bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
1-1-8 one-step sevoflurane wash-in scheme for low-flow anesthesia: simple, rapid, and predictable induction
Authors: Tribuddharat Sirirat , Sathitkarnmanee Thepakorn , Vattanasiriporn Naruemon , Thananun Maneerat , Nonlhaopol Duangthida , Somdee Wilawan
Published: December 2019

Background Sevoflurane is suitable for low-flow anesthesia (LFA). LFA needs a wash-in phase. The reported sevoflurane wash-in schemes lack simplicity, target coverage, and applicability. We proposed a one-step 1-1-8 wash-in scheme for sevoflurane LFA to be used with both N 2 O and Air. The objective of our study was to identify time for achieving each level of alveolar concentration of sevoflurane (F A S) from 1% to 3.5% in both contexts.Methods We recruited 199 adults requiring general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation and controlled ventilation—102 in group N 2 O and 97 in group Air. After induction and intubation, a wash-in was started using a fresh gas flow of O 2 :N 2 O or O 2 :Air at 1:1 L·min -1 plus sevoflurane 8%. The ventilation was controlled to maintain end-tidal CO 2 of 30-35 mmHg.Results The rising patterns of F A S and inspired concentration of sevoflurane (F I S) are similar, running parallel between the groups. The F A S/F I S ratio increased from 0.46 to 0.72 within 260 sec in group N 2 O and from 0.42 to 0.69 within 286 sec in group Air. The respective time to achieve an F A S of 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%, and 3.5% was 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 3.5, and 4.5 min in group N 2 O and 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 5 min in group Air. The heart rate and blood pressure of both groups significantly increased initially then gradually decreased as F A S increased.Conclusions The 1-1-8 wash-in scheme for sevoflurane LFA has many advantages, including simplicity, coverage, swiftness, safety, economy, and that it can be used with both N 2 O and Air. A respective F A S of 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%, and 3.5% when used with N 2 O and Air can be expected at 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 3.5, and 4.5 min and 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 5 min. This scheme may be applied for sevoflurane LFA in situations where an anesthetic gas analyzer is unavailable.
The effect of comorbidities for the prognosis of community-acquired pneumonia: an epidemiologic study using a hospital surveillance in Japan
Authors: Nguyen Mai Thi Ngoc , Saito Nobuyuki , Wagatsuma Yukiko
Published: December 2019

Objective Pneumonia is a common but serious illness that continues to present significant morbidity and mortality. Although the effect of severity at admission on outcome has been well reported, the role of comorbidity is still not widely understood. The Charlson Comorbidity Index measures comorbidity with a well-established history of predicting long-term outcome but its utility in pneumonia prognosis is still limited. Here, we use the Charlson Comorbidity Index and hospital surveillance data to investigate associations between comorbidities and in-hospital mortality due to community-acquired pneumonia.Results Among the 535 eligible adult patients (69.0% male, median [IQR] age, 79 [70-84] years), 100 (18.7%) acquired severe to extremely severe pneumonia. The median [IQR] CCI was 1[1-3]. Malignancy (129 of 535, 24.1%), chronic pulmonary diseases (113 of 535, 21.1%) and congestive heart failure (103 of 535, 19.3%) were frequent. Higher Charlson Comorbidity Index scores were associated with higher risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.07-1.53). These results support the inclusion of comorbid burden in predicting community-acquired pneumonia outcome.
Can introvoxel incoherent motion MRI be used to differentiate patients with placenta accreta spectrum disorders?
Authors: Lu Tao , Pu Hong , Li Kuide , Mei Jie , Huang Meng-wei , Wang Shao-yu
Published: December 2019

Objective Background The incidence of PAS disorders increased rapidly in recent years, and introvoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) MRI has been applied in the assessment of placenta. The study aims to investigate whether the parameters from IVIM can be used to differentiate patients with PAS disorders complicating placenta previa and secondly to differentiate different categories of PAS disorders. Methods The study participants were comprised of 99 patients with placenta previa, including 16 patients with placenta accreta, 51 patients with increta, 8 patients with percreta and 24 patients without PAS disorders between 28+0 and 39+6 weeks. IVIM MRI was performed on a 1.5T scanner. Perfusion fraction (f), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*) and standard diffusion coefficient (D) were calculated. Results Women with PAS disorders had a higher perfusion fraction (p=0.019) than women without the disease. Multiple comparisons showed perfusion fraction in patients without PAS disorders was significantly lower than in patients with placenta accreta and percreta(P=0.018 and 0.033 respectively), but was not lower than in patients with increta(p=1). Conclusion Patients with placenta accreta and percreta differed in placental perfusion fraction from women with increta and without PAS disorders.
Diagnostic potential of ultrasound in carpal tunnel syndrome with different etiologies: correlation of sonographic median nerve measures with electrodiagnostic severity.
Authors: Elnady Basant , Rageh Elsayed M , Ekhouly Tohamy H. , Fathy Sabry M. , Alshaar Mohamed , Fouda El Saeed , Attar Mohammed , Abdelaal Ahmed M. , Tantawi Ahmed El , Algethami Mohammed M , Bong David Andrew
Published: December 2019

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the commonest entrapment neuropathy. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and validity of high resolution musculoskeletal ultrasound (US) in the diagnosis of CTS in the Saudi population. Methods: Sixty patients were diagnosed clinically to have CTS involving 89 wrists that were confirmed by neurophysiologic studies. Each affected wrist was characterized as idiopathic or associated with either diabetes mellitus or hypothyroidism and were assigned a severity grade based on results of neurophysiologic studies. Seventy-six healthy wrists from fifty age, sex and BMI matched healthy subjects were included in the control group . High resolution ultrasound (US) was performed to assess median nerve cross sectional area distal (CSAd) at the entry to the carpal tunnel and proximally (CSAp) at the level of pronator quadratus muscle with a further calculation of their difference (ΔCSA) and their mean average or CSAd+CSAp/2 (CSApd) . Results: There was a significant difference between both groups regarding mean ±SD of CSAd, CSAp, ∆CSA, and CSApd (p = 0.0001). A positive significant correlation was also found between the CSAd, ∆ CSA and the CSApd measurements with neurophysiologic severity grade of CTS (P=0.001). A ∆CSA threshold of 2.5 mm 2 showed the highest sensitivity and specificity to diagnose CTS in Saudis. Conclusion High resolution ultrasound is a valid and accurate diagnostic modality in carpal tunnel syndrome and correlated to CTS severity. A ∆CSA greater than 2.5 mm 2 is considered a valid diagnostic value for CTS in our Saudi population. CTS in our patients with diabetes tend to have greater median nerve US measurement values.
Different transcriptional response between susceptible and resistant common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fish hints on the mechanism of CyHV-3 disease resistance
Authors: Tadmor-Levi Roni , Doron-Faigenboim Adi , Marcos-Haddad Jenny , Petit Jules , Hulata Gideon , Forlenza Maria , Wiegertjes Geert F. , David Lior
Published: December 2019

Background Infectious disease outbreaks form major setbacks to aquaculture production and to further development of this important sector. Cyprinid herpes virus-3 (CyHV-3) is a dsDNA virus widely hampering production of common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ), one of the most farmed fish species worldwide. Genetically disease resistant strains are highly sought after as a sustainable solution to this problem. To study the genetic basis and cellular pathways underlying disease resistance, RNA-Seq was used to characterize transcriptional responses of susceptible and resistant fish at day 4 after CyHV-3 infection. Results In susceptible fish, over four times more differentially expressed genes were up-regulated between day 0 and 4 compared to resistant fish. Susceptible and resistant fish responded distinctively to infection as only 55 (9%) of the up-regulated genes were shared by these two fish types. Susceptible fish elicited a typical anti-viral response, involving interferon and interferon responsive genes, earlier than resistant fish did. Furthermore, chemokine profiles indicated that the two fish types elicited different cellular immunity responses. A comparative phylogenetic approach assisted in chemokine copies annotation pointing to different orthologous copies common to bony-fishes and even carp-specific paralogs that were differentially regulated and contributed to the different response of these two fish types. Susceptible fish up-regulated more ccl19 chemokines, which attract T-cells and macrophages, the anti-viral role of which is established, whereas resistant fish up-regulated more cxcl8/il8 chemokines, which attract neutrophils, the antiviral role of which is unfamiliar. Conclusions Taken together, by pointing out transcriptional differences between susceptible and resistant fish in response to CyHV-3 infection, this study unraveled possible genes and pathways that take part in disease resistance mechanisms in fish and thus, enhances our understanding of fish immunogenetics and supports the development of sustainable and safe aquaculture.
Comparative physiological and biochemical mechanisms of salt tolerance in five contrasting highland quinoa cultivars
Authors: Cai Zhiquan , Gao Qi
Published: December 2019

Background: Chenopodium quinoa Willd., a halophytic crop, shows great variability among different genotypesin response to salt. To investigate the salinitytolerance mechanisms, five contrasting quinoa cultivars belonging to highland ecotype were compared for their seed germination (under 0, 100 and 400 mM NaCl) and seedling’s responses under five salinity levels (0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 mM NaCl). Results: Substantial variations were found in plant size (biomass) and overall salinity tolerance (plant biomass in salt treatment as % of control) among the different quinoa cultivars. Plant salinity tolerance was negatively associated with plant size, especially at lower salinity levels (<300 mM NaCl), but salt tolerance between seed germination and seedling growth is was not closely correlated. Except for shoot/root ratio, all measured plant traits responded to salt in a genotype-specific way. Salt stress resulted in decreased plant height, leaf area, root length, and root/shoot ratio in each cultivar. With increasing salinity levels, leaf superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and lipid peroxidation generally increased, but catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities showed non-linear patterns. Organic solutes (soluble sugar, proline and protein) accumulated in leaves, whereas inorganic ion (Na + and K + )increased but K + /Na + decreased in both leaves and roots. Across different salinity levels and cultivars, without close relationships with antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, POD, or CAT), salinity tolerance was significantly negatively correlated with leaf organic solute and malondialdehyde contents in leaves and inorganic ion contents in leaves or roots ( not except for root K + content), but positively correlated with K + /Na + ratio in leaves or roots. Conclusion: Our results establish indicate ed that leaf osmoregulation, K + retention, Na + exclusion, and ion homeostasis are the main physiological mechanisms conferring salinity tolerance of these cultivars, rather than the regulations of leaf antioxidative ability.As an index of salinity tolerance, K + /Na + ratio in leaves or roots can be used for the selective breeding of highland quinoa cultivars.
Two-way Messaging Therapy for Depression and Anxiety: Longitudinal Response Trajectories
Authors: Hull Thomas Derrick , Malgaroli Matteo , Connolly Philippa , Feuerstein Seth , Simon Naomi
Published: December 2019

Background: Telemedicine is a strategy for overcoming barriers to access evidence-based psychotherapy. Digital modalities that operate outside session-based treatment formats, such as ongoing two-way messaging, may further address these challenges. However, no study to date has established suitability criteria for this medium. Methods: A large outpatient sample (n = 10,718) engaged in daily messaging with licensed clinicians from a telemedicine provider. Patients consisted of individuals from urban and rural settings in all 50 states of the US, who signed to a telemedicine provider. Using a longitudinal design, symptoms changes were observed during a 12 week treatment course. Symptoms were assessed from baseline every three weeks using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) for anxiety. Demographics and engagement metrics, such as word count for both patients and therapists, were also assessed. Growth mixture modeling was used to tease symptoms trajectories, and identify predictors of treatment response. Results: Two subpopulations had GAD-7 and PHQ-9 remission outcomes (Recovery and Acute Recovery, 30.7% of patients), while two others showed amelioration of symptoms (Depression and Anxiety Improvement, 36.9% of patients). Two subpopulations experienced no changes in symptoms (Chronic and Elevated Chronic, 32.4% of patients). Higher use of written communication, patient characteristics, and engagement metrics reliably distinguished patients with the greatest level of remission (Recovery and Acute Recovery groups). Conclusions: Remission of depression and anxiety symptoms was observed during delivery of psychotherapy through messaging. Improvements rate were consistent with face-to-face therapy, suggesting the suitability of two-way messaging psychotherapy delivery. Characteristics of improving patients were identified and could be used for treatment recommendation. These findings suggest the opportunity for further research, to directly compare messaging delivery with a control group of treatment as usual.
HIV Status Disclosure and its associated factors among Children on Antiretroviral Therapy in West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia, 2019: A Mixed method cross-sectional study
Authors: Shallo Seifadn Ahmed , Tassew Mesfin
Published: December 2019

Background Evidences from previous studies claim that informing children about their HIV status has long term positive implications in the HIV disease management, children's quality of life and ART drug adherence. However, in many parts of the Sub-Saharan African Countries, the HIV status disclosure among children reaches from 0 to 69.2%. Since the issue of disclosure is complex and highly influenced by socio-cultural characters and perception of the community towards HIV disease, it is important to investigate the up to date evidence which will help in designing contextualized approaches for disclosure. The objective of the current study was to assess the HIV status disclosure and its associated factors among children on ART in West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia.Methods Institutional based quantitative cross-sectional study supplemented by qualitative was conducted from February to April /2019 among 247 caregivers and or their children.Results The mean age of the children was 11.11±SD2.8, and 43.6%, (95% CI: 37, 50.9) of the children were fully disclosed. The average age at disclosure was 11 ±SD2.12. The main reasons for the disclosure were for drug adherence and better self-care, while underage was the commonest reason for nondisclosure. Compared to the age (10-15) years, the child in the age (6-9) was 97% [AOR: 0.027, 95% CI: 0.003, 0.22, P<0.001] less likely to be disclosed. Female children were 2.7 times more likely to be disclosed compared to males children [AOR: 2.73, 95% CI: 1.24, 6, P<0.013].Conclusion The current finding reveals that the HIV status disclosure is generally low, and the decision to disclose or not to do so is affected by many factors like child age, and child sex. This will affect directly or indirectly the child drug adherence, treatment outcome and also disease transmission.
The integration preference of Sleeping Beauty at non-TA site is related to the transposon end sequences
Authors: Zhou Yiting , Ma Guangwei , Yang Jiawen , Guo Yabin
Published: December 2019

Background: Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon had been thought to strictly integrate into TA dinucleotides. Recently, we found that SB also integrates into non-TA sites at a lower frequency. Here we performed further study on the non-TA integration of SB. Results: 1) SB can integrate into non-TA sites in HEK293T cells as well as in mouse cell lines. 2) Both the hyperactive transposase SB100X and the traditional SB11 catalyze integrations at non-TA sites. 3) The consensus sequence of the non-TA target sites only occur at the opposite side of the sequenced junction between transposon end and the genomic sequences, indicating that the integrations at non-TA sites are mainly aberrant integrations. 4) The consensus sequence of the non-TA target sites is corresponding to the transposon end sequence. When the transposon end sequence is mutated, the consensus sequences changed too. Conclusion: The interaction between the SB transposon end and genomic DNA may be involved in the target site selection of the SB integrations at non-TA sites.
Identifying cases of chronic pain using health administrative data: A validation study
Authors: Foley Heather E , Knight John C , Ploughman Michelle , Asghari Shabnam , Audas Rick
Published: December 2019

Background: Chronic pain is a pervasive and challenging public health issue. Prevalence estimates vary widely, both globally (2-54%) and in Canada (6.5-44%). Most estimates are derived from surveys, which are expensive and labour intensive. Health administrative data is a potential easily-accessed, low-cost method to obtain epidemiological and cost estimates of chronic pain, but its validity as a source to ascertain cases of this complex and multi-faceted condition is unknown. The purpose of this study was to derive and validate an algorithm to identify cases of chronic pain using health administrative data.Methods: A reference standard was developed and applied to the electronic medical records data of a general population sample participating in the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network. Preliminary chronic pain algorithms were then created and refined through health administrative data analysis of four populations with known chronic pain diagnoses. Classification performance of the chronic pain administrative data algorithms was compared to that of the reference standard, and statistical tests of selection accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, likelihood ratio positive, likelihood ratio negative, diagnostic odds ratio, Kappa agreement, and area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve) were calculated. Results: The optimal algorithm to ascertain cases of chronic pain from health administrative data was a combination of one chronic pain clinic procedure code OR five physician claims with a pain-related diagnostic code in five years with more than 183 days separating at least two claims. The sensitivity was 0.703 (0.684-0.721 95% confidence interval), the specificity was 0.668 (0.657-0.679 95% confidence interval), and the positive predictive value was 0.408(0.398-0.418 95% confidence interval). The Chronic Pain Algorithm identified 37.6% of a Newfoundland and Labrador provincial cohort. Conclusions: Health administrative data is a valid source for information on chronic pain in Canada. The optimal chronic pain algorithm can be used to determine epidemiology and health care utilization statistics on people seeking physician care for chronic pain, and to evaluate cost effectiveness of any change to policy or health service delivery.
Analysis of long non-coding RNA expression profiles in vascular endothelial cells with hyperglycemia-induced damage
Authors: Xu Erqin , Hu Xiaolei , Li Xiaoli , Jin Guoxi , Zhuang Langen , Wang Qiong , Pei Xiaoyan
Published: December 2019

Background: Diabetes mellitus is often associated with microvascular and macrovascular lesions, and hyperglycemia-induced vascular endothelial cell damage is a key factor. Methods: We investigated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and mRNAs that are affected by hyperglycemia-induced damage using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) as a model. HUVECs were cultured under high (25 mmol/L) or normal (5 mmol/L) glucose conditions for 6 d, and then lncRNAs and protein-coding transcripts were profiled by RNA-seq. Results: Among 40,379 lncRNAs screened, 214 were upregulated (log2 [fold-change] > 1, FDR < 0.05) and 197 were downregulated (log2 [fold-change] < −1, FDR < 0.05) in response to high-glucose. Furthermore, among 28,431 protein-coding genes screened, 778 were upregulated and 998 were downregulated. A total of 945 lncRNA/mRNA pairs were identified, including 126 differentially expressed lncRNAs predicted to target 201 mRNAs, among which 26 were cis-regulatory interactions. The corresponding lncRNA-mRNA network was composed of 354 lncRNA nodes, 1,167 mRNA nodes and 9,735 edges. Dozens of lncRNAs with high degree may play important roles in high-glucose-induced HUVEC damage, including ENST00000600527, NONHSAT037576.2, NONHSAT135706.2, ENST00000602127, NONHSAT200243.1, NONHSAT217282.1, NONHSAT176260.1, NONHSAT199075.1, NONHSAT067063.2, NONHSAT058417.2. Conclusion: These observations may provide novel insights into the regulatory molecules and pathways of hyperglycemia-related endothelial dysfunction in diabetes-associated vascular disease. Keywords：lncRNA, diabetes mellitus, HUVECs, expression profiling, hyperglycemia, RNA-seq
gNOMO: a multi-omics pipeline for integrated host and microbiome analysis of non-model organisms
Authors: Muñoz-Benavent Maria , Hartkopf Felix , Bossche Tim Van Den , Piro Vitor C. , García-Ferris Carlos , Latorre Amparo , Renard Bernhard Y. , Muth Thilo
Published: December 2019

Background The study of bacterial symbioses has grown exponentially in the recent past. However, existing bioinformatic workflows of microbiome data analysis do commonly not integrate multiple meta-omics levels and are mainly geared towards human microbiomes. Microbiota are better understood when analyzed in their biological context, which is together with their host or environment, but this is a limitation when studying non-model organisms mainly due to the lack of well-annotated sequence references. Results Here, we present gNOMO, a bioinformatic pipeline that is specifically designed to process and analyze non-model organism samples of up to three meta-omics levels: metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metaproteomics in an integrative manner. The pipeline has been developed using the Snakemake framework in order to obtain an automated and reproducible workflow. One of the key features is the on-the-fly creation of a tailored proteogenomic database based on metagenomics and metatranscriptomics data, leading to improved protein identification, taxonomic and functional analysis. gNOMO combines meta-omics analysis of the host with its bacterial population and allows to investigate both host and microbiome of non-model organisms with commonly insufficiently complete reference databases. Conclusions Using experimental datasets of the German cockroach Blattella germanica , a non-model organism with very complex gut microbiome, we show the capabilities of gNOMO with regard to meta-omics data integration, expression ratio comparison, taxonomic and functional analysis as well as intuitive output visualization. gNOMO includes functional information of metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metaproteomics data of the microbiome in the same visualization facilitating the interpretation of the results. Moreover, host data can be analyzed in parallel to obtain an equivalent output that allows to study the metabolic situation of the whole symbiotic system. Finally, the metaproteomics identification and annotation are optimized using a tailored proteogenomics database automatically obtained within the gNOMO workflow. In conclusion, gNOMO is a fully automated pipeline, for integrating and analyzing multiple meta-omics data and for producing useful output visualizations. In addition, it is specifically designed for data from non-model organisms. The gNOMO pipeline is freely available under the Apache 2.0 open-source license and can be downloaded from https://gitlab.com/rki_bioinformatics/gnomo .
Integrity transcriptome and proteome analyses provide new insights into the mechanisms regulating peel cracking in Akebia trifoliata fruit
Authors: Niu Juan , Shi Yaliang , Huang Kunyong , Zhong Yicheng , Chen Jing , Sun Zhimin , Luan Mingbao , Chen Jianhua
Published: December 2019

Background Akebia trifoliata (Thunb.) Koidz, can be used as a new potential candidate biofuel and bioenergy crop due to its high productivity, adaptability and tolerance to cultivation conditions. However, the pericarp of A. trifoliata cracks open longitudinally and disperses its seeds along the ventral suture during fruit ripening, which is a serious problem that limits the usefulness of its biofuel feedstocks and causes significant losses of yield and commercial value. However, there have been no known previous investigations of the fruit cracking and its molecular mechanisms in A. trifoliata.Results The dynamic structural changes of the fruit peels were observed. In the non-cracking stage of growth, the exocarp was dense, had an orderly arrangement, and the cuticle was complete and distributed continuously. However, the cells became thinner, had reduced integrity, lost cell wall structures, and there was cell wall break down, in the fruit cracking stage. Moreover, analysis of the complementary RNA sequencing based transcriptomes and tandem mass tag based proteomes at different development stages of the fruit ripening, were performed to detect the genes and proteins related to the fruit cracking in A. trifoliata. A total of 20 differentially expressed genes and 17 differentially abundant proteins were identified from the transcriptomics and proteomics data that contribute to the fruit cracking, by participating in the biosynthesis of the phenylpropanoid pathway, galactose metabolism, pentose, and glucuronate interconversions, starch and sucrose metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism. Several candidate genes and proteins related to pentose and glucuronate interconversions (pectate lyases and pectinesterase) and galactose metabolism (β-galactosidases 1 and β-galactosidases 2) may play key roles in A. trifoliata fruit cracking.Conclusions Complementary transcriptome and proteome level analyses indicated that a complex molecular network was controlling the fruit cracking process. This study provides new insights into the molecular basis of fruit cracking in A. trifoliata fruits. The candidate genes/proteins identified in this study may be useful for the genetic improvement of A. trifoliata and other crops.
Identifying Leading Indicators of System Resilience and the Strategy for Developing Them: A Review of Reviews
Authors: Pereira Nichole , Churruca Kate , Egan Rylan , Ellis Louise A. , Braithwaite Jeffrey , Nizamani Sundus , Austin Elizabeth E. , Long Janet C. , Clay-Williams Robyn
Published: December 2019

Background: System resilience describes the performance or capacity of a system to absorb and adapt in response to stressors and perturbations. This protocol outlines the search strategy to identify indicators or metrics of system resilience from across diverse fields and examine the methods/processes for developing these indicators or metrics.Methods: This protocol is grounded in the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Scoping Review methodology. We will search Web of Science and Scopus for reviews that report on system resilience assessment and measurement techniques. We will also employ snowball sampling techniques. Due to the breadth of the topic, this search will be limited to systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or literature reviews with a structured, documented search strategy reporting on primary research studies published in the English language. We will not limit the search by date or discipline. Reviews that report on psychological resilience or resilience at the level of an individual will be excluded. Discussion: The ability to assess or measure resilience is important to identify risks, opportunities, and strategies to influence sustained, reliable, and predictable sy­stem operations. We hypothesise that there are commonalities in the types of indicators used and how they are developed. These patterns may have relevance to other fields, like healthcare. The findings from this review may help others develop their own indicators and assessment strategies for understanding resilience within their own systems. Ethics and Dissemination: This study is ethics exempt. We will disseminate the results of this work at national and international quality and safety conferences, and through publication of a manuscript.
A visualized pulmonary arterial thrombus by using a new echocardiographic view in an intermediate-risk a cute pulmonary embolism patient: a case report
Authors: Mu Guanyu , Li Feixue , Chen Xiaolin , Zhao Bo , Li Guangping , Fu Huaying
Published: December 2019

BackgroundAcute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a life-threatening disease with nonspecific clinical signs and symptoms. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is crucial for the clinical management of patients with acute pulmonary embolism. A new recommended echocardiography view may be of further help in the diagnosis, evaluate the change of the thrombosis and treatment effect.Case presentationWe report a case of a 74-year-old man with a 12-day history of decreased exercise capacity and dyspnoea. The patient was diagnosed intermediate-risk APE as several pulmonary emboli in pulmonary artery were seen in multidetector computed tomographic pulmonary angiography with normal blood pressure and echocardiographic right ventricular overload. And we found a pulmonary artery clot in the right pulmonary artery through transthoracic echocardiography. After 11-days anticoagulation, the patient underwent a reassessment, showed decrease in RV diameter and pulmonary artery thrombus. ConclusionThis case highlights the significant role that echocardiography played in a patient who presented pulmonary embolism with a stable hemodynamic situation and normal blood pressure. The new echocardiographic view could provide correct diagnoses by identifying the clot size and location visually. Knowledge of the echocardiography results of APE would aid the diagnosis.
Seq-SymRF: A random forest model predict potential miRNA-disease associations based on information of sequences and clinical symptoms
Authors: Li Jinlong , Chen Xingyu , Huang Qixing , Wang Yang , Xie Yun , Dai Zong , Zou Xiaoyong , Li Zhanchao
Published: December 2019

Background: MicroRNA (MiRNA) plays a vital role in biological processes and closely relate with various human diseases. Research on the miRNA-disease associations contributes to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, as well as the identification of new drugs and the discovery of lead compounds. Since traditional experiment methods are time-consuming and expensive, it is necessary to develop an efficient and accurate theoretical approach to identify potential miRNA-disease associations. Results: In this study, a sequence- and symptom-based random forest classifier model (Seq-SymRF) was constructed to identify the potential associations between miRNA and disease. Compared with existing methods, features derived from only sequence information were used to characterize miRNA. More importantly, clinical symptoms were utilized to represent disease. Moreover, the clustering method by calculating the Euclidean distance was implemented to construct the reliable negative sample. Based on the five-fold cross-validation, the model achieved the accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, precision and Matthews correlation coefficient of 98.00%, 99.43%, 96.58%, 99.40% and 0.9604, respectively. The areas under receiver operating characteristic curve and precision recall curve were 0.9967 and 0.9975, respectively. Additionally, case study was implemented with leukemia, breast neoplasms and hsa-mir-21. Most of top-25 predicted disease-related miRNAs (36/50 for leukemia; 33/50 for breast neoplasms) and 32 of top-50 predicted miRNA-related diseases were verified by literature and dbDEMC database. Conclusion: We proposed a new method, named Seq-SymRF, for predicting miRNA-disease associations, which could be regarded as a powerful high-throughput virtual screening tool for drug research and development.
From Plasmodium vivax outbreak to elimination: lessons learnt from a retrospective analysis of data from Guantang
Authors: Yang Guo-Jing , Liu Ying , Shang Le-Yuan , Zhang Hong-Wei , Zhou Xiao-Nong , Penny Melissa A. , Smith Thomas A.
Published: December 2019

Background: Malaria was once a serious public health problem in China with Plasmodium vivax the major species responsible for more than 90% of local transmission. Following significant integrated malaria control and elimination programs, malaria burden declined, and by 2017 China recorded no indigenous cases. To understand the historical malaria transmission patterns and epidemic characteristics in China and insights useful to guide P. vivax malaria control and elimination elsewhere, a retrospective study was carried out. Materials and Methods: Historical data from a pilot study conducted in Guantang, Luyi in central China from 1971-1995, were digitised. The data included monthly numbers of reported cases, febrile cases, parasite carriage rates, the neonatal infection rate, and entomological data from Anopheles sinensis. Results: Following 25 years of continuous integrated malaria control activities, malaria incidence in Guantang decreased from 4,333 cases per 10,000 in 1970 before integrated implementation to 0.23 cases per 10,000 in 1991, and no cases in 1992-1995. Some fluctuations in incidence were observed between 1977 and 1981. During the period parasite rates, antibody levels and the neonatal infection rate also decreased. The pattern of seasonality confirmed that P. vivax in Henan Province was primarily of long incubation type (temperate) during non-transmission period. The findings retrospectively provide a scientific basis for the implementation of mass campaigns of liver stage hypnozoite clearance. Entomological studies indicated that An. sinensis was the only vector, and it preferred bovine to human hosts, predominantly biting and resting outdoors. Mosquito densities declined between 1971 and 1984.Conclusion: The integrated malaria control approach in Guantang effectively controlled malaria and achieved elimination. Analysis of the effectiveness of the program can provide guidance to other regions or countries with similar ecological settings aiming to move from malaria control to elimination. There is a potential challenge in the maintenance of non-transmission status owing to imported cases and the long dormancy of liver stage hypnozoites.
One-step RT-qPCR assay for ZIKV RNA detection in Aedes aegypti samples: A protocol to study infection & gene expression during ZIKV infection
Authors: Araujo Ricardo Vieira , Feitosa-Suntheimer Fabiana , Gold Alexander S. , Londono-Renteria Berlin , Colpitts Tonya Michelle
Published: December 2019

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) is transmitted to humans during the bite of an infected mosquito. In a scenario of globalization and climate change, the frequency of outbreaks has and will increase in areas with competent vectors, revealing a need for continuous improvement of ZIKV detection tools in vector populations. A simple, rapid and sensitive assay for viral detection is qRT-PCR, yet oligos optimized for ZIKV detection in mammalian cells and samples have repeatedly shown high background when used on mosquito RNA. In this work we present a one-step qRT-PCR protocol that allows for the detection of ZIKV in mosquitoes and for the evaluation of gene expression from the same mosquito sample and RNA. This assay is a less expensive qRT-PCR approach than that most frequently used in the literature and has a much lower background, allowing for confident detection.Methods: Our new oligo design to detect ZIKV RNA included in silicoanalysis of both viral and mosquito (Ae. aegyptiand Ae. albopictus)genomes, targeting sequences conserved between Asian and African ZIKV lineages, but not matching Aedesgenomes. This assay will allow researchers to avoid nonspecific amplification in insect samples due to viral integration into the mosquito genome, a phenomenon known to happen in wild and colonized populations of mosquitoes.Standard curves constructed with in vitrotranscribed ZIKV RNA were used to optimize the sensitivity, efficiency and reproducibility of the assay.Results: Finally, the assay was used with success to detect both ZIKV RNA in infected mosquitoes and to detect expression of the Defensin A gene, an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) involved in Aedes aegyptiimmune response to virus infection.Conclusions: The experimental approach to detect ZIKV RNA in Aedes aegyptipresented here has demonstrated to be specific, sensitive and reliable, and additionally it allows for the analysis of mosquito gene expression during ZIKV infection.
Risk factors of tractional retinal detachment in non-silicone oil tamponade eyes after vitrectomy for proliferative diabetic retinopathy
Authors: Chen Qiulu , Wang Wenying , Hu Liting , Zhang Lina , Ma Yuna , Du Zhaodong , Zhao Guiqiu
Published: December 2019

BackgroundTraction retinal detachment is one of the serious complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and poses a serious threat to the visual acuity of patients.The purpose of this paper is to investigated the risk factors of tractional retinal detachment (TRD) in non-silicone oil tamponade eyes after vitrectomy for PDR.MethodsWe performed a retrospective review of patients with postoperative TRD who underwent vitrectomy with non -silicone oil tamponade (C3F8, sterilized air or BSS) for PDR. The clinical information, including laboratory tests and the history of ocular treatment, was determined and compared to the control group to analyze their significance.ResultsThe control group consisted of 28 patients who underwent vitrectomy with non-silicone oil tamponade for PDR immediately one proceeding and one following the surgery of each of the 14 patients (TRD group) with postoperative TRD. The history of photocoagulation, serum albumin, blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine were significantly associated with TRD. The logistic regression analysis indicated that lower serum albumin concentration was the major systemic risk factor for the occurrence of TRD (P = 0.027).ConclusionThe main systemic risk factor related to TRD was serum albumin in patients with PDR who underwent vitrectomy with non-silicone oil tamponade. Preoperative albumin supplementation may reduce the risk of postoperative TRD.
The Accuracy of Different Generation Intraocular Lens Power Formulas in Eyes with Axial Length Lower than 22 millimeter
Authors: Yildiz Aydın , Arikan Sedat
Published: December 2019

Background:To investigate the accurate formulas for eyes with axial length (AL) lower than 22 millimeters among usually used six intraocular lens (IOL) calculation formulas. MethodsA total of 122 eyes with short ALs that is lower than 22 mm of 122 patients who underwent phacoemulsification surgery with the same type of IOL implantation were included in this retrospective study. The biometric values of the patients were obtained by using optical low coherence reflectometry (OLCR) for six formulas involving Hoffer Q, SRK-T, Haigis, Barett Universal II, Holladay 2 and Hill-RBF. All patients had a postoperative best corrected visual acuity level that is equal or higher than 20/40. While comparing the accuracy of these six IOL calculation formulas, the mean absolute error (MAE), and the median absolute error (MedAE) values were taken into account.ResultsThe MAE values for Hoffer Q, SRK-T, Haigis, Holladay 2, Hill-RBF and Barrett Universal II formulas were 0.390, 0.390, 0.324, 0.327, 0.331 and 0.208 respectively. Also the rank of MedAE values for the mentioned formulas was 0.245, 0.310, 0.310, 0.250, 0.255 and 0.190. The lowest MAE and MedAE value was found in Barrett Universal II formula, whereas the highest one was in the SRK/T formula with a statistical significance (p<0.001). After Bonferroni correction, there were no statistically significant difference between Barret Universal II formula and the other formulas except SRK/T (p>0.01). Three patients (2.5%) were in the ±0.75 D range, 15 patients (12.3%) were in the ±0.50 D, and the remaining 104 (85.2%) patients were in the ±0.25 D at the first month follow-up. ConclusionsAlthough Barrett Universal II appears to be the most accurate IOL calculation formula, third, fourth and other newer generation formulas have also a good predictive value for accurate estimation of IOL power in short eyes.
A combination of Spearmint and flaxseed extract improved endocrine and histomorphology of ovary in experimental PCOS
Authors: Mina Mehraban , Gholamali Jelodar , Farhad Rahmanifar
Published: December 2019

BackgroundPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex reproduction and endocrine disorder of women in the reproductive age. Spearmint (Mentha Spicata L.) has anti-androgenic activity and flaxseed (Linum Usitatissimum L.) contains phytoestrogen and was reported to improve PCOS conditions. This study aimed to evaluate PCOS conditions following administration of a mixture of these two plants.MethodsTwenty-four rats with regular cycles were randomly divided into four groups as control (C) and treatment-control (TC) received a combination of spearmint extract (SE) + flaxseed extract (FE). PCOS was induced in PCOS and treatment (T) groups by a single intramuscular injection of estradiol valerate. The treatment group received a combination of SE and FE for 30 days, 7 weeks after injection of estradiol valerate. Estrous cycles were monitored for 10 days and in the last day animals were sacrificed, ovaries were collected for the histomorphometric study and the serum levels of progesterone, testosterone, estradiol, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) were measured. ResultSignificant rise in progesterone and a decrease in testosterone and estradiol with no significant change of DHEA in the T group, was observed in comparison with the PCOS group (P<0.05). No significant difference noticed between T and control groups (C &CT) regarding evaluated hormones. A significant increase in primary, pre-antral and antral follicles noticed in the T group compared to the PCOS group. The number of cystic follicles decreased in the T group compared with the PCOS group. Granulosa layer thickness increased while the thickness of theca decreased significantly in the T group compared to the PCOS group (P<0.05). No significant endocrine or histological differences noticed between C and TC groups.ConclusionA combination of flaxseed and spearmint extract improved the endocrine profile and the histomorphometric features of the ovary in the T group compared to the PCOS group.
Enhancement of tendon-bone interface healing and graft maturation with cylindrical Titanium-Web (TW) in a miniature swine anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction model: Histological and collagen-based analysis
Authors: Ryu Keisho , Saito Mitsuru , Kurosaka Daisaburo , Kitasato Seiichiro , Omori Toshiyuki , Hayashi Hiroteru , Kayama Tomohiro , Marumo Keishi
Published: December 2019

Background: Tendon-bone interface healing and ligamentization of the graft in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with autografts are important factors affecting treatment outcome. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a cylindrical titanium-web (TW) in tendon-bone interface healing and graft maturation in ACL reconstruction.Methods: Fourteen mature female CLAWN miniature swine underwent bilateral ACL reconstructions with patellar tendon (PT) autografts. In one limb, the TW/tendon complex was placed into the proximal side of the tibial tunnel. Only the graft was transplanted into the tunnel in the control limb. The proximal side of the graft was sutured into the stump of the native ACL and the distal end was stapled to the tibia. The animals were euthanized at 4 and 15 weeks postoperatively, for histological and biochemical analyses. Results: Microscopic images in TW limbs showed that ingrowth of tendon-like tissue and mineralized bone tissue into the TW connected the bone and the tendon directly. In contrast, fibrous tissue intervened between the bone and tendon in the control limbs. The total amount of collagen cross-links (which defines the strength of collagen fibers) and the maturation of collagen cross-links in TW tendons were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those of control limbs. There was no significant difference in the ratio of dihydroxy-lysinonorleucine to hydroxy-lysinonorleucine (an indicator of tissue specific collagen maturation) between TW tendons and that of the native PT. Conclusions: TW promoted the maturation and formation of collagen cross-links in the grafted tendon while maintaining the cross-link pattern of native tendon collagen, and enabled direct binding of tendon to bone.
Association between genetic polymorphism of XRCC7 (G6721T) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk
Authors: Farokhian Farnoush , beyzaei zahra , Ramzi Mani , Geramizadeh Bita , Mokhtari Mohamad Javad
Published: December 2019

Background: One of the most important DNA double-strand break (DSBs) repair genes is XRCC7 involved in non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). It is supposed that DNA repair gene malfunction is an important risk factor in various malignancies. The XRCC7 G6721T (rs7003908) polymorphism effect were investigated on the splicing regulation that cause mRNA instability. Objective: The aim of present hospital-based study was to investigate the association between the G6721T common genetic polymorphism of XRCC7 and risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods: This case–control study was performed on 99 ALL patients versus 200 healthy blood donors (children), as the control group. Controls had no history of ALL, and they were frequent-matched by age with cases. The polymorphism of XRCC7 was determined using an RFLP-PCR method. Results: The GT (OR= 1.485, 95% CI: 0.765-2.334, P=0.243) and TT (OR= 1.655, 95% CI: 00.875-3.128, P=0.121) genotypes had no significant effect on risk of ALL, in comparison with the GG genotype. Hence, TT genotype (OR= 1.996, 95% CI: 1.033-3.858, P=0.04) after adjusting for parents smoking pattern showed a significant effect. Conclusion: The presence of the TT genotype may be increase the risk of ALL in children when facing with a Tobacco smoke.