bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Anemia Among Children Aged 6 to 59 Months in Dilla Town, Southern Ethiopia: A Facility Based Case Control Study
Authors: Jembere Muluken , Kabthymer Robel Hussen , Deribew Amare
Published: November 2020

Background. Globally, anemia is a widespread public health problem associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Under 5 children have greater risk of anemia. The level of burden and the risk factors for anemia vary in different settings. Identifying local factors will have important implications for health intervention programs aimed to tackle the burden. Our study aims to investigate the determinants of anemia among under 5 children in the study area. Methods. Facility based unmatched case control study was conducted among 413 (137 cases and 276 controls) children of Dilla town. Cases were children who had hemoglobin level of less than 11 g/dl and controls were children aged 6 to 59 months with hemoglobin ≥11 g/dl. Quota and simple random sampling was used for cases and controls respectively. Data on socio-demographic, dietary diversity score, food security, anthropometry, hemoglobin level, malaria infection and intestinal parasites were collected. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 25. Bi-variate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent determinants of anemia. P-value less than .05 were used to declare statistical significance. Result. In the multivariate analysis, having more than 1 under 5 children in the households (AOR = 3.03, 95%CI = 1.35-6.81), intestinal parasitosis (AOR = 4.42, 95%CI = 2.07-9.44), food insecurity (AOR = 2.75, 95% CI = 1.39-5.45), and stunting (AOR = 6.09, 95% CI = 2.53-14.67) were determinants of anemia among children aged 6 to 59 months. Conclusion. Some of the identified factors are modifiable that could be targeted to reduce childhood anemia. Family planning education, provision of anti-helminthic drugs and ensuring household food security will be beneficial to tackle anemia.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk categories in primary care: is there an association?
Authors: Miptah Hayatul Najaa , Ramli Anis Safura , Mohamad Mariam , Hashim Hilwati , Tharek Zahirah
Published: November 2020

Background

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging novel cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. It’s prevalence is increasing globally. However, there is paucity in the evidence showing the association between NAFLD and CVD risk in primary care setting. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and factors associated with NAFLD among patients with ≥1 risk factor for NAFLD or CVD attending primary care clinics.

Methodology

A cross sectional study was conducted in two clinics at a university primary care centre. Patients aged ≥18 years with ≥1 risk factor for NAFLD or CVD were recruited. Participants with history of established liver disease or chronic alcohol use were excluded. Socio-demographics, clinical related data, anthropometric measurements and blood investigation results were recorded in a proforma. Diagnosis of NAFLD was made using abdominal ultrasound. The 10-year CVD risk was calculated using the general Framingham Risk Score (FRS). Multiple logistic regression (MLogR) was performed to identify independent factors associated with NAFLD.

Results

A total of 263 participants were recruited. The mean age was 52.3 ± 14.7 years old. Male and female were equally distributed. Majority of the participants were Malays (79.8%). The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 54.4% (95%CI 48,60%). Participants in the high FRS category have higher prevalence of NAFLD (65.5%), followed by those in the moderate category (55.4%) and the low category (46.3%), p = 0.025. From MLogR, independent factors associated with NAFLD were being employed (OR = 2.44, 95%CI 1.26,4.70, p = 0.008), obesity with BMI ≥27.5 (OR = 2.89, 95%CI 1.21,6.91, p = 0.017), elevated fasting glucose ≥5.6 mmol/L (OR = 2.79, 95%CI 1.44,5.43, p = 0.002), ALT ≥34 U/L (OR = 3.70, 95%CI 1.85,7.44, p < 0.001) and high FRS category (OR = 2.82, 95%CI 1.28,6.23, p = 0.010).

Conclusion

NAFLD is highly prevalent among patients with ≥1 risk factor for NAFLD or CVD in these primary care clinics. Patients who were obese, have elevated fasting glucose, elevated ALT and in the high FRS category were more likely to have NAFLD. This study underscores the importance of targeted screening for NAFLD in those with risk factors in primary care. Aggressive intervention must be executed in those with NAFLD in order to reduce CVD complications and risk of progression.
Regional differences between superficial and deep lumbar multifidus in patients with chronic lumbar spine pathology
Authors: Padwal Jennifer , Berry David B. , Hubbard James C. , Zlomislic Vinko , Allen R. Todd , Garfin Steven R. , Ward Samuel R. , Shahidi Bahar
Published: November 2020

Background

Due to its unique arrangement, the deep and superficial fibers of the multifidus may have differential roles for maintaining spine stabilization and lumbar posture; the superficial multifidus is responsible for lumbar extension and the deep multifidus for intersegmental stability. In patients with chronic lumbar spine pathology, muscle activation patterns have been shown to be attenuated or delayed in the deep, but not superficial, multifidus. This has been interpreted as pain differentially influencing the deep region. However, it is unclear if degenerative changes affecting the composition and function of the multifidus differs between the superficial and deep regions, an alternative explanation for these electrophysiological changes. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate macrostructural and microstructural differences between the superficial and deep regions of the multifidus muscle in patients with lumbar spine pathology.

Methods

In 16 patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery for degenerative conditions, multifidus biopsies were acquired at two distinct locations: 1) the most superficial portion of muscle adjacent to the spinous process and 2) approximately 1 cm lateral to the spinous process and deeper at the spinolaminar border of the affected vertebral level. Structural features related to muscle function were histologically compared between these superficial and deep regions, including tissue composition, fat fraction, fiber cross sectional area, fiber type, regeneration, degeneration, vascularity and inflammation.

Results

No significant differences in fat signal fraction, muscle area, fiber cross sectional area, muscle regeneration, muscle degeneration, or vascularization were found between the superficial and deep regions of the multifidus. Total collagen content between the two regions was the same. However, the superficial region of the multifidus was found to have less loose and more dense collagen than the deep region.

Conclusions

The results of our study did not support that the deep region of the multifidus is more degenerated in patients with lumbar spine pathology, as gross degenerative changes in muscle microstructure and macrostructure were the same in the superficial and deep regions of the multifidus. In these patients, the multifidus is not protected in order to maintain mobility and structural stability of the spine.
Dynamic and reversible DNA methylation changes induced by genome separation and merger of polyploid wheat
Authors: Yuan Jingya , Jiao Wu , Liu Yanfeng , Ye Wenxue , Wang Xiue , Liu Bao , Song Qingxin , Chen Z. Jeffrey
Published: November 2020

Background

Wheat is a powerful genetic model for studying polyploid evolution and crop domestication. Hexaploid bread wheat was formed by two rounds of interspecific hybridization and polyploidization, processes which are often accompanied by genetic and epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation. However, the extent and effect of such changes during wheat evolution, particularly from tetraploid-to-hexaploid wheat, are currently elusive.

Results

Here we report genome-wide DNA methylation landscapes in extracted tetraploid wheat (ETW, AABB), natural hexaploid wheat (NHW, AABBDD), resynthesized hexaploid wheat (RHW, AABBDD), natural tetraploid wheat (NTW, AABB), and diploid (DD). In the endosperm, levels of DNA methylation, especially in CHG (H=A, T, or C) context, were dramatically decreased in the ETW relative to natural hexaploid wheat; hypo-differentially methylated regions (DMRs) (850,832) were 24-fold more than hyper-DMRs (35,111). Interestingly, those demethylated regions in ETW were remethylated in the resynthesized hexaploid wheat after the addition of the D genome. In ETW, hypo-DMRs correlated with gene expression, and TEs were demethylated and activated, which could be silenced in the hexaploid wheat. In NHW, groups of TEs were dispersed in genic regions of three subgenomes, which may regulate the expression of TE-associated genes. Further, hypo-DMRs in ETW were associated with reduced H3K9me2 levels and increased expression of histone variant genes, suggesting concerted epigenetic changes after separation from the hexaploid.

Conclusion

Genome merger and separation provoke dynamic and reversible changes in chromatin and DNA methylation. These changes correlate with altered gene expression and TE activity, which may provide insights into polyploid genome and wheat evolution.
Human trophoblast-derived exosomes attenuate doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury by regulating miR-200b and downstream Zeb1
Authors: Ni Jie , Liu Yihai , Kang Lina , Wang Lian , Han Zhonglin , Wang Kun , Xu Biao , Gu Rong
Published: November 2020

Human trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) have been confirmed to play a cardioprotective role in heart failure. However, whether trophoblast stem cell-derived exosomes (TSC-Exos) can protect cardiomyocytes from doxorubicin (Dox)-induced injury remains unclear. In the present study, TSC-Exos were isolated from the supernatants of human trophoblasts using the ultracentrifugation method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy and western blotting. In vitro, primary cardiomyocytes were subjected to Dox and treated with TSC-Exos, miR-200b mimic or miR-200b inhibitor. Cellular apoptosis was observed by flow cytometry and immunoblotting. In vivo, mice were intraperitoneally injected into Dox to establish a heart failure model. Then, different groups of mice were administered either PBS, adeno-associated virus (AAV)-vector, AAV-miR-200b-inhibitor or TSC-Exos via tail vein injection. Then, the cardiac function, cardiac fibrosis and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in each group were evaluated, and the downstream molecular mechanism was explored. TSC-Exos and miR-200b inhibitor both decreased primary cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Similarly, mice receiving TSC-Exos and AAV-miR-200b inhibitor exhibited improved cardiac function, accompanied by reduced apoptosis and inflammation. The bioinformatic prediction and luciferase reporter results confirmed that Zeb1 was a downstream target of miR-200b and had an antiapoptotic effect. TSC-Exos attenuated doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury by playing antiapoptotic and anti-inflammatory roles. The underlying mechanism could be an increase in Zeb1 expression by the inhibition of miR-200b expression. In summary, this study sheds new light on the application of TSC-Exos as a potential therapeutic tool for heart failure.
Burden of disease and adaptation to life in patients with Crohn’s perianal fistula: a qualitative exploration
Authors: Adegbola Samuel O. , Dibley Lesley , Sahnan Kapil , Wade Tiffany , Verjee Azmina , Sawyer Rachel , Mannick Sameer , McCluskey Damian , Yassin Nuha , Phillips Robin K. S. , Tozer Philip J. , Norton Christine , Hart Ailsa L.
Published: November 2020

Background

Perianal fistulas are a challenging manifestation of Crohn’s disease. Best medical and surgical therapy results in only about a third of patients remaining in remission at one year on maintenance treatment and sustained healing is often elusive. There is little published data on patient perspective of living with the condition or coping strategies in the face of non-curative/non-definitive treatment. We aimed to understand the experience of living with perianal fistula(s) and their impact on quality of life and routine functioning.

Methods

This exploratory qualitative study used purposive sampling to recruit participants with current / previous diagnosis of Crohn’s anal fistulas, from national IBD / bowel disease charities. The “standards for reporting qualitative research” (SRQR) recommendations were followed. Unstructured individual face-to-face interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Early themes were reviewed by the study team including patient advocates, clinicians and qualitative researchers.

Results

Twelve interviews were conducted, achieving apparent data saturation. Three broad themes were uncovered: Burden of symptoms; Burden of treatment; and Impact on emotional, physical and social well-being. Each included several sub-themes, with considerable interplay between these. The impact of perianal fistula(s) on patients with CD is intense and wide reaching, negatively affecting intimate, close and social relationships. Fistulas cause losses in life and work-related opportunities, and treatments can be difficult to tolerate.

Conclusion

Crohn’s perianal fistulas exert a heavy negative physical and emotional impact on patients. These findings will inform development of a patient reported outcome measure to assess treatment effectiveness and quality of life for patients living with this challenging condition.
Whether Letrozole could reduce the incidence of early ovary hyperstimulation syndrome after assisted reproductive technology? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zhao Jing , Xu Bin , Huang Xi , Yan Yi , Li Yanping
Published: November 2020

Background

Letrozole can significantly decrease the estrogen level, and has been administrated to prevent the incidence of early ovary hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). However, the effect of Letrozole on prevention of OHSS reached to controversial conclusions. The present meta-analysis aim to examine whether Letrozole could reduce the incidence of early OHSS after assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Methods

An exhaustive electronic literature search was conducted on MEDLINE, Google Scholar, CNKI and WANFANG MED ONLINE, from inception until May 2018. We include clinical trials that examined the effect of Letrozole on the prevention of early OHSS. The main outcome measures were the incidence of total early OHSS, mild early OHSS, moderate early OHSS, and severe early OHSS.

Results

Eight studies included in the review. Of these, five publications evaluated the effect of Letrozolel on the prevention of total, mild, moderate, and severe OHSS, respectively. The results indicated that there was a significantly decreased incidence of total OHSS with Letrozole compared with control group, and there were no significantly differences in the incidence of mild, moderate, and severe OHSS between study group with Letrozole and control group. Eight studies reported the incidence of moderate + severe OHSS. We found a significant decrease in incidence of moderate + severe OHSS in high-risk women with Letrozole.

Conclusions

Letrozole has no beneficial effect on the prevention of mild, moderate, and severe OHSS, individually; Letrozole should not be considered as the first-line treatment for prevention of OHSS. Further cohort studies are required to explore the effect of Letrozole on the prevention of OHSS.

Plain English Summary

This study aimed to examine whether Letrozole could reduce the incidence of early OHSS after assisted reproductive technology (ART). A meta-analysis including 8 studies was conducted. There were no significantly differences in the incidence of mild, moderate, and severe OHSS between study group with Letrozole and control group. Letrozole has no beneficial effect on the prevention of mild, moderate, and severe OHSS, individually.
Sinonasal analogue HPV related breast multiphenotypic carcinoma, a report of a case with the first description in the breast
Authors: Oramas Diana M. , Bell Diana , Middleton Lavinia P.
Published: November 2020

Background

High grade basal-like breast carcinomas are triple negative, express basal cytokeratins, and are known for the overall poor prognosis and aggressive behavior. HPV related multiphenotypic sino-nasal carcinoma has overlapping histology with basal-like breast carcinomas, but carry the defining feature of association with high risk HPV.

Case presentation

We present a case of a perimenopausal woman with a non-healing ulcerated lesion involving the nipple and breast following a trauma. Biopsy performed showed an HPV-positive basal-like carcinoma with squamous differentiation involving the breast, analogous to multiphenotypic carcinoma previously described in the sinonasal tract.

Conclusion

This is the first report of a case of a high- risk HPV related basal-like carcinoma with squamous differentiation, described in the literature. We highlight the morphology and immunophenotype of this lesion and its recognition when compared to other multiphenotypic lesions of the breast, and suggest that pathologists should consider HPV evaluation when encountering similar basal-like tumors involving the breast.
Analysis of the early clinical outcomes of arthroscopic debridement in the treatment of shoulder tuberculosis
Authors: He Yanwei , Liu Juncai , Wang Zhi , Zhou Peng , Deng Xiangtian , Yang Li , Chen Zan , Li Zhong
Published: November 2020

Background

Due to atypical clinical symptoms, it is difficult to diagnose joint tuberculosis infection, which often results in misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. It is easy to cause joint disability. And there are few reports of using arthroscopy to diagnose and treat shoulder tuberculosis. This case series aims to introduce the clinical outcomes of arthroscopic treatment of shoulder tuberculosis.

Methods

Twenty-nine patients with shoulder tuberculosis from September 2013 to February 2019 were included (10 males, 19 females; age range from 22 to 69; the average age is 37.6 years). All patients underwent arthroscopic lesion debridement, with preoperative and postoperative regular use of isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and streptomycin quadruple anti-tuberculosis drugs. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were recorded before and at the last follow-up. The shoulder function was evaluated according to the visual analogue scoring method (visual analogue scale, VAS) pain score and Constant score.

Results

Twenty-nine patients were followed up from 12 months to 2 years, and the average follow-up time was 15.7 months. The pathological diagnosis of all patients after surgery was shoulder tuberculosis. No serious complications were found at the last follow-up, and the incision healed well. VAS pain score, Constant score, ESR, and CRP at the last follow-up were significantly improved compared with those before treatment (P< 0.05).

Conclusion

On the basis of the standard use of anti-tuberculosis drugs before and after surgery, shoulder arthroscopy is used to treat early and mid-term shoulder tuberculosis, which can be diagnosed by direct observation under the arthroscope and postoperative pathological examination. It has the advantages of thorough lesion removal, minimal invasiveness, rapid recovery, and reliable clinical effect.
Continuous assessment of neuro-ventilatory drive during 12 h of pressure support ventilation in critically ill patients
Authors: Di mussi Rosa , Spadaro Savino , Volta Carlo Alberto , Bartolomeo Nicola , Trerotoli Paolo , Staffieri Francesco , Pisani Luigi , Iannuzziello Rachele , Dalfino Lidia , Murgolo Francesco , Grasso Salvatore
Published: November 2020

Introduction

Pressure support ventilation (PSV) should allow spontaneous breathing with a “normal” neuro-ventilatory drive. Low neuro-ventilatory drive puts the patient at risk of diaphragmatic atrophy while high neuro-ventilatory drive may causes dyspnea and patient self-inflicted lung injury. We continuously assessed for 12 h the electrical activity of the diaphragm (EAdi), a close surrogate of neuro-ventilatory drive, during PSV. Our aim was to document the EAdi trend and the occurrence of periods of “Low” and/or “High” neuro-ventilatory drive during clinical application of PSV.

Method

In 16 critically ill patients ventilated in the PSV mode for clinical reasons, inspiratory peak EAdi peak (EAdiPEAK), pressure time product of the trans-diaphragmatic pressure per breath and per minute (PTPDI/band PTPDI/min, respectively), breathing pattern and major asynchronies were continuously monitored for 12 h (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). We identified breaths with “Normal” (EAdiPEAK5–15 μV), “Low” (EAdiPEAK < 5 μV) and “High” (EAdiPEAK > 15 μV) neuro-ventilatory drive.

Results

Within all the analyzed breaths (177.117), the neuro-ventilatory drive, as expressed by the EAdiPEAK, was “Low” in 50.116 breath (28%), “Normal” in 88.419 breaths (50%) and “High” in 38.582 breaths (22%). The average times spent in “Low”, “Normal” and “High” class were 1.37, 3.67 and 0.55 h, respectively (p < 0.0001), with wide variations among patients. Eleven patients remained in the “Low” neuro-ventilatory drive class for more than 1 h, median 6.1 [3.9–8.5] h and 6 in the “High” neuro-ventilatory drive class, median 3.4 [2.2–7.8] h. The asynchrony index was significantly higher in the “Low” neuro-ventilatory class, mainly because of a higher number of missed efforts.

Conclusions

We observed wide variations in EAdi amplitude and unevenly distributed “Low” and “High” neuro ventilatory drive periods during 12 h of PSV in critically ill patients. Further studies are needed to assess the possible clinical implications of our physiological findings.
Continuous phase modulation with 1-bit quantization and oversampling using iterative detection and decoding
Authors: de Alencar Rodrigo R. M. , Landau Lukas T. N. , de Lamare Rodrigo C.
Published: November 2020

A channel with continuous phase modulation and 1-bit ADC with oversampling is considered. Due to oversampling, higher-order modulations yield a higher achievable rate and this study presents methods to approach this with sophisticated channel coding. Iterative detection and decoding is considered, which exploits the soft information extracted from oversampled CPM sequences. Besides the strategy based on conventional channel coding techniques, a tailored bit mapping is proposed where two bits can be detected reliably at high SNR and only the third bit is affected by the uncertainties from the coarse quantization. With this, a convolutional code is only applied to the third bit. Our experiments with a turbo receiver show that the iterative detection and decoding is a promising approach for exploiting the additional information brought by oversampling. Moreover, it is shown that the proposed method based on the tailored bit mapping corresponds to a lower bit error rate in comparison with the case of conventional channel coding.
The analytical interface coupling of arbitrary-order fractional nonlinear hyperbolic scalar conservation laws
Authors: Shirkhorshidi S. M. R. , Othman W. A. M. , Awang M. A. Omar , Rostamy D. , Shirkhorshidi A. S.
Published: November 2020

In this paper, the existence and uniqueness of the interface coupling (IC) of time and spatial (TS) arbitrary-order fractional (AOF) nonlinear hyperbolic scalar conservation laws (NHSCL) are investigated. The technique of arbitrary fractional characteristic method (AFCM) is used to accomplish this task. We apply Jumarie’s modification of Riemann–Liouville and Liouville–Caputo’s definition to extend some formulae to the arbitrary-order fractional calculus. Then these formulae are utilized to prove the main theorem. In this process, we develop an analytic method, which gives us the ability to find the solution of IC AOF NHSCL. The feature of this method is that it enables us to verify that the obtained solution satisfies the fractional partial differential equation (FPDE), and the solution is unique. Furthermore, a few examples illustrate the implementation of this technique in the application section.
A note on the estimation of variance for big BAF sampling
Authors: Gove Jeffrey H. , Gregoire Timothy G. , Ducey Mark J. , Lynch Thomas B.
Published: November 2020

Background

The double sampling method known as “big BAF sampling” has been advocated as a way to reduce sampling effort while still maintaining a reasonably precise estimate of volume. A well-known method for variance determination, Bruce’s method, is customarily used because the volume estimator takes the form of a product of random variables. However, the genesis of Bruce’s method is not known to most foresters who use the method in practice.

Methods

We establish that the Taylor series approximation known as the Delta method provides a plausible explanation for the origins of Bruce’s method. Simulations were conducted on two different tree populations to ascertain the similarities of the Delta method to the exact variance of a product. Additionally, two alternative estimators for the variance of individual tree volume-basal area ratios, which are part of the estimation process, were compared within the overall variance estimation procedure.

Results

The simulation results demonstrate that Bruce’s method provides a robust method for estimating the variance of inventories conducted with the big BAF method. The simulations also demonstrate that the variance of the mean volume-basal area ratios can be computed using either the usual sample variance of the mean or the ratio variance estimators with equal accuracy, which had not been shown previously for Big BAF sampling.

Conclusions

A plausible explanation for the origins of Bruce’s method has been set forth both historically and mathematically in the Delta Method. In most settings, there is evidently no practical difference between applying the exact variance of a product or the Delta method—either can be used. A caution is articulated concerning the aggregation of tree-wise attributes into point-wise summaries in order to test the correlation between the two as a possible indicator of the need for further covariance augmentation.
Assessing High Performers in the Life Sciences: Characteristics of Exams Used at the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) and Their Implications for Life Science Education
Authors: Opitz Sebastian , Harms Ute
Published: November 2020

Six assessment cohorts ( = 703 items) from the International Biology Olympiad, a top-tier student competition in the life sciences, were analyzed to derive assessment characteristics for high-ability tests in the life sciences. The findings address the items’ formal features, cognitive aspects, scientific content/practices, and representations.
Effects of interactions between variation in dopaminergic genes, traumatic life events, and anomalous self-experiences on psychosis proneness: Results from a cross-sectional study in a nonclinical sample
Authors: Frydecka Dorota , Kotowicz Kamila , Gawęda Łukasz , Prochwicz Katarzyna , Kłosowska Joanna , Rymaszewska Joanna , Samochowiec Agnieszka , Samochowiec Jerzy , Podwalski Piotr , Pawlak-Adamska Edyta , Szmida Elżbieta , Cechnicki Andrzej , Misiak Błażej
Published: November 2020

Background

There is a growing number of studies showing interactions between genetic polymorphisms associated with dopaminergic neurotransmission and traumatic life events (TLEs) on a risk of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). Anomalous self-experiences (ASEs) have been associated both with TLEs as well as with PLEs. However, it remains unknown what is the role of ASEs in the complexity of gene–environment interactions on the emergence of PLEs.

Patients and methods

We included 445 young adults—university students from three big cities in Poland. We used the Traumatic Events Checklist to assess TLEs, the Inventory of Psychotic-Like anomalous self-experiences in order to measure ASEs, and the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ16) to record the level of PLEs. The following gene polymorphisms, related to dopaminergic neurotransmission, were determined: the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) rs4680 polymorphism, the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) rs6277 polymorphism, and the dopamine transporter 1 (DAT1) rs28363170 polymorphism.

Results

There was a significant effect of the interaction between the DAT1 polymorphism, a severity of ASEs, and a history of TLEs on the level of PLEs. Among the DAT1 10R/10R homozygotes with low level of ASEs, a severity of PLEs was significantly higher in individuals with a history of any TLEs. Higher scores of the PQ16 were associated with a greater severity of ASEs both in the DAT1 9R allele carriers and the DAT1 10R/10R homozygotes.

Conclusion

Our findings imply that genetic liability related to aberrant dopamine transport might impact the association between TLEs and PLEs in subjects with high levels of ASEs.
Management of cervical cancer during the corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) era
Authors: Dewan Abhinav , Mitra Swarupa , Aggarwal Sumeet , Barik Soumitra , Kaur Inderjeet , Umesh Preetha , Dewan Rupali
Published: November 2020

COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on the society, economy and heath-care system all over the globe with virus showing no signs of losing potency. As the situation appears to worsen, extra burden on other specialities like oncology seems to increase. Specific recommendations are necessary for management of cervical cancer in the current context. All concerned specialities must work together in the best interest of the patient. Attempts should be made at managing cervical cancer while limiting the viral spread among the patients and health-care workers without the loss of opportunity. Surgical intervention for early cervical cancer should be postponed or alternative modalities be considered. In a locally advanced disease, concurrent chemoradiation is the treatment of choice. In addition, the following under mentioned suggestions aim to discuss ways of minimizing infection spread, workload rationalization and providing guidance for management of cervical cancer in the presence of COVID-19 infection.
Dried blood spots are an efficient blood sampling method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
Authors: Cassano Juan Carlos , Reut Michael , Korte Wolfgang
Published: November 2020

A novel coronavirus termed SARS-CoV-2 caused an outbreak in December of 2019 which has led to pandemic. Currently several serological diagnostic assays exist for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, which require the collecting of whole blood that brings about problems including the invasive nature of venepuncture, poor acceptance by patients and their storage and transportation. A more fast, efficient and less tedious method that allows mass blood sampling is necessary during a pandemic to quickly diagnose disease and obtain population serological data.

Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling has been used for several decades for the accurate detection of viral specific antibodies and remains one the most convenient methods for obtaining serological data on exposed patients. Here we evaluate the use of DBS sampling on current viral serological assays including SARS-CoV-2. DBS samples were collected from six patients (five control and one positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection) and patient serum was extracted and tested blindly using commercially available antibody test kits for Coxiella burnetti, parvovirus B19 and SARS-CoV-2.

The results demonstrate that antibodies recovered from DBS after elution are comparable to those found in serum, indicating that serological tests can be adapted to test DBS samples from patients using our modified protocol. Because DBS sampling is a much faster and cheaper method of sampling blood, this modification could therefore allow for potential nationwide testing for epidemiological studies.
SISTEM INFORMASI KEUANGAN PROGRAM PENGEMBANGAN KEWIRAUSAHAAN FTI UAD
Authors: Khairi Amalya Nurul , Ma'ruf Farid , Fitriani Syifa , Fahana Jefree
Published: November 2020

PPK FTI provides trainings to 20 tenants consisting of students and alumni of FTI UAD, then selects them into 6 selected tenants who will obtain venture capital in the form of grants, goods, business literature, mentoring, and financial information system training. This training was carried out with the aim of assisting FTI tenants especially in making financial statements. The methods in this activity are divided into three stages, first is the development of PPK FTI UAD financial information system, discussion and practice of filling information systems through offline and online training, and evaluating financial information systems and training through questionnaires on a likert scale. The results shows that most tenants are able to use the information system easily and provide positive feedback with a percentage of the statement of ease of use, features, and access in the range of easy and very easy. PPK financial information system is assessed by tenants according to tenant's needs and greatly saves financial management time. For further development, PPK FTI UAD will continue the activities on basic accounting training, information system improvement, and development of android or iOS applications.
Quantum-channel capacity of distributing orbital-angular-momentum states for underwater optical quantum communication
Authors: Zhai Shuang , Wang Jicheng , Zhu Yun , Zhang Yixin , Hu Zheng-Da
Published: November 2020

We employ non-diffractive Bessel–Gaussian beams to investigate the effect of oceanic turbulence on quantum communication protocols via behaviors of quantum-channel capacity and trace distance, based on the analytical expression of the phase structure function of an orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) beam in underwater wireless optical communication. Our results show that turbulence conditions with a larger inner-scale and outer-scale factors, higher dissipation rate of kinetic energy, lower dissipation rate of the mean-squared temperature, and smaller temperature-salinity contribution ratio are beneficial to quantum communication performance. Moreover, we show that the distribution protocol may be improved by distributing quantum superposition states instead of OAM eigenstates. We believe our work provides the first theoretical exploration of quantum-channel capacity in underwater OAM quantum communication.
Efficient point cloud segmentation approach using energy optimization with geometric features for 3D scene understanding
Authors: Li Xurui , Liu Guangshuai , Sun Si
Published: November 2020

Efficient and quick extraction of unknown objects in cluttered 3D scenes plays a significant role in robotics tasks such as object search, grasping, and manipulation. This paper describes a geometric-based unsupervised approach for the segmentation of cluttered scenes into objects. The proposed method first over-segments the raw point clouds into supervoxels to provide a more natural representation of 3D point clouds and reduce the computational cost with a minimal loss of geometric information. Then the fully connected local area linkage graph is used to distinguish between planar and nonplanar adjacent patches. Then the initial segmentation is completed utilizing the geometric features and local surface convexities. After the initial segmentation, many subgraphs are generated, each of which represents an individual object or part of it. Finally, we use the plane extracted from the scene to refine the initial segmentation result under the framework of global energy optimization. Experiments on the Object Cluttered Indoor Dataset dataset indicate that the proposed method can outperform the representative segmentation algorithms in terms of weighted overlap and accuracy, while our method has good robustness and real-time performance.
On-chip Ge, InGaAs, and colloidal quantum dot photodetectors: comparisons for application in silicon photonics
Authors: Xu Qiwei , Hu Jun , Wang Xihua
Published: November 2020

The past twenty years have seen explosive growth in silicon photonics technology. It has revolutionized numerous fields such high-speed optical interconnects in data centers. A photodetector (PD) is one of the key building blocks in silicon photonics, enabling on-chip light detection. Here a comprehensive study has been demonstrated in which three materials, germanium (Ge), indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), and colloidal quantum dots (CQD), are compared for a PD integrated with a waveguide in silicon photonics. Comparisons are conducted by assuming InGaAs and CQD PDs have the same interface quality as mature Ge PD technology. With this premise, we intend to predict future InGaAs and CQD PD performances. Figures of merit such as dark current, responsivity, and RF bandwidth are compared using simulations. With the premise that epitaxial InGaAs on silicon is as of high quality as epi-Ge, results found that the InGaAs PD is advantageous over the Ge PD with higher-efficiency bandwidth product and lower dark current. CQD PD, on the other hand, is slow but has the lowest dark current, which is suitable for medium-speed applications where ultralow noise is required.
Super-sensitive rotation measurement with an orbital angular momentum atom-light hybrid interferometer
Authors: Guo Jinxian , Ming Sheng , Wu Yuan , Chen L. Q. , Zhang Weiping
Published: November 2020

Lights carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have potential applications in precise rotation measurement, especially in remote sensing. Interferometers, especially nonlinear quantum interferometers, have also been proven to greatly improve the measurement accuracy in quantum metrology. By combining these two techniques, we theoretically propose a new atom-light hybrid Sagnac interferometer with OAM lights to advance the precision of the rotation measurement. A rotation sensitivity below standard quantum limit is achieved due to the enhancement of the quantum correlation of the interferometer even with 96% photon losses. This makes our protocol robustness to the photon loss. Furthermore, combining the slow light effect brings us at least four orders of magnitude of sensitivity better than the earth rotation rate. This new type interferometer has potential applications in high precision rotation sensing.
Reducing computation complexity by using elastic net regularization based pruned Volterra equalization in a 80 Gbps PAM-4 signal for inter-data center interconnects
Authors: Yadav Govind sharan , Chuang Chun-Yen , Feng Kai-Ming , Yan Jhih-Heng , Chen Jyehong , Chen Young-Kai
Published: November 2020

Volterra equalization (VE) presents substantial performance enhancement for high-speed optical signals but suffers from high computation complexity which limits its physical implementations. To address these limitations, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an elastic net regularization-based pruned Volterra equalization (ENPVE) to reduce the computation complexity while still maintain system performance. Our proposed scheme prunes redundant weight coefficients with a three-phase configuration. Firstly, we pre-train the VE with an adaptive EN-regularizer to identify significant weights. Next, we prune the insignificant weights away. Finally, we retrain the equalizer by fine-tuning the remaining weight coefficients. Our proposed ENPVE achieves superior performance with reduced computation complexity. Compared with conventional VE and L1 regularization-based Volterra equalizer (L1VE), our approach show a complexity reduction of 97.4% and 20.2%, respectively, for an O-band 80-Gbps PAM4 signal at a received optical power of −4 dBm after 40 km SMF transmission.
Broadband, few-cycle mid-infrared continuum based on the intra-pulse difference frequency generation with BGSe crystals
Authors: Zhang Jinwei , Wang Qing , Hao Jingjie , Liu Heyan , Yao Jiyong , Li Zhuang , Liu Jie , Mak Ka Fai
Published: November 2020

We demonstrate for the first time the generation of octave-spanning mid-infrared using a BGSe nonlinear crystal. A Cr:ZnS laser system delivering 28-fs pulses at a central wavelength of 2.4 µm is used as the pump source, which drives the intra-pulse difference frequency generation inside the BGSe crystal. As a result, a coherent broadband mid-infrared continuum spanning from 6 to 18 µm has been obtained. It shows that the BGSe crystal is a promising material for broadband, few-cycle mid-infrared generation via frequency down conversion with femtosecond pump sources.
Terahertz response of plasmonic nanoparticles: Plasmonic Zeeman Effect
Authors: Márquez A. , Esquivel-Sirvent R.
Published: November 2020

Magnetoplasmons are the coupling of an external magnetic field and a plasmon or a localized plasmon, in the case of nanoparticles. We present a theoretical study, in the quasi-static limit, of the plasmonic response of nanoparticles when a constant magnetic field is applied. The plasmonic modes split into two satellite peaks with a frequency shift proportional to the magnetic field. The constant of proportionality is the effective Bohr magneton. This splitting of the fundamental plasmonic mode is akin to the splitting of energy levels in the Zeeman effect. The results are valid for any material that has a plasmonic response. For higher magnetic fields, the frequency shift of the splitting becomes non-linear with the magnetic field as what happens with the non-linear Zeeman effect.
Switchable polarization-multiplexed super-oscillatory metasurfaces for achromatic sub-diffraction focusing
Authors: Lu Xinjian , Guo Yinghui , Pu Mingbo , Xu MingFeng , Jin Jinjin , Li Zhu , Li Xiong , Ma Xiaoliang , Luo Xiangang
Published: November 2020

Super-oscillation phenomenon has attracted considerable interests due to its great ability of far-field super-resolution imaging. However, most super-oscillatory lenses were limited by chromatic aberration and single functionality, hence deeply restricting the flexibility of the super-oscillatory devices in practical applications. Here, an achromatic polarization-multiplexed super-oscillatory metasurface has been proposed to realize flexible light field modulations at different colors, i.e. 473 nm (blue), 532 nm (green), and 632.8 nm (red). The super-oscillatory metasurface can achieve achromatic diffraction-limited focusing under x-polarized light illumination and achromatic sub-diffraction focusing under y-polarized light illumination. Furthermore, it can also realize multi-wavelength super-oscillatory achromatic focusing with different super-resolution abilities. The proposed method could simplify the super-resolution optical imaging system and is expected to have widespread applications in color imaging, microscopy, and machine vision.
Strategically constructed patterned sapphire with silica array to boost substrate performance in GaN-based flip-chip visible light-emitting diodes
Authors: Lan Shuyu , Tang Bin , Hu Hongpo , Zhou Shengjun
Published: November 2020

A strategically constructed substrate, patterned sapphire with silica array (PSSA), was developed to boost the efficiency of patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) in GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) application. The light output power of a flip-chip LED on PSSA improved by 16.5% at 120 mA than that of device grown on PSS. The XRD and STEM measurements revealed that the GaN epilayer grown on PSSA had better crystalline quality compared to the epilayer grown on PSS, which was the result of decreased misfit at coalescence boundary in the PSSA case. Moreover, the light extraction efficiency of the flip-chip LED on PSSA was significantly enhanced, benefiting from the small refractive-index contrast between the patterned silica array and air. This small refractive-index contrast also contributed to a more convergent emission pattern for the flip-chip LED on PSSA, as demonstrated by the far-field radiation pattern measurements. The discovery that PSSA could excel at defect suppression and light extraction revealed a new substrate platform for III-nitride optoelectronic devices.
High-accuracy automatic target recognition scheme based on a photonic analog-to-digital converter and a convolutional neural network
Authors: Wan Jun , Xu Shaofu , Zou Weiwen
Published: November 2020

We propose a high-accuracy automatic target recognition (ATR) scheme based on a photonic analog-to-digital converter (PADC) and a convolutional neural network (CNN). The adoption of the PADC enables wideband signal processing up to several gigahertz, and thus high-resolution range profiles (RPs) are attained. The CNN guarantees high recognition accuracy based on such RPs. With four centimeter-sized objects as targets, the performance of the proposed ATR scheme based on the PADC and CNN is experimentally tested in different range resolution cases. The recognition result reveals that high-range resolution leads to high accuracy of ATR. It is proved that when dealing with centimeter-sized targets, the ATR scheme can acquire a much better recognition accuracy than other RP ATR solutions based on electronic schemes. Analysis results also show the reason why higher recognition accuracy is attained with higher-resolution RPs.
SCRINSHOT enables spatial mapping of cell states in tissue sections with single-cell resolution
Authors: Sountoulidis Alexandros , Liontos Andreas , Nguyen Hong Phuong , Firsova Alexandra B. , Fysikopoulos Athanasios , Qian Xiaoyan , Seeger Werner , Sundström Erik , Nilsson Mats , Samakovlis Christos
Published: November 2020

Changes in cell identities and positions underlie tissue development and disease progression. Although single-cell mRNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) methods rapidly generate extensive lists of cell states, spatially resolved single-cell mapping presents a challenging task. We developed SCRINSHOT (Single-CellResolutionIN SituHybridizationOnTissues), a sensitive, multiplex RNA mapping approach. Direct hybridization of padlock probes on mRNA is followed by circularization with SplintR ligase and rolling circle amplification (RCA) of the hybridized padlock probes. Sequential detection of RCA-products using fluorophore-labeled oligonucleotides profiles thousands of cells in tissue sections. We evaluated SCRINSHOT specificity and sensitivity on murine and human organs. SCRINSHOT quantification of marker gene expression shows high correlation with published scRNA-Seq data over a broad range of gene expression levels. We demonstrate the utility of SCRINSHOT by mapping the locations of abundant and rare cell types along the murine airways. The amenability, multiplexity, and quantitative qualities of SCRINSHOT facilitate single-cell mRNA profiling of cell-state alterations in tissues under a variety of native and experimental conditions.
No association between SCN9A and monogenic human epilepsy disorders
Authors: Fasham James , Leslie Joseph S. , Harrison Jamie W. , Deline James , Williams Katie B. , Kuhl Ashley , Scott Schwoerer Jessica , Cross Harold E. , Crosby Andrew H. , Baple Emma L.
Published: November 2020

Many studies have demonstrated the clinical utility and importance of epilepsy gene panel testing to confirm the specific aetiology of disease, enable appropriate therapeutic interventions, and inform accurate family counselling. Previously, SCN9A gene variants, in particular a c.1921A>T p.(Asn641Tyr) substitution, have been identified as a likely autosomal dominant cause of febrile seizures/febrile seizures plus and other monogenic seizure phenotypes indistinguishable from those associated with SCN1A, leading to inclusion of SCN9A on epilepsy gene testing panels. Here we present serendipitous findings of genetic studies that identify the SCN9A c.1921A>T p.(Asn641Tyr) variant at high frequency in the Amish community in the absence of such seizure phenotypes. Together with findings in UK Biobank these data refute an association of SCN9A with epilepsy, which has important clinical diagnostic implications.