bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research attitudes, practice and literacy among Kenyan palliative care healthcare professionals: an observational, cross-sectional online survey
Authors: RA Powell , Z Ali , Gikaara N , Qanungo S , ES Melikam , KB Cartmell
Published: November 2022

Background:

While research is needed to advocate for implementation of global agendas to strengthen palliative care, healthcare professionals’ research literacy must improve to bridge the gap between evidence and practice. A resurgent focus on North-South power disparities, means attention should also focus on understanding low- and middle-income countries’ local agency to implement palliative care research agendas.

Methods:

An observational, cross-sectional online survey among Kenyan palliative healthcare professionals currently working at any of the palliative and hospice care organizations operational during January – December 2019, using descriptive statistics.

Results:

Among the 93 survey respondents, participants were mainly nurses (50.54%; n = 47). Regarding research attitudes: all agreed/strongly agreed research was important for their professional work. Over nine-tenths (91.21%; n = 83) reported having the skills to conduct research, and 91.30% (n = 84) wanted to conduct research in their clinical work. 90% (90.21%; n = 83) reported supervisory support to conduct research. A comparable proportion (90.22%; n = 83) would undertake research if they could find funding. Regarding research practice: over two-thirds (70.65%; n = 65) reported ever having had a mentor who encouraged them to do research, while approximately half (50.59%; n = 43) reported reading evidence-based journal articles about once per month and attending monthly in-house meetings on palliative care (56.79%; n = 46). Regarding research literacy: while over two-fifths of respondents described their current research literacy level as ‘none’ or ‘beginner’ (44.56%; n = 41), a comparable proportion described it as ‘intermediate’ (45.65%; n = 42), with 9 (9.78%) stating it was ‘advanced’.

Conclusion:

The majority of palliative healthcare professionals report having interest, skills and support at work to conduct palliative care research, with a low-to-medium level of research literacy. The current study explored palliative care staff attitudes to, experience in, and literacy with the research process, which is necessary to creating a dialogue on implementing research findings. This study also adds to the global empowerment agenda, addressing inequities in research opportunities and local capacity to own and undertake palliative care research.
Knowledge of obstetric fistula and its associated factors among women of reproductive age in Northwestern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Tsega Dejen Meskerem , Assebe Yadeta Tesfaye , Gedefaw Azeze Getnet , Demis Bizuneh Asmamaw , Tiruye Getahun , Semahegn Agumasie
Published: November 2022

Background

Obstetric fistula has been a major maternal health challenges in low and middle-income countries, especially in Ethiopia, due to high child marriage and poor access to healthcare. Obstetric fistula is common among teenage mothers that results in a vast social, economic and cultural sequel. In Ethiopia, there is a paucity of research evidence on women’s knowledge about obstetric fistula. Therefore, this study aimed to assess women’s knowledge about obstetric fistula and its associated factors at Banja District, Northwestern Ethiopia.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from 1st -21th July 2021. Systematic sampling method was used to recruit 784 women in the reproductive age from six rural and one urban sub-districts. Two days of training was given to research assistants regarding the objective of the study, inclusion and exclusion criteria, checking completeness and ways of protecting confidentiality. Data were collected using face-to-face interview method. Collected data were entered into EpiData and exported into SPSS version 24 for cleaning and analysis. Descriptive statistics, binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed to identify associated factors. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% CI with p < 0.05 was used to declare significant association with women’s knowledge of obstetric fistula.

Results

A total of 773 women gave a complete response with response rate of 98.6% (773/784). One-third (36.4%; 95%CI: 32.9-39.7%) had good knowledge about obstetric fistula. Women who had completed primary education (AOR:3.47, 95%CI:2.01–5.98), secondary and above (AOR:3.30, 95%CI:1.88–5.80), being a student (AOR: 6.78, 95%CI:3.88–11.86), get counseling about obstetric fistula (AOR:6.22, 95%CI: 3.78–10.24), participated in pregnant women’s discussion forum (AOR:3.36, 95%CI: 1.99–5.66), had antenatal care follow-up (AOR: 2.40, 95% CI: 1.39–4.13), being an urban resident (AOR: 3.19, 95% CI: 1.33–7.66), and having access to Television/Radio (AOR:1.68, 95%CI:1.10–2.60) were significantly associated with women’s good knowledge about obstetric fistula.

Conclusion

Women’s knowledge about obstetric fistula is unacceptably low. Therefore, concerned stakeholders should enhance awareness creation programs, strengthen antenatal care, counselling and women’s discussion forum that could substantially optimize women’s knowledge about obstetric fistula and its risk factors of obstetric fistula.
Practical training using immersive roleplay and an intensive course on clinical ethics consultation in Japan
Authors: Udagawa Makoto , Takimoto Yoshiyuki
Published: November 2022

Background

Clinical ethics consultation (CEC) is not sufficiently widespread in Japan. A possible reason is that a practical training system for CEC has not been established. Hence, we have developed “immersive role-play (IR)” as a practical training program that applies a new theatrical technique, immersive theater, to role-play learning. Its characteristics include high fidelity in the use of a studio and actors and dynamic realism in the progression of the scenario to immerse learners in role-play learning.

Methods

We offered an intensive course on CEC for healthcare professionals from 2016 to 2019, with IR as part of the course curriculum. A questionnaire survey was administered to the participants regarding the educational effectiveness of IR. The questionnaire was anonymous, and participants responded on a 4-point Likert scale regarding their satisfaction with IR and their perception of its learning effects. An open-ended section at the end of the questionnaire asked about the effectiveness and areas for improvement of IR.

Results

The questionnaire survey showed good results in all categories: usefulness, satisfaction, understanding, and interest. In the questions that compared the learning to traditional role-play learning, the participants gave significantly high ratings, specifically for “realism,“ “seriousness,“ “understanding the importance of communication skills,“ and “understanding the diversity of the narratives.“ In the free-text responses, the most frequent response was that they learned a lot about the practical procedures for participation.

Conclusion

IR is sufficiently effective as a practical educational program, but not for everyone. It is suitable for those who are or will soon work as consultants. Conversely, beginners and intermediates who have not fully mastered the CEC theory and skills will need a stage-specific educational program separate from the IR.
Drivers, uncertainties, and future scenarios of the Iranian health system
Authors: Emami Mozhgan , Haghdoost Ali Akbar , Yazdi-Feyzabadi Vahid , Mehrolhassani Mohammad Hossein
Published: November 2022

Background

Health promotion is an essential dimension of sustainable development in any country. It has a high degree of complexity, with numerous components interacting both inside and outside of the system, so having a systemic and forward-looking approach is essential to planning for the future.

Methods

The research has been designed based on scenario-based planning in three main stages. The data gathering was qualitative by working group meetings and compiling an importance-uncertainty questionnaire to complete the cross-impact analysis matrix. The MicMac and scenario Wizard has been used for data analysis.

Results

The scoping review and upstream document evaluation lead to 54 key variables for analyzing the Iranian health system (HS). The MicMac analysis ends by determining seven key variables: power, politics, and communication network; lifestyle and behavioral factors; quality of human resources training and education; environmental and occupational risk factors, payment and tariff system, and allocation pattern; support society / individuals health; and services effectiveness, especially para-clinical and outpatient ones. Finally, six main scenario spaces are depicted using Scenario Wizard. collective equity was the priority of the HS vision in the desirable scenario, consisting of the most favorable state of the uncertainties. The second, third, and fourth scenarios are also considered desirable. In the disaster scenario, which is the most pessimistic type of consistent scenario in this study, health and equity are not significant either in the social or individual dimensions. In the sixth scenario, the individual dimension of health and equity is the most critical perspective of the HS.

Conclusions

Due to the unsustainability and high complexity of the Iran’s HS, the development and excellence of the HS governance based on the Iran context and health advocacy improvement (applying good governance); creating sustainable financial resources and rational consumption; and human resources training and education are three main principles leading the HS to the images of the desired scenarios.
Visible light-regulated cationic polymer coupled with photodynamic inactivation as an effective tool for pathogen and biofilm elimination
Authors: Wang Qian , Shi Qingshan , Li Yulian , Lu Shunying , Xie Xiaobao
Published: November 2022

Background

Pathogenic microorganism pollution has been a challenging public safety issue, attracting considerable scientific interest. A more problematic aspect of this phenomenon is that planktonic bacteria exacerbate biofilm formation. There is an overwhelming demand for developing ultra-efficient, anti-drug resistance, and biocompatibility alternatives to eliminate stubborn pathogenic strains and biofilms.

Results

The present work aims to construct a visible light-induced anti-pathogen agents to ablate biofilms using the complementary merits of ROS and cationic polymers. The photosensitizer chlorin e6-loaded polyethyleneimine-based micelle (Ce6-TPP-PEI) was constructed by an amphiphilic dendritic polymer (TPP-PEI) and physically loaded with photosensitizer chlorin e6. Cationic polymers can promote the interaction between photosensitizer and Gram-negative bacteria, resulting in enhanced targeting of PS and lethality of photodynamic therapy, and remain active for a longer duration to prevent bacterial re-growth when the light is turned off. As expected, an eminent antibacterial effect was observed on the Gram-negative Escherichia coli, which is usually insensitive to photosensitizers. Surprisingly, the cationic polymer and photodynamic combination also exert significant inhibitory and ablative effects on fungi and biofilms. Subsequently, cell hemolysis assessments suggested its good biocompatibility.

Conclusions

Given the above results, the platform developed in this work is an efficient and safe tool for public healthcare and environmental remediation.
A modular and self-adjuvanted multivalent vaccine platform based on porcine circovirus virus-like nanoparticles
Authors: Liu Ze-Hui , Deng Zhuo-Fan , Lu Ying , Fang Wei-Huan , He Fang
Published: November 2022

Background

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are supramolecular structures composed of multiple protein subunits and resemble natural virus particles in structure and size, making them highly immunogenic materials for the development of next-generation subunit vaccines. The orderly and repetitive display of antigenic epitopes on particle surface allows efficient recognition and cross-link by B cell receptors (BCRs), thereby inducing higher levels of neutralizing antibodies and cellular immune responses than regular subunit vaccines. Here, we present a novel multiple antigen delivery system using SpyCatcher/Spytag strategy and self-assembled VLPs formed by porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) Cap, a widely used swine vaccine in solo.

Results

Cap-SC, recombinant Cap with a truncated SpyCatcher polypeptide at its C-terminal, self-assembled into 26-nm VLPs. Based on isopeptide bonds formed between SpyCatcher and SpyTag, classical swine fever virus (CSFV) E2, the antigen of interest, was linked to SpyTag and readily surface-displayed on SpyCatcher decorated Cap-SC via in vitro covalent conjugation. E2-conjugated Cap VLPs (Cap-E2 NPs) could be preferentially captured by antigen presenting cells (APCs) and effectively stimulate APC maturation and cytokine production. In vivo studies confirmed that Cap-E2 NPs elicited an enhanced E2 specific IgG response, which was significantly higher than soluble E2, or the admixture of Cap VLPs and E2. Moreover, E2 displayed on the surface did not mask the immunodominant epitopes of Cap-SC VLPs, and Cap-E2 NPs induced Cap-specific antibody levels and neutralizing antibody levels comparable to native Cap VLPs.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that this modularly assembled Cap-E2 NPs retains the immune potential of Cap VLP backbone, while the surface-displayed antigen significantly elevated E2-induced immune potency. This immune strategy provides distinctly improved efficacy than conventional vaccine combination. It can be further applied to the development of dual or multiple nanoparticle vaccines to prevent co-infection of PCV2 and other swine pathogens.
Cellular nanomechanics derived from pattern-dependent focal adhesion and cytoskeleton to balance gene transfection of malignant osteosarcoma
Authors: Wang Yongtao , Wang Nana , Yang Yingjun , Chen Yazhou , Zhang Zhengguo
Published: November 2022

Gene transfection was supposed to be the most promising technology to overcome the vast majority of diseases and it has been popularly reported in clinical applications of gene therapy. In spite of the rapid development of novel transfection materials and methods, the influence of morphology-dependent nanomechanics of malignant osteosarcoma on gene transfection is still unsettled. In this study, cell spreading and adhesion area was adjusted by the prepared micropatterns to regulate focal adhesion (FA) formation and cytoskeletal organization in osteosarcoma cells. The micropattern-dependent FA and cytoskeleton could induce different cellular nanomechanics to affect cell functions. Our results indicated that transfection efficiency was improved with enlarging FA area and cell nanomechanics in micropatterned osteosarcoma. The difference of gene transfection in micropatterned cells was vigorously supported by cellular internalization capacity, Ki67 proliferation ability and YAP mechanotranduction through the regulation of focal adhesion and cytoskeletal mechanics. This study is an attempt to disclose the relationship of cell nanomechanics and gene transfection for efficient gene delivery and develop multifunctional nanomedicine biomaterials for accurate gene therapy in osteosarcoma cells.
The bone–muscle connection in breast cancer: implications and therapeutic strategies to preserve musculoskeletal health
Authors: Ballinger Tarah J. , Thompson William R. , Guise Theresa A.
Published: November 2022

Breast cancer and its therapies frequently result in significant musculoskeletal morbidity. Skeletal complications include bone metastases, pain, bone loss, osteoporosis, and fracture. In addition, muscle loss or weakness occurring in both the metastatic and curative setting is becoming increasingly recognized as systemic complications of disease and treatment, impacting quality of life, responsiveness to therapy, and survival. While the anatomical relationship between bone and muscle is well established, emerging research has led to new insights into the biochemical and molecular crosstalk between the skeletal and muscular systems. Here, we review the importance of both skeletal and muscular health in breast cancer, the significance of crosstalk between bone and muscle, and the influence of mechanical signals on this relationship. Therapeutic exploitation of signaling between bone and muscle has great potential to prevent the full spectrum of musculoskeletal complications across the continuum of breast cancer.
Cooling down with Entresto. Can sacubitril/valsartan combination enhance browning more than coldness?
Authors: Nikolic Marina , Novakovic Jovana , Ramenskaya Galina , Kokorekin Vladimir , Jeremic Nevena , Jakovljevic Vladimir
Published: November 2022

Background

It is a growing importance to induce a new treatment approach to encourage weight loss but also to improve maintenance of lost weight. It has been shown that promotion of brown adipose tissue (BAT) function or acquisition of BAT characteristics in white adipose tissue (terms referred as “browning”) can be protective against obesity.

Main text

Amongst numerous established environmental influences on BAT activity, cold exposure is the best interested technique due to its not only effects on of BAT depots in proliferation process but also de novo differentiation of precursor cells via β-adrenergic receptor activation. A novel combination drug, sacubitril/valsartan, has been shown to be more efficient in reducing cardiovascular events and heart failure readmission compared to conventional therapy. Also, this combination of drugs increases the postprandial lipid oxidation contributing to energy expenditure, promotes lipolysis in adipocytes and reduces body weight. To date, there is no research examining potential of combined sacubitril/valsartan use to promote browning or mechanisms in the basis of this thermogenic process.

Conclusion

Due to the pronounced effects of cold and sacubitril/valsartan treatment on function and metabolism of BAT, the primary goal of further research should focused on investigation of the synergistic effects of the sacubitril/valsartan treatment at low temperature environmental conditions.
Computed tomography-measured body composition and survival in rectal cancer patients: a Swedish cohort study
Authors: Kotti Angeliki , Holmqvist Annica , Woisetschläger Mischa , Sun Xiao-Feng
Published: November 2022

Background

The association between body composition and survival in rectal cancer patients is still unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the impact of computed tomography (CT)-measured body composition on survival in rectal cancer patients, stratifying our analyses by sex, tumour location, tumour stage and radiotherapy.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included 173 patients with rectal adenocarcinoma. CT colonography scans at the time of diagnosis were used to assess the skeletal muscle index (SMI) and the visceral adipose tissue area (VAT). The patients were divided into a low or high SMI group and a low or high VAT group according to previously defined cutoff values. Endpoints included cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS).

Results

In all patients, low SMI was associated with worse CSS (HR, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.35–5.12; P = 0.004) and OS (HR, 3.57; 95% CI, 2.01–6.34; P < 0.001) compared to high SMI. The differences remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders (CSS: adjusted HR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.13–4.58; P = 0.021; OS: adjusted HR, 3.17; 95% CI, 1.73–5.82; P < 0.001). Low SMI was still related to a poor prognosis after stratifying by sex, tumour location, stage and radiotherapy (P < 0.05). High VAT was associated with better CSS (HR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.11–0.84; P = 0.022) and OS (HR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.17–0.97; P = 0.044) compared to low VAT among men with rectal cancer ≤ 10 cm from the anal verge. High VAT was associated with worse CSS (HR, 4.15; 95% CI, 1.10–15.66; P = 0.036) in women with rectal cancer ≤ 10 cm from the anal verge.

Conclusions

Low SMI was associated with worse survival. High VAT predicted better survival in men but worse survival in women. The results suggest that CT-measured body composition is a useful tool for evaluating the prognosis of rectal cancer patients and demonstrate the need to include the sex and the tumour location in the analyses.
COVID-19-associated liver injury, role of drug therapy and management: a review
Authors: Iheanacho Chinonyerem O. , Enechukwu Okechukwu H.
Published: November 2022

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is known to affect several body organs, including the liver. This results from several factors such as direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the liver, side effects of drug therapy and pre-existing liver diseases. Drug-induced liver injury can result from a range of drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 such as antiviral drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, herbal medications and vaccines. Metabolism of most drugs occurs in the liver, and this leaves the liver at risk of medication-induced liver damage. Being among pathologies from the disease, COVID-19 liver injury presents with abnormally high liver-related enzymes, such as aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphate (ALP), and gamma-glutamyl transferase. It is reversible, generally not severe and occurs more mildly in children. However, COVID-19-associated liver injury is worsened by chronic liver diseases and vice versa. There is a high risk of abnormal ALT and AST, in-hospital liver injury and prolonged SARS-CoV-2 shedding in COVID-19 patients with previously existing metabolic-associated fatty liver disease. COVID-19-associated liver injury also appears to be severe and significantly associated with life-threatening COVID-19 and mortality in persons with a history of liver transplant. Where necessary, only supportive management is usually indicated. This paper evaluates the aetiology, clinical and laboratory features, occurrence and management of COVID-19-associated liver injury. It also elaborated on the role of drug therapy in the development of COVID-19 liver injury.
Serum cystatin C is an early renal dysfunction biomarker in patients with hepatitis C virus
Authors: Assem Nagwa Mohamed , Mohammed Amany Ibrahim , Barry Hamed Mohamed Abdel , El Sayed Ibrahim El Tantawy , Elmadbouh Ibrahim
Published: November 2022

Background

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) may induce extrahepatic manifestations as acute or chronic renal dysfunction. The aim was to evaluate the diagnostic role of some biomarkers as cystatin C, cryoglobulins, rheumatoid factor (RF), and complement C3 for extrahepatic renal affection in newly diagnosed patients with HCV infection.

Methods

Blood and urine were collected from randomized individuals screened for new HCV infection (n=400). The studied populations were divided into 3 groups: control group I: thirty healthy individuals not suffering from either liver or kidney diseases, group IIa: thirty HCV patients who have positive HCV antibody test but showed negative PCR test, and group IIb: thirty HCV patients who showed positive results for both HCV antibody and PCR tests.

Results

In HCV group IIb, levels of serum total bilirubin, AST and ALT, and urine albumin/creatinine ratio were increased whereas serum albumin and creatinine clearance were decreased versus other groups. However, the levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine were still within the normal range in all groups. In HCV group IIb, cystatin C, cryoglobulins, and RF levels were increased; meanwhile, serum creatinine/cystatin C ratio and complement 3 levels were decreased compared to the other groups. HCV-infected patients significantly had higher serum cystatin C (>1.24 mg/L, P<0.001) and lower creatinine/cystatin C ratio (<70.1μMol/mg, P=0.002), and cystatin C was significantly correlated with liver and kidney parameters.

Conclusion

High serum cystatin C and low creatinine/cystatin C ratio may be early indicators of mild renal dysfunction with normal serum levels of creatinine in HCV-infected individuals.
Capillary pressure equilibrium theory mapping of 4D seismic inversion results to predict saturation in a gas-water system
Authors: Sengupta Moumita , Ghosh Ranjana , Sen Amrita , Maiti Saumen
Published: November 2022

Understanding the effect of fluid concentration in rocks is crucial to characterize a hydrocarbon reservoir. Monitoring of fluid concentration specifically becomes challenging during a sequestration/enhanced oil recovery program because the objective is to understand the amount of initial fluid replaced by liquid/gas injection and identify the probability of leakage with time. The prior assumption of uniform or patchy type of distribution of gas in a rock-physics theory leads to large uncertainty in the prediction of saturation. As a result, we have used the capillary pressure equilibrium theory (CPET) for creating a reservoir model that matches the physics of capillary-induced fluid invasion and avoids the uncertainty related to the type of distribution of gas in pores. We create a CPET model using the reservoir parameters of the clean and unconsolidated sandstone formation of the Sleipner field, North Sea, which is the world’s first industrial-scale CO2-injection project, assuming that there is no significant change in the rock frame throughout the field. The model is then used to analyze the fluid content from the time-lapse seismic inversion results of the Sleipner field. CO2 at higher quantities, according to our research, is analogous to a uniform distribution, whereas CO2 at lower concentrations is mostly in between patchy and uniform distribution or slightly patchy type. We predict maximum CO2 saturation from a quantitative interpretation of six time-lapse seismic data from 1999 to 2010 using the CPET as 75% of the pore space, and the footprint of the CO2 plume in the topmost layer is spreading from zero in 2001 to 7 × 105 m2 in 2010. Our model finds that injected CO2 from all layers below will migrate to the top layer approximately 50 years after the commencement of the injection.
Waveform inversion via reduced order modeling
Authors: Borcea Liliana , Garnier Josselin , Mamonov Alexander V. , Zimmerling Jörn
Published: November 2022

We introduce a novel approach to waveform inversion based on a data-driven reduced order model (ROM) of the wave operator. The presentation is for the acoustic wave equation, but the approach can be extended to elastic or electromagnetic waves. The data are time resolved measurements of the pressure wave gathered by an acquisition system that probes the unknown medium with pulses and measures the generated waves. We propose to solve the inverse problem of velocity estimation by minimizing the square misfit between the ROM computed from the recorded data and the ROM computed from the modeled data, at the current guess of the velocity. We give a step by step computation of the ROM, which depends nonlinearly on the data and yet can be obtained from them in a noniterative fashion, using efficient methods from linear algebra. We also explain how to make the ROM robust to data inaccuracy. The ROM computation requires the full array response matrix gathered with colocated sources and receivers. However, we find that the computation can deal with an approximation of this matrix, obtained from towed-streamer data using interpolation and reciprocity on-the-fly. Although the full-waveform inversion approach of nonlinear least-squares data fitting is challenging without low-frequency information, due to multiple minima of the data fit objective function, we find that the ROM misfit objective function has better behavior, even for a poor initial guess. We also find by explicit computation of the objective functions in a simple setting that the ROM misfit objective function has convexity properties, whereas the least-squares data fit objective function displays multiple local minima.
Why high porosity but low-production wells occur in carbonate reservoirs: An explanation from the perspective of pore structure
Authors: Zhang Fengjiao , Deng Shaogui , Wang Xuechun , Bai Li
Published: November 2022

High porosity but low-production wells exist in the Leikoupo Formation in the Sichuan Basin, China. The unclear explanation for this phenomenon has led to the failure of fracture development. We selected 15 cores from the study area based on the oil test data to investigate the cause from the pore structure perspective. The pore structures were studied via a variety of petrophysical experiments, which include conventional physical property analysis, casting thin section, nuclear magnetic resonance technique, and constant-rate mercury injection. The results indicate that the main explanation for the high porosity but low-production wells is that the larger pore-to-throat ratio makes for poor pore connectivity and more large pores and vugs are trapped. Movable fluid saturation can be significantly influenced by microscopic pore structure rather than physical parameters, which is positively affected by throat radius and negatively correlated with the pore-throat radius ratio, relative sorting coefficient, and tortuosity of the throat. The results provide a basis for the exploration of carbonate reservoirs from a microscopic perspective.
Identification of motifs and mechanisms for lipid droplet targeting of the lipolytic inhibitors G0S2 and HIG2
Authors: Campbell Latoya E. , Anderson Aaron M. , Chen Yongbin , Johnson Scott M. , McMahon Cailin E. , Liu Jun
Published: November 2022

G0S2 and HIG2 are two selective inhibitors of ATGL (also known as PNPLA2), the key enzyme for intracellular lipolysis. Whereas G0S2 regulates triglyceride (TG) mobilization in adipocytes and hepatocytes, HIG2 functions to enhance intracellular TG accumulation under hypoxic conditions. A homologous hydrophobic domain (HD) is shared by G0S2 and HIG2 (also known as HILPDA) for binding to ATGL. However, the determinants of their lipid droplet (LD) localization are unknown. Here, we study how G0S2 and HIG2 are targeted to LDs, and identify both ATGL-independent and -dependent mechanisms. Structural prediction and studies in cells reveal that ATGL-independent localization of G0S2 to both the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and LDs is mediated by a hairpin structure consisting of two hydrophobic sequences. Positively charged residues in the hinge region play a crucial role in sorting G0S2, which initially localizes to ER, to LDs. Interestingly, the role of these positive charges becomes dispensable when ATGL is co-expressed. In comparison, HIG2, which lacks a similar hairpin structure, is dependent on ATGL for its full LD targeting. Thus, our studies identify specific structural features and mechanisms for mediating accumulation of these two ATGL inhibitors on LDs.
N2 modified dinucleotide cap analogs as a potent tool for mRNA engineering
Authors: Grzela Renata , Piecyk Karolina , Stankiewicz-Drogon Anna , Pietrow Paulina , Lukaszewicz Maciej , Kurpiejewski Karol , Darzynkiewicz Edward , Jankowska-Anyszka Marzena
Published: November 2022

mRNA-based vaccines are relatively new technologies that have been in the field of interest of research centers and pharmaceutical companies in recent years. Such therapeutics are an attractive alternative for DNA-based vaccines since they provide material that can be used with no risk of genomic integration. Additionally, mRNA can be quite easily engineered to introduce modifications for different applications or to modulate its properties, for example, to increase translational efficiency or stability, which is not available for DNA vectors. Here, we describe the use of N2 modified dinucleotide cap analogs as components of mRNA transcripts. The compounds obtained showed very promising biological properties while incorporated into mRNA. The presented N2-guanine modifications within the cap structure ensure proper attachment of the dinucleotide to the transcripts in the IVT reaction, guarantees their incorporation only in the correct orientation, and enables highly efficient translation of mRNA both in the in vitro translation system and in human HEK293 cells.
Οπτικοποίηση Εκπαιδευτικών Σεναρίων στο πεδίο των Φυσικών Επιστημών με δυνατότητες διαδραστικής παιχνιδοποίησης (Gamification) και animation
Authors: Αγγελίνας Σωτήριος
Published: November 2022

Το άρθρο επικεντρώνεται στις δυνατότητες που δίνουν διαδραστικές εφαρμογές animation παιχνιδιών επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία.

Εξετάστηκαν αρχικά οι δυνατότητες της επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας σε θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο και εντοπίστηκαν τα παιδαγωγικά οφέλη από την χρήση της στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία και οι πιθανοί περιορισμοί που υπάρχουν.

Ερευνήθηκε η συμβολή του διαδραστικού animation στην εκπαίδευση των Φυσικών επιστημών και αναλύθηκαν οι δυνατότητες που παρέχουν οι προσομοιώσεις μέσω επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας.

Παρουσιάστηκε ο όρος της παιχνιδοποίησης και αναφέρθηκαν τα πλεονεκτήματα από την χρήση και την εφαρμογή των μηχανισμών παιχνιδοποίησης στην διαδικασία της εκπαίδευσης.

Τα συμπεράσματα που προέκυψαν μέσω της ποιοτικής έρευνας που πραγματοποιήθηκε, βοήθησαν στο να δημιουργηθεί μια πιλοτική εφαρμογή επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας με χρήση διαδραστικού animation με στοιχεία παιχνιδοποίησης.
Ο ρόλος των ΤΠΕ ως μέσο προβολής και ανάδειξης της πράσινης μετάβασης των λιγνιτικών περιοχών της Δυτικής Μακεδονίας
Authors: Κολιούσκα Χριστιάνα , Βρίγκας Μιχαήλ
Published: November 2022

Οι νέες Tεχνολογίες Πληροφορικής και Επικοινωνιών – ΤΠΕ αναδεικνύονται ως καινοτόμα εργαλεία που μπορούν να προάγουν την βιώσιμη ανάπτυξη καθώς ο ρόλος τους στην προστασία του φυσικού περιβάλλοντος και στην αντιμετώπιση της κλιματικής αλλαγής βρίσκεται στο επίκεντρο πολλών διεθνών συζητήσεων. Οι ραγδαίες τεχνολογικές εξελίξεις έχουν καθιερώσει τη χρήση της εικονικής και επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας σε πολλούς τομείς της καθημερινότητάς μας. Με την αξιοποίηση των κατάλληλων ΤΠΕ, οι χρήστες μπορούν να εισέλθουν σε έναν τεχνητό κόσμο, όπου μπορούν να περιπλανηθούν, να χειριστούν διάφορα αντικείμενα και γενικότερα, να χρησιμοποιήσουν όλες τις αισθήσεις τους.

Σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η καταγραφή και αποτύπωση της υφιστάμενης κατάσταση στις λιγνιτικές περιοχές της Δυτικής Μακεδονίας και η παρουσίαση των δυνατοτήτων αποκατάστασής τους με την πλήρη αξιοποίηση των ΤΠΕ στα πλαίσια της βιώσιμης ανάπτυξης. Η παρούσα έρευνα επικεντρώνεται στην χρήση των κατάλληλων εργαλείων (όπως το Google Earth Voyager Stories), τα οποία συνδυάζουν τη χρήση του Street View, τρισδιάστατων εικόνων και της αφήγησης. Η απολιγνιτοποίηση περιοχών αποτελεί σημαντικό βήμα για την επίτευξη της βιώσιμης ανάπτυξης, καθώς με αυτόν τον τρόπο ολοκληρώνεται η πλήρης απεξάρτηση της ελληνικής οικονομίας από το ρυπογόνο καύσιμο του λιγνίτη έως το 2028. Στην προώθηση, προβολή και ανάδειξη αυτής της πράσινης μετάβασης των λιγνιτικών περιοχών στο βιώσιμο αναπτυξιακό μοντέλο μπορεί να συμβάλλει αποτελεσματικά κάποια από τις μεθόδους εικονικής ή επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας.
Πολιτισμικός περίπατος και περιβαλλοντική ευαισθητοποίηση, η κινηματογράφηση σε ένα «ψυχογεωγραφικό» περιβάλλον - Μελέτη περίπτωσης στην πόλη των Αγίων Αναργύρων
Authors: Βρεττού Φρύνη
Published: November 2022

Στο παρόν άρθρο σκοπός της έρευνας είναι η ανάδειξη του πολιτισμικού περιπάτου και της κινηματογράφησής του ως σημαντικού μέσου για την περιβαλλοντική ευαισθητοποίηση ατόμων κάθε ηλικίας. Η μέθοδος που επιλέχθηκε είναι η ποιοτική έρευνα με εργαλεία ημι-δομημένες συνεντεύξεις από παλαιότερους κατοίκους των Αγίων Αναργύρων αφενός και επιτόπια έρευνα με συμμετοχική παρατήρηση κατά την προσωπική περιπλάνηση στην περιοχή αφετέρου. Ο κινηματογράφος της παρατήρησης με την ενδελεχή και μακροχρόνια συμμετοχική παρατήρηση μέσα από την κάμερα ενός κινητού τηλεφώνου, πρόσφερε μεθοδολογικά εργαλεία για την κινηματογράφηση. Επίσης στην μέθοδο επιλέχθηκε η βιβλιογραφική έρευνα σχετικά με την επίδραση του αστικού χώρου στην ανθρώπινη συμπεριφορά, την «ψυχογεωγραφία» (Debord,1955), κατά την αστική περιπλάνηση (“flânerie”) και την έννοια του «πλάνητα» (Benjamin,1939). Τα συμπεράσματα της έρευνας είναι ότι η νοηματοδότηση του χώρου σαν ένα «ψυχογεωγραφικό τοπίο» (Bruno, 2011), όπου εδράζονται η συλλογική μνήμη, τα βιώματα και οι επιθυμίες των ανθρώπων, συμβάλλουν στην δημιουργία συναισθηματικών δεσμών αγάπης ανάμεσα στον κινηματογραφιστή, το περιβάλλον και τους συνανθρώπους του.  Η παραπάνω αντίληψη του χώρου έχει ως αποτέλεσμα την περιβαλλοντική ευαισθητοποίηση και την ενδυνάμωση των κοινωνικών σχέσεων. Συμπερασματικά ο περιπλανώμενος κινηματογραφιστής αποκομίζει την αίσθηση επανιδιοποίησης του περιβάλλοντος δημόσιου χώρου, αντιλαμβάνεται τον εαυτό του ως μέρος του περιβάλλοντος και βιώνει έντονη συγκίνηση. Τέλος ευαισθητοποιείται σχετικά με τα ζώα που ζουν στην πόλη και προβληματίζεται για την διατήρηση φυσικών χώρων ή τόπων με έντονη ιστορική και πολιτισμική αξία.
«Βιωσιμότητα και καλλιτεχνική πρακτική στην ψηφιακή εποχή: Δημιουργία και κατανόηση περιβαλλοντικών μηνυμάτων»
Authors: Ταπάσκου Μαρία , Παπαδοπούλου Αγνή , Γιαννακουλόπουλος Ανδρέας
Published: November 2022

Oι πρόσφατες εξελίξεις υπογραμμίζουν τον κεντρικό ρόλο της καινοτομίας, της εκπαίδευσης και της ψηφιακής κοινωνίας στην βιώσιμη ανάπτυξη. H ψηφιακή εποχή αποτελεί εύφορο έδαφος και υπό αυτό το πρίσμα, οι νέες τεχνολογίες ενισχύουν τον συγκεκριμένο σκοπό. Ωστόσο, παρότι ο σύγχρονος ψηφιακός κόσμος προσφέρει  πληθώρα πληροφοριών αναφορικά με τα περιβαλλοντικά θέματα, φαίνεται ότι υπάρχουν ακόμα ελλείψεις. Σύμφωνα με τον  Ευρωπαϊκό Οργανισμό Περιβάλλοντος, η διατήρηση του περιβάλλοντος συνίσταται στην μετατροπή των πληροφοριών σε ουσιαστική γνώση μέσω ολοκληρωμένων δικτύων κοινωνικής δράσης. Ως εκ τούτου, η εκπαίδευση και ο πολιτισμός συμβάλλουν μέσω της κατάλληλης μετάδοσης και επικοινωνίας πληροφοριών, σχετικοί με τον σκοπό της Περιβαλλοντικής Επικοινωνίας. Συγκεκριμένα, ο σκοπός της συγκεκριμένης εργασίας είναι η ανάδειξη των ψηφιακών τεχνών ως ενός καινούριου μέσου περιβαλλοντικής επικοινωνίας και παράλληλα, ως ενός σύγχρονου επαγγελματικου πεδίου. Στη δική μας εμπειρική μελέτη περίπτωσης, εφαρμόζοντας μία Art-Based διδακτική προσέγγιση στη διάρκεια του εαρινού εξαμήνου με 40 φοιτητές του τμήματος Τεχνών Ήχου και Εικόνας επιχειρήθηκε μία μικτή μεθοδολογική προσέγγιση, ακολουθώντας τα βήματα της διαδοχικής επεξηγηματικής σχεδίασης. Σε πρώτη φάση, μέσω της ηλεκτρονικής χορήγησης ενός ερωτηματολογίου 10 ερωτήσεων, ελέγχθηκαν οι υποθέσεις αν τα ψηφιακά έργα με οικολογικό περιεχόμενο λειτουργούν ενημερωτικά με διαφορετικό τρόπο σε μια ψηφιακή συγκριτικά με μία υβριδική έκθεση και αν υπάρχει διαφορά στην επιλογή του συγκεκριμένου επαγγελματικού πεδίου αναλόγως του έτους σπουδών των φοιτητών. Στην ποιοτική φάση, οι φοιτητές, μέσα από την δημιουργία δικών τους έργων με οικολογικό περιεχόμενο, συμμετείχαν σε 2 ομαδικές ημι-δομημένες συνεντεύξεις 4 ερωτήσεων, επισημαίνοντας ότι η κοινωνική δράση εχει μεγαλύτερο αντίκτυπο στην κατανόηση των περιβαλλοντικών θεμάτων. Τα αποτελέσματα υποδεικνύουν ότι δημιουργία ενός διεπιστημονικού δικτύου συνεργασίας είναι μία πιο ολοκληρωμένη μορφή επικοινωνίας και ότι οι συλλογικές δράσεις ανταποκρίνονται σε μεγαλύτερο κοινό, καθιστώντας έτσι τον τομέα των ψηφιακών έργων με οικολογικό περιεχόμενο αποτελεσματικό και πιθανότερο ως επιλογή επαγγελματικού τομέα.
Editorial
Authors: Σοφός Αλιβίζος (Λοΐζος) , ΣΙΑΚΑΣ Σπύρος
Published: November 2022

Editorial τέταρτου τεύχους
3D bioprinting as a future of regenerative medicine and hope for transplantology
Authors: Gładysz Konrad , Szydłowska Justyna , Żuchnik Olga , Król Olgierd , Kwiatkowski Piotr , Kuczyńska Beata , Czelej Magdalena , Kłos Aleksander , Gieroba Krzysztof , Szydłowski Marcin
Published: November 2022

Introduction: 3D bioprinting is a continuously refined technology that enables tissue structures to be faithfully reproduced, using specially developed bioinks and 3D printers. Thanks to its versatility, it is possible to use it in regenerative medicine and transplantation, which could have a positive impact on the survival and comfort of patients with injuries and those awaiting transplantation.

Aim of the study: Summarise the current state of knowledge on the use of 3D bioprinting technology in the field of regenerative medicine and transplantation, to present the extent of the method's capabilities and examples of its applications, and to outline what role it will play in the future of medicine.

Methods and materials: A review of the literature available in the PubMed database and Google Scholar from the last 5 years was conducted, using the following keywords: 3d bioprinting, regenerative medicine, tissue biofabrication.

Results: Significant progress has been made in the field of bioprinting and various types of tissue are now being printed and tested. Current research into the printing of skin tissue leads us to believe that in the coming years, 3D bioprinting using stem cells will make it possible to significantly improve the treatment of skin injuries. Researchers are also working on using this technology in the field of neurology and bone damage. 

Conclusion: The dynamic development of 3D bioprinting technology offers the hope of eliminating the main transplantation problem related to donor availability. However, the road to wider clinical application of this technology is still a long one, due to the numerous technological difficulties associated with the development of bioprinters, advanced printers and a thorough understanding of human tissue architecture. With the current intensified research in this field, it is expected that these problems will be eliminated in time and the technology will gain more interest from clinicians.
Transection injury differentially alters the proteome of the human sural nerve
Authors: Chau Monica J. , Quintero Jorge E. , Blalock Eric , Byrum Stephanie , Mackintosh Samuel G. , Samaan Christopher , Gerhardt Greg A. , van Horne Craig G.
Published: November 2022

Regeneration after severe peripheral nerve injury is often poor. Knowledge of human nerve regeneration and the growth microenvironment is greatly lacking. We aimed to identify the regenerative proteins in human peripheral nerve by comparing the proteome before and after a transection injury. In a unique study design, we collected closely matched samples of naïve and injured sural nerve. Naïve and injured (two weeks after injury) samples were analyzed using mass spectrometry and immunoassays. We found significantly altered levels following the nerve injury. Mass spectrometry revealed that injury samples had 568 proteins significantly upregulated and 471 significantly downregulated compared to naïve samples (q-value ≤ 0.05 and Z ≥ |2| (log2)). We used Gene Ontology (GO) pathway overrepresentation analysis to highlight groups of proteins that were significantly upregulated or downregulated with injury-induced degeneration and regeneration. Significant protein changes in key pathways were identified including growth factor levels, Schwann cell de-differentiation, myelination downregulation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and axonal regeneration pathways. The proteomes of the uninjured nerve compared to the degenerating/regenerating nerve may reveal biomarkers to aid in the development of repair strategies such as infusing supplemental trophic factors and in monitoring neural tissue regeneration.
Android malware detection method based on highly distinguishable static features and DenseNet
Authors: Yang Jiyun , Zhang Zhibo , Zhang Heng , Fan JiaWen
Published: November 2022

The rapid growth of malware has become a serious problem that threatens the security of the mobile ecosystem and needs to be studied and resolved. Android is the main target of attackers due to its open source and popularity. To solve this serious problem, an accurate and efficient malware detection method is needed. Most existing methods use a single type of feature, which can be easily bypassed, resulting in low detection accuracy. In addition, although multiple types of features are used in some methods to solve the drawbacks of detection methods using a single type of feature, there are still some problems. Firstly, due to multiple types of features, the number of features in the initial feature set is extremely large, and some methods directly use them for training, resulting in excessive overhead. Furthermore, some methods utilize feature selection to reduce the dimensionality of features, but they do not select highly distinguishable features, resulting in poor detection performance. In this article, an effective and accurate method for identifying Android malware, which is based on an analysis of the use of seven types of static features in Android is proposed to cope with the rapid increase in the amount of Android malware and overcome the drawbacks of detection methods using a single type of feature. Instead of utilizing all extracted features, we design three levels of feature selection methods to obtain highly distinguishable features that can be effective in identifying malware. Then a fully densely connected convolutional network based on DenseNet is adopted to leverage features more efficiently and effectively for malware detection. Compared with the number of features in the original feature set, the number of features in the feature set obtained by the three levels of feature selection methods is reduced by about 97%, but the accuracy is only reduced by 0.45%, and the accuracy is more than 99% in a variety of machine learning methods. Moreover, we compare our detection method with different machine learning models, and the experimental results show that our method outperforms general machine learning models. We also compare the performance of our detection method with two state-of-the-art neural networks. The experimental results show that our detection model can greatly reduce the training cost and still achieve good detection performance, reaching an accuracy of 99.72%. In addition, we compare our detection method with other similar detection methods that also use multiple types of features. The results show that our detection method is superior to the comparison methods.
Hypercoagulability in critically ill patients with COVID 19, an observational prospective study
Authors: Calvet Laure , Thouy François , Mascle Olivier , Sapin Anne-Françoise , Grapin Kévin , Liteaudon Jean Mathias , Evrard Bertrand , Bonnet Benjamin , Adda Mireille , Souweine Bertrand , Dupuis Claire
Published: November 2022

Objective

COVID 19 is often associated with hypercoagulability and thromboembolic (TE) events. The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of hypercoagulability and its relationship with new-onset TE events and the composite outcome of need for intubation and/or death in intensive care unit (ICU) patients admitted for COVID.

Design

Prospective observational study.

Setting

Monocentric, intensive care, University Hospital of Clermont Ferrand, France.

Patients

Patients admitted to intensive care from January 2020 to May 2021 for COVID-19 pneumonia.

Interventions

Standard hemostatic tests and rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) were performed on admission and on day 4. Hypercoagulability was defined by at least one of the following criteria: D-dimers > 3000 μg/dL, fibrinogen > 8 g/L, EXTEM CFT below the normal range, EXTEM A5, MCF, Li 60 above the normal range, and EXTEM G-score ((5000 x MCF) / (100-MCF)) ≥ 11 dyne/cm2.

Measurements and main results

Of the 133 patients included, 17 (12.7%) developed new-onset TE events, and 59 (44.3%) required intubation and/or died in the ICU. ROTEM was performed in 133 patients on day 1 and in 67 on day 4. Hypercoagulability was present on day 1 in 115 (86.4%) patients. None of the hypercoagulability indices were associated with subsequent new-onset TE events on days 1 and 4 nor with the need for intubation and/or ICU death. Hyperfibrinogenemia > 8g/dL, higher D-dimers and higher EXTEM Li 60 on day 4 were predictive of need for intubation and/or of ICU death.

Conclusions

Our study confirmed that most COVID-19 ICU patients have hypercoagulability on admission and almost all on day 4. Hyperfibrinogenemia or fibrinolysis shutdown on day 4 were associated with unfavorable outcome.