bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lysine requirements for maintenance and utilization efficiency of Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) at different body weights
Authors: Marchão Rafael Silva , Ribeiro Felipe Barbosa , Siqueira Jefferson Costa de , Bomfim Marcos Antonio Delmondes , Silva Janayra Cardoso , Sousa Thalles José Rêgo de , Sousa Marilene da Costa , Nascimento Daphinne Cardoso Nagib
Published: March 2021

BackgroundLysine is an essential amino acid and, generally, the first limiting in diets for tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), main native fish produced in continental aquaculture from South America. However, there is a lack of information on their amino acids requirements, especially for maintenance and efficiency of utilization of lysine.ResultsDiets with increasing levels of digestible lysine significantly increased final weight and the weight gain of tambaqui, for all studied ages. Feed intake decreased significantly only for fish weighing 121 g (p < 0.05), and was not affected for other ages. However, digestible lysine consumption significantly increased in all body weights groups evaluated (p < 0.05). In addition, digestible lysine consumption provided sufficient intervals to obtain of values negative, near zero and positive of retention body protein and lysine, allowing estimation of maintenance requirements without extrapolation. The maintenance lysine requirement was determined at the intersection of the point to maintain body protein retention equal to zero, and the efficiency of lysine utilization was the slope of the line between the digestible lysine consumption and its retention, for different tambaqui body weights (121, 235 and 596 g). Linear responses (p < 0.05) were observed between protein retention and body lysine in function on the consumption of digestible lysine for all evaluated body weights, and the parallelism test showed influences of body weight on the values of the maintenance requirement and efficiency of utilization for lysine, with an increase in the maintenance requirement as the fish grow. However, the efficiency of using lysine decreases with the increase in fish body weight.ConclusionsThe requirement of tambaqui for maintenance lysine and efficiency utilization are directly related to the body weight. The requirement for digestible lysine for tambaqui maintenance was 82.03 mg kg-0.7 day-1 for body weights 121 to 235 g and utilization efficiency of 55%. For weight of 596 g, the requirement of maintenance was 106.85 mg kg-0.7 day-1 and 40% of utilization efficiency of lysine.
Comparing The Efficacy of Two-Week Therapy With Modified Bismuth Quadruple Versus Modified Levofloxacin Concomitant Regimen for Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Syrian Patients. A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Authors: Alhalabi Marouf Muhammad , Alassi Mohammed Waleed , Eddin Kamal Alaa , Cheha Khaled
Published: March 2021

Background: Antibiotic-resistant reduces the efficacy of conventional triple therapy for Helicobacter Pylori infections worldwide, lead to varying treatment protocols according to locations. The primary outcome of this research is to estimate the eradication rates of modified bismuth quadruple versus modified levofloxacin concomitant as empirical first-line treatment by intention to treat analysis (ITT) and per-protocol analysis (PPA) in a referral hospital in Syria.Settings and Design: an open‑label parallel blind randomized controlled trial.Methods: We randomly assigned seventy-eight naïve who tested positive for Helicobacter Pylori gastric infection, with a 1:1 ratio to (B-group) which receive (bismuth subsalicylate 524 mg four times daily, doxycycline 100 mg, tinidazole 500 mg, and esomeprazole 20 mg, each twice per day for two weeks), or (L-group) which receive (levofloxacin 500 mg daily, tinidazole 500 mg, amoxicillin 1000 mg, and esomeprazole 20 mg each twice per day for two weeks). We confirmed Helicobacter Pylori eradication by stool antigen test at eight weeks.Results: Thirty-nine patients were allocated in each group. In the B- group, thirty-eight patients completed the follow-up, thirty patients were cured. While in the L-group, thirty-nine completed the follow-up, thirty-two patients were cured. According to ITT, the eradication rates were 76.92%, and 82.05%, for the B-group and L-group respectively. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was 1.371 [0.454-4.146]. According to PPA, the eradication rates were 78.9 %, and 82.1% for the B-group and L-groups respectively. The odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was 1.219 [0.394-3.774]. We didn’t report serious adverse effects.Conclusions: The eradication rates in both therapy regimes were fair. Further researches are required to help select the optimum first-line treatment for Helicobacter-Pylori Infection in the Syrian population.Trial registration: We register this study as a standard randomized clinical trial (Clinicaltrial.gov, identifier‑NCT04348786, date:29-January-2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04348786).
Increased Uterine Androgen Receptor Protein Abundance Results in Implantation and Mitochondrial Defects in Pregnant Rats with Hyperandrogenism and Insulin Resistance
Authors: Zhang Yuehui , Hu Min , Yang Fan , Zhang Yizhuo , Ma Shuting , Zhang Dongqi , Wang Xu , Sferruzzi-Perri Amanda Nancy , Wu Xiaoke , Brännström Mats , Shao Linus R , Billig Håkan
Published: March 2021

In this study, we show that during normal rat pregnancy, there is a gestational stage-dependent decrease in androgen receptor (AR) abundance in the gravid uterus and that this is correlated with the differential expression of endometrial receptivity and decidualization genes during early and mid-gestation. In contrast, exposure to 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and insulin (INS) or DHT alone significantly increased AR protein levels in the uterus in association with the aberrant expression of endometrial receptivity and decidualization genes, as well as disrupted implantation. Next, we assessed the functional relevance of the androgen-AR axis in the uterus for reproductive outcomes by treating normal pregnant rats and pregnant rats exposed to DHT and INS with the anti-androgen flutamide. We found that AR blockage using flutamide largely attenuated the DHT and INS-induced maternal endocrine, metabolic, and fertility impairments in pregnant rats in association with suppressed induction of uterine AR protein abundance and androgen-regulated response protein and normalized expression of several endometrial receptivity and decidualization genes. Further, blockade of AR normalized the expression of the mitochondrial biogenesis marker Nrf1 and the mitochondrial functional proteins Complexes I and II, VDAC, and PHB1. However, flutamide treatment did not rescue the compromised mitochondrial structure resulting from co-exposure to DHT and INS. These results demonstrate that functional AR protein is an important factor for gravid uterine function. Impairments in the uterine androgen-AR axis are accompanied by decreased endometrial receptivity, decidualization, and mitochondrial dysfunction, which might contribute to abnormal implantation in pregnant PCOS patients with compromised pregnancy outcomes and subfertility.
Predictive value of ACEF II score in patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease undergoing one-stop hybrid coronary revascularization
Authors: Li Yanyan , Li Chuang , Feng Dejing , Zhang Qian , Li Kuibao , Liu Yu , Yang Xinchun , Wang Lefeng
Published: March 2021

Background: We aimed to investigate the predictive value of recently updated ACEF II score on major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease (MVCAD) undergoing one-stop hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR).Methods: Patients with MVCAD undergoing one-stop HCR were retrospectively recruited from March 2018 to September 2020. Several prediction risk models, including ACEF II score, were calculated for each patient. Kaplan-Meier curve was used to evaluate freedom from all-cause death and MACCE survival rates. Differences of prediction performance among risk scores for predicting MACCE were compared by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: According to the ACEF II score, a total of 120 patients undergoing one-stop HCR were assigned to low-score group (80 cases) and high-score group (40 cases). During the median follow-up time of 18 months, the incidence of MACCE in the low-score group and high-score group were 8.8% and 37.5%, respectively (p < 0.001); and the mortality rate of the two were 2.5% and 12.5%, respectively (p < 0.05). Moreover, the cumulative freedom from mortality (97.5% vs. 86.8%, p < 0.05) and MACCE (75.2% vs. 52.8%, p < 0.001) survival rates in the high-score group were significantly lower than in the low-score group. According to the Cox proportional hazards regression, the ACEF II score was an independent prognostic indicator for MACCE with hazards ratio (HR) 2.24, p = 0.003. The ROC curve analysis indicated that the areas under the curve (AUC) of MACCE from the ACEF II score was 0.740 (p < 0.001), while the AUC of MACCE from the SYNTAX score II CABG was 0.621 (p = 0.070) and the AUC from the EuroSCORE II was 0.703 (p < 0.001). Thus, the accurate predictive value of ACEF II score was similar to the EuroSCORE II but much higher than the SYNTAX score II CABG. Conclusion: The updated ACEF II score is a more convenient and validated prediction tool for MACCE in patients with MVCAD undergoing one-stop HCR comparing to other risk models.
Zoonotic Vaccinia Viruses Belonging to Different Genetic Clades Exhibit Immunomodulation Abilities That Are Proportional to Their Pathogenic Potential
Authors: Lourenço Karine Lima , Chinália Leandro Andrade , Henriques Lethícia Rodrigues , Rodrigues Rodrigo Araújo Lima , Fonseca Flávio Guimarães da
Published: March 2021

BackgroundThe Vaccinia virus (VACV) isolates, Guarani P1 virus (GP1V) and Passatempo virus (PSTV), were isolated from zoonotic outbreaks in Brazil and belong to two different VACV clades, as defined by biological aspects that include virulence in mice and phylogenetic analysis. Considering that information about how vaccinia viruses from different groups elicit immune responses in animals is scarce, we investigated such responses in mice infected by GP1V (group 2) or PSTV (group 1) using VACV Western Reserve strain (WR) as control. MethodsThe severity of the infections was evaluated in BALB/c mice considering diverse clinical signs and defined scores, and the immune responses triggered by GP1V and PSTV infections were analysed by immune cell phenotyping and intra-cytoplasmic cytokines detection. ResultsInfected mice showed significant weight loss and developed spleen lesions as well as liver and lung damage. Mice infected with PSTV, however, developed only moderate clinical signs. We detected a reduction of total lymphocytes (CD3+), macrophages (CD14+) and NK cells (CD3-CD49+) in animals infected with VACV-WR or GP1V. VACV-WR was able to significantly downmodulate cell immune responses upon mice infection, and GP1V-infected animals also showed intense downmodulation in cell responses. Contrarily, PSTV presented little ability to downmodulate mice immune responses. ConclusionsOur results suggest that VACV immunomodulation in vivo is clade-related and is proportional to the strain virulence upon infection. Our data corroborate the classification of the different Brazilian VACV isolates in clades 1 and 2, taking into account not only phylogenetic criteria, but also clinical and immunological data.
Establishment of sex difference in circulating uric acid is associated with higher testosterone and lower sex hormone-binding globulin in adolescent boys
Authors: Wang Yutang , Charchar Fadi J
Published: March 2021

Men have higher circulating levels of uric acid than women. This sex difference is suspected to be a result of suppressive effects of estradiol on uric acid. If so, estradiol would be inversely associated with circulating uric acid. This study aimed to test this hypothesis. This cross-sectional study included 9 472 participants (weighted sample size of 184 342 210) aged 12–80 years from the 2013 to 2016 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Associations of sex hormones with uric acid were analyzed using weighted least squares regression, adjusting for demographic characteristics, lifestyle risk factors, and comorbidities. Neither free nor bioavailable estradiol was inversely associated with circulating uric acid in males or females or adolescents or adults or females around menopausal age (47–56 years). Log-transformed free testosterone was positively associated with serum uric acid in adolescent boys (β = 0.250, P < 0.001), girls (β = 0.159, P < 0.001), adult women (β = 0.131, P < 0.001) and women around menopausal age (β = 0.143, P < 0.001) after adjustment for all tested confounders. The results from bioavailable testosterone were similar to those from free testosterone. In addition, log-transformed sex hormone-binding globulin was inversely associated with serum uric acid in males (β=- 0.171, P < 0.001) and females (β=-0.181, P < 0.001) after adjustment for all tested confounders and the inverse association remained in all sub-cohorts. Moreover, sex difference in circulating uric acid was established during adolescence and this establishment coincided with a dramatic increase in testosterone and a dramatic decrease in sex hormone-binding globulin in boys. These results suggest that estradiol is not inversely associated with circulating uric acid and the establishment of sex difference in circulating uric acid is associated with higher testosterone and lower sex hormone-binding globulin in adolescent boys.
A Risk-Predictive Model for Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Gu Yu , Ye Xianping , Liu Yuxiu , Wang Yu , Shen Kunlu , Zhong Jinjin , Chen Bilin , Su Xin
Published: March 2021

Objectives: Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is increasingly reported in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. These patients often have poor clinical outcomes. Early recognition of IPA in COPD is always challenging. We aimed to develop and validate a risk model using readily available clinical parameters to predict IPA for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) patients.Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study. AECOPD patients who were admitted to Jinling Hospital between January 2012 and December 2017 were included. 880 AECOPD patients were randomly divided into the training set (70%, n = 616) and validation set (30%, n = 264). A nomogram model was developed using multivariate logistic regression from training set. The discrimination and calibration of model were validated internally. Decision curve analyses assessed the clinical utility of the nomogram.Results: The incidence of IPA in hospitalized AECOPD patients was 9.6% in the training set (59 cases of IPA) and 9.1% in the validation set (24 cases of IPA), respectively. The nomogram model consisted of independent factors associated with IPA included lung function GOLD III-IV, utility of broad-spectrum antibiotic over 10 days in the last month, oral or intravenous corticosteroids (prednisone) over 265 mg in the last 3 months and serum albumin<30g/L. The model performed good discrimination and calibration in validation set (c-statistic, 0.79 [95%CI, 0.68-0.90]). The 95%CI region of calibration belt did not cross the 45-degree diagonal bisector line (P = 0.887). Conclusion: The simple risk predictive model for earlier recognition of IPA is useful in hospitalized AECOPD patients.
Sex Differences in the Association Between Liver Fibrosis and Clinical Outcomes in Acute Cardioembolic Stroke Population With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Yang Lei , Gao Ke , Yao Xin-Ye , Tang Yong-lan , Yang Wan-Ying , Huang Xiao-Rui , Gao Ya-jie , Zheng Xiao-Pu
Published: March 2021

Background: Liver cirrhosis is a confirmed risk factor for worse clinical outcomes of stroke, however the contribution of liver fibrosis to cardioembolic stroke (CES) and its short-term outcomes are poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whether liver fibrosis is associated with more severe stroke, worse short-term clinical outcomes of acute CES, due to nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), as well as the impact of sex on the association. Methods: Using data of 522 patients with NVAF admitted within 48 hours after acute symptom of CES onset. We calculated Fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) and defined liver fibrosis as: likely advanced fibrosis (FIB-4>3.25), indeterminate (FIB-4, 1.45-3.25), unlikely advanced fibrosis (FIB-4<1.45). We invested the impact of liver fibrosis degree on stroke severity on admission, major disability at discharge and all cause death at 90 days stratified by sex. Results: Among 522 acute CES patients with NVAF, the mean FIB-4 on admission reflected intermediate fibrosis, whereas liver enzymes were largely normal. After adjusting for possible confounders, multivariate analyses revealed that likely advanced liver fibrosis was associated with severe stroke (OR=2.21, 95% CI: 1.04-3.54), major disability at discharge (OR=4.59, 95% CI: 1.88-11.18), and 90-days mortality (HR=1.25, 95% CI: 1.10-1.56). Further grouped by sex, these associations were stronger in males but not significant in females.Conclusions: In patients with largely normal liver enzyme, likely advanced liver fibrosis is associated with severe stroke, major disability and all cause death after acute CES due to NVAF; the association unfolded more obvious in males, but not for females.
Urinary miR-93-5p as A Promising Biomarker for Early HBV-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Zhou Guanlin , Zeng Yijun , Luo Yingmin , Guo Sheng , Bao Longyuan , Zhang Qiong
Published: March 2021

Background: The mortality rate of early HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing annually due to sensitive and readily available diagnostic tools are lacking. This study aims to find such diagnostic biomarkers. Methods: MiR-93-5p was chosen as a candidate biomarker base on the analysis of relevant datasets of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). It was subjected to validation using qPCR for the quantification of its expression levels in tissue, plasma and saliva sample sets. Results: miR-93-5p was found to be significantly upregulated in HBV-related HCC tissue. Notably, miR-93-5p in plasma and urine was also significantly increased in patients with early HBV-related HCC. The expression of miR-93-5p was significantly and positively correlated between any two kinds of samples (tissue vs. plasma; tissue vs. urine, plasma vs urine). Moreover, miR-93-5p in plasma and urine reduced significantly over one month after the surgery and returned to normal levels. Finally, ROC analysis showed both plasmatic and urinary miR-39-5p could detect early, advanced and total HBV-relative HCC cases with over 85% of sensitivities and over 93% of specificities.Conclusion: plasma and urine miR-93-5p show great promise as novel and potential biomarkers for early HBV-related HCC.
Early Warning Evaluation of Tuberculosis and Meteorological Factors in Shanxi Province Based on Dynamic Bayesian Network
Authors: Li Meichen , Zhang Zhuang , Ren Hao , Fan Yueling , Song Weimei , Fan Liyu , Quan Dichen , Gao Jianwei , Chen Limin , Qiu Lixia
Published: March 2021

Background: Tuberculosis is a major global public health problem. However, it is still in the exploratory stage that the study of the meteorological factors related to the incidence of tuberculosis in Shanxi Province. Therefore, it is very urgent to establish an early warning system that easily operate of tuberculosis. Method: The epidemiological characteristics of tuberculosis in Shanxi Province were described, and the Dynamic Bayesian Network early warning model was established by time series cross-correlation analysis and Bayesian Network.Results: 1. The reported incidence of tuberculosis in Shanxi Province showed an overall downward trend from 2008 to 2017, showing a phenomenon of high in the middle and low at both ends each year, with certain seasonal characteristics. 2. Based on the results of cross-correlation analysis, it is reasonable to use dynamic Bayesian model fitting with meteorological factors lagging for 2 months; the monthly average temperature and monthly precipitation are positively correlated with the incidence of tuberculosis, but the monthly mean air pressure is negatively. 3. Comparison of classification and recognition performance of the three models shows that DBN has the highest classification accuracy in the two regions, which indicates that DBN is better than the other two models in reflecting the performance of minority classes, and better for the comprehensive classification of minority classes and majority classes. Conclusion: 1. Shanxi Province has tuberculosis clustering in time, space and time and space. Incidence peak is in spring and early summer. March is the highest month in the year. Seven meteorological factors such as monthly precipitation are the main factors affecting the incidence of tuberculosis in Shanxi Province. 2. The classification and recognition performance of the Dynamic Bayesian Network early warning model of tuberculosis-meteorological factors established in this study is significantly better than that of static Bayesian Network and support vector machine model, and can better predict the future.
The Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Glycemic Index, Lipid Profiles and Inflammatory Cytokines in NAFLD Patients: A Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Mozaffari Sadegh , Amirkiasar Pedram Rezaei , Zare Mina , Emamgholipour Solaleh , Hosseini Hossein , Panahi Ghodratollah
Published: March 2021

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most prevalent chronic liver disorders worldwide. In an aggressive type, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) might lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma progression. Currently, there is no certified drug applied to treat NASH. Human studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of probiotics supplementation in NAFLD. Due to the lack of appropriate studies and the emerging requirements for further illustration over the effects of probiotics on the treatment of NAFLD and NASH-related disorders in humans, in this study, we seek to evaluate this matter often papered over.Methods: We will search PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception to February 2021. Search terms are keywords and medical subject headings related to NAFLD, probiotics, glycemic indexes, inflammation, and dyslipidemia. 2 researchers will determine the search strategy after several pre-searches. The Glycemic outcomes include glycated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance.The lipidomic outcomes include differences in High-density lipoprotein, Low-density lipoprotein, Total triglyceride, Total cholesterol.The Inflammatory outcomes include differences in IL6, IL1β, TNFα, CRP.The meta-analysis will be performed using END NOTE and STATA.Results: Our study will systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of probiotics supplementation in NAFLD patients.Conclusion: This study's results will give the proof for probiotics supplements in NAFLD treatment and provide an evidence for clinical treatment.
Weight loss improve pregnancy and livebirth outcomes in young women with early-stage endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia:15 years’ experience
Authors: zhang yanfang , Li Dan , Yan Qi , Wang Jinghua , Teng fei , Wei Likun , zhang huiying , Tian Wenyan , Wang Yingmei , Song Xueru , Xue Fengxia
Published: March 2021

Background: To evaluate the effects of body weight loss on pregnancy and livebirth outcomes in young women with early-stage endometrial cancer (EC) and atypical hyperplasia (AH) with fertility-sparing therapy. Thus, improve the management of this patient group.Method: Patients with AH (n=36) and well-differentiated EC (n=8, FIGO stage IA) who achieved complete regression after conservative treatment were included in this retrospective study. A weight loss group (n=25) and a non-weight loss group (n=19) were divided; while subgroup analysis according to body mass index and stratification analysis according to weight loss proportion were performed to investigate the effect of weight loss on pregnancy and livebirth outcomes. A univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were undertaken to analysis the factors associated with pregnancy.Results: The mean body weight and body mass index at pretreatment of progestin and initiation of fertility treatment was 70.63±12.03 and 67.08±8.18 kg, respectively, and 27.06±4.44 and 25.73±3.15 kg/m2, respectively. 25 patients (56.82%) had weight loss; the median weight loss amount is 5.00kg (1.00-34.50), median weigh loss proportion was 6.70% (1.00-36.00) during median time interval of 12months (5.00-97.00). An impressive favorable pregnancy rate (65.91%) and live birth rate (50.00%) were achieved. The pregnancy and livebirth rate were meaningfully higher in the weight loss group than the non-weight loss group (88.00% vs.36.84%,P=0.000; 64.00% vs.31.58%,P=0.033, respectively); weight loss≥5% significantly increased pregnancy and live birth rate in patients with BMI≥25. The risk ratios of weight loss≥5% in multivariate logistic analysis for pregnancy was 0.096(0.010, 0.907).Conclusions: Weight loss could have a positive effect on pregnancy rates and seem to be useful for improving live birth rates in overweight or obese women with early-stage endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia during/after fertility-sparing therapy. weight loss≥5% was protective factors of pregnancy in fertility-sparing patients with early-stage endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia.
Solitary Pulmonary Nodule Malignancy Predictive Models Applicable to Routine Clinical Practice: A Systematic Review 
Authors: Valero Marina Senent , Pastor-Valero María , Librero Julián
Published: March 2021

Background: Solitary Pulmonary Nodule (SPN) is a common finding in routine clinical practice when performing chest imaging tests. The vast majority of these nodules are benign, and only a small proportion are malignant. Facing clinical experience as a guide for decision-making in the management of SPN, the application of predictive models of malignancy in routine clinical practice would help to achieve better diagnostic management of SPN. For this, it is necessary to know and evaluate the current state of knowledge in relation to predictive models of malignancy of SPN in the general or low-risk population. The present systematic review was carried out with the purpose of critically assess studies aimed at developing predictive models of Solitary Pulmonary Nodule (SPN) malignancy from SPN incidentally detected in routine clinical practice. Methods: we performed a systematic review through the following bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, SCOPUS and Cochrane Library. We used The Transparent Reporting of a multivariable Prediction model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis (TRIPOD) statement to describe the type of predictive model included in each study. We used The Prediction model Risk Of Bias ASsessment Tool (PROBAST) to evaluate the quality of the selected articles. The Fleischner guidelines for the management of incidental SPN were used as reference to describe the variables included in the models. Results: 186 references were retrieved and after applying the exclusion/inclusion criteria, 15 articles remained for the final review. All studies analysed clinical and radiological variables. The most frequent independent predictors of malignancy included in the models were, in order of frequency: age, diameter, spiculated edge of the SPN, calcification, and smoking history. Variables such as race, growth rate of the SPN, emphysema, fibrosis, apical scarring and exposure to asbestos, uranium and radon among others were not analysed by the majority of the studies. All studies were classified as high risk of bias due to inadequate study designs, selection bias, insufficient follow-up of the population, and lack of external validation, compromising their applicability for clinical practice.Conclusions: The studies included have been shown to have methodological weaknesses compromising the clinical applicability of the evaluated SPN malignancy predictive models and their potential influence on clinical decision-making for the SPN diagnostic management. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews: CRD42020161559.
Association of Sleep Disturbances With Longitudinal Cognitive Decline Among Cognitively Normal Elders
Authors: Feng Wei , Kuetche Mandela William Nzoyoum , Zhang Meng , Liu Meng , Liu Yue , Deginet Aklilu , Wang Wei , Wang Xiaonan , Guo Xiuhua
Published: March 2021

Background: A lot of evidence demonstrated sleep disturbances (SD) gets associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but whether or not sleep disturbances could be the preclinical stage of AD is still unknown.Objective: 463 cognitively normal elders (357 normal and 106 SD) in baseline with cognitive and biomarker data were included in the study. Participants were collected from 2005 to 2020 (16 years follow-up) in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). The generalized linear mixed models adjusting variables selected by the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and the marginal effect estimation method were used to estimate the effect of SD for cognition. Moreover, Cox regression was used to assess the survival risk of AD in sleep disturbance.Results: The age range of participants was 73.60±5.71 years old, and the female proportion was 43.63%. Compared with the group with normal sleep, those with sleep disturbances had worse mean scores at 6 years on the PACC (mean difference, 7.53 points [95%CI, 7.36-7.70]; P<0.001), MMSE (mean difference, 5.26 points [95%CI, 5.17-5.35]; P<0.001), and CDR–Sum of Boxes (mean difference, 5.61 points [95%CI, 5.67-5.54]; P = 0.001). Cox regression analysis suggested that sleep disturbances is a risk factor of AD (HR=1.55, 95% CI=1.08 to 2.22).Conclusion: Research of a cognitively normal cohort followed up for a mean of 9.56 years suggest that sleep disturbances, compared with normal sleep status, was associated with higher likelihood cognitive, which means sleep disturbances could probably be the pre-symptomatic stage of AD.
A Practical Approach to Assess the Wildfire Ignition and Spreading Capacities of Vegetated Areas at Landscape-scale
Authors: Hysa Artan , Spalevic Velibor , Dudic Branislav , Roșca Sanda , Kuriqi Alban , Bilașco Ștefan , Sestras Paul
Published: March 2021

We bring a practical and comprehensive GIS-based framework to utilize freely available remote sensed datasets to assess wildfire ignition probability and spreading capacities of vegetated landscapes. The study area consists of the country-level scale of the Romanian territory, characterized by a diversity of vegetated landscapes threatened by the consequences of climate change. We utilize the Wildfire Ignition Probability/ Wildfire Spreading Capacity Index (WIPI/ WSCI). WIPI/ WSCI models rely on a multi-criteria data mining procedure assessing the social, environmental, geophysical, and fuel properties of the study area based on open access remote sensed data. We utilized the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis to weigh each indexing criterion's impact factor and assess the model's overall sensitivity. Introducing ROC analysis at an earlier stage of the workflow elevated the final Area Under the Curve (AUC) of WIPI from 0.705 to 0.778 and WSCI from 0.586 to 0.802. The modeling results enable discussion on the vulnerability of protected areas and the exposure of man-made structures to wildfire risk. Our study shows that within the wildland-urban interface of Bucharest's metropolitan area, there is a remarkable building stock like healthcare, residential and educational that are significantly exposed to wildfire spreading the risk.
Dichotomy in Growth and Invasion From Low to High Grade Glioma Cellular Variants 
Authors: Ghosh Krishnendu , Ghosh Samarandranath , Chatterjee Uttara , Bhattacharjee Pritha , Ghosh Anirban
Published: March 2021

Glial dysfunction outraging CNS plasticity and integrity results into one of the most dangerous cancer, namely glioma, featuring little median survival period and high recurrence. The hallmark properties of proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis with the infiltrated macrophages in glioma are expected to be tightly coupled or cross-linked, but not definitely related so far. Present study is aimed to find a relationship between this featured quadrangle from lower to higher grades of post-operative glioma tissues and their invading subsets. Elevated Ki67 associated proliferation in lower grades was supported with VEGF dependent angiogenic maintenance which found decrease unlikely in higher grades. In contrast, MMP-2 and 9 associated invasions augmented high in higher grades with dominant presence of CD204+ M2 polarized macrophages and a general increase in global DNMT1 associated methylation. Marked differences found in ECM invading cellular subsets of higher grades showing high proliferative capacity indicating rationally for recurrence, contrasting the nature of gross tumor tissue of same grade. Thus in lower grades the neoplastic lesion is more inclined for its growth while in higher grade more disposed towards tissue wreckage in support with cellular environmental milieu whereas the cellular variants and subsets of invaded cells showed different trends. Therefore, some operational dichotomy or coupling among cellular variants in glioma is active in determining its low to high grade transition and aggressive progression.
The Stress Reduction Effect of Nature Through Virtual Reality (VR): a Systematic Review Protocol
Authors: Gentile Ambra , Bianco Antonino , Nordström Peter , Nordström Anna
Published: March 2021

Background. The urbanization process has increased the stress level among the population, since the city is an environment characterised by pollution, traffic, and noise. Spending time in natural and green spaces revealed to be restorative and effective in stress reduction. In some conditions, it is not possible to reach green spaces, such as country or gardens. In the last years, virtual reality (VR) has been adopted in laboratories to explore the potentialities for stress reduction. Therefore, the current systematic review protocol aims at establishing the main steps that will be undertaken to investigate the stress-reduction effects of virtual nature studies. Methods. The study will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, while the inclusion criteria will be established through PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Study Design). The studies will be included if based on non-clinical population; if they compare the exposure to virtual nature through 360° images, biophilic elements, VR pre-recorded videos, or immersive environment, excluding the augmented reality; if they measure the outcome in terms of objective measures (through physical parameters) or subjective measures (e.g., self-report questionnaires); and if they report quantitative outcomes, from scientific journals and indexed conference papers. The studies will be obtained through a research on Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed. All the study characteristics will be summarised in a spreadsheet and a narrative synthesis including also tables will be presented. Discussion. The current manuscript aims to provide the protocol that will be used in the systematic review concerning the stress reduction effect of virtual nature. Systematic review registration. PROSPERO CRD42020213197.
An efficient method to detect communities in social networks
Authors: KHATOON MEHJABIN , BANU W AISHA
Published: March 2021

Social networks represent the social structure, which is composed of individuals having social interactions among them. The interactions between the units in a social network represent the relations of the various social contacts and aim at finding different individuals in that network, with similar interests. It is a challenging problem to detect the social interactions between individuals with comparable considerations and desires from a large social network, which can be termed as community detection. Detection of the communities from social networks has been done by other authors previously, and many community identification algorithms were also proposed, but those communities' identification has been achieved on the online available data sets. The proposed algorithm in this paper has been named as Average Degree Newman Girvan (ADNG) algorithm, which can easily identify the communities from the real-time data sets, collected from the social network websites. The approach presented here is based on first determining the average degree of the network graph and then identifying the communities using the Newman Girvan algorithm. The proposed algorithm has been compared with four community detection algorithms, i.e., Leading eigenvector (LEC) algorithm, Fastgreedy (FG) algorithm, Leiden algorithm and Kernighan-Lin (KL) algorithm based on a few metric functions. This algorithm helps to detect communities for different domains, like for any proposed government policy, online shopping products, newly launched products in a market, etc.
Subdivision of metastatic colorectal cancer for identifying patients who benefit more from primary tumor resection
Authors: Luo Dakui , Shan Zezhi , Li Zhiqiang , Chen Simin , Cai Sanjun , Li Qingguo , Li Xinxiang
Published: March 2021

Background

Stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC) patients are heterogeneous with distinctive clinicopathologic features and prognosis. Radical resection of primary tumor and distant metastases is associated with improved survival outcomes in metastatic CRC. The value of palliative primary tumor resection is controversial. The present study explored which subgroups benefited more from primary tumor resection in metastatic CRC.

Methods

Between 2004 and 2015, patients with metastatic CRC were identified using the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) database. Uni- and multivariable Cox regression analysis were performed to identify factors associated with decreased cancer-specific mortality. The subgroups were divided based on the independent prognostic factors.

Results

Age, marital status, race, serum CEA, histologic type, differentiation, tumor location, surgery of primary or metastatic lesion, site of metastases, number of metastatic sites, chemotherapy and radiotherapy were identified as independent prognostic factors. Patients with non-white race, normal serum CEA, non-signet ring cell carcinoma, well or moderate differentiation, surgery of metastases, isolated liver metastasis, single metastasis, receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy presented more survival benefit from primary tumor resection.

Conclusion

Subgroup of metastatic CRC optimizes decision-making and selected patients will benefit more from primary tumor resection.
Diversidad coralina y su relación con el buceo en arrecifes en áreas naturales protegidas: México, Belice y Honduras
Authors: González-Solis Alicia , Torruco Daniel , Torruco-González Ángel Daniel
Published: March 2021

El buceo SCUBA en arrecifes de coral es un importante elemento del turismo en los trópicos; al año se certifican alrededor de 1,5 millones de buzos y alrededor de 304 mil corresponden a América. El éxito de la motivación en la observación del mundo submarino, son quizá los numerosos documentales disponibles en diferentes formatos, que resaltan la belleza de este y en especial de los arrecifes coralinos. Al evaluar el efecto del buceo, podemos determinar qué nivel de uso es justificable para balancear objetivos económicos y de conservación de la diversidad arrecifal. En tres países caribeños se compararon la cobertura de corales y diversidad coralina, mediante foto transectos entre sitios con buceo intensivo y no intensivo en ambientes similares. El daño físico directo a los arrecifes fue relativamente bajo, y el buceo tuvo un efecto poco indicador, la cobertura coralina declina en una proporción mínima en ambos tipos de sitios. En las formaciones coralinas evaluadas se registró una reducción en su cobertura promedio entre 8-13 %, en comparación con arrecifes del Sistema Arrecifal Mesoamericano. Los resultados sugieren un impacto del estrés de fondo no relacionado con el turismo. Este trabajo pretende contribuir a la gestión de áreas naturales protegidas y su evaluación de manera eficaz. Sobre todo, cuando el interés se centra en aspectos relacionados con la conservación y salud de los arrecifes
The Effect of Carnitine Supplementation on Blood Ammonia Level in Epilepsy Children Treated with Valproic Acid: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Sidiartha I Gusti Lanang , Suwarba I Gusti Ngurah Made , Wati Dyah Kanya , Subanada Ida Bagus
Published: March 2021

Background: Long-term use of valproic acid is associated with a high level of blood ammonia related to carnitine deficiency. This study investigates the effect of carnitine supplementation on blood ammonia levels in children with epilepsy who have been treated with valproic acid for more than six months.Materials and Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial study where children with epilepsy who were treated with valproic acid were randomly allocated to the carnitine supplementation and control group. All children were followed for month, and then measured for blood ammonia level. Blood ammonia levels of both groups were compared using an Independent t-test with a significant of p<0.05.Results: Total of 32 children with epilepsy were enrolled as subjects in this study, with 16 children in carnitine group, and 16 children in control group. Among the subjects, 50% were male and 50% were female, with a mean age of 6.5 years old. The average duration of epilepsy in the carnitine and control group were 41.7 months and 36.9 months, respectively (p=0.419). The duration of valproic acid therapy in the carnitine and control group were 33.1 months and 27.6 months, respectively (p=0.483). The level of blood ammonia in carnitine and control group were 44.6 mg/dL and 81.4 mg/dL, respectively (p=0.007).Conclusion: The level of blood ammonia in a carnitine group was significantly lower than in a control group. It is recommended to give carnitine supplementation in epileptic children treating with long-term valproic acid.Keywords: ammonia, carnitine, epilepsy, seizure, valproic acid
Biochemical Characterization and Kinetics of Carboxylesterase Isolated from Rabbit Liver and Lung in order to Application in the Detoxification of Environmental Pollutants
Authors: Rabea Entsar I. , Badawy Mohamed E.I. , El-Aswad Ahmed F.
Published: March 2021

Objective:

A carboxylesterase (CbE) or carboxylic-ester hydrolase (EC
3.1.1.1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of carboxylesters to alcohol and
carboxylate. The objective of this study is to obtain this enzyme from liver and lung
of rabbit with a comparison between the effects of two specific substrates, α-naphthyl acetate (α-NA) and p-nitrophenyl acetate (p-NPA) on the enzymes activity.
The kinetic characteristics of the enzymes have been also investigated in details.

Methods:

CbE was obtained from rabbit liver and lung with Tris/HCl buffer (pH
7.4) extraction, ammonium sulfate precipitation, dialysis, and lyophilized.

Results:

The lyophilized enzyme appeared to be homogeneous on native polyacrylamide
gel electrophoresis and its molecular mass was estimated to be 30 kDa suggesting a monomeric
structure for the obtained enzyme. The enzyme exhibited a broad activity at different pH and temperature.
The pH optimum was 7.5 and optimum temperature was 35ºC. The enzyme showed specific activities
of 1.36 and 1.04 μmol α-naphthol hydrolyzed/mg protein/min for liver and lung CbEs, respectively
using α-naphthyl acetate (α-NA). However, the specific activities of the liver and lung CbE were 0.44
and 0.23 μmol p-nitrophenol hydrolyzed/mg protein/min, respectively using p-nitrophenyl acetate (p-
NPA). The relationships between estimates of Km and Vmax calculated from the Michaelis-Menten equation
have been explored. The Km values of liver and lung CbEs were 59.28 and 28.10 μM with α-NA,
respectively however, the values were 86.39 and 90.05 μM with p-NPA. The Vmax values of liver and
lung CbEs were 2.32 and 1.05 with α-NA, respectively however, the values were 0.55 and 0.19 with p-
NPA. The enzyme showed residual activity when incubated at wide range of pesticides chlorpyrifos and
methomyl however it was totally inhibited by concentrations higher than 200 μM. The extent of the inhibition
was different, as estimated by the values of the inhibition constant Ki that were found to be 2.14
and 5.14 for chlorpyrifos and methomyl, respectively.

Conclusion:

Conclusion: This enzyme may play an important role in the detoxification of organophosphorous and
carbamate pesticides at low levels.
Transitar: cuerpo y resistencia. Una mirada micropolítica a la experiencia trans
Authors: Jaramillo Taborda Jhon Fernando
Published: March 2021

La expresión “No hay nada más político que las tetas de una trans” evidencia una politización del cuerpo, un acto de rebeldía y resistencia al transgredir el orden establecido. Este ejercicio es guiado por el relato de una transfeminista, Ana Lu Laferal, y una mujer trans indígena, Geraldín, quienes desde sus narraciones nos ayudarán a entender: ¿Qué pasa cuando los individuos se desmarcan del ideal hegemónico heterosexual del cuerpo definido según ciertas características biológicas?, ¿es el cuerpo para las personas trans una herramienta de agenciamiento político? Todo con el fin de comprender cómo configuran la subjetividad y capacidad de agenciamiento político las personas trans, desde el empoderamiento sobre su cuerpo y a partir de este, como primer espacio de resistencia. Así mismo, una de las estrategias empleadas para mostrar la experiencia trans es el uso de un lenguaje abarcador, como apuesta para visibilizar otras formas de ser y defender el derecho al autorreconocimiento. En definitiva, se indaga por otras formas de lo político que se constituyen desde la otredad, la subjetividad, y lo individual, en las que se usa el cuerpo como medio y fin.