bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gestação e pandemia da COVID-19: Impactos no binômio materno-fetal
Authors: Silva Larissa Távore , Meurer Nicole Caroline , Rodrigues Diego Augusto Charamitara , Rahal Yasmin Abou , Souza Izadora Amorim de , Caran Leonardo Lopes , Cruz Isabella Milan , Romera Lynara de Oliveira , Almeida Larissa Barros de , Ribeiro Isabela Pacheco de Arruda , Nunes Tasso Danilo Alves , Ferracini Gabriel Freire , Polizeli Letícia Batista , Gonçalves Fábio , Gonçalves Fausto da Silva
Published: June 2021

O objetivo deste estudo tem por base revelar os impactos da pandemia da COVID-19 na gestação. O artigo adotou o modelo de revisão sistemática, utilizando as bases de dados SciELO, PubMed e Google Acadêmico, por meio dos descritores “Coronavírus” e “Gravidez”. Foram selecionados vinte artigos completos, publicados a partir de 2020 até o presente momento. Percebeu-se que a gravidez é um estado imunológico único, no qual ocorrem modificações fisiológicas e mecânicas na interface materno-fetal, o que faz com que as gestantes sejam mais suscetíveis à infecções virais. Assim, com a pandemia da COVID-19, embora os estudos não demonstrem que mulheres grávidas apresentem maior deterioração do quadro clínico quando comparadas à população geral, observou-se modificações que podem implicar em complicações gestacionais, como pré-eclâmpsia, prematuridade, ruptura precoce de membrana e morte perinatal. Dessa forma, é importante a atenção à esse grupo, com enfoque aos sinais de alarme para casos de acometimento moderado a grave, com fornecimento de suporte clínico, através da internação em isolamento, de nutrição adequada, de fornecimento de oxigênio suplementar (se necessário), da observação da ingestão de líquidos e de eletrólitos, bem como a monitorização de sinais vitais de mãe e feto. Ademais, a realização do pré-natal, intraparto e pós-parto não deve ser exclusa, mas ajustada. Em situações de suspeita ou infecção confirmada, recomenda-se que agendamentos de consultas e procedimentos sejam postergados em no mínimo 7 dias, até 14 dias; e a telemedicina é uma opção para priorizar a saúde das gestantes e o isolamento social.
Efeito da avaliação nutricional sobre o tempo de internação hospitalar: Revisão sistemática
Authors: Araújo Érica Tamires Gomes de , Aquino Itiel de Souza , Brito Randolfo Randall Farias Ferreira , Teixeira Rosane Silva de Oliveira , Diniz Erik Trovão
Published: June 2021

A desnutrição em pacientes internados correlaciona-se com o aumento da frequência de intercorrências clínicas e mortalidade, além de estar associada a um maior período de hospitalização, maior risco de infecções e aumento dos custos para o serviço de saúde. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi elaborar revisão sistemática sobre o efeito da avaliação nutricional sobre o tempo de internação hospitalar e caracterizar a prevalência de desnutrição e risco nutricional nos pacientes hospitalizados. Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática de artigos originais utilizando os descritores “Nutrition Assessment”, “Length of stay” e “Prognosis”, nas bases de dados da Bireme/BVS, publicados em Inglês, Português ou Espanhol. De um total de 2.181 pacientes analisados nos estudos selecionados, cerca de 57% tinham idade igual ou maior a 60 anos, com média variando entre 63 e 85 anos. A prevalência de desnutrição ou de risco nutricional da população geral estudada variou entre 0,98% a 69,9%, a depender do instrumento de avaliação nutricional utilizado na análise. Em relação ao tempo de internação hospitalar e sua associação com o grau de desnutrição ou risco nutricional, evidenciou-se correlação positiva na maioria das séries. A elevada prevalência da desnutrição à admissão hospitalar parece acarretar em maior tempo de internação dos pacientes, elevação de custos hospitalares e pior do desfecho clínico. Apesar de não existir um modelo de avaliação nutricional adequado, sua importância é indiscutível e estudos futuros são necessários para elucidar melhor o tema.
A contribuição da consulta de enfermagem frente aos fatores psicossociais relacionados à adesão ao tratamento de insulinoterapia
Authors: Cunha Renata Kely Pimentel da , Rodrigues Mayara Cavalcante , Galvão Maria Renata da Silva , Silva Vera Lúcia Morais da
Published: June 2021

Introdução: A Diabetes Mellitus é um grupo de distúrbios metabólicos que tem por característica um desequilíbrio no nível sérico da glicemia. Considerada um dos principais problemas de saúde pública, devido a sua capacidade de evoluir para complicações crônicas e agudas, enfrenta uma inadequada adesão ao autocuidado, especialmente, a insulinoterapia.  Portanto, o estudo teve por objetivo conhecer a contribuição da consulta de enfermagem frente aos fatores psicossociais na adesão ao tratamento da insulinoterapia. Metodologia: A pesquisa foi norteada pelo método da Revisão Integrativa, realizada na Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde (BVS), nas seguintes bases de dados com acesso on-line: Base de Dados de Enfermagem (BDENF), Literatura Latino Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS) e MEDLINE. Assim como, no PubMed Central (PMC) e no SciElo Brasil, ambos através do Portal de Periódicos CAPES. Resultados e discussão: De acordo com a literatura levantada, o autocuidado foi considerado um fator de suma importância no sucesso do tratamento dos pacientes diabéticos em geral. Aspectos psicossociais estão relacionados à qualidade da adesão a insulinoterapia e a consulta de enfermagem é relevante no processo de construção de autoconhecimento e um fator de adesão ao autocuidado. Conclusão: A consulta de enfermagem é uma ferramenta eficaz na adesão adequada à insulinoterapia. No entanto, o planejamento feito em consonância com o paciente para atender suas necessidades, deve fortalecer aspectos de protagonismo do autocuidado e evitar situações de dependência da equipe de saúde desnecessárias, que afetariam a qualidade de vida do indivíduo.
Traçado Farmacoepidemiológico dos pacientes admitidos no Pronto-Socorro de um Hospital do interior de Minas Gerais
Authors: Souza Junior Allan Kardek das Virgens , Marques Matheus Santos
Published: June 2021

O presente estudo tem o objetivo de mensurar e apresentar dados epidemiológicos que possam contribuir na gestão de um hospital do interior de Minas Gerais, com intuito de aprimorar a qualidade dos serviços oferecidos. Trata-se de um estudo com delineamento observacional do tipo transversal, retrospectivo com abordagem quali-quantitativa. O hospital é de pequeno porte, contendo 46 leitos.  A técnica de amostragem utilizada é a não probabilística por conveniência. A ferramenta Excel versão 2007 foi utilizada para coleta e análise dos dados. As informações foram extraídas mediante as variáveis: Idade, sexo, motivo da admissão, medicamentos utilizados e desfechos.  A amostra analisada contém 9.246 fichas de admissão para o pronto- atendimento. Dentre estas, foram incluídas 1.328 (14,36%) e, excluídas 7.918 (85,64%). O sexo feminino é maioria no espaço amostral, (61,39%), desigualmente o sexo masculino representa (38,60%). A idade de maior frequência está entre 0 a 10 anos de (19,14%), 11 a 20 anos (12,88%) e, 41 a 50 anos (15,06 %). As queixas mais comuns são: Infecções das Vias Aéreas Superiores (IVAS), com uma média relativa total de 15,64%; Lombalgia 10,35%; Crise asmática 5,69%. Os medicamentos mais utilizados são; Dipirona média relativa total de 17, 33%; Dexametasona 12,06%;  Diclofenaco 8,74%. A média relativa total da taxa de liberação é de 95,80%, por sua vez, a média relativa total de internações é de 4,20%. Conclui-se que, conhecer o traçado farmacoepidemiológico de um ambiente hospitalar é poder fornecer a todo corpo de funcionários o perfil de pacientes acolhidos, tal qual também, serve de base para identificação e análise das reais necessidades por parte dos gestores. Entretanto é necessário salientar que o estudo em questão abre caminhos para a construção de futuros trabalhos, direcionado ao entendimento, quanto à frequência de retorno dos mesmos ao pronto-socorro, referindo as mesmas queixas, bem como o percentual de pacientes liberados, com terapia medicamentosa prescrita para posterior aquisição a nível ambulatorial.
Geoinformação como ferramenta na variação temporal na lavoura de dendê na mesorregião do nordeste paraense
Authors: Barbosa Mateus Trindade , Pinheiro Shirley Batista , Vieira Regiane da Conceição , Costa Merilene do Socorro Silva , Carneiro Francimary da Silva , Amaral Ana Paula Magno do , Castro Carla Vanessa Borges , Braga Elayne Oliveira , Tavares Lilian Conceição
Published: June 2021

Elaeis guineenses Jacq. é uma espécie monocotiledônea, pertencente à família Arecaceae e sua está território Africano e possuem um alto interesse comercial. A exploração da palma de óleo no Brasil iniciou no estado da Bahia no século XVII e com o passar do tempo expandiu para a região norte brasileira, onde teve uma boa adaptabilidade por conta dos aspectos edafoclimáticos. A classificação supervisionada contribui na identificação para o mapeamento do uso e da ocupação de terras através das análises e interpretação visual das imagens produzidas através de satélites. Para a execução do trabalho, foram feitos levantamentos de dados científicos como, pesquisas e estudos sobre a temática, para uma melhor compreensão e entendimento a respeito da classificação do uso do solo utilizando respostas de índices espectrais em níveis orbitais. O trabalho objetivou obter mapeamento da fazenda Agrapalma e proporcionar detalhes sobre a variação temporal das mudanças de distribuição do uso da terra. Foram utilizadas imagens da plataforma Google Earth Engenie e a classificação foi supervisionada no software livre Qgis. No monitoramento da modificação da cobertura do solo, observou-se perda de 2,46% da vegetação, aumento de 10,29% da vegetação secundária e redução de 8.826,09 ha de solo exposto.
O que as crianças nos contam sobre a cidade? Interlocuções entre infâncias, educação infantil e cidades
Authors: Vieira Victória Galter , Taquini Rennati , Auer Franceila , Pinheiro Larissa Franco de Mello Aquino , Araújo Vania Carvalho de
Published: June 2021

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as experiências vivenciadas pelas crianças na cidade em que habitam, a partir de suas impressões. Adota o estudo exploratório como metodologia, tendo como instrumentos de pesquisa, entrevistas semiestruturadas, rodas de conversa, diário de campo, registros fotográficos, acompanhamento de passeios, bem como a observação das crianças em seus momentos de interações, brincadeiras e produção de desenhos. Trata-se de uma pesquisa realizada com dezessete crianças de cinco anos de idade matriculadas em um Centro de Educação Infantil localizado nas dependências da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, assumindo-as como copartícipes na produção dos dados. Os resultados indicam que, por meio de diferentes linguagens, as crianças representam a cidade de diversas formas, como o lugar onde as pessoas moram, trabalham, estudam, passeiam, convivem e brincam, tudo isso, em companhia de seus pares e de outras categorias geracionais. Além disso, ao discorrerem sobre os lugares que frequentam na cidade, elas reivindicam melhorias para os espaços públicos, sobretudo para os parques e as praças, sendo estes, pontos que podem ser convidativos para a coabitação e o encontro. Conclui-se que a construção de um espaço público compartilhado de convivência plural pressupõe pensarmos uma cidade que inclua as crianças e suas infâncias.
Impactos do climatério em mulheres do sudoeste baiano
Authors: Mota Lívia Jardim , Matos Guilherme Vieira , Amorim Aline Teixeira
Published: June 2021

As mulheres ao longo dos anos enfrentam diversas mudanças fisiológicas, relacionadas às distintas fases da sua vida, tais como a menarca, a gestação, ou a última menstruação. O climatério é um processo de transição da fase reprodutiva para não reprodutiva, um acontecimento espontâneo que, segundo a Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS), ocorre entre os 40 e 65 anos de idade da mulher e envolve diversos aspectos, tais como: endócrinos, físicos, emocionais e socioculturais. O presente estudo objetiva analisar os principais impactos do climatério na qualidade de vida das mulheres residentes em um município do Sudoeste da Bahia. Trata-se de um estudo de abordagem quantitativa descritiva caracterizada como transversal. A população estudada foi um grupo de 42 mulheres com idade entre 40 e 65 anos. Foi utilizado como instrumento de coleta de dados um questionário semiestruturado dividido em duas partes, a primeira voltada para a identificação do perfil socioeconômico e a segunda composta por questões de abordagem clínica sobre o climatério. Os resultados mostraram a instabilidade do humor e as alterações do sono como os principais fatores que vêm interferindo na qualidade de vida. O perfil das mulheres entrevistadas mostra uma mudança social em relação a estudos anteriores, pois estas possuem independência financeira, cuidam do corpo e tiveram acesso à educação. No entanto, ainda existe uma negligência quanto aos cuidados que devem ser desenvolvidos nesse período.
A Case of Human Hepatic Alveolar Echinococcosis Accompanied by Lung and Brain Metastases
Authors: Liu Chuanchuan , Fan Haining , Ge Ri-li
Published: June 2021

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is considered as a fatal zoonosis caused by the larvae of Echinococcus multilocularis. The lungs and brain are the most common metastatic organs. We report a human case of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis accompanied by lung and brain metastasis. In particular, the patient had a history of tuberculosis and the lung lesions were easily misdiagnosed as lung abscesses. The lesions of liver and lung underwent radical resection and confirmed as alveolar echinococcosis by pathological examination. The patient had no surgical complications after operation and was discharged after symptomatic treatment. Unfortunately, the patient later developed multiple intracerebral AE metastases. We required the patient to take albendazole orally for life and follow up.
Mogan Gölü (Ankara)’nde Sediment Taramasının Yüzey Sedimenti Besin Elementlerine Etkisinin Belirlenmesi
Authors: BİNİCİ Arzu , PULATSÜ Serap
Published: June 2021

Sediment tarama uygulamaları (uzaklaştırımı), göl içi yönetim girişimlerinden biridir. Mogan Gölü’nde sediment tarama sonrası; a) Sediment kalite parametrelerinin (organik madde, toplam fosfor, toplam azot, toplam organik karbon ve redoks potansiyeli değeri) aylara ve istasyonlara bağlı değişiminin belirlenmesinin b) Sedimentin kirlenme durumunun, besin elementlerini baz alarak (kirlenme indeksi, zenginleşme faktörü, organik azot indeksi) ortaya konmasının amaçlandığı çalışmada, litoral bölgede iki istasyon (I. istasyon; özellikle maden işleme tesisleri ve evsel kaynaklı atık suların, II. istasyon; evsel atık ve tarımsal faaliyet kaynaklı atık suların ulaştığı alanda) seçilmiştir. Bulgulara göre; a) En yüksek toplam organik karbon (%6.30- mayıs ayında) ve toplam azot (%0.69-kasım ayında) değeri II. istasyonda, toplam fosfor değeri mayıs ayında I. istasyonda (%0.32) bulunmuştur. Gerek tarımsal gerekse evsel atık girişlerinin, her iki ayda ve istasyonda etkili olduğu belirlenmiştir. b) Kirlenme indeksi ve organik azot indeksleri, sedimentin en fazla azotla ve diğer besin elementlerine göre de önemli düzeyde kirlendiğine işaret etmektedir. Zenginleşme faktörüne göre en çok zenginleşme gösteren parametre ise toplam fosfor olarak belirlenmiştir. Kirlenme indeksleri, sedimentteki organik madde, toplam azot ve toplam fosfor düzeyleri üzerinde tarama girişiminin etkin olmadığını; tarama alanlarının önceliklendirilmesi, tarama derinliği, tekniği gibi konuların irdelenmesi gereğini ortaya koymuştur. Ayrıca besin elementleri düzeyleri özellikle göl suyuna salınım riskleri nedeniyle izlenmelidir.
El Pacto Global de las Naciones Unidas y el ciclo de vida de la firma: un estudio exploratorio
Authors: Meza Narcisa , Rodríguez Javier
Published: June 2021

Estudiamos el momento en el ciclo de vida en el que una firma se compromete con el Pacto Mundial de las Naciones Unidas (PMNU). El PMNU es probablemente la iniciativa de responsabilidad social voluntaria más importante.  Para determinar el ciclo de vida, usamos la metodología de Dickinson (2011).  Los resultados demuestran que la mayoría de las firmas aceptan el pacto en su etapa madura. Este resultado es consistente con otros estudios que encuentran que, en efecto, son las firmas maduras las que más invierten recursos en responsabilidad social. Entendemos que este análisis no está disponible en la literatura de responsabilidad social corporativa.
Understanding Adoption and Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Review
Authors: Ngoma Hambulo , Angelsen Arild , Jayne Thomas S. , Chapoto Antony
Published: June 2021

Conservation Agriculture (CA) aims to concurrently promote agricultural productivity, local livelihoods, climate resilience and other environmental objectives. We review the emerging evidence base in Eastern and Southern Africa to address whether CA is climate smart and why adoption rates by smallholders remain generally very low. We first develop an adoption framework that can be used to assess when and where the different components of CA are expected to be adopted under different conditioning factors and consider options to make CA climate smart. Our results suggest that CA can contribute positively to productivity and adaptation/resilience objectives, although the degree of success varies considerably by farm, household and regional characteristics. Overall, we find that capital-intensive (mechanized) CA is more likely to be adopted in areas of economic dynamism where capital is cheap relative to labor. Labor-intensive CA practices are more likely to be adopted in regions of economic stagnation where capital is expensive, and labor is abundant and cheap. A subnational focus is needed to identify economic conditions of different regions and agro-ecological zones and to test hypotheses derived from the framework in this paper and to propose the most appropriate CA packages for promotion. Our findings suggest that labor using variants of CA such as planting basins are more likely to be adopted than are capital using mechanized options in densely populated parts of Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe where labor is abundant, and presumably cheap, but capital is expensive. However, rising land scarcity (prices) and wages in the region present an opportunity for capital intensive, mechanized CA operations to be adopted if the cost of capital can be kept low and if there is a supportive environment for mechanization. We conclude that CA is climate smart and if adopted widely, it has the potential to help build resilience in smallholder farming systems. CA can be more climate smart, and its uptake can be enhanced by reframing, better targeting, adapting CA to location-specific economic and biophysical, and through greater and more effective public spending on agricultural research and development.
Comparing Trajectory of Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in the Early vs. Late Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Era
Authors: Elbaz-Greener Gabby , Rozen Guy , Kusniec Fabio , Marai Ibrahim , Carasso Shemy , Ko Dennis T. , Wijeysundera Harindra C. , Alcalai Ronny , Planer David , Amir Offer
Published: June 2021

Background: Traditionally, the only effective treatment for aortic stenosis was surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was approved in the United States in late 2011 and provided a critical alternative therapy. Our aims were to investigate the trends in the utilization of SAVR in the early vs. late TAVR era and to assess SAVR and TAVR outcomes.

Methods: Using the 2011–2017 National Inpatient Sample database, we identified hospitalizations for patients with a most responsible diagnosis of aortic stenosis during which an aortic valve replacement (AVR) was performed, either SAVR or TAVR. Patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, procedure complications, length of stay, and mortality were analyzed. Multivariable analyses were performed to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality. Piecewise regression analyses were performed to assess temporal trends in SAVR and TAVR utilization.

Results: A total of 542,734 AVR procedures were analyzed. The utilization of SAVR was steady until 2014 with a significant downward trend in the following years 2015–2017 (P = 0.026). In contrast, a steady upward trend was observed in the TAVR procedure with a significant increase during the years 2015–2017 (P = 0.006). Higher in-hospital mortality was observed in SAVR patients. The mortality rate declined from 2011 to 2017 in a significantly higher proportion in the TAVR compared with the SAVR group.

Conclusion: Utilization of SAVR showed a downward trend during the late TAVR era (2015–2017), and TAVR utilization demonstrated a steady upward trend during the years 2011–2017. Higher in-hospital mortality was recorded in patients who underwent SAVR.
Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Common Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases—Evidence From a Large-Scale Genetic Analysis Totaling 1 Million Individuals
Authors: Jiang Xia , Zhu Zhaozhong , Manouchehrinia Ali , Olsson Tomas , Alfredsson Lars , Kockum Ingrid
Published: June 2021

Purpose: Observational studies have suggested a protective effect of alcohol intake with autoimmune disorders, which was not supported by Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses that used only a few (<20) instrumental variables.

Methods: We systemically interrogated a putative causal relationship between alcohol consumption and four common autoimmune disorders, using summary-level data from the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We quantified the genetic correlation to examine a shared genetic similarity. We constructed a strong instrument using 99 genetic variants associated with drinks per week and applied several two-sample MR methods. We additionally incorporated excessive drinking as reflected by alcohol use disorder identification test score.

Results: We observed a negatively shared genetic basis between alcohol intake and autoimmune disorders, although none was significant (rg = −0.07 to −0.02). For most disorders, genetically predicted alcohol consumption was associated with a slightly (10–25%) decreased risk of onset, yet these associations were not significant. Meta-analyzing across RA, MS, and IBD, the three Th1-related disorders yielded to a marginally significantly reduced effect [OR = 0.70 (0.51–0.95), P = 0.02]. Excessive drinking did not appear to reduce the risk of autoimmune disorders.

Conclusions: With its greatly augmented sample size and substantially improved statistical power, our MR study does not convincingly support a beneficial role of alcohol consumption in each individual autoimmune disorder. Future studies may be designed to replicate our findings and to understand a causal effect on disease prognosis.
An Online Cross-Sectional Survey on Oral Healthcare Among School-Age Children During COVID-19 Epidemic in Wuhan, China
Authors: Li Zhen , Li Yuhong , Liu Chang , Jiang Han , Zhang Chenzheng , Du Minquan
Published: June 2021

Background: Since the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the government of China adopted many measures which changed people's lifestyle including oral health-related lifestyle to control the transmission. The aim of this study was to investigate oral health status, oral healthcare behaviors, and parental attitudes toward oral healthcare among school-age children in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak and what the status would be when the outbreak is under control.

Methods: This study was an online cross-sectional survey facing elementary school students in Wuhan. The questionnaire was completed by children's parents or other family members. The information on demographic data, oral health status, oral healthcare behaviors, and parental attitudes toward oral healthcare was collected at the end of school closure. The chi-square test was used to test the association of different questionnaire items.

Results: A total of 18,383 subjects aged 6–13 years with complete data were included in this investigation, and 44.2% of them suffered pain or discomfort related to teeth and gums during the epidemic. While there might be an increasing need and concern of oral healthcare during the outbreak and even when the outbreak was controlled, the worry of infection made it difficult for people to meet their demands of dental attendance.

Conclusion: The risk of cross-infection during the treatment had a negative influence on parental attitudes toward dental attendance. Effective measures should be taken to meet people's demands of dental attendance.
Severe Clinical Worsening in COVID-19 and Potential Mechanisms of Immune-Enhanced Disease
Authors: Hussman John P.
Published: June 2021

Infection by the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus produces a range of outcomes, with the majority of cases producing mild or asymptomatic effects, and a smaller subset progressing to critical or fatal COVID-19 disease featuring severe acute respiratory distress. Although the mechanisms driving severe disease progression remain unknown, it is possible that the abrupt clinical deterioration observed in patients with critical disease corresponds to a discrete underlying expansion of viral tropism, from infection of cells comprising respiratory linings and alveolar epithelia to direct infection and activation of inflammatory monocytes and macrophages. Dysregulated immune responses could then contribute to disease severity. This article discusses the potential role of monocyte/macrophage (Mo/Mϕ) infection by SARS-CoV-2 in mediating the immune response in severe COVID-19. Additional mechanisms of immune-enhanced disease, comprising maladaptive immune responses that may aggravate rather than alleviate severity, are also discussed. Severe acute clinical worsening in COVID-19 patients may be influenced by the emergence of antibodies that participate in hyperinflammatory monocyte response, release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), thrombosis, platelet apoptosis, viral entry into Fc gamma receptor (FcγR)-expressing immune cells, and induction of autoantibodies with cross-reactivity against host proteins. While the potential roles of Mo/Mϕ infection and immune-enhanced pathology in COVID-19 are consistent with a broad range of clinical and laboratory findings, their prominence remains tentative pending further validation. In the interim, these proposed mechanisms present immediate avenues of inquiry that may help to evaluate the safety of candidate vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics, and to support consideration of pathway-informed, well-tolerated therapeutic candidates targeting the dysregulated immune response.
Improving Hypoxia Adaption Causes Distinct Effects on Growth and Bioactive Compounds Synthesis in an Entomopathogenic Fungus Cordyceps militaris
Authors: Wang Ying , Yang Zhanshan , Bao Dapeng , Li Bo , Yin Xin , Wu Yingying , Chen Hongyu , Tang Guirong , Li Nanyi , Zou Gen
Published: June 2021

Cordyceps militaris is an entomopathogenic fungus producing a variety of bioactive compounds. To meet the huge demand for medicinal and edible products, industrialized fermentation of mycelia and cultivation of stromata have been widely developed in China. The content of bioactive metabolites of C. militaris, such as cordycepin, is higher when cultivated on silkworm pupae than on rice or in broth. However, compared with other cultivation methods, C. militaris grows more slowly and accumulates less biomass. The hypoxic environment in pupa hemocoel is one of environmental factor which is not existed in other cultivation methods. It is suggested that hypoxia plays an important role on the growth and the synthesis of bioactive compounds in C. militaris. Here, we demonstrated that the distinct effects on the growth and synthesis of bioactive compounds employing different strategies of improving hypoxia adaption. The introduction of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin enhanced growth, biomass accumulation, and crude polysaccharides content of C. militaris. However, cordycepin production was decreased to 9–15% of the control group. Meanwhile, the yield of adenosine was increased significantly. Nonetheless, when the predicted bHLH transcription factor of sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs) was overexpressed in C. militaris to improve the hypoxia adaption of fungal cells, cordycepin content was significantly increased more than two-fold. These findings reveal the role of SREBPs on growth and bioactive compounds synthesis. And it also provides a scientific basis for rationally engineering strains and optimization strategies of air supply in cultivation and fermentation.
Dysregulation of Systemic Immunity in Aging and Dementia
Authors: Lutshumba Jenny , Nikolajczyk Barbara S. , Bachstetter Adam D.
Published: June 2021

Neuroinflammation and the tissue-resident innate immune cells, the microglia, respond and contribute to neurodegenerative pathology. Although microglia have been the focus of work linking neuroinflammation and associated dementias like Alzheimer’s Disease, the inflammatory milieu of brain is a conglomerate of cross-talk amongst microglia, systemic immune cells and soluble mediators like cytokines. Age-related changes in the inflammatory profile at the levels of both the brain and periphery are largely orchestrated by immune system cells. Strong evidence indicates that both innate and adaptive immune cells, the latter including T cells and B cells, contribute to chronic neuroinflammation and thus dementia. Neurodegenerative hallmarks coupled with more traditional immune system stimuli like infection or injury likely combine to trigger and maintain persistent microglial and thus brain inflammation. This review summarizes age-related changes in immune cell function, with special emphasis on lymphocytes as a source of inflammation, and discusses how such changes may potentiate both systemic and central nervous system inflammation to culminate in dementia. We recap the understudied area of AD-associated changes in systemic lymphocytes in greater detail to provide a unifying perspective of inflammation-fueled dementia, with an eye toward evidence of two-way communication between the brain parenchyma and blood immune cells. We focused our review on human subjects studies, adding key data from animal models as relevant.
Effects of Trait Anxiety on Error Processing and Post-error Adjustments: An Event-Related Potential Study With Stop-Signal Task
Authors: Hsieh Meng-Tien , Lu Hsinjie , Lin Chia-I , Sun Tzu-Han , Chen Yi-Ru , Cheng Chia-Hsiung
Published: June 2021

The present study aimed to use event-related potentials with the stop-signal task to investigate the effects of trait anxiety on inhibitory control, error monitoring, and post-error adjustments. The stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) was used to evaluate the behavioral competence of inhibitory control. Electrophysiological signals of error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) were used to study error perception and error awareness, respectively. Post-error slowing (PES) was applied to examine the behavioral adjustments after making errors. The results showed that SSRT and PES did not differ significantly between individuals with high trait anxiety (HTA) and those with low trait anxiety (LTA). However, individuals with HTA demonstrated reduced ERN amplitudes and prolonged Pe latencies than those with LTA. Prolonged Pe latencies were also significantly associated with poorer post-error adjustments. In conclusion, HTA led to reduced cortical responses to error monitoring. Furthermore, inefficient conscious awareness of errors might lead to maladaptive post-error adjustments.
Sweet Taste Is Complex: Signaling Cascades and Circuits Involved in Sweet Sensation
Authors: von Molitor Elena , Riedel Katja , Krohn Michael , Hafner Mathias , Rudolf Rüdiger , Cesetti Tiziana
Published: June 2021

Sweetness is the preferred taste of humans and many animals, likely because sugars are a primary source of energy. In many mammals, sweet compounds are sensed in the tongue by the gustatory organ, the taste buds. Here, a group of taste bud cells expresses a canonical sweet taste receptor, whose activation induces Ca2+ rise, cell depolarization and ATP release to communicate with afferent gustatory nerves. The discovery of the sweet taste receptor, 20 years ago, was a milestone in the understanding of sweet signal transduction and is described here from a historical perspective. Our review briefly summarizes the major findings of the canonical sweet taste pathway, and then focuses on molecular details, about the related downstream signaling, that are still elusive or have been neglected. In this context, we discuss evidence supporting the existence of an alternative pathway, independent of the sweet taste receptor, to sense sugars and its proposed role in glucose homeostasis. Further, given that sweet taste receptor expression has been reported in many other organs, the physiological role of these extraoral receptors is addressed. Finally, and along these lines, we expand on the multiple direct and indirect effects of sugars on the brain. In summary, the review tries to stimulate a comprehensive understanding of how sweet compounds signal to the brain upon taste bud cells activation, and how this gustatory process is integrated with gastro-intestinal sugar sensing to create a hedonic and metabolic representation of sugars, which finally drives our behavior. Understanding of this is indeed a crucial step in developing new strategies to prevent obesity and associated diseases.
Multisensory Integration as per Technological Advances: A Review
Authors: Cornelio Patricia , Velasco Carlos , Obrist Marianna
Published: June 2021

Multisensory integration research has allowed us to better understand how humans integrate sensory information to produce a unitary experience of the external world. However, this field is often challenged by the limited ability to deliver and control sensory stimuli, especially when going beyond audio–visual events and outside laboratory settings. In this review, we examine the scope and challenges of new technology in the study of multisensory integration in a world that is increasingly characterized as a fusion of physical and digital/virtual events. We discuss multisensory integration research through the lens of novel multisensory technologies and, thus, bring research in human–computer interaction, experimental psychology, and neuroscience closer together. Today, for instance, displays have become volumetric so that visual content is no longer limited to 2D screens, new haptic devices enable tactile stimulation without physical contact, olfactory interfaces provide users with smells precisely synchronized with events in virtual environments, and novel gustatory interfaces enable taste perception through levitating stimuli. These technological advances offer new ways to control and deliver sensory stimulation for multisensory integration research beyond traditional laboratory settings and open up new experimentations in naturally occurring events in everyday life experiences. Our review then summarizes these multisensory technologies and discusses initial insights to introduce a bridge between the disciplines in order to advance the study of multisensory integration.
COVID-19 Beliefs, Self-Efficacy and Academic Performance in First-year University Students: Cohort Comparison and Mediation Analysis
Authors: Talsma Kate , Robertson Kayleigh , Thomas Cleo , Norris Kimberley
Published: June 2021

Students’ learning contexts can influence their learning beliefs and academic performance outcomes; as such, students studying during the COVID-19 outbreak may be at risk of negative impacts on their academic self-efficacy and subject grades compared to other cohorts. They may also have specific beliefs about the impact of COVID-19-related changes on their capacity to perform, with potential consequences for self-efficacy and academic performance. Two weeks after the COVID-19-related transition to online-only learning, 89 first-year psychology students completed a measure of academic self-efficacy and indicated how they thought COVID-19-related changes would impact their capacity to perform in a psychology subject. At the end of the semester, subject grades were obtained from institutional records. Contrary to expectations, neither the self-efficacy beliefs nor the subject grades of the 2020 cohort were significantly different from those of a sample of 2019 first-year psychology students (n = 85). On average, 2020 students believed that COVID-19-related changes to their learning environment had a negative impact on their capacity to perform well. A mediation analysis indicated that students’ beliefs about the impact of COVID-19 on their capacity did not directly, or indirectly (via self-efficacy), predict grades. The only significant association in the model was between self-efficacy and grades. Although students reported believing that COVID-19-related changes would negatively impact their capacity to perform, there is little evidence that these beliefs influenced their academic self-efficacy or academic performance or that studying during the COVID-19 outbreak disadvantaged students in comparison with the previous years. A follow-up analysis indicated that self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of grades in the 2020 cohort than in the 2019 cohort. While there may be several unmeasured reasons for cohort differences, one potential interpretation is that, in the context of uncertainty associated with COVID-19, self-efficacy beliefs assumed relatively greater importance in terms of mobilising the resources required to perform well.
Fruit Detection and Pose Estimation for Grape Cluster–Harvesting Robot Using Binocular Imagery Based on Deep Neural Networks
Authors: Yin Wei , Wen Hanjin , Ning Zhengtong , Ye Jian , Dong Zhiqiang , Luo Lufeng
Published: June 2021

Reliable and robust fruit-detection algorithms in nonstructural environments are essential for the efficient use of harvesting robots. The pose of fruits is crucial to guide robots to approach target fruits for collision-free picking. To achieve accurate picking, this study investigates an approach to detect fruit and estimate its pose. First, the state-of-the-art mask region convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) is deployed to segment binocular images to output the mask image of the target fruit. Next, a grape point cloud extracted from the images was filtered and denoised to obtain an accurate grape point cloud. Finally, the accurate grape point cloud was used with the RANSAC algorithm for grape cylinder model fitting, and the axis of the cylinder model was used to estimate the pose of the grape. A dataset was acquired in a vineyard to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach in a nonstructural environment. The fruit detection results of 210 test images show that the average precision, recall, and intersection over union (IOU) are 89.53, 95.33, and 82.00%, respectively. The detection and point cloud segmentation for each grape took approximately 1.7 s. The demonstrated performance of the developed method indicates that it can be applied to grape-harvesting robots.
Layer-by-Layer Assembled Nano-Composite Multilayer Gas Barrier Film Manufactured with Stretchable Substrate
Authors: Kim SeJung , Kim Tanyoung , Kim Dongsoo , Ju Byeong-Kwon
Published: June 2021

Most gas barrier films produce cracks that lead to a significant loss of gas barrier integrity when strain is applied. In order to fabricate stretchable gas barrier films with low water permeability and high endurance after stretching, we used polydiallydimethylammonium (PDDA) mixed with graphene oxide (GO) and poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) mixed with montmorillonite (MMT). These films were manufactured by layer-by-layer assembly on an Ecoflex/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate with pre-strain applied. A total of 30 layers of PDDA (GO)/PVA (MMT) coated on the substrate exhibited a low water vapor transmission rate of 2.5 × 10−2 g/m2 day after 100 cycles of stretching (30% strain). In addition, they exhibited a high light transmittance of 86.54%. Thus, the prepared stretchable gas barrier film has potential applications as a barrier film in transparent and stretchable electronic devices.
Low-Carbon Sustainable Composites from Waste Phosphogypsum and Their Environmental Impacts
Authors: Ren Kai , Cui Na , Zhao Shuyuan , Zheng Kai , Ji Xia , Feng Lichao , Cheng Xin , Xie Ning
Published: June 2021

Phosphogypsum (PG) is an industrial waste from the production of phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilizer. Disposal and landfill of PG pose significant environmental problems due to its hazardous components. Although many researchers have explored the possibility of PG recycling, challenges still exist before it can be high-effectively reused. In particular, a great deal of recent attention has been attracted to explore using PG as raw material to manufacture sustainable composites. The impurities movement, recycling efficiency, and environmental impacts have to be further investigated. This review article summarized the state of the art of the purification process, application areas, and the environmental impacts of PG waste. The main challenges and potential application approaches were discussed. This article is focused on reviewing the details of the PG reusing which benefits the readers on learning the knowledge from previous efforts. The main challenges of reusing PG were discussed from the chemical, physical, and materials perspectives.
Prostate Cancer Lesions by Zone and Race: Does Multiparametric MRI Demonstrate Racial Difference in Prostate Cancer Lesions for African American Men?
Authors: Koller Christopher R. , Greenberg Jacob W. , Shelton Thomas M. , Hughes William M. , Sanekommu Ganesh , Silberstein Jonathan , Krane Louis S.
Published: June 2021

African American (AA) men have increased risk of prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality, but the cause remains unknown. MRI fusion improves diagnosis of localized prostate cancer, particularly in anterior lesions; however, cost and access are limited in a community practice setting. By utilizing a diverse cohort of veterans with equal access to care in a single payer system, we describe prostate cancer detection. We queried a prospectively maintained institutional review board-approved database of men undergoing prostate biopsy for untreated prostate cancer. We included all consecutive patients from October 2017 to February 2020. Statistical analysis including Kaplan–Meier Curves, Fisher’s exact test, and Forest plot was performed. From 246 consecutive patients, 166 were AA and 80 were non-AA. There were similar distributions of PSA, PSAD, and number of targetable lesions between the AA and non-AA cohort (p > 0.05 for all). We found no difference in location on MRI between race groups. There was similar cancer detection, focusing on anterior lesions and rate of positive Gleason grade (≥GG1) and clinically significant (≥GG2) cancer between cohorts. In a predominant AA cohort of veterans, we found similar distribution of location for MRI-targeted lesions, along with rates of tumor detection and aggressiveness of disease. In this single payer veteran population, we did not identify specific biologic differences inherent to tumor detection between AA and non-AA patients.
Extreme Value Theory in Application to Delivery Delays
Authors: Fałdziński Marcin , Osińska Magdalena , Zalewski Wojciech
Published: June 2021

This paper uses the Extreme Value Theory (EVT) to model the rare events that appear as delivery delays in road transport. Transport delivery delays occur stochastically. Therefore, modeling such events should be done using appropriate tools due to the economic consequences of these extreme events. Additionally, we provide the estimates of the extremal index and the return level with the confidence interval to describe the clustering behavior of rare events in deliveries. The Generalized Extreme Value Distribution (GEV) parameters are estimated using the maximum likelihood method and the penalized maximum likelihood method for better small-sample properties. The findings demonstrate the advantages of EVT-based prediction and its readiness for application.
Application of Adaptive MOMEDA with Iterative Autocorrelation to Enhance Weak Features of Hoist Bearings
Authors: Li Tengyu , Kou Ziming , Wu Juan , Yang Fen
Published: June 2021

Low-speed hoist bearings are characterized by fault features that are weak and difficult to extract. Multipoint optimal minimum entropy deconvolution adjusted (MOMEDA) is an effective method for extracting periodic pulses in a signal. However, the decomposition effect of MOMEDA largely depends on the selected pulse period and filter length. To address these drawbacks of MOMEDA and accurately extract features from the vibration signal of a hoist bearing, an adaptive feature extraction method is proposed based on iterative autocorrelation (IAC) and MOMEDA. To automatically identify the pulse period, a new evaluation index named autocorrelation kurtosis entropy (AKE) was constructed to select the optimal IAC. To eliminate the influence of the filter length on the decomposition effect, an iterative MOMEDA strategy was designed to gradually enhance signal impulse features. The Case Western Reserve University bearing dataset and bearing data from a self-made hoisting test setup were used to verify the effectiveness of IAC-MOMEDA in extracting weak features. Moreover, the capability of IAC-MOMEDA for features extraction of normal bearing vibration signal was further confirmed by field test data.
Reversible Data Hiding in Encrypted Image Based on (7, 4) Hamming Code and UnitSmooth Detection
Authors: Li Lin , Chang Chin-Chen , Lin Chia-Chen
Published: June 2021

With the development of cloud storage and privacy protection, reversible data hiding in encrypted images (RDHEI) plays the dual role of privacy protection and secret information transmission. RDHEI has a good application prospect and practical value. The current RDHEI algorithms still have room for improvement in terms of hiding capacity, security and separability. Based on (7, 4) Hamming Code and our proposed prediction/ detection functions, this paper proposes a Hamming Code and UnitSmooth detection based RDHEI scheme, called HUD-RDHEI scheme for short. To prove our performance, two database sets—BOWS-2 and BOSSBase—have been used in the experiments, and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and pure embedding rate (ER) are served as criteria to evaluate the performance on image quality and hiding capacity. Experimental results confirm that the average pure ER with our proposed scheme is up to 2.556 bpp and 2.530 bpp under BOSSBase and BOWS-2, respectively. At the same time, security and separability is guaranteed. Moreover, there are no incorrect extracted bits during data extraction phase and the visual quality of directly decrypted image is exactly the same as the cover image.