bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Problem in Career Determination Using Single-Valued Neutrosophic Distance Measure
Authors: M Arockia Dasan , F. Little Flower V. , X Tubax
Published: September 2022

In this paper, we introduce a distance measure on single-valued neutrosophic sets which is a generalization of intuitionistic fuzzy distance measure (Dutta and Goala 2018). This distance measure satisfies the axioms of metric (George F. Simmons 1963) on single-valued neutrosophic sets and shows that the difference of distance measure from unity is a similarity measure. A new methodology on multi-attribute decision-making problems (MADM) is developed for the most common decision by the smallest measure value of the proposed single-valued neutrosophic distance measure. We further apply this distance measure to a multi-attribute decision-making problem (MADM) for student’s career determination in a neutrosophic environment to find the best career for suitable students. Finally, the comparison is made between the proposed distance measure and the other distance measures (Majumdar and Samanta 2014; Chai et al. 2021) for the final decision chosen from the most common decisions of them.
Leveraging Machine Learning and Model-Agnostic Explanations to Understand Automated Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Sun Christopher , Sharma Jai , Maiti Milind
Published: September 2022

The pervasiveness of cardiovascular disease and physician misdiagnosis creates the need for artificial intelligence models to improve diagnosis accuracy. The study trains machine learning models on publicly available data sets containing simple medical information of patients to diagnose cardiovascular disease. The Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) assembled for this task performed optimally with an F1 score of 0.8968. This prompts the creation of an automated open-source diagnosis tool powered by the MLP. Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) are employed to understand the impact of different features on the model's diagnosis in the form of marginal probabilities. K-Means Clustering segments patients into ten clusters, after which each example is passed through LIME. The resulting histograms depict a complex relationship between feature, cluster, and impact on diagnosis. A series of P-values with contrasting orders of magnitude shows nuances in the MLP's understanding of patients from different clusters. LIME analysis reveals that the most important features for cardiovascular disease diagnosis are fasting blood sugar, type of chest pain, and ST segment slope. Future experiments should replicate this study's LIME methodology on data sets containing more specialized features in order to gain practical medical insights about the different types of cardiovascular disease represented by each cluster. Finally, feature engineering pathways should be explored with consideration of these results to create versatile diagnosis models adaptable to other diseases as well.
Comparison of cultural preferences and cultural practices in website design in Pakistan
Authors: Nizamani Sehrish , Nizamani Saad , Basir Nazish , Khoumbati Khalil , Nizamani Sarwat , Memon Shahzad
Published: September 2022

Purpose
Culture influences website designs. These websites benefit from the cultural elements incorporated into them. A website that is designed and used based on the preferences of its users and their culture is considered usable. Individuals' cultural preferences refer to their level of cultural comfort, whereas cultural practices are shared perceptions of how people behave in a culture regularly as a whole. This article discusses the comparison of the web design preferences of users with the actual working practices of the three categories of websites in Pakistan.
Methods
The disparity between preferences and practices is examined using Hofstede's six cultural dimensions. The website design practices are collected using the observational research method.
Result
The results reflect that web design practices in Pakistan correspond to preferences in the individualism versus collectivism and indulgence versus restraint dimensions of Hofstede dimensions of culture. The design practices for the remaining dimensions vary and do not adhere to the associated cultural dimension.
Conclusion
Assessing the geochemical processes controlling groundwater quality and their possible effect on human health in Patna, Bihar
Authors: Kumar Ramesh , Kumari Anupma , Kumar Rajesh , Sulaiman Mohammed Aasif , Zafar Mohammad Masroor , Singh Atar , Kumar Ravi , . Prity
Published: September 2022

The current investigation primarily concerns groundwater potability and irrigational value in the urban area of Patna. Hydrogeochemical processes influence human health by controlling the quality of groundwater. In this research, we evaluated the interplay between several measures of groundwater quality, the various possible causes of groundwater pollution, and the resulting health risks. Twenty groundwater samples were taken from various locations and examined to determine the water quality. Groundwater and associated geochemical processes in the study area were analyzed using statistical methods, geochemical modelling, and graphical representations. The average EC of the groundwater in the examined area was 728.13 ± 331.84 µS/cm, with a range of around 300–1700 µS/cm. Positive loadings were seen for Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Calcium (Ca2+), Magnesium (Mg2+), Sodium (Na+), Chloride (Cl−), and Sulphate (SO42− ) in principal component analysis (PCA), demonstrating that these variables accounted for 61.78% of the total variance. In the groundwater samples, the following main cations are the most prevalent such as Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+, while the dominant anions are HCO3− > Cl− > SO42−. The elevated HCO3− and Na+ ions indicate that carbonate mineral dissolution might affect the study area. The result demonstrated that there are 70% of samples fall into the Na-Cl-SO4 type, 15% of samples fall into mixed Ca-Na-HCO3 type, and 5% of samples that fall into the mixed Ca-Mg-Cl type and Na-HCO3 type, and no samples that fall into the Ca-Cl type. The findings make it abundantly evident that the primary groundwater salinity is far higher than the secondary salinity produced because of the weathering of the bedrock. The presence of the NaHCO3 kind of water is suggestive of shallow meteoric water, which may have originated from the river Ganga that is located nearby. The interactions between water and rock could have naturally resulted in the creation of these clusters inside the aquifer matrix. The results show that a multivariate statistical analysis, graphical plots, and geochemical modelling successfully identify the parameters controlling groundwater quality.
ACTIVE Study - Safety and feasibility evaluation of external ventricular drainage with ACTIVE fluid exchange in intraventricular hemorrhage: A phase 2, multi-center, randomized controlled trial
Authors: Haldrup Mette , Mohamad Niwar , Rasmussen Mads , Thorup Line , Dyrskog Stig , Simonsen Claus , Miscov Rares , Bjarkam Carsten , Grønhøj Mads , Poulsen Frantz , Korshøj Anders
Published: September 2022

Background
Primary intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) or IVH secondary to intracerebral- (ICH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are known to have a very poor prognosis, with an expected mortality between 50% and 80%(1). Clearance of IVH might improve patient outcome.
Methods
The study is designed as an investigator-initiated, comparative, prospective, multi-center, 1:1 randomized phase 2 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of active irrigation in external ventricular drainage (intervention arm - IRRAflow) compared to passive external ventricular drainage (control arm - EVD).
The trial will enroll 58 patients with primary or secondary IVH. Major eligibility criteria include age >18 years of age, IVH documented on head CT or MRI scan (Graeb Score ≥3), need of cerebrospinal fluid drainage, deterioration of consciousness or medical sedation at the time of enrollment, indication for active treatment evaluated by the treating physicians. Exclusion criteria included patients with fixed and dilated pupils, pregnant or nursing women.
The primary endpoint of the study is catheter occlusion evaluated by time to first observed occlusion from VC placement. Secondary endpoints include clearance of ventricular blood as measured by head CT scan, rates of catheter related infection and shunt dependency, length of intensive care unit stay, functional status – Extended Glascow Outcome Scale (eGOS) and modified Rankin scale (mRS) at discharge to rehabilitation and 90 days and mortality rates at 30 days and 90 days.
Discussion
With no standardized treatment for IVH and a poor prognosis, new treatments are needed. IVH patients often need CSF drainage to treat hydrocephalus and to decrease ICP. Standard treatment with passive external ventricular drainage is related to an increased risk of infections which is found in up to 22% of treated cases. The passive VC is known to have a risk of occlusion and is seen in 19-47% of the cases.
We hypothesize that the use of active fluid change using the IRRAflow system will be safe and feasible and will reduce the occlusion- and infection rates in patients with IVH.
Trial registration
ClicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05204849, registered 15.12.2021, updated 24.01.2022
Cross-cultural translation, validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire
Authors: YILMAZ Ebru , AYDIN Teoman , PASİN Özge
Published: September 2022

Objective
The aim of this study was to translate the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) into the Turkish language and assess its reliability and validity among patients with neck pain in the Turkish population.
Methods
One hundred subjects (67 female, 33 male) who had chronic neck pain for at least 3 months were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete the NPQ, the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPDS) on the day of admission, and one week later. The test-retest and internal consistency analyses were applied for the assessment of reliability. The test-retest analysis were assessed by using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) method (95% confidence interval). The value of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated for internal consistency. Spearman’s correlation coefficient analysis was used for convergent validity.
Results
The mean age was 46.68 ± 12.11 years in the study. The NPQ had a good internal consistency (Cronbach alfa = 0.704) and excellent test-retest reliability (Intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.995). Spearman’s correlation coefficient of the NPQ with the NDI was calculated at 0.648 and Spearman’s correlation coefficient of the NPQ with the NPDS was calculated at 0.811. These results showed that the NPQ is very good correlated with the NDI and the NPDS (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Our results suggest that the Turkish version of the NPQ is a reliable and valid instrument for Turkish people.
The effect of a phytoestrogen intervention and impact of genetic factors on tumor proliferation markers among Swedish patients with prostate cancer: study protocol for the randomized controlled PRODICA trial
Authors: Ahlin Rebecca , Nybacka Sanna , Josefsson Andreas , Stranne Johan , Steineck Gunnar , Hedelin Maria
Published: September 2022

Background
A high intake of phytoestrogens, found in soy, rye, and seeds, is associated with a reduced risk of a prostate cancer diagnosis. Previously, we found that the overall decreased risk of prostate cancer diagnosis in males with a high intake of phytoestrogens was strongly modified by a nucleotide sequence variant in the estrogen receptor-beta (ERβ) gene. However, we do not know if phytoestrogens can inhibit the growth of prostate cancer in males with established diseases. If there is an inhibition or a delay, there is reason to believe that different variants of the ERβ gene will modify the effect. Therefore, we designed an intervention study to investigate the effect of the addition of foods high in phytoestrogens and their interaction with ERβ genotype on prostate tumor proliferation in patients with prostate cancer.
Method
The PRODICA-trial is a randomized ongoing intervention study in patients with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer with Gleason score < 8, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) < 20, and scheduled for radical prostatectomy. The study is conducted at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. The intervention consists of a daily intake of soybeans and flaxseeds (~ 200 mg of phytoestrogens) until the surgery, approximately 6 w. The aim is to recruit 200 participants. The primary outcome is the difference in the proliferation marker Ki-67 between the intervention- and the control groups. The genotype of ERβ will be investigated as an effect-modifying factor. Secondary outcomes include e.g. concentrations of PSA and steroid hormones in blood.
Discussion
The results of the PRODICA-trial will contribute important information on the relevance of increasing the intake of phytoestrogens in patients with prostate cancer who want to make dietary changes to improve the prognosis of their cancer. If genetic factors turn out to influence the effect of the intervention diet, dietary advice can be given to patients who most likely benefit from it. Dietary interventions are cost-effective, non-invasive, and result in few mild side effects. Lastly, the project will provide basic pathophysiological insights which could be relevant in the development of treatment strategies for patients with prostate cancer.
Trial registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02759380, Registered on 3 May 2016.
Exploring of Two Different Equated Instability Resistance Training Programs on Balance and Muscle Strength and Power Performance in Pre-pubertal Weightlifters
Authors: Hammami Raouf , Nobari Hadi , Hanen Werfelli , Gene-Morales Javier , Rebai Haithem , Colado Juan Carlos , Ardigò Luca Paolo
Published: September 2022

Background
Although previous research in pediatric populations has reported performance enhancements following instability resistance training, the effects of different volumes on measures of balance, strength and power and lower limb asymmetry remain unclear.
Objective
to compare the effect of two 8-week instability resistance training programs (IRT1: 2 sets x 8 repetitions, 20% one-repetition maximum (1RM); IRT2: 2 sets x 4 repetitions, 40%1RM) in the strength (1RM), power (single-leg jumps), inter-limb asymmetry and balance (center of pressure displacements) of prepubescent weightlifters.
Methods
Thirty-two male athletes (10.94 ± .47 yrs, 17.05 ± .14 kg/m2 and 6.44 ± .93% body-fat) voluntarily participated and combined IRT (front and back squat, lunge and deadlift) with their usual weight-lifting training. Non-parametric tests evaluated the differences between pre- and post-intervention.
Results
Significant improvements were encountered in all the variables for both groups (effect sizes [ES] from 0.46 to 2.60), except the inter-limb asymmetry and the velocity of displacement of the center of pressure, which did not improve in IRT2. It is also worth highlighting that in the single-leg jumps and center of pressure displacements, whereas no-significant differences were observed between IRT1 and IRT2 in the baseline, significant differences appeared in the follow-up measurements.
Conclusion
IRT combined with weightlifting specific training improves the performance of prepubescent weightlifters and, therefore, strength and conditioning coaches may consider including unstable devices with low loads into an overall conditioning program and warm-ups for pre puberal male weightlifters to promote their physical fitness and potentially decrease inter-limb asymmetry.
Trial registration:
This study does not report results related to health care interventions using human participants and therefore it was not prospectively registered.
Phase I Prospective Trial of TAS-102 (trifluridine and tipiracil) and Radioembolization with 90 Y Resin Microspheres for Chemo-refractory Colorectal Liver Metastases
Authors: Fidelman Nicholas , Atreya Chloe E , Griffith Madeline , Milloy M. Alexandra , Carnevale Julia , Cinar Pelin , Venook Alan P , Loon Katherine Van
Published: September 2022

Background
Extrahepatic disease progression limits clinical efficacy of Yttrium-90 (90Y) radioembolization (TARE) for patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Trifluridine and tipiracil (TAS-102) has overall survival benefit for patients with refractory mCRC and may be a radiosensitizer.
Methods
Sequential lobar TARE using 90Y resin microspheres in combination with TAS-102 in 28-day cycles were used to treat adult patients with bilobar liver-dominant chemo-refractory mCRC according to 3 + 3 dose escalation design with a 12-patient dose expansion cohort. Study objectives were to establish safety and determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of TAS-102 in combination with TARE.
Results
A total of 21 patients (14 women, 7 men) with median age of 60 years were enrolled. No dose limiting toxicities were observed. Treatment related severe adverse events included cytopenias (10 patients, 48%) and radioembolization-induced liver disease (2 patients, 10%). Disease control rate in the liver lobes treated with TARE was 100%. Best observed radiographic responses were partial response for 4 patients (19%) and stable disease for 12 patients (57%).
Conclusions
The combination of TAS-102 and TARE for patients with liver-dominant mCRC is safe and consistently achieved disease control within the liver.
Characterization of circSCL38A1 as a novel oncogene in bladder cancer via targeting ILF3/TGF-β2 signaling axis
Authors: Wang Chuanxin , Li Peilong , Mi Qi , Yan Suzhen , Xie Yan , Cui Zilian , Zhang Shujun , Wang Yifan , Gao Huiru , Wang Yunshan , Li Juan , Du Lutao
Published: September 2022

The regulatory role of circRNAs in cancer metastasis has become a focused issue in recent years. To date, however, the discovery of novel functional circRNAs and their regulatory mechanisms via binding with RBPs in bladder cancer (BC) are still lacking. Here, we screened out CircSLC38A1 based on our sequencing data and followed validation with clinical tissue samples and cell lines. Functional assays showed that circSLC38A1 promoted BC cell invasion in vitro and lung metastasis of mice in vivo. By conducting RNA pull-down, mass spectrum and RIP assays, circSLC38A1 was found to interact with Interleukin enhancer-binding factor 3 (ILF3), and stabilize ILF3 protein via modulating the ubiquitination process. By integrating our CUT&Tag-seq and RNA-seq data, TGF-β2 was identified as the functional target of the circSLC38A1-ILF3 complex. In addition, m6A methylation was enriched in circSLC38A1 and contributed to its upregulation. Clinically, circSLC38A1 was identified in serum exosomes of BC patients and could distinguish BC patients from healthy individuals with a diagnostic accuracy of 0.878. Thus, our study revealed an essential role and clinical significance of circSLC38A1 in BC via activating the transcription of TGF-β2 in an ILF3-dependent manner, extending the understanding of the importance of circRNA-mediated transcriptional regulation in BC metastasis.
Complication Experience during Pregnancy and Place of Delivery among Pregnant Women: A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Teka Bekelu , Abdulahi Misra , Tsega Merertu , Edilu Birtukan , Ali Rahma , Birhanu Mahilet , Awel Samira , Getnet Masrie , Melaku Yabsira , Kidane Radiet , Taye Abonesh , Tamirat Meseret
Published: September 2022

Background
Unlike other causes such as abortion, obstetric complications like hemorrhage, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, which are difficult to resolve for women who give birth out of health facilities are persisted or increased to be the cause of maternal mortality in Ethiopia. Direct obstetric complications resulted in the crude direct obstetric case fatality rate in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the relationship between Complication Experience during Pregnancy and Place of Delivery among Pregnant Women.
Method
A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the baseline information as a part of a randomized control trial study. The sample size that was calculated for the cohort study with the assumptions to detect an increase in a minimum acceptable diet from 11 to 31%, with 95% CIs and 80% power, an intra-cluster correlation coefficient of 0·2 for a cluster size of 10 was used for this study. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 22.
Result
The prevalence of self-reported pregnancy-related complications and home delivery were 79(15.9%, CI; 12.7–19.1) and 46.90%( 95%CI; 42.5–51.1) respectively. Women who did not face vaginal bleeding were five times AOR 5.28 (95% CI: 1.79–15.56) more like to give birth at home than those who faced this problem. Women who did not face severe headache were nearly three AOR 2.45(95%CI:1.01–5.97) times more like to give birth at home.
Conclusion
This study concluded that home delivery was high among the study participants whereas pregnancy-related complications such as vaginal bleeding and severe headache were identified as protective factors for facility delivery. Hence, the researchers recommended the incorporation of “storytelling” into the existing health extension program packages to improve facility delivery which shall be applied after the approval of its effectiveness by research.
RSAD2, a pyroptosis-related gene, predicts the prognosis and immunotherapy response for colorectal cancer
Authors: Li Yunxiao , Cui Qianqian , Guo Rong , Ma Zhujun , Wang Yanyan , Xu Xinhua
Published: September 2022

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors and exhibits high levels of heterogeneity. Although many treatments and medications are available, the long-term survival rate of CRC patients is far from satisfactory. OBJECTIVE Pyroptosis is closely related to tumor progression, and we aimed to identify pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) and candidate biomarkers to predict the prognosis of CRC patients. METHODS The expression profiles from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were used to identify cancer hallmarks associated with CRC outcomes. WGCNA was performed to explore differential expression genes (DEGs). The STRING database and Cytoscape were used to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and identify the hub genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) were used to access the functional pathway related to hub genes. Real-Time Quantitative Revers Transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) was chosen to validate the expression of RSAD2 in CRC patients and its effect on pyroptosis. RESULTS 288 co-expression genes in CRC between pyroptosis-related modules and DEGs were identified. Among these hub genes, we selected the top 24 for further analysis and found that RSAD2 was a novel biomarker associated with the progression of CRC. In addition, RSAD2 also affected the tumor immune microenvironment and prognostic of CRC. A risk model for RSAD2 was identified as an independent prognostic predictor. The receiver operator characteristic analysis showed that the model had an acceptable prognostic value for patients with CRC. In addition, RSAD2 also affects the tumor immune microenvironment and prognosis of CRC. We further validated RSAD2 expression in CRC patients and the model using qPCR and the role of RSAD2 in pyroptosis. CONCLUSIONS The comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) in CRC demonstrated their potential in the tumor-immune microenvironment, clinic-pathological features, and prognosis. Furthermore, this study comprehensively assessed the expression and prognosis of RSAD2 in CRC patients. These findings may offer a new direction for early CRC screening and development of future immunotherapy strategies.
Undernutrition among the children below five years of age in Uganda: A spatial analysis approach
Authors: Maniragaba Vallence Ngabo , Atuhaire Leonard , Rutayisire Peter Clever
Published: September 2022

Background: Undernutrition is a health condition caused by lack of enough food intake, not having enough of the right combination of food nutrients or the body’s failure to utilize the food eaten. This deficiency of food intake results into any of the three health problems namely; stunting, underweight or body wasting. Though the condition affects both the young and old, the young especially the under-fives are at a higher risk. Globally, undernutrition affects more than 149 million under-fives while in Uganda about 3 in every 10 children suffer from undernutrition. The prevalence is unevenly distributed throughout the country. The effects of undernutrition go beyond physical deformities to the child’s poor mental development, poor cognitive development, frequent morbidity and can lead to death.
Methods: This study aimed at establishing spatial variation of undernutrition within Uganda. Anthropometric data on children was obtained from the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS). Data for prevalence rates and percentages of factors affecting undernutrition were combined with the Uganda district shape file to allow spatial analysis. Moran’s I, Getis-Ord (GI*) and GWR respectively, were used to establish the local, global and geographically weighted regressions across the country. ArC GIS (version 10) was used for analysis.
Results: The results indicate that, undernutrition in Uganda shows varies spatially across regions. Evidence of hot spots exist in the North Eastern part of Uganda (the Karamoja region) and the Arua region, cold spot areas exist around the central part of the country while the greatest part of Western Uganda, Northern and Eastern were not significant.
Conclusion: The study reveals that a variation in the distribution of undernutrition throughout the country. Significant spatial patterns associated with undernutrition as were identified through hotspot and cold spot analysis do exist in Uganda. Programmes targeting to reduce the undernutrition of under-fives in Uganda should consider the spatial distribution of undernutrition and its determinants. Prioritization in reducing undernutrition should be given to specific hotspot areas. The spatial intensity of undernutrition and its determinants indicate that focus should be tailored to meet the local needs as opposed to a holistic national approach.
Effects of Aging Treatment on Inconel Specimen 600, 625, 718 Coated with Nickel Chromium Carbide (Cr3C2-NiCr) Using Salt and Acidic Corrosion Methods
Authors: Kumar Vinod
Published: September 2022

When the material interacts with its surroundings, the deterioration of the material's important properties is referred to as corrosion. Substances used as construction material processing equipment, including the product from it, called materials. These materials can be metals and their alloys, composites, polymers, and ceramics etc. The generally iron and its alloys are the most commonly used materials opted to design different structural component, and thus are largely affected by corrosion in this aspect understanding of corrosion study plays a very vital role. This work includes the use of the thermal spray by D-gun method on three different Inconel materials 600, 625 and 718 are coated with nickel chromium carbide and average thicknesses of 61.34 µm, 67.97 µm and 60.84 µm are obtained respectively. The nickel chromium carbide coated materials then undergo acid corrosion and salt corrosion tests. In Acid corrosion test, the Inconel coated substrates were subjected to laboratory corrosion tests utilizing glass flask and chemicals of the reagent grade. The specimen has a dimension of (15×20×6) mm. The three Inconel specimens 600, 625 and 718 are soaked in three different beakers containing a capacity of 60 ml HCl concentrated for 72 hours. For three different Inconel specimens 600, 625 and 718 using Salt spray test rig salt corrosion test is conducted with temperature range 35°C to 65°C and corrosion rate is calculated. Finally, after the acid corrosion test on three Inconel 625 shows a weight reduction of 0.28% and in salt Inconel 625 shows the average corrosion rate of 38.5 Mpy. Hence it is concluded that Inconel 625 material has maximum coating thickness as compare to Inconel 600 and 718 coated material therefore Inconel 625 exhibited a promising physical and structural properties.
Intelligent Reflecting Surface Assists Secure Communication for Correlated MISO Wiretap Channels
Authors: wang zhejin , rui xianyi
Published: September 2022

We investigate whether intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is helpful to improve the secrecy rate of communication when the user’s channel and the wiretap channel are correlated. Furthermore, we study whether the location of the IRS will affect secrecy rate under the correlated wiretap channels. However, due to the constraint of the transmission power and IRS phase shift unit modulus, the problem is not easy to solve. To solve it, we use an alternate optimization algorithm and semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation. From the simulation results we can observe that IRS could effectively resist the influence of channel correlation and increase secrecy rate on secure communication.
The Predictive Effect of Tumor Mutation Burden on prognosis in Breast cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Ke Liyuan , Li Su , Cui Hongxia
Published: September 2022

Background:

Tumor mutation burden ( TMB ), as a promising predictive factor, has made some progress in predicting response to immune checkpoint inhibitors ( ICIs ) in several cancer types. The association between TMB and the clinical efficacy of ICIs in breast cancer has no conclusion. And it is controversial that whether TMB plays different forecast effects of ICIs and non-ICIs treatment. In this study, we conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to predict effect of TMB on prognosis in breast cancer.

Methods:

We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane databases for articles published up to May 31, 2022. We extracted effective data from included articles and calculated pooled effects of hazard ratio ( HR ) for overall survival ( OS ) and progression-free survival ( PFS ) by STATA 16.0. Heterogeneity was evaluated by the I2 statistic and p-values. Meanwhile, the cause of the heterogeneity was further investigated through publication bias assessment, sensitivity analysis, and subgroup analysis.

Results:

The patients were up to 1,722 collected from sixteen trials included in this analysis. The pooled effects of HR for both OS ( HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.83,1.58, p > 0.01 ) and PFS ( HR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.53,1.71, p > 0.01 ) showed no significant difference between high and low TMB group. Sensitivity analysis showed stability in the pooled effects. The funnel plot and Begg’s test suggested publication bias was absent. Subgroup analysis showed low heterogeneity and indicated that significantly better prognoses were found in ICIs group, TMB cutoff values ＞5 Mut/Mb group, tumor tissue group, and triple-negative breast cancer group.

Conclusion:

Our meta-analysis indicated that TMB as a predictor is not widely applicable in breast cancer. TMB may only forecast the efficacy of ICIs therapy, with better survival in high TMB group, but it is not obvious in non-ICIs therapy.
Tripodal Pd metallenes mediated by Nb2C MXenes for boosting alkynes semihydrogenation
Authors: Wei Zhong-zhe , Zhao Zijiang , Qiu Chenglong , Huang Songtao , Yao Zihao , Wang Mingxuan , Chen Yi , Lin Yue , Zhong Xing , Li Xiaonian , Wang Jianguo
Published: September 2022

2D metallene nanomaterials have spurred considerable attention in heterogeneous catalysis by virtue of sufficient unsaturated metal atoms, high specific surface area and surface strain. Nevertheless, the strong metallic bonding in nanoparticles aggravates the difficulty in the controllable regulation of the geometry of metallenes. Here we propose an efficient galvanic replacement strategy to construct Pd metallenes loaded on Nb2C MXenes at room temperature, which is triggered by ultra-strong metal-support interaction based on MD simulation. A combination of electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy characterizations and theoretical calculations confirm that the Pd metallenes feature a chair structure of six-membered ring with the coordination number of Pd as low as 3. The tripodal Pd metallenes promote the diffusion of alkenes as the effective Pd atoms directly bonded with alkenes decreased compared with traditional Pd (111). As a consequence, the Pd/Nb2C delivers an outstanding turnover frequency of 10372 h− 1and a high selectivity of 96% at 25oC in the semihydrogenation of alkynes without compromising the stability. This strategy is general and scalable considering the plentiful members of the MXene family, which can set a foundation for the design of novel supported-metallene catalysts for demanding transformations.
Unravelling the epidemiological diversity of Zika virus by analyzing key protein variations
Authors: Leiva Santiago , Valdano Marina Bugnon , Gardiol Daniela
Published: September 2022

The consequences of Zika virus (ZIKV) infections were limited to sporadic mild diseases until almost a decade ago, when epidemics outbreaks took place and were followed by virus introduction and quick spread into the Americas. Simultaneously, novel severe neurological manifestations for ZIKV infections were identified, including congenital microcephaly. However, the complete understanding of why the epidemic strains behave differently from previously circulating variants is still missed and many questions still remain about the actual significance of ZIKV genetic variations in the epidemiology and biology of ZIKV. Here, we attained to analyze a high number of sequences to identify genes with different levels of variability and patterns of genomic variations that could be associated with ZIKV diversity. We compared numerous epidemic strains with the pre-epidemic ones from both the Asian and the African lineages, while we also investigated special variations among the epidemic ZIKV strains derived from microcephaly cases. We identified several viral genes with dissimilar mutation rates among the ZIKV strain groups. Moreover, we found novel protein variation profiles that might be associated with the epidemiological particularities of each category of ZIKV strains. Finally, we assessed the impact of the detected changes on the structure and stability of the corresponding viral proteins, finding some interesting non synonymous variations which could help to explain the heterogeneous features among the diverse ZIKA strains. Altogether, this work contributes to identify ZIKV genetic variations that might have a phenotypical impact, as a basis for future experimental analysis to elucidate the recent ZIKV emergency.
Batch alignment of single-cell transcriptomics data using deep metric learning
Authors: Yu Xiaokang , Xu Xinyi , Zhang Jingxiao , Li Xiangjie
Published: September 2022

scRNA-seq has uncovered previously unappreciated levels of heterogeneity. With the increasing scale of scRNA-seq studies, the major challenge is batch effect and accurately detecting the number of cell types, which is inevitable in human studies. The majority of scRNA-seq algorithms have been specifically designed to remove batch effect firstly and then conduct clustering, which may cause loss of some rare cell types. Here we develop scDML, a deep metric learning model to remove batch effect in scRNA-seq data, guided by the initial clusters and the nearest neighbor information intra and inter batches. Comprehensive evaluations spanning different species and tissues demonstrated that scDML can remove batch effect, improve clustering performance, accurately recover true cell types and consistently outperform popular methods such as Seurat 3, scVI, Scanorama, BBKNN, Harmony et al. Most importantly, scDML preserves subtle cell types in raw data and enables discovery of new cell subtypes that are hard to extract by analyzing each batch individually. We also showed that scDML is scalable to large datasets with lower peak memory usage, and we believe that scDML offers a valuable tool to study complex cellular heterogeneity.
Comparison of clinician diagnosis of COVID-19 with real time polymerase chain reaction in an adult-representative population in Sweden
Authors: Quraishi Eman , Jibuaku Chiamaka , Lisik Daniil , Wennergren Göran , Lötvall Jan , Nyberg Fredrik , Ekerljung Linda , Rådinger Madeleine , Kankaanranta Hannu , Nwaru Bright I.
Published: September 2022

Background
Due to the high transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2, accurate diagnosis is essential for effective infection control, but the gold standard, real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), is costly, slow, and test capacity has at times been insufficient. We compared the accuracy of clinician diagnosis of COVID-19 against RT-PCR in a general adult population.
Methods
COVID-19 diagnosis data by 30thSeptember 2021 for participants in an ongoing population-based cohort study of adults in Western Sweden were retrieved from registers, based on positive RT-PCR and clinician diagnosis using recommended ICD-10 codes. We calculated accuracy measures of clinician diagnosis using RT-PCR as reference for all subjects and stratified by age, gender, BMI, and comorbidity collected pre-COVID-19.
Results
Of 42,621 subjects, 3,936 (9.2%) and 5,705 (13.4%) had had COVID-19 identified by RT-PCR and clinician diagnosis, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of clinician diagnosis against RT-PCR were 78% (95%CI 77-80%) and 93% (95%CI 93-93%), respectively. Positive predictive value (PPV) was 54% (95%CI 53-55%), while negative predictive value (NPV) was 98% (95%CI 98-98%) and Youden’s index 71% (95%CI 70-72%). These estimates were similar between men and women, across age groups, BMI categories, and between patients with and without asthma. However, while specificity, NPV, and Youden’s index were similar between patients with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sensitivity was slightly higher in patients with (84% [95%CI 74-90%]) than those without (78% [95%CI 77-79%]) COPD.
Conclusions
The accuracy of clinician diagnosis for COVID-19 is adequate, regardless of gender, age, BMI,and asthma, andthus can be used for screening purposes to supplement RT-PCR.
Knowledge of the students of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Lomé on the risk factors of gynecological cancers
Authors: Djiwa Toukilnan , Fouelifa Loïc , Bombonne Mayi , Simgban Panakinao , Darre Tchin
Published: September 2022

Introduction:Gynecological cancers are often diagnosed at a late stage in Togo, due to difficulty of access to means of screening and a lack of technical platform. The objective of our study was to assess the knowledge of Faculty of Health Sciences of University of Lome students on the risk factors of these gynecological cancers.
Methodology:This was a cross-sectional prospective study with a descriptive and analytical aim, carried out among 3rd year bachelor's and 3rd year doctoral students regularly enrolled at the Faculty of Health Sciences for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Results :A total of 640 students correctly completed the form. The mean age was 24.66 ± 2.7 years. The sex ratio (M/F) was 2.5. The students had a good knowledge of the risk factors for cervical cancer ; but knowledge of risk factors of ovarian, endometrial, vaginal, and vulvar cancers was low. The main source of information was the courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences. Factors associated with knowledge of risk factors of cervical cancer were age (p-value = 0.0002), female gender (p-value = 0.0001 ; ORa = 2.46; 95% CI [1.31 -3.36]) and the fact of having followed a course on cervical cancer (p-value = 0.0073 ; ORa = 1.68; 95% CI [1.25-32.08]). Having done an internship in the gynecology department was the only factor associated with knowing the risk factors for ovarian cancer (p-value = 0.00001; ORa = 2.29; 95% CI [1 ,64-2.72]) and endometrial cancer (p-value = 0.0045 ; RCa = 2.63; 95% CI [1.56-3.07]).
Conclusion :The knowledge of risk factors of the gynecological cancer by the students of the FSS is relatively low, varying according to the type of cancer. It appears to promote self-learning for an improvement of this knowledge.
Stable Discharge Plateau Induced by Reversible Ammonium Ion Intercalation in Layered VOPO4·2H2O
Authors: Ye Fei , Pang Ruilvjing , Lu Chengjie , Liu Qiang , Chen Chaoyang , Dong Hongliang , Wu Yuping , Ma Renzhi , Hu Linfeng
Published: September 2022

The non-metal ammonium (NH4+) ion carrier has attracted tremendous interests for aqueous energy storage owing to the light molar mass and small hydrated ionic size. Nevertheless, the NH4+storage is severely challenged by that the as-reported cathode materials generally fail to satisfy the requirements on high capacity and stable working potential simultaneously up to date. Herein, we demonstrated that VOPO4∙2H2O with a layered framework and two-dimensional channels can reversibly host NH4+ion with a high specific capacity of 148.6 mAh g− 1at 0.1 A g− 1. More importantly, very stable discharge potential plateau at 0.4 V was achieved, which comes from the reversible intercalation/de-intercalation of NH4+in the interlayer spacing followed by an alternated stacking configuration. We revealed the crystal water molecules in the interlayer of VOPO4play a critical role in the NH4+ion storage performance. Theoretical DFT calculations suggest a unique crystal water substitution process by ammonium ion during the intercalation process. Our results realize the first inorganic compound with very stable working voltage for NH4+storage, and also contributes the fundamental understanding of the intercalation/de-intercalation of NH4+ions in layered hydrated phosphates for clean energy storage.
Integrated analysis of next generation sequencing minimal residual disease (MRD) and PET scan in transplant eligible myeloma patients
Authors: Fonseca Rodrigo , Arribas Mariano , Wiedmeier-Nutor Julia E. , Kusne Yael N. , Gonzalez-Velez Miguel , Kosiorek Heidi , Butterfield Richard J. , Kirsch Ilan , Mikhael Joseph , Stewart A. Keith , Reeder Craig , Larsen Jeremy , Bergsagel P. , Fonseca Rafael
Published: September 2022

Minimal residual disease (MRD) assays allow response assessment in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), and negativity is associated with improved survival outcomes. The role of highly sensitive next generation sequencing (NGS) MRD in combination with functional imaging remains to be validated. We performed a retrospective analysis on MM patients who underwent frontline autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). Patients were evaluated at day 100 post-ASCT with NGS MRD and positron emission tomography (PET-CT). Patients with ≥ 2 MRD measurements were included in a secondary analysis for sequential measurements. 186 patients were included in the analysis. At day 100, 45 (24.2%) patients achieved MRD negativity at a sensitivity threshold of 10− 6. MRD negativity was the most predictive factor for longer time to next treatment (TTNT). Negativity rates did not differ according to MM subtype, R-ISS Stage nor cytogenetic risk. PET-CT and MRD positivity had poor agreement. Patients with sustained MRD negativity had longer TTNT, regardless of baseline risk characteristics. Our results show that the “real world” ability to measure deeper and sustainable responses distinguishes a subpopulation of patients with better outcomes. Achieving MRD negativity was the strongest prognostic marker and could help guide therapy-related decisions and serve as a response marker for clinical trials.
Regulation of protein and oxidative energy metabolism are down-regulated in the skeletal muscles of Asiatic black bears during hibernation
Authors: Miyazaki Mitsunori , Shimozuru Michito , Kitaoka Yu , Takahashi Kenya , Tsubota Toshio
Published: September 2022

Hibernating animals exhibit an unexplained physiological characteristic of skeletal muscles being atrophy resistance, in which case muscle mass and strength remain almost unchanged both before and after hibernation. In this study, we examined the alterations in the regulatory systems of protein and energy metabolism in the skeletal muscles of Asiatic black bears during hibernation. Skeletal muscle samples (vastus lateralis muscle) were collected from identical individuals (n = 8) during the active (July) and hibernating (February) periods, while histochemical and biochemical analyses were performed. We observed no significant alterations in body weight, muscle fiber size, and fiber type composition during the active and hibernating periods, indicating that the skeletal muscles of bears are very well preserved during hibernation. In hibernating bear skeletal muscles, both regulatory pathways of muscle protein synthesis (Akt/mechanistic target of rapamycin and mitogen-activated protein kinase systems) and proteolysis (ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy systems) were down-regulated. Gene expression levels of factors regulating oxidative metabolism were also decreased in hibernating bear skeletal muscles. This is likely an adaptive strategy to minimize the energy wasting of amino acids and lipids during hibernation, which is accompanied by a prolonged period of disuse and starvation.
Diffusion Coefficients of Electrorheological Complex (Dusty) Plasmas
Authors: Shakoori Muhammad Asif , Khan Misbah
Published: September 2022

Equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations have been executed to investigate the parallel (D║) and perpendicular (D┴) diffusion coefficients for three-dimensional (3D) strongly coupled (SC) electrorheological complex (dusty) plasmas (ERCPs). The effects of uniaxial (z-axis) ac electric field (MT) on dust grains have been investigated along with various combinations of plasma parameters (Γ, κ). The new outcomes obtained by mean squared displacement of Einstein relation show diffusion coefficients for low-intermediate to high plasma couplings (Γ) for varying MT. The D║ and D┴ at MT = 0.01 are agree well with earlier available data obtained from the Green-Kubo and Einstein relation for 3D SC-Yukawa systems. The simulation data show that D║ increase with an increase of moderate MT strength and D┴ decreased for the intermediate to large MT strength Both (D║, D┴) remained nearly constant for low MT values. The investigations show that the current EMD scheme is more efficient for nonideal gas-like, liquids-like and solid-like states of SC-ERCPs. It has been demonstrated that present simulation outcomes extended the MT range up to 0.01 ≤ MT ≤ 10 to understand the diffusive and rheological behavior of dusty plasmas systems.
Experimental investigation of mechanical properties and energy absorption capabilities of hybrid lattice structures manufactured using Fused Filament Fabrication
Authors: Syrlybayev Daniyar , Perveen Asma , Talamona Didier
Published: September 2022

Hybrid lattice structures are composed of several dissimilar unit cells arranged in specific patterns. Unlike their one-phase counterparts, hybrid lattices remain relatively unexplored. In this work, novel hybrid lattice structures composed of Pillar Octahedral (PO) and Rhombic Dodecahedron (RD) lattices having variable strut diameters are arranged in different orders to form hybrid vertical piles (HVP), 2D and 3D chessboard order (HCh2D and HCh3D) are proposed and their mechanical properties, energy absorption characteristics, and deformation modes are investigated under quasistatic compression. The empirical results indicated that the mechanical properties of hybrid lattice structures are the average of those of their parent lattices. HVP lattice structure has a high yield stress of 1.2, 2.22, and 3.54 MPa when strut diameter is 1.5, 1.75, and 2 mm respectively, and stable post-buckling region. It was also observed that hybrid lattice structures are more efficient in absorbing the energy of the deformation. When strut diameter is 1.5 mm, PO lattice structure has an efficiency of 50%, while HVP, HCh2D, and HCh3D lattices have an efficiency of about 70–80%. Finally, Gibson-Ashby models were proposed to predict the mechanical properties of lattice structures as the function of relative density.