bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Usefulness of Lung Ultrasound in Older Patients with Asymptomatic COVID-19 Pneumonia: Bicentric 3-month Follow-up Study
Authors: Okoye Chukwuma , Calsolaro Valeria , Fabbri Alessandra , Franchi Riccardo , Antognoli Rachele , Zisca Ludovica , Bianchi Camilla , Calabrese Alessia Maria , Rogani Sara , Monzani Fabio
Published: July 2021

BACKGROUND: Clinical and prognosticdifferencesbetweensymptomatic and asymptomaticolderpatients with COVID-19 are of greatinterestsincefrailpatientsoften show atypicalpresentation of illness.LungUltrasound (LUS) hasbeenproven to be a reliable tool for detectingearly-phase COVID-19 pneumonicalterations. The current study aimed to compare LUS score and 3-month overall mortalitybetweenasymptomatic and symptomaticolderpatients with COVID-19, according to frailty status.METHODS: Bicentric prospective study onolder patients with asymptomatic and symptomaticCOVID-19 disease.Patients were stratified according to LUS score tertiles and Clinical Frailty Scale categories.Survival rate was assessed by telephone interviews 3months afterdischarge.RESULTS: 64 symptomatic (24women, aged 80.0±10.8 years) and46asymptomatic (31 women; aged 84.3±8.8 years) were consecutively enrolled. LUS score resulted an independent predictor of 3-month mortality [OR2.27 (CI95%: 1.09-4.8), p=0.03], andthe highest mortality rate was observed in symptomatic and asymptomatic pre-frail and frail patients (70.6% and 66.7%, respectively)withgreater LUS abnormalities (3rdtertile).CONCLUSIONS: LUS identified an acute interstitiallunginvolvement in most of the older asymptomatic patients.Mortality rate progressively increasedaccording to clinical frailty and LUS score degree, resulting a reliable prognostic tool inboth symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.
COVID-19 and The Impact of Climatic Parameters: A Case Study of Bangladesh
Authors: Parvin Rehana
Published: July 2021

This study examines the relationship between climatic factors and the prevalence of COVID-19 in Bangladesh. Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman correlation coefficient, and Kendall's correlation coefficient have all been put to use to assess the intensity and direction of the relationship between climatic factors and COVID-19. The lagged effects of climatic parameters on COVID-19 daily-confirmed cases from Bangladesh are being looked into using the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. As a result, two non-climatic variables, such as population density and the human development index, are taken into account as control variables. As climatic variables, average temperature (°C), average humidity (percent), average PM 2.5, and average wind speed (km/h) were well chosen. The time series data used in this analysis was from May 1, 2020 to April 14, 2021. The findings of correlation analysis indicate that there is an important, significant, and positive relationship between COVID-19 widespread and temperature (°C), humidity (percent), and wind speed (km/h), whereas there is a negative, weak, and significant relationship between PM 2.5 and COVID-19 widespread. In addition, the ARDL findings suggested that temperature (°C), PM 2.5, and wind speed (km/h) have major lagged effects on COVID-19 in Bangladesh, while humidity (percent) has negligible lagged effects. For policymakers and investors alike, the consequences of this study are important in Bangladesh.
Biomimetic nanomedicine-triggered in situ vaccination for innate and adaptive immunity activations for bacterial osteomyelitis treatment
Authors: Lin Han , Yang Chuang , Ge Min , Luo Yao , Zhang Xianlong , Shi Jianlin
Published: July 2021

The development of bacterial vaccines for inducing immunoresponse against infectious diseases such as osteomyelitis is of great significance and importance. However, the responsiveness of bacterial immunotherapy remains far from being satisfactory largely due to the erratic antigen epitopes of bacteria. Herein, we report an in situ vaccination strategy for the immunotherapy of bacterial infection based on an osteomyelitis model using a biomimetic nanomedicine named as HMMP, which was constructed by engineering PpIX-encapsulated hollow MnOx with a hybrid membrane exfoliated from both macrophage and tumor cell lines. The as-established HMMP features a burst bacterial antigen release as the in situ vaccine by the augmented sonodynamic treatment, and the resultant priming of antigen presenting cells for the following activations of both cellular and humoral adaptive immunities against bacterial infections. This treatment regimen not only triggers initial bacterial regression in established osteomyelitis model, also simultaneously generate robust systemic antibacterial immunity against poorly immunogenic secondary osteomyelitis in the contralateral knee as well, and additionally, confers long-lasting bacteria-specific immune memory responses to prevent infection relapse. Thus, our study provides a proof of concept of in situ vaccination for the activation of both innate and adaptive antibacterial immune responses, providing an individual-independent bacterial immunotherapy.
Evaluation And Validation of Reliable Reference Genes For Quantitative Real-Time PCR Analysis of The Gene Expression In Macadamia Integrifolia
Authors: Yang Qian , Yang Ziping , Zhou Yali , Zeng Hui , Zou Minghong , Liu Heng
Published: July 2021

Background: Macadamia integrifolia, a new economically important crop, the kernel oil is rich in bioactive compound and monounsaturated fatty acid. Gene expression analysis of qRT-PCR is beneficial to understand the complex regulatory networks of macadamia.Results: In this study, the expression stability of 11 traditional housekeeping genes including α-tubulin (TUBa), β–tubulin (TUBb), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), 18S ribosome RNA (18S), glyceraldehyde-3- phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), α-elongation factor 1 (EF1a), β- elongation factor 1 (EF1b), ubiquitin (UBQ), ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (UBC), cyclophilin (CYP) and actin (ACT) were accessed by qRT-PCR in macadamia seedlings under different experimental conditions and tissues. The expression stability of the 11 reference genes was evaluated by the online tool RefFinder, which include ΔCt, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper four commonly software, and then determinated a comprehensive expression stability ranking by integrating above four ranking results based on the geometric mean. Our results show that ACT was the best stable genes for all samples, cold stress, NaCl sress, PEG stress, ABA treatment, MeJA treatment, stem and leaf tissue samples; EF1b is the most stable gene in GA treatment and heat stress samples; UBC and CYP were respectively ranked top in ethylene treatment and root tissue samples. Finally, the reliability of these results was further validated with a target gene SAD by qRT-PCR. Conclusions: In summary, this study evaluated and validated the suitable reference genes for qRT-PCR under different experiment treatment and tissues, and will be useful for further gene expression studies on the molecular mechanisms in Macadamia.
Determinants of Participation in Immunization against COVID-19 before Distribution of Vaccine in Iran
Authors: Maharlouei Najmeh Maharlouei , Zarei Leila , Moradi Najmeh , Zahed-Roozegar Mohammad-Hassan , Meshkani Zahra , Keshavarz Pedram , Lankarani Kamran B.
Published: July 2021

Background: In each immunization program, the public participation is a key factor. So, we studies determinants of participation in immunization against Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Iran before distribution of vaccine.Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted in February 2021. It had two formats; interview and online. The questionnaire comprised socio-demographic information, past medical history, perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection, and tendency for participating in vaccination against COVID-19. Results: Of 2071 participants, 1020 (49.2%) were men, and 1803 (87.1%) were determined to participate in COVID-19 vaccination program. There was a significant association between positive attitude toward vaccination against COVID-19 and the respondent’s socio-economic status (SES), educational level, reporting non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in themselves/ their first-degree families, perceived susceptibility toward getting COVID-19 infection in the following months in themselves/close family members, and being a healthcare worker. Most respondents were determined to participate in the COVID-19 vaccination because they believed vaccination would be effective in preventing mortality and decreased COVID-19 transmission. Conclusions: SES, educational level, positive history of NCDs, perceived susceptibility toward getting COVID-19 infection, and being a healthcare worker had a significant positive association with the respondents’ intention to participate in COVID-19 vaccination program.
Integrated wireless theranostic contact lens for in situ electrical sensing and regulation of glaucoma
Authors: Yang Cheng , Wu Qianni , Liu Junqing , Mo Jingshan , Li Xiangling , Yang Chengduan , Liu Ziqi , Yang Jingbo , Jiang Lelun , Chen Weirong , Chen Hui-jiuan , Wang Ji , Xie Xi
Published: July 2021

Engineered closed-loop devices that can wirelessly track intraocular pressure (IOP) and offer feedback-medicine administrations are highly desirable for glaucoma treatments, yet remain difficult to develop. Integrated theranostic systems based on contact lens still confront several challenges, including size limits, requirements of wireless operations, and cross-coupling between multiple functional modulus. Here, for the first time to our knowledge, an integrated wireless theranostic contact lens (WTCL) for in situ electrical sensing and on-demand drug delivery of glaucoma was developed. The WTCL utilized a highly compact circuitry and structural design, which enabled high-degreed integration of IOP sensing and electrically controlled delivery modulus on the curved and limited surface of contact lens. The wireless IOP sensing modulus could ultra-sensitively detect IOP fluctuations, due to the unique cantilever configuration design of LCR circuit with ultra-soft air dielectric film sandwiched between each capacitive sensing plate. The drug delivery modulus employed a highly efficient wireless power transfer circuit, to trigger delivery of anti-glaucoma drug into aqueous chamber via iontophoresis to enhance drug permeation across cornea. The specialized design of frequency separation enabled individual operations of different modules without cross-coupling. The noninvasive, smart, wireless and closed-loop theranostic features endowed the WTCL as a highly promising system for glaucoma treatments.
Perturbation or Function? Intrinsic brain dynamics in the Default Mode Network predict involuntary fluctuations of visual awareness
Authors: Lu Dian , Stamatakis Emmanuel , Naik Shruti , Menon David
Published: July 2021

Brain activity is intrinsically organised into spatiotemporal patterns, but it is still not clear whether the intrinsic dynamical patterns are functional or epiphenomenal. Using a simultaneous fMRI-EEG implementation of a well-known bi-stable visual task, we showed that the latent transient states (~100-ms) in the intrinsic EEG oscillations can predict the upcoming involuntarily perceptual transitions. The critical state predicting a dominant perceptual transition was characterised by the phase coupling between the precuneus (PCU), a key node of the Default Mode Network (DMN), and the primary visual cortex (V1). The interaction between the lifetime of this state and the PCU->V1 causal effect is correlated with the rate of perceptual fluctuation. Our study suggests that the brain’s endogenous dynamics are phenomenologically relevant, as they can trigger a diversion between potential visual processing pathways, while external stimuli remain the same. In this sense, the intrinsic DMN dynamics pre-empt the content of consciousness.
Genome-wide interaction analysis identified low-frequency variants with sex disparity in lung cancer risk
Authors: Li Yafang , Xiao Xiangjun , Li Jianrong , Byun Jinyoung , Cheng Chao , Bossé Yohan , McKay James , Albanes Demetrius , Lam Stephen , Tardon Adonina , Chen Chu , Bojesen Stig , Landi Maria , Johansson Mattias , Risch Angela , Bickeböller Heike , Wichmann Erich , Christiani David , Rennert Gad , Arnold Susanne , Goodman Gary , Field John , Shete Sanjay , Marchand Loic Le , Melander Olle , Brunnström Hans , Liu Geoffrey , Hung Rayjean , Andrew Angeline , Kiemeney Lambertus , Shen Hongbing , Sun Ryan , Zienolddiny Shanbeh , Grankvist Kjell , Johansson Mikael , Caporaso Neil , Teare Dawn , Hong Yun-Chul , Davies Michael , Lazarus Philip , Schabath Matthew , Aldrich Melinda , Schwartz Ann , Gorlov Ivan , Purrington Kristen , Yang Ping , Han Younghun , Bailey-Wilson Joan , Liu Yanhong , Pinney Susan , Mandal Diptasri , Willey James , Gaba Colette , Brennan Paul , Amos Christopher
Published: July 2021

There is growing evidence showing that sex disparity in lung cancer risk cannot be fully explained by sex differences in smoking behavior, implying existence of genetic and molecular basis for sex disparity in lung cancer development. However, the information about sex dimorphism in lung cancer risk is quite limited despite the great success in lung cancer association studies. By adopting a stringent two-stage analysis strategy, we performed a genome-wide gene-sex interaction analysis using genotype from a lung cancer cohort including ~ 47,000 individuals with European ancestry. Three low-frequency variants (minor allele frequency < 0.05), rs17662871 (OR=0.71, p=4.29x10-8); rs79942605 (OR=2.17, p=2.81x10-8); and rs208908 (OR=0.70, p=4.54x10-8), were identified with different risk effect of lung cancer between men and women. Further eQTL and functional annotation analysis suggested rs208908 affect lung cancer risk through differential regulation of CXADR (Coxsackie Virus And Adenovirus Receptor) gene expression in lung tissues between men and women. Our study is one of the first studies to provide novel insights about the genetic and molecular basis for sex disparity in lung cancer development.
Simultaneous All-optical 1's Complement Cum Division-by-two Schemes
Authors: Gayen Dilip Kumar
Published: July 2021

Odd and even number detection is an important mathematical operation. Generally when any number divisible by 2 then it is called even number, otherwise it is odd number. Division by 2 can be easily obtained by putting a point before least significant bit (LSB) of any binary number. As an example a number (27)10 = (11011)2 when divided by 2 its result will be (1101.1)2 = (13.5)10. Hence when we find the fractional bit as logic-1 we can say that the number is odd, otherwise it is even. This operation can be obtained by using a demultiplexer. Here we have developed an optical circuit which can divide any binary integer number by 2, apart from that its 1’s complement can also be obtained from the circuit. Both of the result can be obtained simultaneously. Terahertz optical asymmetric demultiplexer (TOAD) based generally switch assumes a vital part to plan this n-bit circuit. Numerical simulations are done to urge the exhibition of the circuit.
Transcriptome and Metabolite Insights Into Domestication Process of Cultivated Barley in China
Authors: Zhou Yu , Lu Guang , Sun Genlou , Sun Daokun , Ren Xifeng
Published: July 2021

Background
Barley is one of the earliest domesticated crops and regarded as one of the founder of Neolithic transition in the Near East Fertile Crescent. Domestication process of cultivated barley (especially east-Asian cultivated barley) has been under debate because of the controversial origin centers of barley, which caused by widely dispersal of wild barley. What’s more, no comprehensive study regarding alteration in metabolism during domestication has been delineated in barley so far.
Results
Transcriptomic and non-targeted metabolic analyses were performed for two wild barley populations (wild barley of Near East Fertile Crescent (Wb-NE), and wild barley of Tibetan Plateau (Wb-T)), and one cultivated barley population (cultivated barley of China (Cb-C)), the results revealed two stages of the domestication process of Cb-C, first from Wb-NE to Wb-T, and then from Wb-T to Cb-C. The Wb-T played an important intermediate role in the domestication from Wb-NE to Cb-C, and had made more genetic contribution than Wb-NE to Cb-C. Meanwhile, we found continuous gene flow, a large number of selective genes and metabolites during domestication. Divergent metabolites of alkaloids and phenylpropanoids were specific targeted in stages from Wb-NE to Wb-T and from Wb-T to Cb-C, respectively. The key missense SNPs in genes HORVU6Hr1G027650 and HORVU4Hr1G072150 might be related to the divergence of metabolites of alkaloids and phenylpropanoids during domestication.
Conclusions
Our results revealed that two stages of the domestication process of Cb-C, and distinct sets of metabolites were targeted by selection during the evolution from wild barley of the Near East Fertile Crescent to Tibetan wild barley to cultivated barley of China. Our findings not only provided genetic and metabolic insights into domestication process of barley but also highlighted the power of combining omics data for trait dissection.
Spectral Tuning In Quantum Rings By Magnetic Field: Detection From NIR To FIR Regime
Authors: Solaimani Mahdi , Mobini Alireza
Published: July 2021

In this work, we present a quantum ring structure based on semiconducting QWs for spectral tuning in a wide IR range (1.24- 103 µm) using an external magnetic field. We have used a tight binding method to investigate the optical properties of the structure. Using this method the effect of the external magnetic field on the absorption spectrum has been investigated as the post-processing method. Also, the effect of different geometrical parameters like the number of QWs, QR radius, and constructed material considered as processing methods for tuning absorption. The results show for GaAs based QR with the radius of 100/π consist of 4 QWs, absorption peak linearly increase from 100 meV (12.4 um) in LWIR regime and shift to 200 meV (6.2 um) in MIR regime with increasing external magnetic field. Also for a QR with a radius of 200/π, by changing the magnetic field different absorption peaks appear and disappear in an absorption spectrum and a multi-color detector converts to single-detector in the NIR regime. This results help experimentalist to select proper materials with optimized geometrical parameters to achieve desired wavelength for various detection applications.
Study on Compounds Analysis and Anti Colorectal Cancer Efficacy of Quercus Infectoria Galls’ Different Polar Solvent Extracts
Authors: Elham Aliya , Arkin Abdulaziz , Kalimanjan Gulina , Anwar Arfidin , Luo Wenjie , Iminjan Mubarak
Published: July 2021

Background

Quercus Infectoria galls (QIG) has multiple therapeutic properties and are widely used in Traditional Medicine (TM) as an anti-inflammatory agent for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). QIG aqueous extract has been verified to inhibit the proliferation of Colorectal cancer (CRC) cells but there is no relevant research on the contribution of material basis of QIG towards the efficacy at present. This research aims to clarify the pharmacodynamic discrepancy of different polar solvent extracts of QIG and the underlying link between material basis and anti CRC efficacy.
Methods

Four different QIG extracts and residues was prepared by using a modified method and the effective compounds polyphenols, tannins and gallic acid (GA) was determined by analytical methods including Thin Layer Chromatography, Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Infrared spectroscopy. Then GA and four different QIG extracts’ anti CRC activity against human HCT-116 and Caco-2 cells were tested in vitro by CCK-8 assay, wound-healing assay and apoptosis assay, at the end entropy weight method was used to comprehensively assess the anti CRC activities for discern the most active one among the four different QIG extracts.
Results

The content determination experiment shows that the content of active compounds in the four extracts increased with the increase of the polarity of the extraction solvent. The content of polyphenols, tannins and GA in aqueous extracts ranks first, reaching 562.66 ± 8.45 mg·mL− 1, 463.85 ± 4.62mg·mL− 1, 169.86 ± 3.24mg·mL− 1, respectively, followed by methanol, ethanol, and acetone, and the content order of them in residues is opposite to that in extracts. The in vitro pharmacodynamic experiments showed that all four extracts and GA could inhibit the proliferation and migration, induce apoptosis of CRC cells in different degrees. The entropy score of ethanol extract ranks first (0.5546 and 0.5436), followed by methanol (0.2264 and 0.1989), acetone (0.1961 and 0.1011) and aqueous (0.0596 and 0.1454). After the intervention of ethanol extract, the proliferation inhibition rate of ethanol extract on HCT-116 and Caco-2 cells reached 76.55% and 78.8%, migration inhibition rate reached 76.48% and 64.85%, and the induced apoptosis rate increased by 20.1% and 12.6%, respectively. Therefore, it is verified that QIG ethanol extract possess the strongest inhibitory effect on CRC cells. In addition, GA also showed strong anti-cancer activity as the main compound of QIG.
Conclusions

These findings will lead to further studies on the bioactivity-guided isolation of compounds from the ethanol extracts of QIG, and provide a basis for the research of mechanism.
Application of Machine Learning To Predict The Occurrence of Arrhythmia After Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Wang suhuai , Li jingjie , Sun Lin , Cai Jianing , Wang Shihui , Zeng Linwen , Sun Shaoqing
Published: July 2021

Background: Early identification of the occurrence of arrhythmia in patients with acute myocardial infarction plays an essential role in clinical decision-making. The present study attempted to use machine learning (ML) methods to build predictive models of arrhythmia after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Methods: A total of 2084 patients with acute myocardial infarction were enrolled in this study. The primary outcome is whether tachyarrhythmia occurred during admission containing atrial arrhythmia, ventricular arrhythmia, and supraventricular tachycardia. All data is randomly divided into training set (80%) and internal testing set (20%). Three machine learning algorithms (including decision tree, random forest, and artificial neural network) learn from the training set to build a model, use the testing set to evaluate the prediction performance, and compare it with the model built by the variable set involved GRACE risk score.Results：Three ML models predict the occurrence of tachyarrhythmia after AMI. After variable selection, the artificial neural network (ANN) model achieves the highest accuracy of 0.654 (95% CI, 0.625--0.683). The area under the value of the curve (AUC) is 0.597 (95% CI, 0.568-0.626). The highest accuracy of the model built using the Grace variable set is 0.627 (95% CI, 0.598-0.656), and the AUC value is 0.574 (95% CI, 0.545-0.603).Conclusions：We used advanced machine learning methods to build prediction models for tachyarrhythmia after AMI for the first time (especially the ANN model has the best performance). The current study can supplement the current AMI risk score, provide a reliable evaluation method for the clinic, and broaden the new horizons of ML and clinical research.Trial registration：Clinical Trial Registry No.: ChiCTR2100041960.
Complementary use of Presepsin with the Sepsis-3 Criteria Improved Identification of High-Risk Patients with Suspected Sepsis
Authors: Park Jong Eun , Lee Beomki , Yoon Sun Joo , Park Chi-Min , Jung Chul Won , Ahn Myung-Ju , Park Hyung-Doo , Hwang Sung Yeon , Shin Tae Gun , Kang Eun-Suk
Published: July 2021

Background: We aimed to evaluate the prognostic accuracy of presepsin levels and additional value for identifying high-risk patients when taken together with the current sepsis criteria. Methods: This was a single-center, prospective, observational study of patients with suspected sepsis. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. The prognostic performance of presepsin was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), according to the sepsis definition using the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score change (delta SOFA ≥ 2) and lactate level ≥ 2 mmol/L. Results: A total of 775 patients were included. The AUC of presepsin for predicting 28-day mortality was 0.747 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.701-0.792). Presepsin showed adequate prognostic accuracy regardless of the delta SOFA score or lactate level. High presepsin levels (>755 pg/ml) showed an independent association with 28-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio: 5.17, 95% CI: 2.92–9.16), and significant differences in mortality were observed, even in patients with non-sepsis (13.3% in the high presepsin group vs. 3.6% in the low presepsin group) or low lactate level (14.4% vs. 2.7%). Compared with a single criterion of the delta SOFA score (AUC: 0.670) or lactate (AUC: 0.682), addition of the high presepsin criterion significantly increased discrimination (presepsin + delta SOFA score, AUC: 0.750; presepsin + lactate, AUC: 0.772; presepsin + delta SOFA score+ lactate, AUC: 0.795).Conclusion: Presepsin showed fair prognostic performance regardless of the clinical sepsis criteria. Complementary use of presepsin with the Sepsis-3 criteria may identify more high-risk septic patients and provide useful prognostic information.
Protective Effect of Platinum Nano-antioxidant and Nitric Oxide Against Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Mu Jing , Li Chunxiao , Yu Shi , Liu Guoyong , Zou Jianhua , Zhang Dong-Yang , Jiang Chao , Wang Xiuli , He Liangcan , Huang Peng , Yin Yuxin , Chen Xiaoyuan
Published: July 2021

Specific therapeutic interventions of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) to attenuate liver dysfunction or multiple organ failure following liver surgery and transplantation remain a key concern. Here we present an innovative strategy by integrating a platinum nanoantioxidant and nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) into the zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)-based hybrid nanoreactor for effective prevention of IRI. Platinum nanoantioxidant could scavenge excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the injury site and meanwhile generate oxygen for subsequent synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) under the catalysis of iNOS. Such cascade reaction successfully achieved dual protection for the liver through ROS clearance and NO regulation, remarkably enabling reduction of oxidative stress, inhibition of macrophage activation and neutrophil recruitment, and ensuing suppression of proinflammatory cytokines. The current work establishes a proof of concept of multifunctional nanotherapeutics against IRI, which may provide a promising intervention solution in clinical use.
In chronic pancreatitis CD25+/Foxp3+ regulatory T-cells control pancreatic fibrosis by suppression of the type 2 immune response
Authors: Glaubitz Juliane , Wilden Anika , Golchert Janine , Homuth Georg , Voelker Uwe , Bröker Barbara , Lerch Markus , Mayerle Julia , Aghdassi Ali , Weiss Frank , Sendler Matthias
Published: July 2021

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is characterized by chronic inflammation and the progressive fibrotic replacement of exocrine and endocrine pancreatic tissue. We identified Tregs as central regulators of the fibroinflammatory reaction by a selective depletion of Foxp3-positive cells in a transgenic mouse model (DEREG-mice) of experimental CP. In Treg-depleted DEREG-mice, the induction of CP resulted in a significantly increased stroma deposition, the development of exocrine insufficiency and significant weight loss starting from day 14 after disease onset. In CP, Foxp3+/CD25+ Tregs suppress the type-2 immune response by a repression of Gata3+ T-helper cells (Th2), Gata3+ innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2) and CD206+ M2-macrophages. A suspected pathomechanism behind the fibrotic tissue replacement may involve an observed dysbalance of Activin A expression in macrophages and of its counter regulator Follistatin. Our study identified Tregs as key regulators of the type-2 immune response and of organ remodeling during CP. The Treg-triggered immune response could be a therapeutic target to prevent fibrosis and preserve functional pancreatic tissue.
Communicating with Mechanically Ventilated Patients Who Are Awake. A Qualitative Study on the Experience of Critical Care Nurses in Cyprus during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Authors: Kyranou Maria , Cheta Charikleia , Pampoulou Eliada
Published: July 2021

Background: Modern protocols for light sedation in combination with the increased turnover of COVID-19 infected patients hospitalized in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) have increased the number of patients who are mechanically ventilated and awake. Nurses require specific skills to care for this vulnerable group of patients. At the same time, nurses report feeling inadequate and frustrated when they attempt to establish communication with mechanically ventilated, conscious patients. Methods: The purpose of this study was to explore nurses’ experiences taking care of conscious, intubated patients in the intensive care unit. The research questions aimed to identify i. the strategies that nurses use for communicating with patients, and ii. the barriers in communication between nurses and patients. This study employed a qualitative design. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 14 intensive care nurses working at ICUs in four different hospitals of Cyprus. The data were analyzed by applying thematic analysis.Results: We identified several strategies of unaided (movements -lips, hands, legs- facial expressions, gestures, touching) and aided forms of communication (pen and paper, boards, tablets, mobiles) used by nurses to communicate with patients. Additionally, barriers in communication were reported by participating nurses mainly pertaining to patients’, nurses’ characteristics and the ICU environment. The health protocols imposed by the pandemic added more barriers in the communication between nurses and patients mostly related to the use of protective health equipment.Conclusions: The results of this study, combined with those of others in different countries, point to the difficulties nurses face when trying to communicate with conscious patients during mechanical ventilation. It appears that the complex communication needs of this group of patients are not being met mainly due to the lack of nurses’ training and of appropriate equipment to facilitate alternative and augmentative communication. Our study is amongst the first to add that the protective health protocols due to the pandemic imposed further communication barriers. Undoubtedly, the recognition of such an important issue creates an urgent need to educate nurses in alternative ways of communication with mechanically ventilated, conscious patients during their ICU stay.
RETRACTED: K-Means Based Cluster Formation and Head Selection Through Artificial Neural Network in MANET
Authors: Bisen Dhananjay , Mishra Sneha , Saurabh Praneet
Published: July 2021

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
SLOW5: a new file format enables massive acceleration of nanopore sequencing data analysis
Authors: Gamaarachchi Hasindu , Samarakoon Hiruna , Jenner Sasha , Ferguson James , Amos Timothy , Hammond Jillian , Saadat Hassaan , Smith Martin , Parameswaran Sri , Deveson Ira
Published: July 2021

Nanopore sequencing is an emerging genomic technology with great potential. However, the storage and analysis of nanopore sequencing data have become major bottlenecks preventing more widespread adoption in research and clinical genomics. Here, we elucidate an inherent limitation in the file format used to store raw nanopore data – known as FAST5 – that prevents efficient analysis on high-performance computing (HPC) systems. To overcome this we have developed SLOW5, an alternative file format that permits efficient parallelisation and, thereby, acceleration of nanopore data analysis. For example, we show that using SLOW5 format, instead of FAST5, reduces the time and cost of genome-wide DNA methylation profiling by an order of magnitude on common HPC systems, and delivers consistent improvements on a wide range of different architectures. With a simple, accessible file structure and a ~25% reduction in size compared to FAST5, SLOW5 format will deliver substantial benefits to all areas of the nanopore community.
Complications Associated with Bifocal Bone Transport Using Unilateral External Rail Fixator in the Reconstruction of Femur Defects Caused by Infection: Outcome Analysis of 76 Patients
Authors: Peng Cong , Liu Kai , Tian Qi , Tusunniyazi Maimaitiaili , Kong Weiqi , Luan Haopeng , Liu Xiaokang , Zhao Yan
Published: July 2021

Background: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of single-level bone transport in the treatment of femoral bone defects after radical debridement, which were caused by infections.Methods: Clinical and radiographic data of patients with infected femoral nonunion treated with a unilateral external fixator (Orthofix limb reconstruction system, LRS) at our hospital from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. The Association for the Study and Application of the Method of Ilizarov (ASAMI) standard was applied to assess the bone and functional outcomes and postoperative complications evaluated by Paley classification. Results: Seventy-six cases of infected femoral bone defects (31 proximal, 19 intermediate, and 26 distal) were managed by single-level bone transport using a unilateral external fixator with a mean follow-up time of 30.8 (23 to 41) months. There were 58 men (76.3%) and 18 women (23.6%), with a mean age of 38.8 years (range, 23 – 60 years). The bone union was achieved in 76 cases with a mean time of 6.9 months (range, 5-8 months). Complications included 29 cases (38.1%) of pin tract infection, 7 cases (9.2%) of muscle contractures, 3 cases (7.9%) of joint stiffness, 13 cases (17.1%) of axial deviation, 2 cases (2.6%) of delayed union, one case (1.3%) of nonunion, and none (0%) of transport gap re-fracture. One patient (1.3%) was scheduled for knee arthroplasty when bone transport treatment ended.Conclusions: Bone transport in the reconstruction of femoral bone defects using unilateral external rail fixator had a satisfactory rate of bone healing and limb function recovery. Complications of distal femoral bone transport were more severe than other sites, but the complication rate was the least of the three. Complications of the proximal were comparable to the intermediate, and soft-tissue-related complications were more likely to occur in the intermediate transport.
The Expression of Interleukin-1β Is Regulated by DNA Methylation in Microglia of Hippocampus to Participate Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Aged Mice
Authors: Gao Yin , Yang Li , Yang Xiu , Hao Jing-Ru , Shen Xiao-Ran , Li Xu , Liu Yue-Ying , Liu Le , Tong Kun , You Yue , Chen Di-Shi , Sun Nan , Gao Can
Published: July 2021

BackgroundPostoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is one of the common postoperative complications in the elderly. The main clinical manifestation is memory impairment, which can cause permanent damage and even dementia in severe cases. However, the pathogenesis of POCD is still unknown. Age and neuroinflammation are known to be closely related to its occurrence, while DNA methylation is very important for transcriptional silencing and neuroinflammation. Consequently, this study intended to establish a mouse model of POCD to explore the role of DNA methylation in regulating the expression of interleukin-1β which participated POCD in aged mice.MethodsPOCD model was established by exploratory laparotomy and evaluated by new object experiment and Y maze test. In addition, ELISA, RT-PCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, microglia isolation and flow cytometry methods were used to detect the inflammatory state of dorsal hippocampal after surgery. Moreover, MSP, MeDIP and IL-1β promoter DNA methylation sequencing were used to explore the regulation of DNA methylation on IL-1β in this model. Finally, Golgi staining and Western blotting were used to further explore the role of IL-1β in POCD and its possible mechanisms. ResultsCognitive impairment was observed in aged but not adult mice at 1 day after surgery. There was a significant correlation between the level of IL-1β in dorsal hippocampus and the performance of cognitive function. The microglia in the dorsal hippocampus was activated and the IL-1β promoter DNA methylation was decreased in the aged mice. The increased expression of IL-1β impaired synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent memory formation. Intracerebroventricular administration of IL-1β receptor antagonist could prevent the cognitive impairment of aged mice after surgery, reverse the decrease of dendritic spine density and synapse-associated protein expression induced by surgery.ConclusionDNA methylation regulation may be an important mechanism for greater susceptibility to POCD in aged mice by regulating the expression of IL-1β. IL-1β inhibiting prevented surgery-induced cognitive decline and synaptic plasticity dysfunction. The research also provided a new target for the clinical prevention of the occurrence of POCD in the elderly.
Can Topical Nasal Steroid Prevent the Loss of Smell in Covid-19?
Authors: Timurkaan Mustafa , Yıldırım Yavuz Sultan Selim
Published: July 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of nasal steroid use on the loss of smell in patients diagnosed with Covid-19.Material and Method: 211 patients diagnosed with Covid-19 with positive PCR tests between April 2020 and December 2020 and followed up and treated in the Elazig City Hospital Pandemic Clinic were included in this cross-sectional study. The demographic data, comorbidities and drug use histories of the patients were interviewed face-to-face and recorded.Findings: The average age of the patients was 53.55 ± 17.81 (129 men, 82 women). Regarding the age, gender and comorbidities of the patients, there was no difference between the groups with and without loss of smell in terms of average age and gender. Anosmia developed in 50 patients (23.5%) and hyposmia developed in 84 patients (40%). No decrease or loss of sense of smell was observed in 77 patients. 26 of these patients were using nasal steroids at the time of diagnosis, and none of them had a decrease or loss in sense of smell.Results: With the results of the study, it has presented for the first time to the literature that the use of nasal steroids can prevent the loss of smell, which is one of the common neurological symptoms in Covid-19. The results of our study suggest that the nasal steroid, which plays an immunomodulatory role, can be a shield against loss of smell by creating a local anti-inflammatory effect in the nasal mucosa and around the olfactory nerve.
Impacts of Climate Change on Rainfall Trends Under RCP Scenarios in Johor, Malaysia
Authors: Rahmat Siti Nazahiyah , Tarmizi Aainaa Hatin Ahmad , Tukimat Nurul Nadrah Aqilah
Published: July 2021

Changes in the spatial and temporal rainfall pattern affected by the climate change need to be investigated as its significant characteristics are often used for managing water resources. In this study, the impacts of climate change on rainfall variability in Johor was investigated by using General Circulation Model (GCM) on the availability of daily simulation for three representative concentration pathways (RCP) scenarios, RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 for interval year of Δ2030, Δ2050 and Δ2080. In addition, the annual future rainfall trend for the first interval year of Δ2030 was also made. Daily rainfall series from eight (8) stations in Johor, Malaysia capturing 30 years period (1988-2017) with less than 10% missing data were chosen. The annual mean rainfall for RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 was predicted increase by 17.5%, 18.1% and 18.3%, respectively as compared to historical data. Moreover, the Mann-Kendall (MK) test was used to detect the trend and resulted in no trend for RCP2.6. Even so, RCP4.5 showed a significant upward trend in Muar and Kota Tinggi, and for RCP8.5, all regions were detected to have an upwards trend except for Pontian and Kluang. In general, the concentration of greenhouse gases from RCP8.5 gave the highest rainfall in future.
Species Richness Capture Plant Functional and Phylogenetic Diversity Variations Along Different Ecosystems on the Hillsides of Damavand Mountain (Iran)
Authors: sadeghinia majid , gholinejad Bahram , kargar Mansoureh
Published: July 2021

Aims Plants vary in their functional traits and thus in their preference towards edaphic conditions. Plants displaying tougher, long-living leaves, which better conserve nutrients in the tissues, are expected to grow better in acidic soils, which are frequently nutrient poor. Methods We used a trait-based approach, quantifying variations in the Leaf-height-seed (LHS) scheme and functional and phylogenetic indices in semi-arid communities from three different habitats (grasslands, shrubland and mixed habitats). Three traits, including specific leaf area (SLA), Plant height (H) and Seed Mass (SM), in 350 plots across the three habitats in the southern hillsides of Damavand Mountain. We only included the species that occurred in more than 20 plots throughout the dataset for the following analyses (i.e., 44 species). We calculated at the plot scale, community weighted means (CWM) for each trait, species richness, Faith’s phylogenetic diversity index (PD), functional richness (Frich), functional and phylogenetic mean pairwise dissimilarities (MPD) and nutrient concentration. Results The results showed that the higher soil nutrient concentration and pH were significant and positive related with species and functional richness and Faith´s phylogenetic distance, while not significant results were obtained for any functional trait at community level (SLACWM, VHCWM and SMCWM) or for the functional and phylogenetic mean pairwise distance.Conclusiones In addition, the phylogenetic and functional patterns responded more to the taxonomic richness variations than to trait-based assembly processes.
TL-Moments Approach: Application of non-Stationary GEV Model in Flood Frequency Analysis
Authors: Jan Nur Amalina Mat , Shabri Ani , Marsani Muhammad Fadhil , Badyalina Basri
Published: July 2021

The non-stationarity in hydrological records is a significant concerning area of interest within the field of flood risk management. Ignoring the non-stationary behaviour in flood series will result in a substantial bias in floods quantile. Hence, the non-stationary flood frequency analysis appeared to be an appropriate option to maintain the independent and identically distributed (IID) assumptions in sample observation. This paper utilized the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution to analyze extreme flood series. The time-varying moment technique, namely the L-moment and TL-moment methods are employed to estimate the non-stationary model (GEV 1, GEV 2, and GEV 3) in the flood series. The ADF test, Mann-Kendall trend test, and Spearman’s Rho test showed that two out of ten streamflow stations in Johor, Malaysia demonstrated a non-stationary behaviour in the annual maximum streamflow. Results from the simulation study demonstrate a consistent performance on the non-stationary model. Furthermore, the TL-moments method could efficiently predict the flood event estimated at quantiles of the higher return periods.
Magnitude of Child Sexual Abuse and Its Associated Factors Among High School Female Students in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Natae Legesse Abera , Aliye Abdulahi , Tadesse Kalbesse , Guta Alemu
Published: July 2021

Background: Child sexual abuse means any kind of sexual contact with a child under the age of 18 years. It is a common and serious public health problem affecting millions of people each year worldwide. It is the most neglected and least documented form of violence in Ethiopia among school girls. So, this study aimed to assess the magnitude and its associated factors among high school female students in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia.Methods: An institutional-based, cross-sectional study was conducted, March, 1-23/2021. A stratified multistage sampling technique was used for quantitative data and 794 participants from selected high schools were included. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used, and data were analyzed using SPSS software version 24. For qualitative data, sixteen in-depth interviews and five focus group discussion were conducted and analyzed thematically. Result: The magnitude of at least one form of sexual abuse were 384 (48.9%), of these, 150 (19.1%) were rape. Students who live alone 4.3 times (AOR=4.30;95 % CI: 1.81-10.24), those who lives with their friends 5 times (AOR=5.02: 95% CI: 2.24-11.24), and those who lives with their single parent 3 times (AOR=3.31: 95% CI: 1.23-8.89) more likely experience life time sexual abuse than those living with their both parents. The odds of experiencing life time sexual abuse among students of rural residence were 2 times higher than their urban counter part (AOR=2.1; 95% CI: 1.79-3.45). Students who don’t drink alcohol were 70% more protective than those who drink alcohol (AOR=0.70: 95% CI: 0.28-0.97).Conclusion: This study revealed that the magnitude of child sexual abuse among female students in Dire Dawa is high. Lack of discussion about sexual issue with parents, living without both parents, drinking alcohol, being rural residence had significant association with child sexual abuse. Unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and STIs were the most common reproductive consequences of sexual abuse. So, community-based comprehensive awareness creation on sexual and reproductive health issues, are recommended especially, at rural area.
Finite-Time Performance Guaranteed Event-Triggered Adaptive Control for Nonlinear Systems with Unknown Control Direction
Authors: Wang Min , Wang Lixue
Published: July 2021

This paper studies the issue of finite-time performance guaranteed event-triggered (ET) adaptive neural tracking control for strict-feedback nonlinear systems with unknown control direction. A novel finite-time performance function is first constructed to describe the prescribed tracking performance, and then a new lemma is given to show the differentiability and boundedness for the performance function, which is important for the verification of the closed-loop stability. Furthermore, with the help of the error transformation technique, the origin constrained tracking error is transformed into an equivalent unconstrained one. By utilizing the first-order sliding mode differentiator, the issue of ``explosion of complexity'' caused by the backstepping design is adequately addressed. Subsequently, an ingenious adaptive updated law is given to co-design the controller and the ET mechanism by the combination of the Nussbaum-type function, thus effectively handling the influences of the measurement error resulted from the ET mechanism and the challenge of the controller design caused by the unknown control direction. The presented event-triggered control scheme can not only guarantee the prescribed tracking performance, but also alleviate the communication burden simultaneously. Finally, numerical and practical examples are provided to demonstrate the validity of the proposed control strategy.