bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acceptance, Utilization and Factors Associated With Immediate Postpartum Intrauterine Contraceptive Devise Among Mothers Delivered in Public Health Facilities of Hawassa City, Sidama Regional State, Ethiopia.
Authors: Deneke Yemisrach Shiferaw , Jisso Meskerem , Fantahun Selam , Eshetu Betelhem , Assefa Abiyu Ayalew , Gebretsadik Achamyelesh
Published: March 2022

Background: Immediate Postpartum intra uterine contraceptive device (IPPIUCD) placement within 10minute after delivery is a safe and effective method when provided after comprehensive counseling. Studies on its acceptance and utilization are scarce in study area. This study aims to assess the acceptance and utilization of IPPIUCD.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among mothers delivered in the public health facilities in Hawassa city administration. EPI-Data version 7.2 was used for data entry and STATA 14 for analysis. To measure association a binary logistic regression and multivariable logistic regression model were used. Statistical significance was determined at p value of 0.05 with 95% confidence interval.Result: The mean (± SD) age of study participants was 25 years (±4.5). Acceptance and utilization of immediate post-partum IUCD were 64(16.4%) & 39(10%) respectively. Counseling about IPPIUCD, Attitude, plan to have another child, and birth Interval were associated with acceptance of immediate PPIUCD while husband support for family planning use, delivery time and number of children had significant association with utilization of immediate PPIUCD. Conclusion: The study found a relatively low proportion of acceptor and utilizer of immediate post-partum IUCD in the study area. To improve the acceptance and utilization of immediate PPIUCD among mothers, all stake holders concerned with family planning need to mitigate and promote the challenges and facilitating factors respectively.
Reconfigurable Graphene-Based Metamaterial Polarization Converter for Terahertz Applications
Authors: Mabrouk Ahmed Mosaad , Donkol A. A. , Seliem Asmaa G.
Published: March 2022

This paper suggests a high gain polarization converter using a graphene-based metamaterial array. The graphene-based metamaterial polarization converter is a rectangular array that consists of 20 periodic unit-cell elements. Each graphene-based metamaterial unit-cell element consists of a rectangular patch with four triangular-shaped graphene parts at its four corners. The rectangular patch with the four graphene parts are placed over a rectangular substrate backed with a perfect electric conductor (PEC) and has a relative permittivity of εsub = 3.38. The metamaterial characteristics of the proposed graphene-based metamaterial unit-cell element are obtained over a wide range of frequencies of 0.7 THz ranging from 1.5 THz to 2.2 THz. The graphene-based metamaterial array is placed over a linear polarized slot antenna that operates at 1.8 THz with a maximum gain of 5.5 dBi. The linearly polarized wave that radiated from the slot antenna can be converted into a reconfigurable right-handed circular polarization (RHCP) or Left-handed circular polarization (LHCP) according to the biasing states of the graphene parts. Moreover, the operating -10 dB B.W of the slot antenna is increased to 22.2%, and the gain is enhanced to 8 dBi at the same operating frequency. A reconfigurable polarization conversion for the slot antenna can be obtained over a wide 3dB axial ratio (AR) B.W from 1.75 THz to 1.92 THz (20% 3dB B. W).
Fear and Anxiety related to Covid-19 pandemic may predispose to perinatal depression
Authors: Orsolini Laura , Pompili Simone , Mauro Antonella , Salvi Virginio , Volpe Umberto
Published: March 2022

Purpose. The COVID-19 pandemic situation significantly affected the mental health of the general and clinical population including that of pregnant and puerperal women due to lack of access to healthcare, social isolation, sleep loss, feelings of fear and uncertainties. However, few studies investigated which COVID-19-related psychopathological determinants may predispose to perinatal depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 related anxiety and fear on perinatal depression. Methods. We retrospectively screened 184 perinatal outpatients afferent to Perinatal Mental Health outpatient service, during March 2020-March 2021, by using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19-S) and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS). Results. The mean EPDS score was 9.0 (SD=5.3), experiencing a clinically relevant perinatal depression in 45.7% of the sample. The mean FCV-19-S score was 15.0 (SD=6.2) and CAS was 1.7 (SD=2.8). Linear regression analyses demonstrated that FCV-19-S (F(1,68)=12.218, R2=0.152, p<0.001) and CAS scores (F(1,68)=10.278, R2=0.131, p=0.002) statistically significantly predicted EPDS total scores. A positive correlation was reported between FCV-19-S and EPDS (r=0.390, p<0.001) and between CAS and EPDS (r=0.362, p<0.001). Conclusion. COVID-19 pandemic with its subsequent isolation, quarantine and lockdown might determine increased levels of anxiety and fear, particularly among women in their perinatal period who may experience a deprivation of their normal sources of family and social support and, hence, experience psychological distress, even in those women without a previous psychiatric history. Further preventive and screening strategies should be implemented in order to early identify at-risk pregnant and puerperal women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Complete Cloroplast Genomes of Tetrastigma Hemsleyanum (Vitaceae) from Different Regions of China: Molecular Structure, Comparative Analysis and Development of DNA Barcodes for its Geographical Origin Discrimination
Authors: Dong Shujie , Zhou Manjia , Zhu Jinxing , Wang Qirui , Ge Yuqing , Cheng Rubin
Published: March 2022

Background Tetrastigma hemsleyanum is a valuable traditional Chinese medicinal plant widely distributed in the subtropical areas of China. It belongs to the Cayratieae tribe, family Vitaceae, and exhibited significant anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activities. However, obvious differences were observed on the quality of T. hemsleyanum root from different regions, requiring the discrimination strategy for the geographical origins. ResultThis study characterized five complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of T. hemsleynum samples from different regions, and conducted a comparative analysis with other representing species from family Vitaceae to reveal the structural variations, informative markers and phylogenetic relationships. The sequenced cp genomes of T. hemsleyanum exhibited a conserved quadripartite structure with full length ranging from 160,124 bp of Jiangxi Province to 160,618 bp of Zhejiang Province. We identified 112 unique genes (80 protein-coding, 28 tRNA and 4 rRNA genes) in the cp genomes of T. hemsleyanum with highly similar gene order, content and structure. The IR contraction/expansion events occurred on the junctions of ycf1, rps19 and rpl2 genes with different degrees, causing the differences of genome sizes in T. hemsleyanum and Vitaceae plants. The number of SSR markers discovered in T. hemsleyanum was 56-57, exhibiting multiple differences among the five geographic groups. Phylogenetic analysis based on conserved cp genome proteins strongly grouped the five T. hemsleyanum species into one clade, showing a sister relationship with T. planicaule. Comparative analysis of the cp genomes from T. hemsleyanum and Vitaceae revealed five highly variable spacers, including 4 intergenic regions and one protein-coding gene (ycf1). Furthermore, five mutational hotspots were observed among T. hemsleyanum cp genomes from different regions, providing data for designing DNA barcodes trnL and trnN. The combination of molecular markers oftrnL and trnN clustered the T. hemsleyanum samples from different regions into threegroups, thus successfully separating specimens of Sichuan and Zhejiang from other areas. Conclusion Our study obtained the chloroplast genomes of T. hemsleyanum from different regions, andprovided a potential molecular tracing tool for determining the geographical origins of T. hemsleyanum, as well as important insights into the molecular identification approach and and phylogeny in Tetrastigma genus and Vitaceae family.
Limited Utility in Using Frailty Scores Based on Electronic Health Record Data to Predict Acute Outcomes of Major Lung Resection
Authors: Attaar Mikhail , Lee Andy , Lee Sang Mee , Huisingh-Scheetz Megan , Ferguson Mark
Published: March 2022

Background: Frailty is a risk factor for adverse outcomes after lung resection, but few centers routinely assess frailty preoperatively. We evaluated whether frailty scores can be calculated using extant electronic health record (EHR) data and whether scores are associated with acute lung resection outcomes. Methods: A retrospective review of patients who underwent major lung resection for cancer 1995-2014 was performed to calculate four EHR-based frailty indices: modified frailty index (mFI-5), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and two laboratory frailty indices (FI-Lab and FI-Laboratory). Scores were generated if >70% of EHR values were present for a patient within six months of surgery. The association between frailty scores and surgical complications was assessed using multivariable logistic regression.Results: We included 496 patients (50.3% female, mean age 65.8 ± 1.0 years). The mFI-5 score could be calculated for all patients. PNI, FI-Lab and FI-Laboratory scores could be calculated for only 33.4%, 5.6% and 38.5% of patients, respectively. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated only for the mFI-5 and demonstrated that scores >1 were significantly associated with pulmonary complications (p = 0.002) and any complication (p = 0.004).Conclusions: Among four EHR-based frailty indices evaluated, only the mFI-5 could be consistently calculated. The mFI-5 was an independent predictor of pulmonary and overall complications. Further investigation of this and other measures of frailty is necessary in order to more robustly predict surgical outcomes.
Planning for groundwater management using Visual MODFLOW Model and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, West- West Minia, Egypt.
Authors: morsy samah mahmoud
Published: March 2022

This study presents a planning model to assist decision-makers in implementing proposed sustainable development policies based on the government's development schemes. It focuses on the exploitation of groundwater from the Eocene aquifer in the West-West Minya region in the Western desert of Egypt as one of the new development areas. The visual MODFLOW model is applied to serve as a base model for the study area's local modeling and assess the impact of operating scenarios on the groundwater aquifer. An optimal scenario for groundwater sustainability is achieved by considering the water meter consumption in the newly reclaimed area with a value of 6 m3/d for each acre to irrigate 3953.68 acres. The results reveal a lower decline in groundwater levels than the other proposed scenarios, and dynamic groundwater levels reached a steady-state after an estimated 9700 days. The GIS Multi-Criteria Analysis Model is used to assess the impact of groundwater deficiency as a result of reclamation. Results of the groundwater model are merged as input layers in Multicriteria Decision Analysis, which include groundwater salinity, groundwater levels, aquifer transmissivity, and aquifer storativity. The prospective groundwater zones are categorized into Most suitable (1584 sq km, 9.9 %), Suitable (4592 sq km, 28.7%), Good (4784 sq Km, 29.9%), Moderate (1488 sq Km, 9.3%) and Unsuitable (3552 sq Km, 22.2%). It is recommended to optimize levels of groundwater withdrawal from the current or future drilling wells to achieve a balance between the use and the protection of water potential.
Assessment of deep aquifer development and its implications in granitic terrain using isotopes and chemistry
Authors: Reddy Venkat D , Kumar Devender , Kumar B. Kiran , Reddy S. Kiran Kumar , Shashidhar D.
Published: March 2022

This study is conducted in the Precambrian granitic terrain, to demonstrate the presence of the multi-aquifer system and examine the inter-communications between them. Distinct hydrochemical characters of the groundwater from shallow (~ 100 m) and deep (~ 400 m) wells, signifies their independent and unconnected nature initially. Hydrochemistry of deep groundwater is approximately constant (either Ca-Na-Cl or Ca-Na-Cl-SO4 type of water) during January 2015 to June 2016. Repeated carbon-14 measurements during the same period show the 14C activity of about 35 to 85 pMC (residence time about 3 to 8 ky BP). However, as a result of excess rainfall during 2016, hydrochemical facies of deep groundwater changed initially to Na-Ca-SO4-Cl and subsequently stabilised at Ca-Na-HCO3-Cl type with a drastic reduction in Cl and increased HCO3 and NO3 concentrations, while the 14C activity turned out to be to 100 pMC (modern age). These changes are attributed to ingression of fresh water into the deep aquifer, after paleo-groundwater depleted due to prolonged drought conditions along with the over-exploitation of limited potential deep aquifer. These drought and over-exploitation situations potentially improved the migration potential of fresh water to the deep aquifer and led to enhancing the groundwater recharge during the excess rainfall years. This brings a new perspective to the hydrogeological dynamics between shallow and deep groundwater. A conceptual model is proposed to explain the observed phenomenon. This study also suggests that, under climate driven drought conditions, deep aquifers could act as emergent groundwater resource to meet the water demands amid population growth.
Effect of Adjunct Tele-Yoga on Clinical Status at 14 Days in Hospitalized mild and Moderate COVID-19 Patients: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Majumdar Vijaya , K Manjunath N , R Nagarathna , Panigrahi Suryanarayan , Kanchi Muralidhar , Sahoo Sarthak , Nagendra Hongasandra R , Giridharan Adithi , Reddy Mounika , Nayak Rakshitha
Published: March 2022

Background: We tested if tele-yoga intervention could aid in better clinical management for hospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 when complemented with the standard of care.Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial conducted at the Narayana Hrudalaya, Bengaluru, India on hospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection, enrolled between May 31st and July 22, 2021. Patients (n=225) were randomized in 1:1 ratio [adjunct tele-yoga (n = 113), or standard of care (n = 112)]. Adjunct yoga group received intervention in tele-mode within 4 hours post-randomization until 14 days along with the standard of care. The primary outcome was clinical status at 14th-day post-randomization assessed with a 7-category ordinal scale. The trial included 11 secondary outcomes, including 28-day mortality.Results: As compared with standard of care alone, the proportional odds of having a higher score on the seven-point ordinal scale at day 14 was ~1.9 for the adjunct tele-yoga group (95% CI, 1.18-3.18). CRP and LDH levels were comparatively reduced in the adjunct tele-yoga group 5th day post-randomization. CRP reduction was also observed as a potential mediator for the improvement of clinical outcomes in the adjunct tele-yoga group. There were no significant differences between the treatment groups concerning the duration of hospitalization, all-cause mortality at day 28; log-rank P = 0.144, and other outcomes.Conclusion: The observed clinically relevant outcomes in COVID-19 patients at day 14 contest the use of tele-yoga as a complementary treatment in hospital settings.
Polarization and Wide Incident Angle Insensitive Metal Free Superwideband Absorber For Terahertz and Infrared Spectrum
Authors: SINGHAL SARTHAK
Published: March 2022

A circular slot loaded octagonal metal free graphite based absorber for superwideband applications at terahertz and infrared spectrum is proposed. The absorber comprises a circular slot loaded octagonal graphite slab at the top layer, silicon dioxide as substrate and square graphite slab as the bottom layer. This absorber is operating over a frequency spectrum of 6 THz to more than 80 THz (ratio bandwidth of > 12:1 and fractional bandwidth of > 172.093%) for absorption more than 90% with unity peak absorption. The absorber dimensions are 5 µm × 5 µm × 7.04 µm. The thickness of the substrate is only ∼ λo/26 and the periodicity of absorber is ∼ λo/10 at 6 THz. The performance of the absorber is found to be insensitive to changes in polarization angle (Φ). Furthermore, the performance of the absorber is observed to be unaffected by incident angle (θ) variations from 0o to 60o. The metal-free geometry along with insensitiveness to Φ and 0o ≤ θ ≤ 60o makes the proposed absorber suitable for compact terahertz/infrared micro/nanoscale systems.
Lymphocytes in Tumor-Draining Lymph Nodes Co-Cultured with Autologous Tumor Cells for Adoptive Cell Therapy
Authors: Okamura Kazumi , Nagayama Satoshi , Tate Tomohiro , Chan Hiu Ting , Kiyotani Kazuma , Nakamura Yusuke
Published: March 2022

Background
Tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) are primary sites, where anti-tumor lymphocytes are primed to tumor-specific antigens and play pivotal roles in immune responses against tumors. Although adoptive cell therapy (ACT) using lymphocytes isolated from TDLNs were reported, characterization of immune activity of lymphocytes in TDLNs to tumor cells was not comprehensively performed. Here, we demonstrate TDLNs to have very high potential as cell sources for immunotherapy.
Methods
Lymphocytes from TDLNs resected during surgical operation were cultured with autologous-tumor cells for 2 weeks and evaluated tumor-reactivity by IFNγ ELISPOT assay. We investigated the commonality of T cell receptor (TCR) clonotypes expanded by the co-culture with autologous tumor cells with those of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).
Results
We found that that TCR clonotypes of PD-1-expressing CD8+ T cells in lymph nodes commonly shared with those of TILs in primary tumors and lymphocytes having tumor-reactivity and TCR clonotypes shared with TILs could be induced from non-metastatic lymph nodes when they were co-cultured with autologous tumor cells.
Conclusion
Our results imply that tumor-reactive effector T cells were present even in pathologically non-metastatic lymph nodes and could be expanded in vitro in the presence of autologous tumor cells and possibly be applied for ACT.
Trends and Research features on Greenhouse gas emission from Rice production: Review based on bibliometric analysis
Authors: Sossa Coffi Leonce Geoffroy , Sanogo Souleymane , Naab Jesse B. , Sintondji Luc O.
Published: March 2022

Rice production is facing the veritable challenge of meeting the still world growing population needs while minimizing its consequence in the environment. Greenhouse from rice production has become a great concern and a core of a lot of research during the last years. The main aim of the study was to explore the research trend of GHG emission from rice production from multiple perspectives and provide references and suggestions for the future development direction over the period 1991–2020. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Scopus database and the sample included 2535 articles. The methodology was based on descriptive analysis, Co-Occurrence Analysis, Factorial analysis, Word dynamic over time, and Author’s keyword analysis over time. The results indicate a remarkable increase in the number of articles published on this topic mainly in the journals ‘Agriculture’, ‘Ecosystems’, and ‘Environment’. the main authors were Conrad R. and Wassmann R. In terms of a number of articles, very few were related to African countries and China, Japan and India were the main contributors. Keywords co-occurrence analysis showed that Rice, methane, and carbon dioxide are the core keywords of the network. The multiple factorial analysis pointed out the relationship between management practices, Carbone dioxide emission, and rice production. Different authors’ keywords during the three decades have been used and during the last decade included Global Warming Potential, Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change. The findings of this review can help researchers and scholars by providing an overview of worldwide research in this field.
Differential Impact of Quarantine Policies for Recovered COVID-19 Cases in England: A Case Cohort Study of Surveillance Data, June to December 2020
Authors: Merrick Rachel , Chudasama Dimple , Flannagan Joe , Campos-Matos Ines , Howard Annabelle , Bindra Renu , Gill Noël , Dabrera Gavin , Lamagni Theresa
Published: March 2022

Background
From 12th March 2020, individuals in England were advised to quarantine in their home if a household member tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. A mandatory isolation period of 10 days was introduced on 28th September 2020 and applied to all individuals with COVID-19. We assessed the frequency, timing, and characteristics of recovered COVID-19 cases requiring subsequent quarantine episodes due to household re-exposure.
Methods
In this case cohort study, all laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases notified in England (29th June to 28th December 2020) were analysed to identify consecutive household case(s). Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine associations between case characteristics and need to quarantine following recent infection (within 28 days of diagnosis).
Results
Among 1,651,550 cases resident in private dwellings and Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs), 56,179 (3.4%) were succeeded by further household cases diagnosed within 11–28 days of their diagnosis. Of 1,641,412 cases arising in private homes, the likelihood of further household cases was highest for Bangladeshi (aOR = 2.20, 95% CI = 2.10–2.31) and Pakistani (aOR = 2.15, 95% CI = 2.08–2.22) individuals compared to White British, as well as among young people (17-24y vs. 25-64y; aOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.16–1.22), men (vs. women; aOR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.04–1.08), London residents (vs. Yorkshire and Humber; aOR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.52–1.63) and areas of high deprivation (IMD 1 vs. 10; aOR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.09–1.19).
Conclusions
Policies requiring quarantine on re-exposure of recently recovered cases differentially impact some of the most disadvantaged populations. Quarantine exemption for individuals recently (< 28 days) recovered from COVID-19 could mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic.
Correlation between COVID-19 Infection Rate and Atmospheric Environmental Factors in Seoul Metropolitan City, South Korea
Authors: Choi Won , Kim Ki-Youn
Published: March 2022

The purpose of this study is to statistically analyze whether the change in the COVID-19 virus infection rate is affected by atmospheric environmental factors in Seoul metropolitan city of South Korea. The research period of this study is from January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. The correlation relationship between the COVID-19 virus infection rate and atmospheric environmental factors such as PM10, PM2.5, temperature, and humidity was analyzed by multiple regression analysis. In the correlation between PM10 and PM2.5 and the COVID-19 virus infection rate, correlation coefficient between PM10 and infection rate was r = 0.114(p = 0.019), showing a positive correlation. The correlation coefficient between PM2.5 and infection rate was r = 0.147(p = 0.002), which indicates a higher positive correlation than PM10. In the correlation between thermal factors and infection rate, the correlation coefficients between temperature and infection rate and between relative humidity and infection rate were r= -0.527(p = 0.000) and r= -0.91(p = 0.060), respectively. Unlike PM10 and PM2.5, temperature and relative humidity showed a negative correlation with the infection rate. Except for relative humidity, PM10, PM2.5 and temperature had statistically significant correlations with the infection rate (p < 0.05). Based on the results obtained from this study, it is recommended to avoid outdoor activities as much as possible in weather with high PM10 and PM2.5 and low temperature and humidity.
Predictors of ICU Admission in Adult Cancer Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department for COVID-19 Infection: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Majzoub Imad , kalot Nour , Khalifeh Malak , Estelly Natalie , Zahran Tharwat El
Published: March 2022

Study Objective: Adult cancer patients with COVID-19 were shown to be at higher risk of ICU admission. Previously published prediction models showed controversy and enforced the importance of heterogeneity among different populations studied. The aim of this study was to detect the predictors of ICU admission for adult COVID-19 patients with cancer who present to the emergency department (ED).Methods: Theis a retrospective cohort study. It was conducted on adult cancer patients older than 18 years who presented to the EDof the American University of Beirut MedicalCenter from February 21, 2020, till February 21, 2021, and were found to have COVID-19 infection. Relevant electronic data were extracted. The association between different variables and ICU admission was tested. Logistic regression was done to adjust for confounding variables. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Eighty-nine distinct patients were included. About 37% were admitted to the ICU (n=33). Higher ICU admission was seen in patients who had received chemotherapy within one month, had a respiratory rate at triage > 22 breaths per minute, an oxygen saturation < 95%, and/or a higher CRP upon presentation to the ED. After adjusting for confounding variables only recent chemotherapy and higher respiratory rate at triage were significantly associated with ICU admission. Conclusion: Physicians need to be vigilant when taking care of covid infected oncology patients. Patients who are tachypneic at presentation and those who have had chemotherapy within one month are at high risk for ICU admission.
Evaluation of Short-Term Efficacy and Safety of Neuroendoscopy in The Treatment of Patients with Brain Abscess
Authors: Cheng Li , Song Ping , Bai WenHui , Zhou Long , Li Zhiyang , Wang Wenju , Wei Hangyu , Lei Pan , Chen Qianxue , Sun Daofa , Cai Qiang
Published: March 2022

Background: Brain abscess remains a challenging clinical problem with a substantial fatality rate.Objective: The purpose of current study was to analyze the short-term efficacy and safety of neuroendoscopic therapy in patients with brain abscesses.Methods: A retrospective, uncontrolled, single-center study was conducted using a cohort of 61 patients with brain abscesses who were admitted to Renmin hospital of wuhan university between October 2016 and October 2021. The patients were divided into three groups based on the surgical approach used, including 12 cases of neuroendoscopic drainage or abscess resection, 20 cases of burr-hole drainage, and 29 cases of craniotomy abscess resection. SPSS 24.0 was used to analyze and compare clinical data, surgical efficacy, postoperative complications, and follow-up indicators. Data were compared via one-way analysis of variance and the chi-square test, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Compared with the burr-hole drainage group and the craniotomy group, the neuroendoscopy group had the highest rate of effective surgery (p = 0.020). In that same group the mean postoperative hospital stay was the shortest (p = 0.040), the mean total hospitalization cost was the lowest (p = 0.017), the number of intracranial complications was the lowest (p = 0.035), and the mean 28‑day follow-up Glasgow Outcome score was the highest (p = 0.046).Conclusion: Neuroendoscopic treatment of brain abscess is associated with definite curative effects, few complications, and rapid post-operative recovery, and may thus represent the optimal treatment in some patients.
Global accretionary orogenesis triggered the Cambrian Explosion of life
Authors: Zhu Mingshuai , Zhang Fuqin , Zhang Yinggang , Pastor-Galán Daniel , Mills Benjamin , Smit Matthijs , Guilmette Carl , Miao Laicheng , Li Shun , Yang Shunhu , Ganbat Ariuntsetseg , Wang Zeli
Published: March 2022

The Cambrian Explosion (541-515 Myr ago) is arguably the most significant evolutionary transition after the origin of life1-2. A variety of environmental perturbations have been correlated to this rapid animal species diversification1-3. Increased weathering fluxes from the continents to the oceans are hypothesized to cause these perturbations4-6, but why such enhanced weathering occurred is unknown. We document two newly discovered eclogite occurrences within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). These eclogites recorded Cambrian deep subduction of continental crust and consequent mountain building during arc-continent collisions concomitant to the Cambrian Explosion. Correlative metamorphic belts of the same age occur across the CAOB indicating a continental subduction front (>3,500 km) larger than that of the modern Himalaya. The CAOB, along with Gondwana’s peripheral orogens, provide a unique and unrecognized global accretionary orogen (>18,500 km) for the Cambrian Earth, larger than the so-far recognized Cambrian collisional orogen during Gondwana assembly4. Our biogeochemical modelling results suggest that the increased weathering of phosphorus from these accretionary orogenic belts would stimulate marine primary productivity, increase atmospheric O2, and promote the expansion of shallow-ocean oxygenation at a time coincident with the Cambrian Explosion.
β-Sitosterol improves acute nephritis in rats by inhibiting inflammasome and activating autophagy
Authors: Lu jianrao , Hu jing
Published: March 2022

β-sitosterol is a compound found in many plants and has a variety of biological activities, including immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities. The purpose of this study is to test its anti-inflammatory ability through a mouse model of acute nephritis. Methods: Acute nephritis mouse model was established by intravenous injection of antibodies. Pathological examination was used to test the therapeutic effect of β-sitosterol on model rats. Furthermore, the expression of related molecules was detected by ELASA. Results: β-sitosterol improved acute nephritis by repairing renal function, proteinuria and renal pathology, especially reducing cell crescents, neutrophil influx, glomerular fibrinoid necrosis and glomerulonephritis activity scores. β-sitosterol inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome mediated inflammasome initiation signal, enhances sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)/autophagy axis and inhibits the secretion of NLRP3 inflammasome. Conclusion: β-sitosterol represents a new drug candidate for the treatment of acute nephritis, which can reduce the kidney damage in model rats by enhancing the SIRT1/autophagy axis and reducing the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome.
Risk Factors and Predictive Nomograms for Early Death of Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Large Retrospective Study Based on the SEER Database
Authors: Zhang Haidong , Du Xuanlong , Dong Hui , Xu Wenjing , Zhou Pengcheng , Liu Shiwei , Qing Xin , Zhang Yu , Yang Meng , Zhang Yewei
Published: March 2022

Background
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a kind of tumor with insidious early symptoms and high invasiveness, and it is often in the advanced stage when clinically discovered. Patients with advanced HCC have a higher risk of early death (survival time ≤ 3 months). This study aims to identify the risk factors of early death in patients with advanced HCC and establish predictive nomograms.
Methods
Patients diagnosed with stage IV HCC between 2010 and 2015 were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for model establishment and verification. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify the risk factors, which were used to construct nomograms. The concordance index (C-index) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the accuracy of the models. The calibration curves and the decision curves analysis (DCA) were used to verify the true consistency and clinical application value of the models. Internal validation was performed using bootstrapping (1000 re-samplings) and cross-validation (k = 10).
Results
A total of 6799 patients were selected from the SEER database. After strict screening conditions, 1392 patients with stage IVA HCC and 5,211 patients with stage IVB HCC were finally identified. 621 (44.6%) patients in stage IVA and 3271 (62.8%) patients in stage IVB experienced early death. 9 risk factors related to early death of patients with stage IVA and 10 risk factors related to early death of patients with stage IVB were finally identified. Reliable nomograms were constructed using the above risk factors. Internal verification showed that the nomograms had good accuracy for predicting early death. The DCA showed that the nomograms had good clinical applicability.
Conclusion
The nomograms are helpful for clinicians and oncologists to identify the risk factors for early death of patients with advanced HCC and predict the probability of early death, so as to accurately select individualized treatment plans.
Efficacy of intravascular imaging-guided stent implantation: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
Authors: Niu Ying , Bai Nan , Ma Ying , Zhong Peng-Yu , Shang Yao-Sheng , Wang Zhi-Lu
Published: March 2022

Background: Traditional angiography only displays two-dimensional images of the coronary arteries during stent implantation. However, intravascular imaging can show the structure of the vascular wall, plaque characteristics. This article aims to evaluate the efficacy of intravascular imaging-guided stent implantation.Method: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of intravascular imaging-guided, including patients with stent implantation guided by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) or optical coherence tomography (OCT) and traditional angiography. The databases of PubMed, EMBASE, web of science, and Cochrane Library were searched. The primary outcome was target lesion revascularization (TLR). The secondary outcomes included the target vessel revascularization (TVR), myocardial infarction (MI), stent thrombosis (ST), cardiac death, all-cause death, and the major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during the 6-24 months follow-up. The fixed-effects model was used to calculate the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the outcome event. Meanwhile, the trial sequence analysis was employed to evaluate the results.Result: This meta-analysis included eighteen randomized controlled trials with 10413 patients. Compared with angiography-guided stent implantation, intravascular imaging-guided stent implantation can significantly reduce the risk of TLR (RR 0.62, 0.49-0.77, P＜0.0001), TVR (RR 0.65, 0.52-0.81, P = 0.0001), cardiac death (RR 0.59; 0.39-0.91; P =0.02) , ST (RR 0.54, 0.30-0.97; P = 0.04) and MACE (RR 0.81, 0.71-0.93; P = 0.003), while there was no significant difference regarding MI (RR 0.78, 0.61-1.00, P = 0.05) and all-cause death (RR 0.85, 0.58-1.27, P = 0.44).Conclusions: Compared with angiography, intravascular imaging-guided stent implantation is associated with better clinical outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease (Registered by PROSPERO, CRD 42021289205).
A Kirigami-enabled Electrochromic Wearable Variable Emittance (WeaVE) Device for Energy-Efficient Adaptive Personal Thermoregulation
Authors: Chen Ting-Hsuan , Hong Yaoye , Fu Ching-Tai , Nandi Ankita , Xie Wanrong , Yin Jie , Hsu Po-Chun
Published: March 2022

For centuries, people have put effort to improve the thermal performance of clothing to adapt to varying temperatures. However, most clothing we wear today only offers a single-mode insulation. The adoption of active thermal management devices, such as resistive heaters, Peltier coolers, and water recirculation are limited by their excessive energy consumption and form factor for long-term, continuous, and personalized thermal comfort. In this paper, we developed a wearable variable-emittance device (WeaVE), enabling the tunable radiative heat transfer coefficient to fill the missing gap between thermoregulation energy efficiency and controllability. WeaVE is an electrically driven, kirigami-enabled electrochromic thin-film device that can effectively tune the mid-infrared thermal radiation heat loss of the human body. The kirigami designs provide stretchability and conformal deformation attached to the human body surface, and the electronic control enables programmable personalized thermoregulation. With less than 5.58 mJ/cm2 energy input per switching, WeaVE provides 4.9°C expansion of the thermal comfort zone, which is equivalent to a continuous power input of 33.9 W/m2. This non-volatile characteristic substantially decreases the required energy while maintaining the on-demand controllability, thereby providing vast opportunities for the next generation of smart personal thermal managing fabrics and wearable technologies.
Evaluation of Blood Perfusion Using Laser Doppler Flowmetry During Endoscopic Lumbar Sympathectomy in Patients with Plantar Hyperhidrosis: A Retrospective Observational Study
Authors: Lee Yea-Chan , You Young Kyung , Lee Sungsoo , Moon Duk Hwan , Lee Ji-Won
Published: March 2022

Background
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether monitoring the changes of skin blood flow may be effective in assessing blood perfusion during endoscopic lumbar sympathectomy (ELS) in patients with plantar hyperhidrosis.
Methods
In this study, a total of 30 patients who underwent surgical treatment for plantar hyperhidrosis at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in Yonsei University Gangnam Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea, between July 2020 and December 2020, were retrospectively analyzed. Sympathetic denervation was performed on the third lumbar ganglion, and intraoperative laser doppler flowmetry (LDF) was used to detect the lumbar sympathetic chain accurately.
Results
We observed an abrupt increase of peripheral blood flow after sympathetic denervation, and the median percent changes of perfusion unit were 173.27 (inter-quartile range, IQR 195.48) and 392.98 (IQR 597.27) for the left and right sympathectomies, respectively.
Conclusions
This study demonstrated the efficacy of monitoring skin blood flow via LDF during ELS. This result suggests that exact detection of blood flow using LDF is essential for improving the accuracy of ELS by checking the perfusion site on the sole in patients with plantar hyperhidrosis.
Quality and Potential Health Risk Assessment of Groundwater in Asante Akim Central Municipality, Ghana
Authors: Sakyi Samuel , Appiah-Adjei Emmanuel Kwame , Asare Albert , Asante Dennis
Published: March 2022

This study assesses the quality of groundwater for drinking and irrigation, and its potential health risk to the populace in an area where illegal artisanal mining is prevalent and known to have polluted streams and rivers, making groundwater their key potable water source. The methods employed involved well-distributed sampling of the groundwater in both wet and dry seasons, determining their physicochemical and bacteriological constituents, and assessing its suitability for domestic and irrigation purposes. Statistical analysis, Piper and Gibb’s diagrams were used to reveal the hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater, World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values and Water Quality Index (WQI) was applied to assess its overall suitability for drinking while Magnesium Hazard (MH), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Percent Sodium (% Na) and Permeability Index (PI) were utilized to assess the suitability of the groundwater for irrigation. The results indicate Ca-HCO3 and mixed Ca-Mg-Cl as the prevalent water types in the area in both seasons. The calculated WQI classed 95 % of the water as excellent and good for domestic use in both seasons while the remaining 5 % was classed as very poor due mainly to high arsenic (As) levels. Computed non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of the As through ingestion exposures showed children were more vulnerable to potential cancer risk than adults. On the other hand, the groundwater was generally found to be suitable for irrigation in both seasons. Thus, the study provides useful information for groundwater use and pollution control in the area.
Polarized th2 cells attenuates high-fat-diet induced obesity through the suppression of lipogenesis
Authors: Dong Lijun , Gao Jingtao , Yu Lu , Liu Shibo , Zhao Yuxin , Zhang Wen , Liang Yinming , Wang Hui
Published: March 2022

Immune cells such as macrophages, B cells, neutrophils and T cell subsets are involved in obesity. However, the tissue-specific function of Th2 cells in adipose tissue remains unknown. We show here that adoptive transfer of polarized Th2 cells to CD3ε knockout (CD3ε−/−) mice attenuates obesity after high-fat-diet (HFD), accompanied by relieved hepatic steatosis, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance. Mechanistically, Th2 cell treatment promoted oxidative phosphorylation of adipocytes, contributing to the decrease of lipid droplet accumulation. Our data indicate that Th2 cell treatment is a novel approach to the treatment of diet-induced obesity and other diseases involving lipid droplet accumulation disorders.
How Effective Are Lignin And Extractive Content-Based Multiple (Non)-Linear Regression And Artificial Neural Network Models In The Estimation Of HHV?
Authors: Demirci Sevilay
Published: March 2022

Cellulose, lignin and extractive material are mixed in certain proportions by having isolated from lignocellulosic materials, such as Zeyrek stem, hazelnut shell and Scotch pine, respectively. Their higher heating values (HHVs) are determined by using a bomb calorimeter system. Estimated HHVs are calculated by applying these mixture ratios to some Multiple (Non)-Linear Regression (M(N)LR) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models from the literature. MLR3 model is developed from the data of this study and this model reveals the highest R2 (0.974), lowest MAPE (0.012) and RMSE (0.278) values. The closest estimation accuracy to the MLR3 model is obtained from MLR2 (R2:0.972, MAPE:0.066 and RMSE:1.714) in the comparative analysis. MNLR and ANN equations containing quadratic terms are found to show deviations up to 132.6% (ANN3). It is attributed to the lower size and poor homogeneity of the individual group of samples from which model equations are developed.
Risk of Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injury by Delivering Provider Type
Authors: Walker Taniya V , Rahman Sara , Carter-Brooks Charelle M
Published: March 2022

Introduction and Hypothesis: Obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIs) complicate 5.8% of vaginal deliveries. Our objective was to assess if the primary delivering provider, nurse-midwife versus physician obstetrician, is associated with OASIs. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of the Consortium of Safe Labor, a multicenter, retrospective cohort study. Included were nulliparous women with singleton, vaginal delivery at ³ 37 weeks from 2002-2008. Women were excluded if delivery was complicated by shoulder dystocia or from sites without midwife deliveries. Student t-tests, chi-squared analysis and Fisher’s exact test were used as appropriate. Multivariable logistic regression and propensity score matching analyses were performed. Results: Of 228,668 births at 19 sites, 2,735 births from 3 sites met inclusion criteria: 1,551 physician and 1,184 midwife births. Of all births, 4.2% (n=116) were complicated by OASIs. Physician patients were older, more often White, privately insured, with higher BMI, more medical co-morbidities, and labor inductions/augmentations. Midwife patients had higher fetal gestational age and infant birth weights (all p<.05). OASIs were more common in physician compared to midwife births (5.9% vs 2.0%, p<.0001). This difference persisted on multivariable logistic regression. OASIs were 2.4 (95%CI 1.5- 3.9) times more likely with physician delivery when controlling for maternal heart disease, episiotomy, increasing maternal age, decreasing maternal BMI, non-white race, and increasing birthweight. AUC was 0.78. With propensity score matching, OASIs remained higher amongst physicians (6.6% vs 1.8%, p<.0001; aOR 3.8 (95%CI 2.0-7.1)).Conclusion: OASIs were more common in physician compared to midwife deliveries even when controlling for other associated factors.
Rhodohalobacter sulfatireducens sp. nov., isolated from a marine solar saltern
Authors: Wang Yu-Sheng , Yue Yu-Yan , Bai Yi-Lin , Zhang Xu-Yang , Wang Shuo , Du Zong-Jun
Published: March 2022

A novel Gram-stain-negative, oxidase-positive, catalase-positive, non-motile, facultatively anaerobic, and rod-shaped bacterium, designated WB101T, was isolated from a marine solar saltern located in Wendeng, PR China. Growth occurs at 25–42°C (optimum, 35–37°C), 1.0–11.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 5.0–6.0%), and pH 7.0–8.5 (optimum, 7.5–8.0). Analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that WB101T shared high level of sequence similarity with Rhodohalobacter barkolensis 15182T (93.5%), Rhodohalobacter halophilus JZ3C29T (93.2%), and ‘Rhodohalobacter mucosus’ 8A47T (92.1%). Strain WB101T formed an evident species-level clade within the genus Rhodohalobacter in both phylogenetic and phylogenomic topologies. The draft genome of strain WB101T is 5,104,032 bp in size, and the G + C content is 42.0 mol%. The genomic sequencing yields 138 contigs with an N50 value of 123,641 and a coverage depth of 275.0 ×. The strain encodes a complete assimilatory sulfate reduction pathway. The sole respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7. The dominant cellular fatty acid (≥ 10%) was iso-C15:0. The polar lipid profile of the novel isolate included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylethanolamine. Based on its phylogenetic, physiological, and biochemical properties, strain WB101T should be classified as a novel species of the genus Rhodohalobacter, for which the name Rhodohalobacter sulfatireducens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WB101T (= KCTC 92204T = MCCC 1H00518T).
PTPRO knockdown protects against inflammation in hemorrhage shock-induced acute lung injury involving the NF-κB signaling pathway
Authors: HUAN ZHIRONG , TANG YING , XU CE , CAI JIMIN , YAO HAO , WANG YAN , BU FANYU , GE XIN
Published: March 2022

Background
Hemorrhage shock (HS) is characterized by decreased tissue oxygenation and organ damage due to severe blood loss. Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common complication of HS. Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type O (PTPRO) is abnormally up-regulated in the rat lungs after trauma/HS.
Methods
To elucidate the regulatory mechanism of PTPRO in lung inflammation following HS, we established a rat model of HS via withdrawing blood by a catheter inserted into the femoral artery followed by resuscitation. The rats were infected with lentiviral encoding PTPRO short hairpin RNA (shRNA) by intratracheal instillation for PTPRO knockdown.
Results
PTPRO was significantly up-regulated in rat lungs after HS. PTPRO knockdown enhanced epithelial integrity and reduced capillary leakage by up-regulating tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin (OCC). Besides, decreased myeloperoxidase expression and activity in the lungs indicated that HS-induced neutrophil infiltration into the lungs was mitigated by PTPRO knockdown. Meanwhile, expression of inflammatory cytokines/chemokines TNF-α, IL-6, MIP-2, MCP-2, and KC in the lungs or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was regressed after PTPRO knockdown. The nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway was related to inflammation in organ injury. PTPRO down-regulation had an inhibitory effect on the NF-κB pathway activation by suppressing the phosphorylation of NF-κB and its translocation from the cytoplasm into the nucleus in HS.
Conclusion
Taken together, we demonstrated that PTPRO knockdown may contribute to attenuating inflammation in HS-induced acute lung injury via inhibiting NF-κB pathway activation.