bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detection of Interstitial Pneumonia with Autoimmune Features and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Are Enhanced by Involvement of Matrix Metalloproteinases Levels and Clinical diagnosis
Authors: Sun Baoqing , Liu Mingtao , Xue Mingshan , Lin Runpei , Zeng Yifeng , Zhang Teng , Guo Baojun , Chen Youpeng , Cheng Zhangkai J.
Published: April 2022

Background: Higher detection of interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has significant diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Some MMPs have been reliable diagnostic biomarkers in IPAF and IPF in previous studies, yet relevant reliability remains to be recognized. Material and Methods: 36 ILD patients, including 31 IPAF patients (Mean ± SD, 50.20 ± 5.10 years; 16 (51.6%) females) and 5 IPF patients (Mean ± SD, 61.20 ± 6.73 years; 1 (20.0%) females) were retrospectively enrolled. Serial serum samples were collected from corresponding patients between January 2019 and December 2020. Notably, Serum MMPs levels were measured by U-PLEX Biomarker Group 1(Human) Multiplex Assays (MSD, USA). Results: A combination of MMPs, combinatorial biomarkers and was strongly associated with the above clinical subjects (AUC, 0.597 for Stability vs. Improvement and 0.756 for Stability vs. Exacerbation). Importantly, the AUC of MMP-12 reaches 0.730 (P<0.05, Stability AUC vs. Improvement AUC) while MMP-13 reaches 0.741 (P<0.05, Stability AUC vs. Exacerbation AUC) showed better academic performance than other MMPs in two comparisons. Conclusions: Clinical risk factors and MMPs are strongly associated with either stratification of the degree of disease of progression of IPAF or in two IPAF and IPF independent cohorts. To our knowledge, this is the first to illustrate that MMP-12 and MMP-13 may be expected to become typical promising biomarkers in Improvement - IPAF and Exacerbation - IPAF, respectively.
Non-coding RNAs in drug and radiation resistance of bone and soft tissue sarcoma: A systematic review
Authors: Chen Huan-Huan , Zhang Tie-Ning , Zhang Fang-Yuan , Zhang Tao
Published: April 2022

Background: Sarcomas comprise approximately 1% of all human malignancies, and treatment resistance is one of the main reasons for poor prognosis. Accumulating evidence suggests that non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, are important molecules involved in the crosstalk between resistance to chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiotherapy via various pathways.Methods: We searched PubMed (MEDLINE) databases for articles on non-coding RNAs relevant to sarcoma from inception to November 30, 2021. Studies investigating the roles of host-derived microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs in sarcoma were included. Data on the roles of ncRNAs in therapeutic regulation and their applicability as biomarkers of sarcomas were extracted. Two independent researchers assessed the quality of the studies using modified guidelines from the Systematic Review Center for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE), a tool based on the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool.Results: Observational studies revealed ectopic expression of non-coding RNAs in sarcoma patients with different responses to antitumor treatments. Experimental studies have confirmed crosstalk between cellular pathways pertinent to chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiotherapy resistance. Of the included studies, the SYRCLE scores ranged from 3 to 6 (average score = 4.51). This finding suggested a moderate risk of bias. Of the ten articles that investigated non-coding RNAs as biomarkers, none included a validation cohort. Selective reporting of the sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating curves was common.Conclusion: Although non-coding RNAs appear to be good candidates as biomarkers and therapeutics for sarcoma, their differential expression across tissues complicates their application. Further investigation of the potential for inhibition or activation of these regulatory molecules to reverse treatment resistance may be useful.
Synoptic Climatology of Pre-Monsoon Severe Lightning Events in Bangladesh
Authors: Farukh Murad , Islam Md. Azharul , Uddin Md. Nasir
Published: April 2022

In Bangladesh, 1073 lightning deaths are reported only in May from 2010 to 2021 that accounts 34% of the total lightning death. The mean thunderstorm days are the maximum in Sylhet that accounts 9.46, 19.27, and 21.67 from March through May with the mean lightning frequency of 29.11, 70.50, and 82.55. Seasonal average temperature difference between winter and pre-monsoon in the country is quite high (7.8ºC) with a sharp jump from February to March (4.5ºC), whilst the maximum temperature peak in April (36.49ºC) indicates pre-monsoon instability. The 700hPa temperature shows a moderate correlation of 0.62 and 0.66 with lightning frequency and thunderstorm days, respectively. A strong SLP ridge from the northwest and 500hPa GpH ridge over northwest to south-eastern Bangladesh favors thunderstorm mediated severe pre-monsoon lightning. The low pressure trough over the Gangetic plains of India towards Bangladesh is a very unique characteristics for convective activities in May. The pre-monsoon lightning activity is also attributed by very strong temperature anomaly whilst the associated convective precipitation system is triggered by topographic forcing of the Shillong Plateau and Chittagong hill tracts. Southerly to south-westerly low level jet assist moisture transport from Bay of Bengal (BoB) in pre-monsoon. North to north-westerly subtropical jet stream provides conditions conducive to the development of pre-monsoon thunderstorms and resultant lightning activity. Moreover, CAPE all over the country in May destabilizes the country’s atmosphere with lots of thunderstorms. The precise information of pre-monsoon climatological anomaly can be beneficial for the management of direct-death related lightning disaster in Bangladesh.
Using the Collaborative Cross to identify the role of host genetics in defining the murine gut microbiome
Authors: Nagarajan Aravindh , Scoggin Kristin , Gupta Jyotsana , Threadgill David W. , Andrews-Polymenis Helene L.
Published: April 2022

Background: The human gut microbiota is a complex community comprised of trillions of bacteria and is critical for the digestion and absorption of nutrients. Bacterial communities of the intestinal microbiota influence the development of several conditions and diseases. We studied the effect of host genetics on gut microbial composition using Collaborative Cross (CC) mice, a panel of genetically diverse mouse strains. CC mice are genetically diverse across strains, but genetically identical within a given strain allowing for repetition and deeper analysis than is possible with other collections of genetically diverse mice. Results: 16S rRNA from the feces of 167 mice from 28 different CC strains was sequenced and analyzed using the Qiime2 pipeline. We observed large variance in the bacterial composition across CC strains starting at the phylum level. Using bacterial composition data, we identified 26 significant Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) linked to 23 genera on 15 different mouse chromosomes. Genes within these intervals were analyzed for significant association with pathways and the previously known human GWAS database using Enrichr and DAVID analysis. Multiple host genes involved in obesity, glucose homeostasis, immunity, neurological diseases, and many other protein-coding genes located in these regions may play roles in determining the composition of the gut microbiota. After the collection of feces used for sequencing, a subset of CC mice was infected with Salmonella Typhimurium. Using the infection outcome data, we correlated the increase in abundance of Genus Lachnospiraceae and decrease in Genus Parasutterella to positive health outcomes after infection. Machine learning classifiers accurately predicted the CC strain and the infection outcome using pre-infection bacterial composition data from the feces. Conclusion: Our study supports the hypothesis that multiple host genes influence the gut microbiome composition and homeostasis, and that certain organisms may influence health outcomes after S. Typhimurium infection.
Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty at District Level Is Safe and May Reduce the Burden on Tertiary Care in a Low-income Setting
Authors: Laubscher Kim , Dey Roopam , Nortje Marc , Held Michael , Kauta Ntambue
Published: April 2022

Background: Arthroplasty procedures in low-income countries are mostly performed at tertiary centers, with waiting lists exceeding 12 to 24 months. Recently, this is further exacerbated by the impact of the Covid Pandemic on elective surgeries. Providing arthroplasty services at other levels of healthcare aims to offset this burden, however there is a marked paucity of literature regarding surgical outcomes. This study aims to provide evidence on the safety of arthroplasty at district level and its potential to decrease waiting list burden in a low-income setting.Methods: Retrospective review of consecutive hip and knee primary arthroplasty cases performed at Mitchell’s Plain Hospital (MPH), a district hospital and Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH), a tertiary academic hospital in Cape Town, South Africa between 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2018. Patient demographics, hospital stay, surgery related readmissions, reoperations, post-operative complications, and mortality were compared between cohorts.Results: 795 primary arthroplasty surgeries were performed at tertiary hospital (TH) level and 228 at district hospital (DH) level. The average hospital stay was 5.2±2.0 days at DH level and 7.6±7.1 days for TH (p<0.05). Readmissions within 3 months post-surgery of 1.75% (4 patients) for district and 4.40% (35) for tertiary level (p<0.05). Reoperation rate of 1 in every 100 patients at district and 8.3 in every 100 patients at tertiary level (p<0.05). Death rate was 0.4% vs 0.6% at district and tertiary hospitals respectively (p>0.05). Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) rate was 0,43% at DH and 2,26% at TH. The percentage of hip dislocation requiring revision was 0% at district and 0.37% at tertiary level.Conclusions: Hip and knee Arthroplasty at district level is safe and may reduce the burden on tertiary care facilities in a Southern African context. Adequately trained surgeons should be encouraged to perform these procedures in district hospitals provided there is appropriate patient selection and adherence to strict theatre operating procedures.Level of Evidence: Level III Retrospective cohort study
Study on fault tolerance method of cloud computing accounting service platform for middle data supporting cost-benefit analysis
Authors: Jin Taolan , Zhang Bo
Published: April 2022

Study the fault-tolerant method of intermediate data of cloud computing accounting service platform to support cost-benefit analysis, provide cost-benefit analysis function for the platform, and strengthen the fault-tolerant ability of intermediate data of the platform. Build an enterprise cloud computing accounting service platform, use the network environment of the accounting service platform provided by the cloud service provider, collect the internal and external accounting service system data of the enterprise through the data collection layer, and transmit it to the data warehouse of the data processing storage layer after data cleaning, extraction and processing. The data processing storage layer calls the collected data to analyze the transaction cost-effectiveness of the enterprise. The intermediate data fault-tolerant model is constructed. After being solved by ant colony algorithm, the intermediate data generated in the process of cost-benefit analysis and other accounting services are fault-tolerant processed, and the platform accounting service results are output to the interactive interface through the data output display layer, so as to realize the interaction with users. The experimental analysis shows that:this method can effectively analyze the transaction cost and benefit of enterprises, the data availability probability after fault-tolerant processing is higher, and the read-write load is lower.
OsMLP423 is a positive regulator of tolerance to drought and salt stress in rice
Authors: Zhou Zhanmei , Fan Jiangbo , Zhang Jia , Yang Yanmei , Zhang Yifan , Zan xiaofei , Li xiaohong , Wan jiale , Gao xiaoling , Cheng Rongjun , Huang Zhengjian , Li Lihua , Xu Zhengjun
Published: April 2022

Drought and salinity is one of the important abiotic factors that adversely affects plant growth and production.We screened a drought-inducing gene containing about 158 amino acid residues from the transcriptome library of rice exposed to drought treatment, and found ABA-related cis-acting elements and multiple drought-stress-related cis-acting elements in its promoter sequence. The physiological and biochemical phenotype analysis of transgenic plants confirmed that overexpressed OsMLP423 enhanced the tolerance of rice to drought and salt stress. The expression of the OsMLP423-GFP fusion protein showed that OsMLP423 was localized in both the cell membrane and nucleus. Compared with the wild-type, the plants over-expressing OsMLP423 showed the enhanced sensitivity to ABA. These results indicate that OsMLP423 is a positive regulator of drought and salinity tolerance in rice, governing the tolerance of rice to abiotic stress through an ABA-dependent pathway. This paper provides basic knowledge on the drought- and salt-tolerant transgenic rice with a potential application value.
The Perceptions of Older People Living With HIV/AIDS Towards Physical Activity and Exercise
Authors: Chetty Levin , Cobbing Saul , Chetty Verusia
Published: April 2022

Background: Older people living with HIV (OPLWH) require significant levels of support, including healthcare and rehabilitation interventions. People living with HIV are living longer, but still experience health-related impairments that affect functional activity, participation in day-to-day interactions, livelihoods and overall quality of life. Physical activity and exercise should be included as part of the comprehensive medical management for OPLWH but often a gap exists in understanding and prescription. Our study aimed to explore the perceptions of OPLWH about physical activity and exercise. Methods: The study adopted a phenomenological, qualitative design, using in-depth interviews, to understand OPLWH perceptions of physical activity and exercise, and their need for, and access to, physical activity and exercise programmes in a community in South Africa. Results: Sixteen individuals voluntarily participated in face-to-face, semi-structured interviews which took place the healthcare facility where they received regular treatment. All participants were 50 years and older. The interview data revealed three overarching themes, namely: motivation for physical activity and exercise; barriers to physical activity and exercise; and proposed structure of physical activity and exercise. Conclusion: The qualitative nature of our study provided an in-depth understanding of the perceptions of OPLWH about physical activity and exercise. Our study highlighted the interplay between motivating factors and barriers, and the structural components of physical activity and exercise, that can possibly influence the design and implementation of a physical activity intervention programme for OPLWH.
Texture analysis of conventional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging for distinguishing sinonasal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Su Guo-Yi , Liu Jun , Xu Xiao-Quan , Lu Mei-Ping , Yin Min , Wu Fei-Yun
Published: April 2022

Background: To evaluate the value of texture analysis (TA) of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the differential diagnosis between sinonasal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).Methods: Twenty-one patients with sinonasal SCC and 15 patients with NHL were retrospectively enrolled. TAs were performed on T2-weighted image (T2WI), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted image (T1WI). Texture parameters, including mean value, skewness, kurtosis, entropy and uniformity were obtained and compared between sinonasal SCC and NHL groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the diagnostic value and identify the independent TA parameters.Results: The mean value and entropy of ADC, and mean value of contrast-enhanced T1WI were significantly lower in the sinonasal NHL group than those in the SCC group (all P < 0.05). ROC analysis indicated that the entropy of ADC had the best diagnostic performance (AUC, 0.832; Sensitivity, 0.95; Specificity, 0.67; Cut-off value, 6.522). Logistic regression analysis showed that the entropy of ADC (P = 0.002, OR = 26.990) was the independent parameter for differentiating sinonasal NHL from SCC.Conclusion: TA parameters of conventional MRI and DWI, particularly the entropy value of ADC, might be useful in the differentiating diagnosis between sinonasal NHL and SCC.
The Social Value of Offsets
Authors: Groom Ben , Venmans Frank
Published: April 2022

How much carbon should be stored in temporary and risky offsets to compensate an emission of 1 ton of CO2? We show how the Social Value of an Offset (SVO) is a well-defined fraction of the Social Cost of Carbon which depends on the offset's expected lifetime, risk of non-additionality and risk of failure. The key insight is that the SVO can be positive because delaying emissions is socially valuable. Offset projects could therefore be part of an efficient net-zero portfolio if their SVO to cost ratio exceeds the benefit-cost ratio of alternative projects. Since many offset projects are not riskless or perpetual, offset suppliers should supply transparent information about the permanence, risk and additionality of their offerings, so that the SVO can be calculated and offsets easily compared. We provide a matrix of risk correction factors to calculate the SVO for this purpose.
Characterization of low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses isolated from wild birds in Mongolia from 2009 to 2018
Authors: Barkhasbaatar Ariunbaatar , Gilbert Martin , Fine Amanda E. , Shiilegdamba Enkhtuvshin , Damdinjav Batchuluun , Buuveibaatar Bayarbaatar , Khishgee Bodisaikhan , Johnson Christine K. , Leung Connie Y. H. , Ankhanbaatar Ulaankhuu , Purevtseren Dulam , Tuttle James M. , Mazet Jonna A. K. , Peiris Joseph S. Malik , Jambal Losolmaa , Shatar Munkhduuren , Sukhbaatar Tuvshintugs , Olson Sarah H.
Published: April 2022

Background: Since 2005, highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 viruses (Goose/Guangdong/1/96-H5 lineage) have spread from Asia to Africa and Europe, infecting poultry, humans and wild birds. Subsequently, avian influenza surveillance has increased worldwide. Mongolia is a good location to study influenza viruses in wild birds within Asia because the country has very low densities of domestic poultry and supports large concentrations of migratory water birds. We conducted avian influenza surveillance in Mongolia over two time periods from 2009 to 2018, utilizing environmental fecal sampling.Methods: Fresh fecal samples were collected in areas where wild water birds, including orders Anseriformes and Charadriiformes, congregated. Hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) subtypes of positive samples were identified through viral isolation or molecular assays, with pathogenicity determined by HA subtype or sequencing the HA cleavage site.Results: A total of 10,222 samples were collected and tested for avian influenza virus. Of these, 7,025 fecal samples were collected from 2009-2013, and 3,197 fecal samples were collected from 2016-2018 period. Testing revealed 175 (1.7%) positive samples for low pathogenicity influenza A, including 118 samples from 2009-2013 (1.7%) and 57 samples from 2016-2018 (1.8%). Over the period and locations of surveillance no influenza A viruses were detected in association with a wild bird mortality event. HA and NA subtyping of all positives identified eleven subtypes of HA (H1-H8; H10-H12) and nine subtypes of NA (N1-N9) in 29 different combinations. Within periods, viruses were detected more frequently during the fall season (August to October, 2.5%; 95% CI 2.1-2.9%; 146/5,750) than the early summer (April to July, 0.6%; 95% CI 0.4-0.9%; 29/4,472).Conclusion: Mongolia is an important location for wild birds and is positioned as a crossroad of multiple migratory bird flyways. Breeding birds from Mongolia and further north pass through the country to wintering areas as widespread as southern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australasia. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of using an affordable environmental fecal sampling approach for avian influenza surveillance and contributes to understanding the prevalence and ecology of low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses in this important location, where birds from multiple flyways mix.
Dynamic Cardiac Computed Tomography Characteristics of Double-Chambered Right Ventricle
Authors: Chang Monal Yu-Hsuan , Liou Yan-De , Huang Jou-Hsuan , Su Chia-Hung , Huang Shu-Chien , Lin Ming-Tai , Chen Shyh-Jye
Published: April 2022

PURPOSE: To introduce image characteristics of double-chambered right ventricle on cardiac computed tomography and set a diagnostic criterion for the diagnosis.METHODS: We retrospectively collected and measured the right ventricular constrictive ratio on computed tomography images in children who had simple ventricular septal defects in the past 10 years, because double-chambered right ventricle is often associated with ventricular septal defects. The right ventricular constrictive ratio was defined as the subinfundibular cross-sectional intraluminal area during end-systole divided by the area during end-diastole in the same patient. We compared the right ventricular constrictive ratio between subjects with concomitant double-chambered right ventricle and those without. RESULTS: 52 children were included, and 23 (44.2%) of them have concomitant double-chambered right ventricle. In most cases (n=21; 91.3%), the hypertrophied muscular bundles occur just inferior to the level of the supraventricular crest in the right ventricle. Mean right ventricular constrictive ratio in patients with double-chambered right ventricle (15%) was significantly smaller than that without (29%). A cut-off value of a right ventricular constrictive ratio less than 20.1 % was established to diagnose double-chambered right ventricle with an 89.7% sensitivity and 78. 3% specificity.CONCLUSION: Right ventricular constrictive ratio can be a valuable asset for the preoperative diagnosis of double-chambered right ventricle with cardiac computed tomography.
Nutraceutical potential of maize (Zea mays L.) (corn) lab-scale wet milling by- products in terms of β-sitosterol in fiber, gamma-tocopherol in germ, and lutein & zeaxanthin in gluten
Authors: Deepak Thalli Satyanarayana , Jayadeep Padmanabhan Appukuttan
Published: April 2022

The nutraceutical potential of lab-scale corn wet milling by-products, mainly corn germ, fiber, and gluten, has not been examined keenly in the past. A simplified lab-scale wet milling method was used to fractionate corn into its by-products namely germ, fiber and gluten. They were subject to extraction and characterization of nutraceuticals in comparison to the feed corn kernels. Carotenoids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols were characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography, while the phytosterols were characterized by gas chromatography. γ-tocopherol was high in corn germ compared to fiber, gluten and feed corn kernels. Corn fiber revealed higher β-sitosterol content, than that of feed corn kernels, germ and gluten. Further, corn gluten showed high lutein and zeaxanthin content than that of the feed corn kernels, fiber and germ. Phytosterols, carotenoids, and tocols are hypo-cholesterolemic, eye-protective, and anti-oxidative respectively, in nature. This study demonstrates the significance of corn wet milling by-products and the need for valorization in generating nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients.
PLAGL2 Is a Prognostic Biomarker in Stomach cancer：A Comprehensive Study Based on Bioinformatics and Experiments
Authors: Wang Lin , Yan Li , Zhou Zili
Published: April 2022

Background
Polymorphic adenoma-like protein 2 (PLAGL2), a zinc finger protein, has been linked to the advancement of serval-type malignancies. However, the relevance of PLAGL2 to the prognosis and regulatory networks of different cancers remains unclear.
Methods
The expression of PLAGL2 was explored through Oncomine, TIMER and SangerBox websites. The relationship between PLAGL2 expression and prognosis in various cancers was analyzed through the Kaplan-Meier Plotter database and the PrognoScan databases. The expression of PLAGL2 in several immunological and molecular subtypes of human cancer was evaluated through the TISIDB database. The differentially expressed genes associated with PLAGL2 was explored through LinkedOmics database. The relationship between PLAGL2 expression and clinicopathological features in STAD was explored through the UALCAN database. The expression of PLAGL2 in STAD specimens was analyzed through western blot and IHC. The function of PLAGL2 in STAD was explored through the CCK8 test and the colony formation test.
Results
In this study we found that PLAGL2 was overexpressed in most types of cancer and overexpression of PLAGL2 might predicted a poor prognosis in STAD. Next, we investigated PLAGL2 expression in several immunological and molecular subtypes and found that PLAGL2 expression differs considerably across immunological subtypes and molecular subtypes of most cancer types. Our research also shows that the expression of PLAGL2 is correlated with various immunostimulatory and immunosuppressive cytokines. We also analyzed the PLAGL2 co-expression network, and evaluated the prognostic potential of genes positive co-expression with PLAGL2 in STAD through Kaplan-Meier plotter. The results show that most of co-expression genes have a significant effect on the prognosis. We further designed experiments to explore the function of PLAGL2 in STAD. Consistent with previous studies, PLAGL2 was significantly overexpressed in STAD tissues compared with that of adjacent normal tissues. And PLAGL2 can promote the proliferation of STAD cells both in vivo and in vitro.
Conclusions
Our findings showed that data mining successfully identifies PLAGL2 expression and putative regulatory networks in STAD, laying the groundwork for additional research into the function of PLAGL2 in carcinogenesis.
Curcumin-loaded nanocomplexes alleviate the progression of fluke-related cholangiocarcinoma in hamsters
Authors: Jantawong Chanakan , Chamgramol Yaovalux , Intuyod Kitti , Priprem Aroonsri , Pairojkul Chawalit , Dangtakot Rungtiwa , Pongking Thatsanapong , Pinlaor Porntip , Waraasawapati Sakda , Pinlaor Somchai
Published: April 2022

Background: Curcumin-loaded nanocomplexes (CNCs) previously demonstrated lower toxicity and extended release better than is the case for free curcumin. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of CNCs against opisthorchiasis-associated cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) in hamsters. Method: Dose optimization (dose and frequency) was performed over a one-month period using hamsters, a model that is widely used for study of opisthorchiasis-associated cholangiocarcinoma. In the main experimental study, CCA was induced by a combination of fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini (OV), infection and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) treatment. Either blank (empty) nanocomplexes (BNCs) or different concentrations of CNCs (equivalent to 10 and 20 mg cur/kg bw) were given to hamsters thrice a week for five months. The histopathological changes, biochemical parameters, and the expression of inflammatory/ oncogenic transcription factors were investigated.Results: The optimization study revealed that treatment with CNCs at a dose equivalent to 10 mg cur/kg bw, thrice a week for one month, led to a greater reduction of inflammation and liver injury induced in hamsters by OV+NDMA than did treatments at other dose rates. Oral administration with CNCs (10 mg cur/kg bw), thrice a week for five months, significantly increased survival rate, reduced CCA incidence, extent of tumor development, cholangitis, bile-duct injury and cholangiofibroma. In addition, this treatment decreased serum ALP and ALT levels and suppressed expression of oncogenic transcription factors including NF- κB and FOXM1. Conclusion: CNCs (10 mg cur/kg bw) attenuate the progression of fluke-related CCA in hamsters.
Medium Term Study of Incidence, Risk Factors and Type of Stroke in Hypertensive Patients
Authors: Han Chao , Li Xiao-yu , Zou Ji-ming
Published: April 2022

Our study aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of stroke in hypertension patients over 60 years of age, and to investigate the correlation. A retrospective analysis of 454 hypertension patients who were diagnosed through examination were divided into 4 groups, of which included group A (hypertension plus type 2 diabetes) were 4 cases, group B (hypertension plus hyperlipidemia) were 367 cases, group C (hypertension plus type 2 diabetes and hyperlipidemia) were 47 cases, and group D (hypertension) were 36cases. Every patient was given observation after definite diagnosis and treatment of 54 months, and to investigate the incidence of acute cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage. There were 44 patients occurred acute cerebral infarction in all 4 groups. Of these cases, there were 1 case in group A, 31 cases in group B,10 cases in group C and 2 cases in group D. In group B, 3 cases occurred cerebral hemorrhage. Logistic regression analysis showed systolic blood pressure (OR = 1.106, P = 0.001), fasting glucose (OR = 2.059, P = 0.000) and low-density lipoprotein chelesterol (LDL-C) (OR = 0.104, P = 0.025) were risk factors for stroke. Higher levels of blood glucose and/or blood lipid associate with higher risk of stroke in patients with hypertension.
Attitudes and Behaviors of People about Environment in Adana Province, Turkey
Authors: Bahşi Nermin , Budak Dilek Bostan , Zaimoğlu Zeynep , Kaya Aybüke
Published: April 2022

The aim of this study is to measure the attitudes and behaviors of individuals living in the urban area of Adana province in order to create data and to contribute in the regulations to be made for the protection of the environment, to establish the relevant policies and to plan the necessary trainings. For this purpose, a face-to-face survey was conducted with individuals living in Adana. It is seen that individuals have knowledge about practices that may cause environmental problems. However, it is seen that their behaviors with respect to the environment are not regular and they act in a particular manner from time to time. It has been determined that they do not prefer to buy packaged products made of recycled materials. It has been determined that there are differences between the environmental attitudes, behaviors and sources of environmental problems according to the gender, age and education variables of the individuals. Considering all these results, in order to hand down a more livable environment for the next generations, education programs at all levels should be emphasized in order to raise awareness of the environment, to encourage governments to produce effective policies in order to raise awareness of individuals about the environment and to make their behaviors towards environmental protection permanent.
Seq2EG: A Novel and Effective Event Graph Parsing Approach for Event Extraction
Authors: Zhou Junsheng , Sun Haotong , Kong Li , Gu Yanhui , Qu Weiguang
Published: April 2022

Event extraction is a fundamental task in information extraction. Most previous approaches typically transform event extraction into two subtasks: trigger classification and argument classification, and solve them via classification-based methods, which suffer from some inherent drawbacks. To overcome these issues, in this paper we propose a novel event extraction model Seq2EG by first formulating event extraction as an event graph parsing problem, and then exploiting a pre-trained sequence-to-sequence (seq2seq) model to transduce an input sentence into an accurate event graph without the need for trigger words. Based on the generative event graph parsing formulation, our model Seq2EG can explicitly model the multiple event correlations and argument sharing, and can naturally incorporate some graph-structured features and the rich semantic information conveyed by the labels of event types and argument roles. Extensive experimental results on the public ACE2005 dataset show that, our approach outperforms all previous state-of-the-art models for event extraction by a large margin, respectively obtaining an improvement of 3.4% F1 score for event detection and an improvement of 4.7% F1 score for argument classification over the best baselines.
Predictive value of thyroid hormone levels in adverse prognosis in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma
Authors: Zhang Lihua , Ling Xiaosui , Li Fan , He Haiping , Li Zengzheng
Published: April 2022

Background: The level of thyroid hormones (TH) influences the prognosis of a wide range of diseases. Despite this, to date, there have been few studies that have evaluated the effect of TH levels on the prognosis of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). As a result, we investigated the effect of TH levels on survival in patients with MM.Methods: TH levels and common adverse prognostic markers were compared in 124 newly diagnosed MM patients. To evaluate differences between categorical and continuous variables, Chi-Square test and Fisher's Exact test as well as Mann-Whitney U test were used. Kaplan-Meier test was used for survival analysis, and Cox proportional risk regression was used for univariate and multivariate analysis of overall survival (OS).Results: A significant decrease in total thyroxine (TT4) and total triiodothyronine (TT3) was observed in patients with multiple myeloma (P <0.05) compared to healthy subjects. In multiple myeloma patients, the levels of TT4, TT3, free (F)T4, and FT3 in non-survivors were significantly lower than those in survivors (P <0.05), and TT4 levels were significantly positively correlated with hemoglobin and albumin levels (P <0.05). The Cox proportional hazard model revealed that age≥68 years (HR=0.463, 95%CI =0.226-0.900, P=0.036) and TT4≤67.66 nmol/L (HR=0.204, 95%CI=0.101-0.412, P <0.001) were an independent prognostic factors for OS in multiple myeloma patients (P <0.05). Conclusions: Thyroid hormone levels, particularly TT4, may be an important predictor of poor prognosis in patients with MM.
The application of tensor representation and HoSVD for detecting 3D-facial shape recovery
Authors: Yazdani Hamid Reza , Shojaerfard Ali Reza
Published: April 2022

This paper proposes a fast 3D-facial shape recovery algorithm from a single image with general, Unknown lighting. To derive the algorithm , we formulate a nonlinear least-square problem with two-parameter vectors related to personal identity and light conditions. We then combine the spherical harmonics for the surface normal of a human face with tensor algebra and show that in a particular condition, the dimensionality of the least-square problem can be further reduced to one-tenth of the regular subspace-based model by using tensor decomposition (N-mode SVD), which speeds up the computations. To enhance the shape recovery performance, we have incorporated prior information in updating the parameters. The proposed algorithm takes less than 0.4 s to reconstruct a face in the experiment and shows a significant performance improvement over other reported scheme.
Re-interpreting Rules Interpretability
Authors: Adilova Linara , Kamp Michael , Andrienko Gennady , Andrienko Natalia
Published: April 2022

Trustworthy machine learning requires a high level of interpretability of machine learning models , yet many models are inherently black-boxes. Training interpretable models instead — or using them to mimic the black-box model — seems like a viable solution. In practice, however , these interpretable models are still unintelligible due to their size and complexity. In this paper, we present an approach to explain the logic of large interpretable models that can be represented as sets of logical rules by a simple, and thus intelligible, descriptive model. The coarseness of this descriptive model and its fidelity to the original model can be controlled, so that a user can understand the original model in varying levels of depth. We showcase and discuss this approach on three real-world problems from healthcare, material science, and finance.
Optical discovery of a relativistic jet from the tidal disruption of a star by a supermassive black hole
Authors: Andreoni Igor , Coughlin Michael , Perley Daniel , Yao Yuhan , Lu Wenbin , Cenko S. , Kumar Harsh , Anand Shreya , Ho Anna , Kasliwal Mansi , Postigo Antonio de Ugarte , Sagués-Carracedo Ana , Schulze Steve , Kulkarni Shri , Sollerman Jesper , Tanvir Nial , Rest Armin , Ahumada Tomás , Anupama G. , Auchettl Katie , Barway Sudhanshu , Bellm Eric , Bhalerao Varun , Bloom Joshua , Bremer Michael , Bulla Mattia , Burns Eric , Campana Sergio , Chandra Poonam , Charalampopoulos Panos , Cooke Jeff , D'Elia Valerio , Das Kaustav , Dobie Dougal , Fernández José Agüí , Freeburn James , Fremling Christoffer , Gezari Suvi , Graham Matthew , Hammerstein Erica , Izzo Luca , Kann David Alexander , Kaplan David , Karambelkar Viraj , Kool Erik , Krips Melanie , Laher Russ , Leloudas Giorgos , Levan Andrew , Lundquist Michael , Mahabal Ashish , Medford Michael , Miller M. , Moller Anais , Mooley Kunal , Nayana A , Nir Guy , Pang Peter , Paraskeva Emmy , Perley Richard , Petitpas Glen , Pursiainen Miika , Ravi Vikram , Ridden-Harper Ryan , Riddle Reed , Rigault Mickael , Rodriguez Antonio , Rusholme Benjamin , Sharma Yashvi , Smith I. , Somalwar Jean , Thöne Christina , Valdes Francisco , Roestel Jan van , Vergani Susanna , Wang Qinan , Zhang Jielai
Published: April 2022

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are bursts of electromagnetic energy released when supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies violently disrupt stars that pass too close. TDEs provide a new window to study accretion onto supermassive black holes; in some cases, this accretion leads to launching of a relativistic jet, but the necessary conditions are not fully understood. Here, we report the optical discovery of AT2022cmc, a rapidly fading source located at redshift z=1.19325. Observations of a bright counterpart at other wavelengths, including X-rays, sub-millimeter, and radio, supports the interpretation of AT2022cmc as a jetted TDE containing a synchrotron ``afterglow.'' Using 4 years of Zwicky Transient Facility survey data, we calculated a rate of 0.02 ^{+ 0.04 }_{- 0.01 } Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1} for jetted TDEs based on the luminous, fast-fading red component, thus providing a measurement complementary to the rates derived from X--ray and radio observations (Brown et al., 2015), confirming that ~1% of TDEs have on-axis jets. Forthcoming observations of AT2022cmc could resolve the jet through high-resolution imaging, while optical surveys have the potential to unveil a population of cosmological flares of the AT2022cmc class.
Synthesis and characterization of nano-zinc oxide fiber: adsorption of acid blue 92 dye, isotherms, thermodynamics and kinetics
Authors: Qais Deepro Sanjid , Islam Md Nazrul , Othman Mohd. Hafiz Dzarfan , Mahmud H.N.M. Ekramul , Quayum Md. Emran , Islam Md Anwarul , Ismail Iqbal Mohammad Ibrahim , Habib Ahsan
Published: April 2022

Rapid industrialization, particularly textile/dyeing, causes substantial surface water contamination by various dyes and pigments globally. Bangladesh’s export-oriented textile industry has grown dramatically in recent decades, causing significant pollution of nearby water bodies. In this work, nano-zinc oxide was synthesized by a precipitation method with PEG 400 and characterized using SEM, XRD and FTIR techniques and found to be fiber-like, perfectly wurtzite and pure. The nano-ZnO was applied to remove acid blue 92, an ionic dye, from aqueous solution to investigate it as an adsorbent. The effects of pH, adsorbent dosage, AB92 concentration and contact time on adsorption process were investigated for optimization. According to the correlation coefficients ( R 2 ) and the fitting of Redlich-Peterson model, the adsorption process followed Langmuir isotherm at lower temperature and Freundlich isotherm at higher temperature with Temkin model. The adsorption process was found to be endothermic and spontaneous. For adsorption thermodynamics, ΔH was found to be +20.32 kJmol -1 , and ΔG was varied from -1.86 to -3.84 kJmol -1 as the temperature increased from 291 to 317 K. The adsorption kinetics exhibited pseudo second order. The Temkin isotherm and Elovich kinetic model suggested that the process to be chemisorption. The nano-ZnO showed tremendous re-usability as an adsorbent for the removal of AB92. The results are suggesting for designing nano-ZnO-based methods to remove organic pollutants efficiently from industrial effluents for ecological and sustainable development. The mechanisms of nano-ZnO fiber formation and anionic dye adsorption on nano-ZnO are also discussed.
Shore hardness is a more representative measurement of bulk tissue biomechanics than of skin biomechanics.
Authors: Chatzistergos Panagiotis E. , Allan David , Chockalingam Nachiappan , Naemi Roozbeh
Published: April 2022

Shore hardness (SH) is a non-invasive, cost-effective measurement of a tissue’s resistance to indentation that can enhance clinical research and practice in areas like skin pathologies or diabetic foot ulceration. Even though the measurement itself is relatively simple, correctly interpreting its outcome is challenging. To support the effective use of SH this study investigates whether SH should be interpreted as a measurement of skin or of bulk tissue biomechanics. A 3D Finite Element model of the heel and a validated model of a Shore-00 durometer were used to simulate testing for different combinations of stiffness and thickness in the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Twenty scenarios of altered tissue stiffness or thickness relative to the reference condition were investigated. The results of this numerical analysis showed that SH is significantly more sensitive to changes in skin thickness, relatively to subcutaneous tissue, but equally sensitive to changes in the stiffness of either tissue. Indicatively, 25% reduction in skin thickness (0.3mm thickness change) or in subcutaneous tissue thickness (5.9mm thickness change) reduced SH by 7% or increased SH by 2% respectively. At the same time 25% reduction in the initial stiffness of skin (10.1MPa stiffness change) or of subcutaneous tissue (4.1MPa stiffness change) led to 11% or 8% reduction in SH respectively. In the literature, SH is commonly used to study skin biomechanics. However, this analysis indicates that SH quantifies the deformability of bulk tissue, not of skin. Measurements of skin thickness are also necessary for the correct interpretation of SH.
Analysis of physical function, muscle strength and pulmonary function in surgical cancer patients: a prospective cohort study.
Authors: Rocha Lara Patrícia Bastos , Medeiros Fernanda da Rocha , de Oliveira Hilana Nóbrega , Valduga Renato , Junior Gerson Cipriano , Cipriano Graziella França Bernardelli
Published: April 2022

The aim of this study was to investigate mobility, physical functioning, peripheral muscle strength, inspiratory muscle strength and pulmonary function in surgical cancer patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). We conducted a prospective cohort study with 85 patients. Mobility, physical functioning, peripheral muscle strength, inspiratory muscle strength, and pulmonary function were assessed using the following tests: ICU Mobility Scale (IMS); Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment (CPAx); handgrip strength and Medical Research Council Sum-Score (MRC-SS); maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and S-Index; and peak inspiratory flow, respectively. The assessments were undertaken at ICU admission and discharge. The data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk and Wilcoxon tests and Spearman's correlation coefficient. Significant differences in inspiratory muscle strength, CPAx, grip strength, MRC-SS, MIP, S-Index, and peak inspiratory flow scores were observed between ICU admission and discharge. Grip strength showed a moderate correlation with MIP at admission and discharge. The findings also show a moderate correlation between S-Index scores and both MIP and peak inspiratory flow scores at admission and a strong correlation at discharge. Patients showed a gradual improvement in mobility, physical functioning, peripheral and inspiratory muscle strength and inspiratory flow during their stay in the ICU.
Effects of COVID-19 Lockdowns on the development of educational, social and emotional gaps between the children - A Retrospective Chart Review
Authors: ebert tanya
Published: April 2022

Objective
School closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak have affected the world's students physically, socially, and psychologically with an increase in the number of children and adolescent with anxiety, depression and drug abuse.
Methods
This study included 380 children evaluated in the outpatient Child Psychiatric Clinic, and were divided into two groups: before the lockdowns (BLD) (n = 248), from 1.2019 to 2.2020, and during the lockdowns (LD) (n = 132), from 3.2020 to 4.2021.
Results
When comparing the LD to BLD there was increase in suicide attempts (9.8% Vs 2.8%), in the use of psychotherapy (81% Vs. 56%), and a decrease in the diagnoses of behavior disorders (29.5% Vs 44.8%), and ADHD (29.5% vs. 50%) and decrease in stimulants use (22.7% Vs. 38%).
Conclusion
Many children may develop educational, social, emotional and behavioral gaps alongside the loss of skills in dealing with everyday problems due to social isolation during LD, emphasizing the importance of the education system.