bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DHCR7 Expression Predicts Poor Outcomes and Mortality from Sepsis
Authors: Guirgis Faheem W. , Jacob Vinitha , Wu Dongyuan , Henson Morgan , Daly-Crews Kimberly , Hopson Charlotte , Black Lauren Page , DeVos Elizabeth L. , Sulaiman Dawoud , Labilloy Guillaume , Brusko Todd M. , Shavit Jordan A. , Bertrand Andrew , Feldhammer Matthew , Baskovich Brett , Graim Kiley , Datta Susmita , Reddy Srinivasa T.
Published: January 2023

Objective: Sepsis patients experience poor outcomes including chronic critical illness (CCI) or early death (within 14 days). We investigated lipid metabolic gene expression differences by outcome to discover therapeutic targets.
Design: Secondary analysis of samples from prospectively enrolled sepsis patients and a zebrafish sepsis model for drug discovery.
Setting: Emergency department or ICU at an urban teaching hospital.
Patients: Sepsis patients presenting within 24 hours.
Methods: Enrollment samples from sepsis patients were analyzed. Clinical data and cholesterol levels were recorded. Leukocytes were processed for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). A lipopolysaccharide (LPS) zebrafish sepsis model was used for confirmation of human transcriptomic findings and drug discovery.
Measurements and Main Results: There were 96 samples in the derivation (76 sepsis, 20 controls) and 52 in the validation cohort (sepsis only). The cholesterol metabolism gene 7-Dehydrocholesterol Reductase (DHCR7) was significantly upregulated in both derivation and validation cohorts in poor outcome sepsis compared to rapid recovery patients and in 90-day non-survivors (validation only) and validated using RT-qPCR analysis. Our zebrafish sepsis model showed upregulation of dhcr7 and several of the same lipid genes upregulated in poor outcome human sepsis (dhcr24, sqlea, cyp51, msmo1, ldlra) compared to controls. We then tested six lipid-based drugs in the zebrafish sepsis model. Of these, only the Dhcr7 inhibitor AY9944 completely rescued zebrafish from LPS death in a model with 100% lethality.
Conclusions: DHCR7, an important cholesterol metabolism gene, was upregulated in poor outcome sepsis patients warranting external validation. This pathway may serve as a potential therapeutic target to improve sepsis outcomes.
Changes in Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen following long-term grazing exclusion in Saral grasslands, Kurdistan (Iran)
Authors: Bandak Isa , Karami Parviz , Karaji Mahtab Gurgin , Dragovich Deirdre
Published: January 2023

Background and aims: Land use change favouring agriculture is considered a global threat as it interrupts ecosystem services of grasslands. However, exclosure from grazing has been widely known as effective in maintaining or even restoring grasslands. This study examined the impacts of long-term (45 years) exclosure, heavy grazing and rainfed wheat farming on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in the cold semi-arid grasslands of Saral Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station, Kurdistan, Iran.
Methods: In this investigation, 90 soil samples were taken from 0-20 cm depth within an area of 0.5 hectare for each land use (exclosure, heavy grazing, wheat farming). Samples were collected in the four non-consecutive years of 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021. The Walkley-Black and Kjeldahl methods were used to measure SOC and TN respectively.
Results: Results showed that value of SOC differed significantly among different land uses (P<0.01). In the studied years, SOC in the excluded site in 2021 had the highest level with 34,787 kg/ha, while the grazed site recorded the lowest SOC with 26,342 kg/ha in the same year. TN was also the highest at 0.130 percent in the excluded area in 2021, while TN was lower at 0.102 and 0.103 percent in the grazed and wheat-farming areas respectively in 2021.
Conclusion: This suggests that in grasslands with the same ecological conditions, managers can choose appropriate grazing intensity as an alternative to either heavy grazing or rainfed wheat farming, though more investigations on the efficiency of different grazing intensities are needed.
Aberrant Histone Modification of TNFAIP3, TLR4, TNIP2, miR-146a, and miR-155 in Major Depressive Disorder
Authors: Tseng Chu-Chiao , Wang Shao-Cheng , Yang Yi-Chien , Fu Hung-Chun , Chou Chen-Kai , Kang Hong-Yo , Hung Yi-Yung
Published: January 2023

Activated toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling has been well investigated in major depressive disorder (MDD). We previously reported that TNFAIP3, TLR4, TNIP2, miR-146a, and miR-155 play important roles in regulating the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway and may serve as novel targets in the pathogenesis of MDD. Recently, aberrant histone modification has been implicated in several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and mood disorder; the most thoroughly studied modification is histone 3 lysine 4 tri-methylation (H3K4me3). In this work, we aimed to explore H3K4me3 differences in the promotors of genes encoding the abovementioned factors in patients with MDD, and whether they were altered after antidepressant treatment. A total of 28 MDD patients and 28 healthy controls were recruited. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected. The levels of H3K4me3 in the promoters of TNFAIP3, TLR4, TNIP2, miR-146a, and miR-155were measured through chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by DNA methylation assay. Analysis of covariance was used to evaluate between-group differences after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and smoking. In comparison with healthy controls, patients with MDD showed significantly lower H3K4me3 levels in the promoters of TNFAIP3, TLR4, TNIP2, miR-146a, and miR-155 in PBMCs. These levels were not significantly altered after completion of a 4-week antidepressant treatment. To explore the association between depression severity and H3K4me3 levels, a multiple linear regression model was generated. The results revealed that levels of H3K4me3 in the TNIP2 promoters a negative correlation with the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAND-17) score, whereas that of TLR4 had a positive correlation with this score. The present results suggest that decreased H3K4me3 levels in the promoters of the genes encoding TNFAIP3, TLR4, miR-146a, miR-155, andTNIP2 may be a mechanism underlying the mRNA expression dysregulation reported in MDD patients.
Flame Dynamics modelling using Artificial Thickened Models
Authors: Rathore Omer , Navarro-Martinez Salvador
Published: January 2023

Thickened flame models are prolific in the literature and offer an effective method of resolving flame dynamics on coarse LES meshes. The current state of the art relies heavily on the use of efficiency functions to compensate for impaired wrinkling of the thickened flame. However in practice these functions can involve parameters that are difficult to determine, perform poorly outside of certain ranges or require \emph{a posteriori} analysis to evaluate performance.
An alternative based on a generalised thickening is evaluated across a range of canonical configurations. The approach is demonstrated to perform well across a large range of thickening factors in capturing phenomena such as localised quenching and pinch off as well as generation of flame surface. Including good performance even in the case of large flame dynamics under acoustic forcing where the model has a clear advantage over DNS in achieving grid independence.
Finally the approach is unified into an Large Eddy Simulation/Adaptive Mesh Refinement framework and applied to a turbulent Bunsen flame.

The results show that even if the internal flame structure is poorly resolved on the original mesh, the global system behaviour is well predicted and compares favourably with other approaches.
Pseudo-Trilateral Adversarial Training for Domain Adaptive Traversability Prediction
Authors: Chen Zheng , Pushp Durgakant , Liu Lantao
Published: January 2023

Traversability prediction is a fundamental perception capability for autonomous navigation. Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been widely used to predict traversability during the last decade. The performance of DNNs is significantly boosted by exploiting a large amount of data. However, the diversity of data in different domains imposes significant gaps in the prediction performance. In this work, we make efforts to reduce the gaps by proposing a novel pseudo-trilateral adversarial model named CALI to perform unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA). Our aim is to transfer the perception model with high data efficiency, eliminate the prohibitively expensive data labeling, and improve the generalization capability during the adaptation from easy-to-access source domains to various challenging target domains. Existing UDA methods usually adopt a bilateral zero-sum game structure. We prove that our CALI model - a pseudo-trilateral game structure is advantageous over existing bilateral game structures. This proposed work bridges theoretical analyses and algorithm designs, leading to an efficient UDA model with easy and stable training. We show the superiorities of our proposed model over multiple baselines in several challenging domain adaptation setups. To further validate the effectiveness of our model, we then combine our perception model with a visual planner to build a navigation system and show the high reliability of our model in complex natural environments.
WITHDRAWN: Influence of Openings on Earthquake Performance of Confined Masonry Structures
Authors: Sheikh Uzair Ab Latif
Published: January 2023

The zone around the openings is the location of high stress concentration as a result of which tensile stress develops in the area around the openings in any structure whether RCC, unreinforced masonry or confined masonry. In case of confined masonry significant researches and experiments have shown that the size, location and shape of an opening have a significant effect over the behaviour of confined masonry wall although many codes do not consider this effect. This paper presents the effect of openings (windows) on earthquake resistant behaviour of confined masonry structure. Seismic analysis of considered four confined masonry structures is done to arrive at more accurate conclusions. Various output parameters compared include base shear, seismic weight of structures, time periods in both the directions i.e. x and y directions. It was concluded from the analysis results that window should be placed as far from the centre location of wall panel as possible otherwise, it affects the diagonal strut action of the masonry wall panel and hence reducing its seismic performance.
The Effect of Spinach on the dissolution of Clopidogrel tablets
Authors: Sadaqa Dana , Naseef Hani A. , Radwan Asma , Rabba Abdallah K. , Muqedi Ramzi H. M.
Published: January 2023

Background: Drug-food interaction is a serious issue that should be taken into consideration when administering drugs for chronic diseases and life-saving drugs such as anticoagulants. Alteration of the properties of gastric fluid such as pH and film precipitation on tablet had a significant impact on dissolution and release of the drug which may further affect its therapeutic effect.
Methods: In vitro disintegration and dissolution tests were done in HCl buffer and phosphate buffer with and without spinach extract in each media. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was performed to measure the drug release in all media. Disintegration was performed in simulated intestinal fluid and compared to disintegration of drug in 5% spinach without removal of leaves to study the effect of film precipitation on the penetration of fluid onto the tablet.
Results: Dissolution was reduced at increased concentrations of spinach extract. It was found that, an increased pH in HCl buffer whenever spinach extract concentration increased, as well as the reduced solubility of clopidogrel in the relatively high pH phosphate buffer, or it can be attributed to the possibility of formation of a new complex between metals in spinach extract and clopidogrel drug. Addition of spinach leaves to media resulted in reduced penetration of fluid onto the tablet and delayed disintegration was observed. In-vitro In-vivo correlation (IVIVC) was observed in HCl buffer with a value of R2 0.74.
Conclusion: Concomitant administration of spinach soup with clopidogrel tablets causes decreased plasma concentration of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) which may lead to decreased therapeutic efficacy and increased risk of cardiovascular events.
Evaluation of the impact of Covid-19 on Internet searches for bariatric surgery in the United Kingdom
Authors: TELFAH Muwaffaq , Currie Andrew , Amr Bassem , Welbourn Richard
Published: January 2023

Introduction: The Covid-19 (Covid) pandemic has significantly decreased the provision of UK bariatric surgery. We hypothesised that Internet searches for bariatric surgery might have increased during Covid. This study evaluated the impact of Covid on Internet searches for bariatric surgery in the UK population.
Materials and Methods: A Google Trends data search using search topics: ‘gastric bypass surgery’, ’sleeve gastrectomy’, ’adjustable gastric band’ and ‘gastric balloon’ was performed. Relative search volume (RSV) indices were reported from March 2017 to March 2022. Mean RSV pre-Covid (March 2017-March 2020) and during Covid (March 2020-March 2022) were compared. ANOVA was performed to determine the impact of Covid on RSV.
Results: Pre-Covid, gastric bypass surgery was most searched, whilst during Covid, sleeve gastrectomy became most commonly searched. ANOVA analysis revealed a significant increase in searches during Covid for sleeve gastrectomy (20.4% pre-Covid v 47.2% during Covid; p<00.1), gastric bypass surgery (25.4% v 30.7%; p<0.001) and gastric balloon (8.4% v 12.0%; p<0.001) but not adjustable gastric band (38.7% v 37.8%; p=0.350)
Conclusion: During the pandemic there was a significant increase in Internet searches for bariatric surgery, likely reflecting increased public awareness of the health impact of obesity and surgical treatment options.
Reorganization and suppression of store-operated calcium entry in podocytes induced by diabetes type 2
Authors: Gusev Konstantin , Shalygin Alexey , Kolesnikov Dmitrii , Shuyskiy Leonid , Makeenok Sofia , Glushankova Lyubov , Sivak Konstantin , Yakovlev Kirill , Orshanskaya Yana , Wang Guanghui , Bakhtyukov Andrey , Derkach Kira , Shpakov Alexander , Kaznacheyeva Elena
Published: January 2023

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is a widespread metabolic disorder that results in podocyte damage and diabetic nephropathy. Previous studies demonstrated that TRPC6 channels play a pivotal role in podocyte function and their dysregulation is associated with development of different kidney diseases including nephropathy. It was assumed that activation of TRPC6 channels leads directly to the Ca2+ influx into cells. Another Ca2+ influx pathway, a store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) via ORAI channels, was also shown to be disturbed during the diabetes development. Here, using single channel patch clamp technique, we demonstrated that non-selective cationic TRPC6 channels are sensitive to the Ca2+ store depletion in human podocyte cell line Ab8/13 and in freshly isolated rat glomerular podocytes. Ca2+ imaging indicated the involvement of ORAI and sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX) in Ca2+ entry induced upon store depletion. Ca2+ inflow by NCX is a result of pronounced TRPC6-mediated Na+ influx leading moreover to the membrane depolarization and ORAI suppression. In rats fed a high-fat diet combined with a low-dose streptozotocin injection, which leads to DM2 development, we observed the reduction of SOCE in rat glomerular podocytes. This was accompanied by a reorganization of store-operated Ca2+ influx such that TRPC6 channels lost their sensitivity to Ca2+ store depletion and ORAI-mediated Ca2+ entry is suppressed in TRPC6-independent manner. Altogether our data provide new insights into the mechanism of SOCE organization in podocytes in the norm and in pathology, which should be taken into account in the pharmacological treatment of the early stages of diabetic nephropathy.
The Influence of Patient Safety Culture on Intent to Leave among Jordanian Nurses
Authors: Dmaidi Kawther , Shosha Ghada Abu , Oweidat Islam , Nashwan Abdulqadir J.
Published: January 2023

Background: Patient safety culture is getting more attention from healthcare organizations worldwide, and Jordan is no exception. Nurses' satisfaction and retention are paramount to providing safe and high-quality patient care.
Purpose: To investigate the relationship between patient safety culture and intent to leave among Jordanian nurses.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. A sample of 220 nurses was selected through convenience sampling from one governmental and one private hospital in Amman. The patient safety culture survey and anticipated turnover scale were used to collect data.
Results: The findings showed that nurses had 49.2% positive scores for patient safety. Teamwork (65.3%) and handoff and exchange of information (62% each) had the highest scores, while staffing and work pace (38.1%) and response to error (26.6%) had the lowest. Moreover, nurses had strong intentions to leave their jobs (M = 3.98). A moderately significant but not highly negative relationship between patient safety culture and intent to leave (r = -0.32, p = 0.015) existed.
Conclusions: There are opportunities to improve patient safety culture, satisfaction, and nurse retention in Jordanian hospitals by implementing several recommendations, such as ensuring better staffing patterns and increasing staff motivation by utilizing various available methods.
Comparison of the overall route to sub-routes relating to phase-shifting behavior in a complex reaction mechanism
Authors: Rehman Anees Ur , Shahzad M. , Mustafa Soma
Published: January 2023

On both microscopic and macroscopic domains, the phase-shifting behavior of a complex reaction mechanism can be simulated by separating it into two or more routes. A complex reaction mechanism, the oxidation of carbon monoxide over platinum, was particularly chosen to compare the behavior of the overall mechanism to its sub-routes. The solution trajectories and the steady state behavior were observed on the microscopic level while the model reduction techniques: the Intrinsic Low Dimensional Manifold (ILDM) and the Spectral Quasi Equilibrium Manifold (SQEM) were applied to get macroscopic solutions. These model reduction techniques were implemented algorithmically to study two-dimensional invariant surfaces and to provide extensive route-wise comparisons.
A tension spline fitted numerical scheme for singularly perturbed reaction-diffusion problem with negative shift
Authors: Ejere Ababi Hailu , Duressa Gemechis File , Woldaregay Mesfin Mekuria , Dinka Tekle Gemechu
Published: January 2023

Objective: A numerical scheme is developed and analyzed for a singularly perturbed reaction-diffusion problem with a negative shift. The influence of the perturbation parameter exhibits boundary layers at the two ends of the domain, and the negative shift causes a strong interior layer. The rapidly changing behavior of the solution in the layers brings significant difficulties in solving the problem analytically. The problem is treated by proposing a numerical scheme using the implicit Euler method in the temporal direction and the spline tension method in the spatial direction with uniform meshes.
Result: Error estimate is investigated for the developed numerical scheme. The scheme is demonstrated by numerical examples. The theoretical and numerical results show that the method is uniformly convergent.
Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 65M06; secondary 65M12,
65M15
Multi-Parameter surface plasmon resonance instrument for multiple nucleic acid quantitative detection
Authors: Wang Huixiang , Wang Honggang , Huang Yafeng , Zhang Hao , Yang Zhenwei , Chen Yuanyuan , Qiu Xianbo , Yu Duli , Zhang Lulu
Published: January 2023

In this paper, a low-cost multi-parameter surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument is designed for the detection of nucleic acids with a functional biosensor. The photodiode array is used as the photodetector of the sensing system, which is cooperated with the linear light source, prism, and mechanical transmission system to form an integrated opto-mechatronic system. An adaptive threshold correction algorithm is proposed to solve the problem of inconsistent responsivity of each pixel of the photodiode array. The sensitivity of the instrument is 6.75×10-6 refractive index unit, measured with various concentrations of glycerol solution. Multiplex nucleic acid hybridization takes 30 minutes, and the biosensor can be regenerated over 50 times, with low-performance loss and good repeatability and specificity. The instrument has a limit of detection (LODs) of 50nM for target oligonucleotides, and the smallest detectable absolute amount of the sample is about 4 pmol. It provides a simple and efficient POCT detection platform for the detection of small molecules such as DNA and miRNA.
Comparison of Acute and Chronic Stage Ischemic Stroke Metabolome with Controls
Authors: Sidorov Evgeny V. , Rout Madhusmita , Xu Chao , Larsen Jordan , Fields Evan , Apple Blair , Smith Kyle , Gordon David , Chainakul Juliane , Sanghera Dharambir
Published: January 2023

Background
Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS), a major cause of disability, was previously associated with multiple metabolomic changes, but many findings were contradictory. Case-control and longitudinal study designs could have played a role in that. To clarify metabolomic changes, we performed a simultaneous comparison of ischemic stroke metabolome in acute, chronic stages of stroke and controls.
Methods
Through the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) platform, we evaluated 271 serum metabolites from a cohort of 297 AIS patients in acute and chronic stages and 159 controls. We used Sparse Partial Least Squares-Discriminant analysis (sPLS-DA) to evaluate group disparity; multivariate regression to compare metabolome in acute, chronic stages of stroke and controls; and mixed regression to compare metabolome acute and chronic stages of stroke. We applied false discovery rate (FDR) to our calculations.
Results
The sPLS-DA revealed separation of the metabolome in acute, chronic stages of stroke and controls. Regression analysis identified 38 altered metabolites. Ketone bodies, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), energy, and inflammatory compounds were elevated in the acute stage, but declined in the chronic stage, often to the same levels as in controls. Levels of other amino acids, phosphatidylcholines, phosphoglycerides, and sphingomyelins mainly did not change between acute and chronic stages, but was different comparing to controls.
Conclusion
Our pilot study identified metabolites associated with acute stage of ischemic stroke and those that are altered in stroke patients comparing to controls regardless of stroke acuity. Future investigation in a larger independent cohort is needed to validate these findings.
Examining the hysteresis loop of the SS316L U-shaped pipe considering ratcheting behavior
Authors: Shahrjerdi Ali
Published: January 2023

The current study examines the effect of ratcheting in U-shaped SS316L pipe under constant internal pressure and cyclic bending force on its fatigue life. For this purpose, empirical tests are performed using Zwick/Roell Amsler HB100 servohydraulic device. The tests have a pre-ratcheting stage of 400 cycles with different internal pressure, amplitude, and average bending force. The force-displacement hysteresis loops were obtained for each test. Notably, the specimens with equal internal pressure, mean force, and a higher force range tolerates more displacements. Besides, the the loops are created with a larger area and the high strain tolerance. In other words, more displacements are created and the increase of force amplitude results in strains in the initial cycles and moves the material towards hardening faster which is associated with the reduction of the displacement length. The specimen with equal internal pressure and force range, increasing the average force causes expansion of hysteresis loops and acceleration of hardening of the material, and the length of displacement zone decreases. The hysteresis diagrams indicate that increasing the force range has a greater effect on the hardening of the material than increasing the average force. It was found that samples with a higher force range and average force in the pre-ratcheting stage will have a higher fatigue life. Also, the effect of increasing the force amplitude on increasing the fatigue life is more than the average force. The obtained results of this study are beneficial to those aming to advance in the mechanical field and ratcheting.
Early pilot direct injection and external homogeneous charge preparation techniques in NOx reduction using a HCCI engine with stoichiometric diesel/waste plastic pyrolysis oil blends
Authors: R Jyothu Naik. , K Thirupathi Reddy.K , Sulakhe Vishal Narayanrao
Published: January 2023

In this paper presents the external homogeneous charge preparation (EHCP) is an important and best charge preparation technique for reducing oxides of nitrogen and soot emissions. In this method, the injector is to be found at the intake manifold, Hence the fuel travels along with the air owing the suction stroke. Experiments were carried out in a computerized 4-stroke single-cylinder diesel engine that was converted into HCCI mode. In this experiment, we use diesel, bio-diesel plastic oil as fuel mixing blends (WPPO 20% by volume) of biodiesel. The experimental result found that the cylinder peak pressure and heat release rate obtained were 38.18% and 24.46% for plastic oil 20. External homogeneous charge preparation plastic oil 20% blend has 37% higher brake thermal efficiency than early pilot direct injection D100 at full load. On other hand drastically reduction of NOx and smoke opacity by 32.77%, 30.74%.
Mini Vs Standart Pnl in the Management of Complex Renal Stones in Children: is the Role of Standard Pnl Over?
Authors: Guzel Rasim , Mousawi Shabir Al , Ozcan Tolga , Eryildirim Bilal , Sarica Kemal
Published: January 2023

Aim
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Mini vs Standard PNL in the management of large calculi in children.
Patients and Methods:
A total of 64 pediatric cases with large stones underwent either mini-PNL (Group 1, n = 42) or standard PNL procedure (Group 2, n = 22) for the minimal invasive management of these calculi. Pre-intra and post operative data were analyzed in a comparative manner.
Results
A total of 64 children (40 boys, 24 girls) with an overall mean age 9.78 ± 4.2 months were included in this study. The overall mean burden of the stones was 168.64 ± 14.4 mm2. While a 17 Fr rigid pediatric nephroscope with a laser or pneumatic intracorporeal lithotripsy were used through 20–22 Fr sheath for mini PNL procedure, 26 Fr nephroscope with a pneumatic intracorporeal lithotripsy were used through 30 Fr sheath for standard PNL procedures. Stone-free rates were 88.1% and 86.3% in Group 1 and 2 respectively after 1 day. Mean operative time was similar in both groups and average hospitalization time was longer in cases undergoing standard-PNL. While the mean hemoglobin drop was 0.52 ± 0.1 g/dl in Group 1, this value was 1.34 ± 0.4 g/dl in standard PNL group. No major complication was observed in both groups.
Conclusions
Although pediatric miniaturized PNL systems are performed with safe and effective outcomes with complex stones; standard PNL may also be a rational option in selected cases where these systems and expertise are not available. Additionally number of punctures could be limited with the application of large bore tracts.
Socio-demographic and clinical determinants of quality of life among tuberculosis patients in Ghana: A prospective cohort study
Authors: Djochie Richard Delali Agbeko , Anto Berko Panyin , Opare-Addo Mercy Naa Aduele
Published: January 2023

Background
Tuberculosis affects patients' health-related quality of life because of its symptoms, prolonged duration of treatment and associated stigma. By identifying patients at greater risk of poor quality of life, interventional measures could be implemented to improve the health-related quality of life, medication adherence rates and treatment success for holistic patient care. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the quality of life of tuberculosis patients at baseline and its changes with treatment and to investigate the relationship between the quality of life and socio-demographic and clinical variables.
Methods
A prospective cohort study of newly diagnosed active tuberculosis patients was conducted between January 2021 and June 2022. The short-form 12 version 2 (SF12v2) questionnaire was administered at baseline, and follow-up was done at the end of the intensive phase and end of treatment to assess participants' health-related quality of life at each stage of treatment. Higher physical and mental component summary scores indicate better quality of life. To identify independent relationships with quality of life, a logistic regression model was performed.
Results
At the start of treatment, 78.8% of participants had a physical impairment, while 25.7% were at risk of depression. Even though the quality of life improved with treatment, 59.5% of participants still had a physical impairment, and 15.5% were depressed at the end of treatment. Alcohol use (p = 0.03) and HIV infection (p = 0.021) reduced mental health at baseline. Predictors of physical impairment at the end of therapy include age > 45 years (p = 0.044), female gender (p = 0.01), unemployment (p = 0.009), pulmonary TB (p = 0.001) and starting HIV treatment before TB (p = 0.002). There was a clinically significant improvement in the physical component summary score (3.3) but not in mental health (1.7).
Conclusion
Tuberculosis significantly affects patients’ quality of life even after completing treatment. Identifying patients who are at greater risk and instituting preventive measures could improve their quality of life for holistic care.
Analyze of thermal performance and thermal stress and distribution on inverted solar cavity receiver
Authors: Deyhim Salar , Çolak Üner
Published: January 2023

Concentrated solar thermal is a beneficial tool to generate high quality heat and power with high efficiency. Air cavity receivers are used for achieve high temperature in solar applications. Conical inverted cavity receiver was studied numerically. Working fluid was considered air with laminar flow characteristics. Outer surface was subjected to constant heat flux and inner surface was insulated. The numerical model was validated with numerical and experimental data present in the literature. At the optical view point inverted cavity was compared with normal position one, inverted conical cavity receiver was beneficial. The proportion of used radiation from the receiver, which outer surface is expose to sunlight, is significantly higher than normal conical cavity. Inverted conical cavity receiver has 7.46% higher Nusselt number performs at the Reynolds number of 500. On the other hand, Nu has increased 28.89% when the Reynolds number was 2100. The centrifugal forces more influential at the outer surface, the speed of flow at the outer surface is 2 to 3 times higher than that for the inner surface. Heat distribution in inverted conical cavity receiver is significantly more uniform than conical cavity receiver with normal orientation.
Fermionic Bogomolǹyi-Prasad-Sommerfield Wilson loops in four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal gauge theories
Authors: Ouyang Hao , Wu Jun-Bao
Published: January 2023

We construct for the first time Drukker-Trancanelli (DT) type
fermionic Bogomolǹyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) Wilson loops in
four-dimensional \mathcal{N}=2𝒩=2
superconformal SU(N)\times SU(N)SU(N)×SU(N)
quiver theory and \mathcal{N}=4𝒩=4
super Yang-Mills theory. The connections of these fermionic BPS Wilson
loops have a supermatrix structure. We construct timelike BPS Wilson
lines in Minkowski spacetime and circular BPS Wilson loops in Euclidean
space. These Wilson loops involve dimensionful parameters. For generic
values of parameters, they preserve one real (complex) supercharge in
Lorentzian (Euclidean) signature. Supersymmetry enhancement for Wilson
loops happens when the parameters satisfy certain constraints. The
nature of such loops is quite different from the Wilson loop operators
involving fermions constructed previously in the literature on
four-dimensional gauge theories. We hope that further investigations of
such new Wilson loops will explore deep structures in both the gauge
theories and gauge/gravity dualities.
Business sustainability: Functions of financial behavior, technology, and knowledge
Authors: Widagdo Bambang , Sa’diyah Chalimatuz
Published: January 2023

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are among the cornerstones of the Indonesian economy that managed to survive the world crisis. The development of MSMEs also demands that owners be ready to compete with other MSMEs. This study aims to analyze whether business sustainability is influenced by financial literacy with financial behavior and financial technology as mediators. The research sample includes owners and managers of MSMEs in Indonesia, totaling 342 respondents. Data collection methods used are non-probability sampling techniques by distributing questionnaires. This study uses SEM analysis with PLS analysis tools. It was found that financial literacy does not directly affect business sustainability but affects financial behavior and financial technology. Financial behavior and financial technology are proven to influence business sustainability. Furthermore, financial behavior and financial technology mediate the effect of financial literacy on business sustainability. The results of this study show that financial behavior and financial technology can fully mediate the relationship between financial literacy and business sustainability. Moreover, financial literacy cannot directly affect business sustainability, which must be fully mediated by financial behavior and financial technology. This study also provides practical value regarding the sustainability of MSMEs. Thus, companies can survive in the long term not only with a robust financial literacy foundation but they must be supported by good financial behavior and also be able to choose the right financial technology in their business activities.
Men's income disadvantage and life satisfaction among Hungarian couples
Authors: Hajdu Gábor , Sik Endre
Published: January 2023

In this paper, we examine the association between intra-household income distribution and subjective well-being. Specifically, we analyse how satisfaction differs according to whether or not an individual’s own income is higher than his/ her partner’s. The analysis is based on the 2015 wave of the Household Budget and Living Conditions Survey, conducted by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. Our primary sample consists of mixed-gender couple households in which both the woman and the man have income from employment. Our results show that men whose partners earn more than they themselves do are significantly less satisfied than are men who earn more than their partners. Similarly, women who earn more than their partners are significantly less satisfied than are women who earn less. This satisfaction disadvantage is due not only to the fact that a higher female income share may be an indicator of poorer household financial status; it may also be related to the health status and labour-market opportunities of partners (especially men), as these aspects are controlled for by several variables. We interpret the results as an impact of the social norm that “the man should be the main breadwinner in the household”. We also show that the estimated coefficients are higher for the less-educated than for the higher-educated. Since the attitudes of the former are more traditional, these results support the interpretation regarding the importance of the man’s breadwinning role.
Keywords: intra-household income distribution, intra-couple income inequality, satisfaction, gender norms
Előszó a "Roma népesedési viszonyok, 1990–2011" tematikus különszámhoz
Authors: Szabó Laura
Published: January 2023

A Demográfia című folyóirat különszámát a roma népesség demográfiai folyamatainak bemutatása céljából szerkesztettük. A feladat nem volt könnyű, hiszen a definíciós eltérések miatt egyrészt nem magától értetődő, hogy ki a roma, másrészt, a statisztikai adatgyűjtések nem mindig tartalmazzák a népesség megoszlását etnikai háttér szerint. A módszertani nehézségek ellenére úgy gondoljuk, hogy az elérhető statisztikai adatokat fel kell dolgozni és be kell mutatni, hiszen ennek során olyan összefüggésekre tudunk rámutatni, amelyek segítenek megérteni a roma népesség demográfiai viselkedését. Ezért a KSH Népességtudományi Kutatóintézet Demográfia különszámában olyan tanulmányokat gyűjtöttünk össze, amelyek a 2000-es évek első felében, Magyarországon (és a szomszédos országokban) élő roma népesség demográfiai jellemzőit elemzik: bemutatják a roma népesség termékenységi, halandósági, migrációs viszonyait és a demográfiai szempontú asszimilációt. Ha leírjuk ezeket a folyamatokat, áttekintjük ezek időbeli alakulását, illetve feltételezéseket fogalmazunk meg a jövőbeni trendekről, akkor arra is vállalkozhatunk, hogy megbecsüljük a roma népesség számának és korszerkezetének 2050-ig tartó alakulását.
Kulcsszavak: roma népesség, roma előreszámítás, termékenység, halandóság, migráció, etnikai reprodukció
A roma népesség termékenységének összehasonlító vizsgálata négy kelet-közép-európai országban
Authors: Szabó Laura , Spéder Zsolt
Published: January 2023

Elemzésünkben a Magyarországon, Szlovákiában, Romániában és Szerbiában élő roma nők kohorsz termékenységét hasonlítjuk össze a nők iskolai végzettsége szerint a 2011. évi népszámlálási adatok segítségével. Továbbá megvizsgáljuk Magyarországon a termékenység és a nemzetiség közötti kapcsolatot olyan nők körében, akiknek eltérő az iskolai végzettsége és eltérő roma népességarányú lakóhelyen élnek. A roma nők kohorsztermékenysége minden születési kohorszban és minden országban messze magasabb, mint a többségi nemzetiségű nők termékenysége. Ugyanakkor fontos látni, hogy ezt az összefüggést nagymértékben moderálja a nők iskolai végzettsége: a magasan képzett roma és nem roma nők termékenysége azonos, vagy nagyon hasonló. A nők termékenysége nemcsak az iskolai végzettségükkel, hanem azzal is összefügg, hogy mennyire koncentrált a roma népesség a lakóhelyükön. Minél alacsonyabb a roma népesség koncentrációja egy területen, annál kisebb a különbség az ott élő roma és nem roma nők kohorsztermékenységében. A magyarországi népszámlálási adatok segítségével kimutattuk, hogy az iskolai végzettség és a roma népesség területi koncentrációja eltérő hatást fejt ki a nők termékenységére. A magasabb iskolai végzettségű nők körében sem az etnikai háttér, sem a roma népesség területi koncentrációja nem függ össze a nők termékenységi szintjével. Az alacsony iskolai végzettségű nők esetében azonban mind az etnikai háttér, mind a területi koncentráció összefügg a termékenységgel.
Kulcsszavak: roma népesség, kohorsz termékenység, iskolai végzettség, lakóhelyi koncentráció.
FAMILIA ASPHODELACEAE
Authors:   Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Galván Villanueva Raquel , Martínez Calixto Yunuén ,   Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional
Published: January 2023

Familia con alrededor de 17 géneros, presenta amplia distribución en el Viejo Mundo con un centro muy definido en África del Sur. Comprende varias especies de interés económico, especialmente en lo referente a plantas ornamentales. En América se han introducido especies de Aloe, Haworthia y Kniphofia que actualmente se cultivan en el área. En la zona de estudio se presentan de manera espontánea los géneros Aloe y Asphodelus.
FAMILIA PALMAE
Authors:   Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, J. Quero Hermilo
Published: January 2023

La familia Palmae cuyo nombre alternativo es Arecaceae, comprende unos 200 géneros con alrededor de 3000 especies distribuidas a través de todo el mundo, principalmente en regiones intertropicales. En México se han encontrado 22 géneros con alrededor de 100 especies y en la zona de estudio cuatro géneros con ocho especies.
FAMILIA HAMAMELIDACEAE
Authors:   Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Centro Regional del Bajío, Carranza González Eleazar
Published: January 2023

Familia de 26 géneros, trece de los cuales son monotípicos y en total con más de 100 especies. Se distribuye en América, Asia, África y Australia. En México existen cuatro géneros: Distylum, Hamamelis, Matudaea y Liquidambar. Este último es el único que se encuentra en la región de estudio. El bálsamo derivado de L. orientalis Mill. del oeste de Asia, es conocido también como estórax y utilizado en medicina como expectorante y germicida.
FAMILIA OLEACEAE
Authors:   Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Centro Regional del Bajío, Rzedowski Jerzy , Calderón de Rzedowski Graciela ,   Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Centro Regional del Bajío
Published: January 2023

Familia de unos 30 géneros con alrededor de 600 especies de distribución casi cosmopolita, pero principalmente en Asia. En términos de importancia económica, pertenece aquí el olivo (Olea europaea L.), introducido a México en los inicios de la época colonial e intensamente cultivado en algunos sectores del noroeste del país. En la región de estudio existen olivares más bien de interés ornamental, algunos de ellos de gran antigüedad. En las calles y jardines de muchas ciudades se siembran con frecuencia como árboles de sombra representantes del género Fraxinus (fresno), así como el trueno (Ligustrum lucidum Ait.). Varias especies de Jasminum (jazmín) se cultivan en calidad de ornamentales por sus flores vistosas y también aromáticas.
FAMILIA ACTINIDIACEAE
Authors:   Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Centro Regional del Bajío, Steinmann Victor W.
Published: January 2023

Familia con tres géneros en regiones tropicales y subtropicales: Saurauia con unas 285 especies en Asia y el Neotrópico, Actinidia con unas 65 especies en Asia y Clematoclethera con unas 12 especies en Asia. Los frutos de varias especies, incluyendo la nuestra, se consumen localmente. Los frutos de “kiwi”, Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C. F. Liang & A. R. Ferguson, especie originaria de China y cultivada en muchas partes del mundo, están aumentando su popularidad en México, y aunque poco conocidos hace 10 años, ahora se encuentran frecuentemente en el país. La posición taxonómica de los géneros de Actinidiaceae ha sido objeto de debate. Tradicionalmente se trataron dentro de las Dilleniaceae, aunque algunos autores (por ejemplo, Hunter, op. cit.) sugirieron que deben de pertenecer a las Ericaceae . Sin embargo, siguiendo el criterio moderno, aceptado en los trabajos be Cronquist* y Thorne**, se consideran como familia independiente. Cuando los géneros Actinidia y Saurauia se incluyen en la misma familia, como es la norma moderna, el nombre Actinidiaceae se acepta como conservado sobre Saurauiaceae, que tiene prioridad cronológica.
FAMILIA JUNCACEAE
Authors:   Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Centro Regional del Bajío, Galván Villanueva Raquel
Published: January 2023

La familia incluye ocho géneros y unas 300 especies, habitantes sobre todo de regiones templadas y frías, seis de estos géneros se encuentran limitados en su distribución a Sudamérica. Para la familia se han propuesto varios centros de origen: las montañas de Eurasia, trópicos del Viejo Mundo y su distribución hacia el norte a partir de la Antártida. En México están representados dos géneros (Juncus y Luzula), las plantas de esta familia son muchas veces conocidas como "juncos"; tienen valor forrajero, sin embargo, son de poca importancia económica y se tiene escasa información con relación a sus usos. Fuera del país se cita su utilización en la elaboración de tapetes, petates, sombreros, asientos de sillas y la médula de los tallos se emplea para la producción de pabilos.
FAMILIA TROPAEOLACEAE
Authors:   Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Centro Regional del Bajío, Calderón de Rzedowski Graciela
Published: January 2023

Familia del Nuevo Mundo con tres géneros, dos de ellos (con tres especies) endémicos de Patagonia y el tercero (Tropaeolum) con poco menos de 90 especies distribuido principalmente en los Andes, extendiéndose hasta el sureste de México. Se reconocen 86 especies, unas cuantas del sureste de México y Centroamérica, la gran mayoría de las montañas del oeste de Sudamérica, hasta el sur de Argentina y Chile. Algunas se cultivan en los Andes por sus tubérculos comestibles; varias se siembran como ornamentales y ocasionalmente escapan de cultivo. En la región de estudio sólo se presenta una.
FAMILIA AIZOACEAE
Authors:   Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Centro Regional del Bajío, Ocampo Acosta Gilberto
Published: January 2023

La familia Aizoaceae (también tratada anteriormente bajo los nombres de Ficoidaceae, Sesuviaceae o Tetragoniaceae), según diversos autores, comprende entre 12 y 127 géneros (esta última cifra si se toma en cuenta la segregación del género Mesembryanthemum), con alrededor de 2500 especies, distribuidas en las partes áridas de las zonas tropicales y subtropicales de ambos hemisferios, con un centro primario de distribución en la parte sur de África, pero también con centros importantes en la región del Mediterráneo y en Australia. La importancia económica de la familia reside principalmente en algunos géneros que son ampliamente cultivados como ornamentales (e.g. Faucaria, Lithops, Mesembryanthemum; en ciertos lugares de la zona de estudio a menudo se encuentran cultivadas Aptenia cordifolia (L. f.) Schwantes y Carpobrotus edulis (L.) N. E. Brown, las cuales forman una especie de alfombra cespitosa). Varias especies de Sesuvium, Tetragonia y Trianthema se utilizan como alimento en forma de verduras o en medicina tradicional.
FAMILIA MOLLUGINACEAE
Authors:   Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Centro Regional del Bajío, Ocampo Acosta Gilberto
Published: January 2023

Se trata de una familia de 13 géneros con alrededor de 120 especies distribuidas principalmente en las regiones tropicales y subtropicales de ambos hemisferios, con un centro de distribución importante en la parte sur de África. Por lo general, sus integrantes se desarrollan en lugares abiertos y secos, así como en sitios perturbados. La familia es de poca importancia económica. Varias especies de Glinus y Mollugo se consumen localmente como verdura y se utilizan en medicina tradicional. Algunos autores han considerado a los géneros de Molluginaceae como integrantes de la familia Aizoaceae; sin embargo, estudios recientes separan a Molluginaceae por su hábito no suculento, por sus flores con sépalos libres o ligeramente connados en la base, por los filamentos de sus anteras que están algo connados basalmente, formando un pequeño tubo (en Aizoaceae los tépalos están conspicuamente fusionados en su base, formando un tubo evidente, el cual a su vez se encuentra adnado a los fiamentos) y por la producción de antocianinas (en lugar de betalainas), característica presente también en Caryophyllaceae. No obstante que actualmente se le reconoce como un taxon independiente, la delimitación de la familia no se defie con certidumbre, por lo que algunos autores han incluido a ciertas entidades tanto en Phytolaccaceae como en Caryophyllaceae. Datos moleculares (Cuénoud et al., op. cit.) sugieren la existencia de un grupo posiblemente monofilético, del cual habría que excluir a Corbichonia (que muestra más afinidad hacia el grupo Aizoaceae-Phytolaccaceae-Nyctaginaceae) y a Limeum (cuyos caracteres podrían elevarlo a nivel de familia). Sin embargo, aún no se han explorado todos los géneros que actualmente engloba Molluginaceae (i.e., Macarthuria y Polpoda), por lo que una circunscripción más aceptable de la familia está por venir. Para México, se ha determinado la presencia de los géneros Glinus y Mollugo, pero en la zona de estudio sólo habita este último.