bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plan de negocio de cereal de espirulina para fortalecer el sistema inmunológico de los habitantes del distrito de La Molina en tiempo de Covid
Authors:   , Llacctahuaman Pillaca Susan Rossio , Martinez Calixtro Elizabeth Jennifer , Medina Huaringa Cindy Ofelia , Mostacero Manayay Vivian Noelia
Published: November 2022

Actualmente el país está pasando una crisis política y económica, si bien es cierto la pandemia también es parte de esta crisis. Así como también muchos factores que influye en el entorno de este proyecto. Cabe mencionar que una de las estrategias de venta se realizará mediante las redes sociales como una fuerza de venta. En el proyecto se ha trabajado una serie de encuestas para recopilar información de nuestros clientes potenciales. El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como misión ser el socio estratégico para nuestros clientes, que compra el producto de cereales saludables bajo los estándares de alta calidad y excelencia en la fabricación de nuestro producto, así mismo rebasamos las expectativas de nuestros clientes, con proyección nacional e internacional. Por otro lado, damos a conocer la visión de la empresa, ser reconocidos como una empresa líder en el mercado nacional, brindar seguridad y satisfacción en innovación para nuestro mercado. Así mismo, damos a conocer el objetivo estratégico de la empresa, desarrollar un plan de negocio para fortalecer el sistema inmunológico en los habitantes del distrito de la Molina. Se consideran los recursos económicos que se utilizarán para llevar a cabo la ejecución del proyecto, así como también recursos humanos, balance general, flujo de caja. La empresa, se va enfocar a satisfacer las necesidades de nuestros consumidores, para ello se obtendrá los mejores instrumentos para la fabricación del producto. Finalmente, con este proyecto se podrán orientar a los estudiantes, emprendedores, clientes, etc. ya que se impulsará el crecimiento económico y al desarrollo del país.
Impacto final en el costo de venta mediante la implementación de una estructura de costos en una empresa ubicada en el distrito de Santiago de Surco - Lima
Authors:   , Cerdan Villanes Katherine Juanita
Published: November 2022

La empresa propuesta tiene como actividad principal la importación de productos italianos y a través de una página web vende dicha mercancía además de interactuar con sus clientes, sin embargo, presenta a la actualidad una deficiencia en la determinación de sus costos de ventas por producto, el criterio utilizado ocasiona un error en la mayoría de ellos. Este problema que aqueja a la entidad es sujeto de investigación e implementación de mejora con el fin de poder subsanar el percance que se presenta y dar una alternativa de solución, además de poder observar la realidad de la empresa en otros aspectos como es la parte comercial, administrativa y organizacional. El objetivo principal se centra en determinar el impacto final en el costo de venta de los productos importados mediante una propuesta planteada de una estructura de costos, para ello se tuvo una población total de productos del almacén de la empresa del cual se requirió una muestra de doce ítems con características relevantes como: mayor índice de ventas y costo accesible al público objetivo. Esto permitió elaborar a detalle las hojas de costos en base a la información contable registrada de las compras y ventas de un determinado periodo. El resultado final de dicha comparación entre el cálculo establecido por la empresa versus la propuesta del investigador reveló un desbalance final en los márgenes brutos que tenía cada producto, pues originalmente se tenía establecido un porcentaje del 35% para cada uno, por consiguiente, se detectó que los costos no estaban correctamente distribuidos y generaba diferencias de costeo contable en la presentación del estado de resultado de la entidad. Se llegó a sugerir a dicha empresa implementar una estructura de costes de manera global para sus productos…
Administración preoperatoria de amoxicilina, amoxicilina/ácido clavulánico o clindamicina para reducir las complicaciones postoperatorias en pacientes sometidos a cirugía de tercer molar mandibular: revisión sistemática
Authors:   , Bueno Galvez Angye Linda
Published: November 2022

El objetivo de esta revisión sistemática fue sintetizar la evidencia para determinar la eficacia de la administración preoperatoria de amoxicilina, amoxicilina con ácido clavulánico o clindamicina en pacientes sometidos a cirugía de tercer molar mandibular para prevenir complicaciones postoperatorias. Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática en cuatro bases de datos (PubMed, Central, Scopus, Google Scholar) desde enero 2000 hasta diciembre del 2020. También se realizó búsquedas manuales en las principales revistas en el campo de la cirugía bucal y maxilofacial. De la búsqueda inicial se logró recopilar un total de 550 artículos, de los cuales 21 artículos fueron incluidos para la evaluación de la síntesis cualitativa de la evidencia. La presente revisión sistemática se realizó siguiendo las normas de Cochrane, para identificar el tipo de riesgo en los estudios, así mismo se usó el manual de RoB2 para identificar el riesgo de sesgo en los ensayos clínicos aleatorizados. Para cada uno de los artículos seleccionados, se presentaron 42.9% artículos con bajo riesgo de sesgo (n=9/21), 23.8% artículos con riego poco claro (n=5/21) y 33.3% artículos con alto riesgo de sesgo (n=7/21). Se concluyó que la administración profiláctica de un antibiótico no es necesaria para la prevención de complicaciones postoperatorias después de la cirugía del tercer molar mandibular, por falta de evidencia estadísticamente significativa. Sin embargo si se presentara una condición predeterminante que requiera de esta pre medicación si se debe de realizar.
Habilidades sociales de comunicación en el cuidado humanizado del profesional de Enfermería en un Hospital de Lima - 2020
Authors:   , Guzman Quispe Katherine Lylen , Seancas Huaman Josefina
Published: November 2022

Objetivo: Describir las habilidades sociales de comunicación en el cuidado humanizado del profesional de enfermería percibido por el paciente en un hospital de Lima - 2020. Materiales y métodos: Estudio de tipo aplicada con diseño no experimental, enfoque cuantitativo y corte transversal; aplicó el Instrumento CECOP donde participaron 60 pacientes y la variable de estudio es las habilidades sociales de comunicación, se hizo una estadística descriptiva y se empleó el programa Microsoft Excel con el uso de fórmulas y gráficas; se cumplió con los aspectos éticos. Resultados: en lo que respecta a la dimensión empatía, 16.67%(10) califican que las enfermeras tienen una habilidad social de comunicación baja, el 70% (42) califican con una habilidad social de comunicación media y el 13.33%(8) califican con una habilidad social de comunicación alta, mientras, en lo que respecta a la dimensión respeto el 85%(51) de los pacientes califican que las enfermeras con una habilidad social de comunicación baja y el 15%(9) califican con una habilidad social de comunicación media. Conclusión: la habilidad social de comunicación en el cuidado humano brindado por el profesional enfermero percibido desde el punto de vista del paciente se encontró que 31.67% (19) perciben una habilidad social de comunicación baja, el 65% (29) pacientes perciben una habilidad social de comunicación media y el 3.33% (2) perciben una habilidad social de comunicación alta.
Supplementary suckling technique in infants less than 6 months of age with uncomplicated Severe Acute Malnutrition: a prospective hospital-based study in armed conflict Yemen.
Authors: Baazab Mohamed Salem Mohamed , Bilal Jalal Ali , Ba-Saddik Iman Ali , Arabi Ali Mohammed
Published: November 2022

Background
Globally 3.8 million of children under 6 month of age are severely wasted. In Yemen, around 20% of children under six months were affected by malnutrition during the armed conflict in the last 7 years. Supplementary suckling may reestablish exclusive breastfeeding in infant less than 6 months of age with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). This study aimed to determine the outcomes of employing supplementary suckling technique in treatment of uncomplicated SAM infants in a conflict-affected community.
Methods
A prospective hospital-based study was carried out between January to April 19th, 2020 among randomly selected infants less than 6 months of age with SAM following breastfeeding failure. Infants’ anthropometric indices were daily measured and recorded. Supplementary sulking technique was used in management with high or low protein milk-based formula supplement. Outcome was recorded as cured, died, defaulter or in nonrecovery state.
Results
In this study 108 infants were enrolled with a median (IQR) age of 4 (2.5-5) years and a male: female ratio of 1.4:1. After treatment, 80.6% recovered to cure, 12% defaulters, 6% died, and 2% did not respond to treatment Thirty-four infants (38.8%) gained weight with significantly increased median weight and median weight-for-age z score. The median (IQR) duration of treatment was 9 (7.5–14) days. The means of age and weight-for-length z score were correlated (r= -0.22, p = 0.025). Duration of treatment was a predictor of outcome (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 0.05–0.62, p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Supplementary suckling technique for feeding infant with SAM aged less than 6 months had a positive impact on anthropometric indices with high cure rate. The younger the infant and the longer the duration of treatment, the better the outcome.
Trial registration:
Not Applicable
Forecasting Short-Term Water Demands with an Ensemble deep learning Model for a Water Supply System
Authors: Liu Jing , Zhou Xinlei , Xu Yueping
Published: November 2022

Short-term water demand forecasting is crucial for constructing intelligent water supply system. There are plenty of useful models built to address this issue. However, there are still many challenging problems, including that the accuracies of the models are not high enough, the complexity of the models makes them hard for wide use in reality and the capabilities of models to catch peaks still have much room for improvement. In order to solve these problems, we proposed an ensemble deep learning model named STL-Ada-LSTM for daily water demand forecast by combining STL method with AdaBoost-LSTM model. After data preprocessing, the smoothed series is decomposed by STL to gain three input series. Then, several LSTM models are integrated by the AdaBoost algorithm to construct the ensemble deep learning model for water demand forecast. At last, the superiority of the proposed model is demonstrated by comparing with other state-of-art models. The proposed method is applied for water demand forecast using daily datasets from two representative water plants in Yiwu, East China. All models are assessed by mean absolute scaled error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean square error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (R2) and Akaike information criterion (AIC). The results show that the proposed model not only enhances the accuracy of the forecast, but also improves the stability and conciseness, which make it a practical daily water demand forecast model.
A Hybrid Approach to Forecasting Water Quality in Urban Drainage Systems
Authors: Plazas-Nossa Leonardo , Torres Andres
Published: November 2022

The pollutant monitoring in urban sewer systems is currently done by captors based on UV-Vis spectrometry. These have the purpose of determining the dynamics of water quality indicator concentrations. Analyzing time series and UV-Vis absorbance spectra is necessary to develop forecast methodologies as supporting tools for online and real-time control support. This work presents a hybrid approach based on seven methodologies combined with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for UV-Vis absorbance time series forecasting, such as: Principal Component Analysis combined with Discrete Fourier Transform (PCA/DFT), PCA combined with Chebyshev polynomials, PCA combined with Legendre polynomials (PCA/L-Poly), PCA combined with Feed-forward Artificial Neural Networks (PCA/ANN), PCA combined with Polynomial (PCA/PolyReg), PCA combined with SVM (PCA/SVM) and Clustering process combined with Markov chains (kmMC). Three UV-Vis absorbances time series collected online were used at different experimental sites in Colombia, two in Bogotá and one in Medellin. The Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) values were obtained between 0% and 57% for all the study sites. Results show that it is impossible to determine the best forecasting methodology among the proposed ones because they would complement each other for different forecasting time steps and spectra ranges according to the target water quality.
Pterostilbene induces pyroptosis of breast cancer cells, inhibits the growth and invasion of transplanted tumor and reshapes its tumor microenvironment
Authors: Yang Wenhui , huang xiaoxia , Zhang Yannan , Tian Ye , Pan Tingting , Guo Ying , Dong Jing , Li Lin
Published: November 2022

With an increase in treatment methods, the mortality rate of breast cancer has gradually decreased. However, the incidence rate has increased due to various factors, such as: poor eating and living habits, negative emotions. How can we effectively reduce the incidence and inhibit the development of breast cancer? Pyroptosis, an inflammatory cell death that can trigger a strong immune response and is a potential mechanism for various diseases. Currently, targeting pyroptosis to inhibit tumor progression is an important topic. Pterostilbene (PTE) is a derivative of resveratrol found. Studies have shown that PTE it can prevent tumors and anti-tumors. Does the antitumor effect of PTE involve cancer cell pyroptosis?
Our results showed that PTE significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of EMT6 and 4T1 cells in vitro. PTE induces pyroptosis in EMT6 cells and upregulates the expression of the BAX-caspase-3-GSDME pathway. In 4T1 cells, PTE also induces pyroptosis and upregulates the expression of the GZMB-BAX-caspase-3-GSDME pathway. In vivo, PTE can effectively inhibit the growth of mammary tumors in EMT6-transplanted mice. Moreover, PTE recruits immune cells to regulate systemic immune function and the tumor immune microenvironment. PTE increased anti-tumor immune cells and decreased tumor-promoting immune cells in peripheral blood, spleen, and tumors. T cell typing in tumor tissue is regulated by PTE, promoting the differentiation of Th cells into a Th1 type. Moreover, the proportion of B cells increases and the proportion of Treg cells decreases, which promotes the transformation of TAMs to M1-TAMs and decreases the proportion of M2-TAMs. Meanwhile, PTE inhibits tumor angiogenesis and tumor invasion and metastasis. In general, PTE plays a role in cancer prevention and treatment by promoting cancer cell pyroptosis, improving body immunity, and regulating the host tumor immune microenvironment. Furthermore, PTE pretreatment has shown a better suppression effect.
The impacts of spatio-temporal variation of natural and agricultural influences on the environmental water quality in a fluvial-lacustrine watershed in China
Authors: Feng Yu , Zheng Bing-Hui , Jia Hai-Feng , Song Bing-Bing , Liu Yang , Bi Jun-Ping
Published: November 2022

Despite the significant impacts of natural factors such as rainfall, topography, soil type, and river network as well as agricultural activities on the environmental water quality, little is known about the influence of their temporal and spatial variations in a fluvial-lacustrine watershed. In this study, a whole process accounting method based the export coefficient model (WP-ECM) was first developed to quantify how natural factors and agricultural activities distribution influenced water quality. A case study was performed in a typical fluvial-lacustrine area –Dongting basin, China. The simulated results indicated that the natural factors can promote the migration and transformation of agricultural pollutants generated from the watershed and the spatial distribution of the natural factors displayed high variability. It should be priority to monitor the areas with greater natural impact in the basin. Moreover, the cultivated land area and the number of pig-breeding were positively correlated with the pollutant discharge, and it is an important measures to reduce and control the anthropological influence in the agricultural high-impact areas. From the perspective of the spatial distribution of comprehensive influence, the comprehensive high-impact areas are mainly distributed in the Dongting Lake district in 2005–2010 and in Xiang River watershed in 2010–2020. A key strategy for controlling or reducing the cultivated land area and the intensity of livestock breeding in these high-impacts areas, especially in Dongting Lake district and Xiang River watershed, is to reduce the impact of the environmental water quality for the entire basin.
Improvement of Geodetic Parameters Estimation by Continuous VLBI Campaign 2017 Using a Simulated Station in the Middle East
Authors: Rastbood Asghar
Published: November 2022

Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) is one of the most important techniques in geodesy. In this technique the differences between arrival times of a radio signal at two or more different stations is obtained. Important information can be determined by VLBI; the most important products of VLBI data processing are Earth Orientation Parameters (EOPs) and International Celestial Reference Frames (ICRFs). Other important parameters can be determined by VLBI are International Terrestrial Reference Frames (ITRFs), light deflection parameter, motion parameters of tectonic plates, Love and Shida numbers and ionospheric and tropospheric parameters. Baseline Length Repeatability (BLR) is an indicator for improvement of geodetic parameters estimation. Such that the smaller BLR the better parameter accuracy. The improvement of BLR by adding a simulated VLBI station to Legacy-1 and Legacy-2 networks that used in the Continuous VLBI Campaign 2017 (CONT17) is investigated. Due to adding a new station, new baselines are created that do not exist in CONT17; for this reason, the changes of BLR in the common baselines is estimated. Our purpose is determination of optimal location for establishing a VLBI station in Middle East because there is no VLBI station in this region. We show that construction of a new station in Oman and Saudi Arabia improves the BLR in Legacy-1 and Legacy-2 networks by about 3.3% and 7.4%, respectively.
Fenofibrate add-on therapy improves transplant-free survival in patients with primary biliary cholangitis refractory to ursodeoxycholic acid
Authors: Li Buer , Li Shuxiang , Chen Sha , Li Min , Lv Tingting , Wang Qianyi , Wang Xiaoming , Wang Yu , Ma Hong , Ou Xiaojuan , Zhao Xinyan , You Hong , Duan Weijia , Jia Jidong
Published: November 2022

Background Fenofibrate (FF) has shown biochemical benefit in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) patients with a suboptimal response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), but the long-term efficacy on survival remains unknown. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of the long-term effects of FF add-on therapy in PBC patients with a suboptimal response to UDCA, with special focus on the long-term survivals analyzed by Kaplan-Meier plotting and log-rank test. Results We enrolled 121 PBC patients with a suboptimal response to UDCA, with 57 patients continuing the UDCA monotherapy, and 64 patients receiving FF add-on therapy (200 mg/d). After one year of treatment, the FF add-on group had a more remarkable improvement in the serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) than the UDCA monotherapy group. Significant improvements in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin (TBIL), albumin (ALB), lipid, and immunoglobulins were only found in the FF add-on group, with ALP normalized in 60.9% and both ALP and TBIL normalized in 45.3% of the patients. Importantly, compared with UDCA monotherapy group, FF add-on therapy was associated with a significant improvement in 5- (89.7% vs 75.3%) and 10- (87.0% vs 47.6%) year transplant-free survivals (HR: 0.3282, 95% CI: 0.1334–0.8073, P < 0.05). Twenty-one cases (25.6%) developed adverse events during the follow-up, with liver injury being the most frequent one. Conclusions FF add-on therapy improves not only biochemical responses but also long-term transplant-free survival in PBC patients with suboptimal response to UDCA. However, liver and renal injuries need to be closely monitored and properly managed.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus testing and associated factors among pregnant women in Rwanda: a nationwide cross-sectional survey
Authors: Nuwabaine Lilian , Kawuki Joseph , Namulema Angella , Asiimwe John Baptist , Sserwanja Quraish , Gatasi Ghislaine , Donkor Elorm
Published: November 2022

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing during pregnancy is crucial for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, thus aiding in prompt treatment, care, and support. However, HIV testing among pregnant women in Rwanda has been barely explored. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of HIV testing among pregnant women in Rwanda.Methods:Secondary data from the 2020 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey comprising 870 pregnant women were used. Multistage stratified sampling was used to select participants. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to determine the factors associated with HIV testing, using SPSS (version 25).Results:Of the 870 pregnant women, 94.0% (95% CI: 92.3-95.4) had tested for HIV during their current pregnancy. Younger age (AOR=1.54, 95%CI: 1.54-4.42), not working (AOR=4.29, 95%CI: 1.52-12.08), large household size (AOR=2.96, 95%CI: 1.01-8.61), multiple sex partners (AOR=4.16, 95%CI: 3.01-5.74), as well as secondary (AOR=8.07, 95%CI: 2.15-11.43), primary (AOR=5.53, 95%CI: 1.28-9.74) and no (AOR=6.07, 95%CI: 1.21-10.44)education were positively associated with HIV testing. However, being unmarried (AOR=0.28, 95% CI: 0.19-0.86), belonging to the western region (AOR=0.20, 95% CI: 0.63-0.66), having not visited a health facility (AOR=0.22, 95%CI: 0.10-0.48), and not having comprehensive HIV knowledge (AOR=0.68, 95%CI: 0.30-0.55) were negatively associated with HIV testing.Conclusions:A high proportion of pregnant women had tested for HIV. However, there is a need for improved access to HIV education and testing facilities to address regional imbalances. The need for consideration of occupation, family and household dynamics in HIV testing promotion strategies is also highlighted.
Alternate day versus daily oral iron for treatment of iron deficiency anemia – a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Pasupathy Elamparithi , Kandasamy Ravichandran , Thomas Kurien , Basheer Aneesh
Published: November 2022

Background

Oral iron is the mainstay of treating iron deficiency anemia. Recent studies indicate better iron absorption with alternate day supplementation. However, the optimal supplementation strategy is unclear.

Aim

We compared effectiveness of daily versus alternate day supplementation of oral iron for treatment of iron deficiency anemia.

Methods

This double blind, active control, randomized controlled trial was conducted on two hundred adults having hemoglobin 10g/dL or less with microcytic hypochromic anemia and/or serum ferritin below 50 ng/mL. They were randomized to receive either two Ferrous sulfate tablets containing 60 mg elemental iron (120 mg total) on alternate days or single tablet of 60 mg elemental iron daily for 8 weeks. Primary outcome was mean change in hemoglobin at week 8 from baseline.

Results

Mean hemoglobin was 6.53 (± 1.89) and 6.68 (± 1.89) g/dL in the alternate day and daily arms respectively. Mean change in hemoglobin was + 1.05 ± 1.34 g/dL in alternate day arm and + 1.36 ± 1.51 g/dL in daily arm (p = 0.47) at week 8. There were no statistically significant differences between the arms with respect to any secondary outcome.

Conclusions

There is no significant difference between alternate day and daily iron administration in improving hemoglobin. Randomized controlled trials enrolling more participants for longer periods of supplementation and evaluating clinically relevant outcomes like change in hemoglobin may be useful in identifying the ideal dosing strategy.

Trial Registration

Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI/2019/01/017169).
Identification of three autophagy-related genes as diagnostic biomarkers and analysis of immune cell infiltration in ankylosing spondylitis patients
Authors: Yan Mingguang , Fang Xiao , Guo Jianjun , Yin Weibing
Published: November 2022

Background Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a rheumatic immune disease that predominantly affects the sacroiliac joints and spinal joints, but the etiopathogenesis of AS remains unclear. The present research aimed to identify novel therapeutic targets and explore the molecular mechanism of AS via a bioinformatics approach. Methods Two microarray datasets (GSE25101 and GSE18781) were downloaded, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used to analyze autophagy-related pathways. Autophagy-related genes (ARGs) were collected from the Human Autophagy-dedicated Database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened with the limma package. Differentially expressed autophagy-related genes (DEARGs) were identified by intersecting the DEGs with the ARGs. Besides, GO-BP and KEGG enrichment analyses of DEARGs associated with AS were conducted by clusterProfiler package. Furthermore, hub genes among DEARGs were screened by Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Finally, the expression of hub DEARGs were validated by GSE73754 dataset. Results GSEA results indicated that selective autophagy, programmed cell death, and endocytosis were involved in the occurrence and development of AS. A total of 10 DEARGs shared in the two datasets were identified. Besides, functional enrichment analysis results indicated these DEARGs were mainly enriched in mitophagy and autophagy. Three core DEARGs (PTEN, GABARAPL2, and PRKCQ) with AUC > 0.7 were confirmed to have the diagnostic value in AS. Immune cell infiltration analysis identified CD8 + T cells, NK cells, neutrophils, Tgd cells, Th1 cells, and Th2 cells as major participants in the AS development. Conclusions Overall, PTEN, GABARAPL2, and PRKCQ may be used as diagnostic biomarkers for AS. Besides, their relationships with immune cell infiltration will contribute to the development of immunotherapy in AS patients.
Effect of propofol versus sevoflurane on auditory and cognitive functions: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Fathy Wael , Hussein Mona , Koura Rabab Ahmed , Abdelhamed Hyam , Elshebawy Haidy , Elmoutaz Hatem , Rashwan Doaa
Published: November 2022

Background

Hearing loss and cognitive impairment are postoperative complications which need more awareness by anaesthesiologists. We aimed to study the possible deleterious effect of Propofol versus Sevoflurane on auditory function, attention and auditory memory.

Methods

This prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted on 80 patients who were candidate for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia; 40 patients received Propofol (propofol group ), and 40 patients received Sevoflurane (sevoflurane group). The included patients were assessed before and 1 week postoperative regarding the auditory functions by using the auditory brainstem response (ABR) and the attention and auditory memory by using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) and Paired Associate Learning test (PALT) scales.

Results

There was no statistically significant difference between both groups in either age (P-value = 0.537) or sex (P-value = 0.175). In Propofol group, the postoperative values of LT ABR-I and III were significantly higher than the preoperative ones (p value < 0.001, 0.003), all the postoperative RT ABR waves were significantly higher than the preoperative ones (P < 0.05). In Sevoflurane group, the postoperative values for LTABR- I, III, III-V were significantly higher than the preoperative ones with p value (0.012, 0.008 and 0.009) and the postoperative values for RTABR-III, V, I-III, and III-V were significantly higher than preoperative values ( p = 0.041, 0.029, 0.005 and < 0.001). There was no statistically significant differences between the Propofol and Sevoflurane groups in all waves of ABR in both sides ( P > 0.05). There was a significant worsening between pre and postoperative PASAT scores in Propofol and Sevoflurane groups respectively with p value (< 0.001) with no statistically significant difference between both groups (P-value = 0.906).Also, There was a significant worsening between pre and postoperative PALT scores in Propofol group only (p value = 0.01) with a statistically significant difference between both groups (P-value = 0.038).

Conclusion

There was a statistically significant postoperative impairment in auditory function, attention and auditory memory following anesthesia with both propofol and Sevoflurane with no significant difference between the two drugs.
The protocol of this study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. The identification number is NCT04874545.
Automated Item Generation: – Impact of item variants on performance and standard setting
Authors: Westacott Rachel , Badger Kerry , Kluth David , Gurnell Mark , Reed Malcolm W. R. , Sam Amir H.
Published: November 2022

Background
Automated Item Generation (AIG) uses computer software to create multiple items from a single question model. Items generated using AIG software have been shown to be of similar quality to those produced using traditional item writing methods. However, there is currently a lack of data looking at whether item variants to a single question result in differences in student performance or human-derived standard setting. The purpose of this study was to use 50 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) as models to create four distinct tests which would be standard set and given to final year UK medical students, and then to compare the performance and standard setting data for each.
Methods
Pre-existing questions from the UK Medical Schools Council (MSC) Assessment Alliance item bank, created using traditional item writing techniques, were used to generate four ‘isomorphic’ 50-item MCQ tests using AIG software. All UK medical schools were invited to deliver one of the four papers as an online formative assessment for their final year students. Each test was standard set using a modified Angoff method. Thematic analysis was conducted for item variants with high and low levels of variance in facility (for student performance) and average scores (for standard setting).
Results
2218 students from 12 UK medical schools sat one of the four papers. The average facility of the four papers ranged from 0.55–0.61, and the cut score ranged from 0.58–0.61. Twenty item models had a facility difference >0.15 and 10 item models had a difference in standard setting of >0.1. Variation in parameters that could alter clinical reasoning strategies had the greatest impact on item facility.
Conclusions
Item facility varied to a greater extent than the standard set. This may relate to variants creating greater disruption of clinical reasoning strategies in novice learners as opposed to experts, in addition to the well documented tendency of standard setters to revert to the mean.
Experience in Prenatal Genetic Testing and Reproductive Decision-Making for Monogenic Disorders from a Single Tertiary Care Genetics Clinic in a Low-Middle Income Country
Authors: Hanif Amna , Akbar Fizza , Kirmani Salman , Jaffarali Amyna , Zainab Ghulam , Malik Ayesha , Ansar Zeeshan , Afroze Bushra
Published: November 2022

Objectives
Explore health-care seeking behaviour among couples with pregnancies at-risk of monogenic disorders and compare time duration for obtaining Prenatal Genetic Test (PGT) results based on (i) amniocentesis and Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) (ii) in-house testing and out-sourced testing. Report the spectrum of monogenic disorders in our cohort.
Methods
Medical records of women consulting prenatal genetic counselling clinic at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from December-2015 to March-2021 with history of miscarriage or a monogenic disorder in previous children were reviewed.
Results
Forty-three pregnancies in 40 couples were evaluated, 37(93%) were consanguineous. Twenty-four (63%) couples consulted before and 14(37%) after conception. Thirty-one (71%) pregnancies underwent CVS at the mean gestational age of 13-weeks and 6-days ± 1-week and 3-days and amniocentesis at 16-weeks and 2-days ± 1-week and 4-days. PGT for 30 (70%) pregnancies was outsourced. The mean number of days for in-house PGT was 16.92 ± 7.80 days whereas for outsourced was 25.45 ± 7.7 days. Mean duration from procedure to PGT result was 20.55 days after CVS compared to 28.75 days after amniocentesis. Eight (18%) fetuses were homozygous for disease-causing variant for whom couples opted for termination of pregnancy (TOP). Twenty-six monogenetic disorders were identified in 40 families.
Conclusion
Proactive health-care seeking behaviour and TOP acceptance is present amongst couples who have experienced a genetic disorder.
Overexpression of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) AhGRFi gene in Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced root growth inhibition under exogenous NAA treatment
Authors: Zhang Zhou , Gangurde Sunil S. , Chen Songbin , Mandlik Rushil , Liu Haiyan , Deshmukh Rupesh , Xu Jialing , Wu Zhongkang , Hong Yanbin , Li Yin
Published: November 2022

The 14-3-3 protein is a kind of evolutionary ubiquitous protein family highly conserved in eukaryotes. Initially, 14-3-3 proteins were reported in mammalian nervous tissues, but in the last decade, their role in various metabolic pathways in plants established the importance of 14-3-3 proteins. In present study, a total of 22 14-3-3 genes also called as general regulatory factors (GRF) were identified in the peanut (Arachis hypogaea) genome out of which 12 belonged to the ε group whereas 10 of them belonged to the non- ε-group. Tissue-specific expression of identified 14-3-3 genes was studied using transcriptome analysis. The peanut AhGRFi gene was cloned and transformed in Arabidopsis thaliana. The investigation of subcellular localization indicated that AhGRFi is localized in the cytoplasm. Overexpression of the AhGRFi gene in transgenic Arabidopsis shown that under exogenous 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) treatment, root growth of transgenic plants was inhibited when compared with control. NAA-responsive endogenous relative gene expressions in AhGRFi transgenic Arabidopsis were validated by real-time PCR. The AhGRFi may be involved in the auxin signaling during seedling root development. An in-depth study on the molecular mechanism of this process remains to be further explored.
A survey-based study of adolescents and their healthcare providers in a tertiary pediatric hospital
Authors: Coret Alon , Newhook Dennis , Harrison Megan E.
Published: November 2022

Background:Adolescents admitted to hospital face challenges beyond their immediate medical condition(s), and are often looked after by healthcare providers who may not fully appreciate this population’s unique health needs. This single-center study explores the experiences of adolescents and their healthcare providers in a general pediatric inpatient setting, with hopes of bridging some of these care gaps.Methods: ​​We designed a cross-sectional survey-based study of two participant groups: (1) Adolescent patients (aged 10-19) admitted to general medical wards at a tertiary pediatric hospital and (2) Pediatric healthcare providers representing multiple disciplines.Results:25 adolescents completed the survey (mean age 14.6; range 11-17). Most adolescents reported consistently being treated respectfully (88%) and taken seriously (92%) by their care providers. Several identified structure and routine, a break from daily stressors, and quality time with loved ones as positive aspects to hospitalization. Cited areas for improvement included use of correct gender pronouns, having more quiet and privacy, having similar-age roommates, and age-appropriate leisure activities. Healthcare providers (n=40) representing a range of disciplines participated. Most (82%) described caring for adolescents as enjoyable and many (87%) reported that they forged therapeutic connections with their patients. Providers noted several areas of discomfort, particularly with history-taking and/or counseling around gender identity, sexuality, body image, substance use, and suicidality. Identified care gaps included inadequate training/education, suboptimal ward environments, and lack of community resources.Conclusions:This study identified unique strengths and opportunities for improvement in adolescent inpatient care. Hospital environments should recognize adolescent patients’ needs for privacy and offer age-appropriate leisure activities. Healthcare providers would benefit from youth-centred education for improved communication around gender, sexuality, and mental health.
Identification and validation of autophagy-related genes in Kawasaki disease
Authors: Zhu Hao , Xu Biao , Hu Cunshu , Li Aimin , Liao Qing
Published: November 2022

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology affecting mainly children. Studies have shown that the pathogenesis of KD may be related to autophagy. Using bioinformatics analysis, we assessed the significance of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) in KD.
Methods: Common ARGs were identified from the GeneCards Database, the Molecular Signatures Database, and the Gene Expression Omnibus database. ARGs were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. Furthermore, related miRNAs, transcription factors (TF), and drug interaction network were predicted. The immune cell infiltration of ARGs in tissues was explored. Finally, we used ROC curves and qRT-PCR to validate the diagnostic value and expression levels of ARGs in KD.
Results: There were 20 ARGs in total. GO analysis showed that ARGs were mainly rich in autophagy, macro-autophagy, and GTPase activity. KEGG analysis showed that ARGs were mainly rich in autophagy—animal and the collecting duct acid secretion pathway. The expression of WIPI1, WDFY3, ATP6V0E2, RALB, ATP6V1C1, GBA, C9orf72, LRRK2, GNAI3, and PIK3CB is the focus of PPI network. A total of 72 related miRNAs and 130 related TFs were predicted by miRNA and TF targeting network analyses. Ten pairs of gene–drug interaction networks were also predicted; immune infiltration analysis showed that SH3GLB1, ATP6V0E2, PLEKHF1, RALB, KLHL3, and TSPO were closely related to CD8+ T cells and neutrophils. The ROC curve showed that ARGs had good diagnostic value in KD. qRT-PCR showed that WIPI1 and GBA were significantly upregulated.
Conclusion: Twenty potential ARGs were identified by bioinformatics analysis, and WIPI1 and GBA may be used as potential drug targets and biomarkers.
Patient and clinician perspectives of a remote monitoring program for COVID-19 and lessons for future programs
Authors: Chaiyachati Krisda , Shea Judy , Ward Michaela , Nelson Maria , Ghosh Medha , Reilly Julianne , Kelly Sheila , Chisholm Deena , Barbati Zoe , Hemmons Jessica , Abdel-Rahman Dina , Ebert Jeffrey , Xiong Ruiying , Snider Christopher , Lee Kathleen , Friedman Ari , Meisel Zachary , Kilaru Austin , Asch David , Delgado M. Kit , Morgan Anna
Published: November 2022

COVID Watch is a remote patient monitoring program implemented during the pandemic to support home dwelling patients with COVID-19. The program conferred a large survival advantage. We conducted semi-structured interviews of 85 patients and clinicians using COVID Watch to understand how to design such programs even better. Patients and clinicians found COVID Watch to be comforting and beneficial, but both groups desired more clarity about the purpose and timing of enrollment and alternatives to text-messages to adapt to patients’ preferences as these may have limited engagement and enrollment among marginalized patient populations. Because inclusiveness and equity are important elements of programmatic success, future programs will need flexible and multi-channel human-to-human communication pathways for complex clinical interactions or patients who do not desire tech-first approaches.
A Transparency Statement Improves Community-Police Interactions
Authors: Dobson Kyle , Dittmann Andrea , Yeager David
Published: November 2022

Over the last three decades, billions of dollars have been invested in community-oriented policing approaches that are meant to promote positive interactions between officers and civilians. However, trust in law enforcement remains low. Our qualitative analysis of over 500 hours of naturalistic observations suggested this is in part because police officers’ manner of questioning can make civilians feel threatened, even when officers are not actively investigating a crime. Here we use a pre-registered field experiment (N = 232 community members interacting with police officers) to show that civilians were less threatened and report greater trust when officers added a short “transparency statement” communicating their benevolent intent (e.g., “I'm walking around trying to get to know the community”) to the beginning of interactions. Corroboration of these conclusions came from natural language processing analyses of the interaction transcripts and from ambulatory sensors that monitored community members’ sympathetic nervous system arousal. Further, six online experiments showed that transparency statements were equally effective for members of historically-overpoliced groups (e.g., Black and Latinx civilians) and isolated the theoretical conditions under which transparency statements were most impactful (totalN = 3,180). This multi-method investigation highlights an under-appreciated reason why authority figures such as police so often fail to promote positive relationships with the community: a lack of transparency about the reasons for their behavior.
Clinical Study of Ultrasonic Shear Wave Elastography in Assessing Placental Function in Patients with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy during Late Pregnancy
Authors: Yan Ziwei , Huang Xin , Zhao Yun , Zhang Bingyi
Published: November 2022

Introduction Placental dysfunction plays a key role in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy（HDP）. Aiming to noninvasively evaluate the placental dysfunction of HDP, we used ultrasonic shear wave elastography（SWE） to detect the placenta in vivo.
Methods Third trimester pregnant women with placental maturity grade II were randomly selected.They were divided into normal group, gestational hypertension(GHTN) groupand preeclampsia(PE) group. The young's modulus of placenta was measured by SWE.The umbilical artery blood flow parameters were measured by spectral Doppler.
Results The placental Young's modulus value of the diseased group (GHTN group and PE group) was significantly higher than that of the normal control group(P <0.01). The placental Young's modulus value of the PE group was significantly higher than that of the GHTN group(P<0.01).The young's modulus of placenta had a good correlation with the severity of HDP.
Discussion Placental function decreases and placental stiffness increases when HDP occurs. Shear wave elastography can quantitatively analyze placental stiffness, which can objectively reflect changes in placental function and the severity of HDP compared with placental maturity grading.
Dimethyl itaconate is effective in host-directed antimicrobial responses against mycobacterial infections through multifaceted innate immune pathways.
Authors: Kim Young Jae , Park Eun-Jin , Lee Sang-Hee , Silwal Prashanta , Kim Jin-Kyung , Yang Jeong Seong , Whang Jake , Jang Ji-Chan , Kim Jin-Man , Jo Eun-Kyeong
Published: November 2022

Background
Itaconate, a crucial immunometabolite, plays a critical role in linking immune and metabolic functions to influence host defense and inflammation. Because of its insoluble nature, several cell-permeable derivatives are being developed to provide therapeutic opportunities in infectious and inflammatory diseases. Yet, it remains largely uncharacterized whether cell-permeable derivatives have potentials in promoting host-directed therapeutics (HDT) against mycobacterial infections. Here, we report dimethyl itaconate (DMI) as the promising candidate for HDT against both Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and nontuberculous mycobacteria by orchestrating multiple innate immune programs.
Results
DMI per se has low bactericidal activity against Mtb, M. bovis Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG), and M. avium (Mav). However, DMI robustly activated intracellular elimination of multiple mycobacterial strains (Mtb, BCG, Mav, and even to multidrug-resistant Mtb) in macrophages and in vivo. DMI significantly suppressed the production of interleukins 6 and 10, whereas it enhanced autophagy and phagosomal maturation, during Mtb infection. DMI-mediated autophagy partly contributed to antimicrobial host defenses in macrophages. Moreover, DMI significantly downregulated the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling during infection with Mtb, BCG, and Mav.
Conclusion
Together, DMI has potent anti-mycobacterial activities in macrophages and in vivo through promoting multifaceted ways for innate host defenses. DMI may bring light to new candidate for HDT against Mtb and nontuberculous mycobacteria, both of which infections are often intractable with antibiotic resistance.
Virtual academic conferences: A mixed-methods study of equitable participation according to gender and country-income level
Authors: Walton Emma , Yates Joe , Blake Lauren , Waage Jeff , Kadiyala Suneetha
Published: November 2022

Scientific conferences are crucial to fostering knowledge exchange, career development, and transdisciplinary research to address complex problems. Recent transitions to virtual formats are shown to increase attendance and potentially address equity concerns by mitigating structural, financial, and logistical barriers. However, the social, behavioural and intellectual implications of moving conferences online are less well understood. We examine participation in a well-established scientific conference in its second year fully online, according to gender and country income level of videoconferencing attendees. We interlink these data with rich qualitative insights to look beyond attendance and to understand the nature and experiences of actual participation. We find that virtual conferences facilitate equitable access for women and researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through removing visa requirements and travel costs, and by enabling attendance alongside family care obligations. Alongside technological advances, this contributes to disrupting power dynamics in academia. However, loss of human connection and multi-dimensional stimulation of in-person attendance may be detrimental to collaboration and sense of community. Advancements in the equity, diversity, and inclusion of scientific exchange are accelerating but organisers must ensure that transitions to virtual or hybrid conferences does not create a two-tiered system in which researchers with limited access to resources are excluded from the rich intellectual and social benefits of in-person conferences.