bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spectrum of Heart diseases in Children presenting to a Paediatric Cardiac Echocardiography Clinic in the Lake Zone of Tanzania: a 7 years overview
Authors: Zuechner Antke , Mhada Tumaini , Majani Naizihijwa G , Sharau Godwin G , Mahalu William , Freund Matthias W
Published: November 2019

Background Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are among the most common congenital malformations. It is estimated that the incidence of CHD is constant worldwide, but data are rare for most African countries including Tanzania. Even less data are available on the prevalence of acquired heart diseases (AHD) in African children. Rheumatic heart disease is the leading cause of AHD and is remaining a public health concern in Sub-Saharan Africa affecting especially the younger population. Both, CHD and AHD contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality during infancy and childhood.Methods This hospital-based, retrospective review of the registry at the paediatric cardiac clinic of Bugando Medical Centre in the Lake Zone of Tanzania analysed the spectrum of heart diseases of paediatric patients during their first presentation by using simple descriptive statistics.Results Between September 2009 and August 2016, a total of 3982 patients received cardiac evaluation including echocardiography studies. 1830 (46.0%) pathologic findings were described, out of these 1371 (74.9%) patients had CHD, whereas 459 (25.1%) presented with AHD. 53.9% of the patients with CHD were female and the most common associated syndrome was Down syndrome in 12.8% of patients. In 807 patients (58.9%) diagnosis of CHD was established within the first year of life. The majority of patients (60.1%) were in need of surgical or interventional therapy at time of diagnosis and 6.3% of patients were judged inoperable at the time of first presentation. Nearly 50% of cases with AHD were rheumatic heart diseases followed by dilated cardiomyopathy and pulmonary hypertension without underlying CHD.Conclusions The spectrum of CHD and AHD from one centre in Tanzania is comparable to findings reported in other countries from the African continent. Echocardiography is a valuable diagnostic tool and the widespread use of it should be enhanced to diagnose heart diseases in a large number and reasonable time. Most patients present late and majority is in need of surgical or interventional treatment, which is still not readily available. Untreated heart diseases contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality during infancy and childhood. Adequate cardiac services should be established and strengthened.
Occurrence and determinants of Klebsiella species bloodstream infection in the western interior of British Columbia, Canada
Authors: Reid Connor B. , Steele Lisa , Pasquill Kelsey , Parfitt Elizabeth C. , Laupland Kevin
Published: November 2019

BACKGROUND: Klebsiella species are among the most common causes of bloodstream infection (BSI). However, few studies have evaluated their epidemiology in non-selected populations. The objective was to define the incidence of, risk factors for, and outcomes from Klebsiella species BSI among residents of the western interior of British Columbia, Canada. METHODS: Population-based surveillance was conducted between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2017. RESULTS: 151 episodes were identified for an incidence of 12.1 per 100,000 population per year; the incidences of K. pneumoniae and K. oxytoca were 9.1 and 2.9 per 100,000 per year, respectively. Overall 24 (16%) were hospital-onset, 90 (60%) were healthcare-associated, and 37 (25%) were community-associated. The median patient age was 71.4 (interquartile range, 58.8-80.9) years and 88 (58%) cases were males. Episodes were uncommon among patients aged 40 years old and no cases were observed among those aged 10 years. A number of co-morbid medical illnesses were identified as significant risks and included (incidence rate ratio; 95% confidence interval) cerebrovascular accident (5.9; 3.3-9.9), renal disease 4.3; 2.5-7.0), cancer (3.8; 2.6-5.5), congestive heart failure (3.5; 1.6-6.6), dementia (2.9; 1.5-5.2), diabetes mellitus (2.6; 1.7-3.9), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (2.3; 1.5-3.5). Of the 141 (93%) patients admitted to hospital, the median hospital length stay was 8 days (interquartile range, 4-17). The in-hospital and 30-day all cause case-fatality rates were 24/141 (17%) and 27/151 (18%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Klebsiella species BSI is associated with a significant burden of illness particularly among those with chronic co-morbid illnesses.
Association of timed up and go test outcomes with future incidence of cardiovascular disease and mortality in adults aged 66 years: Korean national representative longitudinal study over 5.7 years
Authors: Son Ki Young , Shin Dong Wook , Lee Ji Eun , Kim Sang Hyuck , Yun Jae Moon , Cho Belong
Published: November 2019

Background: The timed up and go test (TUG) is one of the most widely used tests of mobility. We aimed to examine whether the TUG is associated with cardiovascular (CV) events, CV mortality, and all-cause mortality. Methods: Subjects in the senior cohort database of the Korean National Health Insurance Service (2002–2013) who completed the TUG as part of the National Screening Program for Transitional Ages (NSPTA) during 2007–2008 were identified. An abnormal TUG result was defined as a time ≥10 seconds. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the associations between TUG results and CV events, CV mortality, and all-cause mortality. Results: The mean follow-up period was 5.7 years. Incidence rates of CV events in the normal and abnormal TUG groups were 7.93 and 8.98 per 1,000 person-years, while CV mortality rates were 0.96 and 1.51 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. In a fully adjusted model, we found that abnormal TUG results were not associated with the incidences of CV events and CV mortality. However, abnormal TUG results (≥10 sec) resulted in a 2.9-fold increase in CV mortality in women (adjusted hazard ratio 2.90, 95% confidence interval 1.15 – 7.30). Further, participants lacking certain CV risk factors, such as current cigarette smoking, obesity, or diabetes, had a higher CV mortality rate when TUG results were abnormal.Conclusions: Abnormal TUG results in subjects aged 66 years were associated with future CV mortality in women and in subjects without obesity, diabetes, or cigarette smoking. In patient with mobility impairment, physicians should consider CV disease risk, especially in women.
Ticagrelor and clopidogrel suppress NF-κB signaling pathway to alleviate LPS-induced dysfunction in vein endothelial cells
Authors: Jia Zhuyin , Huang Yiwei , Ji Xiaojun , Sun Jiaju , Fu Guosheng
Published: November 2019

Background: Ticagrelor and clopidogrel, P2Y12 receptor antagonists, can prevent thrombotic events and are used to treat cardiovascular diseases such as acute coronary syndrome and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in which inflammation is involved. Moreover, NF-kB is the central regulator of inflammation. Thus, we suspected that ticagrelor and clopidogrel are involved in the regulation of the NF-kB signaling pathway.Methods: After human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured with ticagrelor or clopidogrel and given lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and CD14, the mRNA levels of related inflammatory factors, the protein level and subcellular localization of molecules in the NF-kB signaling pathway, cell viability, apoptosis and the cell cycle, cell migration, and vascular formation were detected using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), western blotting and immunofluorescence assay, CCK8, flow cytometry, transwell assay, and matrigel, respectively. All data was expressed as the mean ± S.D. The statistical significance of data was assessed by an unpaired two-tailed t-test.Results: Ticagrelor and clopidogrel can inhibit the degradation of IKBa and phosphorylation of p65, prevent p65 from entering the nucleus, reduce the production of TNFa, IL-1, IL-8, IL-6 and IL-2, and alleviate the decrease in cell viability, cell migration and angiogenesis, the changes of cell cycle and apoptosis induced by LPS. Conclusions: Ticagrelor and clopidogrel alleviate cellular dysfunction through suppressing NF-kB signaling pathway.
Exploring the Changing Landscape of Cell-to-Cell Variation After CTCF Knockdown via Single Cell RNA-seq
Authors: Wang Wei , Ren Gang , Hong Ni , Jin Wenfei
Published: November 2019

Background: CCCTC-Binding Factor (CTCF), also known as 11-zinc finger protein, participates in many cellular processes, including insulator activity, transcriptional regulation and organization of chromatin architecture. Based on single cell flow cytometry and single cell RNA-FISH analyses, our previous study showed that deletion of CTCF binding site led to a significantly increase of cellular variation of its target gene. However, the effect of CTCF on genome-wide landscape of cell-to-cell variation is unclear.
Results: We knocked down CTCF in EL4 cells using shRNA, and conducted single cell RNA-seq on both wild type (WT) cells and CTCF-Knockdown (CTCF-KD) cells using Fluidigm C1 system. Principal component analysis of single cell RNA-seq data showed that WT and CTCF-KD cells concentrated in two different clusters on PC1, indicating gene expression profiles of WT and CTCF-KD cells were systematically different. Interestingly, GO terms including regulation of transcription, DNA binding, Zinc finger and transcription factor binding were significantly enriched in CTCF-KD-specific highly variable genes, indicating tissue-specific genes such as transcription factors were highly sensitive to CTCF level. The dysregulation of transcription factors potentially explain why knockdown of CTCF lead to systematic change of gene expression. In contrast, housekeeping genes such as rRNA processing, DNA repair and tRNA processing were significantly enriched in WT-specific highly variable genes, potentially due to a higher cellular variation of cell activity in WT cells compared to CTCF-KD cells. We further found cellular variation-increased genes were significantly enriched in down-regulated genes, indicating CTCF knockdown simultaneously reduced the expression levels and increased the expression noise of its regulated genes.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to explore genome-wide landscape of cellular variation after CTCF knockdown. Our study not only advances our understanding of CTCF function in maintaining gene expression and reducing expression noise, but also provides a framework for examining gene function.
The characteristics of spatial-temporal distribution and cluster of tuberculosis in Yunnan Province, China, 2005-2018.
Authors: Chen Jinou , Qiu Yubing , Yang Rui , Li Ling , Hou Jinglong , Lu Kunyun , Xu Lin
Published: November 2019

Background Tuberculosis (TB) makes a big challenge to public health, especially in high TB burden counties of China and Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The aim of this study was to identify the spatial-temporal dynamic process and high-risk region of notified pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), sputum smear-positive tuberculosis (SSP-TB) and sputum smear-negative tuberculosis (SSN-TB) cases in Yunnan, the south-western of China between years of 2005 to 2018. meanwhile, to evaluate the similarity of prevalence pattern for TB among GMS.Methods Data for notified PTB were extracted from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention (CISDCP) correspond to population information in 129 counties of Yunnan between 2005 to 2018. Seasonally adjusted time series defined the trend cycle and seasonality of PTB prevalence. Kulldorff’s space-time scan statistics was applied to identify temporal, spatial and spatial-temporal PTB prevalence clusters at county-level of Yunnan. Pearson correlation coefficient and hierarchical clustering were applied to define the similarity of TB prevalence among borders with GMS.Result There were a total of 381 855 notified PTB cases in Yunnan, and the average prevalence was 59.1 per 100 000 population between 2005 to 2018. A declined long-term trend with seasonality of a peak in spring and a trough in winter for PTB was observed. Spatial-temporal scan statistics detected the significant clusters of PTB prevalence, the most likely cluster concentrated in the northeastern angle of Yunnan between 2011 to 2015 (RR=2.6, P<0.01), though the most recent cluster for PTB and spatial cluster for SSP-TB was in borders with GMS. There were six potential TB prevalence patterns among GMS.Conclusion This study detected aggregated time interval and regions for PTB, SSP-TB, and SSN-TB at county-level of Yunnan province. Similarity prevalence pattern was found in borders and GMS. The localized prevention strategy should focus on cross-boundary transmission and SSN-TB control.
Impact of the inpatient infectious disease consultations at a tertiary care university hospital
Authors: Waked Rami , Jaafar Danielle , Chedid Marie , Saliba Gebrael , Haddad Elie , Choucair Jacques
Published: November 2019

The role of the infectious disease specialist continues to evolve. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the value of infectious disease consultation in the inpatient setting.METHODS This is a prospective cohort study that took place in a tertiary care university hospital. During the period from April to June 2016, 224 cases of patients receiving antibiotics in the hospital with the request of an infectious diseases’ consultation, were evaluated. The following variables were assessed: the referring department, purpose of the consultation, the antibiotic used before requesting the infectious diseases consultation, the antibiotic modifications after the infectious disease’s visit (changing the type, dose or range of the antibiotic when applicable, modifying the duration of antibiotic use), whenever the antibiotic usage was switched to a mono or bi-therapy.RESULTS The most frequent requesting departments were Oncology (23.2%) and Urology (21.4%). The purpose of the consultations was diagnosis (29%), therapy (41%), both diagnosis and therapy (21%), and prophylaxis (9%). An infectious diseases consultation was given at a rate of 4.9 consultations per 100 hospitalized patients. Antibiotic was discontinued in 14.7% of cases. There was no indication for the antibiotic treatment in 11.6% of cases. Modifying the antibiotic therapy was done in 25.4% of cases. Adjusting the antibiotic dosage was done in only one case. Carbapenem antibiotics were discontinued in 31.6% of cases and Quinolones discontinuation accounted for 22.7% of cases.CONCLUSION Infectious disease consults contributed to the optimization of the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for suspected or confirmed infections in hospitalized patients.
Development and psychometric evaluation of a scale on nursing students’ perceptions of hospital caring environment (PHCE) in China
Authors: cheng li , Liu Yilan , Wang Wenru
Published: November 2019

Background : Caring is a basic tenet of nursing and an essential trait a competent nurse. In China, nursing students spend 8-12 months on clinical rotation in hospitals after the completion of theoretical component of the program in their fourth year. The hospital then becomes the focus of nursing clinical education. However, there is no culturally-specific tool to assess nursing students’ perceptions of hospital caring environment (PHCE). The aim of this study was to develop a valid assessment tool to measure nursing students’ perceptions of hospital caring environment. Methods: A two-phase study was conducted to develop a PHCE scale and to test its psychometric properties. In phase one, the items of the PHCE scale were developed from a qualitative study, a literature review and expert validation. The second phase tested the factor structure, construct validity and reliability through a convenience sample of 383 final year nursing students recruited from two teaching hospitals in China (response rate 95.75%). Results: The final PHCE scale consists of 41 items, was internally consistent (Cronbach’s α = 0.98) and had satisfactory test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.87). The exploratory factor analysis revealed that the scale contained four subscales, accounting for 63.69% variance. Conclusions: The 41-item NSPHCE is a reliable tool to assess the Chinese nursing students’ perceptions of the hospital caring environment in China.
The Effects of Changing Meteorological Parameters on Fatal Aortic Catastrophes
Authors: Szilágyi Brigitta , Berczeli Márton , Lovas Attila , Oláh Zoltán , Törő Klára , Sótonyi Péter
Published: November 2019

Introduction: Over the spam of the last decade, medical research has been increasingly putting greater emphasis on the study of meteorological parameters due to their connection to cardiovascular diseases. The main goal of this study was to explore the relationship between fatal aortic catastrophes and changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature. Methods: We used a Cox process model to quantify the effects of environmental factors on sudden deaths resulting from aortic catastrophes. We used transfer entropy to draw conclusion about the causal connection between mortality and meteorological parameters. Our main tool is a computer program which we developed earlier in order to evaluate the relationship between pulmonary embolism mortality and the weather on data sets comprised of aortic aneurysm (AA) and acute aortic dissection (AAD) cases, where one of these two medical conditions had led to the fatal rupture of the aorta. Our source for these cases were the autopsy databases of Semmelweis University, from the time period of 1994 to 2014. We have examined 160 aneurysm and 130 dissection cases in relation to changes in meteorological parameters. The algorithm implemented in our program is based on a non-parametric a Cox process model. It is capable to split slowly varying unknown global trends from fluctuations potentially caused by weather. Furthermore, it allows us to explore complex non-linear interactions between meteorological parameters and mortality. Results: The model measures the relative growth of the expected number of events on the nth day caused by the deviation of environmental parameters from its mean value. The connection between ruptured aortic aneurysms (rAA) and changes in atmospheric pressure is more significant than their connection with mean daily temperatures. With the increase in atmospheric pressure, the rate of rAA mortality also increased. The effects of meteorological parameters were weaker for deaths resulting from acute aortic dissections (AAD), although low mean daily temperatures increased the intensity of occurrence for AAD-related deaths. Conclusion: The occurrence rate of fatal aortic catastrophes showed a slight dependence on the two examined parameters within our groups. Keywords: acute aortic dissection; ruptured aortic aneurysm; Cox process model; non-parametric approach; statistical learning
Contemporary public image of the nursing profession in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Elmorshedy Hala , AlAmrani Abrar , Hassan Mona Ahmed , Albrecht Susan Ann
Published: November 2019

Background In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the nursing profession faces significant challenges including failure to recruit high school students into nursing education; poor nursing identity, and lack of awareness about the nursing profession. Exploring the level of awareness about the nursing profession and Understanding factors that influence the nursing image is crucial for planning effective intervention programs to recruit and retain students into nursing education, and to improve nurses' sense of identity.Methods The purpose of the present study was to explore the public image of the nursing profession. A descriptive cross-sectional study included 502 adults; 106 males and 396 females, their mean age was 22.93 ± 6.76 years. Data collected included; socio-demographic data, gender preference in getting nursing care, knowledge, and perceived barriers to pursue a nursing career. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0.Results Only 32.5% preferred to get nursing care by Saudis. The nursing profession was not viewed as a respected job as 71.5% of participants would be ashamed of having a nurse in their families. The study revealed a low median knowledge score (50.0, IQR: 50.0-66.7)). The study highlighted a number of sociocultural barriers to pursue a nursing career: the mixed working environment (35.9%), delayed marriage of female nurses (20.3%), and the negative effect of nursing profession on social life (64.5%).Conclusion Poor knowledge and sociocultural perceived barriers are the main factors contributing to the negative public image of the nursing profession in Saudi Arabia. The findings of our study will help to implement effective strategies to modify the negative perception and raise community awareness about the nursing profession.
Integrated bioinformatics analysis for differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways identification in gastric cancer
Authors: Yang ChenChen , Gong Aifeng
Published: November 2019

Background Gastric cancer (GC) has a high mortality rate in cancer-related deaths worldwide. Here, we identified several vital candidate genes related to gastric cancer development and revealed the potential pathogenic mechanisms using integrated bioinformatics analysis.Methods Two microarray datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database integrated. Limma package was used to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between GC and matched normal specimens. DAVID was utilized to conduct Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analysis. The relative expression of OLFM4, IGF2BP3, CLDN1and MMP1were analyzed based on TCGA database provided by UALCAN. Western blot and quantitative real time PCR assay were performed to determine the protein and mRNA levels of OLFM4, IGF2BP3, CLDN1and MMP1 in GC tissues and cell lines, respectively.Results We downloaded the expression profiles of GSE103236 and GSE118897 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Two integrated microarray datasets were used to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and bioinformatics methods were used for in-depth analysis. After gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichments analysis, we identified 61 DEGs in common, of which the expression of 34 genes were elevated and 27 genes were decreased. GO analysis displayed that the biological functions of DEGs mainly focused on negative regulation of growth, fatty acid binding, cellular response to zinc ion and calcium-independent cell-cell adhesion. KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that these DEGs mainly related to the Wnt and tumor signaling pathway. Interestingly, we found 4 genes were most significantly upregulated in the DEGs, which were OLFM4, IGF2BP3, CLDN1 and MMP1.Then, we confirmed the upregulation of these genes in STAD based on sample types. In the final, western blot and qRT-PCR assay were performed to determine the protein and mRNA levels of OLFM4, IGF2BP3, CLDN1 and MMP1 in GC tissues and cell lines.Conclusion In our study, using integrated bioinformatics to screen DEGs in gastric cancer could benefit us for understanding the pathogenic mechanism underlying gastric cancer progression. Meanwhile, we also identified four significantly upregulated genes in DEGs from both two datasets, which might be used as the biomarkers for early diagnosis and prevention of gastric cancer.
Identification of a novel Protein Disulfide-isomerase A3 (PDIA3) transcript variant as a potential biomarker associated with late stage prostate cancer
Authors: Cruz Maria Araceli Diaz , Karlsson Pontus , Högberg Gustav , Karlsson Sandra , Szekeres Ferenc , Lund Dan , Haux Johan , Larsson Dennis
Published: November 2019

Background
Prostate cancer (PC) is a heterogeneous and unpredictable disease and becomes untreatable when the tumor progress to castrate-resistant (CR) or androgen independent (AI). A major clinical challenge in prostate cancer is the lack of diagnostic and prognostic tests that distinguish between benign and aggressive tumors. Isoforms of gene transcripts are emerging as suitable candidates to represent disease progression. Vitamin D receptor (VDR and PDIA3) transcript isoforms could be the target candidates of study since they have been related with anti-tumoral effects and carcinogenesis in several cancer types.
Methods
The current study investigates the role of vitamin D receptor transcript isoforms in prostate cancer progression by using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) and several functional prediction tools.
Results
The NGS analysis revealed a novel PDIA3 transcript isoform (PDIA3N) that is higher expressed than the PDIA3 isoform that codifies for the receptor protein, in prostate cells. The expression of PDIA3N was validated by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) absolute quantification, which confirmed the findings from the NGS analyses. The PDIA3N isoform was present in higher levels than PDIA3, in the metastatic androgen dependent LNCaP cells. Furthermore, analysis of the novel PDIA3 isoform sequence indicate that the variations present in its sequence are altering the original protein function and structure as well as the predicted subcellular localization of the protein.
Conclusions
We conclude that, PDIA3N due to the high expression in LNCaP cells and its abnormality in predicted structure, localization and function, is a potential biomarker for prostate cancer disease that needs to be further investigated in prostate cancer samples.
CircRNA 0058063 functions as a ceRNA in bladder cancer progression via targeting miR-486-3p/FOXP4 axis
Authors: Liang Haote , Huang Hang , Li Yeping , Lu Yongyong , Ye Tingyu
Published: November 2019

Emerging evidences have uncovered critical regulatory roles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) function as dynamic scaffolding molecules in tumorigenesis and progression. However, the aberrant expression and clinical significance of hsa_circ_0058063 (circRNA_0058063) in bladder cancer (BC) remain poorly understood. circRNA expression was analyzed via a microarray in cancerous tissue and non-carcinoma tissues. Luciferase reporter assays and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) were both conducted to uncover the function of circRNA_0058063 in BC. circRNA_0058063 was overexpressed in BC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Knockdown of circRNA_0058063 dramatically decreased cell proliferation and invasion, and promoted apoptosis in 5637 and BIU-87 cell lines. Furthermore, mechanistic investigations showed that circRNA_0058063 and FOXP4 could directly bind to miR-486-3p, demonstrating that circRNA_0058063 regulated FOXP4 expression by competitively binding to miR-486-3p. Taken together, circRNA_0058063 functions by sponging miR-486-3p in BC progression, which could be act as a new biomarker and further developed to be a therapeutic target in BC.
Assimetria Direita-Esquerda e Desenvolvimento Neuropsicomotor Humano
Authors: Bora Laura Beatriz , Thomazini Cardoso Vanessa , Marco de Toni Plínio
Published: November 2019

O presente artigo tem como objetivo relatar sobre a organização neurológica das crianças em relação ao comportamento motor, buscando evidenciar os processos anteriores ao uso preferencial de um determinado membro e a constituição da lateralidade, salientando as leis céfalo-caudal e próximo-distal. Também são apresentados conceitos referentes ao desenvolvimento motor em neonatos e de que forma irão influenciar a relação de lateralidade discutida. Objetiva-se apresentar a relação entre a lateralidade e a discriminação direita-esquerda e como esta última influencia na aprendizagem. O estudo se deu a partir de revisões teóricas, e os resultados obtidos mostram que o desenvolvimento motor, partindo de neonatos, se dá primeiro com uma constituição bimanual, havendo uma dominância homolateral do corpo, devido à hipotonicidade do eixo axial e à hipertonicidade das extremidades. Uma melhor estruturação do esquema corporal ocorre a partir do desaparecimento dos reflexos presentes e da constituição da bonicularidade e da binauricularidade (uso simultâneo dos olhos e dos ouvidos, respectivamente), os quais favorecem o engatinhar e, consequentemente, a criança passa a ter maiores possibilidades de explorar o mundo a sua volta, favorecendo a definição de preferência de um dos lados. Conforme apresentado, se a discriminação direita-esquerda não for bem definida, poderão ocorrer problemas cognitivos e distúrbios de aprendizagem.
Adaptación psicométrica de la Escala de Factores Protectores (spf-24) en una muestra de sujetos colombianos
Authors: Ruiz Pérez Jose Ignacio , Herrera Rojas Aura Nidia
Published: November 2019

Objetivo: Conocer el comportamiento psicométrico en sujetos colombianos de la Escala de Factores Protectores (SPF-24, de Ponce-García, Madewell, & Kennison, 2015). Método: Muestra no aleatoria de n: 190 sujetos, entre 15 y 65 años, 51% mujeres, respondieron a la SPF-24 y la Escala de Resiliencia Comunitaria (Ruiz, 2015). Resultados: Fiabilidad interna de la escala total de 0,93, y entre 0,83 y 0,86 por dimensiones. El análisis factorial exploratorio arrojó cuatro dimensiones relevantes: apoyo social, habilidades sociales, planificación y eficacia de metas. Las dos primeras corresponden a la estructura factorial del estudio original. También, a mayor resiliencia individual, más resiliencia comunitaria, sobre todo de afrontamiento comunitario. Discusión y conclusiones: La escala muestra índices satisfactorios de fiabilidad interna, de validez de constructo y de validez concurrente con medidas de resiliencia comunitaria. Es necesaria más investigación sobre la validez predictiva y concurrente del SPF-24.
Rendimiento cognitivo en mujeres con síndrome de ovario poliquístico: un estudio piloto
Authors: Herreño Sara , del Río-Portilla Yolanda
Published: November 2019

El Síndrome de ovario poliquístico (SOP) es la enfermedad endocrina-metabólica más frecuente en las mujeres en edad reproductiva. A pesar de su alta prevalencia, hay pocas investigaciones que analizan los efectos de los cambios hormonales sobre la cognición de pacientes con SOP. Objetivo: comparar el rendimiento en habilidades cognitivas y los niveles de hormonas sexuales de un grupo de pacientes con SOP y con las de un grupo control. Método: Participaron 20 mujeres mayores de 21 años, sin tratamiento hormonal, dividas en dos grupos, el primero compuesto por 10 pacientes diagnosticadas con SOP según los criterios de Rotterdam (GSOP) y el otro, de control, compuesto por 10 mujeres sin diagnóstico de SOP (GCT). Se aplicaron las pruebas WAIS III y fluidez verbal semántica y fonológica de la batería NEUROPSI Atención y memoria, y se realizaron análisis sanguíneos de hormonas sexuales. Resultados: Las pacientes del GSOP obtuvieron puntajes inferiores a las del GCT en el CI Verbal (p=0.009), CI Total (p=0.029), índice de comprensión verbal (p=0.005), índice de memoria de trabajo (p=0.023) y en la prueba de fluidez verbal semántica (p=0.029). No se encontraron diferencias significativas en los niveles hormonales. Conclusión: el GSOP presentó menor rendimiento que el GCT en pruebas de tipo verbal, aunque no se presentó déficit en su ejecución. Se sugiere estudiar la relación de la insulinorresistencia con la cognición en pacientes con SOP.
Clima e suporte organizacional: avaliação e relação entre as temáticas
Authors: Ferrari Cardoso Hugo , Basile Forlini Julia , Prescilla Dias Jhenifer
Published: November 2019

É cada vez mais comum o discurso de que as organizações visam proporcionar melhores condições de trabalho a seus funcionários, o que pode ser entendido como uma busca crescente pelo oferecimento de suporte e melhorias quanto à percepção de adequado clima de trabalho. Nesse sentido, a presente pesquisa investigou a percepção de clima e suporte organizacionais em uma amostra de 300 trabalhadores, analisou-se também possíveis diferenças de médias de respostas em relação a variáveis sociodemográficas com base nas pontuações obtidas pelos trabalhadores nos instrumentos aplicados: Escala de Clima Organizacional (CLIMOR) e à Escala de Suporte Laboral (ESUL), bem como verificou-se as correlações entre as temáticas clima e suporte organizacionais. Dos resultados, os participantes apresentaram pontuações classificadas com Média-Baixa, Média-Alta e Alta (ESUL) e Média-Baixa (CLIMOR), houve diferenças significativas em relação a variável tipo de organização e as associações entre os instrumentos foram positivas, indicando que maior percepção de um adequado clima organizacional tende a estar associada a maiores indicadores de suporte organizacional. Esses e outros resultados são discutidos com base na literatura.
Consideraciones crítico-poéticas para pensar la clínica sistémica relacional: propuesta metodológica para investigación en psicoterapia
Authors: Besoain Arrau Carolina , Cuevas Vial Pilar , Araya Aguirre Clementina , Angulo Kobilic Soledad , Morales Martínez Rodrigo
Published: November 2019

La psicoterapia sistémico relacional ha problematizado, en las últimas décadas, sus supuestos representacionales, avanzando hacia nuevas conceptualizaciones de la experiencia psicoterapéutica. Este artículo presenta el trabajo de un equipo de investigación clínica que, siguiendo los planteamientos teórico-clínicos de Marcelo Pakman, se planteó como objetivo general explorar los movimientos entre micropolítica y poética en el proceso terapéutico, a través de una metodología cualitativa de caso único. Las técnicas de producción de datos fueron la observación participante de seis sesiones de psicoterapia, mediante el uso de un espejo unidireccional (Cámara de Gessell), y seis entrevistas en profundidad con la terapeuta y una con el consultante. Se analizó el material desde un enfoque dialógico, que implementó una escucha plural del material. En este artículo se presenta en extenso el dispositivo metodológico implementado y se expone una muestra del tipo de reflexiones clínicas que esta metodología permite construir. Finalmente, se discute acerca de las implicancias y desafíos de hacer una investigación clínica dialógica y reflexiva, y su valor para la formación de psicoterapeutas.
Relación del Bienestar Subjetivo de los trabajadores con su Compromiso hacia la organización
Authors: Fonseca Herrera Jessica María Guadalupe , Cruz Torres Christian Enrique
Published: November 2019

El compromiso organizacional (CO) de los trabajadores es entendido como una actitud o estado de ánimo que deriva en comportamientos como la intención de permanecer en la organización, la identificación con sus valores y la percepción de tener una deuda moral con la misma por los beneficios recibidos. Estudios previos muestran que el CO impacta positivamente el bienestar subjetivo de los trabajadores (BS), entendido este último como la evaluación cognitiva y afectiva que hacen las personas de la satisfacción sobre su propia vida. Otros estudios afirman que es el BS el que predice el CO. El objetivo del presente estudio fue especificar la dirección de esta relación, para lo cual se aplicó el Instrumento de Compromiso Organizacional para evaluar el CO y el módulo básico del Bienestar Autorreportado (BIARE) para evaluar el BS, a 230 trabajadores de una organización educativa pública de nivel superior en México. Mediante modelos de ecuaciones estructurales se contrastaron las hipótesis de relaciones en uno y otro sentido entre ambas variables con una tercera hipótesis con relaciones recíprocas entre ambas. Se identificó como mejor modelo el que presenta relaciones recíprocas y positivas entre el CO y el BS (Ji2=65.627; gl=18; p=0.000; RMR=.074; RMSEA=.111 [IC 90%= .083, .141]; GFI=.931; CFI=.915). Se concluye que un incremento en el CO genera un incremento en el BS de los trabajadores, y la relación positiva entre ambas variables es recíproca. Se discuten las implicaciones de estos resultados para la relación de los trabajadores con su contexto laboral.
Numerical modeling of the degassing process of a gas-liquid mixture in hydrocyclone
Authors: Varavva Artem I. , Vershinin Vladimir E. , Trapeznikov Dmitry V.
Published: November 2019

Centrifugal separators — hydrocyclones — are widely used in many areas of the national economy to separate mixtures of substances of different densities. Hydrocyclones can be used for phase separation in oil, water and gas flow measurement units. The flow from the well is initially a three-phase mixture. The hydrocyclone separates the gas and liquid phases at the inlet of the measuring unit, which are then transferred to separate gas and liquid measurement units. Maintaining the accuracy of the phase flow measurement when using hydrocyclones in the measuring units requires high quality separation over a wide range of flow rates and phase contents. One of the directions of forecasting the characteristics of the separation process is based on the numerical solution of the equations of hydrodynamics of multiphase flows. Modern software of computational hydrodynamics allows to solve problems of such class in three-dimensional statement and thus to estimate efficiency of work of the device and its metrological characteristics.

This paper studies the processes of separation of gas-liquid mixture in hydrocyclone at different volume gas content and phase flow rates. The authors present a mathematical model with indication of the main assumptions and formulate the boundary conditions of the problem. Calculations were carried out on the open platform OpenFOAM with the use of interFoam solver. The results of numerical modeling have determined the basic structures of currents in the hydrocyclone. The influence of the initial gas content on the separation efficiency at different flow rates is investigated. The main reasons for the decrease in separation efficiency at low gas content values are revealed. In addition, the influence of the guiding elements on the separation process is considered.
The method for modeling the development of a gas field on the basis of a hierarchy of mathematical models
Authors: Kosyakov Vitaly P. , Gubaidullin Amir A. , Legostaev Dmitry Yu.
Published: November 2019

This article presents an approach aimed at the sequential application of mathematical models of different complexity (simple to complex) for modeling the development of a gas field. The proposed methodology allows the use of simple models as regularizers for the more complex ones. The main purpose of the applied mathematical models is to describe the energy state of the reservoir — reservoir pressure. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for adapting the model, which allows constructing reservoir pressure maps for the gas field, as well as estimating the dynamics of reservoir pressure with a possible output for determining the position of the gas-water contact level.
Influence of substrate wettability and air humidity on self-assembly of nanoparticles in evaporating droplets of colloidal solutions
Authors: Al-Muzaiqer Mohammed Ali Y. Ali , Esenbaev Tair E. , Kubochkin Nikolai S. , Goreva Maria D. , Ivanova Natalya A.
Published: November 2019

This article discusses the influence of substrate wettability and air humidity on the process of nanoparticle patterns formation in evaporating microdroplets. The process of self-assembly of polystyrene and aluminum oxide particles on the glass covered with titanium, tungsten, carbon, and teflon was investigated.

The droplet evaporation time and the obtained packing of particles with increasing hydrophobicity of substrates were evaluated. The influence of air humidity on the evaporation dynamics and on the process of nanoparticles self-assembly is revealed.
Circulating miRNAs in Successful and Unsuccessful Aging. A Mini-review
Authors: Cammarata Giuseppe , Duro Giovanni , Chiara Tiziana Di , Curto Alessia Lo , Taverna Simona , Candore Giuseppina
Published: November 2019

Aging is a multifactorial process that affects the organisms at genetic, molecular and cellular levels.
This process modifies several tissues with a negative impact on cells physiology, tissues and organs functionality,
altering their regeneration capacity. The chronic low-grade inflammation typical of aging, defined as inflammaging,
is a common biological factor responsible for the decline and beginning of the disease in age. A murine
parabiosis model that combines the vascular system of old and young animals, suggests that soluble factors released
by young individuals may improve the regenerative potential of old tissue. Therefore, circulating factors
have a key role in the induction of aging phenotype. Moreover, lifestyle can influence the physiological status of
multiple organs, via epigenetic mechanisms. Recently, microRNAs are considered potential sensors of aging.
Vaccine-Associated Neurological Adverse Events: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Tian Maoqiang , Yang Jing , Li Lei , Li Juan , Lei Wenting , Shu Xiaomei
Published: November 2019

Vaccination is an effective strategy to reduce the burden of preventable illness. However, many clinical
reports revealed that various vaccinations may associate with neurological disorders, mainly including autoimmune
disease, febrile seizure, and vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP). Although more and more
reports revealed that part of the above post-vaccine neurological disorders is not directly related to vaccination, it
may be merely a coincidence. However, these reports may increase the hesitancy on vaccination for the public
population and influence the coverage of vaccination. In this report, we described a child with acute flaccid paralysis
possibly caused by a poliovirus vaccine. To provide feasible ways to realize or reduce the risk of neurological
adverse events caused by vaccines, we further provide a mini-review of the literature of vaccination associated
with neurological adverse events. This revealed that oral poliomyelitis vaccine use exclusively and type 2
serotype poliomyelitis vaccine virus were the risk factors for VAPP. The combination vaccine was associated
with an increased risk of ADEM and FS following immunization when compared with the administration of vaccines
separately. Even though cases have been reported that vaccination may be a trigger of anti-NMDARe and
GBS, there is no direct evidence to prove that vaccination increased the risk of GBS and anti-NMDARe.
Development of Cinnarizine Microballoons by Sequential Optimization and In Vivo Imaging by Gamma Scintigraphy
Authors: Ghosh Bijaya , Chatterjee Arka , Kirtania Moumita Das , Chattopadhyay Sankha
Published: November 2019

Background:

The drug cinnarizine is used in the treatment of vertigo and migraine. The
main drawback is its very low water solubility which causes unpredictable bioavailability. Solubility
is better in acidic pH. Therefore, gastro-retentive formulation would be beneficial to improve the
bioavailability of the drug.

Objective:

The objective of the study was to prepare floating microballoons of cinnarizine which
would float in the gastric fluid and release the drug in a sustained manner.

Methods:

Microballoons were prepared by diffusion solvent evaporation technique using polymers
(Eudragit® S100, Eudragit® RLPO, Eudragit RL®100), characterised by FTIR, XRD, DSC and optimized
by sequential simplex design. For optimization, formulations were graded with respect to
formulation efficiency (percentages of yield, sphericity and drug content) and performance index
(buoyancy and dissolution efficiency), from which the overall response of the formulations was
determined. Finally, the optimized formulation was radiolabelled with 99mTc-MIBI and fed to Wistar
albino rats and was evaluated for gastric retention by gamma scintigraphic study.

Results:

FTIR studies indicated drug and polymers were compatible. DSC and XRD analysis confirmed
that the drug was in amorphous state in the formulation. SEM studies confirmed the sphericity
of the microballoons. Formulation N7 showed the best overall response (65.61) which was the
nearest to the target. Gamma scintigraphic study confirmed that the formulation was retained in the
stomach for more than 5 h.

Conclusion:

The results indicated that floating microballoons of cinnarizine would stay in the
stomach for prolonged period and thereby improve the bioavailability of the drug.
Genetic Algorithm-based Feature Selection Approach for Enhancing the Effectiveness of Similarity Searching in Ligand-based Virtual Screening
Authors: Berrhail Fouaz , Belhadef Hacene
Published: November 2019

Background:

In the last years, similarity searching has gained wide popularity as a
method for performing Ligand-Based Virtual Screening (LBVS). This screening technique
functions by making a comparison of the target compound’s features with that of each compound
in the database of compounds. It is well known that none of the individual similarity measures
could provide the best performances each time pertaining to an active compound structure,
representing all types of activity classes. In the literature, we find several techniques and strategies
that have been proposed to improve the overall effectiveness of ligand-based virtual screening
approaches.

Objective:

In this work, our main objective is to propose a features selection approach based on
genetic algorithm (FSGASS) to improve similarity searching pertaining to ligand-based virtual
screening.

Methods:

Our contribution allows us to identify the most important and relevant characteristics of
chemical compounds and to minimize their number in their representations. This will allow the
reduction of features space, the elimination of redundancy, the reduction of training execution
time, and the increase of the performance of the screening process.

Results:

The obtained results demonstrate superiority in the performance compared with these
obtained with Tanimoto coefficient, which is considered as the most widely coefficient to quantify
the similarity in the domain of LBVS.

Conclusion:

Our results show that significant improvements can be obtained by using molecular
similarity research methods at the basis of features selection.
Priority Heuristic in MDRTDBS
Authors: Singh Prakash Kumar , Shanker Udai
Published: November 2019

Background:

Mobile distributed real time database is an emerging field of research.
Transaction execute in these system should commit before elapsing the deadline. Assigning priority
to arrived and executing transaction is the main function of transaction scheduler. Perform correct
order of execution enhance the system performance in time constraint environment. In recent
years a number of heuristic policies in DRTDBS are developed to enhance the quality estimation
of scheduler. However due to various wireless limitations a very little work is investigated in the
MDRTDBS. In this paper we have develop two heuristic policies and perform simulation using
pessimistic and optimistic concurrency control algorithm to enhance the system performance.

Objective:

Two heuristic policies based on write only locks and number of same data item existence
has been introduced. These heuristic approaches enhance the performance of MDRTDBS
scheduler.

Methods:

Develop two heuristic policies based on data contention which cope with CC policies
like DHP-2PL and FBOCC. These policies count the number of write only locks and existence of
number of same data item. Ultimately these policies enhance the system performance.

Results::

Investigated the performance using simulator which is designed using C language. Based
on these simulation results using pessimistic and optimistic CCs different graphs are plotted which
shows the performance of system for these developed heuristic approaches. During simulation the
low and high workload of transaction arrival is taken to fair investigate of these heuristic approaches.

Conclusion:

Simulation results show that the system performance is improved using these heuristic
approaches. However, NWL_Modified heuristic approach outperform in MDRTDBS than earlier
heuristic approaches.