bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Airborne Aerosols and Human Health: Leapfrogging from Mass Concentration to Oxidative Potential
Authors: Molina Carolina , Toro Richard , Manzano Carlos , Canepari Silvia , Massimi Lorenzo , Leiva-Guzmán Manuel. A.
Published: July 2020

The mass concentration of particulate matter (PM) has been systematically used in epidemiological studies as exposure indicator, to relate airborne concentrations with a wide variety of human health effects, which can be hardly explained by using this single parameter. In fact, PM is a “particle cocktail” that includes a complex mixture of compounds with a wide range of sizes, chemical compositions and emission sources. Current research hypothesizes that many of the adverse health effects are derived from oxidative stress in biological systems caused by the deposition of PM into the lungs. This emerging hypothesis is called the oxidative stress paradigm. In this commentary article we analize how this new paradigm could help to answer the as-of-yet unanswered questions related to the mechanism of action of PM pollution on human health. Acellular oxidative potential (OP) assays have been emerged as a promising approach to quantify the PM potential to induce oxidative stress and to relate it with the chemical composition and size distribution of PM. Recent researches have shown that the OP is related to the presence of metals, organic carbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and quinones. However, the association between PM and particle-induced toxicity is still largely unknown. Therefore, additional research is needed to identify the specific PM characteristic(s), such as its specific size, emission source or chemical content, which contribute the most to its redox activity. Thus, the OP measurements provide information that allows us to evaluate and integrate the toxic potential of PM in a unique parameter, whose relationships with emission sources, size distribution and/or chemical composition should be faced in the near future.
Bayesian Calibration of Hysteretic Parameters with Consideration of the Model Discrepancy for Use in Structural Health Monitoring
Authors: Ceravolo Rosario , Faraci Alessio , MIRAGLIA GAETANO
Published: July 2020

Bayesian model calibration techniques are commonly employed in the characterization of nonlinear dynamic systems, as they provide a conceptual and effective framework to deal with model uncertainties, experimental errors and procedure assumptions. This understanding has resulted in the need to introduce a model discrepancy term to account for the differences between model-based predictions and real observations. Indeed, the goal of this work is to enhance model-driven Structural Health Monitoring procedures by incorporating the posterior uncertainty linked to updated model discrepancy, and thus make relevant considerations for its use in the Structural Health Monitoring. Specifically, the Bayesian inference has been applied to the calibration of nonlinear hysteretic systems to both provide: (i) most probable values (MPV) of the parameters following the calibration, and; (ii) estimates of the model discrepancy posterior distribution. The effect of the model discrepancy in the calibration is first illustrated recurring to a single degree of freedom Bouc-Wen type oscillator, and then applied for calibrating a reference nonlinear Bouc-Wen model, deriving from real data acquired on a monitored masonry building.
On Analytical Solution of a Plasma over a Moving Rigid Plate under the Influence of Non-linear Non-uniform Applied External Magnetic Field
Authors: Abdel Wahid Taha , Morad Adel
Published: July 2020

In this study, we mainly focus on the behavior of an electron gas produced by argon plasma that is bounded by a moving rigid flat plate. The effects of an external magnetic field on the electrons collected with each other, with positive ions, and with neutral atoms in the plasma fluid are investigated. We used the BGK model of the Boltzmann kinetic equation, which is fundamental in the study of the gas dynamics from the continuum flow to the free-molecular regimes with Maxwellian velocity distribution functions of the various species. An exact analytical solution of the model equations for the unsteady flow is given using the moment and the traveling wave methods. The behavior of the mean velocity of electrons is illustrated, which compatible with the variation of the shear stress, viscosity coefficient, and the initial and boundary conditions. Besides, the thermodynamic prediction is investigated by applying the principles of irreversible thermodynamics and Gibbs formula. It is found that the thermodynamic variables verify the Boltzmann’s H–theorem, the principle of Le Chatelier, and the Thermodynamics Second Law for the non-equilibrium processes of the system. Qualitative agreements with previous related papers are introducing. 3-Dimensional graphics for the calculating variables are offering, and their behavior is deeply discussed.
Is Japan Succeeding in Suppressing COVID-19? Estimation of Infection Rate and the Size of the Population Potentially Exposed to SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Naito Motohiko
Published: July 2020

Background: The novel emerging virus SARS-CoV-2 has affected all human-kind during the first half of 2020. The aim of the study was to survey the actual circumstances from January until May. Methods: The data are collected and released systematically, by law, from the National Epidemiological Surveillance of Infectious Disease (NESID). Findings: Analysis of these data revealed that the infection spread in Japan from late March to early April 2020. The SARS-CoV-2 infection rate at its peak was estimated to be 10%. Thus, the size of the population who may have been exposed to the novel virus in Japan is estimated at 0.2 million, which is relatively small. The number of related deaths is likely to converge on 1,000 people. Interpretation: Applying the law of large numbers allows estimation of the infection rate as well as of the size of the affected population by statistical analysis. How to collect the data must be defined before the data analysis is suggested to be important to reflect the actual circumstances about COVID-19.
A Decision Tree Based Intrusion Detection System for Identification of Malicious Web Attacks
Authors: Bandyopadhyay Samir , Chowdhury Ratul , Banerjee Pallabi , Dey Soumya Deep , Saha Banani
Published: July 2020

. In today’s world, cyber attack is one of the major issues concerning the organizations that deal with technologies like cloud computing, big data, IoT etc. In the area of cyber security, intrusion detection system (IDS) plays a crucial role to identify suspicious activities in the network traffic. Over the past few years, a lot of research has been done in this area but in the current scenario, network attacks are diversifying in both volume and variety. In this regard, this research article proposes a novel IDS where a combination of information gain and decision tree algorithm has been used for the purpose of dimension reduction and classification. For experimental purpose the NSL-KDD dataset has been used. Initially out of 41 features present in the dataset only 5 high information gain valued features are selected for classification purpose. The applicability of the selected features are evaluated through various machine learning based algorithms. The experimental result shows that the decision tree based algorithm records highest recognition accuracy among all the classifiers. Based on the initial classification result a novel methodology based on decision tree has been further developed which is capable of identifying multiple attacks by analyzing the packets of various transactions in real time.
How Can We Improve the Consumption of a Nutritionally-Balanced Maternal Diet in Rural Bangladesh? The Key Elements of the ‘Balanced Plate’ Intervention
Authors: Alam Ashraful , Chowdhury Morseda , Dibley Michael John , Raynes-Greenow Camille
Published: July 2020

Social, cultural, environmental and economic factors closely regulate the selection, allocation and consumption of maternal diets. We developed a nutrition behaviour change intervention to promote a balanced diet in pregnancy through practical demonstration in rural Bangladesh and tested the impact with a cluster randomised controlled trial. This paper presents the findings of the process evaluation and describes the strategies that worked for intervention compliance. We conducted in-depth interviews with pregnant women, women who birthed recently, and their husbands; focus groups with mothers and mothers-in-law; key-informant interviews with community health workers, and observation of home visits. We identified six key areas within the intervention strategy that played a crucial role in achieving the desired adherence. These included practical demonstration of portion sizes; addressing local food perceptions; demystifying animal-source foods; engaging husbands and mothers-in-law; leveraging women’s social networks; and harnessing community health workers’ social role. Practical demonstration, opportunity to participate and convenience of making of the plate with the food available in their kitchen or neighbours’ kitchen were the most commonly mentioned reasons for acceptance of the intervention by the women and their families. The balanced plate intervention helped women through practical demonstration to learn about a balanced meal by highlighting appropriate portion sizes and food diversity. The women needed active involvement of community health workers in mobilising social support to create an enabling environment essential to bring changes in dietary behaviours. Programs to promote a nutritious maternal diet should focus on encouraging the use of healthy foods through practical demonstration of portion sizes and engagement of the women and family instead of replicating the traditional information-based counselling.
Generation and Application of Nested Entanglement in Matryoshka Quantum Resource-States
Authors: Guha Majumdar Mrittunjoy
Published: July 2020

Multipartite entanglement is a resource for application in disparate protocols, of computing, communication and cryptography. Nested entanglement provides resource-states for quantum information processing. In this paper, Matryoshka quantum resource-states, which contain nested entanglement patterns, has been studied. A novel scheme for the generation of such quantum states has been proposed using an anisotropic XY spin-spin interaction-based model. The application of the Matryoshka GHZ-Bell states for n-qubit teleportation is reviewed and an extension to more general Matryoshka ExhS-Bell states is posited. An example of Matryoshka ExhS-Bell states is given in the form of the genuinely entangled seven-qubit Xin-Wei Zha state. Generation, characterisation and application of this seven-qubit resource state in theoretical schemes for quantum teleportation of arbitrary one, two and three qubits states, bidirectional teleportation of arbitrary two qubit states and probabilistic circular controlled teleportation are presented.
The Regulation of Public-Private Partnerships: A Comparative Study of Nigeria and South Africa
Authors: Arimoro Augustine
Published: July 2020

Budget deficits, economic crisis and competing demands for lean state resources are clear reasons why governments, especially in sub-Saharan Africa are now inclined towards the public-private partnership model of infrastructure finance. This paper comparatively examines the regulation of public-private partnership in Nigeria and South Africa. The aim is to highlight areas where both countries can learn from their experiences. The paper finds that beyond the problem of overlapping laws, weak institutional mechanisms and the need to check the arbitrariness of public officials as some of the problems that need to be addressed to build strong public-private partnership regimes in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper recommends among others, holistic strategies for strengthening the framework and practice in both countries and the need to make the public-private partnership process less cumbersome.
Love Quotient: Spirit Tasawuf dalam Syari'ah Marketing
Authors: Cahyadi Iwan Fahri
Published: July 2020

Jack Ma is a founder and is the highest executive officer of the Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group Company is a company engaged in the field of e-Commerce. Jack Ma gave the opinion that a leader who wants to succeed not only has a high Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Emotional Quotient (EQ), but also a Love Quotient (LQ). Meanwhile psychologists have discovered human intelligence, namely IQ, EQ and Spiritual Quotient (SQ). Islam itself says that Fitrah is the highest form of intelligence. Differences of opinion need to be studied more deeply, both in terms of business, psychology, and religion. This article uses qualitative methods. The findings of this study confirm that the term Love Quotient in a business perspective, Spiritual Quotient (SQ) in psychology and Fitrah in Islam is a concept that has the same nature even though it uses different terms. The conclusion of this study is that between religion and science support each other and sharia marketing can be applied if LQ, SQ and Islam Fitrah are attached to a marketer.
Patient Satisfaction, Functional Outcomes, and Survivorship in Patients with a Customized Posterior-Stabilized Total Knee Replacement
Authors: Neginhal Vivekanand , Kurtz William , Schroeder Lennart
Published: July 2020

Background:

In this study, we assessed implant survivorship, patient satisfaction, and patient-reported functional outcomes at approximately 2 years for patients who had received a customized posterior-stabilized (PS) knee replacement system. We hypothesized that the customized PS implant would have high overall patient-reported outcomes because of its patient-specific design.

Methods:

Ninety-three patients (100 knees) who had received the customized total knee replacement system were enrolled at 2 centers. The patients’ length of hospitalization and preoperative pain intensity were assessed. At a single follow-up time-point, we assessed patient-reported outcomes utilizing the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score Joint Replacement (KOOS JR), satisfaction rates, implant survivorship, and patients’ perception of their knee.

Results:

At an average follow-up time of 1.9 years (range, 1.5 to 2.4 years), implant survivorship was found to be 100%. From an average preoperative baseline pain rating of 6.5 (range, 3 to 10) until the time of follow-up, we observed an average decrease of 5.2 on the numeric pain rating scale to an average of 1.3 (range, 0 to 8), indicating satisfactory pain relief after the procedure. The satisfaction rate was found to be high, with 90% of patients being satisfied or very satisfied and 88% of patients reporting a “natural” perception of their knee either some or all of the time. The evaluation of the patient-reported outcome measure showed satisfactory results with a high KOOS JR average score of 90 (range, 34 to 100) at the time of follow-up.

Conclusions:

Based on our results, we believe that the customized PS implant provides patients with excellent postoperative outcomes.

Level of Evidence:TherapeuticLevel IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Neighborhood's locality, road types, and residents' multimorbidity: Evidence from China's middle-aged and older adults
Authors: Yu Xuexin , Zhang Wei
Published: July 2020

Background: Neighborhood factors have gained increasing attention, while the association between the neighborhood's characteristics and multimorbidity has not been clarified. In this study, we aim to depict variations in the number of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) as a function of urban vs. rural settings and road types.Methods: The present cross-sectional study derived data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011 National Baseline Survey. Negative binomial regression with clustered robust standard errors was performed to analyze variations in the number of NCDs among 13,414 Chinese middle-aged and older adults. Multilevel logistic regression was employed to investigate the association between neighborhood-level characteristics and each NCD, respectively. Results: First, over 65% of subjects had at least one NCDs, and over 35% had multimorbidity. Arthritis (33.08%), hypertension (24.54%), and digestive disease (21.98%) were the most prevalent NCDs. Urban vs. rural differences in multimorbidity were fully explained by neighborhood clustering variations (IRR = 1.02, 95% CI, 0.95 - 1.10). Lastly, living with paved roads was associated with a smaller number of NCDs relative to living with unpaved roads (IRR = 0.86, 95% CI, 0.78 - 0.95). Results from subgroup analyses suggested that in comparison with those living with unpaved roads, individuals living with paved roads respectively had lower odds of chronic lung disease (OR = 0.76, 95% CI, 0.63 - 0.93), chronic liver disease (OR = 0.74, 95% CI, 0.55 - 0.99), chronic kidney disease (OR = 0.68, 95% CI, 0.51 - 0.89), digestive disease (OR = 0.82, 95% CI, 0.69 - 0.97), arthritis or rheumatism (OR = 0.69, 95% CI, 0.55 - 0.87), and asthma (OR = 0.67, 95% CI, 0.51 - 0.88). Conclusion: Urban vs. rural disparities in multimorbidity appeared to result from within-neighborhoods characteristics. The improvement in neighborhood-level characteristics, such as road quality, holds promise to alleviate the increasing disease burden of chronic diseases.
A hybrid cost-sensitive ensemble for heart disease prediction
Authors: Qi Zhenya , Zhang Zuoru
Published: July 2020

Background: Heart disease is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. It includes numerous problems and symptoms. The diagnosis of heart disease is difficult because there are too many factors to analyze. What’s more, the misclassification cost could be very high. Methods: A cost-sensitive ensemble model was proposed to improve the efficiency of diagnosis and reduce the misclassification cost. The proposed model contains five heterogeneous classifiers: random forest, logistic regression, support vector machine, extreme learning machine and k-nearest neighbor. T-test was used to investigate if the performance of the ensemble model was better than individual classifiers and the contribution of Relief algorithm. Results: The best performance was achieved by the proposed model according to ten-fold cross validation. The statistical tests demonstrated that the performance of the proposed model was significantly superior to individual classifiers, and the efficiency of classification was distinctively improved by Relief algorithm. Conclusions: The proposed ensemble model gained significantly better results compared with individual classifiers and previous studies, which implies that it can be used as a promising alternative tool in medical decision making for heart disease diagnosis.
A high fat diet with a high C18:0/C16:0 ratio induced worse metabolic and transcriptomic profiles in C57BL/6 mice
Authors: Wang Liqiang , Xu Fei , Song Zhenfeng , Han Dan , Zhang jingyi , Chen Linjun , Na Lixin
Published: July 2020

Background: Differential effects of individual saturated fatty acids (SFAs), particularly stearic acid (C18:0), relative to the shorter-chain SFAs have drawn interest for more accurate nutritional guidelines. However, specific biologic and pathologic functions that can be assigned to particular SFAs are very limited. The present study was designed to compare changes in metabolic and transcriptomic profiles in mice caused by a high C18:0 diet and high palmitic acid (C16:0) diet.Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were assigned to a normal fat diet (NFD), a high fat diet with high C18:0/C16:0 ratio (HSF) or an isocaloric high fat diet with a low C18:0/C16:0 ratio (LSF) for 10 weeks. An oral glucose tolerance test, 72-h energy expenditure measurement and CT scan of body fat were done before sacrifice. Fasting glucose and lipids were determined by an autobiochemical analyzer. Blood insulin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods. Free fatty acids (FFAs) profiles in blood and liver were determined by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Microarray analysis was applied to investigate changes in transcriptomic profiles in the liver. Pathway analysis and gene ontology analysis were applied to describe the roles of differentially expressed mRNAs. Results: Compared with the NFD group, body weight, body fat ratio, fasting blood glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride, IL-6, serum and liver FFAs including total FFAs, C16:0 and C18:0 were increased in both high fat diet groups and were much higher in the HSF group than those in the LSF group. Both HSF and LSF mice exhibited distinguishable long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA and mRNA expression profiles when compared with those of NFD mice. Additionally, more differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were observed in the HSF group than in the LSF group. Some biological functions and pathways, other than energy metabolism regulation, were identified as differentially expressed mRNAs between the HSF group and the LSF group. Conclusion: The high fat diet with a high C18:0/C16:0 ratio induced more severe glucose and lipid metabolic disorders and inflammation and affected expression of more lncRNAs and mRNAs than an isocaloric low C18:0/C16:0 ratio diet in mice. These results provide new insights into the differences in biological functions and related mechanisms, other than glucose and lipid metabolism, between C16:0 and C18:0.
Cancer risk after total hip replacements. A prospective study of 41,402 patients in the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register linked to the Cancer Registry of Norway
Authors: Dybvik Eva , Furnes Ove , Havelin Leif I. , Fosså Sophie D. , Trovik Clement , Lie Stein Atle
Published: July 2020

Background Concerns have been raised that implants used in total hip replacements (THR) could lead to a future increased cancer risk. Several different materials and, metals and fixation techniques are used in joint prosthesis, as well as prostheses and different fixation techniques and types of articulation for the surface of the joint can lead to cause an increased escapeinvasion of particles or ions into the human body. Methods Patients with THR registered in the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register during 1987-2009 were linked to the Cancer registry of Norway. Patients with THR due to osteoarthritis, under the age of 75 at time of surgery, were included. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were applied to compare cancer risk for THR patients to the general population. Types of THR were divided into cemented (both components), uncemented (both components), and hybrid (cemented femoral and uncemented acetabular componentcomponents). To account for selection mechanisms, time dependent covariates were applied in Cox-regression, adjusting for cancer risk the first 10 years after surgery. The analyses were adjusted for age, gender, and if the patient had additional THR-surgery in the same or the opposite hip. The study is according tofollows the STROBE guidelines.Results When comparingComparing patients with THR to the general population in Norway we found no differences in thecancer risk. The overall SIR for the THR-patients after 10 years of follow-up was 1.02 (95% CI: 0.97-1.07). For cemented THR, the SIR after 10 years of follow-up was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.94-1.05), while it wasfor uncemented, 1.16 (95% CI: 1.02-1.30) for uncemented THRs,), and for hybrid 1.12 (95% CI: 0.91-1.33) for hybrid THRs.). Adjusted Cox analyses showed that patients with uncemented THRs had an elevated risk offor cancer (hazard ratio: HR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.05-1.46, p=0.009) when compared to patients with cemented THRs after 10 years of follow-up.follow-up. Stratified by gender the increased risk was only present for men. The risk for patients with hybrid THRs was not significantly increased (HR=1.07, 95% CI: 0.85-1.35, p=0.55) compared to patients with cemented THRs. Conclusions THR patients had no increased risk for cancer compared to the general population. We found, however, that receiving an uncemented THR was associated with a small increased risk of cancer, in particular prostatefor cancer for younger mencompared to cemented THR in males, but that this may be prone to unmeasured confounding.
Epigenetic regulation of osteopontin splicing isoform c defines its role as a microenvironmental factor to promote the survival of colon cancer cells from 5-FU treatment
Authors: Chang Siyuan , Huang Jing , Niu Huan , Wang Jing , Si Yang , Bai Zhigang , Cheng Shan , Ding Wei
Published: July 2020

Background: Drug resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and recurrence after chemotherapy in colorectal cancer remain a challenge to be resolved for the improvement of patient outcomes. It is recognized that a variety of secretory proteins released from the tumor cells exposed to chemo-drugs into the tumor microenvironment (TME) contributed to the cell-to-cell communication, and altered the drug sensitivity. One of these important factors is osteopontin (OPN), which exists in several functional forms from alternative splicing and post-translational processing. In colon cancer cells, increased total OPN expression was observed during the progression of tumors, however, the exact role and regulation of the OPN splicing isoforms was not well understood.Methods: We assayed precisely the abundance of major OPN splicing isoforms under 5-FU treatments in colon cancer cell lines with different sensitivities to 5-FU, and also evaluated the effects of the condition medium from OPN splicing isoforms overexpressed cells on cell functions. The methods of nuclear calcium reporter assays and ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) assays were used to investigate the molecular mechanism underlining the production of OPN isoforms.Results: We discovered that OPNc was a most increased splicing isoform to a significant abundance following 5-FU treatment of colon cancer cells. OPNc as a secretory protein in the conditioned medium exerted a more potent effect to promote cell survival in 5-FU than other OPN isoforms. The kinetic response of nuclear calcium signals could be used to indicate an immediate effect of the conditioned medium containing OPNc and other isoforms. Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) was identified to regulate the splicing of opn gene, where the phosphorylation of MeCP2 at S421 site, possibly by calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) was required.Conclusions: The results demonstrated that the production of OPNc was highly controlled under epigenetic regulations, where MeCP2 and the activation of nuclear calcium signaling were involved. It was also suggested that OPNc could transmit the stress signal of cells upon chemotherapy in TME and promoted the survival of adjacent colon cancer cells.
A retrospective analysis of usefulness of impulse oscillometry system in the treatment of asthma
Authors: Sugawara Hiroyuki , Saito Atsushi , Yokoyama Saori , Tsunematsu Kazunori , Chiba Hirofumi , Takahashi Hiroki
Published: July 2020

Background: Bronchial asthma (BA) has different phenotypes, and it requires a clinically effective subtype classification system. The impulse oscillometry system (IOS) is an emerging technique device used in respiratory functional tests. However, its efficacy has not been validated. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the relationship between BA and the IOS parameters, and the difference in the therapeutic effects of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) among the subtype classifications was evaluated using the IOS.Methods: Of the 245 patients with bronchial asthma who were screened, 108 were enrolled in this study. These patients were divided based on three subtypes according to the IOS result as follows: central predominant type (n = 34), peripheral predominant type (n = 58), and resistless type (n = 16). Then, the following ICSs were randomly prescribed in daily medical care: coarse-particle ICS (fluticasone propionate [FP]), fine-particle ICS (mometasone furoate [MF]), and moderate-particle ICS (budesonide [BUD]). The treatment effects were assessed using the Asthma Health Questionnaire (AHQ) and the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and were compared among the three subtypes.Results: In the central predominant type, the AHQ score of the MF group was significantly higher than that of the FP group (15.4 vs. 3.6, p < 0.01) and the BUD group (15.4 vs. 8.8, p < 0.05); the ACT score of the FP group was significantly higher than that of the MF and BUD groups (24.3 vs. 21.7, 22.3, respectively, p < 0.05) at 4 weeks after treatment. In the peripheral predominant type, the AHQ score of the FP group was significantly higher than that of the MF group (14.1 vs. 3.4, p < 0.05); the ACT score of the FP group was lower than that of the MF and BUD groups (22.8 vs. 24.6, 24.4, respectively, p < 0.01) at 4 weeks after treatment. In the resistless type, no significant difference was observed in the both scores among the three groups. Conclusions: An association was observed between IOS subtype classification and ICS particle size in terms of therapeutic efficiency in BA. This result indicates that the IOS could be an effective tool in the selection of ICS and the evaluation of the BA phenotype.
Online health information seeking behaviours of parents of children undergoing surgery in a pediatric hospital in Rome, Italy: a survey
Authors: Russo Luisa , Campagna Ilaria , Ferretti Beatrice , Pandolfi Elisabetta , Atti Marta Luisa Ciofi Degli , Piga Simone , Jackson Sally , Rizzo Caterina , Gesualdo Francesco , Tozzi Alberto Eugenio
Published: July 2020

Background: People increasingly search online for health information. Particularly, parents of patients often use the Internet as a source for health information. We conducted a survey to investigate the online searching behavior of parents of patients <18 years, admitted for surgery in an Italian pediatric hospital.
Methods: The cross-sectional survey was nested in a prospective cohort study on surgical procedures. Parents of patients undergoing surgical procedures at Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy, were enrolled and contacted by phone after the procedure. We recorded socio-demographic data, sex, length of stay following surgery, proximity of residence to the hospital, use of the internet to search for information on the surgery before and after the intervention and effect of information found online.
Results: The majority (91%) of parents of children undergoing surgical intervention used the internet. Of these, 74.3% of parents searched for information before surgery, and 26.1% searched for information after. Most parents searched for information on the care provider’s website. Two thirds of parents reported that information found online had increased their understanding of the child’s condition. Multivariate analyses indicated that families living far from the hospital (> 43 km) were more likely to search for health information (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.34 - 4.00), as were families of patients undergoing a major surgery (OR=2.1; 95% CI 1.04 - 4.11).
Conclusions: Parents of children undergoing surgery often search online for information on their child’s intervention, in particular those whose child is scheduled for a major surgery and those living far from the hospital. A survey like the present one allows to understand parents’ information needs, to better guide them in online information seeking and to better tailor information provided on the care provider’s website.
Clinical heterogeneity and novel pathogenic variants of Chinese patients with neuroacanthocytosis
Authors: Yu Hao , Zhang Liang , Li Xiao-Yan , Wu Zhi-Ying
Published: July 2020

Background: Neuroacanthocytosis (NA) syndromes are a group of exceedingly rare diseases, including McLeod syndrome (MLS) and chorea-acanthocytosis (ChAc). The characteristic phenotypes comprise a variety of movement disorders, including chorea, dystonia, and parkinsonism. We aimed to investigate the clinical heterogeneity and novel pathogenic variants of Chinese patients with neuroacanthocytosis.Results: Three novel XK variants (c.942G>A, c.970A>T, c.422_423del) were identified in three index MLS patients and three novel VPS13A variants (c.3817C>T, c.9219C>A, c.3467T>A) in two index ChAc patients. In addition, we summarized the genotypes and phenotypes of reported MLA patients and ChAc patients in the Chinese population.Conclusion: Our study expands the genetic spectrum of XK and VPS13A and helps the clinical diagnosis of neuroacanthocytosis.
Imported Mansonella perstans infection in Spain.
Authors: Puente Sabino , Lago Mar , Subirats Mercedes , Sanz-Esteban Ismael , Arsuaga Marta , Vicente Belen , Alonso-Sardon Montserrat , Belhassen-Garcia Moncef , Muro Antonio
Published: July 2020

Background: Mansonella perstans infection can be considered one of the most neglected tropical infectious diseases. Very few studies have reported on the clinical picture caused by infection with this nematode. Therefore, our study was aimed to describe the clinical patterns and treatment of imported M. perstans infection by migrants from Africa.Methods: The present study evaluated a large cohort of migrants who have been diagnosed, examined and treated for imported M. perstans infection at a Spanish reference center (Hospital Carlos III Tropical Medicine Unit, Madrid, Spain) over a 19-year period. Most patients voluntarily attend the emergency unit or are referred from primary care or general hospitals in Madrid. Categorical variable results were expressed as percentages and as the mean and standard deviation (SD) for continuous variables. Chi-square test was used to compare the association between the categorical variables. The measured outcomes were expressed as the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% CI. The continuous variables were compared by Student’s t-test or the Mann–Whitney test. The corresponding regression models were used for multivariate analysis. Results: Five hundred three cases of migrants from tropical and subtropical areas with M. perstans infection were identified. Two hundred sixty-four patients were female (52.5%). The mean age (±SD) was 44.6±18.2 years (range, 16–93 years). The mean time (±SD) between the arrival in Spain and the first consultation was 8.6±18.0 months. The origin of the patients was Equatorial Guinea (97.6%). Regarding the clinical picture, 257 patients were asymptomatic (54.7%) and 228 were symptomatic (45.3%); 190 patients had pruritus (37.8%), 50 (9.9%) had arthralgia, 18 patients had Calabar-like swelling (3.6%), and 15 (3%) had abdominal pain. Four hundred forty-two (87.9%) migrants had hyper-IgE, and 340 (67.6%) had eosinophilia. One hundred ninety-five patients had coinfections with other filarial nematodes (38.8%), and 308 migrants had only M. perstans infection (61.2%). Four hundred thirty-seven cases (86.9%) had been treated with anti-filarial drugs: 292 cases were treated with one anti-filarial drug, and 145 cases were treated with combined anti-filarial therapy. Additionally, 20 (4%) cases received steroids and 38 (7.6%) cases received antihistamines. Conclusions: A long series of M. perstans infections is presented in sub-Saharan immigrants whose data indicate that it should be included in the differential diagnosis in patients with pruritus or analytical alterations such as eosinophilia or hyper-IgE presentation, and they also have a high number of coinfections with other microorganisms whose treatment needs to be protocolized.
Sexual health status and vitamin D in primary care patients from the Middle East and Sweden
Authors: Taloyan Marina , Steiner Kristin , Östenson Claes-Göran , Salminen Helena
Published: July 2020

Background

Low vitamin D is more common in Middle Eastern-born patients (Middle Easterners) than in Swedish-born patients of northern European descent (Swedes), and the condition might affect sexual health. The present study (i) investigated primary care (PC) patients (ii) compared self-reported sexual health in Swedes and Middle Easterners; (iii) analysed differences within and between the groups and (iv) analysed differences in vitamin D levels between the groups.
Methods

522 PC patients responded to a health questionnaire that included items on sexual health. All provided blood samples: 225 Middle Easterners from Iran, Iraq, and Turkey and 297 Swedes. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR).
Results

Middle Easterners reported less sexual dysfunction than Swedes; 75.8% of Middle Easterners and 18.9% of Swedes presented a 25(OH)D of < 50 nmol/L. The crude OR for reporting sexual dysfunction was 70% higher in Swedes compared to Middle Easterners (OR 1.50, 95% CI 0.92–3.23). This OR remained significant after adjustment for age, gender, waist circumference, and reported sexual desire. But the significance disappeared after additional adjustment for vitamin D. In both groups, more females than males reported insufficient sexual desire. More female Middle Easterners reported sex life dissatisfaction. More female Swedes reported sexual dysfunction. Covariate inclusions could not explain the association between gender and insufficient sexual desire. Vitamin D could explain association between gender and sex life dissatisfaction in Middle Easterners, and age could explain association between gender and sexual dysfunction in Swedes. Age, waist circumference, and vitamin D levels were significant covariates in the logistic regression models.
Conclusions

Results from the present study suggest that vitamin D variation partly explains differences in sexual dysfunction between the groups and between genders within the groups. Vitamin D therapy should be investigated to determine if these results are clinically useful. That said, perceptions about sex life and mental health (rather the physiological pathology) might explain the results. And further investigation into female Middle Easterners and female Swedes is warranted.
Transmission Potential and Forecasting The Number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Hubei Province, China
Authors: Wang Ke-wei , Gao Jie , Wang Hua , Wu Xiao-long , Yuan Qin-fang , Cheng Yang
Published: July 2020

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. We aimed to describe the temporal and spatial distribution and the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 and to assess whether a hybrid model can forecast the trend of COVID-19 in Hubei Province, China. Method: The data of COVID-19 cases were obtained from the websites of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, whereas the data on the resident population were obtained from the websites of Hubei Provincial Bureau of Statistics. The temporal and spatial distribution and the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 were described. A combination of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and support vector machine was constructed to forecast the trend of COVID-19. Results: A total of 56,062 confirmed COVID-19 cases, which were mainly concentrated in Wuhan, were reported from January 16 to March 16, 2020 in Hubei Province, China. The daily number of confirmed cases exponentially increased to 3,156 before February 4, 2020, fluctuated to 4,823 before February 13, 2020, and then markedly decreased to 1 after March 16, 2020. The highest mean reproduction number R(t) of 9.48 was recorded on January 16, 2020, after which it decreased to 2.15 on February 2, 2020 and further decreased to less than 1 on February 13, 2020. In the modeling stage, the mean square error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percentage error of the hybrid ARIMA–SVM model decreased by 98.59%, 89.19% and 89.68%, and those of SVM decreased by 98.58%, 87.71%, and 88.94%, respectively, compared with the ARIMA model. Similar results were obtained in the forecasting stage.Conclusion: Public health interventions resulted in the terminal phase of COVID-19 in Hubei province. The hybrid ARIMA–SVM model may be a reliable tool for forecasting the trend of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Observation of strong excitonic magneto-chiral anisotropy in twisted bilayer van der Waals crystals
Authors: Lan Shoufeng , Liu Xiaoze , Wang Siqi , Zhu Hanyu , Liu Yawen , Gong Cheng , Yang Sui , Shi Jing , Wang Yuan , Zhang Xiang
Published: July 2020

The interplay between chirality and magnetism generates a distinct physical process, the magneto-chiral effect, which enables one to develop functionalities that cannot be achieved solely by any of the two. Such a process is universal with the breaking of parity-inversion and time-reversal symmetry simultaneously. However, the magneto-chiral effect observed so far is weak when the matter responds to photons, electrons, or phonons. Here we report the first observation of strong magneto-chiral response to excitons in a twisted bilayer tungsten disulfide with the amplitude of excitonic magneto-chiral (ExMCh) anisotropy reaches a value of ~4%. We further found the ExMCh anisotropy features with a spectral splitting of ~7 nm, precisely the full-width at half maximum of the excitonic chirality spectrum. Without an externally applied strong magnetic field, the observed ExMCh effect with a spontaneous magnetic moment from the ferromagnetic substrate of thulium iron garnet at room temperature is favorable for device applications. The unique ExMCh processes provide a new pathway to actively control magneto-chiral applications in photochemical reactions, asymmetric synthesis, and drug delivery.
Imaging Features of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Bile Duct Tumor Thrombus: A Multicenter Study
Authors: Huang Li-Ming , Wu Jun-Yi , Bai Yan-Nan , Wu Jia-Yi , Wei Yong-Gang , Zhang Zhi-Bo , Yan Mao-Lin
Published: July 2020

Background: There are still difficult and challenging problems in diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) before operation. This study aimed to analyze the imaging features of HCC with B1-B3 BDTT. Methods: The clinicopathological data and imaging findings of 30 HCC patients with B1-B3 BDTT from three high-volume institutions were retrospectively reviewed. Eighteen patients underwent computed tomography (CT) scans and twelve patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans before operation, respectively. The diagnosis of HCC with BDTT was conﬁrmed by postoperative pathologic examination.Results: According to Japanese classification, 5 patients were classified as B1 BDTT, 12 B2, 13 B3, and 82 B4, respectively. The HCC lesions were detected in all patients, and the localized bile duct dilation were detected in 28 (93.3%) patients. The BDTT was observed in all B3 patients and 3 B2 patients, but it was not observed in all B1 patients on CT or MRI. The BDTT showed relatively hypoattenuation on plain CT scans and T1W images, relatively hyperattenuation signals on T2W. The BDTT showed hyperattenuation at hepatic arterial phase with washout at portal venous phase. The localized biliary dilation showed no enhancement at hepatic arterial phase and no progressively delayed enhancement at portal venous phase, but it was more obvious at portal venous phase on CT.Conclusions: The HCC lesions and the localized bile duct dilatation on CT or MRI scans are imaging features of HCC with BDTT, which might facilitate the early diagnosis for B1-B3 BDTT.
A Reconfigurable Analog Back-End for CubeSat Communications
Authors: Alvarez-Flores José L. , Flores-Troncoso Jorge , Sandoval-Arechiga Remberto , Castillo Joel A. , Simon Jorge , Hernandez-Calviño Manuel , Soriano-Equigua Leonel
Published: July 2020

Current small satellite platforms such as CubeSats, require robust and versatile communication subsystems that allow the reconfiguration of the critical operation parameters such as carrier frequency, transmission power, bandwidth, or filter roll-off factor. In this paper, a reconfigurable Analog Back-End for CubeSat communications is proposed. This prototype is implemented using CAD software, on a 6-layer PCB of 10 cm^2 to implement a transceiver that operates from 0.070 to 6 GHz and complying with CubeSat and IPC-2221 standards. An Software-Defined Radio approach implemented on a baseband processor is used for control purposes. Measurements showed that the signal power at the output of the proposed analog back-end is suitable to feed the subsequent antenna subsystem.
Vitamin D Levels in Pregnant Congolese Women and Their New-Borns, and the Association with Neonatal Outcomes – A Pilot Study
Authors: Dhillon Gurpreet , Rai Sunil , Dhillon Harpreet , Sasidharan Shibu , Kimweri Costa , Shibu Babitha , Mbackѐ Mame Diarra , Singh Suneeta , Singh Vijay
Published: July 2020

Background: This study was thus undertaken to study the estimation of vitamin D levels in pregnant women and their newborns in DRC and to study its association with various neonatal outcomes. Methods: Observational study done on 569 pregnant women and their newborn babies. Sample obtained from maternal serum and cord blood from the placental end during peripartum period. The data was analysed to estimate the prevalence of vitamin D levels in mothers and newborns and to identify association, if any, between maternal vitamin D levels and neonatal outcomes.Results: 464 mothers had sufficient vitamin D (VDS) levels (>30 ng/dL) and 105 had vitamin D deficiency (VDD) with mean maternal serum vitamin D level of 35.63ng/ml (SD 6.18, range 9.2-39.8). All the newborns (n=569) were vitamin D deficient (<30ng/ml). The percentage of LBW babies born to VDD mothers was 18.09%, which was very similar to the percentage of LBW babies born to VDS mothers (18.31%) (p=0.76456749). The incidence of caesarean section was 58.09% in the vitamin D deficient (VDD) group as compared to 19.61% in the sufficient (VDS) group (p<0.0005). The incidence of preterm births was 10.77% in the sufficient group (VDS) as compared to 17.14% in the vitamin D deficient (VDD) group (p=0.038). Conclusion: Our findings will help health professionals, policy makers, and the general public in Africa aware of the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and the associated health risks.
The Effectiveness of Laid-back Position on Lactation Related Nipple problems and comfort: A meta-analysis
Authors: WANG Zhi , LIU Qiuyue , MIN Lihua , MAO Xiaorong
Published: July 2020

Background The importance of breastfeeding for maternal and child health has become an international consensus. However, it has been found that lactation-related nipple problems are common and there are some important factors affecting the effectiveness of breastfeeding. Multiple studies recommended the laid-back breastfeeding, but the researches are on various levels of quality and the results are controversial.Methods We systematically searched the following twelve databases: Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline, Ovid, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Scopus, SinoMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang, and VIP from inception to January 28,2020. All studies reporting the laid-back breastfeeding or biological nurturing were considered, regardless of they are randomized controlled trials. Two trained investigators independently evaluated the quality of the included the articles and screened the data. All the data were analyzed separately using Review Manager Version 5.3 and STATA/SE Version 15.1. Results A total of 12 studies involving 1,936 groups of postpartum women and their newborns were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that nipple trauma (RR = 0.47; 95% CI 0.29,0.75; p < 0.002), nipple pain (RR = 0.25; 95% CI 0.20,0.32; p < 0.00001), the correct posture of latching (RR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.11,1.33; p < 0.00001)and position comfort (ES = 0.01; 95%CI -0.28,0.30; p = 0.006) of experimental group were all better than control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( p < 0.05), which indicates that the laid-back position has a positive effect on maternal breastfeeding. Conclusion Laid-back position has significant advantages in decreasing the incidence of nipple trauma and nipple pain compared with traditional breastfeeding postures, and it appears that laid-back position is conducive to the correct posture of latching. However, current evidence does not show different breastfeeding outcomes in the two groups of position comfort. Laid-back position is helpful to solve lactation-related nipple problems and it can be used as a recommended position for breastfeeding. Key words: Breast-feeding, Biological Nurturing, Laid-back Breastfeeding, Meta-Analysis