bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of CYP24A1 with survival and drug resistance in clinical cancer patients: a meta-analysis
Authors: Zeng Rui , Li Hua , Lee Sau Har , Jiang Rilei , Jia Lingyan , Zhang Yujia , Hu Xudong , Ye Tingjie , Wang Xiaoling , Yan Xiaofeng , Lu Yanlin , Sun Zhumei , Xu Jiatuo , Xu Wei
Published: June 2022

BackgroundAcquired chemo-drug resistance constantly led to the failure of chemotherapy for malignant cancers, consequently causing cancer relapse. Hence, identifying the biomarker of drug resistance in cancer is vital to improve the treatment efficacy. The clinical prognostic value of CYP24A1 remains conclusive, we aim to evaluate the association between CYP24A1 and the drug resistance in cancer patients through a meta-analysis approach. MethodRelevant studies detecting the expression or SNP of CYP24A1 in cancer patients up till May 2022 were systematically searched in four common scientific databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library and ISI Web of Science. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) indicating the ratio of hazard rate of survival time between CYP24A1high population vs CYP24A1low population were calculated. The pooled HRs and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to explore the association between CYP24A1’s expression or SNP with survival, metastasis, recurrence, and drug resistance in cancer patients. ResultFifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis after an initial screening according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. There was a total of 3784 patients pooled from all the included studies. Results obtained indicated that high expression or SNP of CYP24A1 was significantly correlated with shorter survival time with pooled HRs (95% CI) of 1.21 (1.12, 1.31), metastasis with pooled ORs (95% CI) of 1.81 (1.11, 2.96), recurrence with pooled ORs (95% CI) of 2.14 (1.45, 3.18) and drug resistance with pooled HRs (95% CI) of 1.42 (1.17, 1.68). In the subgroup analysis, cancer type, treatment, and detection approach for CYP24A1 did not affect the significance of the association between CYP24A1 expression and poor prognosis. ConclusionFindings from our meta-analysis demonstrated that CYP24A1’s expression or SNP was correlated with cancer progression and drug resistance. Therefore, CYP24A1 could potentially be used as a molecular marker for cancer resistance.
The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in East and Southeast Asia: Evidence Before and After 2009 Global Financial Crisis
Authors: Wang Yi-Chia
Published: June 2022

This study quantifies the direct and spillover effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on labor productivity in 17 East and Southeast Asian economies during the period 1980 to 2019. The growth accounting regressions used herein reveal the following findings in host economies over the period. First, the stocks of FDI and physical capital both have direct, significant, and positive contributions to labor productivity, and they are mutually substitutable in the production process. Second, human capital stock is not found to be productive, with and without its interactions with FDI stock. Third, the global financial crisis in 2009 has led to serious structural changes. Before the end of 2009, FDI stock had positive but minor significant effects on labor productivity, and physical capital stock is a dominant factor input in the production process. After 2009, although the contribution of physical capital stock to labor productivity increased three times, its dominance has been replaced by FDI stock since its output share becomes significant and greater than that of physical capital stock. In addition, the mutual substitutability between stocks of FDI and physical capital has grown by 16 times, showing an increasing level of competitiveness between FDI and domestic investment.
EAKT: Embedding Cognitive Framework with Attention for Interpretable Knowledge Tracing
Authors: Pu Yanjun , Wu Wenjun , Peng Tianhao , Liu Fang , Liang Yu , Yu Xin , Chen Ruibo , Feng Pu
Published: June 2022

Recently, deep neural network-based cognitive models such as deep knowledge tracing have been introduced into the field of learning analytics and educational data mining. Despite an accurate predictive performance of such models, it is challenging to interpret their behaviors and obtain an intuitive insight into latent student learning status. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a new learner modeling framework named the EAKT, which embeds a structured cognitive model into a transformer. In this way, the EKAT not only can achieve an excellent prediction result of learning outcome but also can depict students’ knowledge state on a multi-dimensional knowledge component(KC) level. By performing the fine-grained analysis of the student learning process, the proposed framework provides better explanatory learner models for designing and implementing intelligent tutoring systems. The proposed EAKT is verified by experiments. The experimental results show that the EAKT can accurately trace changes in the students’ knowledge state and predict the future performance of student learning.
Predicting overall survival in diffuse glioma from the presurgical connectome
Authors: Kesler Shelli R , Harrison Rebecca A , Rao Vikram , Dyson Hannah , Petersen Melissa , Prinsloo Sarah
Published: June 2022

Diffuse gliomas are incurable brain tumors, yet there is significant heterogeneity in patient survival. Advanced computational techniques such as radiomics show potential for presurgical prediction of survival and other outcomes from neuroimaging. However, these techniques ignore non-lesioned brain features that could be essential for improving prediction accuracy. Whole-brain network (connectome) features were retrospectively identified from 305 adult patients diagnosed with diffuse glioma. These features were entered into a Cox proportional hazards model to predict overall survival with 10-folds cross-validation. The mean time-dependent area under the curve (AUC) of the connectome model was compared with the mean AUCs of clinical and radiomic models using a pairwise t-test with Bonferroni correction. One clinical model included only features that are known presurgery (clinical) and another included an advantaged set of features that are not typically known presurgery (clinical+). The median survival time for all patients was 134.2 months. The connectome model (AUC 0.88 +/- 0.01) demonstrated superior performance (P < 0.001, corrected) compared to the clinical (AUC 0.61 +/- 0.02), clinical+ (AUC 0.79 +/- 0.01) and radiomic models (AUC 0.75 +/- 0.02). These findings indicate that the connectome is a feasible and reliable early biomarker for predicting survival in patients with diffuse glioma. Connectome models could be valuable tools for precision medicine by informing patient risk stratification and treatment decision-making.
Visual Concept of Game Heroic Education Based on Player-Centered Design
Authors: Mu'minin Amirul , Mutiaz Intan Rizky
Published: June 2022

A national hero represents a nation as a role model with heroic values that need to be introduced to Z-generation as students. The case study of this research is Himayatuddin Muhammad Saidi as, the 185th national hero from Indonesia, November 2019. The design process is carried out using the Player-Centered Design method, which is explained in terms of Mission Understanding Human Motivation, Implementing Game Mechanics, Manage, and Measure in usability testing. The visual concept of the game is sourced from Gen-Z responses by 73 respondents by assessing four-game designs, which ANOVA analyzed. The dominant preference is the strategy game genre with an average score (71.25), Action (69.94), RPG (67.09), and Adventure (63.87). Through research and experimentation, it was found that ten components make up a heroic game. Then usability testing was carried out with measurement results using a Likert scale and Nielsen's model by 25 students. The heroic game design has an average response of 4.45, i.e., 89% success, ready to be used by Gen-Z in Indonesia and on the International scale.
Ethnic variation in the onset age of menopause and its consequences on women’s health
Authors: Benyo Sarah , Brown Michelle , Singh Rama
Published: June 2022

Background: Reproduction is a major determinant of health in women. To investigate whether female reproductive physiology is still evolving in different ethnic populations, the relationship between ethnicity and onset age of menopause was examined. The relationship between menopause and women’s health was additionally investigated to reflect on the increased risk of serious health conditions following the hormonal fluctuations associated with menopause. Methods: All data used to complete the study’s statistical analyses were obtained from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Women from five ethnicities were included: African American, Chinese, Japanese, Caucasian, and Hispanic. The onset ages of early perimenopause, late perimenopause, and post-menopause were considered, as well as race and diagnoses of stroke, heart attack, osteoporosis, and diabetes. Both ANOVA and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) tests were performed. Results: We found that the population of Chinese women reached late perimenopause and the population of Japanese women reached both late perimenopause and post-menopause significantly later than African American women. The cohort of Hispanic women reached late perimenopause significantly earlier than most ethnicities, excluding African American women, and reached post-menopause significantly later than all ethnicities. Various associations between the onset of menopause and diagnoses of serious health conditions, including osteoporosis, heart attack, and stroke, were found, individually and in combination with other variables. Conclusions: The ethnicity-related variation found within the onset age of late perimenopause and post-menopause in the SWAN populations suggests that female reproductive changes are still evolving in different ethnicities. The associations found between menopause and women’s health suggest that menopause plays a substantial role in the diagnosis of serious health conditions such as heart attacks, stroke, and osteoporosis. Future studies should consider the impact of both biological (menopause) and non-biological factors on the variation seen in middle-aged women’s health and focus on practical applications in women’s healthcare.
Overexpression of ClRAP2.4 in Chrysanthemum enhances tolerance to cold stress
Authors: Ren Manrong , Yang Wenting , Zhang Jianing , Zhao Li , Quan Yingjie , He Zihan , Xu Yanan , Zhang Fageng , Yin Ming , Wang Yaoying , gao ri
Published: June 2022

The apetala/ethylene responsive factor (AP2/ERF) family is one of the largest plant-specific transcription factors and plays a vital role in plant development and response to stress. The apetala 2.4 (RAP2.4) gene is a member of the AP2/ERF family. Whether RAP2.4 is involved in low-temperature stress in chrysanthemum is unknown. Here, we cloned the ClRAP2.4 cDNA fragment containing an open reading frame of 768 bp. Phylogenetic analysis showed that ClRAP2.4 was most closely related to AT1G22190 and belonged to the DREB subfamily. The ClRAP2.4 protein is localized in the cell nucleus and promotes transcriptional activation in yeast. We obtained four overexpression lines (OX-1, OX-2, OX-7, and OX-8) using the Agrobacterium-mediated leaf disc method. The overexpression of ClRAP2.4 in chrysanthemum increased tolerance to cold stress. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) and the proline content in the transgenic chrysanthemum leaf were higher than those in the wild type (WT) under cold stress, but electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in transgenic plants increased rapidly with decreasing temperature.We have identified 390 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the transgenic plants and wild type using RNA-Seq, among which, 229 were upregulated and 161 were downregulated. The number of ABRE, LTR, and DRE cis-elements in the DEGs promoter were 175, 106, and 46, respectively. The relative expression levels of ClCOR, ClAPX, ClAP, ClNCL, ClPLK, ClFAD, ClMYB in transgenic plants were higher than those in WT plants at low temperatures. Collectively, these data suggest that ClRAP2.4 may increase chrysanthemum tolerance to cold stress.
Enhanced fear limits behavioral flexibility in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Yun Miru , Kim Eunjoon , Jung Min Whan
Published: June 2022

Background: A core symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is repetitive and restrictive patterns of behavior. Cognitive inflexibility has been proposed as a potential basis for these symptoms of ASD. More generally, behavioral inflexibility has been proposed to underlie repetitive and restrictive behavior in ASD. Here, we investigated whether and how behavioral flexibility is compromised in a widely used animal model of ASD.Methods: We compared the behavioral performance of Shank2-knockout mice and wild-type littermates in reversal learning employing a probabilistic classical trace conditioning paradigm. A conditioned stimulus (odor) was paired with an unconditioned appetitive (water, 6 µl) or aversive (air puff) stimulus in a probabilistic manner. We also compared air puff-induced eye closure responses of Shank2-knockout and wild-type mice.Results: Male, but not female, Shank2-knockout mice showed impaired reversal learning when the expected outcomes consisted of a water reward and a strong air puff. Moreover, male, but not female, Shank2-knockout mice showed stronger anticipatory eye closure responses to the air puff compared to wild-type littermates, raising the possibility that the impairment might reflect enhanced fear. In support of this contention, male Shank2-knockout mice showed intact reversal learning when the strong air puff was replaced with a mild air puff and when the expected outcomes consisted of only rewards. Limitations: We examined behavioral flexibility in one behavioral task (reversal learning in a probabilistic classical trace conditioning paradigm) using one ASD mouse model (Shank2-knockout mice). Thus, future work is needed to clarify the extent to which our findings (that enhanced fear limits behavioral flexibility in ASD) can explain the behavioral inflexibility associated with ASD. Also, we examined only the relationship between fear and behavioral flexibility, leaving open the question of whether abnormalities in processes other than fear contribute to the behavioral inflexibility in ASD. Finally, the neurobiological mechanisms linking Shank2-knockout and enhanced fear remain to be elucidated. Conclusions: Our results indicate that enhanced fear suppresses reversal learning in the presence of an intact capability to learn cue-outcome contingency changes in Shank2-knockout mice. Our findings suggest that behavioral flexibility might be seriously limited by abnormal emotional responses in ASD.
An unusual sternalis with variation of the contralateral sternocleidomastoid muscle: A Case Report
Authors: Duan Jingjing , Xu Dazheng , Guo Kaihua , Zou Huijin , Chen Jihang , Wang Xing , Zhang Haoting , Fu Yilin , Wang Yanheng , Chen Zihang , Zhang Ruikai , Zhang Linhan
Published: June 2022

Purpose
To report a previously undocumented variant of sternalis.
Methods
An unusual muscle was observed during routine dissection.
Results
The sternalis muscle located in the right thoracic region originated from the superior portion of the rectus abdominis sheath and 5-6th costal cartilages, crossed the midline and attached at the sternum. The muscle fibers then ascended with the left sternocleidomastoid muscle as an additional fasciculus, of which the superior ends were finally terminated at the left mastoid process. The sternalis muscle of the thoracic region was innervated by the anterior cutaneous branches of right intercostal nerve, while the additional fasciculus ascended with the left sternocleidomastoid muscle was innervated by the branches of left accessory nerve.
Conclusions
This study presents a unilateral sternalis muscle with the contralateral sternocleidomastoid variation. It will enhance the exhaustive classification of sternalis, and provide significant information to radiologists, angiologists and surgeons for better interpretation of images and safer interventions.
Effects of abnormal expression of CD73 on malignant phenotype in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Jiang Bin , Tang Mingming , Shi Si , Xie Haijing , Pan Si , Zhang Lin , Sheng Juping
Published: June 2022

Background Cluster of differentiation (CD) 73, encoded by the NT5E gene, plays important enzymatic and non-enzymatic roles in cells. There is growing evidence show that CD73 is a key regulator in the development of tumor. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common cancers in east and southeast Asia. It is urgent to know more about the mechanism of NPC development and find diagnose markers for the patients.Methods and Results Western blot, IHC and qRT-PCR were used to investigate the expression level of CD73 in NPC and we found NPC tissues had higher expression of CD73 than normal tissues. We also detected the relationship between its expression level with the clinicopathology and prognosis of NPC patients. The results showed CD73 expression was related to the clinical stages, lymph node metastasis and survival state of NPC patients. More importantly, patients with higher expression of CD73 had poorer prognosis. Then, CD73 was knocked down in NPC cells (CNE2 and CNE1), and the effects of CD73 on cell proliferation and migration were investigated by CCK8, colony formation, Transwell and wound-healing assays. We found knocking down the expression of CD73 in NPC cells could inhibit cells malignant phenotype.Conclusion CD73 plays important roles in NPC malignant behavior and might be used as a novel target for the diagnose and treatment of NPC.
The relation between infertility factor and sexual functioning, perceived social support and adherence to treatment in infertile women
Authors: Sheikhian Marzie , Loripoor Marzeyeh , Ghorashi Zohreh , Safdari Faranak
Published: June 2022

Background
In some societies, childbearing is a part of women’s identity and infertile women are under a great amount of pressure from others. The present study was conducted to evaluate the relation between infertility factor and sexual functioning, perceived social support and adherence to treatment in infertile women.
Methods
In the present descriptive analytical cross-sectional stud, 230 infertile women who referred to the infertility center of Shahrekord during 2022 were enrolled using convenient sampling method. Data were collected using demographic characteristics checklist, Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and General Adherence Scale (GAS) and were analyzed using SPSS software and chi square test, independent t test, one-way variance analysis, Tukey post hoc test and Pearson correlation coefficient.
Results
There was no significant relation between infertility factor and the mean score of sexual functioning. Among the aspects of sexual functioning, only the mean score of lubrication in the group of male factors was significantly higher than the common factors for men and women (p = 0.07). There was also no significant relation between infertility factor and the mean score of perceived social support and the mean score of adherence to treatment (p > 0.05). There was a linear positive relation between sexual functioning (r = 0.189), perceived social support (r = 0.200) and adherence to treatment (r = 0.146) in infertile women.
Conclusions
Results showed no significant relation between sexual functioning, perceived social support and adherence to treatment with infertility factor in infertile women.
Effect of ultrasound-assisted extraction of dietary fibre from the sweetest variety Queen Pineapple peel waste of Tripura (India)
Authors: Dhar Payel , Deka S. C.
Published: June 2022

The study aimed to assess the functional attributes of dietary fibre from the sweetest variety of Queen pineapple of Tripura Region (India) having high pleasant aroma and flavour. Queen pineapple peel waste was used to extract dietary fibre, which is one of the important bioactive compounds in the human diet and health. The ultrasound-assisted extraction method was compared to the traditional alkali extraction method for extracting dietary fibre from Queen pineapple peel waste. The extracted dietary fibre was further examined for its functional attributes. The parameters used for ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of dietary fibre were optimised using response surface methodology (RSM). The results showed that Queen pineapple peel waste was having a significant amount of dietary fibre and had a high potential in food processing. The conventional alkaline extraction yielded 64.43% dietary fibre, whereas the UAE method yielded 86.67% after 22.35 min of sonication with a solid: liquid ratio of 1:27.5 g/mL and a 46.9% ultrasonic amplitude. UAE improved the functional attributes of dietary fibre by significantly increasing the water-holding and swelling capacities while decreasing the oil holding capacity. The cation exchange capacity, glucose adsorption capacity, and glucose dialysis retardation index were enhanced considerably by ultrasound-assisted extraction, whereas the emulsifying capacity decreased. These findings suggested that Queen pineapple waste extracted dietary fibre could be used as a potential hypoglycemic agent as a functional food ingredient in bread and bakery-based products, meat-based products, dairy-based beverages, and other products of food application.
Grace-AKO: A Novel and Stable Knockoff Filter for Variable Selection Incorporating Gene Network Structures
Authors: Tian Peixin , Hu Yiqian , Liu Zhonghua , Zhang Yan Dora
Published: June 2022

Motivation: Variable selection is a common statistical approach to detecting genes associated with clinical outcomes of scientific interest. There are thousands of genes in genomic studies, while only a limited number of individual samples are available. Therefore, it is important to develop a method to identify genes associated with outcomes of interest that can control finite-sample false discovery rate (FDR) in high-dimensional data settings.

Results: This article proposes a novel method named Grace-AKO for graph-constrained estimation (Grace), which incorporates aggregation of multiple knockoffs (AKO) with the network-constrained penalty. Grace-AKO can control FDR in finite sample settings and improve model stability simultaneously. Simulation studies show that Grace-AKO has better performance in FDR control in finite sample settings than the original Grace model. We apply Grace-AKO to the prostate cancer data in the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program by incorporating prostate-specific antigen (PSA) pathways in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) as the prior information. Grace-AKO finally identifies 47 candidate genes associated with PSA level, and more than 75% of the detected genes can be validated.
Inversion of Generalized Flett Potentials Related to Wavelet-Like Transform
Authors: BAYRAKÇI SIMTEN , Yıldız Güldane , Kahraman Recep , Eryiğit Melih
Published: June 2022

We obtained the explicit inversion formulas for the generalized Flett potentials with the wavelet-like transform generated by the generalized Poisson integrals (semigroups). These integrals are defined as the relevant generalized translation operator associated with the Laplace-Bessel differential operator. Moreover, in this article we proved some essential properties of the generalized Poisson integrals.
USP10-mediated ZEB1 deubiquitination regulates MEK-ERK-induced colorectal cancer metastasis
Authors: Sinicrope Frank , Qin Bo , Sun Lei , yu Jia
Published: June 2022

Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) is a transcription factor regulating epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). To date, regulation of ZEB1 by key signaling pathways including RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK remains unclear, and few studies have focused on molecular associations or functional alterations of ZEB1 by post-translational modification. Here, we report an interaction of ZEB1 with the deubiquitinase USP10 that is regulated by MEK-ERK signaling. USP10 removes the K27 linkage ubiquitination chain on ZEB1 that enhances K48 polyubiquitination and promotes ZEB1 proteasomal degradation. However, constitutive activation of ERK can phosphorylate USP10 at Ser236 to impair its interaction with ZEB1 and, thereby, stabilize ZEB1 protein shown to promote colorectal cancer metastasis in mice. Conversely, inhibition of MEK-ERK blocks USP10 phosphorylation to enhance the USP10-ZEB1 interaction which can suppress ZEB1-mediated tumor cell migration and metastasis in vivo. Together, these data demonstrate a novel function of USP10 in the regulation of ZEB1 ubiquitination and protein stability that can inhibit ZEB1-mediated tumor metastasis.
Cloning, sequence analysis, and three-dimensional structure prediction of Universal stress protein A from Salmonella Typhimurium Isolated from the Poultry
Authors: Nabi Bilkees , Kumawat Manoj , Ahlawat Sushma , kumar Manoj , Ahlawat Neeraj , Yadav Pramod Kumar , Mir Manzoor Ahmad
Published: June 2022

Background
Salmonella Typhimurium is a zoonotic pathogen responsible for food and waterborne gastroenteritis in humans. Salmonella Typhimurium expresses Universal stress proteins (USPs) when subjected to different biotic and abiotic stresses. This class of proteins is becoming widely recognizedfor its role in bacterial stress resistance and protracted growth arrest. USPs possesses versatile structures arising from the fusion of the USP domain with various other catalytic motifs; they are possibly involved in a variety of reactions and cellular activities under stressful conditions.
Objective
The aim of this study is to obtain the universal stress protein A (uspA) gene of Salmonella Typhimurium and clone it into the pET28C plasmid for nucleotide sequencing. And also 3D structure prediction of USPA protein and to evaluate its phylogenetic gene tree model.
Methods
In this study, we constructed a recombinant clone of the uspA (pET28c_uspA) gene from Salmonella Typhimurium, and various methods, including sequencing, did conformation to the clone. The sequence was subsequently submitted to the NCBI GenBank database. Besides, the Three-dimensional structure for USPA protein was predicted by comparative modeling. A phylogenetic gene tree was also constructed to trace the evolutionary history of the uspA gene of Salmonella Typhimurium.
Results
The uspA gene of 435 bp in length was successfully cloned. Comparing the uspA gene sequence with that reported in GenBank showed that identities were 100%. Furthermore, Sequence analysis also revealed the uspA gene is 435 bp long, encodes a protein of 144 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 16 kDa, and belongs to the USP family. Predicted 3D structure and sequence alignments of USPA showed that all residues’ sites are highly similar among the genome. The stereo-chemical property of the 3D structure of USPA was found to be of good quality.
Conclusion
A confirmed uspA gene from Salmonella Typhimurium was reported in this study. This study laid a solid foundation for recombination and research of genes. Moreover, the results of this study would help to detect the functional domains of the protein to elucidate their structural/functional characteristics.
An Improved Recommendation Based on Graph Convolutional Network
Authors: He Yichen , Mao Yijun , Xie Xianfen , Gu Wanrong
Published: June 2022

Graph convolutional network is a recently developed artificial neural network method commonly used in recommendation system research. This paper points out three shortcomings of existing recommendation systems based on the graph convolutional network. 1. Existing models that take the one-hot encoding based on node ordinal numbers in the graph or encoding based on original entity attributes as input may not fully utilize the information carried by the attribute interactions. 2. Previous models update the node embeddings only by the first-order neighbors in the graph convolution layer, which is easily affected by noise. 3. Existing models do not take into account differences in user opinions. We propose an improved graph convolutional network-based collaborative filtering model to address these drawbacks. We identify inner and cross interaction between user attributes and item attributes, and then we take the vector representations of aggregated attributes graph as input. In the convolutional layer, we aggregate the second-order collaborative signals and incorporate the different user opinions. The experiments on three public datasets show that our model outperforms state-of-the-art models. Compared with baselines, it shows an improved performance (2.1% ∼ 4.3%).
Objective Performance Indicators of Cardiothoracic Residents Are Associated with Vascular Injury During Robotic-Assisted Lobectomy on Porcine Models
Authors: Lazar John F. , Brown Kristen , Yousaf Sadia , Jarc Anthony , Metchik Ariana , BSN Hayley Henderson , Feins Richard H , Sancheti Manu S , Lin Jules , Yang Stephen , Nesbitt Jonathan , D’Souza Desmond , Oh Daniel S
Published: June 2022

Objective
Surgical training relies on subjective feedback on resident technical performance by attending surgeons. A novel data recorder connected to a robotic-assisted surgical platform captures synchronized kinematic and video data during an operation to calculate quantitative, objective performance indicators (OPIs). The aim of this study was to determine if OPIs during initial task of a resident’s robotic-assisted lobectomy (RL) correlated with bleeding during the procedure.
Methods
Forty-six residents from the 2019 Thoracic Surgery Directors Association Resident Boot Camp completed RL on an ex-vivo perfused porcine model while continuous video and kinematic data was recorded. For this pilot study RL was segmented into 12 tasks and OPIs were calculated for the initial major task. Cases were reviewed for major bleeding events and OPIs of bleeding cases were compared to those who did not.
Results
Data from 42 residents were complete and included in the analysis. 10/42 residents (23.8%) encountered bleeding: 10/40 residents who started with superior pulmonary vein exposure and 0/2 residents who started with pulmonary artery exposure. Twenty OPIs for both hands were assessed during the initial task. Six OPIs related to instrument usage or smoothness of motion were significant for bleeding. Differences were statistically significant for both hands (p < 0.05). OPIs showing bimanual asymmetry indicated lower proficiency.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that kinematic and video analytics can establish a correlation between objective performance metrics and bleeding events in an ex vivo perfused lobectomy. Further study could assist in the development of focused exercises and simulation on objective domains to help improve overall performance and reducing complications during RL.
Novel Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) assay for in vivo visualization of the protein-protein interactions and cellular protein complex localizations
Authors: Shi Zhonggang , Gao Xing , Zhang Wenrui , Chen Binghong , Wang Mengying , Liao Keman , Wang Zhihan , Ren Li , Qiu Yongming , lin yingying
Published: June 2022

Background
The study of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is critical for understanding cellular processes within biological systems. The bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assay provides a convenient approach for visualization of protein-protein interactions in living cells. Though a series of fluorescence proteins have been introduced into BiFC system, new fluorescent proteins need to be brought in this assay.
Results
Here, we applied TagBFP2 into BiFC for the first time to verify the interaction between two proteins, and EYFP was set as a positive control. Both fluorescent proteins performed well in our study. Compared to EYFP, the BiFC system based on TagBFP2 showed higher signal-to-noise ratio, which help us distinguish the signal of PPIs from noise.
Conclusion
With the joining of TagBFP2, we have another color option when we conduct BiFC assay. Especially, the green or yellow channel was occupied by a fluorescent secondary antibody in immunofluorescence application, or an interest protein tagged with a fluorescent protein. BiFC assay presented here is quite easy-to-follow, reliable, and reproducible, which can be completed within 1 week without using costly instruments and technologies that demand a high skill set.
Hybrid Cuckoo Finch Optimization based Machine Learning Classifier for Seizure Prediction Using EEG Signals in IoT Network
Authors: Kapoor Bhaskar , Nagpal Bharti
Published: June 2022

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an indispensable part of the healthcare system since it creates a link between the doctor and the patient for remote medical consultations. IoT-based seizure prediction detects the seizures and monitors the health of patients remotely. The disease seizure is categorized with the sudden and repeated malfunction of the neurons of the brain. To protect patient's lives, it's critical to recognise the risk of an epileptic seizure. In this research a hybrid cuckoo finch optimization is proposed tuned Deep-CNN (Deep-Convolutional Neural Network) classifier recognize and predict the occurrence of epileptic seizure using the electroencephalogram (EEG) signal data obtained through IoT. Initially, the gathered data is pre-processed and subjected to frequency band generation. Then there are the notable characteristics, such as Statistical features, Wavelet features, Entropy-based features, Spectral features, CPR (Common Spatial Patterns) and Logarithmic band power are extracted and concatenated. The optimal electrode selection is done by using the proposed hybrid cuckoo finch optimization that inherits characteristics of the intrusive and attentive search agents. The data is finally normalized and fed to proposed hybrid cuckoo finch optimization tuned Deep-CNN to classify the seizure disease. The specificity, accuracy and sensitivity of the proposed model is attained as 92.5212%, 97.7648%, and 95.6324%, which demonstrates efficient performance of the proposed seizure prediction model.
Conjugacy Classification of Bicomplex Möbius transformations
Authors: Li Zekun , Dai Binlin
Published: June 2022

We investigate the Conjugacy Classification in the framework of bicomplex numbers, which are pairs of complex numbers making up a commutative ring with zero-divisors. In this paper, we first classify bi-complex Möbius transformation in terms of fixed points in BC. Then we have a discussion of the iterates of a bicomplex Möbius transformation and study the attractive and repulsive fixed points in bicomplex setting. Mathematics Subject Classification (2010). Primary 30G35; Secondary 32A30.
Description of a new Coniochaeta species isolated from clinical sample
Authors: Kabtani Jihane , Militello Muriel , Ranque Stephane
Published: June 2022

Coniochaeta is a teleomorphic genus belonging to the Ascomycota class and Coniochaetaceae family. Some of the Coniochaeta species are plant and animal pathogens, while others are known to be primarily involved in human disease. In the last decades, case reports of human infections with Coniochaeta have increased, mainly in immunocompromised hosts. We have described and characterised a new species in the Coniochaeta genus, here named Coniochaeta massiliensis (PMML0158) that was isolated from a clinical sample. Species identification and thorough description were based on apposite and reliable phylogenetic and phenotypic approaches. The phylogenetic methods included a multilocus nucleotide analysis of four genomic regions: ITS (rRNA internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2), TEF-1α (translation elongation factor-1alpha), TUB2 (β-tubulin2), and D1/D2 domains (28S LSU rRNA). The phenotypic characterisation first consisted of a physiological analysis using both EDX (Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) and Biolog™ advanced phenotypic technology for fixing the chemical mapping and carbon source oxidation/assimilation profiles. Afterwards, morphological characteristics were highlighted by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The in vitro antifungal susceptibility profile was characterised using the E-test™ exponential gradient method. The molecular analysis revealed the genetic distance between the novel species Coniochaeta massiliensis (PMML0158) and other known taxa, and the phenotypic analysis confirmed its unique chemical and physiological profile when compared to all other species of this genus.
Searching for the ground state of complex spin-ice systems using deep learning techniques
Authors: Kwon Hee Young , Yoon Han Gyu , Park Seong Min , Lee Doo Bong , Shi Dong , Wu Yizheng , Choi Jun Woo , Won Changyeon
Published: June 2022

Searching for the ground state of a given system is one of the most fundamental and classical questions in scientific research fields. However, when the system is complex and large, it often becomes an intractable problem; there is essentially no possibility of finding a global energy minimum state with reasonable computational resources. Recently, a novel method based on deep learning techniques was devised as an innovative optimization method to estimate the ground state. We apply this method to one of the most complicated spin-ice systems, aperiodic Penrose P3 patterns. From the results, we discover new configurations of topologically induced emergent frustrated spins, different from those previously known. Additionally, a candidate of the ground state for a still unexplored type of Penrose P3 spin-ice system is first proposed through this study. We anticipate that the capabilities of the deep learning techniques will not only improve our understanding on the physical properties of artificial spin-ice systems, but also bring about significant advances in a wide range of scientific research fields requiring computational approaches for optimization.
Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for substance misuse services: Findings from a peer-led study
Authors: Holloway Katy , Murray Shannon , Buhociu Marian , Arthur Alisha , Molinaro Rondine , Chicken Sian , Thomas Elwyn
Published: June 2022

BackgroundThe measures implemented to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus disrupted the provision of substance misuse treatment and support. However, little is known about the impact of this disruption on service users. This study aimed to help substance misuse services learn lessons and identify ways of optimising delivery and minimising harm in the event of any future lockdowns or global crises.MethodsThe study was co-produced by a team of peer researchers, practitioners, policy makers and academics. Telephone interviews were conducted with 202 substance misuse service users over a six-month period commencing June 2020. The interviews were conducted by a small group of seven peer researchers each with lived experience of substance use problems. The interview data were recorded by the peers in an anonymous online questionnaire survey and analysed using standard quantitative and qualitative methods.ResultsService users responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in a variety of ways. Diverse responses were noted in relation to their substance use patterns, their personal lives and their substance misuse treatment experiences. For some the pandemic acted as a new risk environment factor that increased their vulnerability to substance-related harm. For others, it facilitated aspects of the enabling environment thereby reducing the risk of harm. ConclusionsService users are not a homogenous group and an individualised approach to treatment that recognises the potential for varied responses to the same stimuli is needed. The findings suggest that service users would benefit from having a choice in how they access treatment and from greater access to outreach programmes that take treatments and harm reduction tools such as naloxone into the community. The research also supports the involvement of people with lived experience in substance use research, policy and practice.
Pulmonary artery diameter on chest CT predicts in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia
Authors: Baytugan Nart Zafer , Çelik Aziz İnan , Çağdaş Metin , Bezgin Tahir , Kandemir Hasan Çağlayan
Published: June 2022

Background: Enlargement of pulmonary artery (PA) trunk diameter could be helpful in risk stratification by the chest CT on the admission of COVID-19 patients.Methods: The aim was to investigate the association between pulmonary artery enlargement and overall mortality in COVID-19 pneumonia. We conducted a single-center, retrospective, observational study between January 2021 and May 2021 in tertiary level hospitals in Gebze, Turkey. According to their survivor status, subjects were divided into two groups (survivors and non-survivors). Then biochemical, demographic, and clinical parameters were compared via the two groups to assess the predictive value of PA diameter on chest CT images.Results: In the enrolled 594 COVID-19 in-hospital patients (median age was 45 (34-58) years, and 263 patients (44.3%) were female), 44 patients (7.4%) died during their hospitalization. The time-dependent multivariate Cox-proportion regression model yielded main PA ≥ 29 mm on admission showed that as independent predictors of subsequent death (long rank <0.001, median survival time 28 days). Cumulative survival rates were MPAD ≥ 29 mm 45% and < 29 mm 90% respectively (p < 0.001).Conclusions: PA dilatation is strongly associated with in-hospital mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Thus increased PA diameter on chest CT at admission may guide rapid and early diagnosis of high-risk patients.
Indapamine effects on hypercalciuria and bone mineral density
Authors: Spivacow Francisco Rodolfo , Niedlich Griselda , Rey Paula
Published: June 2022

Idiopathic hypercalciuria is associated to urinary stone formation and bone loss and should be treated not only to prevent kidney stone formation but also to prevent fragility fractures. Thiazide diuretics are traditionally used to control hypercalciuria. Indapamine, a sulfonamide thiazide diuretic, with some differences in structure is similar in its mechanisms of action such as its hypocalciuric effect, and bone density protection, with less adverse metabolic consequences than thiazides such as less hypokalemia and hypotension. We evaluated efficacy and adverse effects of Indapamine in 88 idiopathic hypercalciuric consecutive patients and those who reached normal calciuria in the first 9 months, were followed during two years. Changes in bone turn-over markers and bone density were evaluated. Since year one, there was a significant lowering of urine calcium to normal values in 77 patients, with no change in sodium excretion. There were changes in bone turn over markers and gains in bone mineral density according to the groups analyzed. In 25 hypercalciuric osteoporotic patients, there was a significant increment in lumbar spine bone density at year 2 of follow-up, (p<0.05). Those hypercalciuric osteoporotic stone former patients had a significant increase in femoral neck bone density since year one. Adverse effects were not significant, no changes found in blood pressure, glycaemia, cholesterol, serum uric acid, sodium and potassium. Two patients needed potassium supplementation for mild hypokalemia and did not stop Indapamine. In conclusion Indapamine is an effective alternative treatment to Idiopathic hypercalciuria, controlling calcium loss and bone density for at least two years.
Application of Novel Quantitative Measurement of Iris Angiography in Diabetic Retinopathy
Authors: Zhang Longli , Chai Yue , Zhang Luyuan , Hei Kaiwen , Li Xiaorong
Published: June 2022

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the application of a novel quantitative measurement of iris angiography (IA) in diabetic retinopathy (DR).Methods: This was a single-center, cross-sectional prospective study. Totally 168 consecutive patients with diabetic mellitus (DM) were involved in this study from May 2016 to December 2020, 168 subjects were divided into 3 groups, 32 non-retinopathy patients,96 non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients (NPDR), and 40 proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients. All patients underwent ophthalmologic examination, such as best corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp microscopy, gonioscopy, ultra-wide-field fundus photography, fluorescein angiography of the iris (IFA), and indocyanine green angiography of the iris (IIGA). The starting of iris vascular leakage time (LT) was recorded, and the range of pupil fluorescein leakage was measured by a novel measurement. Results: LT of iris in non-retinopathy, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) groups were 33.14 ± 3.03s, 32.45 ± 5.17s, and 25.67 ± 5.03s, respectively. The LT in the PDR group was significantly faster than that in the NPDR and non-retinopathy groups (P=0.000). The iris pupil leakage range (LR) of the non-retinopathy, NPDR, and PDR groups were 21.21 ± 30.06, 62.48 ± 42.17, and 141.31 ± 73.61°, and LR in PDR groups were largest among all groups (P=0.000). Neovascularization of the iris (NVI) was detected in 8 eyes (26.7%) in the PDR group. No NVI was found in non-retinopathy and NPDR groups.Conclusions: The novel quantitative measurement of IA can be used to evaluate the severity of diabetic iridopathy (DI) accurately and detect invisible NVI as early as possible to provide a basis for the formulation of personalized treatment for DR patients.
Dentro do jogo das possibilidades infinitas: César Aira e Sérgio Sant'Anna em diálogo
Authors: De Lima Freire Bezerra Pedro Lucas
Published: June 2022

Esse artigo busca apontar relações intrínsecas nas obras dos escritores César Aira (1949) e Sérgio Sant’Anna (1941-2020), dois nomes que compõem o panorama da literatura latino-americana da segunda metade do século XX e início do século XXI. Suas obras, que se orientam pela via da forma breve (o conto, a novela, o ensaio), buscam vergar os limites dos gêneros e trazer para dentro do texto literário diversas outras formas narrativas que influenciam suas escritas e se interpenetram em suas técnicas: as artes plásticas, o cinema, a fotografia, a música surgem nos seus textos como elementos de construção de suas visões de mundo. Com leitura atenta da fortuna crítica de ambos os autores, além dos próprios textos e comentários que um autor fez sobre o outro, procurou-se estabelecer e discutir pontos de aproximação quanto à manipulação das técnicas das vanguardas do século XX, em um jogo de possibilidades infinitas.
Análise da evidencialidade na fala dos guineenses focalizando o (des)comprometimento com a língua portuguesa em relação as suas línguas maternas
Authors: Ramos Carioca Cláudia
Published: June 2022

Este artigo explicita as marcas evidenciais que particularizam o falar dos estudantes guineenses quando questionados sobre as línguas que falam, mostrando em que medida se (des)comprometem com aquilo que é dito, como algo que revela o processo de oficialidade linguística por que tem passado seu país à luz da focalização. A abordagem teórica está fundamentada em pesquisas que nos fazem refletir sobre o estatuto da língua portuguesa na comunidade lusófona; como também em pesquisas que nos possibilitam delinear os contornos linguísticos de Guiné-Bissau; além do Funcionalismo Linguístico centrado no uso, que contempla a reflexão ou a discussão de seus aspectos teóricos e metodológicos aplicados à descrição e à análise do português que nos apresentam a evidencialidade como uma categoria linguística que permite, estrategicamente, a manipulação de informações quanto à explicitação da fonte do conhecimento informado e ao grau de comprometimento do sujeito-enunciador com tais informações.
Use of Glycolamidic Ester Link. (G.E.L.) for the Preparation of Protected Peptides.
Authors: Ceccato Marie-Line , Chavanieu Alain , Chenu Jacques , Mendre Christiane , Calas Bernard
Published: June 2022

In this paper, we report the use of Glycolamidic Ester Link (G.E.L.) to synthesise protected peptides. According to the method of cleavage used (NaOH or hydrazine in DMF), it is possible to generate protected species having a -COOH or a -CONHNH2 group in C-terminal position.