bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantifying the food insecurity needs from the price escalations among Mexican households
Authors: Nava Noé J , Wood Benjamin D.K. , Garduño-Rivera Rafael
Published: September 2022

Price shocks create and exacerbate poverty. Being able to promptly predict their effect, instead of waiting for households to fall into poverty, to try to assist them later, may greatly reduce the severity of the shock’s damage. However, understanding shock severity and targeting those households most likely to be disrupted requires a level of data often unavailable in the developing world. This manuscript uses the Mexican National Household Survey of Incomes and Expenditure to quantify the household income needs resulting from the recent food price spikes. We estimate a complete food demand system that accounts for the substitution effects across food items to accurately calculate the cost of a poverty alleviation policy tailored to the recent price escalation. Our findings reveal that the price of food increased such that Mexican households require an additional 9% increase in their food budgets to keep a level of welfare like that of the beginning of the year. Demographic comparisons reveal that households led by women require additional monetary aid regardless of geographic location. We find that the cost of alleviating the food insecurity needs in México caused by the recent price escalation to be $48.6 billion pesos ($2.4 billion dollars).JEL codes: C31, D12, I32, Q18
Trauma-focused Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress in Psychosis: study protocol for the RE.PROCESS randomized controlled trial
Authors: Burger Simone Rosanne , Linden Tineke van der , Hardy Amy , de Bont Paul A. J. , Vleugel Berber van der , Staring Anton B. P. , de Roos Carlijn , Zelst Catherine van , Gottlieb Jennifer D. , Mueser Kim , Minnen Agnes van , de Jongh Ad , Marcelis Machteld , Gaag Mark van der , Berg David van den
Published: September 2022

Introduction: Many people with psychotic disorders experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In recent years, several trauma-focused therapies (TFTs), including cognitive restructuring (CR), prolonged exposure (PE), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) have been studied and found to be safe and effective in reducing PTSD symptoms in individuals with psychosis. However, studies were conducted in different countries, with varying inclusion criteria, therapy duration, control groups, and trial outcomes. RE.PROCESS will be the first study to compare the impact of CR, PE and EMDR with a waiting list control condition within the same context.Methods and analysis: This is the protocol of a pragmatic, single-blind, multicentre, superiority randomized controlled trial, in which CR, PE, and EMDR are compared to a waiting list control condition for TFT (WL) in a naturalistic treatment setting. Inclusion criteria are: Age ≥ 16 years; meeting full DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for PTSD on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), with a total CAPS score ≥ 23; and a psychotic disorder in the schizophrenia spectrum confirmed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5). Participants (N = 200) will be randomly allocated to 16 sessions of one of the TFTs or WL, in addition to receiving treatment as usual (TAU) for psychosis. The primary objective is to compare the effects of CR, PE, and EMDR to WL on researcher-rated severity of PTSD symptoms over time from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Secondary objectives are to examine these effects at the separate time-points (i.e. mid-treatment, post-treatment, and at 6-month follow-up) and to test the effects for clinician-rated presence of PTSD diagnosis, and self-rated severity of (complex) PTSD symptoms.Discussion: This is the first RCT to directly compare the effects of CR, PE and EMDR within the same context to TAU on PTSD symptoms in individuals with psychosis and PTSD. Secondary effects on clinical and functional outcomes will be investigated both directly after therapy and long-term.Trial registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN56150327. Registered 18 June 2019, https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN56150327
A-to-I edited miR-411-5p targets MET and promotes TKI response in NSCLC
Authors: Acunzo Mario , Romano Giulia , Le Patricia , Nigita Giovanni , Saviana Michela , Micalo Lavender , Lovat Francesca , Morales Daniel del Valle , Li Howard , Nana-Sinkam Patrick
Published: September 2022

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a tyrosine kinase receptor (TKR) frequently mutated in lung cancer. Despite initially favorable clinical responses of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring an EGFR mutation to treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), rapid resistance occurs mainly because of genetic alterations, including amplification of the hepatocyte growth factor receptor (MET). RNA post-transcriptional modifications that contribute to aberrant expression of MET in cancer are under-investigated. Among them, adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing regulates RNA sequence, function, degradation, and structure. RNA editing has been observed in microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. High throughput interrogation of the human genome allows for the identification of miRNA editing deregulation in cancer. However, the biological impact of edited miRNAs on lung cancer progression and drug resistance remains largely unknown. A reduction of A-to-I editing in position 5 of miR-411-5p has been identified in several cancers, including NSCLC. In this study, we determined that edited miR-411-5p negatively affects the ERK1/2 pathway, directly targets MET, and promotes EGFR TKI response in NSCLC.
Cold Plasma the Green Alternative for Control of Pulse Beetle (Callosobruchus chinensis L.)
Authors: Pathan Fayaj , Deshmukh Rajendra , Annapure Uday
Published: September 2022

In the current context of the problems created by the use of pesticides, cold plasma treatment found to be the best alternative in the protection of chickpea from pulse beetle invasion during storage up to few years. Cold plasma is proven method of food preservation which control food spoilage at very lower temperatures. The prospective potential of cold plasma treatment to control the pulse beetle Callosobruchus chinensis L. infestation of chickpea for the storage period of about five years after plasma treatment was studied. Chickpea cultivars Vijay and Digvijay were used. Pulse beetle un-infested plasma untreated, pulse beetle un-infested plasma-treated, pulse beetle infested plasma untreated and pulse beetle infested plasma-treated samples studied for comparative pest status after every quarter. Cold plasma treatment at 40, 50, and 60 W power each for 10, 15, 20 min. was applied. The samples were stored in an airtight zip lock pouch under laboratory conditions. Cold plasma was found most effective in controlling the pulse beetle infestation of previously un-infested plasma-treated and previously infested plasma-treated samples when compared to pulse beetle un-infested plasma untreated and pulse beetle infested plasma untreated chickpea samples. Also, the present research aims to put the step to establish the scientific base to study the stored grain pest infestation for such a long period which will be helpful to validate the results obtained during such preliminary short-term studies.
Validation of a Method for Analysis of Sulfa Drugs in Poultry and Beef Samples using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Mou Salma Akter , Islam Rafiza , Shoeb Mohammad , Nahar Nilufar
Published: September 2022

Antibiotics residue of any drug above the allowable limit in poultry and cattle farms reduces food safety and quality. The main aim of this study was to develop and validate a sensitive and reproducible method to assess the amount of residual limit of antibiotics. Poultry meat and beef samples were analyzed for the presence of six sulfa drugs i.e., sulfathiazole (STZ), sulfadiazine (SDZ), sulfamerazine (SMZ), sulfamethazine (SMT), sulfamethoxypyridazine (SMP) and sulfadimethoxine (SMX) by LC-MS/MS coupled with ESI and QQQ mass analyzer. Identification and quantification of drugs were carried out by SCAN and MRM methods. Matrix matched calibration curves were linear with correlation coefficients (r2) 0.997, 0.998, 0.997, 0.993, 0.996 and 0.998 for six drugs, respectively. The method was validated by recovery experiments at 2 spiking levels (5 & 10 ng/mL). Extraction was done by QuEChERS method, cleaned up was carried out with C-18 powder & PSA followed by analysis using LC-MS/MS. Intra- and inter-day experiments were done with desirable accuracy and precision, and recoveries were in the range of 86-104%. Poultry meat (n=30) and beef samples (n=30) were analyzed from thirty different markets, super shops, and residues of six sulfa drugs were found below the detection limit.
Predictors of the Effectiveness of Health Education Intervention and Infant Diagnosis for Sickle Cell Disease Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania: a Quasi Experimental Study
Authors: Tutuba Hilda J. , Jonathan Agnes , Lloyd William , Masamu Upendo , Marco Emanuela , Makani Julie , Ruggajo Paschal , Kidenya Benson R. , Minja Irene K. , Balandya Emmanuel
Published: September 2022

Background: Globally, Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic disease with high childhood mortality. Early identification of babies with SCD through newborn screening (NBS) and linking them to care are among the recommended interventions. The purpose of this study was to assess the predictors of the effectiveness of health education intervention and the uptake of infant diagnosis for sickle cell disease among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania.Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study which involved pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at Buguruni health center, Mbagala hospital and Sinza hospital in Dar Es Salaam. A structured questionnaire was used in data collection. Knowledge on SCD (poor if score <7; good if score 7-10) was assessed for all participants before and after two sessions of health education, and participants in Buruguni and Mbagala were also screened for SCD using Sickle SCAN point-of-care test (BioMedomics Inc, USA). We computed “effectiveness” of health education intervention as the post-intervention minus baseline knowledge score. We used two-sample test of proportions, univariate and multivariate logistic regression to analyze the effectiveness of health education intervention and also predictors of infant diagnosis. Results: Total of 467 pregnant women completed two sessions of health education intervention and 218 were screened for SCD during antenatal visits. The proportion of participants with good knowledge on SCD had significantly increased from 12.4% at baseline to 85.9% following the education intervention. During multivariate analysis, sharing the received education on SCD was an independent predictor of the effectiveness of health education intervention. Likewise, independent predictors of the uptake of infant diagnosis for SCD included maternal occupation, maternal SCD status as well as sharing the received education on SCD.Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that maternal health education and maternal screening for SCD are feasible and effective interventions in raising awareness and improving the uptake of infant diagnosis for SCD. These interventions are strongly recommended to be included in the comprehensive care package for pregnant women attending antenatal clinics, particularly in areas with a high burden of SCD.
Coping with singleness
Authors: Shahrak Shakiba Pourasad , Brand Serge , Taghizadeh Ziba
Published: September 2022

Background: The number of never-married women is increasing worldwide. According to a recent census (2016) this trend is also apparent in Iran. The aim of the present study was to investigate how never-married Iranian women to cope with their single status.Methods: The present study was qualitative in nature. Purposeful sampling with maximum variation was used to select 18 never-married women aged over 35. Data were analyzed on the basis of conventional content analysis and inductive reasoning. Results: 154 codes, nine subcategories, three categories, and one theme were extracted. The three categories were: (1) responding to sexual needs (sub-categories: having sex; masturbation; sexual abstinence); (2) responding to emotional needs (sub-categories: getting used to being alone; living with family; closer relationship with good friends); (3) lifestyle changes (subcategories: accepting God's destiny; striving for beauty and health; becoming absorbed in work and education).Conclusions: Results showed that never-married women aged over 35 tried to adapt to sexual and emotional needs and lifestyle changes as proxies of singleness in various ways. It appears that these women adopted several strategies to cope with the lack of a spouse, children, or family life, these normally being developmental tasks characteristic of early adulthood.
Efficient Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation of Aloe vera
Authors: Jangra Alka , Chaturvedi Siddhant , Sharma Garima , Sihag Sonia , Tiwari Siddharth , Chhokar Vinod
Published: September 2022

Genetic transformation of plants has emerged as a core research tool for functional characterization of genes and cultivar improvement in the field of plant biology. Effectually high transformation efficiency is a prerequisite for accomplishing the stated targets. Aloe vera, a tropical cactus plant in distinction to the family Liliaceae, has seized a long history of secular acceptance as a therapeutic agent and is reasonably the most popular herbal remedy these days. However, the genetic transformation of Aloe vera is relatively low and seldom reported formerly. This study aims to optimize Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in Aloe vera by refining several parameters like explant selection, the extent of explant injury during infection, Agrobacterium concentration, co-cultivation pH, and duration and desiccation of plant tissue to improve the infection efficiency. The results showed that an infection efficiency of about 92% was attained by suspending the Agrobacterium cells at a concentration of OD600: 0.4 in co-cultivation media at pH-5.6 to infect the shoot base of aloe by desiccation followed by 3 days of co-cultivation. Desiccation during infection had proved to enhance T-DNA delivery, whereas a higher extent of explant injury was found to curtail the infection efficiency. Thereupon, GUS Histochemical assay, PCR analysis, and Southern blotting were used to substantiate the authentication of positive transgenic plants and analyze the copy number of the nptII gene in the Aloe vera genome. Transformation efficiency of over 7% was obtained, which is higher than the previous reports. This study bestows an improved Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol based on desiccation in Aloe vera, which might help in facilitating various gene expression studies and regulation in the aloe plant, eventually allowing the modification of aloe species in an effective medicinal manner.
A Case Study of a School Child with Emotional and Behavior Problems treated using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Authors: Sana Fatima , Subhan Sara
Published: September 2022

Feeling is something that makes one’s thought patterns. If the feelings are like I am not good enough, I am not perfect, and I am tired of feeling inadequate, then it’s time to think why someone is treating oneself like substandard and finds a way to modify this unconstructive thinking. And for modification of thinking, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been effectively used by revolving around A-B-A design model. The current case study of N.P. 12 years old girl with unconstructive thought patterns (such as felt inferior among class fellows and aggravated of sarcastic comments of class teacher). Counselling therapy consisted of 8 sessions. Psychological Assessment revealed that revealed that the academic performance of the child was moderate, severe emotional and behavior problems as well as overall counselling and interventional plan revealed that reduction in the intensity of emotional and behavioral symptoms throughout the course of counselling therapy. This case study exhibits the effectiveness of CBT for individual treatment of unconstructive thought patterns.
Electric field enhancement of coupled Plasmonic nanostructure for optical amplification
Authors: Kim Jun Hyun , Lee Ja Yeon , Kim Eung Soo , Jeong Myung Yung
Published: September 2022

In this paper, proposed plasmonic nanostructure is designed to increase the spatial resolution of optical imaging system by amplifying a specific signal while producing a plasmonic effect via a nanoantenna and grating nanostructure. We utilized antenna theory and grating structure to enable the surface plasmon effect and coupling electric field to be focused center of unit cell and enhance the optical signal of 785 nm wavelength. We confirmed that a proposed plasmonic nanostructure can be used to enhance electric fields in specific angle of incident light, 30° and attain a far-field gain of 1137, enabling a more finely resolved optical signal to be obtained. In experiment, the proposed plasmonic nanostructure was confirmed to enhance optical signal of laser by 2.24 times and also confirmed enhancing electric field using AFM. Moreover, when applied in functional near-infrared spectroscopy and fluorescence imaging systems, it was confirmed that an indistinguishable signal can be distinguished by amplifying the optical signal 76 times, and a specific wavelength can also be enhanced. Accordingly, the incorporation of these nanostructures should increase the utility of the collected data and enhance optical signals for applications in optics, bioimaging, and biology.
Angiogenesis-Related Gene in Cervical Cancer Identifies Tumor Microenvironment and Expression Signatures Predicting Prognosis
Authors: Li Zixin , Zhang Ying , Pei Jiaqiao , Xu Zhe , Chen Huixin , Huang Yingying
Published: September 2022

Background: The prognosis for advanced and recurrent metastatic cervical cancer is poor. Angiogenesis plays a vital role in tumor development and the tumor microenvironment (TME).Methods: We performed a consensus clustering analysis of RNA-seq data based on ARG for CESC patients downloaded from TCGA. Then we analyzed the characteristics, prognosis, and immune infiltration status among the subtypes. Then we constructed predictive models and ARGscore. And we explored the relationship between ARG scores and prognosis, TME, and immunotherapy correlation.Results: We found that most ARG expression was upregulated in CESC compared to normal samples and clarified the mutation of ARG in CESC. We divided the 290 CESC patients into 2 ARG clusters by consensus clustering. We observed significant differences in their survival and immune infiltration status. Subsequently, ARGscore that can predict prognosis was established. We found that the high-risk group predicted a poorer prognosis. We have verified that ARG scores have good accuracy. At the same time, we confirmed that ARG scores were closely related to TME. A reliable nomogram was developed to facilitate the clinical competence of ARG scores. In addition, we explored the relationship between ARG scores and TMB and found no correlation. However, the prognosis of the high-TMB group was better than that of the low-TMB group, and the ARGscore could offset the advantage. The TIDE score validated the possibility that ARG scores predict immunotherapy.Conclusion: With this study, we obtained an ARG score based on the ARG established to assess the TME status and prognostic risk of patients and provide a basis for immunotherapy.
Enhancing Medical Students’ confidence and performance in Integrated Structured Clinical Examinations (ISCE) through a novel near-peer, mixed model approach during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Baskaran Ravanth , Mukhopadhyay Srinjay , Ganesananthan Sashiananthan , Gamage Movin Peramuna , Dalavaye Nishaanth , Ng Vincent , Bennett Richard , Sriniva Sripradha , Sureshkumarnair Parvathy , Spencer Robert , Bhatt Harsh , Manivannan Susruta , Zaben Malik
Published: September 2022

BackgroundDue to the reduced clinical exposure because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed a mentorship scheme to help medical students with their Integrated Structured Clinical Examinations (ISCEs) by providing a combination of near-peer mentorship together with lecture-based teaching on a weekly basis for a 12-week period. Students attended a specialty-focused lecture every Tuesday followed by a small group teaching session organised by their tutor.MethodsStudents' perceptions of ISCEs (confidence, anxiety, and overall performance) were evaluated using 5-point Likert scales while their knowledge of the specialty was assessed using 10 single best answer questions which were distributed via Google® forms at the start and end of each week. In addition, we assessed tutor perceptions of our virtual “OSCEazy” programme.Results72 tutees were enrolled in the programme (mean age: 24.4, female: 77.8%). 88.9% of the participants had not attended any online ISCE teaching prior to this. They preferred in-person ISCE teaching as compared to virtual sessions [median 4.5 (IQR 4-5) vs 3 (IQR 3-4), p<0.0001), respectively]. There was a significant overall increase in knowledge when comparing pre-session and post-session performance [mean 53.7% vs 70.7%, p<0.0001)]. There was a significant increase in student confidence [Confidence: median 3 (IQR:3-4) vs 4 (IQR 3-4), p<0.0001] while no change was seen in the anxiety and perception of their overall performance in an ISCE. [Anxiety: median 3 (IQR 2-4) vs 3 (IQR 3-4), p=0.37, Performance: median 3 (IQR 3-4) vs median 3 (IQR 3-4), p<0.0001]. The tutors reported an increase in their confidence in teaching ISCEs online [median 3 (IQR 2-3.25) vs median 4 (IQR 4-5), p<0.0001)].ConclusionOnline near-peer teaching increases the confidence of both tutees and tutors involved while enhancing the tutees’ knowledge of the specialty. Thus, medical schools should incorporate near-peer teaching in their curriculum to enhance the student learning experience.
Short and Long-Term Follow-Up and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Celiac Disease in a Large Private Practice Setting
Authors: Khurana Akash , Leffler Daniel A. , Gomez Kayeromi , Thukral Chandrashekhar
Published: September 2022

Background
Celiac disease (CD) is caused by an immune response to gluten and treatment is adherence to a gluten-free diet. Guidelines from studies in large academic settings recommend registered dietitian (RD) referrals at time of diagnosis and periodic testing for micronutrient deficiencies. There is limited data to guide follow-up parameters in a large, community-based practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate guideline adherence in this setting.
Methods
This retrospective study assessed CD care based on follow-up rates, micronutrient testing, symptoms, and serology results in cohorts with and without RD referrals. Patients in this study are followed at Rockford Gastroenterology Associates (RGA): a large, private GI practice. Patients were included if they had a diagnosis from 1/2014 through 12/2018, based on positive serology and/or duodenal biopsy. Patient data was collected by chart review and analyzed through Microsoft Excel. Fisher’s exact and Chi-square tests were used for the statistical analysis.
Results
A cohort of 126 patients met inclusion criteria. 69.8% had a RD referral. 65.9% had at least one lab test order for any of the 6 micronutrients. Of 63 patients tested for iron, 11 were iron deficient (8 with RD referral). Of 64 patients tested for vitamin D, 21 were deficient (17 with referral). 80.2% attended at least one follow-up appointment, but 34.9% had only one follow-up visit over a mean follow up duration of 5.82 months. 79 patients had follow-up data for symptoms or serology and were separated into 4 categories (with vs without RD referral): 1) asymptomatic and negative serology (32% vs 26%), 2) symptomatic and negative serology (28% vs 16%), 3) asymptomatic and positive serology (27% vs 32%), 4) symptomatic and positive serology (13% vs 26%). Category 1 yielded a fisher exact test value of 2.62 (p = .466).
Conclusions
RD referral, micronutrient testing, and close follow-up are important parameters that affect outcomes in patients with CD. Rates for dietitian referral, some micronutrient testing and follow-up visits were higher than 50%, though results from this study were not statistically significant. Further standardization of follow-up testing and monitoring for CD will help minimize discrepancies between community-based and large, academic GI practices.
Factors influencing the assembly of understory woody communities in Pinus massoniana plantations in Guangxi, China
Authors: Zhang Hui , Jian Rui , Ma Jiangming , Pan Xiaomei , Huang Liuxin , Bai Kundong , Mo Yanhua , Yang Zhangqi
Published: September 2022

The study of community assembly, or the non-random process of species coming together, can reveal mechanisms that allow species to coexist and maintain their diversity. To investigate the community-building mechanisms behind the assembly of woody plant communities in Pinus massoniana plantations, we found plantations existing in three different climates (northern tropic, central subtropic, and southern subtropic) and at three different successional stages (young, middle-aged, and old-growth) in Guangxi, China. Using field community surveys and sampling, we collected, named, and analyzed a variety of woody plant species, and measured their functional using leaf thickness (LT), tissue density (LTD), area (LA), specific area (SLA), dry matter content (LDMC), nitrogen content per unit mass (LNCmass), potassium content per unit mass (LKCmass), and several other indicators. Using these communities’ functional traits and computer models that generated their likely phylogeny, we were able to elucidate what forces may have driven the development of community-building mechanisms communities in their various climates and successional stages. We found: 1) The functional traits LT, LTD, SLA, LDMC, LNCmass, and LKCmass were likely phylogenetically conserved, while the other traits we measured likely were not. 2) When we based communities’ structures on their functional traits, they were generally consistent their phylogenetic structure in southern and central subtropical plantations, middle-aged plantations in northern tropics and central subtropics, and old-growth plantations in northern tropics. In these communities, their assembly was driven by habitat filtering. 3) Communities in middle-aged and old-growth plantations in southern subtropical Guangxi had functional traits inconsistent with their phylogeny: while their functional traits indicated a tendency to aggregate, their phylogeny indicated a shift from aggregation to dispersion. In these communities, their assembly was driven by habitat filtering and similarity limitation. This information can then be used to enhance the function of ecosystem services and protect biodiversity of communities in Pinus massoniana plantations through tropic and subtropic China.
ATF3 Preserves Skeletal Muscle Stem Cell Quiescence by Preventing Precocious Activation
Authors: Zhang Suyang , Huang Yile , Yang Feng , He Liangqiang , Li Yuying , Wan Yi Ching Esther , Ding Yingzhe , Chan Kui ming , Xie Ting , Sun Hao , Wang Huating
Published: September 2022

Skeletal muscle stem cells (also called satellite cells, SCs) are important for maintaining muscle tissue homeostasis and damage-induced regeneration. However, it remains poorly understood how the SC quiescence is preserved. Here we report that AP-1 family member ATF3 preserves the SC quiescence by preventing their premature activation. Atf3 is rapidly and transiently induced in SCs upon activation. Short-term deletion of Atf3 in SCs accelerates acute injury-induced regeneration, and however, its long-term deletion exhausts the SC pool and thus impairs muscle regeneration. The Atf3 loss also provokes SC activation during voluntary exercise and enhances SC activation during resistance exercise. Mechanistically, ATF3 directly activates the transcription of Histone 2B genes, which reduction accelerates nucleosome displacement and gene transcription required for SC activation. Finally, the ATF3-dependent H2B expression also prevents genome instability and replicative senescence in SCs. Therefore, this study has revealed a novel mechanism for preserving the SC population by actively suppressing precocious activation, in which ATF3 is a key regulator.
Covid Face Mask Detection Using Neural Networks
Authors: Yadav Rajaram , Gautam Safal , Das Rahul Ratna
Published: September 2022

It has often been attributed that face masks can prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many scientists argue that it prevents virus-carrying droplets from reaching other hosts (people) while coughing and sneezing. This helps break the chain of spread. However, people do not like to cover their face with a proper face mask and some of them do not know how to wear it properly. Checking it manually for a large group of people, especially at a crowded place like a train station, theater, classroom or an airport, can be time-consuming and expensive. Also, people can be biased and gullible. Therefore, an automated, accurate and reliable system is required for the task. To train the system adequately, lots of data is required: images. The system should recognize if a person is not wearing a face mask at all, wearing it improperly or if the one is wearing it properly. In this paper, we are using MobileNetv2, which is a convolutional neural network (CNN) based architecture, to build such a face mask detection/recognition model. The developed model can classify people who are wearing masks, not properly wearing and not wearing it with an accuracy of 97.25 percent.
Genetic Variation and Phylogenetic relationships of Commercial Pigs and Indigenous Pigs in Southwestern Nigeria
Authors: Oluwole Olufunke Oliuwakemi , Edward Okoth , Adeola Charles A. , Ogugo Moses
Published: September 2022

This study examined genetic variations among indigenous and commercial pigs in Southwestern Nigeria. Sixty (60) individuals including Nigerian indigenous pigs (NIP) (n = 25), exotic (n = 25), and crosses between the exotic pigs (n = 10) were genotyped based on eight microsatellite markers. The mean number of alleles (Na) observed in the overall population of the three populations was 3.63 ± 0.36. Allele frequency ranged from 0.00 to 1.00 from the 39 alleles obtained within the population. Other allele frequency results obtained from the interpretation for the microsatellite loci across the three populations were polymorphic except for S0101 that was monomorphic. The mean number of effective allele (Ne) was 2.22 ± 0.17. The means obtained in this study for heterozygosities (Ho and He) were 0.529 and 0.501 respectively and the F-statistics showed the reduction in heterozygosity at various loci across the population studied i.e FIS and FIT. The mean values for FIS and FIT were − 0.06 ± 0.08 and − 0.02 ± 0.08, respectively. The mean level of gene flow (Nm) among the population was estimated to be 9.18 ± 3.59. The pairwise FST values among the three populations ranged from 0.02 to 0.04. The very low genetic differentiation between NIP and other populations reflects high gene flow. Molecular variance analysis revealed that there were 2% variance among the populations, 48% among the individual and 51% within the populations, with estimated variance of 0.04, 1.24 and 1.31 respectively. The phylogenetic tree separated the NIP from the remaining two populations while the exotic and the crosses clustered closely. This study revealed that genomes of pure indigenous pigs in Southwestern Nigeria are threatened by genetic erosion and recommend quick actions for sustainable conservation strategies.
Muscle Synergies In Joystick Manipulate Task : Evaluation Of Inter-Group Variability
Authors: Cai Liming , Yan Shuhao , Zhu Jun , Chen Li , Ma Xin
Published: September 2022

Background: Recently, The muscle synergy extractioned from surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals during exercise has become a common method for evaluating motor control strategies. Many studies have described the synergy of the upper extremity in various stretch and reach tasks, but few of them have analyzed the relationship between task performance together and muscle synergy. The aim of this study was to explore the activation and movement patterns of human muscles and provide theoretical support for sports science and scientific training methods .Method: Three control groups were selected: group A (professional pilot), group B (with Short flight experience) and group C (without flight experience) . All subjects perfomed the the isotonic task with the same load , the EMG and acceleration information of 10 muscles of the upper limbs were recorded. The muscle synergy effect was extracted, and the correlation between muscle synergy similarity and manipulation performance was studied.Results: Experiments and data show that:1.the structure of muscle synergy from expert group is not statistically different from that of the other two groups.2, the operation performance of the second expert group is significantly different from that of the other two groups. 3.The correlation between the muscle coordination and the operation performance of expert group is more obvious than that of the other two groups.Discussion: These findings suggest that long-term trainning can improve the performance of manipulation, although they will not alter the structure of muscle synergy, but will change the similarity of muscle synergy. The similarity of muscle synergy is negatively correlated with the error energy of operation.
Comparison of THD with different modulation approaches and Loss Analysis in 7 Switch ASCHB15-MLI using Fluke-434 PQ Analyzer
Authors: Sathyanathan P.
Published: September 2022

Multilevel inverter (MLI) has drawn significant interest from both academics and industrial applications. This paper proposes an asymmetric type seven switch and three unequal dc source topologies with a fifteen-level staircase / stepped output. Developing a stepped sinusoidal waveform output while reducing switch count and switch stress remains a challenge in the Multilevel Inverter research area. The main focus is to reduce THD in the o/p voltage, which reduces filter requirement and increases efficiency. Different Pulse Width Modulation Strategies are investigated for the control of pulses in switching. To validate the results, simulations in MATLAB and hardware implementations of the proposed fifteen-level inverter topology under load conditions are presented.
Personality-dependent nest site selection and nest success during incubation in a wild population of chestnut thrush Turdus rubrocanus
Authors: Lou Yingqiang , Zhao Qingshan , Hu Yunbiao , Chen Lijun , Liu Pengfei , Fang Yun , Lloyd Huw , Sun Yuehua
Published: September 2022

Within the same species population, individuals with different personality traits may choose different habitats, which could result in different reproductive fitness. In birds, little is known about how individuals respond to nest site selection basing on their personality traits. Here, we address this knowledge gap and investigate whether an individual’s personality (activity and breathing rate) can affect patterns of nest site selection at different spatial scales in a wild population of chestnut thrush (Turdus rubrocanus) and determine whether nest site characteristics and female personality traits affect clutch size and nest success during incubation. We found that neither activity nor breathing rate was associated with large-scale nesting habitat variables. At the fine-scale level, more active females chose nest sites with greater nest lateral concealment, whereas females with lower breathing rate chose nest sites with lower concealment above the nest. Females with higher breathing rates laid smaller clutch sizes than individuals with lower breathing rate. Nests with greater vegetation concealment above nests and females with lower breathing rate had higher nest success during incubation. This work highlights the importance of understanding the relationships between personality and nest site selection in birds, and the role of female personality traits in reproductive success.
Construction of a macula-specific lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network in age- related macular degeneration patients
Authors: Chen Sainan , Chen Yuqing , Yue Zifan , Diao Jiale , Tong Fei , Wei Ruili
Published: September 2022

Background:Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the primary cause of visual impairment among the elderly. It mainly affects the macular region of the fundus oculi. Studies have shown that macular and extramacular region's gene expression differs considerably. This may be the reason for regional specificity and different phenotypic outcomes of the AMD. The non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) is a RNAs that cannot encode proteins in the human transcribed genome. However, they are involved in many life events as regulatory molecules. NcRNAs were identified to play a vital role in AMD. But the molecular mechanism underlying ncRNAs in AMD remains unclear. In the current study, we explored the differences in the macular and extramacular regions of the retina gene expression in AMD patients. We investigated the function of ncRNAs by constructing the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network.Results:A total of 4491 DE-mRNAs and 18 DE-lncRNAs were discovered in the macular and the retina region of the retina of AMD patients. In the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, 18 lncRNAs, 41 miRNAs, and 404 mRNAs were established through target gene prediction. Co-expression analysis showed that 51 pairs of lncRNAs and mRNAs in the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network had a positive co-expression. GO and KEGG pathway analysis indicated that mRNAs involved in the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network were mainly enriched in the apoptotic signaling pathway, negative regulation of nitrogen compound metabolic process, cellular response to chemical stimulus, and MAPK signaling pathway, endocytosis, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, cellular senescence, hepatitis, axon guidance, microRNAs in cancer, mTOR signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, and longevity regulating pathway. In addition, DO enrichment indicated that 18 DE-lncRNAs were enriched in 266 diseases.Conclusions:In this study, we constructed the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network consisting of 18 lncRNAs, 41 miRNAs, and 404 mRNAs. In addition, 51 pairs of lncRNAs and mRNAs presented a positive co-expression relationship.
An analysis of prevalence, disability-adjusted life years of asthma in China: results from the GBD Study 2019 of the G20
Authors: Liu Mingtao , Gan Hui , Lin Yilu , Lin Runpei , Xue Mingshan , Zhang Teng , Cheng Zhangkai J. , Sun Baoqing
Published: September 2022

Background The credible materials about the burden of asthma in China compared to the others in the Group of Twenty (G20) remains unavailable. Methods Following the popular analysis strategy used in the Global Burden of Disease Study, the age-, sex-, country-specific prevalence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of asthma in China were analyzed. Meanwhile, the comparison in trends between China and other countries in the G20 was also evaluated. Results In 2019, asthma was the 8th leading cause of the DALYs burden of 369 diseases in China. From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized prevalence and DALYs rates of asthma in China decreased by 14% and 51%, respectively, and the decline rate of DALYs was much higher than the global average (-51%: -43%). It is worth noting that the overall population age-standardized DALYs rate of asthma in China was the lowest in the G20 during 2019 (102.81, 95%UI: (72.30,147.42)/100,000). Moreover, the age-standardized asthma prevalence rate peak in both childhood (178.14, 95%UI: (90.50, 329.01)/100,000) and the elderly (541.80, 95%UI: (397.79, 679.92)/100,000), with subjects in the 5–9 years old interval being a constant focus of our attention. Conclusions The disease burden of asthma varied greatly by gender and age over the past 30 years. In contrast to increasing burden in most other G20 countries, the age-standardized prevalence rate of asthma shows a significant decreasing trend in China, however, the age-standardized DALYs rate shows a fluctuating change, and even shows a rebound trend in recent years.
Impact of small for gestational age infants by updated local curve on neonatal mortality in Indonesia
Authors: Haksari Ekawaty L. , Hakimi Mohammad , Ismail Djauhar
Published: September 2022

ObjectivesTo study early neonatal and neonatal mortality of small for gestational age (SGA) infants using the updated newborn curveMethodsA retrospective cohort study on all live births was conducted in Sleman and Sardjito hospital, Yogyakarta. Analysis was made with Kaplan-Meier, multivariate with Cox Hazard, and Population Attributable Risk (PAR). ResultThere were 35,649 live births eligible for the study. Early neonatal death by gestational age using the analysis of Kaplan Meier revealed the highest cumulative mortality incident (CMI) in preterm SGA. Respiratory distress was the highest risk with Hazard ratio (HR) 9.46, followed by asphyxia with HR 5.08, mother’s death with HR 2.27, extra-health facility with HR 1.97, Symmetrical SGA with HR 1.97, preterm appropriate gestational age (AGA) with HR 1.75, low birth weight (LBW) with HR 1.64, primary health facility with HR 1.33 and boys with HR 1.16 consecutively. Similar result was found in the neonatal mortality.Estimated highest PAR of early neonatal mortality in LBW SGA was 11.98, while LBW AGA was 6.07, whereas by gestational age the highest was in gestational age <28 weeks with PAR 25.13, followed by premature babies whose value decreased as their the gestational age increased. Similar result was identified in neonatal mortalityConclusionLocal updated newborn curve based on gestational age of early neonatal and neonatal mortality showed the highest CMI in preterm SGA. Estimated highest PAR in early neonatal and neonatal mortality was found in LBW SGA and preterm infants.
A nomogram for predicting the risk of pulmonary fungal infection for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis
Authors: Yan Hongxuan , Guo Li , Pang Yu , Liu Fangchao , Liu Tianhui , Gao Mengqiu
Published: September 2022

Background: Pulmonary fungal infection is one of the common complications in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB).The aim of this study was to construct a nomogram to predict the risk of pulmonary fungal infection in patients with PTB.Methods: The present case control study retrospectively collected materials of 286 patients affected by PTB and received treatment from 2016.12.6-2021.12.6, in Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University. As control subjects, patients with sex and address corresponding to those of the case subjects were included in the study at a proportion of 1 controls for every case subject. These 286 patients were randomly divided into a training set and an internal validation set at a ratio of 3:1.Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed in the training set, and a nomogram was developed using selected predictors. Then a bootstrapping procedure was used for internal validation.Results: Seven variables [illness course, pulmonary avitation, advanced antibiotics were used for at lest 1 week, chemotherapy or immunosuppressants, surgery, bacterial infection in the lungs, hypoproteinemia] were finally validated and used to develop a nomogram. The nomogram showed good discrimination capability for both training set[area under the curve (AUC) =0.860, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.811–0.909] and internal validation set(AUC =0.884, 95% CI = 0.799–0.970). Its calibration curves also showed that the probabilities as predicted by the nomogram displayed a satisfied consistence with the actual probability for both training set and internal validation set.Conclusions: We developed a nomogram that can predict the risk of pulmonary fungal infection in patients with PTB. It showed potential clinical utility.
Internal states as a source of subject-dependent movement variability and their representation by large-scale networks
Authors: Breault Macauley , Sacre Pierre , Fitzgerald Zachary , Gale John , Cullen Kathleen , Gonzalez-Martinez Jorge , Sarma Sridevi
Published: September 2022

A human's ability to adapt and learn relies on reflecting on past performance. Such reflections form latent factors called internal states that induce variability of movement and behavior to improve performance. Internal states are critical for survival, yet their temporal dynamics and neural substrates are less understood. Here, we link internal states with motor performance and neural activity using state-space models and local field potentials captured from depth electrodes in over 100 brain regions. Ten human subjects performed a goal-directed center-out reaching task with perturbations applied to random trials, causing subjects to fail goals and reflect on their performance. Using computational methods, we identified two internal states, indicating that subjects kept track of past errors and perturbations, that predicted variability in reaction times and speed errors. These states granted access to latent information indicative of how subjects strategize learning from trial history, impacting their overall performance. We further found that large-scale brain networks differentially encoded these internal states. The dorsal attention network encoded past errors in frequencies above 100 Hz, suggesting a role in modulating attention based on tracking recent performance in working memory. The default network encoded past perturbations in frequencies below 15 Hz, suggesting a role in achieving robust performance in an uncertain environment. Moreover, these networks more strongly encoded internal states and were more functionally connected in higher performing subjects, whose learning strategy was to respond by countering with behavior that opposed accumulating error. Taken together, our findings suggest large-scale brain networks as a neural basis of strategy. These networks regulate movement variability, through internal states, to improve motor performance.
Second and Third Line Treatment Strategies in Multiple Myeloma: a Referral-Center Experience
Authors: Goldman-Mazur Sarah , Visram Alissa , Rajkumar S , Kapoor Prashant , Dispenzieri Angela , Lacy Martha , Gertz Morie , Buadi Francis , HAYMAN Suzanne , Dingli David , Kourelis Taxiarchis , Gonsalves Wilson , Warsame Rahma , Muchtar Eli , Leung Nelson , KYLE Robert , Kumar Shaji
Published: September 2022

The treatment landscape for relapsed multiple myeloma (MM) has increased. In this study we aimed to characterize 2nd (n = 1439) and 3rd (n = 1104) line regimens and compare the results between subgroups based on the year of treatment initiation (2nd line: 2003–2008, 2009–2015, 2016–2021; 3rd line: 2004–2009, 2010–2015, and 2016–2021). In both 2nd and 3rd line we observed increasing use of novel agents (from 78–95% and from 77–95%, respectively) and triplet regimens (from 15–69% and from 21–71%, respectively). Most frequently used regimens in the last studied periods included lenalidomide-dexamethasone (RD; 14%), carfilzomib-RD (12%) and daratumumab-RD (10%) for 2nd line, and daratumumab-pomalidomide-dexamethasone (11%) and daratumumab-RD (10%) for 3rd line. Median time to next treatment from 2nd line therapy has improved from 10.4 months (95% CI 8.4–12.4) to 16.6 months (95% CI 13.3–20.3; p < 0.001). The median overall survival from 1st relapse increased from 30.9 months (95% CI 26.8–183.0) to 65.8 months (95% CI 50.7–72.8; p < 0.001). Over the last two decades more patients were treated with newer agents and triplets for relapsed MM. The landscape of regimens has become more diverse, and the survival after 1st relapse is continually improving.