gelirlerin birleşimi ve gelirlerin giderleri karşılama oranı ile birlikte analiz edilmiştir. Sosyal harcamaları etkileyen mali olanaklara ek olarak merkezi-yerel ilişkiler, idari teşkilatın yapısı ve diğer faktörler de değerlendirmeye alınmıştır. Sonuç olarak seçilmiş belediyelerin çoğunluğunda sosyal harcamaların düzeyi, bütçe dengesinden veya bütçe büyüklüğünden etkilenmektedir. Yine aynı belediyelerde, öz gelirlerin payının bütçe gelirleri içerisinde yüksek oranlı olması kesin olarak sosyal harcama düzeyini arttırmamaktadır. Ayrıca politik kararların veya değişimlerin, planlamanın, idare ve organizasyon yapısının da sosyal harcamaları farklılaştırdığı görülmüştür.
Near Real-Time Hydraulic Fracturing Event Recognition Using Deep Learning Methods
Authors: Shen Yuchang , Cao Dingzhou , Ruddy Kate , Teixeira de Moraes Luis Felipe
Published: February 2020

This paper provides the technical details of developing models to enable automated stage-wise analyses to be implemented within the real-time completion (RTC) analytics system. The models—two of which use machine learning (ML), including the convolutional neural network (CNN) technique (LeCun et al. 1990) and the U-Net architecture (Ronneberger et al. 2015)—detect the hydraulic fracture stage start and end, identify the ball seat operation, and categorize periods of pump rate. These tasks are performed on the basis of the two reliably available measurements of slurry rate and wellhead pressure, which enable the models to run automatically in real time, and also lay the foundation for further hydraulic fracturing advanced analyses. The presented solution provides real-time automated interpretations of hydraulic fracture events, enabling auto-generation of key performance indicator (KPI) reports, dispelling the need for manual labeling, and eliminating human bias and errors. It replaces the manual tasks in the RTC workflow/data pipeline and paves the way for a fully automated RTC system.
Measuring retention in care for HIV-positive pregnant women in Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) option B+ programs: the Mozambique experience
Authors: Ahoua Laurence , Arikawa Shino , Tiendrebeogo Thierry , Laheurta Maria , Aly Dario , Becquest Renaud , Dabis Francois
Published: February 2020

Background : Failure to retain HIV-positive pregnant women on antiretroviral therapy (ART) leads to increased mortality for the mother and her child. This study evaluated different retention measures for women’s engagement along the continuum of care for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) option B+ services in Mozambique.
Methods : We compared ‘point’ retention (patient’s presence in care 12-month post-ART initiation or any time thereafter) with the following definitions: alive and in care 12 month post-ART initiation (Ministry of Health; MOH); attendance at a health facility up to 15-month post-ART initiation (World Health Organization; WHO); alive and in treatment at 1-, 2-, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month post-ART initiation (Inter-Agency Task Team; IATT); and alive and in care 12-month post-ART initiation with ≥75% appointment adherence during follow-up (i.e. ‘appointment adherence’ retention) or with ≥75% of appointments met on time during follow-up (i.e. ‘on-time adherence’ retention). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were produced to assess variability in retention rates. We used ‘on-time adherence’ retention as our reference to estimate sensitivity, specificity, and proportion of misclassified patients.
Results : Considering the ‘point’ retention definition, 16,840 HIV-positive pregnant women enrolled in option B+ PMTCT services were identified as ‘retained in care’ 12-month post-ART initiation. Of these, 60.3% (95% CI 59.6–61.1), 84.8% (95% CI 84.2–85.3), and 16.4% (95% CI 15.8–17.0) were classified as ‘retained in care’ using MOH, WHO, and IATT definitions, respectively, and 1.2% (95% CI 1.0–1.4) were classified as ‘retained in care’ using the ‘≥75% on-time adherence’ definition. All definitions provided specificity rates of ≥98%. The sensitivity rates were 3.0% with 78% of patients misclassified according to the WHO definition and 4.3% with 54% of patients misclassified according to the MOH definition. The ‘point’ retention definition misclassified 97.6% of patients. Using IATT and ‘appointment adherence’ retention definitions, sensitivity rates (9.0% and 11.7%, respectively) were also low; however, the proportion of misclassified patients was smaller (15.9% and 18.3%, respectively).
Conclusion : More stringent definitions indicated lower retention rates for PMTCT programs. Policy makers and program managers should include attendance at follow-up visits when measuring retention in care to better guide planning, scale-up, and monitoring of interventions.
Laparoscopic orchiopexy of palpable undescended testes_ experience of a single tertiary institution with over 773 cases
Authors: You Jia , Li Gang , Li Shuang , Chen Haitao , Wang Jun
Published: February 2020

Background Discuss the superiority of laparoscopic orchiopexy in the treatment of inguinal palpable undescended testes. Methods Inclusion criteria: Preoperative examination and color Doppler ultrasound examination confirmed that the testes were located in the inguinal canal and could not be pulled into the scrotum, except for retractive and ectopic testes. The surgical steps were depicted as follow. The retroperitoneal wall was carved by ultrasonic scalpels, separates the spermatic vessels closed to the inferior pole of the kidney if necessary, dissects the peritoneum of vas deferens, cuts the testicular gubernaculum, and pulls back the testicle into the abdominal cavity. Besides, protect the vas deferens, and descend the testes to the scrotum and fix them without tension. Results There were 773 patients with 869 inguinal undescended palpable testes, 218 cases on the left side, 459 cases on the right side and 96 cases with bilateral undescended testes, whose age ranged from 6 months to 8 years, with an average of 20 months. All testes were successfully operated, no converted to open surgery. The average operation time was (34.8 ± 5.4) min. There were 692 testes have an ipsilateral patent processus vaginalis (89.5%); In 677 cases of unilateral cryptorchidism, 233 cases (34.4%) have a contralateral patent processus vaginalis, and laparoscopic percutaneous extraperitoneal closure the hernia sac carry out during the surgery. There was no subcutaneous emphysema during the operation, no vomiting, no abdominal distension, no wound bleeding and obvious pain after surgery, especially wound infection is rarely. Doppler ultrasound was evaluated regularly after surgery. The patients were followed up for 6 to 18 months. All the testes were located in the scrotum without testicular retraction and atrophy. No inguinal hernia or hydrocele was found in follow-up examination. Conclusion Laparoscopic orchiopexy manage inguinal palpable cryptorchidism is safe and effective, and there are obvious minimally invasive advantages. Furthermore, It could discover a contralateral patent processus vaginalis, and treat at the same time, which avoid the occurrence of metachronous inguinal hernia.
INTERGROWTH21st vs customized fetal growth curves in the assessment of the neonatal nutritional status: a retrospective cohort study of gestational diabetes
Authors: Alba Juan Jesus Fernández , Pazos Estefania Soto , Cortes Rocio Moreno , Sanchez Angel Vilar , Macias Carmen Gonzalez , Lara Maria Castillo , Corral Luis Moreno , Bueno Jose Antonio Sainz
Published: February 2020

Background
Gestational diabetes mellitus is associated with increased incidence of adverse perinatal outcomes including newborns large for gestational age, macrosomia, preeclampsia, polyhydramnios, stillbirth, and neonatal morbidity. Thus, fetal growth should be monitored by ultrasound to assess for fetal overnutrition, and thereby, its clinical consequence, macrosomia. However, it is not clear which reference curve to use to define the limits of normality. Our aim is to determine which method, INTERGROWTH21st or customized curves, better identifies the nutritional status of newborns of diabetic mothers.
Methods
This retrospective cohort study compared the risk of malnutrition in SGA newborns and the risk of overnutrition in LGA newborns using INTERGROWTH21st and customized birth weight references in gestational diabetes. The nutritional status of newborns was assessed using the ponderal index . Additionally, to determine the ability of both methods in the identification of neonatal malnutrition and overnutrition, we calculate sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and likelihood ratios.
Results
231 pregnant women with GDM were included in the study. The rate of SGA indentified by INTERGROWTH21st was 4.7% vs 10.7% identified by the customized curves. The rate of LGA identified by INTERGROWTH21st was 25.6% vs 13.2% identified by the customized method. Newborns identified as SGA by the customized method showed a higher risk of malnutrition than those identified as SGA by INTERGROWTH21st. (RR 4.24 vs 2.5). LGA newborns according to the customized method also showed a higher risk of overnutrition than those classified as LGA according to INTERGROWTH21st. (RR 5.26 vs 3.57). In addition, the positive predictive value of the customized method was superior to that of INTERGROWTH21st in the identification of malnutrition (32% vs 27.27%), severe malnutrition (22.73% vs 20%), overnutrition (51.61% vs 32.20%) and severe overnutrition (28.57% vs 14.89%).
Conclusions
In pregnant women with DMG, the ability of customized fetal growth curves to identify newborns with alterations in nutritional status appears to exceed that of INTERGROWTH21st
Epidemiological analysis of the Kaohsiung city strategy for dengue fever quarantine and epidemic prevention
Authors: CHEN Chun-Hong , Pan Chao Ying , Liu Wei-Liang , Su Matthew P. , Chang Te Pin , Ho Hui-Pin , Shu Pei-Yun , Huang Joh Jong , Lin Li Jen
Published: February 2020

Background. Dengue is endemic in over 100 countries and is an important public health problem worldwide. Dengue is not considered endemic in Taiwan however, with importation of dengue viruses from neighboring countries via close commercial links and air travel believed to be the cause of local outbreaks. Disease control efforts have therefore focused on preventing the importation of dengue into Taiwan. Here, we investigate the relationships between numbers of imported and indigenous dengue cases to test the validity of this strategy. Methods. Dengue-fever case data from between 2013 and 2018 was obtained from the surveillance systems of the Taiwan Center for Disease Control and Kaohsiung City Health department. Standard epidemiological data, including the monthly numbers of indigenous and imported dengue cases, was calculated. Potential associations between the number of indigenous and imported cases were investigated using correlation analyses. Results. We identified a possible relationship between the period of disease concealment and the number of reported imported dengue cases which resulted in indigenous dengue-fever epidemics within local communities. Further analysis of confirmed dengue cases during previous dengue-fever epidemics in Kaohsiung City found that the risk of indigenous dengue-fever may be related to the likelihood of patients suffering from imported cases of dengue-fever staying within local communities. Conclusion. Given the correlations found between imported and indigenous dengue-fever cases, as well as the relationship between disease concealment period and risk of indigenous dengue-fever, the major priorities for disease control remain prevention of disease importation and efficient identification of dengue cases within high-risk communities.
Whole genome resequencing of the Iranian native dogs and wolves to unravel variome during dog domestication
Authors: Ghanatsaman Zeinab Amiri , Wang Guo-Dong , Nanaei Hojjat Asadollahpour , Fozi Masood Asadi , Peng Min-Sheng , Esmailizadeh Ali , Zhang Ya-Ping
Published: February 2020

Background: Advances in genome technology have simplified a new comprehension of the genetic and historical processes crucial to rapid phenotypic evolution under domestication. To get new insight into the genetic basis of the dog domestication process, we conducted whole-genome sequence analysis of three wolves and three dogs from Iran which covers the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent located in Southwest Asia where the independent domestication of most of the plants and animals has been documented and also high haplotype sharing between wolves and dog breeds has been reported. Results: Higher diversity was found within the wolf genome compared with the dog genome. A total number of 12.45 million SNPs were detected in all individuals (10.45 and 7.82 million SNPs were identified for all the studied wolves and dogs, respectively) and a total number of 3.49 million small Indels were detected in all individuals (3.11 and 2.24 million small Indels were identified for all the studied wolves and dogs, respectively). A total of 10,571 copy number variation regions (CNVRs) were detected across the 6 individual genomes, covering 154.65 Mb, or 6.41%, of the reference genome (canFam3.1). Further analysis showed that the distribution of deleterious variants in the dog genome is higher than the wolf genome. Also, genomic annotation results from intron and intergenic regions showed that the proportion of variations in the wolf genome is higher than that in the dog genome, while the proportion of the coding sequences and 3'-UTR in the dog genome is higher than that in the wolf genome. The genes related to the olfactory and immune systems were enriched in the set of the structural variants (SVs) identified in this work. Conclusions: Our results showed more deleterious mutations and coding sequence variants in the domestic dog genome than those in wolf genome. By providing the first Iranian dog and wolf variome map, our findings contribute to understanding the genetic architecture of the dog domestication.
Contextual and individual determinants of tooth loss in adults: a multilevel study
Authors: Roberto Luana Leal , Silveira Marise Fagundes , De Paula Alfredo Mauricio Batista , Ferreira Efigênia Ferreira , Martins Andréa Maria Eleutério De Barros Lima , Haikal Desirée Sant'Ana
Published: February 2020

Background: Tooth loss represents a known marker of health inequality. The association between tooth loss and unfavorable socioeconomic conditions is evident when analyzed at an individual level. However, the effects of contextual characteristics on tooth loss need to be better investigated and understood. The objective of this study was to analyze tooth loss among Brazilian adults (35-44 years of age), in accordance with individual and contextual social characteristics. Methods: This was a multilevel cross-sectional study with data from 9,564 adult participants from the Brazilian Oral Health Survey - SBBrasil 2010. The dependent variable was the number of lost teeth and the independent variables were grouped into structural (socioeconomic & political context) and intermediary (socioeconomic position, behavioral & biological factors, and health services) determinants. Multilevel Hierarchical Negative Binomial Regression was conducted and the Mean Ratio (MR) was estimated. Results: Brazilian adults lost a mean of 7.57 (95% CI 7.1-8.1) teeth. Among the contextual variables, the number of teeth lost was higher among residents of municipalities with high and medium/low Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) and in municipalities that did not have public water fluoridation. Among the individual variables, dental loss was higher among those who declared themselves yellow/black/brown/indigenous, were older, who had lower income, who had never visited a dentist, who had used dental services for more than a year and those whose most recent visit to the dentist was due to oral health problems. On the other hand, dental loss was lower among adults with higher education levels and males. Conclusions: The number of missing teeth was associated with unfavorable contextual and individual conditions, which reinforces the need to reduce social inequality and guarantee regular, lifetime access to dental services.
Neuropathological changes in dorsal root ganglia induced by pyridoxine in dogs
Authors: Yun Sumin , Kim Woosuk , Kang Min Soo , Kim Tae Hyeong , Kim Yoonhwan , Ahn Jin-Ok , Choi Jung Hoon , Hwang In Koo , Chung Jinyoung
Published: February 2020

Background: Pyridoxine (PDX; vitamin B6), is an essential vitamin. PDX deficiency induces various symptoms, and when PDX is misused it acts as a neurotoxicant, inducing severe sensory neuropathy. Results: To assess the possibility of creating a reversible sensory neuropathy model using dogs, 150 mg/kg of PDX was injected subcutaneously into dogs for seven days and body weight measurements, postural reaction assessments, and electrophysiological recordings were obtained. In addition, the morphology of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and changes in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactive satellite glial cells and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1) immunoreactive microglia/macrophages were assessed at 1 day, 1 week, and 4 weeks after the last PDX treatment. During the administration period, body weight and proprioceptive losses occurred. One day after the last PDX treatment, electrophysiological recordings showed the absence of the H-reflex in the treated dogs. These phenomena persisted over the four post-treatment weeks, with the exception of body weight which recovered to the pre-treatment level. Staining (CV and HE) results revealed significant losses of large-sized neurons in the DRG at 1 day and 1 week after PDX treatment cessation, but the losses were recovered at 4 weeks post-treatment. The Iba-1 and GFAP immunohistochemistry results showed pronounced increases in reactive microglia/macrophage and satellite glial cell at 1 day and 1 week, respectively, after the last PDX treatment, and thereafter, immunoreactivity decreased with increasing time after PDX treatment. Conclusions: The results suggest that PDX-induced neuropathy is reversible in dogs; thus, dogs can be considered a good experimental model for research on neuropathy.
Ability of near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics to predict the age of mosquitoes reared under different conditions
Authors: Ong Oselyne , Kho Elise , Esperança Pedro , Freebairn Chris , Dowell Floyd , Devine Gregor , Churcher Thomas
Published: February 2020

Background: Practical, field-ready age-grading tools for mosquito vectors of disease are urgently needed because of the impact that daily survival has on vectorial capacity. Previous studies have shown that near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), in combination with chemometrics and predictive modeling, can forecast the age of laboratory-reared mosquitoes with moderate to high accuracy. It remains unclear whether the technique has utility for identifying shifts in the age structure of wild-caught mosquitoes. Here we investigate whether models derived from the laboratory strain of mosquitoes can be used to predict the age of mosquitoes grown from pupae collected in the field.
Methods: NIRS data from adult female Aedes albopictus mosquitoes reared in the laboratory (2, 5, 8, 12 and 15 days old) were analysed against spectra from mosquitoes emerging from wild-caught pupae (1, 7 and 14 days old). Different partial least squares (PLS) regression methods trained on spectra from laboratory mosquitoes were evaluated on their ability to predict the age of mosquitoes from more natural environments.
Results: Models trained on spectra from laboratory-reared material were able to predict the age of other laboratory-reared mosquitoes with moderate accuracy and successfully differentiated all day 2 and 15 mosquitoes. Models derived with laboratory mosquitoes could not differentiate between field-derived age groups, with age predictions relatively indistinguishable for day 1-14. Pre-processing of spectral data and improving the PLS regression framework to avoid overfitting can increase accuracy, but predictions of mosquitoes reared in different environments remained poor. Principle component analysis confirms substantial spectral variations between laboratory and field-derived mosquitoes despite both originating from the same island population.
Conclusions: Models trained on laboratory mosquitoes were able to predict ages of laboratory mosquitoes with good sensitivity and specificity though they were unable to predict age of field-derived mosquitoes. This study suggests that laboratory-reared mosquitoes do not capture enough environmental variation to accurately predict the age of the same species reared under different conditions. Further research is needed to explore alternative pre-processing methods and machine learning techniques, and to understand factors that affect absorbance in mosquitoes before field application using NIRS.
Fluid Overload After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft in Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis is Associated with Prolonged Time on Mechanical Ventilation
Authors: silva sirlei , Consolim-Colombo Fernanda Marciano , Rodrigues Renata Gomes , Gaiotto Fábio Antonio , Hajjar Ludhmila Abrahão , Moysés Rosa Maria Affonso , Elias Rosilene Motta
Published: February 2020

Background Fluid overload is a risk factor for morbidity, mortality, and prolonged ventilation time after surgery. Patients on maintenance hemodialysis might be at higher risk. We hypothesized that fluid accumulation would be directly associated with extended ventilation time in patients on hemodialysis, as compared to patients with chronic kidney disease not on dialysis (CKD3-4) and patients with normal renal function (reference group).Methods this is a prospective observational study that included consecutive patients submitted to an isolated and elective coronary artery bypass surgery classified as reference (N=167, normal renal function), CKD3-4 (N=84, estimated glomerular filtration rate 30-60ml/min/1.73m 2 ), and hemodialysis (N=31, maintenance hemodialysis) groups. The same observer followed patients daily from the surgery to the hospital discharge.Results Fluid accumulation correlated with time on mechanical ventilation in patients on hemodialysis (r=0.627, p=0.003), but not in the CKD3-4 group (r=-0.068, p=0.652) and in the reference group (r=-0.085, p=0.363). Multivariate analysis revealed that the fluid accumulation, scores of sequential organ failure assessment-SOFA in the day following surgery, and the group according to renal function were independently associated with ventilation time. Furthermore, in patients on hemodialysis, the time between surgery and the first hemodialysis also accounted for the time on mechanical ventilation.Conclusions Fluid accumulation is an important risk factor for lengthening mechanical ventilation, particularly in patients on hemodialysis. Future studies are warranted to address the ideal timing for initiating dialysis in this scenario in an attempt to reduce fluid accumulation and avoid prolonged ventilation time and hospital stay.
Increased Interleukin-35 Suppresses Peripheral CD14+ Monocytes Function in Patients with Kawasaki Disease
Authors: Xing Haijian , Tian Gang
Published: February 2020

Background

Interleukin-35 (IL-35) is a newly identified IL-12 cytokine family member, which regulates the activity of immune cells in infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. However, the regulatory function of IL-35 in Kawasaki disease is not well elucidated.

Methods

Thirty-three patients with Kawasaki disease and seventeen healthy controls were studied. Peripheral IL-35 concentration was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. CD14 + monocytes were purified, and mRNA expression of IL-35 receptor (IL-12Rβ2 and gp130) was semi-quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. CD14 + monocytes were stimulated with recombinant IL-35. The modulatory role of IL-35 treated CD14 + monocytes to naïve CD4 + T cell activation was investigated by flow cytometry. The influence of IL-35 to cytotoxicity of CD14 + monocytes was assessed by measuring target cell death, cytokine and granzyme secretion.

Results

Plasma IL-35 concentration was elevated in patients with Kawasaki disease. There was no significant differences of either IL-12Rβ2 or gp130 mRNA expression in CD14 + monocytes between Kawasaki disease patients and controls. IL-35 suppressed CD14 + monocytes induced naïve CD4 + T cell activation in Kawasaki disease, and this process required direct cell-to-cell contact. IL-35 also inhibited tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and granzyme B secretion by CD14 + monocytes from patients with Kawasaki disease, however, only granzyme B was responsible for the cytotoxicity of CD14 + monocytes.

Conclusions

IL-35 played an important immunosuppressive role to CD14 + monocytes function in Kawasaki disease.
Profiling the urinary microbiome in men with calcium-based kidney stones
Authors: Xie Jing , Huang Jian-sheng , Huang Xiang-jiang , Peng Jun-ming , Yu Zhou , Yuan Ye-qing , Xiao Ke-feng , Guo Ji-nan
Published: February 2020

Background

The dogma that urine is sterile in healthy individuals has been overturned by recent studies applying molecular-based methods. Mounting evidences indicate that dysbiosis of the urinary microbiota is associated with several urological diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the urinary microbiome of male patients with calcium-based kidney stones and compare it with those of healthy individuals.

Results

The diversity of the urinary microbiota in kidney stone patients was significantly lower than that of healthy controls based on the Shannon and Simpson index (P<0.001 for both indices). The urinary microbiota structure also significantly differed between kidney stone patients and healthy controls (ANOSIM, R = 0.11, P <0.001). Differential representation of inflammation associated bacteria (e.g., Acinetobacter) and several enriched functional pathways were identified in the urine of kidney stones patients. Meanwhile, we found the species diversity, overall composition of microbiota and predicted functional pathways were similar between bladder urine and renal pelvis urine in kidney stone patients.

Conclusions

A marked dysbiosis of urinary microbiota in male patients with calcium-based kidney stones was observed, which may be helpful to interpret the association between bacteria and calcium-based kidney stones.

Key Words: kidney stone, calcium-based, microbiome, urine, renal pelvis
Transcriptional response of Mar, Sox and Rob regulon against concentration gradient carbapenem stress within Escherichia coli isolated from hospital acquired infection
Authors: Chetri Shiela , Das Bhaskar Jyoti , Bhowmik Deepshikha , Chanda Debadatta Dhar , Chakravarty Atanu , Bhattacharjee Amitabha
Published: February 2020

Objective
The present study was carried out to investigate the transcriptional response of marA (Multiple antibiotic resistance A gene), soxS (Superoxide S gene) and rob (Right-origin-binding gene) under carbapenem stress.
Results
12 isolates over-expressing AcrAB-TolC efflux pump system and showing reduced expression of OmpF (Outer membrane porin) gene were selected for further study. Among them, overexpression of marA and rob was observed in 7 isolates. Increasing pattern of expression of marA and rob against meropenem was observed. The clones of marA and rob showed reduced susceptibility towards carbapenems.
Immunophenotyping of the PD-L1-positive cells in angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma and Hodgkin disease
Authors: Tiemann Markus , Samoilova Vera , Atiakshin Dmitri , Buchwalow Igor
Published: February 2020

Objective Programmed Death-1(PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 are now used as predictive biomarkers to guide clinical decisions. Precise characterization of PD-L1-positive cells may contribute to our knowledge of which patients derive benefit from the PD-L1 blockade therapy. Results To address this issue, we performed immunophenotyping of PD-L1-positive cells in Hodgkin lymphoma and in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) employing multiple immunofluorescent immunolabeling. We found that PD-L1-positive cells and PD-1-positive cells both in Hodgkin lymphoma and in AITL belong to two completely different cell lineages. In both lymphomas, PD-1 was found exclusively in T-lymphocytes, whereas PD-L1 was revealed in the tumor microenvironment cells including macrophages. PD-L1 was also detected in CD30-positive cells in Hodgkin lymphoma but not in AITL. The marker of B-cell lineage, CD20, was not detectable in PD-L1-positive cells both in AITL and in Hodgkin. Our study highlights the importance of comprehensive assessment of PD-1/PD-L1 regulatory pathways for employing PD-L1 as a predictive biomarker in clinical practice. PD-L1-antibody therapy is proven in Hodgkin lymphoma. Comparative immunophenotyping of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis provides a support for attempts to prove this principle also for AITL.
Diabetes Mellitus Accelerates Progression of Osteoarthritis in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Mice by Deteriorating Bone Microarchitecture, Bone Mineral Composition and Bone Strength of Subchondral Bone
Authors: Wang Hua-Jun , Giambini Hugo , Liu You-Jie , Chen Ji-Wen , Wang Qiu-Shi , Hou Hui-ge , Luo Si-Min , Chen Jun-Yuan , Zhuang Teng-Feng , Chen Yuan-Feng , Wu Ting-Ting , Zha Zhen-gang , Zheng Xiaofei
Published: February 2020

Background : The purpose of this study is to develop an optimal DM-OA mice model; to validate that diabetes aggravates OA; and to evaluate the microarchitecture, chemical composition and biomechanical properties of SB as a consequence of the damaged induced by diabetes OA. Methods: Mice were randomly divided into three groups: DM-OA group, OA group and Sham group. Blood glucose levels, body weight and food intake of all animals were recorded. A semi-quantitative grading system (OARSI) was used to evaluated cartilage and SB degeneration. Microspectroscopy, microindentations, micro‑CT imaging and fracture load of compression testing were also used to evaluated the properties of trabecular SB. Results: Glycemic monitoring and pancreas pathological results indicated stable high blood glucose and massive destruction of pancreas and islet cells in the DM-OA group. The mineral-to-collagen ratio, microindentation elastic modulus, hardness, micro-architectural parameters, bone mineral density and fracture load of SB trabecular bone of the DM-OA group joint was lower than other two groups. On the other hand, The OARSI score, trabecular spacing and structural model index of the DM-OA group joint was higher than the other two groups. Conclusions: The glycemic and pancreatic pathological results indicated the DM-OA model to be a simple and reliable model induced by STZ and surgery. The results showed the mechanisms in which diabetes accelerates OA by damaging and deteriorating the functions SB including microarchitecture, chemical composition and biomechanical properties.
1.5T MR-guided and daily adapted SBRT for prostate cancer: feasibility, preliminary clinical tolerability, quality of life and patient-reported outcomes during treatment
Authors: Alongi Filippo , Rigo Michele , Figlia Vanessa , Cuccia Francesco , Giaj-Levra Niccolò , Nicosia Luca , Ricchetti Francesco , Sicignano Gianluisa , De Simone Antonio , Naccarato Stefania , Ruggieri Ruggero , Mazzola Rosario
Published: February 2020

Background Unity Elekta is a unique magnetic resonance (MR)-linac that conjugates a 1.5 Tesla MR unit with a 7 MV flattening filter free accelerator.A prospective observational study for the clinical use of Elekta Unity is currently ongoing in our department. Herein, we present our preliminary report on the feasibility, quality of life, and patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) for localized prostate cancer (PC) treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Methods The SBRT protocol consisted of a 35 Gy schedule delivered in 5 fractions within two weeks. Toxicity and quality of life (QoL) were assessed at baseline and after treatment using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5.0, International Prostatic Symptoms Score (IPSS), ICIQ-SF, IIEF-5, and EORTC-QLQ-C30 and PR-25 questionnaires. Results Between October 2019 and January 2020, 25 patients with localized PC were recruited. The median age was 68 years (range, 54-82); 4 were low risk, 11 favorable intermediate risk (IR) and 10 unfavorable IR. Median iPSA was 6.8 ng/ml (range, 1-19), and 9 of these patients (36%) received concurrent androgen deprivation therapy. Median prostate volume was 36 cc (range, 20-61); median baseline IPSS was 5 (range, 0-10). Median time for fraction was 53 minutes (range, 34-86); adaptive strategy with daily critical structure and target re-contouring and daily replanning (adapt to shape) was performed in all cases. No grade ≥ 3 adverse event was observed, three patients (12%) reported grade 2 acute genitourinary toxicity (urinary frequency, urinary tract pain and urinary retention), while only one patient reported mild rectal pain. No relevant deteriorations were reported in PROMs. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experience reporting feasibility, clinician-reported outcome measurements, and PROMs for 1.5T MR-guided adaptive SBRT for localized prostate cancer. The preliminary data collected here report optimal safety and excellent tolerability, as also confirmed by PROMs questionnaires. Moreover, the data on technical feasibility and timing of online daily adapted planning and delivery are promising. More mature data are warranted.
NCAM and attached polysialic acid affect behaviors of breast epithelial cells through differential signaling pathways
Authors: Cao Lin , Wang Xin , Yang Juhong , Guo Jia , Li Xiang , Yang Xiaomin , Tan Zengqi , Guan Feng
Published: February 2020

Background Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), a common mammalian cell surface glycoprotein, is the major substrate of polysialic acid (PSA). Polysialylated NCAM occurs in many types of cancer, but rarely in normal adult tissues. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important process contributing to tumor metastasis. The functional role of NCAM hypersialylation in EMT is unclear. Method Expression of NCAM and PSA-NCAM in breast cancer progression were evaluated by western blot (WB), immunohistochemistry, semi-quantitative PCR and immunoprecipitation (IP). Overexpression of NCAM-140 and STX were performed to assess the functional role of NCAM hypersialylation by liposome transfection. Then, the cell proliferation ability was investigated with MTT assay. Transwell and wound closure assay were conducted to evaluate cell migratory ability. Phagokinetic gold sol assay and cell adhesion assay were performed to assess cell motility ability and cell adhesion ability, respectively. Furthermore, WB and IP were used to reveal the activated signaling pathway. Results The present study indicates that NCAM and attached polysialic acid affect behaviors of breast epithelial cells through differential signaling pathways, based on the following observations: (i) NCAM and PSA-NCAM were aberrantly regulated in breast cancer cells; (ii) NCAM and PSA-NCAM expression were upregulated in normal breast epithelial cells undergoing EMT; (iii) NCAM overexpression induced EMT in breast epithelial cells; (iv) NCAM promoted cell proliferation and migration through activation of a β-catenin/slug signaling pathway; (v) modification of PSA attached to NCAM inhibited cell adhesion and promoted cell motility through activation of an EGFR/STAT3 pathway. Conclusion These observations help clarify the molecular mechanisms whereby PSA and its major substrate NCAM modulate cell behaviors, and the significance of increased PSA expression on NCAM during EMT and tumor development.
Metabolite AutoPlotter - an application to automatically process and visualise metabolite data in the web-browser
Authors: Pietzke Matthias , Vazquez Alexei
Published: February 2020

Background Metabolomics is gaining popularity as a standard tool for the investigation of biological systems. Yet, parsing metabolomics data in the absence of in-house computational scientists can be overwhelming and time consuming. As a consequence of manual data processing the results are often not processed in full depth, so potential novel findings might get lost. Methods To tackle this problem we developed Metabolite AutoPlotter, a tool to process and visualise metabolite data. It reads as input pre-processed compound-intensity tables and accepts different experimental designs, with respect to number of compounds, conditions and replicates. The code was written in R and wrapped into a shiny-application that can be run online in a web-browser on https://mpietzke.shinyapps.io/autoplotter. Results We demonstrate the main features and the ease of use with two different metabolite datasets, for quantitative experiments and for stable isotope tracing experiments. We show how the plots generated by the tool can be interactively modified with respect to plot type, colours, text labels and the shown statistics. We also demonstrate the application towards 13-C-tracing experiments and the seamless integration of natural abundance correction, which facilitates the better interpretation of stable isotope tracing experiments. The output of the tool is a zip-file containing one single plot for each compound as well as sorted and restructured tables that can be used for further analysis. Conclusion With the help of Metabolite AutoPlotter it is now possible to automate data processing and visualisation for a wide audience. High quality plots from complex data can be generated in a short time with pressing a few buttons. This offers dramatic improvements over manual processing. It is significantly faster and allows researchers to spend more time interpreting the results or to perform follow-up experiments. Further this eliminates potential copy-and paste errors or tedious repetitions when things need to be changed. We are sure that this tool will help to improve and speed up scientific discoveries.
Genome-wide association study for yield and yield related traits under reproductive stage drought in a diverse indica-aus rice panel
Authors: Bhandari Aditi , Sandhu Nitika , Bartholome Jérôme , Cao-Hamadoun Tuong-Vi , Ahmadi Nourollah , Kumari Nilima , Kumar Arvind
Published: February 2020

Background

Reproductive-stage drought stress is a major impediment to rice production globally. Conventional and marker-assisted breeding strategies for developing drought tolerant rice varieties are being optimized by mining and exploiting adaptive traits, genetic diversity; identifying the alleles and understanding their interactions with genetic backgrounds for contributing to drought tolerance. Field experiments were conducted in this study to identify marker-trait associations (MTAs) involved in response to yield under reproductive-stage drought. A diverse set of 280 indica-aus accessions was phenotyped for grain yield and nine yield-related traits under normal condition and under two managed drought environments. The accessions were genotyped with 215,250 single nucleotide polymorphism markers.

Results

The study identified a total of 220 significant MTAs and candidate gene analysis within 200kb window centred from GWAS identified SNP peaks detected these MTAs within/ in close proximity to 47 genes, 4 earlier reported major grain yield QTLs and 8 novel QTLs for 10 traits. The significant MTAs were majorly located on chromosomes 1, 2, 5, 6, 11 and 12 and the percent phenotypic variance captured for these traits ranged from 5 to 88%. The significant positive correlation of grain yield with yield-related traits, except flowering time, observed under different environments point towards their contribution in improving rice yield under drought. Seven promising accessions were identified for use in future genomics-assisted breeding program targeting grain yield improvement under drought.

Conclusion

These results provide a promising insight into the complex-genetic architecture of grain yield under reproductive-stage drought under different environments. Validation of major genomic regions reported in the study can be effectively used to develop drought tolerant varieties following marker-assisted selection as well as to identify genes and understanding the associated physiological mechanisms.