bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using Think-Pair-Share to Develop Students' Social and Emotional Competencies in Chemistry Learning
Authors: Rahmawati Yuli , Utami Tri Hastuti Budi , Nurjayadi Muktiningsih , Mardiah Alin
Published: April 2021

The aim of this study was to analyze students' social and emotional competencies through the integration of Think Pair Share (TPS) and a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) approach to topics related to Ac­ids and Bases. Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults under­stand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.. The study involved  thirty-five 11th grade students in one of private school in Jakarta  and was conducted between January and April, 2017. A qualitative methodology was employed to analyze students’ social and emotional competencies using inter­views, classroom observations, reflective journals, and student worksheets. The application of a SEL ap­proach was carried out by integrating it with a TPS strategy.  In the Think stage students were given the opportunity to explore their understanding of acids and bases and to solve problems individually. In the Pair stage they could communicate their insights to the group, and in the Share stage they had occasion to present their group perspectives and respond to others.  The five social and emotional competences found in this study were; self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship management, and re­sponsible decision making. Self awareness was demonstrated by understanding a student’s abilities, their needs, and their self- confidence. Self management was indicated by a student’s ability to manage pressure, plan strategies, and seek help. Social awareness competencies were analyzed through the development of students' attitudes to diversity and how they demonstrated care for friends. Relationship management com­petencies were identified by observing a student’s ability to manage friendships, how they overcame differ­ences, and whether they provided assistance to each other. The responsible decision making competency was determined by observing how students made decisions when trying to solve a problem and whether they were able to plan a strategy when facing pressure. Whilst integrating SEL the researchers were chal­lenged by the need to empower students, encourage teachers to stimulate students’ social and emotional competencies, and to manage time constraints. Integrating SEL into chemistry learning provided opportuni­ties for students to develop their social and emotional competencies through independent thinking activities, group discussions, and presentations to their peers.
QSAR Modeling of Compounds Derived from 1,2,3-Triazolopiperidine as DPP-4 Enzyme Inhibitors Using Semiempirical AM1
Authors: Asmara Anjar Purba , Nasution Reni Silvia , Minarty Rosi
Published: April 2021

This study aims to model the derived compounds of 1,2,3-triazolopiperidine using sem­iempirical method AM1 and determine the further derivation with the better IC50 values against DPP-4 enzyme theoretically. This research employed ChemDraw Pro 12 software for for 2D struc­tural drawing, Hyperchem 8.0 for 3D modelling, and MLR statistical analysis for modeling QSAR equations. The semiempirical method was likely to be the appropriate platform to apply because the correlation coefficient of H1 NMR chemical shift between theoretical and actual value is rela­tively close, 0.8891. The multilinear regression analysis produced 4 equation models where the best one is equation 4 as detailed below:” IC50   = 875,5116 + (-7400,27*qH35) + (-0,00133* Eat.is) + (-3230,72* qN23) + (3,30277* µ)” n = 25; r2 = 0,594; Adjusted r2= 0,486; PRESS = 1,2× 104. Finally, the theoretically promising substituent was -CN possessing IC50 value = 1.61 nM. 
Reservoir Quality Versus Completion Intensity: An Application of Supervised Fuzzy Clustering on Western Canadian Well Data
Authors: Moussa Tamer , Dehghanpour Hassan , Popp Melanie
Published: April 2021

The industry is facing significant challenges due to the recent downturn in oil prices, particularly for the development of tight reservoirs. It is more critical than ever to 1) identify the sweet spots with less uncertainty and 2) optimize the completion-design parameters. The overall objective of this study is to quantify and compare the effects of reservoir quality and completion intensity on well productivity.

We developed a supervised fuzzy clustering (SFC) algorithm to rank reservoir quality and completion intensity, and analyze their relative impacts on wells' productivity. We collected reservoir properties and completion-design parameters of 1,784 horizontal oil and gas wells completed in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Then, we used SFC to classify 1) reservoir quality represented by porosity, hydrocarbon saturation, net pay thickness and initial reservoir pressure; and 2) completion-design intensity represented by proppant concentration, number of stages and injected water volume per stage. Finally, we investigated the relative impacts of reservoir quality and completion intensity on wells' productivity in terms of first year cumulative barrel of oil equivalent (BOE).

The results show that in low-quality reservoirs, wells' productivity follows reservoir quality. However, in high-quality reservoirs, the role of completion-design becomes significant, and the productivity can be deterred by inefficient completion design. The results suggest that in low-quality reservoirs, the productivity can be enhanced with less intense completion design, while in high-quality reservoirs, a more intense completion significantly enhances the productivity.

Keywords

Reservoir quality; completion intensity; supervised fuzzy clustering, approximate reasoning,tight reservoirs development
Application of Surfactant Solution for Lower Oligocene Formation, White Tiger Field
Authors: Pham Tai H. , Nguyen Huy X. , Dang Cuong T. Q. , Bae Wisup , Nguyen Nguyen V. K.
Published: April 2021

In this study we investigated the possibility of applying a surfactant solution for better oil recovery of the Lower Oligocene formation in the White Tiger Field. The research comprised steps ranging from optimizing the surfactant solution to coreflooding and piloting on two injection wells. The concentrations of surfactants [alkyl ether sulfonate (AES) and sodium α-olefin sulfonate (AOS)] and solvent (n-butanol) were optimized using response surface methodology with the response value set equal to the interfacial tension (IFT). The certified solution was used for conducting coreflooding, and the additional recovery factors from two sample cores were 32% original oil in place (OOIP) and 49% OOIP, respectively. Two injection wells were selected for piloting the injection and were located in White Tiger Field. These wells exhibited strong hydraulic connectivity to seven wells that were under production. The production rates in the observed wells demonstrated a significant increase after 2–3 months of surfactant injection. During the observation period, all seven producer wells showed an increment of approximately 8,475 tons of oil, accounting for approximately 21% of the cumulative oil production.
Neural labeled LDA: a topic model for semi-supervised document classification
Authors: Wang Wei , Guo Bing , Shen Yan , Yang Han , Chen Yaosen , Suo Xinhua
Published: April 2021

Recently, some statistical topic modeling approaches based on LDA have been applied in the field of supervised document classification, where the model generation procedure incorporates prior knowledge to improve the classification performance. However, these customizations of topic modeling are limited by the cumbersome derivation of a specific inference algorithm for each modification. In this paper, we propose a new supervised topic modeling approach for document classification problems, Neural Labeled LDA (NL-LDA), which builds on the VAE framework, and designs a special generative network to incorporate prior information. The proposed model can support semi-supervised learning based on the manifold assumption and low-density assumption. Meanwhile, NL-LDA has a consistent and concise inference method while semi-supervised learning and predicting. Quantitative experimental results demonstrate our model has outstanding performance on supervised document classification relative to the compared approaches, including traditional statistical and neural topic models. Specially, the proposed model can support both single-label and multi-label document classification. The proposed NL-LDA performs significantly well on semi-supervised classification, especially under a small amount of labeled data. Further comparisons with related works also indicate our model is competitive with state-of-the-art topic modeling approaches on semi-supervised classification.
WITHDRAWN: Self-adaptive Intrusion Detection System for UAV-to-UAV Communications in UAV Networks
Authors: Fotohi Reza , Abdan Masoud
Published: April 2021

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have recently attracted many researchers' attention because of their extensive applications. Security issues, in particular, are a serious concern in such networks since the top-secret information exchanged between UAVs is susceptible to various attacks such as Sybil, blackhole, and Flooding attacks. To identify such malicious UAVs that threaten the connections between normal UAVs, we introduce an impermeability method called SID-UAV that works at the level of UAV-to-UAV. The SID-UAV method, by employing a self-adaptive system, discovers the most reliable route from origin to destination. This approach deals with finding the malicious UAV and selecting the most reliable routes in several phases, including the route discovery phase, the decision-making phase, the attacker counter phase, and the knowledge database phase by using multi-module methods and applying Human Immune System (HIS). In the SID-UAV method, three main modules are intended: route analysis module, decision module, and defense module. Each of these modules has sub-modules and is distributed in different parts in UAV networks. Each module and its sub-modules have tasks, and all of these modules are connected to the knowledge base to record information in it and use the stored information quickly. The NS-3 simulator tool is exploited to simulate the proposed method. The results gained from simulation indicated that the SID-UAV method in criteria of Average Detection Ratio (ADR), Average Packet Delivery Ratio (APDR), Average Packet Lost Ratio (APLR), Average False Positive (AFP), Average False Negative (AFN) have acceptable performance relative to BRUIDS, SFA, and SUAS-HIS methods.
Possibility Pythagorean Neutrosophic Soft Sets and its Application of Decision Making in Parental Choice of Colleges
Authors: K ARULMOZHI , M Palanikumar
Published: April 2021

We discuss the theory of possibility Pythagorean neutrosophic soft set, possibility neutrosophic soft set and define some related the operations namely complement, union, intersection, AND and OR. To compare possibility Pythagorean neutrosophic soft sets and Pythagorean neutrosophic soft sets for dealing with decision making problems and find a similarity measure is obtain. Practical examples are provided to strengthen our results.Mathematics Subject Classiﬁcation: 03E05, 06D72
Multiple Attribute Group Decision-Making process based on Generalized Archimedean Linguistic Pythagorean Fuzzy Averaging Aggregation Operators
Authors: Verma Rajkumar , Mittal Niti
Published: April 2021

The linguistic Pythagorean fuzzy set (LPFS) is a prominent tool for comprehensively representing qualitative information data. Aggregation operators (AOs) play an essential role in multiple attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problems. In the present manuscript, we define four new operational laws for linguistic Pythagorean fuzzy numbers (LPFNs) based on Archimedean t-norm and t-conorm. Paper also uses the linguistic scale function (LSF) in order to accommodate different semantic situations during the operational process. Next, we introduce some new generalized arithmetic AOs, including the generalized Archimedean linguistic Pythagorean fuzzy weighted averaging (GALPFWA) operator, the generalized Archimedean linguistic Pythagorean fuzzy ordered weighted averaging (GALPFOWA) operator, the generalized Archimedean linguistic Pythagorean fuzzy hybrid averaging (GALPFHA) operator along with their desirable properties. The developed AOs include several existing linguistic Pythagorean fuzzy aggregation operators as their particular and limiting cases. Finally, using the proposed AOs, a new approach for solving the MAGDM problem is given and illustrated with a real-life numerical example to demonstrate its flexibility and effectiveness.
Integrated Palliative Care: Triggers for referral to palliative care in ICU patients
Authors: Nadkarni Yashna , Kukec Ivana , Gruber Pascale , Jhanji Shaman , Droney Joanne
Published: April 2021

IntroductionPalliative care within Intensive Care Units (ICU) benefits decision making, symptom control and end-of-life care. It has shown to reduce length of ICU stay and the use of non-beneficial and unwanted life-sustaining therapies. However, it is often initiated late or not at all. There is increasing evidence behind screening ICU patients using certain criteria or “triggers”.The aim of the project was to assess the need for palliative care referral during ICU admission using “Trigger” tools.MethodsElectronic patient record review of cancer patients who died in or within 30 days of discharge from oncology ICU 2016-18. Patients referred to palliative care prior to or during ICU admission were identified. Three sets of palliative care referral “triggers” were applied: one that is being tested locally and two internationally derived tools. The proportion of patients who met any of these triggers during their final ICU admission was calculated.ResultsPatients included:149. Median age: 65 years (range 20-83).Unplanned ICU admissions: 89%.Most common diagnoses: Haemato-oncology (32%); gastrointestinal cancer (22%).Patients not known to palliative care team before ICU admission: 73%Patients referred to palliative care from ICU admission to death: 44%The overall median time (range) between palliative care referral and death: 0 (0-19) days.97% to 99% patients warranted referral to palliative care on admission to ICU, using the internationally and locally derived trigger tools.ConclusionAll “Triggers” tools identified a high proportion of patients who may have benefitted from palliative care referral on admission to ICU.
Stratum Lacunosum-moleculare Interneurons of the Hippocampus Coordinate Memory Encoding and Retrieval
Authors: Guo Jun , Oliveros Heankel , Oh So Jung , Liang Bo , Li Ying , Kavalali Ege , Lin Da-Ting , Xu Wei
Published: April 2021

Encoding and retrieval of memory are two processes serving distinct biological purposes but operating in highly overlapping brain circuits. It is unclear how the two processes are coordinated in the same brain regions, especially in the hippocampal CA1 region where the two processes converge at the cellular level. Here we find that the neuron-derived neurotrophic factor (NDNF)-positive interneurons at stratum lacunosum-moleculare (SLM) in CA1 play opposite roles in memory encoding and retrieval. These interneurons show high activities in learning and low activities in recall. Increasing their activity facilitates learning but impairs recall. They inhibit the entorhinal- but dis-inhibit the CA3- inputs to CA1 pyramidal cells and thereby either suppress or elevate CA1 pyramidal cells’ activity depending on animal’s behavioral states. Thus, by coordinating entorhinal- and CA3- dual inputs to CA1, these SLM interneurons are key to switching the hippocampus between encoding and retrieval modes.
Comparison of Oral Dydrogesterone with a Micronized Vaginal Progesterone in Fresh Embryo Transfer in IVF ± ICSI
Authors: Cessot Marion , Fraison Eloise , Labrune Elsa , Benchaib Mehdi , Salle Bruno
Published: April 2021

Introduction: Luteal insufficiency corresponds to a progesterone deficiency affecting women who receive treatment for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Different routes of progesterone administration exist and have varying degrees of acceptability to patients. The aim of this study was to compare two luteal phase support (LPS) treatments: oral dydrogesterone versus micronized vaginal progesterone on the clinical pregnancy rates after fresh embryo transfert. Material and Methods: This study was a retrospective, monocentric and observational study carried out in the reproductive medicine department at the University Hospital, Femme Mère Enfant in Lyon. 580 consecutive women between 18 and 43 years old, who completed an IVF cycle with or without ICSI, followed by fresh embryo transfer on the second or third day after oocyte retrieval (D2 or D3) or at the blastocyst stage (D5 or D6) between July 2019 and July 2020 were included.Results: In the univariate analysis, the clinical pregnancy rate per transfer was comparable between the MVP and OD groups (29.7% and 27.6% respectively with p = 0.6460). In the multivariate analysis, OD also appeared to be associated with a similar pregnancy rate compared to MVP, with a non-significant difference (p > 0.05) (OR [95% CI]): 0.922 [0.626; 1,358] with p = 0.6817. The use of OD compared to MVP did not significantly influence the clinical pregnancy rate in any age group (p > 0.05) (OR [95% CI]): 0.954 [0.657; 1.386] with p = 0.8057. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the clinical pregnancy rate, whether the patients belonged to the reference population of the center or not (p > 0.05) (OR [95% CI]): 2.367 [0.568; 3.568] with p < 0.0001. Conclusion: This is the largest retrospective study comparing these two routes of progestogens in LPS during IVF and it reinforces the use of the oral form to improve patients’ comfort.
Evaluation of moderate temperature thermal pretreatment effects on the high-solid anaerobic digestion of OFMSW
Authors: Kamali Masoud , Abdi Reza , Rohani Abbas , Abdollahpor Shamsollah , Ebrahimi Sirous
Published: April 2021

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW), leads to a reduction of methane emission to the atmosphere besides production of bioenergy. In this work, applying moderate temperature thermal pretreatment at 70, 90 and 110°C for the durations of 30,75,120 and 180 minutes on relatively high solid concentration (16%) OFMSW AD using batch biomethane potential assays (BMP) under mesophilic conditions has been studied. To evaluate the effects of each temperature and time of pretreatment and their interactions on methane production, factorial experiments in completely randomized design were implemented. The criteria used for deciding on the effectiveness of the thermal pretreatments were the methane enhancement and net energy production. Though, all the aforementioned thermal pretreatments increased methane yield, the energy balance evaluation revealed that the recovery of bioenergy is feasible for some of these pretreatments and could contribute to a positive energy balance. The best result of methane production (342.66 ± 6.11 ml CH4/g VS), which was approximately 34% higher compared with the specific methane production of untreated OFMSW, was obtained by implementing pretreatment at 90°C for 120 minutes as well as the net energy generation of 57.26 KWh/ton, resulting from applying this thermal pretreatment.
Defense Response of Pumpkin Rootstock To Cadmium
Authors: Chen Bi-Hua , Zhang Huai-Xia , Guo Wei-Li , Zhou Jun-Guo , Li Xin-Zheng
Published: April 2021

Cadmium pollution is severe in cucumber, although grafting is an effective method to improve its stress tolerance. Pumpkin is the commonly-used grafting rootstock for cucumber, and the breeding of rootstock with cadmium tolerance plays a vital role in the safe production of cucumber. However, there are no reports on rootstocks specific for cadmium tolerance. In this study, the rootstock of a pumpkin cross combination and its parents were used for the study of cadmium stress. The results indicated that under the 24mg·L− 1cadmium stress, the relative conductivity of cross combination decreased by 35.86%~36.31% compared with the parents. When the concentrations of cadmium stress were 8 mg·L− 1and 16 mg·L− 1, respectively, the peroxidase (POD) activity of cross combination was higher than those of the parents. The subcellular distribution of cadmium in the root systems of the cross and the 041 − 1 parent was in the cell wall first, followed by the cytoplasm and organelle, while that in the root system of 360-3 parent was in the cell wall first, followed by the organelle and cytoplasm. Under cadmium stress with the 24mg·L− 1concentration, the transfer coefficient of cross was significantly lower than that of the parents. The cross initiated the activity of membrane protective enzyme POD under cadmium stress, relieved the damage to membrane, and reduced the toxicity of cadmium through the accumulation of cadmium in the cell wall that blocked its entrance to the cytoplasm. This study provides a theoretical foundation to breed cadmium-tolerant rootstocks for melon vegetables.
The Change in Retinal Ellipsoid Zone Thickness in Patients with Reticular Macular Disease
Authors: Diao Yuyao , Hao Hua , Cheng Lu , Pattisapu Varun , Huang Hao , Wei Yongzhao , Cheng Hao
Published: April 2021

Purpose: Compare the thickness of the retinal ellipsoidal zone in patients with Reticular Macular Disease (RMD) to a control population.Methods: This case-control study was conducted on patients diagnosed with RMD at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from April 2018 to November 2018. We identified 25 cases who were diagnosed with RMD and 20 normal control eyes. Divide the posterior pole into five regions (superior, inferior, nasal, temporal, and subfoveal zones), and manually measure the five regions posterior ellipsoidal zone thickness, all the images were obtained by SD-OCT. Generalized estimating equation models were used to control for potential confounders and within-subject variation.Results: The mean ellipsoidal zone thickness in RMD patients five regions were all significantly lower than in the control group (all P<0.01). The mean ellipsoidal zone thickness value in men with RMD has a more significant change than females. Furthermore, the mean ellipsoidal zone thickness of reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) eyes with drusen were not significantly different from the pure RPD eyes (P=0.34). Conclusions: Our findings reveal that the mechanism of RMD occurs may be related to damage to the mitochondria of photoreceptor cells, which may be one of the mechanisms that RMD occurs. When the impairment degree of mitochondria reach to a certain level, may lead to further vision loss in RMD patients. Therefore, to protect the retinal ellipsoidal zone and its mitochdrial early is important to prevent further impairment of visual function and vision loss.
Taxane Use for Breast Cancer in Pregnancy: Neonatal Follow-Up Of Infants with Positive Detection of Intact Paclitaxel and Metabolites in Meconium at Birth
Authors: Cardonick Elyce , O’Laughlin Andie , So Samantha , Fleischer Lindsay , Akoto Serwaa
Published: April 2021

Paclitaxel is often excluded during pregnancy for women with breast cancer due to limited neonatal follow-up. We confirmed in utero fetal Paclitaxel exposure for 8 newborns. Birth details and follow-up to 36 months of age is reported. Meconium samples from newborns exposed to chemotherapy were screened by liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry while blinded to maternal treatment during pregnancy. Newborn information at birth and annually was obtained. Mean gestational age (GA) at cancer diagnosis and start of chemotherapy was 8.7 + 6.2 weeks and 17.1 +/- 3.5 weeks. Paclitaxel was started at a mean GA of 27.0 +/- 5.8 weeks. Paclitaxel followed Doxorubicin/Cyclophosphamide in 6 cases, 5-Fluouracil/Doxorubicin/Cyclophosphamide in 1, and was used alone in 1. Mean number of days between Paclitaxel and birth was 23 +/- 15. Identification of Paclitaxel and/or metabolites was made in all taxane exposed samples. Birthweight was < 10% for GA in 3 infants. Three anomalies occurred: hip dysplasia and mitral valve stenosis. The 3rd child was diagnosed with Cleidocranial Dysostosis, a familial anomaly. Mean age at pediatric follow-up is 18.7 + 9.3 months. Pediatricians report eczema and recurrent otitis media in 1 child, iron deficiency anemia and sinusitis in 2. One child is < 10% for height and weight at 15 months. All are meeting developmental milestones at median age of 18.7 months, range: 6–36 months. Conclusion: Up to 3 years of age, follow-up of neonates exposed to Paclitaxel in utero is reassuring. Continued observation of neonatal development is essential.
Physical Therapy for Type III Spinal Muscular Atrophy in a Uyghur Pedigree
Authors: wang yangyang , Ma Jing , Li Chunli , Xu Hai , Chi Jiejun , Xu Yipeng , Xie Rong
Published: April 2021

Background: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetically determined neuromuscular disease with predominantly proximal muscle atrophy and weakness caused by degeneration of lower motor neurons in the central nervous system. SMN1 is recognized as an SMA causing gene. The SMN2 copy numbers was assessed for SMA severity. Multiple ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technique allows to confirm the diagnosis of SMA. The clinical spectrum in affected individuals varies widely from severe generalized weakness (SMA types I and II) to modest proximal muscle weakness (SMA types III and IV). Most patients with SMA have reduced muscle strength and physical dysfunction more or less. Preliminary evidence in people with SMA and in SMA animal models suggests exercise has potential benefits in improving or stabilizing muscle strength and motor function. Physical therapy (PT) in the case with SMA type III to assess the effects.Methods: MLPA was carried out in a family with maternal consanguineous marriage. We evaluated feasibility, safety, and effects on strength and motor function of a supervised progressive resistance strength training exercise program in the children with SMA types III.Results: A SMA III pedigree from the Uyghur population was found a homozygous deletion of SMN1 exon 7 and exon 8. Numbers of SMN2 were 4 copies in them. The proband’s son is well tolerated to physical training. PT training is benefical to his physical function and yet improvement in fatigue and muscle strength gets limited.Conclusions: A two sessions supervised, 3 days/week progressive resistance training exercise program is feasible, safe, and well tolerated in children with SMA III.
Progranulin And Activin A Concentrations Are Elevated In Serum From Patients With Acute Exacerbations of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Authors: Xie Tian , Han Lizhen , Chen Yongxing , Wu Haihong
Published: April 2021

Purpose To examine the serum concentrations of Progranulin (PGRN) and activin A in patients with acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF) in a pilot study. Methods Twenty-one patients with AE-IPF were compared with 23 patients with stable idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) as a control group. Serum PGRN and activin A levels, arterial blood gas measurements and lung function were determined in these two groups. Students t-test was used to compare the differences in PGRN and activin A levels between the two groups, and Spearman correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between serum PGRN and activin A levels with carbon monoxide diffusion capacity in patients with IPF. Results Peripheral blood PGRN and activin A levels in patients with AE-IPF were 83.7+10.0 and 14.2+1.7 ng/ml (mean+SD), respectively, higher than those in the control group 61.0+5.8, and 5.8+1.0 (p<0.001). PGRN and activin A levels were significantly negatively correlated with carbon monoxide diffusion capacity (r=-0.857 p<0.001) and r=-0.757 (p<0.001). Conclusion: PGRN and activin A may be involved in the pathogenesis of AE-IPF. They may be possible markers of activity in AE-IPF.
Skeletal muscle fiber-type switching, myopathy, and exercise intolerance in Sigmar1 null mice
Authors: Aishwarya Richa , Abdullah Chowdhury , Remex Naznin , Alam Shafiul , Morshed Mahboob , Nitu Sadia , Hartman Brandon , King Judy , Bhuiyan Mohammad Alfred Nobel , Orr A. , Kevil Christopher , Bhuiyan Md. Shenuarin
Published: April 2021

Sigmar1 is a widely expressed, multitasking molecular chaperone protein playing functional roles in several cellular processes. Mutations in the Sigmar1 gene have been reported to associate with several motor neuropathies, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, distal hereditary motor neuropathy, silver-like syndrome, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. All these human mutations associated with motor neuropathies show strong manifestation in skeletal muscle with phenotypes like muscle wasting and atrophy. However, the physiological function of Sigmar1 in skeletal muscle remains unexplored. Here, we determined the physiological role of Sigmar1 in skeletal muscle structure and function in five different skeletal muscles: gastrocnemius (Gastro), quadriceps (Quad), soleus (Sol), extensor digitorum longus (EDL), and tibialis anterior (TA). Quantification of myofiber cross-sectional area (CSA) showed altered muscle mass and a slow-to-fast fiber-type switch in the skeletal muscle fibers of the Sigmar1−/− mice. Interestingly, ultrastructural analysis by transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of tubular aggregates in the type I myofibers (Gastro, Quad, and TA) of Sigmar1−/− mice. Immunostaining also showed derangements in dystrophin localization in skeletal muscles from Sigmar1−/− mice. Additionally, skeletal muscle myopathy in Sigmar1−/− mice was associated with an increased number of central nuclei, increased collagen deposition, and fibrosis. Functional studies also showed reduced endurance and exercise capacity in the Sigmar1−/− mice. Overall, our studies demonstrated, for the first time, a potential physiological function of Sigmar1 in the skeletal muscle in maintaining healthy muscle structure and function.
Prediction Model for Severe Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia in Pediatric Patients by Admission Laboratory Indicators
Authors: Chang Qing , Chen Hong-Lin , Wu Neng-Shun , Gao Yan-Min , Yu Rong , Zhu Wei-Min
Published: April 2021

Objective

The purpose of this study was to develop a model for predicting severe mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (SMMP) in pediatric patients with MMP on admission by laboratory indicators.
Methods

Pediatric patients with MPP from January 2019 to December 2020 in our hospital were enrolled in this study. SMMP was diagnosed according to guideline for diagnosis and treatment of community acquired pneumonia in children (2019 version). Prediction model was developed according to the admission laboratory indicators. ROC curve and Goodness of fit test were analyzed for the predictive value.
Results

A total of 233 MMP patients were included in the study, with 121 males and 112 females, aged 4.541 (1–14) years. Among them, 84 (36.1%, 95% CI 29.9%-42.6%) pediatric patients were diagnosed as SMPP. Some admission laboratory indicators (IgM, eosinophil proportion, eosinophil count, hemoglobin, ESR, total protein, albumin and prealbumin) were found statistically different (P < 0.05) between non-SMMP group and SMMP group. Logistic regress analysis showed IgM, eosinophil proportion, eosinophil count, ESR, and prealbumin were independent risk factors for SMMP. According to these five admission laboratory indicators, Nomograph prediction model was developed. The AUC of the Nomograph prediction model was 0.777, and the goodness of fit test showed that the predicted incidence of the model was consistent with the actual incidence (χ2 = 244.51, P = 0.203).
Conclusion

We developed a model for predicting SMMP in pediatric patients by admission laboratory indicators. This model has good discrimination and calibration, which provides a basis for the early identification SMMP on admission.
Geographical Access to Health Facilities and Maternal Healthcare Utilization in Benin: A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Tanou Mariam , Kishida Takaaki , Kamiya Yusuke
Published: April 2021

Background: The world is making progress toward achieving maternal and child health (MCH) related components of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nevertheless, the progress of many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging. Geographical accessibility from residence to health facilities is suspected to be a major obstacle hampering the use of appropriate MCH services. Benin, a country with unique geographical characteristics whereby the southern and northern parts belong to different climatic zones, sees the highest maternal mortality rate among the world. Adequate use of MCH care is important to save lives of women and their babies. This study assessed the effect of distance to health facilities on maternal healthcare utilization in Benin, with an emphasis on geographical zones.Methods: We pooled two rounds of Benin Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHS). The sample included 32,727 women aged 15–49 years (16,599 from BDHS-2011/2012 and 15,928 from BDHS-2017/2018). We measured the distance from residential areas to the closest health center by merging the BDHS datasets with Benin’s geographic information system data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the effect of distance on maternal healthcare utilization. We conducted a propensity score-matching analysis to check for robustness.Results: Regression results showed that the distance to the closest health center had adverse effects on the likelihood of a woman receiving appropriate maternal healthcare. The estimates showed that one km increase in distance to the nearest health center reduces the odds of the woman receiving at least one antenatal care by 0.034, delivering in facility by 0.020, and delivering her baby with assistance of skilled birth attendants by 0.028. Nonetheless, these effects were mainly seen in the northern part of Benin.Conclusions: Geographical accessibility to health facilities is critically important for the improvement of appropriate maternal healthcare, particularly in the northern part of Benin. Investment in transport infrastructure should be prioritized for further improvements in the MCH.
Security of an RFID Based Authentication Protocol with Bitwise Operations for Supply Chain
Authors: Akram Muhammad Arslan , Mian Adnan Noor
Published: April 2021

Due to the stringent computational capabilities of low-cost RFID tags, several lightweight secure authentication protocols have been proposed for an RFID-based supply chain using bitwise operations. In this paper, we study the vulnerabilities associated with bitwise operations by doing cryptanalysis of a secure lightweight authentication protocol for RFID tags. The bitwise operations like rotation and XOR show that the protocol is vulnerable to tag, reader, and supply chain node impersonation attacks. We find that the major cause of the vulnerability is bitwise operations and suggest using the physically unclonable functions rather than bitwise operations to secure such lightweight protocols.
Pentahydroxy flavonoid isolated from Madhuca indica ameliorated adjuvant-induced arthritis: Possible role of TNF-α, IL’s, NF-kβ, Ikβα, COX-2, P2X7
Authors: Tang Yongliang , Xie Daotao , Gong Wenqing , Wu Hongtao , Qiang Yi
Published: April 2021

Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder associated with progressive joint disability. Madhuca indica J. F. Gmel (family Sapotaceae) is an Indian medicinal plant reported to have an array of pharmacological properties.Objective To evaluate the anti-arthritic activity of isolated phytoconstituent from methanolic extract of Madhuca indica Leaves (MI-ALC) and its possible mechanism of action in FCA induced experimental arthritis.Materials and methods Polyarthritis was induced in female Wistar rats by intradermal administration of FCA (0.1 ml) into the tail. Polyarthritis was allowed to develop for the next 32 days. Then rats were treated with isolated phytoconstituent from MI-ALC (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg, p.o.)Results HPTLC, FTIR, and LC-MS spectral analysis of phytoconstituent isolated from MI-ALC confirmed the structure as 3,5,7,3′,4′- Pentahydroxy flavone (i.e., QTN). Treatment with QTN (10 and 20 mg/kg) showed significant inhibition (p < 0.05) in FCA-induced increased paw volume, joint diameter, paw withdrawal threshold, and latency. The elevated synovial oxido-nitrosative stress and protein levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were significantly reduced (p < 0.05)by QTN. Western blot analysis revealed QNT significantly ameliorated (p < 0.05) up-regulated NF-kβ, Ikβα, COX-2, and P2X7 protein expressions.Conclusion QTN ameliorates FCA-induced hyperalgesia via inhibition of elevated oxido-nitrosative stress, inflammatory mediators (NF-kβ, Ikβα, COX-2, and P2X7), and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) in experimental rats.
Taxonomical and functional changes in COVID-19 faecal microbiome are related to SARS-CoV-2 faecal load
Authors: Armengaud Jean , Grenga Lucia , Pible Olivier , Miotello Guylaine , Culotta Karen , Ruat Sylvie , Roncato Marie-Anne , Gas Fabienne , Bellanger Laurent , Claret Pierre-Géraud , Dunyach-Remy Catherine , Laureillard Didier , Sotto Albert , Lavigne Jean-Philippe
Published: April 2021

Since the beginning of the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract has emerged as an important organ influencing the propensity to and potentially severity of the related COVID-19 disease. However, the contribution of the SARS-CoV-2 intestinal infection on COVID-19 pathogenesis remains to be clarified. In this exploratory study, we evidenced that alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota depends on the levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the gastrointestinal tract but not on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the respiratory tract, COVID-19 severity and GI symptoms. Altered molecular functions in the microbiota profiles of high SARS-CoV-2 RNA level faeces as established by metaproteomics highlight mechanisms that may contribute to vicious cycles. Uncovering the role of this gut microbiota dysbiosis could drive the investigation of alternative therapeutic strategies to favour the clearance of the virus and potentially mitigate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Identification And Quantification Of Hydrocarbons Produced From The Acid-Pretreated Kitchen Waste By Using Fungal And Bacterial Strains
Authors: Zahara Nayab , Jalees Muhammad Irfan , Farooq Muhammad Umar , Iqbal Arfa , Malik Sadaan Umais
Published: April 2021

This study was conducted to identify and quantify hydrocarbons produced during bio-fuel production using kitchen waste (KW). KW is a complex mixture of hardly digestible compounds, mainly lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose, and easily digestible compounds, mostly starchy materials. Therefore, KW has a high potential for the production of biofuel after the chemical hydrolysis of lignocellulose, starch and carbohydrates. In this study, after the physically pretreatment (dried and crushed) of KW, dilute-acid hydrolysis was used for the hydrolysis of lignocellulose and starchy materials, eliminating the enzymes requirement. The dilute acid hydrolysis was conducted with 1, 3 and 5% (w/w) sulfuric acid at 90 and 120°C for 30, 60, 90 and 120 min. The hydrolysis with 5% acid at 120°C for 120 min resulted in the hydrolysate with the highest reducing sugar concentration of 97.917 ± 0.5 g/kg and Energy of 1.567 ± 0.008 MJ/kg. The reducing sugars were used as substrate in fermentation by fungal strain Aspergillus niger, bacterial strains Lacto-bacillus and Escherichia coli, to produce hydrocarbons. The fermented product was quantified after every day till the fermentation time is over i.e. no more products were formed. Biofuel production from Aspergillus niger, Escherichia coli and Lacto-bacillus was 64%, 45% and 50% after 72 hr. Fermented product contains mainly hydrocarbons as identified by GC-MS analysis. Calorific value of sample and biofuel determined on Differential Scanning Calorimetry were 0.6MJ kg− 1 for sample before fermentation and 3.56 MJ kg− 1, 3.33 MJ kg− 1 and 2.67 MJ kg− 1 for KW fermented by Aspergillus niger, Escherichia coli and Lacto-bacillus, respectively. Hence, maximum of 64% reducing sugars were converted into hydrocarbons (biofuel) after fermentation by Aspergillus niger.
Optimal Energy-Delay Scheduling using Improved Beetle Antennae Search (BAS) for Energy-Harvesting WSNs
Authors: Ku Battina Srinuvasu , Santhi S.G. , Narayana S.
Published: April 2021

Optimal energy delay scheduling for capacity allocation issues on interference chan- nel energy harvesting wireless sensor networks (EH-WSN) addresses for static data streams and energy topography. To create the optimizations issue of unique and multi-time interval corre- spondingly. The goal is for reducing overall regression of the network. Though, the optimization issue is not convex, creating it hard to get an optimal solution. The main objective of this manuscript is directly addressing the original non-convex formulation using the enhanced Beetle Antennae Search (BAS) algorithm that efficiently finds the optimal solution. This algorithm is also better for another complex optimization issues on wireless network design. The simulations under delay, delratio, drop, energy, network lifetime, overhead and throughput are carried; the expected outcome displays that improved BAS algorithm executes considerably better than the convex approximation technique. This idea is useful for other complex optimization issues on wireless network design.
Conditioned Medium of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Decreases Liver Fibrosis Caused by Acetaminophen by Suppressing the Systemic Inflammatory Response.
Authors: Temnov Andrey , Sklifas Alla , Zhalimov Vitaly , Sharapov Mars , Кodunov Alexey , Rogov Konstantin
Published: April 2021

This study explored the effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) conditioned medium (CM) on the severity of systemic inflammatory response caused by acetaminophen administration. The long-term effects of the toxin on the liver tissue were analysed. The effect of a fraction of the conditioned medium on the functional activity of isolated neutrophils was investigated using a model of sterile inflammation. The study showed that the >30 kDa CM fraction possesses the maximum protective effect. Proteins of this fraction reduce the severity of the systemic inflammatory reaction and the extent of liver tissue fibrosis after the toxin injection in the long term. By using the sterile inflammation model, CM was shown to reduce the complex activity of NADPH oxidase, which leads to a decrease in the total reactive oxygen species production. The CM derived from the cultivation of stem cells reduces the severity of the systemic inflammatory response through suppression of the functional activity of neutrophils.
Performance Analysis of Software-Defined PHY-I Visible Light Communication System
Authors: Bekçibaşı Uğur , TASDELEN Kubilay
Published: April 2021

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Using blockchain technology in IoT manufacture environment for intelligence prediction
Authors: Liu HongLing , Chen Yuqiang
Published: April 2021

Blockchain technology has become more important in recent years in Internet of Things (IoT) manufacturing. Many IoT manufacturing factories have successively invested in the blockchain architecture in the system to manage the data of the IoT manufacturing system for intelligence prediction. The blockchain-based system architecture can ensure the process of data transmission and preservation. However, the use of storage space in industrial IoT systems using blockchain architecture will become a major challenge. Since the blockchain itself is based on the concept of a peer-to-peer network, any node must hold complete blockchain information. When there are thousands of nodes, the cost of hard disk space for storing these data will increase drastically as the number of nodes increases. In addition, newly added working nodes must also copy the original complete blockchain information, and will increase in expansion costs. In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposed a blockchain structure to reduce the space and network transmission costs. The architecture divides the traditional blockchain into two parts, which are divided into private blockchain and public blockchain according to the edge and the cloud. Each workshop will manage its own private blockchain, and the cloud will manage itself public blockchain. Under the proposed structure, each working node only needs to maintain the blockchain at its edge node, and does not need to communicate with other edge node. The experimental results, it can effectively intelligence predict the space cost of node expansion, and it can also avoid the unnecessary network communication overhead caused by the traditional architecture. It can improve the space used of blockchain and reduce the network transfer time.
Ranibizumab or Aflibercept for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Twelve-Month Outcomes of Therapeutic Program in Non-Tertiary Institution: A Comparative Study.
Authors: Skrzypczak Tomasz , Jany Aleksandra , Bugajska-Abramek Ewa , Bogusławska Joanna , Kowal-Lange Agnieszka
Published: April 2021

Purpose: This single center study aimed to compare the 12-month treatment outcomes of ranibizumab with that of aflibercept in routine clinical practice.Methods: Cohort of patients diagnosed with treatment-naïve neovascular AMD, treated using either ranibizumab (n = 33 eyes) or aflibercept (n = 44 eyes) monotherapy over a 12-month follow-up period was analyzed. Anonymous data were extracted from the electronic database dedicated to the drug program.Results: In the ranibizumab group, there were not statistically significant changes in BCVA (ETRDS letters) and CRT (µm), between baseline (67.9 ± 8.6 & 384.9 ± 97.9) and at 12 months (67.9 ± 12.1 & 398.9 ± 127.1; P = 0.372 & P = 0.884, respectively). In the aflibercept, there was an improvement in BCVA and reduction in CRT between baseline (64.2 ± 8.1 & 414.3 ± 97.8) and at 12 months (70.7 ± 7.4 & 342.3 ± 71.6; P <.001 & P <.001, respectively). There was no difference in BCVA between the two groups at either diagnosis (P= 0.101) or 12 months (P= 0.917). Mean number of injections in the ranibizumab group was significantly lower (4.9 ± 1.5) than in the aflibercept group (6.7 ± 1; P<.001).Conclusions: One initial injection of ranibizumab and then PRN regimen resulted in stabilization of disease progression. Drug selection and treatment scheme could influence twelve-months outcomes. In the aflibercept group, three initial monthly injections and then every two months provided both significant BCVA improvement and CRT reduction at 12 months of treatment.