bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systematic review and network meta-analysis with individual participant data on cord management at preterm birth (iCOMP): study protocol
Authors: Seidler Anna Lene , Duley Lelia , Katheria Anup C , De Paco Matallana Catalina , Dempsey Eugene , Rabe Heike , Kattwinkel John , Mercer Judith , Josephsen Justin , Fairchild Karen , Andersson Ola , Hosono Shigeharu , Sundaram Venkataseshan , Datta Vikram , El-Naggar Walid , Tarnow-Mordi William , Debray Thomas , Hooper Stuart B , Kluckow Martin , Polglase Graeme , Davis Peter G , Montgomery Alan , Hunter Kylie E , Barba Angie , Simes John , Askie Lisa
Published: March 2020

Introduction

Timing of cord clamping and other cord management strategies may improve outcomes at preterm birth. However, it is unclear whether benefits apply to all preterm subgroups. Previous and current trials compare various policies, including time-based or physiology-based deferred cord clamping, and cord milking. Individual participant data (IPD) enable exploration of different strategies within subgroups. Network meta-analysis (NMA) enables comparison and ranking of all available interventions using a combination of direct and indirect comparisons.

Objectives

(1) To evaluate the effectiveness of cord management strategies for preterm infants on neonatal mortality and morbidity overall and for different participant characteristics using IPD meta-analysis. (2) To evaluate and rank the effect of different cord management strategies for preterm births on mortality and other key outcomes using NMA.

Methods and analysis

Systematic searches of Medline, Embase, clinical trial registries, and other sources for all ongoing and completed randomised controlled trials comparing cord management strategies at preterm birth (before 37 weeks’ gestation) have been completed up to 13 February 2019, but will be updated regularly to include additional trials. IPD will be sought for all trials; aggregate summary data will be included where IPD are unavailable. First, deferred clamping and cord milking will be compared with immediate clamping in pairwise IPD meta-analyses. The primary outcome will be death prior to hospital discharge. Effect differences will be explored for prespecified participant subgroups. Second, all identified cord management strategies will be compared and ranked in an IPD NMA for the primary outcome and the key secondary outcomes. Treatment effect differences by participant characteristics will be identified. Inconsistency and heterogeneity will be explored.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval for this project has been granted by the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (2018/886). Results will be relevant to clinicians, guideline developers and policy-makers, and will be disseminated via publications, presentations and media releases.

Registration number

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) (ACTRN12619001305112) and International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO, CRD42019136640).
No difference in hepatocellular carcinoma risk between chronic hepatitis B patients treated with entecavir versus tenofovir
Authors: Su Feng , Berry Kristin , Ioannou George N
Published: March 2020

Objective

Entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) are first-line agents for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Recent studies have challenged the assumption that these agents are equally effective at preventing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to determine whether the risk of HCC and mortality differ in patients with CHB treated with ETV and TDF.

Design

We performed a retrospective cohort study of Veterans Affairs patients with CHB in the USA who initiated treatment with ETV or TDF between the dates of Food and Drug Administration approval of these medications and 1 January 2017. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine the association between antiviral therapy and HCC risk as well as the risk of death or liver transplantation. Propensity score adjustment and competing risks analysis were performed.

Results

We identified 2193 ETV-treated and 1094 TDF-treated patients who were followed for a mean of 5.4 years. We found no difference in the risk of HCC in ETV-treated versus TDF-treated patients (adjusted HR (aHR) 1.00, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.32). Results were similar in propensity score adjusted and competing risks analysis, and in multiple sensitivity analyses. We also found no difference in the risk of death or liver transplantation (aHR 1.16, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.39).

Conclusions

We found no difference in the risk of HCC between patients with CHB treated with ETV versus TDF. Our results support current guideline recommendations that both agents are appropriate first-line options for the treatment of CHB.
Antidopaminergic treatment is associated with reduced chorea and irritability but impaired cognition in Huntington’s disease (Enroll-HD)
Authors: Harris Kate L , Kuan Wei-Li , Mason Sarah L , Barker Roger A
Published: March 2020

Objectives

Alterations in dopamine neurotransmission underlie some of the clinical features of Huntington’s disease (HD) and as such are a target for therapeutic intervention, especially for the treatment of chorea and some behavioural problems. However, justification for such an intervention is mainly based on case reports and small open label studies and the effects these drugs have on cognition in HD remain unclear.

Methods

In this study, we used the Enroll-HD observational database to assess the effects of antidopaminergic medication on motor, psychiatric and cognitive decline, over a 3-year period. We first looked at the annual rate of decline of a group of HD patients taking antidopaminergic medication (n=466) compared with an untreated matched group (n=466). The groups were matched on specified clinical variables using propensity score matching. Next, we studied a separate group of HD patients who were prescribed such medications part way through the study (n=90) and compared their rate of change before and after the drugs were introduced and compared this to a matched control group.

Results

We found that HD patients taking antidopaminergic medication had a slower progression in chorea and irritability compared with those not taking such medications. However, this same group of patients also displayed significantly greater rate of decline in a range of cognitive tasks.

Conclusion

In conclusion we found that antidopaminergic treatment is associated with improvements in the choreic movements and irritability of HD but worsens cognition. However, further research is required to prospectively investigate this and whether these are causally linked, ideally in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk in German veterinarians compared with the general German population
Authors: Schwerdtfeger Kathrin Angelika , Bahramsoltani Mahtab , Spangenberg Lena , Hallensleben Nina , Glaesmer Heide
Published: March 2020

Background

Higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk have been reported for veterinarians in various studies worldwide. This study investigates whether this is also true for German veterinarians.

Methods

A total of 3.118 veterinarians (78.8 per cent female, mean age 41.3 years) between 22 and 69 years were included and compared with two general population samples of the same age range using the Suicide Behaviours Questionnaire‐Revised and Patient Health Questionnaire.

Results

Current suicidal ideation was found in 19.2 per cent of veterinarians, compared with only 5.7 per cent in the general population. 32.11 per cent of veterinarians were classified with increased suicide risk, compared with 6.62 per cent in the general population. 27.78 per cent of veterinarians screened positive for depression, compared with 3.99 per cent of the general population.

Conclusion

The study shows that veterinarians have an increased risk of depression and suicidal ideation and suicide risk compared with the general population in Germany. Similar to previous findings, the level of depression was higher among veterinarians than in the general population. However, this study does not explore causes for higher rates in depression, suicide risk and suicidal ideation. Since other studies strongly suggest specific risk factors lead to higher suicide risk and consequently elevated numbers of completed suicides, future research should focus on identifying and preventing causes.
Effects of bioporous carriers on the performance and microbial community structure in side-stream anaerobic membrane bioreactors
Authors: Zhang Bin , Yue Jiao , Guo Yu , Liu Taixin , Zhou Min , Yang Ying , Wu Jiaxu , Zeng Yang , Ning Xinqiang
Published: March 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a volcanic rock porous carrier (VRPC) on sludge reduction, pollutant removal, and microbial community structure in an anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR). Three lab-scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs), including an anoxic–oxic MBR, which served as the control (C-MBR), an ASSR-coupled MBR (A-MBR), and an A-MBR filled with VRPC (FA-MBR) were stably and simultaneously operated for 120 days. The effect of the three reactors on the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was almost negligible (all greater than 95%), but the average removal efficiency of ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus was significantly improved by the insertion of an ASSR, especially when the ASSR was filled with VRPC. Finally, A-MBR and FA-MBR achieved 16.2% and 26.4% sludge reduction rates, with observed sludge yields of 0.124 and 0.109 g mixed liquid suspended solids/g COD, respectively. Illumina MiSeq sequencing revealed that microbial diversity and richness were highest in the VRPC, indicating that a large number of microorganisms formed on the carrier surface in the form of a biofilm. Abundant denitrifying bacteria (Azospira, Comamonadaceae_unclassified, and Flavobacterium) were immobilized on the carrier biofilm, which contributed to increased nitrogen removal. The addition of a VRPC to the ASSR successfully immobilized abundant hydrolytic, fermentative, and slow-growing microorganisms, which all contributed to reductions in sludge yield.
Limits on non-minimal Lorentz violating parameters through FCNC and LFV processes
Authors: Gomes Y. M. P. , Helayel-Neto J. A.
Published: March 2020

In this work we analyze a non-minimal Lorentz-violating extension of the electroweak theory in the fermionic sector. Firstly we analyze the relation between the CKM rotation in the quark sector and possible contributions of this new coupling to flavor changing neutral currents processes. In sequel we look for non-diagonal terms through possible lepton flavor violation decays. Strong bounds are presented to the Lorentz violating parameters of both the quark and the lepton sectors.
Extreme and critical transition events in the memristor based Liénard system
Authors: Kingston S. Leo , Suresh K. , Thamilmaran K. , Kapitaniak T.
Published: March 2020

We study extreme and critical events in the forced Liénard systems with charge control memristor. It has been found that the system exhibits hidden attractors either in the absence or presence of an external sinusoidal force. We give evidence that these attractors play a crucial role in the appearance of critical events. We attempt to explain the mechanism leading to the emergence of catastrophic transitions. Finally, we present that the observed critical transitions are typical for memristor based models and understanding of them gives some insight on how to avoid these types of devastating events at the time of the device fabrication process.
Dynamics of classical-quantum correlations between two movable mirrors in optomechanics
Authors: Amazioug M. , Jebli L. , Nassik M. , Habiballah N.
Published: March 2020

We study the dynamics of classical-quantum correlations in the nonadiabatic regime, using the rotating wave approximation (RWA), between two movable mirrors of two spatially separated Fabry–Pérot cavities, each of the two cavities having a movable end-mirror and coupled to a two-mode squeezed light from spontaneous parametric down-conversion. This work completes our previous work [M. Amazioug, M. Nassik and N. Habiballah, Eur. Phys. J. D 72, 171 (2018)] where we have studied the transfer of quantum correlations in steady state. The Bures distance is used to quantify the amount of entanglement of the symmetrical squeezed thermal state, and the Gaussian quantum discord is considered to quantify the quantumness of the quantum correlations even though the two movable mirrors are separable. Furthermore, total correlations are quantified using quantum mutual information. Indeed, these three indicators depend mainly on the temperature of the movable mirror and the squeezing parameter in strong coupling regime.
Completing the Study of Traveling Wave Solutions for Three Two-Component Shallow Water Wave Models
Authors: Li Jibin , Chen Guanrong , Song Jie
Published: March 2020

For three two-component shallow water wave models, from the approach of dynamical systems and the singular traveling wave theory developed in [Li & Chen, 2007], under different parameter conditions, all possible bounded solutions (solitary wave solutions, pseudo-peakons, periodic peakons, as well as smooth periodic wave solutions) are derived. More than 19 explicit exact parametric representations are obtained. Of more interest is that, for the integrable two-component generalization of the Camassa–Holm equation, it is found that its [Formula: see text]-traveling wave system has a family of pseudo-peakon wave solutions. In addition, its [Formula: see text]-traveling wave system has two families of uncountably infinitely many solitary wave solutions. The new results complete a recent study by Dutykh and Ionescu-Kruse [2016].
Modeling the impact of point mutations on the stability of proteins
Authors: Kulikov K. G. , Koshlan T. V.
Published: March 2020

A new method has been introduced which allows us to determine the stability of protein complexes with point changes of amino acid residues that also take into account the three-dimensional structure of the complex. This formulated and proven theorem is aimed at determining the criterion for the stability of protein molecules. The algorithm and software package were developed for analyzing protein interactions, taking into account their three-dimensional structure from the PDB database.
An integrated method for identifying essential proteins from multiplex network model of protein–protein interactions
Authors: Athira K. , Gopakumar G.
Published: March 2020

Cell survival requires the presence of essential proteins. Detection of essential proteins is relevant not only because of the critical biological functions they perform but also the role played by them as a drug target against pathogens. Several computational techniques are in place to identify essential proteins based on protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. Essential protein detection using only physical interaction data of proteins is challenging due to its inherent uncertainty. Hence, in this work, we propose a multiplex network-based framework that incorporates multiple protein interaction data from their physical, coexpression and phylogenetic profiles. An extended version termed as multiplex eigenvector centrality (MEC) is used to identify essential proteins from this network. The methodology integrates the score obtained from the multiplex analysis with subcellular localization and Gene Ontology information and is implemented using Saccharomyces cerevisiae datasets. The proposed method outperformed many recent essential protein prediction techniques in the literature.
Mathematical modeling of adaptive immune response after transplantation
Authors: Markovska Anka
Published: March 2020

A mathematical model of adaptive immune response after transplantation is formulated by five nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Theorems of existence, uniqueness and nonnegativity of solution are proven. Numerical simulations of immune response after transplantation without suppression of acquired cellular immunity and after suppression were performed.
On the innate immune response to intracellular bacterial infections
Authors: Naskinova Irina , Kolev Mikhail , Markovska Anka
Published: March 2020

Various bacteria are able to infect human organisms to induce less or more dangerous diseases. In response to them, the human immune system is usually activated. In addition, medical therapies to the patients can be applied. One of the most popular approaches is the use of various antibiotics. However, some bacteria are able to develop resistance against the applied antibiotics. Various approaches to study these phenomena are proposed in the literature, among them tools for big data analysis, machine learning, mathematical modeling, etc. In our paper, we consider a mathematical model describing the interactions between susceptible uninfected cells, infected cells, immune cells and bacteria. We study the properties of the model. We propose numerical scheme for obtaining the approximate solutions to the model system for various values of parameters and initial conditions.
Dynamic analysis of the dual Lorenz system
Authors: Zlatanovska Biljana , Piperevski Boro
Published: March 2020

The dual Lorenz system as an autonomous system of three differential equations is obtained by using the Lorenz system of differential equations in the paper [B. M. Piperevski, For one system of differential equations taken as dual of the Lorenz system, Bull. Math. 40(1) (2014) 37–44]. In this paper, we will do a comparison of the dual Lorenz system with the Lorenz system for different values of parameters. The dynamic analysis of its behavior will be done. The basic properties of the dual Lorenz system are analyzed by means of the symmetry of the system, dissipativity of the system, the Lyapunov function, the behavior of the system in the neighborhood of fixed points, etc. By using mathematical software Mathematica, we will give a graphical visualization of the dual Lorenz system for some values of parameters via examples.
On skew Laplacian spectrum and energy of digraphs
Authors: Ganie Hilal A. , Pirzada S. , Chat Bilal A. , Li X.
Published: March 2020

We consider the skew Laplacian matrix of a digraph [Formula: see text] obtained by giving an arbitrary direction to the edges of a graph [Formula: see text] having [Formula: see text] vertices and [Formula: see text] edges. With [Formula: see text] to be the skew Laplacian eigenvalues of [Formula: see text], the skew Laplacian energy [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] is defined as [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we analyze the effect of changing the orientation of an induced subdigraph on the skew Laplacian spectrum. We obtain bounds for the skew Laplacian energy [Formula: see text] in terms of various parameters associated with the digraph [Formula: see text] and the underlying graph [Formula: see text] and we characterize the extremal digraphs attaining these bounds. We also show these bounds improve some known bounds for some families of digraphs. Further, we show the existence of some families of skew Laplacian equienergetic digraphs.
Classical Lie symmetries and similarity reductions of the (2 + 1)-dimensional dispersive long wave system
Authors: Devi Preeti , Singh K.
Published: March 2020

In the present work, classical Lie symmetry method is adopted to obtain the Lie symmetries and similarity reductions of the [Formula: see text]-dimensional dispersive long wave equation. We also demonstrate that the symmetry algebra of this equation is an infinte dimensional, together with Kac–Moody–Virasoro type subalgebras.
On the construction of supergrassmannians as homogeneous superspaces
Authors: Mohammadi Mohammad , Varsaie Saad
Published: March 2020

In this paper, we give an explicit description of the action of the super Lie group [Formula: see text] on supergrassmannian [Formula: see text] in the functor of points language. In particular, we give a concrete proof of the transitively of this action, and the gluing of the local charts of the supergrassmannian.
Quasi-compactness of linear operators on Banach spaces: New properties and application to Markov chains
Authors: Mebarki Leila , Messirdi Bekkai , Benharrat Mohammed
Published: March 2020

The purpose of this paper is to study the notion of quasi-compact linear operators acting in a Banach space. This class of operators contains the set of compact, polynomially compact, quasi-nilpotent and that of all Riesz operators. We show the equivalence between different definitions of quasi-compactness known in the mathematical literature and we present several general theorems about quasi-compact endomorphisms: stability under algebraic operations, extension of Schauder theorem and the Fredholm alternative. We also study the question of existence of invariant subspaces and we examine the class of semigroups for quasi-compact operators. The obtained results are used to describe Markov chains.
Improving Youngsters’ Resilience Through Video Game-Based Interventions
Authors: Menendez-Ferreira R. , Torregrosa J. , Panizo-Lledot A. , Gonzalez-Pardo A. , Camacho David
Published: March 2020

Radicalization, as a violent form of extremism, is a growing problem for Europe. Currently, it is possible to find extreme ideologies regarding almost every topic such as religion, politics or sports. This problem, which ranges from personal identity conflicts to complex societal issues, has an impact on several people everyday, especially on youngsters. To confront this situation, the European Union found several initiatives, as a way to face this problem from a scientific perspective. Some of these initiatives face the problem trying to reduce radicalization by working on personal and social skills through education, in such a way the youngster’s resilience is improved. This paper aims to present YoungRes, a European project whose goal is to improve the resilience of youngsters. To do so, it unifies an already created intervention — named Fortius — through the inclusion of video games in the learning process. This paper describes both: (1) how the Fortius program is modified to allow video games sessions and (2) the software architecture designed to allow students and educators to participate in YoungRes project. Finally, different suggestions to include in future versions of the game are discussed.
Dose-Dependent Chlormadinone Acetate Can Suppress Premature LH Surge in Parallel with LH Value Reduction
Authors: Takeshige Yuya , Hashimoto Tomoko , Kyono Koichi
Published: March 2020

Background: Progestin-primed ovarian stimulation (PPOS) protocol is reported as an alternative method of premature luteinizing hormone (LH) surge suppression. How much dosage of chlormadinone acetate (CMA), a synthetic progestin, is appropriate treatment for this phenomenon?

Methods: Retrospective case control study was performed at private assisted reproductive technology (ART) clinic in Japan. Collected data was 231 cycles in patients who underwent either PPOS protocol using 12, 6, 4, or 2 mg of CMA, groups 6C, 3C, 2C, and 1C, respectively (total, 113 cycles), or gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol, groups 6A, 3A, 2A, and 1A, respectively (total, 118 cycles). In the CMA group, CMA and human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) or follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were administered simultaneously beginning on menstrual cycle day 3. Serum P, E2, and LH were determined on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration. Occurrence of premature LH surge was compared between two groups. Pregnancy outcomes were also calculated.

Results: Premature LH surge was completely suppressed in CMA groups 6C, 3C, and 2C. On the other hand, this phenomenon was detected in antagonist method groups (5.9%, 7/118). But spontaneous ovulation was not observed in any group, and clinical outcomes are equal to those of GnRH antagonist treatment.

Conclusions: Controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) using CMA can be an appropriate alternative progestin for PPOS protocol. Since CMA is an oral medication, this method can be easy to conduct and cost-effective compared with the antagonist method. From our observation, we suggest 4 mg/day of CMA can control the egg retrieval cycle without LH surge occurrence as in other PPOS methods.
Factors Considered in the Assessment of Computer Science Engineering Capstone Projects and Their Influence on Discrepancies Between Assessors
Authors: Domínguez César , Jaime Arturo , García-Izquierdo Francisco J. , Olarte Juan J.
Published: March 2020

A capstone project is an extensive learning experience traditionally developed during a student's final academic year. Assessing such a complex assignment involves several challenges and is usually based upon the evaluations of at least two different people: the capstone project advisor, and one or more other assessors. Quantitative studies comparing only different assessors' grades and qualitative studies investigating the origin of possible discrepancies have been conducted. In both cases, contradictory conclusions were reached. The objective of this study is to analyze the factors that are given consideration by assessors of engineering capstone projects and the influence of these factors on the discrepancies between different assessors’ opinions of the same project. This study quantitatively examined 162 computer science engineering capstone projects developed by one student and supervised by one advisor. Each project was assessed by the project advisor and a committee. For each project, the advisor and the committee were asked to complete an additional questionnaire on product characteristics, student competences, and project supervision. Competences demonstrated by the student were found to be the most relevant element when a capstone project was evaluated by the advisor and the committee; product characteristics were found to be second in influence. Furthermore, advisors grant minor significance to the advisor-involvement component. Discrepancies between grades seem to be associated with those aspects to which one assessor has access, while the other does not, such as student skills demonstrated during project development or their performance in the oral defense. Both the advisor's and the committee's perspectives are important in the assessment of this complex task and they complement one another.
Human intestinal enteroids as a model ofClostridioides difficile-induced enteritis
Authors: Engevik Melinda A. , Danhof Heather A. , Chang-Graham Alexandra L. , Spinler Jennifer K. , Engevik Kristen A. , Herrmann Beatrice , Endres Bradley T. , Garey Kevin W. , Hyser Joseph M. , Britton Robert A. , Versalovic James
Published: March 2020

Clostridioides difficile is an important nosocomial pathogen that produces toxins to cause life-threatening diarrhea and colitis. Toxins bind to epithelial receptors and promote the collapse of the actin cytoskeleton. C. difficile toxin activity is commonly studied in cancer-derived and immortalized cell lines. However, the biological relevance of these models is limited. Moreover, no model is available for examining C. difficile-induced enteritis, an understudied health problem. We hypothesized that human intestinal enteroids (HIEs) express toxin receptors and provide a new model to dissect C. difficile cytotoxicity in the small intestine. We generated biopsy-derived jejunal HIE and Vero cells, which stably express LifeAct-Ruby, a fluorescent label of F-actin, to monitor actin cytoskeleton rearrangement by live-cell microscopy. Imaging analysis revealed that toxins from pathogenic C. difficile strains elicited cell rounding in a strain-dependent manner, and HIEs were tenfold more sensitive to toxin A (TcdA) than toxin B (TcdB). By quantitative PCR, we paradoxically found that HIEs expressed greater quantities of toxin receptor mRNA and yet exhibited decreased sensitivity to toxins when compared with traditionally used cell lines. We reasoned that these differences may be explained by components, such as mucins, that are present in HIEs cultures, that are absent in immortalized cell lines. Addition of human-derived mucin 2 (MUC2) to Vero cells delayed cell rounding, indicating that mucus serves as a barrier to toxin-receptor binding. This work highlights that investigation of C. difficile infection in that HIEs can provide important insights into the intricate interactions between toxins and the human intestinal epithelium.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY In this article, we developed a novel model of Clostridioides difficile-induced enteritis using jejunal-derived human intestinal enteroids (HIEs) transduced with fluorescently tagged F-actin. Using live-imaging, we identified that jejunal HIEs express high levels of TcdA and CDT receptors, are more sensitive to TcdA than TcdB, and secrete mucus, which delays toxin-epithelial interactions. This work also optimizes optically clear C. difficile-conditioned media suitable for live-cell imaging.
Effects and Mechanisms of Dendrobium officinalis Six Nostrum for Treatment of Hyperuricemia with Hyperlipidemia
Authors: Guo Lin-Feng , Chen Xue , Lei Shan-Shan , Li Bo , Zhang Ning-Yu , Ge Hong-Zhang , Yang Ke , Lv Gui-Yuan , Chen Su-Hong
Published: March 2020

Objectives. Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a disease caused by increased production of uric acid (UA) or reduced excretion of UA in the body. Results of an epidemiological survey show that 60% of patients with HUA have hyperlipidemia (HPA). Dendrobium officinalis (DOF) six nostrum (DOS) is based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine for the transformation of the traditional Chinese nostrum Si Miao Wan. In this article, we aim to discuss the efficacy and mechanism of DOS in reducing UA and regulating lipid metabolism. The rat model of HUA with HPA was induced by potassium oxonate (PO) combined with high‐fat sorghum feed. We monitored the serum UA and blood lipids. Liver xanthine oxidase (XOD), adenosine deaminase (ADA), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and fatty acid‐binding protein (FABP1) activities were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) after the last administration of DOS. We performed a histopathological examination of rat kidney and intestine. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the expression of renal inflammatory proteins NLRP3 / Caspase‐1 and intestinal inflammatory proteins TLR4 / NLRP3. We used western blot for measurement of liver hypoxanthine‐guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT1) protein expression and renal PDZ domain protein kidney 1 (PDZK1) protein expression. DOS administration significantly reduced serum UA, total cholesterol (TC), and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐c) level, and improved liver steatosis in the model rat. At the same time, DOS treatment effectively inhibited liver XOD and ADA, increased the level of liver HPRT1, and reduced the production of UA. Additional studies had shown that DOS can restore normal UA excretion function in the intestine and kidney and regulated liver lipids metabolism. IHC and histopathological sections showed that DOS reduced the level of kidney, intestinal inflammatory body (NLRP3, Caspase‐1, and TLR4), improved inflammation of the kidney and intestinal tract in rats. DOS is a promising drug that can effectively reduce serum UA and lipid level in the model rat. The mechanism of action may be related to inhibition of UA production, promotion of UA excretion, regulation of lipids metabolism, and anti‐inflammatory response.
Development of an Efficient Analytical Method for the Extraction and Analysis of Biocide Contents from the Textile Test Specimens on LC-DAD
Authors: Jahangir Muhammad , Khan Uzman
Published: March 2020

Biocides are frequently used in the manufacturing of textiles that are in direct contact with human skin. Recently regulated biocides do not have validated methods for testing; so, their presence cannot be estimated in the consumer products. Hence a rapid method was developed for the separation and quantitative analysis of biocide contents (2-methyl-4-isothaizolin (MIT), 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothaizolin-3-one (CIT), 2-octo-4-isothaizolin-3-one (OIT), and 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenxy) phenol (triclosan)) from the textile test specimens. Test specimens were extracted with methanolic sonication and purified by centrifugation and filtration. Biocide contents were separated at C18 column with 0.4% acetic acid: methanol (1 : 1 v/v) under isocratic mode and detected at 280 nm wavelength. Pretreatment factors such as extraction solvent, extraction method, dilution ratio, and extraction time were optimized initially and plotted calibration curve showed regression (r2 ≥ 0.9995) in the range of 1.0–5.0 mg L−1. Recoveries were between 95% and 108% with the relative standard deviation ≤ 4%. Limits of detection (LODs) were between 0.06 mg L−1 and 0.12 mg L−1 and limits of quantification (LOQs) were between 0.21 mg L−1 and 0.38 mg L−1. From the results, conclusion was made that the method can achieve the purpose of quantitative detection and the analysis of real test specimens verified the reliability of this method.
Damage Constitutive Model and Mechanical Performance Deterioration of Concrete under Sulfate Environment
Authors: Liu Peng , Chen Ying , Yu Zhiwu , Lu Zhaohui
Published: March 2020

The effects of erosion mode, erosion age, and concentration of sulfate solution on mechanical properties of concrete were investigated. The dimensionless relationship model of the stress-strain of concrete on the basis of randomness was proposed. The variation of the elasticity modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the concrete surface attacked by sulfate was studied, and a novel method of using a superficial parameter to characterize the performance change of the concrete surface was recommended. The results showed that the dimensionless relationship model of stress-strain of concrete could be used to represent the variations of mechanical properties of concrete. The differences of load-displacement of concrete before and after sulfate attack were reflected as the change of curve’s slope and ultimate bearing capacity, and the slope of a straight section of the lateral and longitudinal strain curves of concrete surface also varied. The increment rates of ultimate bearing capacity of concrete attacked by 1% and saturated sulfate solution were about 30% and 10%, respectively. However, the decreasing ratio of the ultimate bearing capacity of concrete attacked by saturated sulfate solution was approximately 25%. The damage factor of the elasticity modulus of the concrete surface of C20 and C40 was 0.185 and −0.19, respectively. The obtained results could provide a support for investigating the variations of stress-strain relationship and mechanical performance of concrete under a sulfate environment.
On BPS World Volume, RR Couplings, and Their α′ Corrections in Type IIB
Authors: Hatefi Ehsan
Published: March 2020

We compute the asymmetric and symmetric correlation functions of a four-point amplitude of a gauge field, a scalar field, and a closed string Ramond-Ramond (RR) for different nonvanishing BPS branes. All world volume, the Taylor and pull-back couplings, and their all-order α′ corrections have also been explored. Due to various symmetry structures, different restricted BPS Bianchi identities have also been constructed. The prescription of exploring all the corrections of two closed string RR couplings in type IIB is given. We obtain the closed form of the entire S-matrix elements of two closed string RRs and a gauge field on the world volume of BPS branes in type IIB. All the correlation functions of VA0x1VC−1z1,z¯1VC−1z2,z¯2 are also revealed accordingly. The algebraic forms for the most general case of the integrations ∫d2zz−iaz+ibz−z¯cz+z¯d on the upper half plane are derived in terms of Pochhammer and some analytic functions. Lastly, we generate various singularity structures in both effective field theory and IIB string theory, producing different contact interactions as well as their α′ higher derivative corrections.
Orthopedic Boot-Tree 3D Design by means of the Integral Curves of Solutions of Differential Equations
Authors: Shalamberidze Merab , Sokhadze Zaza , Tatvidze Malvina
Published: March 2020

For the preparation of orthopedic shoes, it is necessary to design boot-trees, where pathological abnormalities of club feet are taken into account as much as possible. For the normal functioning of the club foot, we have to develop such an internal shape of special-purpose footwear, which is comfortable for the patient. This paper describes the methods and issues of the 3D design for constructing the geometric shapes of the main cross sections of the orthopedic boot-tree. In the research process, the authors’ team of this article relied mainly on the patient database, containing the anthropometric, strain-gauge, and pedographic data on club and pathological feet. To construct the shapes of the main cross sections of the orthopedic boot-tree, we have used the integral curves to the suitable second-order differential equations. By means of a computer program, we executed turning and connection of sections of the obtained curves, on the basis of which we have the shapes of transverse-vertical cross sections of the orthopedic boot-tree. This paper also describes the main longitudinal-vertical section and the print of the orthopedic boot-tree in 3D format. By using a program of 3D design (Delcam), a skeleton of the orthopedic boot-tree was constructed in the spatial format.
Outcomes of the Extreme Elderly Undergoing Anaesthesia and Surgery amongst Southeast Asians
Authors: Lee Si Jia , Ng Oriana , Thong Sze Ying
Published: March 2020

Introduction. With a rapidly ageing population in Singapore, we see an increasing number of elderly patients undergoing surgery, both elective and emergency. This study aims to look at the anaesthesia techniques employed in a subset of very elderly population undergoing surgery and their subsequent postoperative outcomes, in particular their 30-day mortality, postoperative complication rates, and length of hospital stays. Materials and Methods. We searched from our hospital records between 2012 and 2013 for patients equal to or older than 90 years old who have undergone surgery and retrospectively analysed the types of surgery and mode of anaesthesia used. Results. Sixty-two patients were identified. The mean age is 93.6 years. Majority were ASA 2 and ASA 3 patients. The most common type of surgery performed was orthopaedic, followed by vascular and urologic. Seven of the 62 patients required re-operations. Regional was the predominant anaesthetic technique employed, followed by general anaesthesia. Intraoperative hypotension was seen in 16 of the patients, all of whom recovered uneventfully. Hypothermia, desaturation, and hypertension were the top three complications observed in the recovery. Seventeen patients were admitted to a high-dependency facility postoperatively. The mean length of stay was 13.7 days. The 30-day mortality was 1.6 percent. Conclusions. We have provided a snapshot of very elderly patients coming for surgery. The results show that this group of elderly patients do well postoperatively with relatively low complication and 30-day mortality rates. The outcomes presented can be used as a guide for risk counseling in the perioperative period.
DeepFusion: Fusing User-Generated Content and Item Raw Content towards Personalized Product Recommendation
Authors: Gan Mingxin , Zhang Hang
Published: March 2020

Personalized recommender systems, as effective approaches for alleviating information overload, have received substantial attention in the last decade. Learning effective latent factors plays the most important role in recommendation methods. Several recent works extracted latent factors from user-generated content such as ratings and reviews and suffered from the sparsity problem and the unbalanced distribution problem. To tackle these problems, we enrich the latent representations by incorporating user-generated content and item raw content. Deep neural networks have emerged as very appealing in learning effective representations in many applications. In this paper, we propose a novel deep neural architecture named DeepFusion to jointly learn user and item representations from numerical ratings, textual reviews, and item metadata. In this framework, we utilize multiple types of deep neural networks that are best suited for each type of heterogeneous inputs and introduce an extra layer to obtain the joint representations for users and items. Experiments conducted on the Amazon product data demonstrate that our approach outperforms multiple state-of-the-art baselines. We provide further insight into the design selections and hyperparameters of our recommendation method. In addition, we further explore the relative importance of various item metadata information on improving the rating prediction performance towards personalized product recommendation, which is extremely valuable for feature extraction in practice.
Successful Treatment of a Massive Desmoplastic Fibroma of the Ilium without Surgery: A Case Report with Long-Term Follow-Up
Authors: Kinoshita Hideyuki , Ishii Takeshi , Kamoda Hiroto , Hagiwara Yoko , Tsukanishi Toshinori , Orita Sumihisa , Inage Kazuhide , Hirosawa Naoya , Ohtori Seiji , Yonemoto Tsukasa
Published: March 2020

Desmoplastic fibroma of the bone (DFB) is a notably rare, lytic, locally aggressive but nonmetastatic, primary benign bone tumor in patients less than 30 years old. As the recommended primary treatment for DFB, wide resection is preferred to curettage from the perspective of recurrence but wide resection of DFB in the pelvis such as in the acetabulum could result in greater functional loss, suggesting the need for conservative treatments. However, there is no report on long-term follow-up following conservative treatment for DFB. The present case involved a 21-year-old woman with right hip pain. Radiological evaluation revealed a massive lesion throughout the right ilium and acetabulum with partial osteolysis, cortical destruction, marginal sclerosis, slight pseudotrabeculation, and bone expansion. Open biopsy from the ilium showed the proliferation of spindle cells in an abundant collagenous matrix without atypia and mitosis, suggesting a diagnosis of DFB. Conservative treatment was selected considering the risk of greater functional loss following wide ilium resection. An evaluation 10 years after follow-up showed a partially sclerotic lesion of the ilium and the absence of pain. The current case demonstrates that conservative therapy may be effective even in some cases of aggressive DFB.
The Current Insecticide Resistance in Main Malaria Vector Anopheles arabiensis in Yemen
Authors: Al-Koleeby Zalalham , El Aboudi Ahmed , Assada Mithaq , Al-Hadi Mohamed , Abdalr Ahman Mohammed , Awash Abdullah , Ahmed Abdul Samad , Mohamedi Hani , Al Jarbany Jamil , Faraj Chafika
Published: March 2020

Control of malaria vectors in Yemen relies on both indoor residual spraying using carbamate (bendiocarb) and long-lasting pyrethroids-treated nets. This paper reports the results of studies conducted to monitor the insecticide resistance of the main malaria vector, Anopheles arabiensis, to the insecticides currently used in the vector control in four different locations. Susceptibility tests were performed following the WHO test procedures. Two pyrethroids (lambda-cyhalothrin 0.05% and deltamethrin 0.05%) and one carbamate (bendiocarb 0.1%) were tested at diagnostic doses (DD). The five-fold DD of lambda-cyhalothrin and deltamethrin (0.25%) were also used to yield information on the intensity of resistance. Besides, tests with synergists were performed to assess the involvement of detoxifying enzyme in the phenotypic resistance of the populations of An. arabiensis to pyrethroids. The results of the performed susceptibility bioassay showed that the vector is susceptible to bendiocarb and resistant to lambda-cyhalothrin and deltamethrin in the four studied areas. The pyrethroids resistance is solely metabolic. This information could help policy-makers to plan insecticide resistance management. Bendiocarb is still an effective insecticide in the form of IRS. Concerning LLINS, it would be interesting to assess their effectiveness, combining a pyrethroid with PBO for the control of the pyrethroid-resistant malaria vector.
An Optimization of the Analytical Method for Determining the Flexural Toppling Failure Plane
Authors: Qu Xin , Diao Fangfang
Published: March 2020

According to the results of the physical model tests, the failure plane of an anaclinal layered rock slope was a linear‐type plane at an angle above the plane normal to the discontinuities, and the failure mode of rock strata was bending tension. However, the shear failure occurred near the slope toe, the effects of the cohesion of the discontinuities on the stability of the slope, and the contribution of tangential force to cross‐section axial force were neglected in such studies. Moreover, none of the experts had developed a rigorously theoretical method for determining the angle between the failure plane and the plane normal to the discontinuities. This paper was initiated for the purpose of solving the problems described above. With the cantilever beam model and a step‐by‐step analytical method, an optimization of the analytical method for determining the flexural toppling failure plane based on the limit equilibrium theory was developed and the corresponding formulations were derived. Based on the present computational framework, comparisons with other studies were carried out by taking a slate slope in South Anhui in China and a rock slope facing the Tehran‐Chalus Road near the Amir‐Kabir Dam Lake in Iran. Furthermore, the sensitivity analyses of the parameters used in the calculation process of the failure angle of the slate slope in South Anhui in China were performed. The results demonstrated that the failure plane and the safety factor of the stability obtained with the presented method were credible, which verified the proposed method. The dip angle of the slope, the dip angle of the rock stratum, and the friction angle of the discontinuities were the controlling factors for the overall failure of the slate slope in South Anhui in China.
The Role of DNMT and HDACs in the Fetal Programming of Hypertension by Glucocorticoids
Authors: Lamothe J. , Khurana S. , Tharmalingam S. , Williamson C. , Byrne C. J. , Khaper N. , Mercier S. , Tai T. C.
Published: March 2020

The causes of hypertension are complex and involve both genetic and environmental factors. Environment changes during fetal development have been linked to adult diseases including hypertension. Studies show that timed in utero exposure to the synthetic glucocorticoid (GC) dexamethasone (Dex) results in the development of hypertension in adult rats. Evidence suggests that in utero stress can alter patterns of gene expression, possibly a result of alterations in the topology of the genome by epigenetic markers such as DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). The objective of this study was to determine the effects of epigenetic regulators in the fetal programming and the development of adult hypertension. Specifically, this research examined the effects of the HDAC inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) and the DNMT inhibitor 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5aza2DC) on blood pressure (BP) and gene expression in prenatal Dex-programmed rats. Data suggest that both VPA and 5aza2DC attenuated the Dex-mediated development of hypertension and restored BP to control levels. Epigenetic DNMT inhibition (DNMTi) or HDAC inhibition (HDACi) also successfully attenuated elevations in the majority of altered catecholamine (CA) enzyme expression, phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) protein, and elevated epinephrine (Epi) levels in males. Although females responded to HDACi similar to males, DNMTi drove increased glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and PNMT expression and elevations in circulating Epi in females despite showing normotensive BP.