bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Madhuca longifolia – bark and leaves: An outlook for natural therapeutic approach for Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Keri Rangappa S.
Published: June 2022

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurological related disease and it is most common cause for dementia. Also, AD causes many disability and important socio-economic burden, but till to date no cure available. Due to the side effect of commercial available drugs, people more interested for natural origin medicine for drug candidates that are capable of preventing and treating AD related pathology, particularly where suppression of amyloid accumulation, neurofibrillary tangle formation, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress are equally significant. Madhuca Longifolia (Koenig) j.f Macb. is a medicinally very important plant belongs to the family Sapotaceae and commonly known as Mahua/Butter nut tree. It is a multipurpose forest tree that provides food, fodder, fuel, and medicines. It exhibited numerous biological/pharmacological properties including antioxidant, antidepressant, sedative, aphrodisiac, analgesic, tonic, astringent, demulcent, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, antimicrobial anti-diabetic, and anti-ulcer activities. In this context, we have collected the leaves and bark of M. longifolia and extracted them from different solvents and further these extracts evaluated the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities, antioxidant studies, and amyloidogenic inhibition supported by thioflavin-T (Th-T) assay (with Cu and Zn), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inhibition of glycation and aggregation of bovine serum albumin induced by ribose and cell toxicity in SH-SY5Y studies. The results showed that, M. longifolia extracts was able to inhibit the Aβ42 aggregation from monomers and oligomers. Also, able to dis-aggregate the pre-formed fibrils and also it has potent anti-cholinergic and antioxidant activity. The study provides an insight on finding new natural products for AD therapeutics.
A novel disposable self-inserted vaginal device for the non-surgical management of pelvic organ prolapse: Efficacy, safety, and quality of life
Authors: Ziv Elan , Erlich Tsvia
Published: June 2022

Background: We evaluated a novel disposable, collapsible, ring-shaped vaginal device that is self-inserted within an applicator and removed with a string. The device was developed to overcome the drawbacks of existing ring pessaries for non-surgical pelvic organ prolapse management (POP).Methods: The primary objective efficacy endpoint of this prospective, interventional, multicenter, self-controlled, and home-use study was the proportion of subjects with improved staging on the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) scale. Subjective efficacy was assessed using the POP symptoms alleviation score. Safety was evaluated by recording the rate and incidence of adverse events (AEs) in a daily diary, and quality of life (QoL) was evaluated using the modified Pelvic Floor Impact (PFIQ-7) and Pelvic Floor Disability Index (PFDI-20) questionnaires.Results: A total of 94 usage cycles were observed in a group of 52 participants (mean age 60.2 ± 10.5 years, 81.1% postmenopausal) who used the device for 3558 days. Of these, 24 participants completed one usage cycle, 14 completed two usage cycles, and 14 completed three usage cycles with 28–45 days of ProVate use in each usage cycle. All patients experienced greater than two POP-Q stage reductions. The descent was completely reduced to POP-Q stage 0 in 97.8% of participants. The POP symptom alleviation questionnaire showed significant subjective efficacy (P < 0.0001). The modified PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 scores also improved substantially (P < 0.0001 for both). There were 91 nonserious device-related AEs: 98.9% were mild and 87.9% anticipated, with no vaginal infection, and one case of urinary tract infection.Conclusion: The novel device substantially reduces prolapse and provides significant subjective POP symptom relief and QoL improvement, with minimal AEs. The device may enable women to self-manage their prolapse with a small, disposable device that minimizes self-touching and frequent dependency on the clinic.Trial registration: Clinical.Trials.gov, NCT02239133, posted September 12, 2014 (retrospectively registered) URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02239133?term=NCT02239133&draw=2&rank=1
Redox-dependent Structural Origin of the Temperature Threshold and Sensitivity in the TRPV3 Bio-thermometer
Authors: Wang Guangyu
Published: June 2022

The DNA hairpin with a limited size is sensitive to temperature. However, it is unclear if thermosensitive TRP channels also use the temperature-dependent little hairpin sizes to govern their temperature thresholds and sensitivity. Here, graph theory was used as a novel tool to test this hypothesis by analyzing the redox- and state-dependent cryo-electron microscopy structures of TRPV3 with or without the Y564A mutation at different temperatures. The results showed that the biggest little hairpin with the minimum topological loop size and strength control the temperature threshold while a change in the total minimum little hairpin sizes upon a change in the total non-covalent interactions along the channel gating pathway governs the temperature sensitivity. This size- and strength-dependent hairpin thermodynamics may tune the thermal activity and sensitivity of biological macromolecules.
Gut microbiota associated with obesity and high carotid intima-media thickness among Chinese children
Authors: Sun Jiahong , Jin Xuli , Yang Liu , Ma Xiaoyun , Xi Bo , Song Suhang , Zhao Min
Published: June 2022

Background
High carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in childhood, usually combined with obesity, is an early predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life. However, the association between gut microbiota and high cIMT among children with obesity remains unclear. Therefore, we compared differences in composition, community diversity, and richness of gut microbiota among children with obesity and high cIMT (OB + high-cIMT), obesity but normal cIMT (OB + non-cIMT), and normal weight and normal cIMT (i.e., normal children) to identify differential microbiota biomarkers.
Methods
A total of 24 OB + high-cIMT children, 24 OB + non-cIMT children, and 24 normal children aged 10–11 years from the Huantai Childhood Cardiovascular Health Cohort Study were included. All included fecal samples were tested using 16S rRNA sequencing. α-diversity analysis was performed to estimate the community richness and diversity of gut microbes, and LEfSe analysis was used to reveal the main differential biomarkers among these three groups. Random forest analysis was used to further select differential biomarkers. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the ability of biomarkers in identifying OB + non-cIMT and OB + high-cIMT. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were assessed by Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) according to the KEGG database.
Results
The community richness and diversity of gut microbiota in OB + high-cIMT children were decreased compared with OB + non-cIMT children and normal children. At the genus level, the relative abundances of Christensenellaceae_R-7_group, UBA1819, Family_XIII_AD3011_group, and unclassified_o__Bacteroidales were reduced in OB + high-cIMT children compared with OB + non-cIMT and normal children. In addition, these four significant biomarkers were ranked in the top 1, 2, 6, and 12 in the random forest analysis. ROC analysis results showed that combined Christensenellaceae_R-7_group, UBA1819, Family_XIII_AD3011_group, and unclassified_o__Bacteroidales performed high ability in identifying OB + high-cIMT (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.91, 95% CI = 0.82–1.00]) and moderate ability in identifying OB + non-cIMT (AUC 0.76, 95% CI = 0.62–0.91). PICRUSt showed unique thiamine metabolism and methane metabolism pathways in gut microbial were decreased in OB + high-cIMT compared with OB + non-cIMT.
Conclusion
Gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in detecting children with obesity combined with high cIMT.
Efficacy of ketogenic diet in CDKL5-related epilepsy: a single arm meta-analysis
Authors: Zhang Jie , Ma Jiayi , Chang Xuting , Wu Pengxia , Li Shangru , Wu Ye
Published: June 2022

Background
Drug-resistant epilepsy is one of the most important features of cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) deficiency disorder. The ketogenic diet (KD) may be effective for patients with CDKL5-related epilepsy, but there is little high-quality evidence to confirm the efficacy. This meta-analysis investigated the efficacy and safety of KD in CDKL5-related epilepsy.
Methods
The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, WanFang, CNKI and VIP databases were searched for relevant studies published up to January 1, 2022. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and evaluated the bias risk of the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 software.
Results
A total of 12 retrospective studies involving 193 patients met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis revealed that the definite responder rate to KD in the treatment of CDKL5-related epilepsy was 18.0% [95% CI (0.07, 0.67)], with no statistical heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 0%, P = 0.45). The clinical responder rate was 50.5% [95% CI (0.75, 1.39)], and there was no statistical heterogeneity among all studies (I2 = 46%, P = 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the clinical responder rate between the two groups with seizure onset age before and after 1 month (P = 0.14). Only one study mentioned adverse reactions, and the incidence of adverse reactions was 78.3% (18/23). Constipation and vomiting were the main manifestations, implying a high incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions.
Conclusions
The definite responder rate to KD in CDKL5-related epilepsy is 18%, and the gastrointestinal adverse reactions was probably common in these patients. All the studies included in the meta-analysis were retrospective, and most of them had small sample sizes. Additional high-quality studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and tolerance of KD in CDKL5-related epilepsy.
Retrospective comparison of two surgical approaches for incarcerated inguinal hernia: Midline preperitoneal repair and laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) surgery
Authors: jiang xiaoming , Sun R.-X. , Huang W.-H.
Published: June 2022

Background：Laparoscopic treatment for incarcerated inguinal hernia has gradually increased, while more surgeons preferred open surgery. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the safety and effectiveness of the two surgical methods.Methods: The patients with incarcerated/strangulated inguinal hernia treated in Jinshan Hospital (Shanghai, China) from January 2018 to March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. According to different surgical approaches, the patients were divided into lower abdominal midline incision group (LAMI) and laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) group. The characteristics, surgical outcomes and postoperative complications of the two groups were compared retrospectively.Results: 104 incarcerated/strangulated inguinal hernia cases were included in total. The average age was 64.4±16.8 years, 79 of them (76.0%) were male. 44 cases (42.3%) had obvious intestinal obstruction, and a total of 27 cases (26.0%) underwent intestinal resection. There were 62 cases (59.6%) in the LAMI group and 42 cases (40.4%) in the TAPP group. The operation time in the TAPP group was about 15 minutes longer (107.0min versus 92.8min; P =0.012), but postoperative length of hospitalization and time of return to normal activity were shorter in the TAPP group (2.7days versus 6.8days P<0.001 and 8.1 days versus 13.6days; P<0.001). There were 83 cases (79.8%) of 1st stage tension-free herniorrhaphy, including 37 cases (88.1%) in the TAPP group and 46 cases (74.2%) in the LAMI group (P=0.083). The surgical complications such as incision infection (4.8% versus 0 P=0.396), seroma/hematomas (11.3% versus 9.5%, P=1.000), intra-abdominal infection (16.1% versus 2.4% P=0.056), and recurrence (1.6% versus 0 P=1.000) were similar in the two groups. There were no cases of patch infection and chronic pain in the two groups. A total of 2 cases (1.9%) died of multiple organ dysfunction in the LAMI group and no death in the TAPP group.Conclusions: Lower abdominal midline incision approach and TAPP were safe and effective in the treatment of incarcerated inguinal hernia. TAPP showed more favorable short-term results for cases that were easy to retract without intestinal resection. Midline preperitoneal repair was more suitable for strangulated hernia requiring intestinal resection.
Impact of Quality Management Practices on the Performance ofEmployees: A Case Study of Selected Banks of Pakistan
Authors: Awan Prof.Dr.Abdul Ghafoor
Published: June 2022

In today competitive environment, having a loyal and satisfied customer increases revenues, reduces costs, builds market shares, and improves bottom lines. The objective of this paper is to examine the quality management practices (QMP) that affect employee service behavior. We selected five variables for quality management practices and they include employees reward, employee’s empowerment, employee’s commitments, and customer focus and employees leadership. It is assumed that these factors are unique in banking industry and significantly effect on employee service performance. We developed a structured questionnaire through which we collected from 200 employees working in selected banks such as Soneri Bank Ltd, Habib Bank Ltd, United Bank Ltd, and Muslim Commercial Bank Ltd. We examined the relationship between employee empowerment, employee commitment, employee reward, and customer focus and employees leadership with performance of employees. Multiple Regression method was used to measure the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Our Results show that quality management practices such as employees’ commitment, reward, leadership, empowerment, and customer focus have significant effect on the performance of employees. The empirical evidence shows that employee empowerment has significant relation with performance of employees.
Predicting patient treatment response and resistance via single-cell transcriptomics of their tumors
Authors: Ruppin Eytan , Sinha Sanju , Vegesna Rahulsimham , Kammula Ashwin , Dhruba Saugato Rahman , Wu Wei , Kerr Lucas , Nair Nishanth , Jones Matthew , Yosef Nir , Stroganov Oleg , Grishagin Ivan , Aldape Kenneth , Blakely Collin , Jiang Peng , Thomas Craig , Benes Cyril , Bivona Trever G. , Schäffer Alejandro
Published: June 2022

Tailoring the best treatments for individual cancer patients is an important open challenge. Here, we build a precision oncology computational pipeline for PERsonalized single-Cell Expression-based Planning for Treatments In ONcology (PERCEPTION). Our approach capitalizes on recently published matched bulk and single-cell (SC) transcriptome profiles of large-scale cell-line drug screens to build treatment response models from patients' SC tumor transcriptomics. We start by showing that PERCEPTION successfully predicts the response to monotherapy and combination treatments in screens performed in cancer and patient-tumor-derived primary cells based on their SC-expression profiles. Our key result is that PERCEPTION successfully stratifies responders to combination therapy based on the patients’ tumor’s SC-expression, as tested in two recently published clinical trials, including multiple myeloma and breast cancer. Thirdly, studying the emergence of resistance via a recent SC non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients’ cohort, we show that PERCEPTION successfully captures and quantifies the development of patients’ resistance during treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Notably, PERCEPTION predictions markedly outperform that of bulk expression-based predictors in all these cohorts. In sum, this study provides a first-of-its-kind conceptual and computational method demonstrating the feasibility of predicting patients' response from SC gene expression of their tumors.
How to Harvest Water from the air? The evidence from Bolivia
Authors: Urquidi Ariel , Czarnecki Lukasz
Published: June 2022

The objective of this paper is to analyze how to harvest water from the air in Bolivia. In order to collect water from the air by means of condensation two fog collectors were built in Kañuma, located in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. Environmental conditions, such as wind direction and velocity, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, were calculated using a Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station. The formal Quasi-Experimental Research was implemented, determining the cause-effect relation of quantity of water collected and environmental conditions in the lapse of 21 days. Daily controls were performed, analyzing the volume of harvested water regarding evapotranspiration and the psychrometric constant. Our results show that it has been possible to harvest almost 89 ml/day/m2 in both models, in just 21 days of experimentation. In addition, we want to shed light on sustainable development and public policy implementation on water collection alternatives, especially for high and mountainous areas, where we can locate some of the poorest communities in Bolivia.
WITHDRAWN: Evaluation of global climate models for the simulation of precipitation based on temporal and spatial assessment metrics in China
Authors: Lei Yawen
Published: June 2022

Global climate models of Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project 6 (CMIP6) has designed with the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) to project future climate change signal. Performance of 21 global climate models (GCMs) of CMIP6 was evaluated in this study in replicating cma rainfall in China for 1961–2014 period. Taylor diagram, Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic (KS) and six spatial metrics including Goodman-Kruska’s lambda (λ), Cramer’s V, Theil U, Fraction skill scores (FSS), SPAtial Efficiency metric (SPAEF) and Kling-Gupta efficiency (KGE) are used for the evaluation. Comprehensive rating metrics (RM) based on six spatial metrics were used for the ranking of the GCMs for the evaluation of annual and seasonal precipitation. The results showed that most GCMs overestimate the annual and seasonal precipitation in the mainland of China. Moreover, some differences are indicated in the ranks of GCMs for different metrics. The overall ranks indicated IPSL-CM6A-LR, EC-Earth3-Veg, EC-Earth3, IPSL-CM6A-LR and EC-Earth3 are most suitable GCMs for simulating annual, spring, summer and fall precipitation in Taylor diagram at the resolution of the observations. FGOALS-g3 is the most skillful in annual and four seasonal except fall precipitation but MPI-ESM1-2-HR for fall precipitation in temporal metric, but BCC-CSM2-MR, GFDL-ESM4, EC-Earth3-Veg, BCC-CSM2-MR, MRI-ESM2-0 are the most suitable GCMs for simulating annual, winter, spring, summer and fall precipitation in comprehensive spatial metrics at the resolution of raw GCMs. For the suitable selection of an ensemble of GCMs to reduce uncertainties in climate projections, the approach proposed in this study can be extended to any number of GCMs and climate variables and applicable to any region.
Soil carbon within the mangrove landscape in Rufiji River Delta, Tanzania
Authors: Dai Zhaohua , Trettin Carl C , Mangora Mwita M , Tang Wenwu
Published: June 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Optimization of Multi-Supplier Collaborative Transportation Based on K-Shortest Path Algorithm
Authors: Wang Ai-Hui , Han Xiao-Bo , Liao Wu-Dai , Liu Ping , Song Jing-Wen , Li Da-Ming
Published: June 2022

With the wide application of big data and artificial intelligence technology in road traffic, road planning makes logistics and transportation services more efficient. For the supplier's transportation service problem, a multi-supplier collaborative transportation strategy is designed in this paper. First, we establish a model to minimize the transportation cost, then we simulate a path diagram and calculate the optimal transportation paths of suppliers based on Dijkstra's algorithm. In addition, we obtain multiple alternative paths with K-shortest path algorithm. Finally, simulations of collaborative transportation for suppliers are performed in three scenarios and the results are used to prove the effectiveness of the proposed collaborative transportation strategy. This strategy not only can strengthen the synergistic cooperation among suppliers, but also cultivate the potential customer. Furthermore, it also could improve the flexibility of the supply chain, maximize the overall efficiency and provide a new solution for the development of logistics and transportation services.
Genome resequencing facilitates high resolution exploration of a maize quantitative trait locus for resistance to aflatoxin accumulation
Authors: Shan Xueyan , Williams W. Paul , Peterson Daniel G.
Published: June 2022

Aflatoxin contamination is a major threat to maize production in the Southeastern United States. Screening for genetic resistance to aflatoxin has led to the identification of aflatoxin-resistance quantitative trait loci (QTL) in maize inbred lines. However, these QTLs typically span large DNA regions making identification of actual resistance-associated sequences difficult. In this study, we took the portion of the maize B73 genome at chromosome bin 4.06 (APG v3) containing a 22 Mbp QTL (QTL-4.06) associated with aflatoxin resistance and used it as a reference to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion/deletion variants (INDELs) that differ between resistant (Mp313E and Mp715) and susceptible (B73 and Va35) maize inbred lines. Our study provides a rich list of SNPs and INDELs that can be used as markers in fine-mapping of candidate regions in QTL-4.06 and demonstrates the great potential of resequencing in generating higher density molecular maps that can be leveraged in molecular breeding-based crop improvement.
Identification of potential candidate genes and dysregulated mechanisms of heart failure
Authors: Wang Fei-fei , Liang Xiao-yan , Han Ya-fan , Sang Wan-yue , Yang Hang , Wang Lu , Sun Hua-xin , Li Yao-dong , Tang Bao-peng
Published: June 2022

Background
Heart failure (HF) adversely affects quality of life. This work aims to increase the understanding of the biology of HF in order to identify candidate markers that can provide the most effective diagnosis and treatment.
Methods
Gene expression profiles in HF and non-failing (NF) samples were collected from GSE116250 and GSE141910. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between HF and NF were identified, and common genes were obtained using intersection analysis. Enrichment analysis was performed to identify biological mechanisms underlying HF. Further, candidate genes were screened using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis. The diagnostic role of candidate genes to predict the occurrence of HF was evaluated by meta-analysis and ROC curves. In addition, we also utilized xCell to analyze the differences in immune cell infiltration between HF and NF.
Results
A total of 379 common genes were obtained as differentially expressed between HF and NF. Enrichment analysis identified common genes mainly involved in the immune response, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Through the LASSO model, we identified eight candidate genes (PHLDA1, C1QTNF2, SPC24, FNDC1, FREM1, SLC16A9, PLA2G2A, and S1PR3). The meta-analysis and ROC curves results suggest that the candidate genes are highly sensitive for the diagnosis of HF. Finally, we found that neutrophil, B cell plasma, and Th1 CD4 + T cell were significantly infiltrated in HF.
Conclusion
To identify potential diagnostic and therapeutic candidate genes using gene expression profiling of HF patients. In the future, more efforts are needed to investigate the role of candidate genes in HF.
A rise-assisting robot extends life space and improves facial expressions of nursing home residents
Authors: Kato Kenji , Yoshimi Tatsuya , Aimoto Keita , Sato Kenji , Itoh Naoki , Kondo Izumi
Published: June 2022

Background: The introduction of nursing care-support devices using robotic technology is expected to reduce the task burden in long-term care facilities. But the implementations are not proceeding as expected.Objective: To investigate the use of the rise-assisting robot, Resyone, in extending and improving the life space of nursing home residents with severe care needs. Methods: Resyone was used to facilitate visits to additional sites in and around the home as part of the care package of three residents. Two weeks before and four weeks after implementation of the new arrangements, the 30 caregivers involved were asked to record transfer times and destinations, while also checking the residents’ facial expressions.Results: Before implementation, participants had limited life spaces, but afterwards they regularly visited additional destinations including the garden, home entrance and corridors, which previously they had not visited frequently. The residents' facial expressions became more positive and less negative. This study demonstrates that Resyone can enrich care activities in severely disabled individuals.Conclusion: These findings suggest that the sustainable use of Resyone would improve the quality of care at care facilities. Moreover, the extension of otherwise limited life space has the potential to improve care receivers’ quality of life.
WITHDRAWN: Development and validation of a machine learning-based nomogram for prediction of ankylosing spondylitis
Authors: Zhu Jichong , Lu Qing , Liang Tuo , Jiang Jie , Li Hao , Zhou Chenxin , Wu Shaofeng , Chen Jiarui , Chen Tianyou , Deng Guobing , Yao Yuanlin , Liao Shian , Yu Chaojie , Huang Shengsheng , Sun Xuhua , Chen Liyi , Chen Wenkang , Ye Zhen , Guo Hao , Chen Wuhua , Jiang Wenyong , Fan Bingguang , Tao Xiang , Zhan Xinli , Chong Liu
Published: June 2022

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic progressive inflammatory disease of the spine and its affiliated tissues. AS mainly affects the axial bone and the sacroiliac joint, hip joint, spinal facet, and adjacent ligaments. We used machine learning (ML) methods to construct diagnostic models based on blood routine examination, liver function test, and kidney function test of patients with AS to help clinicians enhance diagnostic efficiency and allow patients to receive systematic treatment as soon as possible.Methods: We consecutively screened 348 patients with AS through complete blood routine examination, liver function test, and kidney function test at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University according to the modified New York criteria (diagnostic criteria for AS). By using random sampling, the patients were randomly divided into the training and validation cohorts. The training cohort included 258 patients with AS and 247 non-AS patients. The validation cohort included 90 patients with AS and 113 non-AS patients. We used three ML methods (LASSO, random forest, and support vector machine recursive feature elimination) to screen feature variables and then took the intersection to obtain the prediction model，In addition, we used the prediction model on the validation cohort.Results: Seven factors—ESR, RBC, MPV, ALB, AST, and Cr—were selected to construct a nomogram diagnostic model through ML. In the training cohort, the C value and AUC value of this nomogram were 0.878 and 0.8779462, respectively. The C value and AUC value of the nomogram in the validation cohort were 0.823 and 0.8232055, respectively. Calibration curves in the training and validation cohorts showed satisfactory agreement between nomogram predictions and actual probabilities. The decision curve analysis showed that the nonadherence nomogram was clinically useful when intervention was decided at the nonadherence possibility threshold of 1%.Conclusion: Our ML model can satisfactorily predict patients with AS. This nomogram can help orthopedic surgeons devise more personalized and rational clinical strategies.
Classification of audio signals using spectrogram surfaces and inherent distortion measures
Authors: Levy Jeremy , Naitsat Alexander , Zeevi Yehoshua Y.
Published: June 2022

Representation of one-dimensional (1D) signals as surfaces and higher dimensional manifolds reveals geometric structures that can enhance assessment of signal similarity and classification of large sets of signals. We therefore represent 1D signals as surface objects embedded in higher dimensional Euclidean or other spaces. Specifically, since we are concerned with audio signals, the spectrogram is utilized for the representation of the 1D signals by surfaces, but a handful of other representations in combined spaces such as wavelets can be utilized for this purpose. A novel class of geometric features is then extracted by parameterizing the surfaces, and by utilizing distortion measures that are defined with reference to them. This yields a set of highly descriptive features that are instrumental in our approach to feature engineering, analysis and classification of audio or other 1D signals. Two examples of audio signals were selected to illustrate applications and the capabilities of the new approach: Lung sounds were chosen in view of the interest nowadays in respiratory pathologies caused by the Corona virus and environmental problems; Accent detection was selected as an example of a challenging speech problem. The proposed approach outperformed baseline models under all measured metrics. Our novel approach to 1D signal representation and processing can be further extended considering higher dimensional distortion measures.
A bistable and reconfigurable molecular system with encodable bonds
Authors: Zhou Chunyang , Yang Donglei , Sensale Sebastian , Sharma Pranav , Wang Dongfang , Yu Lei , Arya Gaurav , Ke Yonggang , Wang Pengfei
Published: June 2022

Molecular systems with ability to controllably transform between different conformations play pivotal roles in regulating biochemical functions. Here we report the design of a bistable DNA origami junction (DOJ) molecular system that adopts two distinct stable conformations with controllable reconfigurability by employing conformation-controlled instead of geometry-matched base stacking. Exquisite control over DOJ’s conformation and transformation is realized by programming the stacking bonds within the junction to induce prescribed coaxial stacking of neighboring junction arms. A specific DOJ conformation can be achieved by encoding the stacking bonds with 8-bit binary stacking sequences from thermodynamic calculations. Dynamic transformation of DOJ between various conformations are achieved by using specific external stimulations to reprograme the stacking codes. This work provides a useful platform for constructing self-assembled DNA nanostructures and nanomachines, and insights for furture design of artificial molecular systems with increasing complexity and reconfigurablity.
Incidence, survival of primary colorectal lymphoma over 40 years and a nomogram based on SEER database and an independent validation
Authors: Zhao Fuqiang , Huang Liling , Chen Jianan , Mei Shiwen , Wang Zhijie , Wei Fangze , Li Juan , Xiao Tixian , Zhao Wei , Liu Qian
Published: June 2022

Background: The purpose of this study was to clarify trends in the incidence, survival, and prognosis of patients with primary colorectal lymphoma (PCL) and to establish a nomogram for primary colorectal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PC-DLBCL).Methods: Patients diagnosed with PCL from 1975 to 2018 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included for assessment of temporal trends in incidence. Clinical data of patients from 1975 to 2015 were extracted for survival and prognostic analysis. Patients diagnosed with PC-DLBCL from 2009 to 2017 in our department were designated as an independent validation dataset. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify independent prognostic factors affecting overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). A nomogram was constructed specifically for PC-DLBCL and evaluated by C-index, calibration curves, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and decision-curve analysis (DCA) plots. Results: The study included a total of 2644 patients diagnosed with PCL. From 1975 to 2018, the incidence of PCL increased from 1.13/1000000﻿(adjusted to the US standard population in 2000) to 2.54/1000000, With an obvious growth trend (annual percentage change = 2.91, 95% confidence interval 2.29–3.94, P < 0.05). The incidence of PCL increased steadily before 2005 and decreased annually since then. The survival outcome of PCL improved over four decades (P < 0.0001). Both the OS and DSS were affected independently by age, marital status, pathological subtype, Ann Arbor stage, surgery and chemotherapy. Besides, the nomogram for PC-DLBCL was constructed to predict 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year OS and DSS with robust and accurate performance. Moreover, risk stratification based on the nomogram score was accomplished.Conclusion: The incidence of PCL presented with a parabola-like trend, along with improved survival outcomes over the past 40 years. The nomogram for PC-DLBCL was capable of predicting the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year OS and DSS with high accuracy and help identify high-risk patients who might need more intensive medical care.
The novel solid solutions with titanite structure: arsenates, phosphates, and vanadates of the tilasite group
Authors: Koshlyakova Natalia N. , Pekov Igor V. , Agakhanov Atali A. , Nazarova Maria A.
Published: June 2022

The solid-solution system between natural arsenates, vanadate, and phosphate of the tilasite group are characterized. The material originates from sublimates of the active Asenatnaya fumarole, Tolbachik volcano, Russia and paleofumaroles of Thomas Range, Utah, USA. The tilasite-group minerals were formed under the oxidizing conditions at temperatures > 300°C. The minerals belong to the titanite structure type and have the general formula AM(TO4)X in which A are Ca and Na in sevenfold coordination, M are octahedrally coordinated Mg, Al, Fe3+, and Ti, T are tetrahedrally coordinated pentavalent As, P, and V, and X are O or F. The studied minerals show wide-range isomorphous substitutions at all these sites except of O atoms coordinating T. Maxwellite NaFe3+(AsO4)F and durangite NaAl(AsO4)F form a solid-solution series with only homovalent substitution Fe3+ ↔ Al. Two systems with heterovalent substitutions are observed: (1) with the major substitution Mg ↔ Fe3+ between tilasite CaMg(AsO4)F, maxwellite and a hypothetic end-member CaFe3+(AsO4)O and (2) with the major substitution M3+ ↔ Ti4+ between arsenatrotitanite NaTi(AsO4)O, durangite, maxwellite and CaFe3+(AsO4)O. In both cases the charge balance is achieved by coupled substitutions ANa+ ↔ ACa2+ and XF− ↔ XO2−. Two novel mineral varieties belong to these solid solutions, namely a MFe3+-dominant variety of tilasite with the formula close to (Ca2/3Na1/3)(Fe3 + 2/3Mg1/3)(AsO4)(F2/3O1/3) and an XO-dominant variety of maxwellite with the formula (Na2/3Ca1/3)(Fe3 + 2/3Ti1/3)(AsO4)(O2/3F1/3). Another solid solution forms between reznitskyite CaMg(VO4)F, tilasite and isokite CaMg(PO4)F with the major substitutions TAs5+ ↔ TV5+ ↔ TP5+. All these solid solutions are novel and highlight the specific crystal chemistry of fumarolic oxysalts with the titanite-type structure.
Emergency admissions due to secondary health conditions after spinal cord injury: A population-based description of determinants of length of stay.
Authors: Eriks-Hoogland Inge , Jedrusik Anna , Müller Lorena , Meier Susanna , Brinkhof Martin
Published: June 2022

Study Design:
Population-based prospective study.
Objective
To provide a population-based description of length of stay (LOS) and person-related risk factors following emergency hospital admission due to a secondary health condition (SHC) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Setting:
Specialized SCI hospital and rehabilitation center in Switzerland.
Methods
Descriptive analysis of LOS using routine clinical data of persons with SCI, who were acutely hospitalized between 01.01.2017–30.06.2018. Multivariable regression analysis was used to derive marginal predictions of LOS by emergency SHCs and person characteristics.
Results
The study included 183 persons, 83% were male, and the median age was 57 years (interquartile range, IQR, 49–67 years). SCI cause was traumatic in 160 (88.4%) cases, 92 (50.3%) were persons with tetraplegia, 147 (80.3%) were classified as motor complete lesions (American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) A or B) and median time since injury (TSI) was 24 (IQR 13–34) years. Median LOS was 19 (IQR 9–39) days, varying from 74 (IQR 39–92) days for pressure ulcers, 13 (IQR 8–24) days for urinary tract infections (UTI), to 27 (IQR 18–47) days for fractures. LOS was prolonged in persons with multiple co-morbidities or those developing complications during hospitalization. Sex, SCI etiology and lesion level were not associated with LOS.
Conclusion
This population-based description identified substantial variation in LOS between emergency SHCs and clinical complications as the main, potentially modifiable, person-related risk factors for extended hospital stay.
Utilization of modern contraceptive methods and associated factors among postpartum women in Ambo rural district, Ethiopia, 2021: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Nugussa Bushura , Solomon Tesfaye , Tadelu Hailu
Published: June 2022

Background
The first year after a woman has given birth is crucial for use of contraceptives even though many women do not realize that they are at a risk for pregnancy and contraceptive use is low during this period. This study was conducted to assess the utilization of modern contraceptives and associated factors among postpartum women in Ambo rural district, central Ethiopia.
Methods
A community-based cross-sectional study involving randomly selected 394 postpartum women was conducted from May 20, 2021 to June 10, 2021. Data were collected through interview, entered into EPI Data version 3.1, and analyzed by SPSS version 25.0. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were computed using multivariable binary logistic regression and p < 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance.
Results
The prevalence of postpartum modern family planning was 72.5% (95% CI: 68%, 77%). It was significantly associated with women's self-decision making (AOR = 6.43, 95% CI: 1.98, 20.90), counseling on family planning during antenatal (AOR = 9.71, 95% CI: 3.83, 24.61), visiting health facility after delivery (AOR = 5.24, 95% CI: 2.32, 11.84), ever heard modern contraceptives (AOR = 5.17, 95% CI: 1.88, 14.23), perceived partner approval (AOR = 4.31, 95% CI: 1.62, 11.47), and the lowest income (AOR = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.68).
Conclusions
The utilization of modern postpartum family planning in Ambo rural was promising. Therefore, family planning providers should strengthen making awareness of the women and counseling of their partners integrated with other services at a continuum of points of contact.
Potential mechanism of CD47 in Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia
Authors: Yu Yixue , Chu Chu , Zhang Dandan , Li Yuqin , Shi Jinjin , Zhou Wei-fang , Luo Yali
Published: June 2022

Background
Children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) exhibit decreased CD47 expression, which correlates with disease. CD47 expression is suppressed by miR-222-3p, which is elevated in MPP, and CD47 interaction with receptor SIRPα promotes phagocytosis. We hypothesized that suppressed CD47 expression contributes to the development of MPP.
Methods
Ninety-three children hospitalized at Children’s Hospital of Soochow University and requiring bronchoscopy were enrolled in the study; 65 were diagnosed with MPP (MPP group) and 28 presented with a bronchial foreign body (control group). Blood tests/biochemistry and cellular/humoral immunity markers were evaluated. miR-222-3p, CD47 and SIRPα expressions in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined using RT-qPCR and IL-4, IL-6, and IL-8 using ELISA.
Results
The MPP group displayed disordered coagulation, increased CD19 + CD23+, and ratio of CD4+/CD8 + cells, and increased IgA, IgG, and IgM concentrations (P < 0.05). The BALF cellular content in the MPP group revealed a decrease in macrophages and an increase in neutrophils (P < 0.05). miR-222-3p, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-8 expression in BALF was greater in the MPP group (P < 0.05) while CD47 and SIRPα expression was suppressed (P < 0.05). CD47 expression positively correlated with SIRPα and negatively correlated with miR-222-3P, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 (P < 0.05).
Conclusions
Low CD47 and SIRPα expression in children with MPP likely leads macrophages to engulf Mycoplasma pneumoniae and mediate an inflammatory response. IL-4, IL-6, and IL-8 are associated with development of MPP and could be useful as a reference index to judge the degree of inflammation.
Community acceptability of public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi: A cross-sectional survey of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices
Authors: Chitatanga Ronald , Twabi Hussein H. , Sambani Clara , Mitambo Collins
Published: June 2022

Background
Global experts estimate that in the absence of intervention, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will result into 40 million deaths globally and this burden is likely to be more pronounced in low-income settings. The knowledge, attitudes and practices of people during this pandemic is pivotal to uptake of recommended preventative strategies. This paper describes the Malawian knowledge, attitudes and practices related to COVID-19 and associated public health measures.
Methods
This was a multi-site cross-sectional survey where qualitative data was collected in nine Malawian districts over 3 weeks (5–25 October 2020), 6 months after the first confirmed COVID-19 case. A total of 521 participants (> 18 years) were enrolled to answer a questionnaire delivered through interviews.
Results
We found that all respondents were aware of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with the majority using the Radio as their main information-source. 75% of participants displayed knowledge of all key symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, fever and shortness of breath) and in addition to this knowledge, the majority of participants (97%) knew enough to take some sort of intervention (calling a COVID hotline or visiting the nearest hospital) if they developed symptoms. Participants also demonstrated a high perception of risk of COVID-19, where > 60% of participants believed to be susceptible to the coronavirus under the current preventative measures and > 50% believed they would die from infection. Communities displayed a high perceived effectiveness of all preventative measures, with “hand hygiene using soap and water” being perceived as effective by the majority of respondents. Although the majority of the participants (> 80%) were willing to self-isolate at home, various barriers to home-isolation were raised which would ultimately influence their ability to do so.
Conclusion
Baseline community psychosocial and behavioral information which influences the adoption of new COVID-19 public health measures in Malawi has been highlighted alongside recommendations for best practices.
Research on the effects of the Juncus inflexus subsp. inflexus extract on the liver damage caused by low dose thioacetamide at the rats
Authors: KAYA Muhittin , KAYMAK Emin , AKİN Ali Tuğrul , YILMAZ Engin , KURŞAT Murat , YAKAN Birkan
Published: June 2022

This study investigated the effects of thioacetimide (TAA) on liver damage by using the extract of the Juncus inflexus subsp. inflexus (JI) plant. Six experimental groups were formed using 42 8-12-weeks Sprague dawley male rats, with seven experimental animals per group. Two doses of normal saline (SF) (i.p) were administered within 120 minutes to each control group. 250 mg/kg single dose of TAA (i.p) was administered 120 minutes after administration of SF in the TAA group. 50 mg/kg single dose of JI extract (i.g) was administered 120 minutes after SF administration to the JI group. TAA+JI group was given 50 mg/kg JI extract 120 minutes after 250 mg/kg TAA was administered. 250 mg/kg of TAA was administered 120 minutes after 50 mg/kg of JI extract was applied to the JI+TAA group. TAA+JI+ group was administered 50 mg/kg JI extract 120 minutes after 250 mg/kg TAA was administered and 2 more 50 mg/kg JI extract were administered after 48 hours. At the end of the trial, blood samples were analyzed for aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) with autoanalyser. Liver tissue sections were examined by staining with hematoxylin eosin (H-E), periodic acid schiff (PAS) and caspase-3. On the other hand, the tissue homogenates were analyzed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), in terms of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH).In H-E and PAS studies, while a marked damage was detected in TAA group compared to other groups, based on biochemical analysis, only a significant change in parameter AST was determined. Compared to other groups, it was observed that the MDA rose significantly in the TAA group and that the GSH fell and that the expression of the kaspaz-3 was significantly increased.. On the other hand, it was found that lipid peroxidation decreased significantly in the TAA+JI group compared to JI+TAA group.In conclusion, this study has revealed that the extraction obtained from the Juncus inflexus plant has protective and therapeutic properties for the liver.
Enhancement of the nutritional value, antioxidant properties and growth performance in mono-sex Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus fries by pomegranate peel supplementation
Authors: Hussein Ebtehal E. , Fatan Nurulhuda , El-Betagy Alaa El Din , Naeem Mohamed Ahmed
Published: June 2022

Diet supplemented with pomegranate peel (3, 6, and 9 g/kg diet) as identified as POM3, POM6 and POM9 were fed to Nile Tilapia fries for 84 days to evaluate the nutritional values, antioxidant activity, histology of liver and intestine and growth of mono-sex Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fries. No significant changes (P ≥ 0.05) in the final weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate (SGR) were seen in all treatments. Meanwhile, a decreasing trend was detected in feed intake by increasing the pomegranate peel inclusion. When compared to the other groups, POM9 diet had the worst (2.02) (P ≤ 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR value). While POM3 diet had the best FCR (1.63) without significant differences (P ≥ 0.05) from the other groups except POM9. The survival rates did not differ significantly (P ≥ 0.05) in all treatments but increased pomegranate peel resulted in a modest rise. Pomegranate peel powder contains significant phenolic acid concentrations, resulted a high DPPH scavenging activity (81.72). Pyrogallol was the first abundant phenolic acid (927.45 mg/100gm powder). Increased pomegranate peel consumption also resulted in a significant increases (P ≤ 0.05) in superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), catalase (CAT), besides glutathione peroxidase (GSH). Additional pomegranate peel dosage led to a considerable decreasing trend (P ≥ 0.05) in malondealdihye (MDA) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Compared with the control group, fish fed diet supplemented with pomegranate peel had shown normal appearance of liver and intestine Therefore, Pomegranate peel supplementation may enhance growth performance as well as the health of mono sex Nile tilapia fry.