bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring the ecological performance of China’s National New Areas: A holistic ecological perspective
Authors: Xu Boqian , Lin Zhongjie
Published: September 2022

China’s 19 National New Areas (NNAs) are experiencing an ecological transition toward sustainable development since the mid-2010s. Existing empirical studies are faced with limitations in evaluating the NNAs’ ecological performance and fall short in measuring the NNAs’ impacts on the broader ecosystem. The research engages two approaches, the Ecosystem Service Value (ESV) and the Ecological Footprint (EF), to assess and compare how the NNAs changed local landscape and influenced regional ecosystems. Analyses show that, from 2015 to 2019, 15 NNAs exhibit increasing ESV trends with rates ranging from 0.13 to 122.43 million US dollars per year. In contrast, per capita EF decreased in only 8 of the NNAs’ hinterland cities, and the average rose from 4.22 to 4.26 global hectares. The results suggest that the NNAs have begun to show positive impacts on enhancing the local environment while still having limited influence on the regional ecosystems. This mismatch might result from policy-makers’ and planners’ greenwashing approach to building Eco-cities and the over-concentration of resources in the NNAs caused by top-down political intervention. Through analyzing the NNAs’ ecological performance with the two differing methods, this research advocates for a holistic ecological perspective to embrace sustainable developments across geopolitical boundaries.
Marketing strategies for waste recycling: a bibliometric analysis towards the circular economy
Authors: Aguilar-Morales Shunashi Yectzin , Negrete-Cardoso Mariana , Rosano-Ortega Genoveva , Sánchez-Ruíz Francisco Javier , Sánchez-Baltasar Laura Berenice , Vega-Lebrún Carlos Arturo , Schabes-Retchkiman Pablo Samuel
Published: September 2022

Companies have adopted green marketing and marketing strategies to position themselves in consumer preferences, where the circular economy emerges as a solution to move towards responsible production and consumption patterns. From waste recycling marketing strategies, a descriptive analysis of 120 documents from the SCOPUS database was carried out using bibliometric techniques to know the existing state of the art for the period 1977–2021. The results indicate that the annual scientific production increased in the last ten years by over 200% for 2019, highlighting the United States, China, United Kingdom, Germany and India, and Mexico is in position 22. The conceptual and trend analysis points out the relationship between marketing, waste management, commercialization, recycling, sustainable development, and circular economy, topics that have deepened research in the last 5 years due to the SDGs. Through intellectual analysis, schools of thought were identified, highlighting the authors Chen, Wang, Zhang and Liu, Lu, and White, the most influential and connected with other authors. The results show no link between the study areas, but rather that they are developed in isolation, evidencing an area of ​​opportunity to work on marketing strategies for waste recycling, where companies adopt circular economy objectives, obtaining an advantage. Competitive position and position in the market by offering products from a valorization that the consumer prefers.
Remdesivir improves biomarkers associated with disease severity in COVID-19 patients treated in an outpatient setting
Authors: Pan David , Odorizzi Pamela , Schoenichen Andre , Abdelghany Mazin , Chen Shuguang , Osinusi Anu , Patterson Scott , Downie Bryan , Juneja Kavita , Wallin Jeffrey
Published: September 2022

Remdesivir is an intravenous antiviral with activity against SARS-CoV-2 for treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with moderate-to-severe disease. Recently, remdesivir was evaluated in high-risk, non-hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and was highly effective at preventing disease progression. Biomarkers associated with clinical outcomes have been identified for COVID-19, but few evaluated in context of antiviral treatment. Here, we assessed baseline biomarkers and the impact of remdesivir treatment on longitudinal biomarker readouts. Six well-known, inflammation-associated biomarkers were elevated at baseline in participants meeting the primary endpoint of hospitalization or death by day 28. Moreover, in comparison to placebo, biomarkers in remdesivir-treated participants showed accelerated improvement, including reduction of soluble angiopoietin-2, D-dimer, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, as well as increased lymphocyte counts. These findings have implications for better understanding the activity of antiviral treatments in COVID-19.
Expression Pattern and Clinical Significance of E2F Transcription Factors in Skin Cutaneous Melanoma
Authors: Tan Liuchang , Lu Yuangagn
Published: September 2022

IntroductionE2F is a group of genes that encodes a family of transcription factors in higher eukaryotes. Although emerging evidence indicates that E2Fs are implicated in various cancer types, the diverse expression patterns and prognostic values of E2F transcription factors in SKCM have yet to be elucidated. The purpose of this study was to enhance our knowledge concerning the role of E2Fs in SKCM patients. MethodsGEPIA, The Human Protein Atlas, TIMER, cBioPortal, GeneMANIA, DAVID 6.8 and KEGG PATHWAY Database were utilized in this study.ResultsWe observed a statistically significant increased messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in E2F1/3/5/7 compared with matched normal tissues. A significant correlation was observed between the expression of E2F7/8 and the pathological stage of SKCM patients. In addition, survival analysis revealed that SKCM patients with low transcriptional levels of E2F1/2/3/6 were associated with a significantly better prognosis. Moreover, immune infiltrations analysis showed that transcriptional levels and somatic copy number alterations (SCNA) in E2F family were significantly correlated with several immune cell recruitments, including B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells. The function of differentially expressed E2Fs and their neighboring genes were mainly linked to P53 signaling pathway, cell cycle, and oocyte meiosis. ConclusionsTaken together, our results may provide novel strategies for the selection of prognostic biomarkers and immunotherapeutic targets in SKCM patients.
Features and Outcomes of Rectal Cancer Patients Treated in a Hospital in Bogotá, Colombia: a Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Romo Julián A. , Figueroa Carlos , López Laura A. , Mesa Natalia , González-Muñoz Alejandro , Baquero David , Recamán Andrea , Rabeya Fernando , Villabon Alejandro , Sánchez Isabella Velandia , Flechas Álvaro
Published: September 2022

Rectal cancer is an increasing disease worldwide. The outcomes of its treatment are related to the preoperative characteristics of the patient. The objective of this study was to describe sociodemographic, clinical and surgical characteristics and outcomes of patients operated on for rectal cancer at Hospital Universitario Mayor Méderi (HUM) during the period within 2013-2017.A retrospective descriptive cohort-type study was carried out by consulting the clinical records of patients above the age of 18 years with a clinical / histopathological diagnosis of rectal cancer and an institutional follow-up in those who underwent surgery with laparoscopic anterior resection of the rectum carried out by the coloproctology service of the HUM between 2013 and 2017. For statistical analysis, the SPSS V22 program was used.Data from 133 patients were collected during the study period, most of them male, with more frequent involvement of the lower rectum. Complications occurred in 25% of the patients. Conversion rate to open surgery was 8.6%, in-hospital death was associated with cardiovascular comorbidity, corticosteroid uses and with the presence of complications. Sociodemographic characteristics of the patients were similar to the world population. The institution has a low prevalence of anastomotic dehiscence, global complications are comparable with international statistics.
Phytochemical screening and in-vitro biological properties of unprocessed and household processed fenugreek (Trigonella foenum- graecum Linn.) seeds and leaves
Authors: El-Salam Shaimaa G.S . Abd , Rashed Mohamed M. , Ibrahim Nabih A. , Rahim Emam Abdel , Aly Tahany A. A. , AL-Farga Ammar
Published: September 2022

The impact of household processes on fenugreek leaves and seeds was analyzed for total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid content (TF), and in-vitro biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Processes included air-drying of leaves and germinating, soaking, and boiling of seeds. Air-dried fenugreek leaves (ADFL) had high TP (15.27 mg GAE/g D.W.) and TF (7.71 mg QE/g D.W.). The TF of unprocessed, germinated, soaked, and boiled seeds had 6.54, 5.60, 4.59, and 3.84 mg GAE/g D.W., respectively. The TF in UFS, GFS, SFS, and BFS were 4.23, 2.11, 2.10, and 2.33 mg QE/g D.W., respectively. Sixteen phenolic and nineteen flavonoid compounds were identified using the HPLC. Antioxidant activity using DPPH•, ABTS+•, and FRAP• assays indicated that ADFL had high activity. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against each eight pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. ADFL showed a strong activity with MIC values ranging from 0.03 to 1.06 and 0.04 to 1.18 mg ml− 1 against bacterial and fungal strains, respectively. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated in-vitro against RAW 264.7 macrophage cells using of NO assay. Results revealed that ADFL had the highest cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activity according to NO assay. Household processes significantly declined the in-vitro biological properties of processed seeds.
Techno-economic evaluation of electrocoagulation for Cattell slaughterhouse wastewater treatment using aluminum electrodes in batch and continuous experiment
Authors: Hellal Mohamed Saad , Doma Hala Salah , Abou-Taleb Enas Mohamed
Published: September 2022

This study aimed to investigate, from technoeconomic point of view, cattle slaughterhouse wastewater (CSWW) treatment via electrocoagulation (EC) technique. A novel lab scale electrocoagulation unit with 3L volume was manufactured and tested. The EC unite contains nine identical cylindrical shape electrodes from aluminum material in connection with controllable DC power supply. Investigation of optimum operating parameters in terms of pH, current density (CD), contact time and electrolyte concentration (TDS) was carried out in batch mode then applied for continuous mode. At each batch, cost analysis was calculated in terms of consumption electrode material and electrical power. The optimum operating conditions at which best removal rate achieved was pH 7, contact time 75 min, TDS = 3000 mg L− 1 and CD of 4 mA.cm− 2. After application of these conditions on continuous flow mode, the removal rate of Chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, turbidity, biological oxygen demand (BOD), and oil, grease were 95.3%, 99.8%, 98.7%, 96.5% and 94.5% respectively. The total electrode consumption and electrical consumption were 0.6 kg m− 3 and 0.87kWh m− 3 with operational cost about 1.5$ m− 3. This proved that EC is techno-economically effective treatment method than other conventional treatment methods for high-rate removal of pollutants of from CSWW.
No evidence for a common blood microbiome based on a population study of 9,770 healthy humans
Authors: Tan Cedric , Chia Minghao , Ko Karrie , Chen Hui , Liu Jianjun , Loh Marie , Nagarajan Niranjan
Published: September 2022

Human blood is conventionally considered sterile. Recent studies have challenged this, suggesting the presence of a blood microbiome in healthy humans. We present the largest investigation to date of microbes in blood, based on shotgun sequencing libraries from 9,770 healthy subjects. Leveraging the availability of data from multiple cohorts, we stringently filtered for laboratory contaminants to identify 117 microbial species detected in the blood of sampled individuals, some of which had signatures of DNA replication. These primarily comprise of commensals associated with human body sites such as the gut (n=40), mouth (n=32), and genitourinary tract (n=18), which are species that are distinct from common pathogens detected in clinical blood cultures based on more than a decade of records from a tertiary hospital. Contrary to the expectations of a shared blood microbiome, no species were detected in 84% of individuals, while only a median of one microbial species per individual was detected in the remaining 16%. Futhermore, microbes of the same species were detected in <5% of individuals, no co-occurrence patterns similar to microbiomes in other body sites was observed, and no associations between host phenotypes (e.g. demographics and blood parameters) and microbial species could be established. Overall, these results do not support the hypothesis of a consistent core microbiome endogenous to human blood. Rather, our findings support the transient and sporadic translocation of commensal microbes from other body sites into the bloodstream.
Outcomes of metaplastic breast cancer versus triple negative breast cancer: a propensity score matching analysis
Authors: Tan Yuping , Yang Biao , Chen YuHong , Yan Xi
Published: September 2022

Purpose This study aims to compare the survival outcomes of MBC with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and identify prognostic factors that influence MBC survival. Methods Patients with non-metastatic MBC or TNBC were reviewed from our database from 2002 to 2021. Patient clinicopathologic features and treatment were analyzed with respect to outcomes including disease progression-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Propensity score matching (PSM) with a one-to-three matching between MBC and TNBC was performed. Results A total number of 857 female patients (76 MBC and 781 TNBC) were included in this study, with median age in 49 years (28–77 years). A subgroup of triple negative MBC (n = 60) was matched with TNBC (n = 180) cases based on patient characteristics and treatment. OS and DFS were significantly worse in the MBC group before (p = 0.0046 both) and after (p = 0.011 and p = 0.0046, respectively) PSM. Multivariable analysis revealed larger tumor size (T > 5cm) (HR = 3.797, 95%CI 1.118–12.902, p = 0.032) and lymph nodal status (N3 vs N0-2, HR = 6.149 95%CI 1.499–25.229, p = 0.012) were associated with worse OS after PSM. Among the 76 MBC patients, higher T stage and mesenchymal differentiation were associated with worse overall survival (pT1/2 vs pT3/4 and mesenchymal differentiation vs other type, p = 0.007 and p = 0.011, respectively). Lymph node positive and mesenchymal differentiation were associated with worse disease-free survival (Figs. 5 and 6, p = 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions Compared with TNBC, MBC tends to have a worse OS. Mesenchymal differentiation has a worse DFS than other subtypes of MBC.
Radioactivity and Radiological Risk Assessment in Sediments from Upper and Lower Dukan Dam
Authors: Smail Jahfer Majeed Smail , Mansour Habeeb Hanna Mansour , Ahmad Saddon Taha Ahmad
Published: September 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Comparison of Malaria diagnostic methods for detection of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Fendeka town health facilities, Jawi district, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Yohannis Adane Tilahun , Yimer Mulat , Gelaye Woynshet , Tegegne Banchamlak , Abebaw Abitie , Ayalew Demssie , Alamneh Demeke Endalamaw
Published: September 2022

Background
Malaria in pregnancy remains a major public health problem in the globe especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In malaria endemic areas, majority of pregnant women remain asymptomatic but could still associate with complications on the mother and her offspring. They also serve as reservoirs to transmit infection. Despite these effects, no attention is given for the diagnosis of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections (APIs) using highly sensitive and specific laboratory diagnostic tools among pregnant women in Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the performance of RDTs with microscopy and performance of RDTs and microscopy with PCR for detecting APIs among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Fendeka town health facilities, Jawi district, Northwest Ethiopia.
Methods
Health facility based cross -sectional study was conducted from February-March, 2019. A total of 166 participants were enrolled by using convenient sampling technique. Socio-demographic and other characteristics were collected using semi structured questionnaire. Dried blood spot (DBS) samples were collected for molecular analysis. APIs on pregnant women was diagnosed using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), smear microscopy and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the prevalence of APIs. Method comparison was done and Cohen’s kappa coefficient (k) was used to determine the degree of agreement among the diagnostic methods. Parasite densities were also calculated
Results
Prevalence of API was 17 (10.2%), 18 (10.8%) and 30 (18.1%) using RDTs, microscopy and real-time PCR, respectively. The overall proportion of API was 18.7%. Sensitivity of the RDT was 83.3% as compared with microscopy. RDTs and microscopy also showed sensitivity of 50% and 60%, respectively as compared with PCR. Majority of API identified by microscopy had moderate parasite densities.
Conclusions
Prevalence of API in the study area was significant. Both RDTs and microscopy had lower sensitivity when compared with real-time PCR. Therefore, routine laboratory diagnosis of API among pregnant women with better laboratory diagnostic tool would be adopted as a part of the antenatal care.
On periodic growth and shrinkage of glaciers in the Warwan sub-basin, western Himalaya between 1990 and 2020
Authors: Garg Purushottam Kumar , Malviya Apoorva , Shukla Aparna , Garg Siddhi , Singh Nilendu
Published: September 2022

Knowledge about glacier extent, dynamics and characteristics are important for climate change attribution and prediction. Understanding on long-term dynamics and glacier inventory is crucial, particularly for the melt-dominated and latitudinally-diverse western Himalayan glacier basins. In this study, a temporal inventory is prepared for Warwan-sub basin (WSB), utilizing satellite imageries since the 1993 (Landsat TM: 1993; ETM+: 2001, 2008; OLI: 2020) and elevation model (SRTM DEM: 2000). The base inventory was generated for the year 2001 and systematically adjusted to the glacier situations in 1993, 2008 and 2020. Results indicate that in the year 2001, WSB in the western Himalaya included 84 glaciers (> 0.02 km2) covering an area of 187.9 ± 5.8 km2. The mapping (2001) further revealed a supraglacial debris cover of 15% of the glacierized area (28.2 ± 0.9 km2). Overall, the debris cover increased by 6% between 1993 and 2020. Temporal analyses clearly suggest a period of gain in the glacierized area (2001–2008) interspersed by the two phases of decline (1993–2001 and 2008–2020). Results specify a stronger decline in the glacierized area during 1993 to 2001 (197.03 ± 6.1 to 187.9 ± 5.8 km2) than between 2008 and 2020 (188.4 ± 5.9 to 182.8 ± 5.66 km2). Remarkably, the glacierized area increased from 187.9 ± 5.8 to 188.4 ± 5.8 km2 during 2001 to 2008. In view of widespread recession of regional glaciers, the gain in the area between 2001 and 2008 represents a peculiar characteristic of WSB that needs further detailed investigation. Further analyses suggest that low-altitude, east-facing, debris-free, steep-sloped and small glaciers experienced greater loss in the area than large, debris-covered, north-facing, gently-sloped and high-altitude glaciers. Overall, the study at the sub-basin scale reveals inherent glacier dynamics with periodic increase and decrease in the glacierized area and a notable influence of non-climatic factors in regulating spatial heterogeneity and the rate of glacier changes.
ZIF-8 induced hydroxyapatite-like crystals enabled superior osteogenic ability of MEW printing PCL scaffolds
Authors: Wang Bingqian , Zeng Yuyang , Liu Shaokai , Zhou Muran , Fang Huimin , Wang Zhenxing , Sun Jiaming
Published: September 2022

Background

In general, ZIF-8 tends to undergo ion responsive degradation in ionic solutions, which makes it difficult to maintain its original structure, thus restricting its direct application in biological settings.

Methods

ZIF-8 was synthesized using one-pot method and the ZIF-8/PCL scaffolds were built by a round mould or printed by melt electrowrittten (MEW) technology. Mineralization performance was evaluated by SEM with EDS-mapping and micro-CT scanning after soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF). The osteogenic activity in vivo or in vitro was assessed using different methods including micro-CT scanning, Alizarin red staining, and immunohistochemical staining.

Results

Herein, an abnormal phenomenon is reported that ZIF-8 can form large hydroxyapatite-like crystals when getting immersed directly in multi-ion simulated body fluid. The abnormal crystals showed the continuation of rapid growth in 14 days, with its volume increasing by more than ten times. As suggested by the release of Zn2+ and the emergence of new XRD diffraction peaks, ZIF-8 particles might gradually collapse and congregate through competitive coordination and re-nucleation. The above phenomenon is also observable on the surface of ZIF-8/PCL composite materials and MEW printing ZIF-8/PCL scaffolds. ZIF-8 increased the roughness of PCL by altering its surface topography, which significantly improved its biocompatibility and osteoinductivity both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, the capability of pro-biomineralization makes ZIF-8 also applicable in polylactic acid.

Conclusions

To sum up, the results shown in this study demonstrate that ZIF-8 can serve as a bioactive additive that enables the surface modification to synthetic polymers, which suggests its potential of application for in-situ bone regeneration.
NPM1 mutation reprograms leukemic transcription network via reshaping TAD topology
Authors: Lai Qian , Hamamoto Karina , Luo Huacheng , Zaroogian Zachary , Lesperance Julia , Zha jie , Qiu Yi , Guryanova Olga , Huang Suming , Xu Bing
Published: September 2022

C-terminal mutation of Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1C+) was thought to be a primary driving event in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that reprograms leukemic-associated transcription programs to transform hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). However, molecular mechanisms underlying NPM1C+-driven leukemogenesis remain elusive. Here, we report that NPM1C+ reprograms MIZ-1/MYC regulatory axis by altering NPM1-associated CTCF-driven topologically associated domains (TADs) that switches the balance of MIZ1 interaction with coactivator NPM1/p300 and corepressors MYC/G9A complexes to control cell cycle progression and myeloid lineage-specific PU.1/CEBPα transcription networks leading to impairment of myeloid differentiation. Hematopoietic-specific NPM1C+ knock-in alters TAD topology leading to disrupted regulation of the cell cycle and myeloid master transcription factors, chromatin accessibility, and gene expression, which results in myeloid differentiation block. Retention of NPM1 or re-expression of PU.1 or CEBPα within the nucleus restores differentiation programs by reorganizing TADs critical for myeloid TFs and cell cycle regulators, and prevents NPM1C+-driven leukemogenesis. In sum, our data reveal that NPM1C+ reshapes CTCF-defined TAD topology to reprogram signature leukemic transcription programs required for cell cycle progression and leukemic transformation. Restoration of myeloid transcription program in nucleus reversed NPM1C+-driven transcription signature and promotes myeloid differentiation leading to mitigation of AML.
Effects of age, unilateral renal ligation, and acute blood loss on a murine model of adenine-induced renal anemia
Authors: Han Dong , Huo Mengqi , Yu Jiawei , Li Dongxin , Ma Lin , Xu Huiying , Guo Min , Liu Xiaoxia , Liu Hongfang , Wang Xiangming
Published: September 2022

To explore the effects of age and unilateral renal ligation on hemoglobin levels, and the effects of acute bleeding on endogenous erythropoietin (EPO) in renal anemia. Adenine-induced mice were established to analyze the effects of age, acute blood loss (12-week-old and 12-month-old) and unilateral renal ligation (8-month-old) on renal anemia. The reasons changing serum EPO concentration were investigated by liver, kidney tests etc. It was found that the hemoglobin level of 12-month-old mice was lower than that of 12-week-old mice, and the hemoglobin level of unilateral renal ligation plus adenine was lower than that of adenine alone (p < 0.01). After bleeding, the levels of serum EPO in two model group were significantly higher than their corresponding normal groups (p < 0.01), although there was no statistical difference between any two groups in non-bleeding mice (p > 0.05). Renal EPO expression in model group decreased significantly compared with the normal group (p < 0.01), but the hepatic EPO expression increased significantly (p < 0.01), which were not only related with hemorrhage, but consistent with the expression of hypoxia-inducing factor-2α (HIF-2α). In summary, age and unilateral renal ligation aggravate renal anemia. They, together with hemorrhage, activate endogenous EPO secretion in liver.
Position and stiffness control of an antagonistic variable stiffness actuator with input delay using super-twisting sliding mode control
Authors: Javadi Ali , Chaichaowarat Ronnapee
Published: September 2022

Motor dynamics in Antagonistic Variable Stiffness Actuator (AVSA) is generally not considered in control system design. This ignorance can lead to an inaccurate system model and hence the performance of closed-loop system can be affected. The motor dynamics can be modeled as an input-delay in actuator model. For the first time, motor dynamics is modeled as input time-delay for an antagonistic variable stiffness actuator in this paper. Since the stiffness of AVSA is a nonlinear function of system states, stiffness tracking for AVSA is a challenging task. Especially when the model contains input delay, many of the existing delay compensation controllers cannot be used for stiffness tracking purpose. To handle this issue, a nonlinear transformation is introduced and then a super-twisting sliding mode control is utilized to reach position and stiffness tracking simultaneously. To compensate input time-delay, prediction-based feedback is involved together with disturbance observers for estimating external disturbance. Simulation results show that the proposed design approach is successful in position and stiffness tracking and at the same time in attenuating external disturbance effect.
Cancer survivors present physical and psychological sequelae after COVID-19 hospitalization: a prospective and longitudinal cross-sectional study assessing post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) in cancer patients
Authors: Leite Victor Figueiredo , Lourenço Maria Teresa Duarte Pereira da Cruz , Tarabay Christina Haas , Mori Agnes Ayumi Sewo , Neto Giseli Maria , Miola Thais Manfrinato , Costa Luciana da , Friedrich Celena Freire , Rodrigues Telma Ribeiro , Balbinot Jordana , Angelis Elisabete Carrara
Published: September 2022

Purpose: to prospectively assess symptoms and impairments following COVID-19 hospitalization in a cancer population, particularly regarding fatigue, nutritional status, speech and swallowing, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Methods: Prospective and longitudinal cross-sectional study with cancer survivors hospitalized due to COVID-19 from June to December 2020. Participants were assessed at discharge, and after one, three, six and twelve months. Results: We included 51 participants. At the time of discharge, 84.3% participants presented at least one impairment: fatigue (68.6%), anxious/depressive symptoms (23.5%), voice and speech impairments (19.6%), dysphagia (21.6%), and were at nutritional risk (54.9%). After one year, impairments were present in 53.7% of the sample: fatigue (34.2%), anxious/depressive symptoms (39.2%), voice and speech impairments (29.4%), dysphagia (33.3%). No participants presented nutritional risk after one year. Participants had no significant impact on their activities of daily living (ADL).Conclusion: Cancer survivors hospitalized due to COVID-19 in our institution presented high levels of fatigue, nutritional risk, anxious/depressive and PTSD symptoms at the time of discharge, with improvement of fatigue, and some aggravation of speech, swallowing and psychological symptoms in the following year.
Pandemic-related changes in social interaction predict automatic approach-avoidance behaviour
Authors: Henwood Amanda , Rinck Mike , Krpan Dario
Published: September 2022

People’s natural tendencies to either approach or avoid different stimuli in their environment are considered fundamental motivators of human behaviour. There is a wealth of research exploring how changes in approach and avoidance motivational orientations impact behaviour with consequences for wellbeing. However, research has seldom explored this relationship in reverse. The COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique opportunity to explore whether widespread changes in social behaviour predict changes in automatic approach-avoidance tendencies over time. We gathered data on people’s adherence to 7 of the prescribed social behaviours set out by the UK government and people’s automatic approach-avoidance tendencies in response to different stimuli (sad/happy/neutral faces and social scenes) at three time points during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced-overall-interaction (digital and in person) was found to predict faster avoidance relative to approach of sad faces. The results suggest that automatic approach-avoidance tendencies may function to counterbalance the negative impacts of reduced social interaction, with important implications for understanding public resilience during time of crisis, and beyond.
A dual in vitro approach for systematic analysis of mitochondrial toxicity in traditional Chinese medicine injections
Authors: Shen Yunfu , Guo Kaiqiang , Ma Aijun , Huang Zhe , Du Jingjing , Chen Junhe , Lin Qianyu , Wei Chengming , Wang Zi , Zhang Fuming , Zhang Juan , Lin Wanjun , Feng Na , Ma Wenzhe
Published: September 2022

Background
There are technical obstacles in the safety evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) injections due to their complex chemical nature and the lack of rapid and accurate in vitro methods.
Objectives
To establish a dual in vitro mitochondrial toxicity assay approach for systematically evaluating mitochondrial toxicity of TCM injections.
Methods
Using this dual in vitro approach, the effect of TCM injections exposure on ATP depletion in HepG2 cells was examined by the conventional “glucose/galactose” assay. The cytotoxicity of TCM injections on HCT116 WT and HCT116 SCO2 KO cell lines was determined by sulforhodamine B (SRB) colorimetric assay. Subsequently, mitochondrial toxicity of ingredients in identified TCM injections was validated by combining molecular docking analysis with experimental validation.
Results
Four of the 35 TCM injections, including Xiyanping, Dengzhanhuasu, Shuanghuanglian, and Yinzhihuang, significantly reduced cellular ATP production in galactose medium in the first assay, and presented less cytotoxic in the respiration deficient cells in the second assay, indicating that they have mitochondrial toxicity. Furthermore, we identified scutellarin, rutin, phillyrin, and baicalin could be the potential mitochondrial toxic ingredients in 4 TCM injections by combining molecular docking analysis with experimental validation.
Conclusions
Collectively, the dual in vitro approach is worth applying to the safety evaluation of more TCM products, and mitochondrial toxic TCM injections and ingredients found in this study deserve more attention.
Classifying literature mentions of biological pathogens as experimentally studied using natural language processing
Authors: Yepes Antonio Jose Jimeno , Verspoor Karin
Published: September 2022

Background
Information pertaining to mechanisms, management and treatment of disease-causing pathogens including viruses and bacteria is readily available from research publications indexed in MEDLINE. However, identifying the literature that specifically characterises these pathogens and their properties based on experimental research, important for understanding of the molecular basis of diseases caused by these agents, requires sifting through a large quantity of articles to exclude incidental mentions of the pathogens, or references to pathogens in other non-experimental contexts such as public health.
Objective
In this work, we lay the foundations for the development of automatic methods for characterising mentions of pathogens in scientific literature, focusing on the task of identifying research that involves active study of a pathogen in an experimental context. There are no manually annotated pathogen corpora available for this purpose, while such resources are necessary to support development of machine learning-based models. We therefore aim to fill this gap, producing a large data set automatically from MEDLINE, and using it to explore automatic methods that specifically support detection of experimentally studied pathogen mentions in research publications.
Methods
We developed a pathogen mention characterisation literature data set —READBiomed-Pathogens— automatically using NCBI resources, which we make available. Resources such as the NCBI Taxonomy, MeSH and GenBank can be used effectively to identify relevant literature about experimentally researched pathogens, more specifically using MeSH to link to MEDLINE citations including titles and abstracts with relevant pathogens. We experiment with several machine learning-based natural language processing (NLP) algorithms leveraging this dataset as training data to model the task of detecting papers that specifically describe active experimental study of a pathogen.
Results
We show that our data set READBiomed-Pathogens can be used to explore natural language processing configurations for experimental pathogen mention characterisation. READBiomed-Pathogens includes citations related to organisms including bacteria, viruses, and a small number of toxins and other disease-causing agents.
Conclusions
We studied the characterisation of experimentally studied pathogens in scientific literature, developing several natural language processing methods supported by an automatically developed data set. As a core contribution of the work, we presented a methodology to automatically construct a data set for pathogen identification using existing biomedical resources. The data set and the annotation code are made publicly available. Performance of the pathogen mention identification and characterisation algorithms were additionally evaluated on a small manually annotated data set shows that the data set that we have generated allows characterising pathogens of interest.
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Remote sensing pansharpening with TV-H-1 decomposition and PSO based adaptive weighting method
Authors: Sangani Dhara , Thakker Rajesh , Panchal Shailesh , Gogineni Rajesh Gogineni Dr. Rajesh
Published: September 2022

In remote sensing due to several constraints of optical imaging sensors high spectral and high spatial features are not present in single image, so high frequency component of panchromatic(PAN) image needs to be restored at the spatial resolution of corresponding multispectral (MS) image. Misbalancing between spatial and spectral details extraction and injection leads to several issues like spectral distortion, intensity variation. Direct fusion methods often generate resultant image with poor contrast and several undesirable effects, while multi resolution analysis (MRA) techniques have achieved success in many fusion algorithms, these methods also suffer from ringing artifact due to strong edge decomposition. In this paper, pansharpening (PS) method is based on total variation-Hilbert − 1(TV-H− 1) model for decomposing MS and PAN image in appropriate cartoon and texture components. To refine the detail map and better quality of fused image adaptive weights are calculated using particle swarm optimization (PSO). For experimental analysis, four different sensors datasets with different regions like city area, hilly area and vegetation area are used. Resultant image and image quality analysis parameters confirm that the proposed method succeed in spectral detail preservation compared with other widely used pansharpening methods.
Ginsenoside Rb1 ameliorates renal tubular epithelial cells ferroptosis in AKI
Authors: Wu Zhifen , Deng Junhui , Tao Chenhui , Tan Wei , Lin Lirong , Zheng Luquan , Yang Xujia , li ke , yang jurong
Published: September 2022

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is mainly caused by ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), with high clinical mortality since there is a lack of definite and effective drug intervention except for renal replacement therapy. Previous research emphasized that ferroptosis is the pivotal process in I/R injury of renal. Ginsenoside Rb1 is a chemical compound belonging to the ginsenoside family and has been proved to have benefits for kidney diseases, but its specific mechanism in AKI is uncovered. Here we discovered Rb1 could mitigate ferroptosis in renal tubular epithelial cells of AKI animals. Mechanically, Rb1 significantly inhibited oxidative stress including promotion of GSH, reduction of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), also reduced inflammatory response, then relieved renal injury in I/R mice. RSL3, the inhibitor of GPX4, or Erastin, the inhibitor of SLC7A11, could induce ferroptosis and eliminate the protective effect of Rb1. Also, a ferroptosis inhibitor or ROS scavenger could simulate the protective effect of Rb1 on renal tubular epithelial cells. In conclusion, we confirmed that Rb1 promotes GSH synthesis by preventing oxidative stress, upregulating the expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11, and ultimately scavengers of ROS or MDA, and reduces the occurrence of ferroptosis in renal tubular epithelial cells. Rb1 has potential benefits for AKI patients.
Serum Rcn3 level is a potential diagnostic biomarker for connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease and reflects the severity of pulmonary function
Authors: Ding Fangping , Yang Liu , Wang Yingfei , Ma Yingmin , Jin Jiawei
Published: September 2022

Background
Although reticulocalbin 3 (Rcn3) has a critical role in alveolar epithelial function as well as in pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, no study has yet examined its diagnostic and prognostic values for interstitial lung disease (ILD). This study aimed to evaluate Rcn3 as a potential marker for differential diagnosis in the patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) and reflecting the severity of disease.
Methods
This was a retrospective observational study included 71 ILD patients and 19 healthy controls. These patients were stratified into IPF group (39) and CTD-ILD group (32). The severity of ILD was evaluated through pulmonary function test.
Results
Serum Rcn3 levels were statistically higher in CTD-ILD patients than those in IPF patients (p = 0.012) and healthy controls (p = 0.028). There were statistic negative correlations between serum Rcn3 and TLC, FVC and DLCO in patients with CTD-ILD (r = -0.367, p = 0.039; r = -0.391, p = 0.027; r = -0.370, p = 0.037, respectively), but not in IPF patients. ROC analysis demonstrated that serum Rcn3 had superior diagnostic value for CTD-ILD and an Rcn3 cutoff value of 2.73 ng/mL had a sensitivity of 69%, a specificity of 69% and an accuracy of 45% for diagnose of CTD-ILD.
Conclusions
Serum Rcn3 levels might be a clinically useful biomarker in screening and evaluating CTD-ILD.
Quantum metrology with N-qubit W superposition state under local and nonlocal operation
Authors: Li Yan , Ren Zhihong
Published: September 2022

We study the performance of N-qubit W superposition state in quantum metrology. Taking advantage of the general Ising-type Hamiltonian (including local and nonlocal operation), we analytically present the Quantum Fisher information (QFI) of N-qubit W superposition state under different situations and then investigate its phase sensitivity. The results show that the phase sensitivity under local operation displays a crossover from W state to GHZ state, where it is same as W state in few-qubit case (N ≤ 6) but asymptotically equal to GHZ state for large qubit case (N >> 1). Interestingly, the 4-qubit W superposition state is found to have the same sensitivity with 4-qubit GHZ state, but be more robust than latter. Besides, the optimal theoretical proposals are provided for ideal metrology. Under the phase/amplitude damping channel, the phase sensitivity of W superposition state (except for N=3) is ultimately decreased to standard quantum limit, while it turns worse in depolarizing channel. Finally, the tunable phase sensitivity under nonlocal operation is studied and the general Heisenberg limit is surpassed with the increasing interaction strength γ . Meanwhile, a plateau of QFI and phase sensitivity is found for all large qubit W superposition state, which is similar to the study of GHZ state and again verifies the common feature of GHZ-type states in quantum metrology.
Study the electrocatalytic performance in alkaline medium and enhanced glucose electro-oxidation by bismuth nanostructures for potential application in direct glucose fuel cell
Authors: Dey Santanu , Pramanik Subhamay , Chakraborty Pradipta , Rana Dhiraj Kumar , Mandal Manas Kumar , Basu Soumen
Published: September 2022

Although direct glucose fuel cell (DGFC) is considered as a promising energy supply system, the poor catalytic activity and substandard stability of most catalysts during glucose electro-oxidation is a serious drawback for its possible applications. In this study, different bismuth nanostructures are proposed as efficient anode electrocatalysts for the oxidation of glucose in alkaline medium. Bismuth nanospheres with smaller diameter were prepared by hydrothermal method, giving rise to active surface area and electrocatalytic performance as well toward glucose electro-oxidation. Among the prepared Bi electrocatalysts of different morphologies, uniformly spherical three dimensional structure displayed improved current density as high as 79.78 mAcm− 2 during glucose oxidation in 1 M NaOH + 6 mM glucose solution tested at 100 mVs− 1 CV scan rate. The cycling stability of the prepared catalyst was examined for 100 cycles and it showed the 79.5% retention of activity after 100 cycles. In our investigation, bismuth nanospheres having smaller diameter showed best catalytic performance. The notable electrocatalytic performance of Bi nanostructures (mainly Bi nanosphere) may make possible to design and progress of renewable power device.
Patient and Health Worker Perspectives on Quality of HIV Care and Treatment Services in Haiti
Authors: Puttkammer Nancy , Demes Joseph Adrien Emmanuel , Dervis Witson , Chéry Jean Marcxime , Elusdort Josette , Haight Elizabeth , Honoré Jean Guy , Simoni Jane M.
Published: September 2022

Background: Poor quality of care is a barrier to engagement in HIV care and treatment in low- and middle-income country settings. This study involved focus group discussions (FGD) with patients and health workers in two large urban hospitals to describe quality of patient education and psychosocial support services within Haiti’s national HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) program. The purpose of this qualitative study was to illuminate key gaps and salient “ingredients” for improving quality of care. Methods: The study included 8 FGDs with a total of 26 male patients and 32 female patients and 15 smaller FGDs with 57 health workers. The analysis used a directed content analysis method, with the goal of extending existing conceptual frameworks on quality of care through rich description.Results: Dimension of safety, patient-centeredness, accessibility, and equity were most salient. Patients noted risks to privacy with both clinic and community-based services as well as concerns with ART side effects, while health workers described risks to their own safety in providing community-based services. While patients cited examples of positive interactions with health workers that centered their needs and perspectives, they also noted concerns that inhibited trust and satisfaction with services. Health workers described difficult working conditions that challenged their ability to provide patient-centered services. Patients sought favored relationships with health workers to help them navigate the health care system, but this undermined the sense of fairness. Both patients and health workers described frustration with lack of resources to assist patients in dire poverty, and health workers described great pressure to help patients from their “own pockets.”Conclusions: These concerns reflected the embeddedness of patient – provider interactions within a health system marked by scarcity, power dynamics between patients and HWs, and social stigma related to HIV. Reinforcing respectful and welcoming atmosphere, timely service, privacy protection, and building patient perception of fairness in access to support could help to build patient satisfaction and care engagement in Haiti. Improving working conditions for health workers is also critical to achieving quality.
500 V Breakdown Voltage in β-Ga 2 O 3 LDMOSFET With 108 MW/cm 2 Power Figure of Merit
Authors: Rik Nesa Abedi , Orouji Ali A. , Madadi Dariush
Published: September 2022

Our work presents a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (LDMOSFET) with β-Ga2O3, which is a large bandgap semiconductor (β-LDMOSFET) for increasing breakdown voltage (VBR) and power figure of merit. The characteristics of β-LDMOSFET were analyzed to those of a standard LDMOSFET, such as VBR, ON-resistance (RON), power figure of merit (PFOM), and radio frequency (RF) performances. The fundamental purpose of this research is to use the high bandgap semiconductor instead of silicon material due to its large breakdown field of about 9 MV/cm. The β-LDMOSFET structure outperforms performance in the VBR, increasing to 500 V versus 84.4 V in a standard LDMOSFET design. The suggested β-LDMOSFET has RON ~ 2.3 mΩ.cm− 2 and increased the PFOM (VBR2/RON) to 108.6 MW/cm2.