bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pharmacokinetics and safety of the two oral cefaclor formulations in healthy chinese subjects in the fasting and postprandial states
Authors: Qu Xinyao , Deng Qiaohuan , Li Ying , Li Peng , Liu Guangwen , Wang Yanli , Liu Zhengzhi , Yu Shuang , Cheng Yang , Zhou Yannan , Chen Jiahui , Ren Qing , Yu Zishu , Su Zhengjie , Zhao Yicheng , Yang Haimiao
Published: October 2022

We conducted a phase I bioequivalence trial in healthy Chinese subjects in the fasting and postprandial states. The goal of this trial was to compare the pharmacokinetics and safety of the test preparation Cefaclor granule (Disha Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.) and the reference preparation Cefaclor suspension (Ceclor®, Eli Lilly and Company). In this trial, 24 subjects were selected in the fasting and postprandial states, respectively. Enrolled subjects randomly accepted a single dose of 0.125 g Cefaclor granule or Cefaclor suspension. The washout period was set as 2 days. Blood samples were collected within 8 h after administration in the fasting state and within 10 h after administration in the postprandial state. Plasma concentrations were determined by Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Pharmacokinetic parameters (AUC, Cmax) were used to evaluate bioequivalence of the two drugs. In the fasting trial, the geometric mean ratios (90% confidence intervals CIs) for Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞were 93.01% (85.96%–100.63%), 97.92% (96.49%–99.38%) and 97.95% (96.52%–99.41%), respectively. The GMR (90% CIs) for Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞in postprandial state were 89.27% (81.97%–97.22%), 97.31% (95.98%–98.65%) and 97.31% (95.93%–98.71%), respectively. The 90% CIs of AUC and Cmaxin the fasting and postprandial states were within the 80–125% bioequivalence range. Therefore, Cefaclor granule and Cefaclor suspension were bioequivalent and displayed similar safety profiles. Furthermore, food intake affected the pharmacokinetic parameters of both drugs.
Decitabine-induced DNA methylation-mediated transcriptomic reprogramming in human breast cancer cell lines; the impact of DCK overexpression
Authors: Buocikova Verona , Tyciakova Silvia , Pilalis Eleftherios , Mastrokalou Chara , Urbanova Maria , Matuskova Miroslava , Demkova Lucia , Medova Veronika , Longhin Eleonora Marta , Rundén-Pran Elise , Dusinska Maria , Rios-Mondragon Ivan , Cimpan Mihaela Roxana , Gabelova Alena , Soltysova Andrea , Smolkova Bozena , Chatziioannou Aristotelis
Published: October 2022

Decitabine (DAC), a DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor, is tested in combination with conventional anticancer drugs as a treatment option for various solid tumors. Although epigenome modulation provides a promising avenue in treating resistant cancer types, more studies are required to evaluate its safety and ability to normalize the aberrant transcriptional profiles. As deoxycytidine kinase (DCK)-mediated phosphorylation is a rate-limiting step in DAC metabolic activation, we hypothesized that its intracellular overexpression could potentiate DAC’s effect on cell methylome and thus increase its therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, two breast cancer cell lines, JIMT-1 and T-47D, differing in their molecular characteristics, were transfected with a DCK expression vector and exposed to low-dose DAC (approximately IC20). Although transfection resulted in a significant DCK expression increase, further enhanced by DAC exposure, no transfection-induced changes were found at the global DNA methylation level or in cell viability. In parallel, an integrative approach was applied to decipher DAC-induced, methylation-mediated, transcriptomic reprogramming. Besides large-scale hypomethylation, accompanied by up-regulation of gene expression across the entire genome, DAC also induced hypermethylation and down-regulation of numerous genes in both cell lines. Interestingly, TET1 and TET2 expression halved in JIMT-1 cells after DAC exposure, while DNMTs’ changes were not significant. The protein digestion and absorption pathway, containing numerous collagen and solute carrier genes, ranking second among membrane transport proteins, was the top enriched pathway in both cell lines when hypomethylated and up-regulated genes were considered. Moreover, the calcium signaling pathway, playing a significant role in drug resistance, was among the top enriched in JIMT-1 cells. Although low-dose DAC demonstrated its ability to normalize the expression of tumor suppressors, several oncogenes were also up-regulated, a finding, that supports previously raised concerns regarding its broad reprogramming potential. Importantly, our research provides evidence about the involvement of active demethylation in DAC-mediated transcriptional reprogramming.
Seed coat colour of Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. and Coss.] is associated with Bju.TT8 homologs identifiable by targeted functional markers
Authors: Patel Manoj Kumar , Chaudhary Rajat , Taak Yashpal , Pardeshi Priya , Nanjundan Joghee , Vinod K. K. , Saini Navinder , Vasudev Sujata , Yadava D. K.
Published: October 2022

Seed coat colour is an important trait in Indian mustard. Breeding for seed coat colour needs precise knowledge of mode of inheritance and markers linked to it. The present study was focussed on genetics and development of functional markers for seed coat colour. F1s (direct and reciprocal) and F2populations were developed by crossing two contrasting parents for seed coat colour (DRMRIJ-31, brown seeded and RLC-3, yellow seeded). Phenotypic results have shown that the seed coat colour trait was under the influence of maternal effect and controlled by digenic-duplicate gene action. Further,Bju.TT8homologs of both parents (DRMRIJ-31 and RLC-3) were cloned and sequenced. Sequencing results ofBju.TT8homologs revealed that in RLC-3, geneBju.ATT8had an insertion of 1279bp in the 7thexon; whereas, geneBju.BTT8had an SNP (C→T) in the 7thexon. These two mutations were found to be associated with yellow seed coat colour. Using sequence information, functional markers were developed for bothBju.TT8homologs, validated on F2population and were found highly reliable with no recombination between the markers and the phenotype. Further, these markers were subjected to a germplasm assembly of Indian mustard, and their allelic combination for the seed coat colour genes has been elucidated. The comparative genomics ofTT8genes revealed high degree of similarity between and across theBrassicaspecies, and the respective diploid progenitors in tetraploidBrassicaspecies are the possible donors ofTT8homologs. This study will help in the marker-assisted breeding for seed coat colour, and aid in understanding seed coat colour genetics more precisely.
Systematic and functional analysis of non-specific lipid transfer protein family genes in sugarcane under Xanthomonas albilineans infection and salicylic acid treatment
Authors: Li Juan , Zhao Jian-Ying , Shi Yang , Fu Hua-Ying , Huang Mei-Ting , Meng Jian-Yu , Gao San-Ji
Published: October 2022

Plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are small basic proteins that play a significant regulatory role in a wide range of physiological processes. To date, no genome-wide survey and expression analysis of this gene family in sugarcane has been performed. In this study we identified the nsLTP gene family in Saccharum spontaneum and carried out expression profiling of nsLTPs in two sugarcane cultivars (Saccharum spp.) that have different resistance to leaf scald caused by Xanthomonas albilineans (Xa) infection. The effect of stress related to exogenous salicylic acid (SA) treatment was also examined. At a genome-wide level, S. spontaneum AP85-441 had 71 SsnsLTP genes including 66 alleles. Tandem (9 gene pairs) and segmental (36 gene pairs) duplication events contributed to SsnsLTP gene family expansion. Five SsnsLTP proteins were predicted to interact with five other proteins. Expression of ShnsLTPI.8/10/Gb.1 genes was significantly upregulated in LCP85-384 (resistant cultivar), but downregulated in ROC20 (susceptible cultivar), suggesting that these genes play a positive regulatory role in response of sugarcane to Xa infection. Conversely, ShnsLTPGa.4/Ge.3 appears to act as a negative regulator in response Xa infection. The majority (16/17) of tested genes were positively induced in LCP85-384 72 h after SA treatment. In both cultivars, but particularly in LCP85-384, ShnsLTPIV.3/VIII.1 genes were upregulated at all time-points, suggesting that the two genes might act as positive regulators under SA stress. Meanwhile, both cultivars showed downregulated ShnsLTPGb.1 gene expression, indicating its potential negative role in SA treatment responses. Notably, the ShnsLTPGb.1 gene had contrasting effects, with positive regulation of gene expression in response to Xa infection and negative regulation induced by SA stress. Together, our results provide valuable information for elucidating the function of ShnsLTP family members under two stressors and identified novel gene sources for development of sugarcane that are tolerant of environmental stimuli.
Genetic dissection of grain traits and their corresponding heterosis in an elite hybrid
Authors: Zafar Sundus , You Hui , Zhang Fan , Zhu Shuang Bin , Chen Kai , Shen Congcong , Wu Hezhou , Zhu Fangjin , Zhang Conghe , Xu Jianlong
Published: October 2022

Rice productivity has considerably improved due to the effective employment of heterosis, but the genetic basis of heterosis for grain shape and weight remains uncertain. For studying the genetic dissection of heterosis for grain shape/weight and their relationship with grain yield in rice, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping was performed on 1,061 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), which was developed by crossing xian/indica rice Quan9311B (Q9311B) and Wu-shan-si-miao (WSSM). Whereas, BC1F1 (a backcross F1) was developed by crossing RILs with Quan9311A (Q9311A) combined with phenotyping in Hefei (HF) and Nanning (NN) environments. Overall, 114 (main-effect, mQTL) and 359 (epistatic QTL, eQTL) were identified in all populations (RIL, BC1F1, and mid-parent heterosis, HMPs) for 1000-grain weight (TGW), grain yield per plant (GYP) and grain shape traits including grain length (GL), grain width (GW), and grain length to width ratio (GLWR). Differential QTL detection revealed that all additive loci in RILs population do not show heterotic effects, and few of them affect the performance of BC1F1. However, 25 mQTL not only contributed to BC1F1’s performance but also contributed to heterosis. A total of seven QTL regions was identified, which simultaneously affected multiple grain traits (grain yield, weight, shape) in the same environment, including five regions with opposite directions and two regions with same directions of favorable allele effects, indicating that partial genetic overlaps are existed between different grain traits. This study suggested different approaches for obtaining good grain quality with high yield by pyramiding or introgressing favorable alleles (FA) with the same direction of gene effect at the QTL regions affecting grain shape/weight and grain yield distributing on different chromosomes, or introgressing or pyramiding FA in the parents instead of fixing additive effects in hybrid as well as pyramiding the polymorphic overdominant/dominant loci between the parents and eliminating underdominant loci from the parents. These outcomes offer valuable information and strategy to develop hybrid rice with suitable grain type and weight.
Structure and diversity of mycorrhizal fungi communities of different part of Bulbophyllum tianguii in three terrestrial environments
Authors: Liang Jiayu , Zou Rong , Huang Yang , Qin Huizhen , Tang Jianmin , Wei Xiao , Liang Yu , Chai Shengfeng
Published: October 2022

Mycorrhizal fungi plays important roles in the seed germination and subsequent growth of orchids. The research of fungi in orchid roots, especially dominant mycorrhizal fungi is critical for orchids protection. In this study, the fungal community and composition of mycorrhizal fungi in roots, rhizomes and rhizosphere soil of Bulbophyllum tianguii grown in three terrestrial environments were analyzed by the second generation sequencing technology. The results of OTU clustering and α and β diversity analysis showed that there were significant differences in fungal communities in roots, rhizomes and rhizosphere soil of B. tianguii. The total number of OTUs in rhizomes was much less than that in roots and rhizosphere soil. The number of OTUs in rhizosphere soil and the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi were the highest. Meanwhile, the species and abundance of mycorrhizal fungi in roots and rhizomes of B. tianguii were different from those in rhizosphere soil. For different elevations, compared with B. tianguii that grow in middle of Tiankeng and top of Tiankeng, the OTUs number of B. tianguii in orchid garden is richest, and the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi in orchid garden was significantly higher than other locations. Among the three different habitats of B. tianguii, the number of OTUs in humus soil and stone habitats was notably higher than tree habitats, and the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi in humus soil was the highest. The analysis of mycorrhizal fungi in different habitats and altitudes of B. tianguii showed that Sebacina and Exophiala were the dominant mycorrhizal fungi in B. tianguii. The results of species annotation, phylogenetic tree and co-occurrence network analysis showed the dominant mycorrhizal fungi of B. tianguii mainly included Sebacina, Cladosporium, Exophiala, Fusarium. This study reveals the symbiotic relationship between Sebacina, Exophiala, Cladosporium and the B. Tianguii. It will provide a theoretical basis for the protection and biological function study of B. Tianguii.
Leaf surfaces and neolithization - the case of Arundo donax L
Authors: Nunes Sílvia C. , Gomes Ana P. , Nunes Paulo , Fernandes Mariana , Maia Ana , Bacelar Eunice , Rocha João , Cruz Rebeca , Boatto Aline , Ravishankar Ajith P. , Casal Susana , Anand Srinivasan , Bermudez Verónica de Zea , Crespí António L.
Published: October 2022

Arundo donax L. (Arundinoideae subfamily, Poaceae family) is a sub-tropical and temperate climate reed that grows in arid and semi-arid environmental conditions, from eastern China to the Mediterranean basin, suggesting potential adaptations at the epicuticular level. A thorough physical-chemical examination of the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of A. donax leaf was performed herein in an attempt to track such chemophenetic adaptations. This sort of approach is of the utmost importance for the current debate about the hypothetical invasiveness of this species in the Mediterranean basin versus its natural colonization along the Plio-Pleistocene period. We concluded that the leaf surfaces contain, apart from stomata, prickles, and long, thin trichomes, and silicon-rich tetralobate phytolits. Chemically, the dominating elements in the leaf ashes are oxygen and potassium; minor amounts of calcium, silicon, magnesium, phosphorous, sulphur, and chlorine were also detected. In both surfaces the epicuticular waxes (whose density is higher in the adaxial surface than in the abaxial surface) form randomly orientated platelets, with irregular shape and variable size, and aggregated rodlets with variable diameter around the stomata. In the case of green mature leaves, the dominating organic compounds of the epicuticular waxes of both surfaces are triterpenoids. Both surfaces feature identical hydrophobic behaviour, and exhibit the same total transmittance, total reflectance, and absorption of incident light. The above findings suggest easy growth of the plant, remarkable epidermic robustness of the leaf, and control of water loss. These chemophenetic characteristics and human influence support a neolithization process of this species along the Mediterranean basin.
Reason against the machine? Future directions for mass online deliberation
Authors: Shortall Ruth , Itten Anatol , Meer Michiel van der , Murukannaiah Pradeep , Jonker Catholijn
Published: October 2022

Designers of online deliberative platforms aim to counter the degrading quality of online debates. Support technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing open avenues for widening the circle of people involved in deliberation, moving from small groups to “crowd” scale. Numerous design features of large-scale online discussion systems allow larger numbers of people to discuss shared problems, enhance critical thinking, and formulate solutions. We review the transdisciplinary literature on the design of digital mass deliberation platforms and examine the commonly featured design aspects (e.g., argumentation support, automated facilitation, and gamification) that attempt to facilitate scaling up. We find that the literature is largely focused on developing technical fixes for scaling up deliberation, but may neglect the more nuanced requirements of high quality deliberation. Furthermore, current design research is carried out with a small, atypical segment of the world's population, and little research deals with how to facilitate and accommodate different genders or cultures in deliberation, counter pre-existing social inequalities, build motivation and self-efficacy in certain groups, or deal with differences in cognitive abilities and cultural or linguistic differences. We make design and process recommendations to correct this course and suggest avenues for future research.
A cross-cultural analysis on the Interpersonal meaning of attitude resources in Chinese and English online consumer reviews
Authors: Wang Weichao , Zhang Xiaofen
Published: October 2022

Online consumer reviews benefit not only buyers but also sellers in the virtual market place. For consumers, they can realize their attitudes to products through the various lexical attitudinal resources indicating emotion and judgment, and for sellers they act as a form of customer feedback which can enhance the relationship between buyers and sellers. In that sense they improve the operation of the market price mechanism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the Interpersonal meanings realized through the attitude resources drawn upon by English and Chinese online consumers. Based on the Appraisal System, especially the Attitude System in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), this study conducts a contrastive analysis of the attitudinal resources employed by consumers in Amazon UK and Amazon China. These features are analyzed by using the UAM CorpusTool to annotate the relevant resources, with similarities and differences in the general distribution of attitudinal resources identified, and any potential underlying reasons explained. The results of this study suggest that different features and distribution of attitudinal resources are employed in English and Chinese online consumer reviews, and that more attitudinal units are involved in English online consumer reviews than in the Chinese versions. Consumers from the United Kingdom also seem to use more affect resources than Chinese consumers in their online reviews, while Chinese consumers employ slightly more judgment resources and more appreciation resources. Possible factors that may cause such differences are examined in terms of the differing contexts of cultures.
Patient activation is a treatable trait in patients with chronic airway diseases: An observational study
Authors: Peters Jeannette B. , Antons Jeanine C. , Koolen Eleonore H. , van Helvoort Hanneke A. C. , van Hees Hieronymus W. H. , van den Borst Bram , Spruit Martijn A. , Vercoulen Jan H. , van ’t Hul Alex J.
Published: October 2022

Background

Self-management is key for reducing the burden of disease in chronical illness. However, applying self-management presupposes behavioral change. Sufficient knowledge, skills, confidence and motivation to make the needed behavior changes are important prerequisites. During the past years the Integral Diagnostic Trajectory was developed for patients with asthma or COPD which aims to identify treatable traits and activating patients for self-management.

Objective

In the present study the effects of the Integral Diagnostic Trajectory on the Patient Activation Measure (PAM®) were examined. In addition, predictive variables for PAM baseline scores and change scores were sought.

Materials and methods

A total of 241 patients with asthma or COPD referred to the pulmonologist at the Radboud university medical center, location Dekkerswald, Nijmegen were included. Patient activation was measured before the first visit and after the intervention with the 13-item PAM®. Additional, patient characteristics and health status were measured with the Nijmegen Clinical Screening Instrument (NCSI), modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ), and COPD Clinical Questionnaire (CCQ).

Results

Fifty percent of the patients with asthma and seventy percent of the patients with COPD had low levels of activation at baseline (PAM level 1–2). Baseline PAM scores could be explained in patients with asthma for 7% by number of severe problems in health status. And for 18% in patients with COPD by number of severe problems, age and employment status. After the intervention both groups significantly improved on the PAM (T0: 56.0 ± 13.1 vs. T1:63.3 ± 14.0 in asthma, and T0: 50.0 ± 8.8 vs. 58.4 ± 11.1 in COPD). Multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed that only 24% of the change in score could be explained by baseline PAM score and being employed in patients with asthma, and 18% of the variance in change score could be predicted by baseline PAM score in COPD.

Conclusion

The present study showed that low level of activation is a common feature in patients with asthma and COPD. With a relatively short and seemingly simple intervention patients can reach higher levels of patient activation, which is a prerequisite for adopting self-management techniques in daily life.
Are adherence to the Mediterranean diet and siesta individually or jointly associated with blood pressure in Spanish adolescents? Results from the EHDLA study
Authors: Mesas Arthur Eumann , Jimenez-López Estela , Martínez-Vizcaíno Vicente , Fernández-Rodríguez Rubén , Bizzozero-Peroni Bruno , Garrido-Miguel Miriam , Cavero-Redondo Iván , López-Gil José Francisco
Published: October 2022

Background

Both dietary and sleep patterns can influence both blood pressure levels and heart rate, but these associations have been understudied in adolescents. Furthermore, it is not known whether diet and sleep could exert a synergistic effect with respect to the maintenance of optimal BP levels in this population.

Objective

To investigate the relationship of blood pressure levels with the combination of higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the habit of siesta (daytime napping) in Spanish adolescents.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted with data obtained through personal interviews and physical examination from a representative sample of 1,378 adolescents (12–17 years of age) from the Valle de Ricote (Region of Murcia, Spain) selected using a simple random sampling technique. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed with the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index in Children and Adolescents, and the frequency and duration of siesta were self-reported. Objective measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were obtained under standardized conditions. Statistical procedures were performed with SPSS software (v.25) and included logistic and generalized regression models adjusted for sex, age, socioeconomic status, body mass index, total energy intake, nighttime sleep duration, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

Results

Of the 698 adolescents finally studied (mean age 13.9 ± 1.5 years; 56.2% female), 37.1% (n = 259) had high adherence to the Mediterranean diet and 19.6% (n = 137) reported frequent siesta. In the completely adjusted models, compared to adolescents with low Mediterranean diet adherence and no or infrequent siesta, those with high Mediterranean diet adherence and frequent siesta were less likely to have high-normal blood pressure or hypertension (odds ratio = 0.47; 95% confidence interval: 0.26, 0.88) and showed slightly lower systolic blood pressure (ß-coef. = −2.60; 95% CI: −5.18, −0.02).

Conclusion

Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet and frequent siesta have a synergistic effect on maintaining lower blood pressure levels in adolescence. These findings reinforce that adherence to both Mediterranean lifestyle behaviors early in life may be an important strategy to prevent hypertension throughout adulthood.
A novel nomogram and risk classification system predicting the overall survival of patients with papillary renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy: A population-based study
Authors: Hu Yongtao , Xu Shun , Qi Qiao , Wang Xuhong , Meng Jialin , Zhou Jun , Hao Zongyao , Liang Qianjun , Feng Xingliang , Liang Chaozhao
Published: October 2022

Background

Papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) is the largest histologic subtype of non-clear-cell RCC. To date, there is no reliable nomogram to predict the prognosis of patients with pRCC after nephrectomy. We aimed to first establish an effective nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) of patients with pRCC after nephrectomy.

Methods

A total of 3,528 eligible patients with pRCC after nephrectomy were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2010 and 2015. The patients were randomized into the training cohort (n = 2,472) and the validation cohort (n = 1,056) at a 7:3 ratio. In total, 122 real-world samples from our institute (titled the AHMU-pRCC cohort) were used as the external validation cohort. Univariate and subsequent multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify OS-related prognostic factors, which were further used to establish a prognostic nomogram for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS probabilities. The performance of the nomogram was evaluated by using the concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), calibration plot, and decision curve analysis (DCA).

Results

Multivariate Cox analysis showed that age, race, marital status, TNM stage, tumor size, and surgery were significant OS-related prognostic factors. A prognostic model consisting of these clinical parameters was developed and virtualized by a nomogram. High C-index and area under the ROC curve (AUC) values of the nomogram at 1, 3, and 5 years were found in the training, validation, and AHMU-pRCC cohorts. The calibration plot and DCA also showed that the nomogram had a satisfactory clinical application value. A risk classification system was established to risk-stratify patients with pRCC.

Conclusion

Based on a large cohort from the public SEER database, a reliable nomogram predicting the OS of patients with pRCC after nephrectomy was constructed, which could optimize the survival assessment and clinical treatment.
Modern public pealth problems and solutions: An undergraduate capstone course to prepare the next generation of public health practitioners to enhance health equity
Authors: Minlikeeva Albina N. , Amato Katharine A. , Przybyla Sarahmona M.
Published: October 2022

With a growing emphasis on health equity in public health practice and research, ensuring a competent and skilled public health workforce is critical to advancing the public health mission of a healthier nation. The expansion of undergraduate public health programs provides a unique opportunity for more extensive training and education of the next generation of public health professionals and to center undergraduate public health education around the need to be competent in addressing health disparities to achieve health equity. Following national accreditation standards set by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), undergraduate Bachelor of Public Health (BSPH) students at the University at Buffalo (UB) must complete a capstone course before graduation. This course focuses on integrating and synthesizing knowledge acquired from the BSPH core curriculum through analysis, explanation, and addressing public health problems via an interdisciplinary approach. We designed the most recent iterations of the capstone class based on the model that includes cross-cutting skills as defined by CEPH, evidence-based decision-making skills, established learning objectives of the course, and centering on health equity. This course also builds on the students' previously acquired knowledge with an ultimate goal to prepare the graduating seniors for the “real world” health equity-related public health activities. As a part of the coursework, students complete case studies, article reviews, and active learning group activities that target each component of the model. The final products of the course are a synthesis paper and oral presentation based on a public health problem as identified through surveillance data, analyzing causes of this problem, identifying critical stakeholders, creating an evidence-based solution to the problem, and explaining how health inequities may be addressed through the proposed solution. Centering the culminating course for BSPH undergraduate students on health equity will help ensure a competent and skilled workforce, informed by accreditation standards and prepared to lead our national public health goal of improved and equitable population health.
One-shot learning for autonomous aerial manipulation
Authors: Zito Claudio , Ferrante Eliseo
Published: October 2022

This paper is concerned with learning transferable contact models for aerial manipulation tasks. We investigate a contact-based approach for enabling unmanned aerial vehicles with cable-suspended passive grippers to compute the attach points on novel payloads for aerial transportation. This is the first time that the problem of autonomously generating contact points for such tasks has been investigated. Our approach builds on the underpinning idea that we can learn a probability density of contacts over objects’ surfaces from a single demonstration. We enhance this formulation for encoding aerial transportation tasks while maintaining the one-shot learning paradigm without handcrafting task-dependent features or employing ad-hoc heuristics; the only prior is extrapolated directly from a single demonstration. Our models only rely on the geometrical properties of the payloads computed from a point cloud, and they are robust to partial views. The effectiveness of our approach is evaluated in simulation, in which one or three quadcopters are requested to transport previously unseen payloads along a desired trajectory. The contact points and the quadcopters configurations are computed on-the-fly for each test by our approach and compared with a baseline method, a modified grasp learning algorithm from the literature. Empirical experiments show that the contacts generated by our approach yield a better controllability of the payload for a transportation task. We conclude this paper with a discussion on the strengths and limitations of the presented idea, and our suggested future research directions.
Social/dialogical roles of social robots in supporting children’s learning of language and literacy—A review and analysis of innovative roles
Authors: Rohlfing Katharina J. , Altvater-Mackensen Nicole , Caruana Nathan , van den Berghe Rianne , Bruno Barbara , Tolksdorf Nils F. , Hanulíková Adriana
Published: October 2022

One of the many purposes for which social robots are designed is education, and there have been many attempts to systematize their potential in this field. What these attempts have in common is the recognition that learning can be supported in a variety of ways because a learner can be engaged in different activities that foster learning. Up to now, three roles have been proposed when designing these activities for robots: as a teacher or tutor, a learning peer, or a novice. Current research proposes that deciding in favor of one role over another depends on the content or preferred pedagogical form. However, the design of activities changes not only the content of learning, but also the nature of a human–robot social relationship. This is particularly important in language acquisition, which has been recognized as a social endeavor. The following review aims to specify the differences in human–robot social relationships when children learn language through interacting with a social robot. After proposing categories for comparing these different relationships, we review established and more specific, innovative roles that a robot can play in language-learning scenarios. This followsMead’s (1946)theoretical approach proposing that social roles are performed in interactive acts. These acts are crucial for learning, because not only can they shape the social environment of learning but also engage the learner to different degrees. We specify the degree of engagement by referring toChi’s (2009)progression of learning activities that range from active, constructive, toward interactive with the latter fostering deeper learning. Taken together, this approach enables us to compare and evaluate different human–robot social relationships that arise when applying a robot in a particular social role.
COVID-19 respiratory sound analysis and classification using audio textures
Authors: Silva Leticia , Valadão Carlos , Lampier Lucas , Delisle-Rodríguez Denis , Caldeira Eliete , Bastos-Filho Teodiano , Krishnan Sridhar
Published: October 2022

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, a major scientific effort has been made by researchers and companies worldwide to develop a digital diagnostic tool to screen this disease through some biomedical signals, such as cough, and speech. Joint time–frequency feature extraction techniques and machine learning (ML)-based models have been widely explored in respiratory diseases such as influenza, pertussis, and COVID-19 to find biomarkers from human respiratory system-generated acoustic sounds. In recent years, a variety of techniques for discriminating textures and computationally efficient local texture descriptors have been introduced, such as local binary patterns and local ternary patterns, among others. In this work, we propose an audio texture analysis of sounds emitted by subjects in suspicion of COVID-19 infection using time–frequency spectrograms. This approach of the feature extraction method has not been widely used for biomedical sounds, particularly for COVID-19 or respiratory diseases. We hypothesize that this textural sound analysis based on local binary patterns and local ternary patterns enables us to obtain a better classification model by discriminating both people with COVID-19 and healthy subjects. Cough, speech, and breath sounds from the INTERSPEECH 2021 ComParE and Cambridge KDD databases have been processed and analyzed to evaluate our proposed feature extraction method with ML techniques in order to distinguish between positive or negative for COVID-19 sounds. The results have been evaluated in terms of an unweighted average recall (UAR). The results show that the proposed method has performed well for cough, speech, and breath sound classification, with a UAR up to 100.00%, 60.67%, and 95.00%, respectively, to infer COVID-19 infection, which serves as an effective tool to perform a preliminary screening of COVID-19.
Analysis of curative effect of percutaneous coaxial large channel endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion in the treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis
Authors: Feng Pin , Kong Qingquan , Zhang Bin , Liu Junlin , Ma Junsong , Hu Yuan
Published: October 2022

Objective

To investigate the clinical efficacy and technical points of Percutaneous Coaxial Large-channel Endoscopic Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PCLE-LIF) in the treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis.

Methods

The clinical data of patients with single-segment degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis who underwent PCLE-LIF surgery from January 2019 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Surgery-related data included symptom duration, operation time, hospital stay, and complication rate. Functional score data included low back pain and lower extremity pain VAS score, ODI score, and MacNab criteria were used to evaluate clinical effects. The Brantigan criteria were used to evaluate the interbody fusion.

Results

There were 62 patients in this group, including 35 males and 27 females. The surgical sites were all lower lumbar spine, including 35 cases of lumbar L4/5 and 27 cases of L5/S1. The length of hospital stay was 7.7 ± 1.4 days. All patients were followed up regularly for 1 year. The interbody fusion rate was 93.5% at 1 year after operation. There were 2 cases of numbness, 2 cases of nerve edema and pain, 1 case of cage displacement, and 1 case of pedicle screw loosening. The complication rate was 9.6%. The VAS scores of low back pain 1 day before surgery, 3 days, 3 months and 1 year after surgery were 4.48 ± 1.06, 0.84 ± 0.81, 0.40 ± 0.56, 0.39 ± 0.69, and the VAS of lower extremity pain at each time point of appeal were 5.58 ± 0.98, 0.91 ± 0.58, 0.31 ± 0.46, 0.19 ± 0.40. The ODI scores at 1 day before surgery, 3 months and 1 year after surgery were 60.01 ± 6.21, 15.58 ± 2.84, 8.82 ± 2.15. The ODI scores and VAS scores of low back pain and lower extremity pain at each follow-up time point after operation were significantly lower than those before operation (p < 0.05). The 1-year follow-up after operation was evaluated by the modified MacNab standard, and the results were excellent in 36 cases, good in 23 cases, fair in 3 cases, and poor in 0 cases, with an excellent and good rate of 95.2%.

Conclusion

Percutaneous coaxial large-channel endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion in the treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis has good short-term efficacy and high safety, and is worthy of popularization.
Mapping knowledge structure and global status of sarcopenia in geriatric hip fractures: A bibliometric and visualized study
Authors: Zhao Zhibang , Fan Wenliang , Chu Qingbo
Published: October 2022

Background

Sarcopenia in geriatric hip fractures is attracting increased attention in recent years. This study aimed to explore the bibliometric characteristics and current status of sarcopenia research in hip fractures of older patients.

Methods

Publications related to sarcopenia in geriatric hip fracture published between January 2000 and July 2022 were extracted from the Science Citation Index Expanded, and bibliometric and visualized studies were performed by VOSviewer, Citespace, and R.

Results

The 1,223 articles used in our study were written by 6,326 authors from 1,879 organizations in 60 countries, published in 388 journals, and cited 37,198 references from 5,422 journals. The United States contributed the most publications (288 publications). The journal with the largest number of papers was Osteoporosis International (62 publications), and the Journals of Gerontology Series A - Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences had been more cited than any other journals in this field (3,302 citations). The University of Melbourne published the biggest number of papers (72 publications) focusing on sarcopenia in geriatric hip fractures while the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute had the largest citations (4,239 citations). Cawthon PM was the most productive and influential author in the field. keywords were classified into 6 clusters: Cluster 1 (sarcopenia in aging), Cluster 2 (osteoporosis), Cluster 3 (bone density), Cluster 4 (body composition), Cluster 5 (physical performance), and Cluster 6 (risk factor).

Conclusion

Geriatric hip fracture is one of the most significant health issues in the aging society. In the past 20 years, an increasing number of studies were performed to explore the relationship between sarcopenia and hip fracture in older adults. The United States showed the strongest influence in this field, including publication numbers, citations, institutions, funding agencies, and authorship. Sarcopenia in aging, osteoporosis, bone density, body composition, physical performance, and risk factors may become the future hotspots in this field.
Perspective: Systems biology beyond biology
Authors: Voit Eberhard O.
Published: October 2022

The past decades have witnessed an astounding rise of the nascent field of systems biology. By and large unknown or ignored for a long time, the field rapidly moved into the limelight and is now in the process of becoming a widely recognized and respected component of mainstream biology. Of course, much remains to be explored and accomplished in systems biology within its parent domain of biology, but the time seems ripe for expansions beyond this domain. The goal of such an expansion should not be the creation of new strongholds or academic silos outside biology, but the true integration of biological systems thinking into educational programs of other disciplines. The expansion should naturally start with closely related fields like biophysics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and bioengineering, but should continue further into other areas invested in the study of life, such as medicine, epidemiology, and public health, as well as applied mathematics and computer science. This perspective sketches out how systems biological thinking might enrich the training of a new generation of scientists in different fields of scientific endeavor.
Cross clinical-experimental-computational qualification of in silico drug trials on human cardiac purkinje cells for proarrhythmia risk prediction
Authors: Trovato Cristian , Mohr Marcel , Schmidt Friedemann , Passini Elisa , Rodriguez Blanca
Published: October 2022

The preclinical identification of drug-induced cardiotoxicity and its translation into human risk are still major challenges in pharmaceutical drug discovery. The ICH S7B Guideline and Q&A on Clinical and Nonclinical Evaluation of QT/QTc Interval Prolongation and Proarrhythmic Potential promotes human in silico drug trials as a novel tool for proarrhythmia risk assessment. To facilitate the use of in silico data in regulatory submissions, explanatory control compounds should be tested and documented to demonstrate consistency between predictions and the historic validation data. This study aims to quantify drug-induced electrophysiological effects on in silico cardiac human Purkinje cells, to compare them with existing in vitro rabbit data, and to assess their accuracy for clinical pro-arrhythmic risk predictions. The effects of 14 reference compounds were quantified in simulations with a population of in silico human cardiac Purkinje models. For each drug dose, five electrophysiological biomarkers were quantified at three pacing frequencies, and results compared with available in vitro experiments and clinical proarrhythmia reports. Three key results were obtained: 1) In silico, repolarization abnormalities in human Purkinje simulations predicted drug-induced arrhythmia for all risky compounds, showing higher predicted accuracy than rabbit experiments; 2) Drug-induced electrophysiological changes observed in human-based simulations showed a high degree of consistency with in vitro rabbit recordings at all pacing frequencies, and depolarization velocity and action potential duration were the most consistent biomarkers; 3) discrepancies observed for dofetilide, sotalol and terfenadine are mainly caused by species differences between humans and rabbit. Taken together, this study demonstrates higher accuracy of in silico methods compared to in vitro animal models for pro-arrhythmic risk prediction, as well as a high degree of consistency with in vitro experiments commonly used in safety pharmacology, supporting the potential for industrial and regulatory adoption of in silico trials for proarrhythmia prediction.
Identification of differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNAs in spermatozoa of bulls of varying fertility
Authors: Donnellan Eimear M. , Perrier Jean-Philippe , Keogh Kate , Štiavnická Miriam , Collins Caitríona M. , Dunleavy Elaine M. , Sellem Eli , Bernecic Naomi C. , Lonergan Patrick , Kenny David A. , Fair Sean
Published: October 2022

Bulls used in artificial insemination, with apparently normal semen quality, can vary significantly in their field fertility. This study aimed to characterize the transcriptome of spermatozoa from high (HF) and low (LF) fertility bulls at the mRNA and miRNA level in order to identify potential novel markers of fertility. Holstein-Friesian bulls were assigned to either the HF or LF group (n = 10 per group) based on an adjusted national fertility index from a minimum of 500 inseminations. Total RNA was extracted from a pool of frozen-thawed spermatozoa from three different ejaculates per bull, following which mRNA-seq and miRNA-seq were performed. Six mRNAs and 13 miRNAs were found differentially expressed (P < 0.05, FC > 1.5) between HF and LF bulls. Of particular interest, the gene pathways targeted by the 13 differentially expressed miRNAs were related to embryonic development and gene expression regulation. Previous studies reported that disruptions to protamine 1 mRNA (PRM1) had deleterious consequences for sperm chromatin structure and fertilizing ability. Notably, PRM1 exhibited a higher expression in spermatozoa from LF than HF bulls. In contrast, Western Blot analysis revealed a decrease in PRM1 protein abundance for spermatozoa from LF bulls; this was not associated with increased protamine deficiency (measured by the degree of chromatin compaction) or DNA fragmentation, as assessed by flow cytometry analyses. However, protamine deficiency was positively and moderately correlated with the percentage of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation, irrespective of fertility group. This study has identified potential biomarkers that could be used for improving semen quality assessments of bull fertility.
Diagnóstico situacional para la gestión estratégica de la Asociación Asopapropie en Membrillo, Ecuador
Authors: Valarezo Beltron Carlos Oswaldo
Published: October 2022

La investigación se cumplió en Membrillo, Manabí, Ecuador. El objetivo de la investigación fue realizar un diagnóstico situacional como contribución a la gestión estratégica de la asociación ASOPAPROPIE. Para obtener la información se ejecutó una entrevista que luego fue analizada con la matriz FODA, técnica PEST y matrices EFI Y EFE. A través de las herramientas de análisis empleadas se determinó que en la asociación las fortalezas sobresalieron ligeramente con respecto a las debilidades. A su vez según las matrices utilizadas se estableció que las oportunidades superaron levemente en los indicadores de las amenazas, no obstante, quedó un signo de alerta ya que fueron márgenes estrechos de diferencias que fácilmente se pueden revertir de manera negativa para la empresa.
La cadena de comercialización del cacao fino de aroma, cantón Pichincha, Ecuador
Authors: González Rosado Letty Lastenia , Moreira Sornoza Wilson Gabriel , Dueñas Rivadeneira Alex Alberto
Published: October 2022

La investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar la cadena de comercialización de cacao fino de aroma en el cantón Pichincha, Ecuador. El método de investigación teórico fue inductivo deductivo y el estudio de investigación descriptivo con un diseño de investigación no experimental. Se realizó una encuesta a los representantes de los centros de acopio (tres en el sector urbano y tres del sector rural) quienes adquieren el producto de los pequeños agricultores de la localidad. Los principales resultados evidenciaron que las empresas no utilizan intermediarios al momento de adquirir el producto, sin embargo, si lo requieren al momento de comercializarlo en el mercado nacional. Otro de los resultados demuestra que el nivel de comercialización actual no ha variado en relación a las ventas antes y después de la pandemia. Por otra parte, el impacto es positivo debido a que se genera rentabilidad y sostenibilidad económica en el cantón Pichincha.