bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Self-organizing Vector of Atom-pairs Proportions: Use to Develop Models for Melting Points
Authors: Toropova Alla P. , Toropov Andrey A. , Benfenati Emilio
Published: March 2021

Atom-pairs proportions are the transparent quality of a molecule: if a molecule has two atoms of oxygen and three atoms of nitrogen, the atom-pair atom1-atom2 can be expressed as a code 'atom1-atom2-n1-n2', indicating the different atoms and their numbers. These codes for a group of atoms (nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, as well as, double and triple covalent bonds) are applied to build up the so-called optimal molecular descriptor calculated with special coefficients named correlation weights of corresponding pairs. The numerical data on the correlation weights are calculated by the Monte Carlo technique using the CORAL software (http://www.insilico.eu/coral). The one-variable model for melting points of 8653 various organic compounds is characterized by the following statistical quality: n=6483, r2=0.6452; RMSE=61.9’C; n=2170, r2=0.7941, RMSE=39.2’C.
Overview of Agaricus Subrufescens Strains used in the Last 15 Years in Brazil and other Countries and Current Potential Materials for the Future
Authors: Zied Diego Cunha , Junior Wagner G. Vieira , Soares Douglas M. M. , Stevani Cassius V. , Dias Eustáquio S. , Iossi Matheus R. , Pardo-Giménez Arturo
Published: March 2021

The mushroom Agaricus subrufescens has been synonymous with Agaricus blazei and Agaricus brasiliensis during the last decades and there has been much discussion with regards to the origin, distribution, and nomenclature of this mushroom. Therefore, we conducted a genetic and morphological characterization of the mycelium and mushroom of four commercial strains currently cultivated in Brazil (ABL CS7, ABL 18/01, ABL 98/11, and ABL 16/01) together with an assessment of their agronomic behavior and compared these results with those of other strains used during the last 15 years. All the A. subrufescens strains characterized here are phylogenetically related to the Americas/Europe specimens, bearing an internal transcribed spacer region of type A (ABL 16/01) or both types A and B (ABL 18/01, ABL 98/11, and ABL CS7). We did not find any correlation between the morphological characteristics of the mycelial colonies and the agronomic behavior of the strains. Strains ABL 98/11 and ABL 16/01 produced the best yields and morphological characteristics for the mushrooms, indicating their high weight, which enhances the commercialization of the mushroom and justifies their longstanding commercial use over the last 15 years.
Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Transient and Permanent Congenital Hypothyroidism in Fars Province, Iran
Authors: Habib Ashkan , Shojazadeh Alireza , Molayemat Mohadeseh , Habib Asadollah , Jeddi Marjan , Arabsolghar Rita , Nahas Mitra , Rahimi Nazila , Ardekani Fariba Moradi
Published: March 2021

Introduction: There is no data on the number as well as the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in the Fars province. Hence, we designed this study to analyze the latest data and the possible predictive factors on transient and permanent CH in this province.Method: This cross sectional study is based on the Fars province screening data from 2013 till 2016. A total of 294,214 newborns were screened with 938 confirmed cases of CH, which were included in this study. After recall and completion of the missing data, follow-up data for 642 CH cases with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations and levothyroxine doses for ten outpatient visits and final transient vs. permanent CH diagnosis were included.Results: The incidence rate was 1:313.66, and out of the 642 CH cases, 66.04% had permanent CH, while 33.96% had transient CH. TSH level trend during the outpatient visits were not statistically different between the two groups (P=0.312). A cutoff point of >2.25 levothyroxine µg/kg (sensitivity: 76.11%, specificity: 58.52%) at the third year and a TSH concentration of >43.35 mIU/L at the venous sampling (initial TSH) (sensitivity: 31.66%, specificity: 90.32%) were the predictive factors for permanent CH.Conclusion: Fars province has one of the highest incidence rate of CH in Iran. Levothyroxine dose at the 3rd year and the 1st venous TSH sample are the predictive factors for permanent CH in the Iranian population; however, TSH concentrations during follow ups are unreliable predictors.
Polyacrylonitrile/CoCl2 Nanofibers Based Humidity Sensor for Human Breath and Ambient Humidity Monitoring
Authors: Li Xiaoqiang , Zengyuan Pang , Mengjuan Li , Yang Jin
Published: March 2021

A novel humidity sensor was constructed using the hybrid nanofibers of polyacrylonitrile/CoCl2 (PAN/CoCl2), which were fabricated by electrospinning. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image demonstrated that the diameter of PAN/CoCl2 nanofibers ranged from 100 - 500 nm. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) analysis confirmed that Co and Cl elements were homogeneously dispersed on the PAN nanofibers. CoCl2 on the surface of PAN nanofibers play a dual function in humidity sensing performances. First, CoCl2 serves as an indicator, which can change the color of nanofibers from blue to white-pink as the relative humidity changed from 11 to 98 %, to realize the colorimetric sensing. Second, CoCl2 could remarkably improve the electric sensing performance. As a result, the PAN/CoCl2 nanofibers offered much enhanced response currents compared to the pristine PAN nanofibers, as the humidity changed from RH 11 to 98 %. In addition, the PAN/CoCl2 nanofibers based humidity sensor was employed to monitor human breath and the ambient humidity, which demonstrated the excellent sensitivity of this humidity sensor. Therefore, we believe that the highly sensitive and simply designed PAN/CoCl2 humidity sensor is a promising candidate for various applications in the field of humidity monitoring.
Radar Signals Modulation Recognition Based on Bispectrum Feature Processing
Authors: mi xinping , Chen xihong , Cao yufei , liu qiang , song xincheng
Published: March 2021

Modulation recognition of radar signals is an important part of modern electronic intelligence reconnaissance and electronic support systems. In this paper, to solve the problem of low recognition accuracy and low noise resistance of radar signals under low signal-to-noise ratio(SNR), a recognition method based on variational mode decomposition(VMD) and bispectrum feature extraction is proposed. Based on the feature that bispectrum can suppress Gaussian noise, the feasibility of signals modulation recognition under low SNR is analyzed and the noise item is introduced. Due to the interference of noise item, the noise suppression effect of bispectrum is worse under 0dB. An improved VMD algorithm based on artificial bee colony(ABC) algorithm optimization and envelope entropy evaluation is proposed to preprocess the signal to improve the SNR. Finally, we designed a convolution neural network(CNN) classifier to recognize signals of different modulation types. The simulation results show that this method has better noise resistance than traditional methods, and can effectively identify different types of signals under low SNR.
Polarization Domain Dynamics of Barium Titanate Ultrathin Films Using Piezoresponse Force Microscopy.
Authors: salamo gregory , Zamani-Alavijeh Mohammad , Morgan Timothy , Kuchuk Andrian
Published: March 2021

Piezoresponse force microscopy is used to study the velocity of the polarization domain wall in ultrathin ferroelectric barium titanate films grown on strontium titanate substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The electric field due to the cone of the atomic force microscope tip is proposed as the dominant electric field of the tip in thin films for domain expansion at lateral distances greater than about one tip diameter away from the tip. The velocity of the domain wall under the applied electric field by the tip in barium titanate for thin films (less than 40 nm) followed an expanding process given by Merz’s law. The material constants in a fit of the data to Merz’s law for very thin films are reported as about 4.2 KV/cm for activation field, Ea, and 0.05 nm/s for limiting velocity, v∞. These material constants showed a dependence on the level of strain in the films but no fundamental dependence on thickness.
Cauchy Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) based Migrations of tasks in a virtual machine
Authors: R Vadivel , T SUDALAIMUTHU
Published: March 2021

Cloud computing technology helps to resolve the problem in storage management by providing virtual resources to the end users. But, the overloading of virtual machines results in degradation of performances as well as it increases in the energy consumption of the virtual machines. Several techniques were used to determine the workloads of the cloud and then apply the migration algorithm for efficient utilization of resources. But, the process depends on the past outputs and only few step ahead predictions. Most of the techniques allocate the resources based on all the attributes. This results in higher processing time for the allocation. Hence, in this, an attribute based resource allocation is proposed to allocate and utilize the resources effectively based on the user demands. The modified Principal component analysis and relief is used for the attribute selection. Then, the selected attribute is processed with the hybrid Cauchy particle swarm algorithm for the allocation of resources. The proposed method is tested google cluster dataset and its performance is evaluated in terms of migration count and power consumption. The proposed method performance is compared with the automated migration technique (ALM) and forecast based migration technique (CF-LA). The proposed method outperforms both the existing technique by reducing the power consumption and the migration count between the virtual machines. Hence, the proposed MPCA and relief basedCPSO is best for allocating the resources dynamically in the cloud.
Fungal populations in the bedroom dust of children in Havana, Cuba, and its relationship with environmental conditions
Authors: Espinosa Kenia C. Sánchez , Flores Teresa I. Rojas , Davydenko Sonia Rodríguez , Fernández Silvia J. Venero , Almaguer Michel
Published: March 2021

The study of the fungal community composition in house dust is useful to assess the cumulative exposure to fungi in indoor environments. The objective of this research was to characterize the fungal diversity of house dust and its association with the environmental conditions of bedrooms. For this, the dust was collected from 41 bedrooms of children between the ages of 8 and 9 with a family history of asthma, residents of Havana, Cuba. The fungal content of each sample was determined by two methods: plate culture with Malt Extract Agar and by direct microscopy. An ecological analysis was carried out from the fungal diversity detected. To describe the factors associated with the fungi detected, bivariate logistic regression was used. Through direct microscopy, between 10-2311 fragments of hyphae and spores corresponding mainly to Cladosporium, Coprinus, Curvularia, Aspergillus/Penicillium, Xylariaceae, and Periconia were identified. Through the culture, 0–208 CFU were quantified, where Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Penicillium predominated. The culturability evidenced the differences between the quantification determined by both methods. A positive relationship was found between the type of cleaning of the furniture, the presence of trees in front of the bedroom, indoor relative humidity, indoor temperature, the presence of air conditioning by air conditioning and natural ventilation with specific spore types and genders. The use of two different identification methods allowed to detect a greater fungal diversity in the residences evaluated. Monitoring the exposure to these fungal allergens in childhood can help to prevent sensitization in the allergic child, the development of asthma and other respiratory diseases.
LncRNA-MSC-AS1 inhibits the ovarian cancer progression by targeting miR-425-5p
Authors: Zhao Yinling , Yuan Donglan , Zhu Dandan , Xu Tianhui , Huang Aihua , Jiang Li , Liu Chiwen , Qian Hua , Bu Xinhua
Published: March 2021

Background

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) were reported to be aberrantly expressed and related to the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. However, the role and regulatory mechanism of MSC-AS1 in ovarian cancer has yet to be fully elucidated.
Methods

Expression of lncRNA MSC-AS1 (MSC-AS1) and microRNA-425-5p (miR-425-5p) in the ovarian cancer tissue samples and cell lines was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The functions of MSC-AS1 on ovarian cancer cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis were determined using MTT, colony formation and flow cytometry analyses. The protein expression levels were evaluated using western blot assay. The targeting relationship MSC-AS1 and miR-425-5p was verified via dual-luciferase reporter assay.
Results

MSC-AS1 expression level was lowly expressed, while miR-425-5p level was highly in ovarian cancer tissues and cells. Elevation of MSC-AS1 has the ability to significantly inhibit cell proliferation and facilitate cell apoptosis in SKOV3 cells. Moreover, MSC-AS1 targeted and negatively modulated miR-425-5p. MiR-425-5p up-regulation has been proved to partially reverse the tumor suppressive function of MSC-AS1 overexpression.
Conclusion

MSC-AS1 sponged miR-425-5p to inhibit the ovarian cancer progression. These findings may provide a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Heat-induced maternal effects shapes avian eggshell traits and embryo response to high temperatures
Authors: Hoffman Alexander , Dees Leslie , Wada Haruka
Published: March 2021

Populations without a sufficient rate of genetic adaptation may risk extinction in the face of rapid environmental change, however, phenotypic plasticity can facilitate their persistence. For example, mothers can prepare offspring for the thermal environment young will experience through transgenerational plasticity. In oviparous species, whether mothers can prepare offspring to cope with thermal stress experienced as embryos is largely unknown. We demonstrate that when zebra finch mothers are exposed to a heat stress, their offspring show altered heart rates as embryos in response to high incubation temperatures, as well as an increase in eggshell pore density that was positively correlated with survival. These results are the first to show that temperature induced transgenerational plasticity may promote embryonic survival in an oviparous species.
3D Printing of Dual-cell Delivery Titanium Alloy Scaffolds for Improving Osseointegration Through Enhancing Angiogenesis and Osteogenesis
Authors: Zhao Heng , Shen Shi , Zhao Lu , Xu Yulin , Li Yang , Zhuo Naiqiang
Published: March 2021

BACKGROUND: The repair of large bone defects is a great challenge for orthopedics. Although the development of three-dimensional (3D) printed metal implants with optimized the pore structure have effectively promoted the osseointegration. However, due to the biological inertia of titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) surface and the neglect of angiogenesis, some patients still suffer from postoperative complications such as dislocation or loosening of the prosthesis. METHODS: The purpose of this study was to construct 3D printed porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds filled with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) loaded hydrogel and evaluate the effects of this composite implants on angiogenesis and osteogenesis, thus promoting osseointegration. RESULTS: The porosity and pore size of prepared 3D printed porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds were 69.2 ± 0.9 % and 593.4±16.9 μm, respectively, which parameters were beneficial to blood vessel formation and bone ingrowth. The BMSC and EPC filled into the scaffold pores after being encapsulated by hydrogels can maintain high viability. As a cells containing composite implant, BMSC and EPC loaded hydrogel incorporated into 3D printed porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds enhancing angiogenesis and osteogenesis to repair bone defects efficiently. At the transcriptional level, the composite implant up-regulated the expression levels of the osteogenesis-related genes alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN), and angiogenesis-related genes hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). CONCLUSION: Overall, the strategy of loading porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds to incorporate cells is a promising treatment for improving osseointegration.
Iron Dual-atom Catalyst combine with ″vicinal nonmetallic sites″ for efficient Ammonia Synthesis
Authors: Zhu Hongdan , Zhang Kairui , Aarons Jolyon , Peng Qian
Published: March 2021

Ammonia synthesis from N2 under mild conditions is a long-term pursuit and goal, which theoretically limited by the Brønsted–Evans–Polanyi (BEP) relation in industrial transformation via the N2 dissociation. Here we show that the Fe2 catalyst combined with the “vicinal nonmetallic sites” may break the BEP limitation to fulfill the efficient ammonia synthesis. The catalyst supported on boron doped graphitic carbon nitride (Fe2/B/mpg-C3N4) strongly favors hydrogenation of *N2 to form a *NHNH2 species, which leads to low energy barriers for N-H formation (0.57eV) and N-N dissociation (0.51eV). Constructed B-N “Lewis pairs” on the mpg-C3N4 serve as nonmetallic sites can activate and transfer hydrogen, which reduce the competitive adsorption of N2 and H2. Through co-activated H2 on the vicinal site, synergistic Fe2 catalyst shows a significant advantage among Fen/mpg-C3N4 (n=2, 3, 4) catalysts and thus can avoid harsh reaction condition for the thermal conversion of N2 to NH3.
Improved Accuracy of S-Value Based Dosimetry: Transitioning from Cristy-Eckerman to ICRP Adult Phantoms
Authors: Subramanian Shalini , He Bin , Frey Eric , Jokisch Derek , Bolch Wesley , Poethko Thorsten , Hennekes Hartwig , Cleton Adriaan , Johanssen Sandra , Sgouros George
Published: March 2021

BackgroundIn 2016, the International Commission on Radiological Protection and Measurements (ICRP), published the results of Monte Carlo simulations performed using updated and anatomically realistic voxelized phantoms. The resulting absorbed fractions are substantially more accurate than calculations based on the Cristy-Eckerman (CE) stylized (or mathematical) phantoms. Despite this development, the ICRP absorbed fractions have not been widely adopted for radiopharmaceutical dosimetry. To help make the transition, we have established a correspondence between tissues defined in the CE phantom and those defined in the ICRP phantoms. Using pre-clinical data from biodistribution studies performed, we have calculated absorbed doses for Th-227 labeled HER2 targeted antibody. We compare the CE phantom-based calculations as implemented in the OLINDA v1 software with those obtained using ICRP absorbed fractions as implemented in 3D-RD-S, a newly developed software package that implements the MIRD S-value methodology. We also compare ICRP values with a hybrid set of calculations in which alpha-particle energy was assumed completely absorbed in activity containing tissues. ResultsWe observed a non-negligible difference in the absorbed dose calculated using each of the methods for each radiation type. This can be attributed to a combination of greater accuracy in absorbed fraction calculations and differences in the time integrated activity coefficient values due to difference in representation of anatomy by the phantoms. The total absorbed dose for Thorium-227 was dominated by alpha particles, hence the differences in beta and photon absorbed doses were inconsequential in terms of total dose. ConclusionThe results obtained by comparing these different implementations of the MIRD S value methodology provide the data needed to help the field transition to the more anatomically accurate ICRP phantom-based dosimetry. Key words : ICRP phantom, radiopharmaceutical dosimetry, Cristy-Eckerman phantom
Spontaneous fusion of MSC with breast cancer cells can generate tumor dormancy
Authors: Melzer Catharina , Ohe Juliane von der , Luo Tianjiao , Hass Ralf
Published: March 2021

Background: A variety of different tumors including breast cancer cells can closely interact with mesenchymal stroma/stem-like cells (MSC) in the tumor microenvironment eventually resulting in cell fusion and formation of new hybrid cancer cell populations displaying altered properties. Methods: Lentiviral-transduced MDA-MB-231 cherry breast cancer cells and MSC GFP were co-cultured and a resulting hybrid cancer cell population (MDA-MSC-hyb5) was isolated. Characterization was performed for marker expression and short tandem repeat (STR) fragment analysis compared to the parental cells. Moreover, in vivo tumor development and metastatic capacity of MDA-MSC-hyb5 was studied and unique properties were analyzed by RNA microarray expression analyses compared to other breast cancer hybrid populations. Potential chemotherapeutic sensitivity was carried out in tumor explant cultures of MDA-MSC-hyb5 cells. Results: Direct cellular interactions of MDA-MB-231 cherry breast cancer cells with human MSC GFP in a co-culture model resulted in spontaneous cell fusion by generation of MDA-MSC-hyb5 cherry GFP breast cancer hybrid cells. Proliferative capacity of MDA-MSC-hyb5 cells was about 1.8-fold enhanced when compared to the parental MDA-MB-231 cherry breast cancer cells. In contrast to a spontaneous MDA-MB-231 cherry -induced tumor development in vivo within 18.8 days MDA-MSC-hyb5 cells initially remained quiescent in a dormancy-like state. At distinct time points up to about a half year later after injection NODscid mice started to develop MDA-MSC-hyb5 cell-induced tumors. Following tumor initiation, formation of metastases in various different organs occurred rapidly within about 10.5 days. Changes in gene expression levels were evaluated by RNA-microarray analysis and revealed certain increase in dormancy-associated transcripts in MDA-MSC-hyb5. Chemotherapeutic responsiveness of MDA-MSC-hyb5 cells was partially enhanced as compared to MDA-MB-231 cells, however, some resistance e.g. for taxol was detectable in cancer hybrid cells. Moreover, drug response partially changed during tumor development of MDA-MSC-hyb5 cells suggesting unstable in vivo phenotypes of MDA-hyb5 cells with increased tumor heterogeneity. Conclusions: The spontaneous formation of cancer hybrid cell populations like MDA-MSC-hyb5 by cell fusion contributes to tumorigenic diversification by acquisition of new properties such as altered chemotherapeutic responsiveness. The unique tumor dormancy of MDA-MSC-hyb5 cells not observed in other breast cancer hybrid cells so far markedly increases tumor heterogeneity.
Tamarindus indica Ameliorates Neural Aluminum Chloride Toxicity in Neonatal Wistar rats
Authors: USMAN IBE MICHAEL , Musa Sunday Abraham , Iliya Ibrahim Abdullahi , Aigbogun Eric Osamu , Kasozi Keneth Iceland , Batiha Gaber El-Saber , Adebisi Samuel Sunday
Published: March 2021

Objective:This was to determine levels of heavy metal expression following Tamarindus indica activity in neonatal rats. Pregnant timed rats were divided into 5 groups (n =4) and neonatal rats were used. Group 1 (negative control), Groups II-V were experimental groups treated with 100 mg/kg of AlCl3 s/c. Group II (positive control), Groups III and IV receiving 400mg/kg and 800mg/kg of Tamarindus indica respectively, and Group 5 receiving 30mg/kg of Vitamin E (comparative control) for 3 weeks. Brain metal; copper, zinc, iron, and calcium (Cu, Zn, Fe, and Ca respectively) quantification was done using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results:Tamarindus indica contained 61.6% Oleic Acid, n-Hexadecanoic acid 11.03%, Phenol, 3,5-bis (1,1-dimethyl ethyl)- 8.48 %, and cis-9-Hexadecenal 7.79% as the main components in Tamarindus indica. The differential expression of brain metals in the treatment groups on post gestation day 7 and 21 revealed significantly high mean Zn, Fe, and Cu and lower Ca expression in the positive control compared to the negative control; but significantly lower mean Zn, Fe, and Cu and higher Ca expression was observed in the group treated with 400 and 800mg/kg bw of EATI and comparative control when compared to values observed in positive control.
Experiences, Coping Strategies, and Lessons Learned During Double Disaster in the Philippines: COVID-19 Pandemic and Typhoons
Authors: Agaton Casper Boongaling , Cueto Lavinia Javier
Published: March 2021

ObjectiveThis study explores the impacts of double disaster: COVID-19 pandemic and typhoon, in terms of students’ experiences, coping strategies, and lessons learned. Using the interviews from six students from different parts of the Philippines, this qualitative study applies a narrative analysis to interpret participants’ lived experiences.ResultsThe occurrence of natural disasters during the partial lockdowns from pandemic brought stress among students in adopting the distance education, completing academic requirements, and accessing technology for online learning. Participants also expressed their anxieties on the spread of the virus in the community particularly in the disaster evacuation centers with less strictly observed social distancing, insufficient hygiene and sanitation facilities, and lack of basic needs. Participants described their coping strategies which include helping one another; following the government protocols; finding additional sources of income; using energy for important purposes only; and leaning on faith. Participants further shared insights with regard to the proper actions that citizens and government officials must do when double disaster hit the community.
Changing Practices Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learnt During a Review and Planning Meeting For Neglected Tropical Disease Control Programing in Ekiti State, Nigeria
Authors: Olamiju Francisca O , MOGAJI Hammed O , Ojo Kayode H , Amodu-Agbi Pepertua , Attah John , Ekpo Uwem F
Published: March 2021

Objectives: Review meetings are critical activities aiding successful implementation of mass administration of medicines (MAM) for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control. The objective of this study was to assess the changes in practices amid COVID-19 pandemic during the review and planning meeting for 2020 MAM.Results: A total of 42 NTD implementers participated in this study [59.5% females and 40.5% males]. Majority of the participants were Local Government NTD (LNTD) coordinators (40.48%), State NTD officers (26.19%), LGA NTD data managers (23.81%) and NGDO partners (4.76%). Majority of the participants expressed their level of satisfaction on these modes of invitation (97.5%), admission (92.5%) and coordination (97.5%) during the meeting. Our findings have shown the importance of online platforms such as WhatsApp groups and email as communication channels between programmers involved in NTD control. Furthermore, compliance level to WHO guidelines were optimal for venue spacing (100%), usage of facemasks (85%) and physical distancing (72.5%), but sub-optimal for hand-washing (67.5%) and respiratory etiquette (52.5%). There were gaps in the provision of adequate handwashing facilities for the attendees. There is a need for more refined guidelines to steer investments in the provision of adequate hand-washing points in consideration of the population during subsequent meetings or mass gatherings.
Effects of Comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder on the Clinical Outcomes of Schizophrenia: A Nationwide Population-based Study
Authors: Ahn Soojin , Choi Youngjae , Choi Woohyeok , Jo Young Tak , Kim Harin , Lee Jungsun , Joo Sung Woo
Published: March 2021

BackgroundAlcohol use disorder (AUD) is a common psychiatric comorbidity in schizophrenia, associated with poor clinical outcomes and medication noncompliance. Most previous studies on the effect of alcohol use in patients with schizophrenia had limitations of small sample size and a cross-sectional design. Therefore, this study aimed to use a nationwide population database to investigate the impact of AUD on clinical outcomes of schizophrenia.MethodsData from the Health Insurance Review Agency database in South Korea from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2016 was used. Among 64,442 patients with incident schizophrenia, 1,598 with comorbid AUD were selected based on the diagnostic code F10. We performed between- and within-group analyses to compare the rates of psychiatric admissions and emergency room (ER) visits and medication possession ratio (MPR) with control patients having schizophrenia matched for the onset age, sex, and observation period.ResultsThe rates of psychiatric admissions and ER visits decreased after the diagnosis of AUD in both groups; however, the decrease was significantly greater in patients with comorbid AUD compared to the control group. While the case group showed an increase in MPR after the diagnosis of AUD, MPR decreased in the control patients. The rates of psychiatric admissions, ER visits and MPR were worse in the schizophrenia group with comorbid AUD both before and after the diagnosis of AUD.ConclusionsClinical outcomes were worse in the comorbid AUD group than in the control group before and after the diagnosis of AUD. Considering that patients with schizophrenia with comorbid AUD had poorer clinical outcomes even before the diagnosis of AUD, schizophrenia with comorbid AUD could be a distinct subtype of schizophrenia.
Ultrafast Soft Actuators
Authors: Hutmacher Dietmar , Gorissen Benjamin , Liponsky Simon , Bertoldi Katia , Shabab Tara , Bas Onur
Published: March 2021

The quest for an advanced soft robotic actuator technology that is fast and can execute a wide range of application-specific tasks at multiple length scales is still ongoing. Here, we demonstrate a new design strategy leveraging the concepts of miniaturisation and fibre-reinforcement to realize high-speed inflatable actuators exhibiting diverse movements. To fabricate the designs, we employ a class of additive manufacturing technology called melt electrowriting. We demonstrate 3D printing of microfibre architectures on soft elastomers with precision at unprecedently small length scales, leading to miniaturised composite actuators with highly controlled deformation characteristics. We show that owing to their small dimensions and deterministically designed fibrous networks, our actuators require extremely low amounts of fluid to inflate. We demonstrate that actuators with a length of 10 to 15mm and an inner diameter 1mm can reach their full range of motion within ~ 20ms without exploiting snapping instabilities or material non-linearities. We display the speed of our actuators by building an ultrafast, soft flycatcher.
The Massive Misuse of Face Mask as a Risk to COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin American: The Case of Mexico
Authors: Tagle Melissa Jiménez Gómez , Cilia-López Virginia Gabriela
Published: March 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a great challenge in waste management around the world. While the use of face masks has been shown to reduce the number of transmissions of COVID-19, it has also generated a high amount of waste, undermining the capacity of authorities and dumping areas to manage medical waste correctly. Latin American countries are particularly vulnerable because they are not self-sufficient to ensure adequate used facemasks management during the outbreak. The pandemic has led to poor purchasing practices, use, and disposal of this type of product, which can cause environmental contamination and health problems. This article focuses on Latin American using Mexico as a study case since it is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic. That shows the health risks of the population exposed to social inequalities and evaluates the future environmental implications arising from a lack of legislation for correct disposal of waste management in several Latin American countries, such as the generation of microplastics or plastic pollution. Since the pandemic is predicted to last until 2021, this is a good scenario to develop new policies for good urban solid waste management in favor of human health and the environment.
Lesion probability mapping in MS patients using a regression network on MR Fingerprinting
Authors: Hermann Ingo , Golla Alena-Kathrin , Martínez Eloy , Schmidt Ralf , Solana Elisabeth , Llufriu Sara , Gass Joachim , Schad Lothar Rudi , Zöllner Frank Gerrit
Published: March 2021

Purpose

To develop a regression neural network for the reconstruction of lesion probability maps on Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting using echo-planar imaging (MRF-EPI) in addition to T 1 , T 2 * , NAWM, and GM- probability maps.

Methods

We performed MRF-EPI measurements in 42 patients with multiple sclerosis and 6 healthy volunteers along two sites. A U-net was trained to reconstruct the denoised and distortion corrected T 1 and T 2 * maps, and to additionally generate NAWM-, GM-, and WM lesion probability maps.

Results

WM lesions were predicted with a dice coefficient of 0.61±0.09 and a lesion detection rate of 0.85±0.25 for a threshold of 33%.

The network jointly enabled accurate T 1 and T 2 * times with relative deviations of 5.2% and 5.1% and average dice coefficients of 0.92±0.04 and 0.91±0.03 for NAWM and GM after binarizing with a threshold of 80%.

Conclusion

DL is a promising tool for the prediction of lesion probability maps in a fraction of time. These might be of clinical interest for the WM lesion analysis in MS patients.
HLA Haplotypes and Differential Regional Incidence of COVID-19 in Brazil: A Population Study Based in a Large Bone Marrow Donors Bank Dataset
Authors: Boquett Juliano André , Vianna Fernanda Sales Luiz , Fagundes Nelson Jurandi Rosa , Schroeder Lucas , Barbian Marcia , Zagonel-Oliveira Marcelo , Andreis Tiago Finger , Pôrto Luis Cristóvão de Moraes Sobrino , Chies José Artur Bogo , Schuler-Faccini Lavinia , Ashton-Prolla Patricia , ROSSET CLÉVIA
Published: March 2021

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly spread all over the world causing high morbidity and mortality. Brazil is currently the third country in the world in the number of COVID-19 cases. Even though all Brazilian regions and states have reported a high number of cases, mortality rates varies among them. Environmental and genetic factors may influence the immune response towards SARS-CoV-2. The Brazilian population is highly heterogeneous, with different colonization and immigration histories in each region resulting in different genetic backgrounds. Here, we test if specific HLA haplotypes are associated with COVID-19 incidence and mortality in Brazil.MethodsHLA data was obtained from The Brazilian Voluntary Bone Marrow Donors Registry (REDOME) which harbors data from more than four million individual donors, and COVID-19 data was retrieved from epidemiological bulletins issued by State Health Secretariats via the Ministry of Health of Brazil. We tested the association between the most frequent HLA haplotypes in Brazil and COVID-19 incidence and mortality using Spearman's correlation analysis.ResultsNo correlation between HLA haplotypes and COVID-19 rates was found when we analyzed data from the 26 states and Federal District, as well as when we analyzed data from the 90 cities with at least 50 deaths registered in the São Paulo state. Significant negative correlation (suggestive of protection) between COVID-19 mortality and haplotypes HLA-A*01~B*08~DRB1*03, HLA-A*29~B*44~DRB1*07 and HLA-A*02~B*44~DRB1*04 was found when analyzing data from cities with at least 50 deaths registered in the entire country.ConclusionsOur results do not support an association of specific HLA haplotypes with an increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV2 or dying from COVID-19 in Brazil. Nevertheless, using bone marrow donor registries for testing for associations between HLA variation and COVID-19 outcomes may represent an additional tool for health policymakers in the fight against COVID-19.
Therapeutic Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Sjögren's Syndrome: Systematic Review and a Preclinical Meta-Analysis
Authors: Liu Yan , Chen Yi Xiong , Olsen Nancy , Jarjour Wael , Lu Yan , Pan Yun Feng
Published: March 2021

BackgroundEvidence to support Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treatment in Sjögren's syndrome (SS) has been verified. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of heterogeneous MSCs therapies, identify optimal experimental parameters and explore possible underlying mechanisms in animal models of SS.MethodsLiterature searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE. Effect sizes of SS treatments with MSCs were extracted and analyzed by two authors independently.ResultsA total of 13 studies and 20 treatment arms met the inclusion criteria. When compared with the controls, MSCs treatment resulted in lower level of histological score (SMD= -2.208; 95%CI= -3.129, -1.286; P<0.001) accompanied by an improved trend of salivary flow rate (SFR) (SMD = 1.726; 95%CI= 1.340, 2.113; P <0.001) and Schirmer's test results (SMD= 3.379; 95% CI= 2.141, 4.618; P<0.001). In MSCs groups, levels of autoantibodies decreased to varying degrees. Treg cells were increased and Th17 cells were decreased in both lymph nodes and spleens. Additionally, IL-6 reduction and IL-10 elevation were found in local lesional tissues. Furthermore, TNF-α level dropped either in sera or glands. Notably, the cell injection frequency and routes may be two important factors affecting the effect of MSCs therapy.Conclusion﻿To the best of our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate MSCs therapeutic effects on SS. Our research emphasizes optimizing MSC treatment strategies to achieve better outcomes, thereby providing a valuable reference for clinical application.
End of Treatment Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is Predictive of Radiation Response and Overall Survival in Head and Neck Cancer
Authors: Sumner Whitney , Kim Sangwoo S. , Vitzthum Lucas , Moore Kevin , Atwood Todd , Murphy James , Miyauchi Sayuri , Califano Joseph A. , Mell Loren K. , Mundt Arno J. , Sharabi Andrew
Published: March 2021

Background: Image guidance in radiation oncology has resulted in significant improvements in the accuracy and precision of radiation therapy (RT). Recently, the resolution and quality of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) for image guidance has increased so that tumor masses and lymph nodes are readily detectable and measurable. During treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), on-board CBCT setup imaging is routinely obtained; however, this CBCT imaging data has not been utilized to predict patient outcomes. Here, we analyzed whether changes in CBCT measurements obtained during a course of radiation therapy correlate with responses on routine 3-month follow-up diagnostic imaging and overall survival (OS). Materials/Methods: Patients with oropharyngeal primary tumors who received radiation therapy between 2015 and 2018 were included. Anatomical measurements were collected of the primary tumor and largest nodal conglomerate (LNC) at CT simulation, end of radiation treatment (EOT CBCT), and routine 3-month post-RT imaging. At each timepoint anteroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML) and craniocaudal (CC) measurements were obtained and used to create a 2-dimensional (2D) maximum. Results: CBCT data from 64 node positive patients were analyzed. The largest nodal 2D maximum and CC measurements on EOT CBCT showed a statistically significant correlation with complete response on 3-month post-RT imaging (r=0.313, p=0.02 and r=0.318, p=0.02, respectively). Furthermore, patients who experienced a 30% or greater reduction in the CC dimension had improved OS (continuous HR 1.07, 95% CI 1.02-1.15, p=0.045). Conclusion: Decreased size of pathologic lymph nodes measured using CBCT setup imaging during a radiation course correlates with long term therapeutic response and overall survival of HNSCC patients. These results indicate that CBCT setup imaging may have utility as an early predictor of treatment response in oropharyngeal HNSCC and could ultimately help guide management.
Study of Prevalence of Neuromuscular Dysfunctions Especially Trunk Dysfunction among the Athletic Population of Rocket, Team and Water Sports
Authors: Sarand Ali Parvaneh , Daneshmand Hasan , Norasteh Ali Asghar
Published: March 2021

Background: The high prevalence of injury in sports necessitates the use of screening tests and injury prevention programs. Dysfunctions in the neuromuscular control of the trunk or TD (Trunk Dysfunction) are directly related to athletic performance and injury. The present study aims to study the prevalence of neuromuscular dysfunctions especially TD among the athletic population of rocket, team and water sports.Results: For data analysis, it’s used the analysis of variance of (ANOVA) and also the Chi-square tests. The ANOVA test did not show a significant difference between tuck jump test scores among the three sports; the Chi-square test, on the other hand, demonstrated people with and without TD. The number of people with TD was 12 (40%) in table tennis, 6 (20%) in cycling, and 9 (30%) in swimming respectively.Conclusions: It can be concluded that the most and the least people with TD were table tennis and cycling, respectively. According to the direct relationship between TD and sports injury, it’s possible to reduce the risk of injury by an accurate and timely screening and assessing of TD in future athletes, by this, it seems that the quality level and the implementation strategies of techniques, the skills and the activities of athletes can be improved.
Growth, Structural, NLO and Impedance Properties of Cu2+ doped Lithium Sulphate Monohydrate Single Crystals
Authors: Annalakshmi A , Balasubramanian K.
Published: March 2021

Single crystals of 2.5 mole% of Cu 2+ doped Lithium sulphate monohydrate (LSMH) have been grown using slow evaporation technique at room temperature. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis ensures that the crystal belongs to monoclinic crystal system. The variation of relative dielectric constant, dielectric loss and tangent loss with frequency have been discussed. The conductivity and dielectric relaxation mechanism involved in the grown crystals have been carried out by using complex impedance spectroscopy in the temperature range (343K and 353K) and in the frequency range from 20Hz to 2MHz. The frequency dependent ac conductivity obeys the Jonscher’s power law. The imaginary part Mʺ of electrical modulus of grown crystals shows the formation of asymmetric dispersion peak and indicating non- Debye relaxation behaviour. Morphology properties of the grown crystals have been studied using atomic force microscopy and hence the roughness of the grown crystals has been calculated. The NLO property and LDT values of the grown crystals are analysed using Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm and 532 nm respectively.
MRI-based Radiomics Model Can Improve the Predictive Performance of Postlaminar Optic Nerve Invasion in Retinoblastoma
Authors: Li Zhenzhen , Guo Jian , Xu Xiaolin , Wei Wenbin , Xian Junfang
Published: March 2021

Purpose: To develop an MRI-based radiomics model to predict postlaminar optic nerve invasion (PLONI) in retinoblastoma (RB) and to compare its predictive performance with that of subjective radiologists’ assessment.Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 124 patients with pathologically proven RB (90 in the training set and 34 in the validation set) who had MRI scans before surgery in this retrospective study. A radiomics model for predicting PLONI was developed by extracting 2058 quantitative imaging features from axial T2-weighted images and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images in the training set. The Kruskal-Wallis test, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, and recursive feature elimination were used for feature selection, whereupon a radiomics model was built with a logistic regression (LR) classifier. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the accuracy were assessed to evaluate the predictive performance of PLONI in the training set and validation set. The performance of the radiomics model was compared to radiologists’ assessment.Results: The AUC of the radiomics model for the prediction of PLONI according to ROC analysis was 0.928 in the training set and 0.841 in the validation set. In all 124 patients, the AUC of the radiomics model was 0.897, while that of radiologists’ assessment was 0.674 (p< 0.001).Conclusions: By incorporating MRI-based radiomics features, we constructed a radiomics model to predict PLONI in patients with RB, and it was shown to be superior to visual assessment and may serve as a potential tool to guide personalized treatment.
The scale effect of landscape variables on landscape experiences: A multi-scale spatial analysis of social media data in an urban nature park context
Authors: Chang Ping , Olafsson Anton Stahl
Published: March 2021

Context

The roles of landscape variables with regard to the recreational services provided by nature parks have been widely studied. However, the potential scale effects of the relationships of landscape features and attributes to categorized nature experiences have not been adequately studied from an experimental perspective.

Objectives

This article demonstrates multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) as a new method to quantify the relationship between experiences and landscape variables and aims to answer the following questions:
1) Which dimensions of landscape experiences can be interpreted from geocoded social media data, and what landscape variables are associated with specific dimensions of experience?
2) At what spatial scale and relative magnitude can landscape variables mediate landscape experiences?

Methods

Social media data (Flickr photos) from Amager Nature Park were categorized into different dimensions of landscape experience. Estimated parameter surfaces resulting from the MGWR were generated to show the patterns of the relationship between the landscape variables and the categorized experiences.

Results

All considered landscape variables were identified as relating to certain landscape experiences (nature, animals, scenery, engagement, and culture). Scale effects were observed in all relationships. This highlights the realities of context- and place-specific relationships and the limited applicability of simple approaches that assume relationships to be spatially stationary.

Conclusions

The spatial effect of landscape variables on landscape experiences was clarified and demonstrated to be important for understanding the spatial patterns of landscape experiences. The demonstrated modelling method may be used to further the study of the value of natural landscapes to human wellbeing.
Fractalkine Aggravates LPS-induced Macrophage Activation and Acute Kidney Injury via Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway
Authors: Gong Qiming , Jiang Yan , Pan Xiuhong , You Yanwu
Published: March 2021

Background: Fractalkine（CX3CL1, FKN），a CX3C gene sequence inflammatory chemokine, has been found to have pro-inflammatory and pro-adhesion effects. Macrophages are immune cells with a critical role in regulate inflammatory response. The imbalance of M1/M2 macrophage polarization can lead to aggravated inflammation. This study takes an attempt to investigate the mechanisms through which FKN regulates the macrophage activation and the acute kidney injury (AKI) involved in the inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by using FKN-knockout (FKN-KO) mice and cultured macrophages.Results: In this study, we found that FKN and Wnt/β-catenin signaling have a positive interaction in macrophages. FKN-overexpression inhibited LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis. However, it enhanced the cell viability and transformed them into M2 type. The effects of FKN-overexpression were accelerated by activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. In the in vivo experiments, FKN deficiency suppressed the macrophage activation and reduced AKI induced by LPS. Inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and FKN deficiency further mitigated the pathologic process of AKI. Conclusions: We provide a novel mechanism underlying activation of macrophage in LPS-induced AKI. The positive interaction between FKN and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway may be the therapeutic target in kidney injury.