bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Earliest Detection to Date of SARS-CoV-2 in Florida: Identification Together With Influenza Virus on the Main Entry Door of a University Building, February 2020
Authors: Lednicky John , Salemi Marco , Subramaniam Kuttichantran , Waltzek Thomas B , Sabo-Attwood Tara , Loeb Julia C. , Hentschel Shannon , Tagliamonte Massimo , Marini Simone , Alam Md. Mahbubul , Stephenson Caroline J. , Elbadry Maha , Morris Glenn
Published: October 2020

BackgroundQuestions persist about patterns of initial dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States in early 2020.MethodsIn February and March, 2020, environmental surface swab samples were collected from the handle of the main entry door of a major university building in Florida, as part of a pilot surveillance project screening for influenza. Samples were taken at the end of regular classroom hours, between the dates of February 1-5 and February 19-March 4, 2020. ResultsInfluenza H1N1pdm09 was isolated from the door handle on four of the 19 days sampled. Both SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus were detected in the sample collected on February 21, 2020. Based on sequence analysis, the Florida SARS-CoV-2 strain (designated UF-11) was identical to strains being identified in Washington state during the same time period, while the earliest similar sequences were sampled in China/Hubei between Dec 30th 2019 and Jan 5th 2020. The first human case of COVID-19 was not officially reported in Florida until March 1st. In an analysis of sequences from COVID-19 patients in this region of Florida, there was only limited evidence of subsequent dissemination of the UF-11 strain. Identical or highly similar strains, possibly related through a common transmission chain, were detected with increasing frequency in Washington state between end of February and beginning of March. ConclusionsOur data provide further documentation of the rapid early spread of SARS-CoV-2, and underscore the likelihood that closely related strains were cryptically circulating in multiple U.S. communities before the first “official” cases were recognized.
Evaluation of a Participatory Research Informed Physical Activity Intervention Among Women from Disadvantaged Neighborhoods - A Pilot Study
Authors: Ramji Rathi , Rämgård Margareta , Carlsson Elisabeth , Shleev Sergey , Awad Eman , Criovic Stefan , Kottorp Anders
Published: October 2020

Background: Citizens living in disadvantaged neighborhoods are susceptible to chronic diseases associated with factors such as physical inactivity and poor nutrition. Women are considered more vulnerable in these situations owing to lack of access to health promotional activities catering their needs. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of a participatory research informed physical activity intervention on the health and related behavior of women living in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Southern Sweden. Methods: Forty women were invited to participate in a participatory research informed physical activity intervention delivered by health promoters and health ambassadors over a 3-month period. Quality of life was assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and questions regarding behavioral factors including frequency of leisure time physical activity, everyday activities, intake of fruit, vegetable, fish and soda were assessed at three time points including t1, prior to intervention start, t2 immediately post-intervention and t3, 6-month post-intervention. Furthermore, biomedical outcomes such as hemoglobin, blood pressure, resting heart rate, blood flow rate, body mass index, fat mass index and muscle mass index were also assessed at the same three time points. Wilcoxon’s Sign Rank Test was used to compare pre- and post-test scores. Results: There was an increase in the scores of the different domains of health related quality of life at t2 immediately post-intervention (p < .05), however the scores reversed at point t3. The behavioral factors including physical activity, everyday activities, and fruit and vegetable intake significantly improved at both follow-up time points post intervention compared to that ahead of the intervention (p < .05). Systolic and diastolic pressure, significantly decreased at 6-month follow-up (t3) compared to that at pre- intervention start (p < .05). There were no significant changes in other biomedical outcomes or behavioral factors. Conclusion: The participatory research informed physical activity intervention pilot tested among women in disadvantaged neighbourhoods promoted prolonged engagement in physical activity, improved diet and had a positive effect on physical health. However, perceived health seemed to depend on the social interactions among participants during organized group activities indicating that future activities should be of longer duration for achieving sustainable improvements in perceived health.
Pharmacological activation of GPR55 improved cognitive impairment, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis induced by lipopolysaccharide in mice
Authors: Wang Xin , Xiang Xiao Tong , Hu Jie , Wu Yu Mei , Li YueYue , Jin Shi Yu , Wu Xian
Published: October 2020

BackgroundNeuroinflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis are implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects and possible mechanism of G-protein coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) agonist, O-1602, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cognitive deficits in mice. MethodsICR mice were treated with intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of LPS. Cognitive tests were performed, including the open field, Morris water maze, novel object recognition, and passive avoidance tests. The expression of GPR55, NF-κB p65, caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 were examined in the hippocampus by western blotting. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and microglia were detected by ELISA kit and immunohistochemical analyses, respectively. The malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were examined by assay kits. Furthermore, TUNEL-staining was used to detect neuronal apoptosis.ResultsI.c.v. injection of LPS exhibited impaired performance in the behavior tests, which were ameliorated by O-1602 treatment(2.0 or 4.0 μg/mouse, i.c.v.). Importantly, O-1602 reversed GPR55 down-regulation, decreased the expression of NF-κB p65, and suppressed the accumulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and microglia activation, decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. In addition, O-1602 also significantly decreased Bax and increased Bcl-2 expression as well as decreased caspase-3 activity and TUNEL-positive cells, suppressed neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus of LPS-treated mice.Conclusionswe conclude that O-1602 may ameliorate LPS-induced cognition deficits via inhibiting neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis mediated by NF-κB signaling in mice.
Knowledge Translation of Scholarly Publishing Impacts on Public Health
Authors: Ran Na
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND: Although scholarly publishing plays a key role in learning, the role of knowledge translation of scholarly publishing with education and income on public health has not been well established. The objective was to describe how knowledge translation of scholarly publishing impacts on public health. METHODS: The correlations between the input data and the target data were firstly calculated. After the input data that is not correlated to the target have been removed, the principal component analysis will be performed to avoid multicollinearity problems in the input data. Finally, the multivariate regression method is used to fit the relationship between the principal components and the target data. Thus both dimensionality reduction and personalized optimization oriented a target can be done.RESULTS: After the public health in China is measured by Life expectancy and Death rate, the Pearson correlation coefficient, principal component analysis, and linear regression method have been performed. It proved that some activities of knowledge translation of scholarly publishing with a focus on health and well-being have the highest correlations with the first principal component. Results are also presented on that the first and the second principal component explain 99.3% of the variation (p<0.01) in Life expectancy and 92.8 % of the variation (p<0.01) in Death rate, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Scholarly publishing, education, income, health expenditure, nurses, and midwives appear to have a similarly important effect on public health.
New Familial Cases of Karyomegalic Interstitial Nephritis With Mutations in the FAN1 Gene
Authors: REJEB Imen , Jerbi Mouna , Jilani Houweyda , Gaied Hanène , Elaribi Yasmina , Hizem Syrine , Aoudia Raja , Hedri Hafedh , Zaied Chiraz , Abid Salwa , Bacha Hassen , BenAbdallah Taieb , BenJemaa Lamia , Goucha Rim
Published: October 2020

Karyomegalic interstitial nephritis (KIN) is a rare disease entity that was first described by Burry in 1974 and given this term by Mihatsch 1979 and al five years later. KIN is characterized by chronic tubulo-interstitial nephritis associated with enlarged tubular epithelial cell nuclei, which leads to progressive decline of renal function. The prevalence of this disease is less than 1% and its pathogenesis is unclear. KIN results from the mutation in the FAN 1 (FANCD2/FANCI-Associated Nuclease 1) gene, a gene involved in the DNA damage response pathway, particularly in the kidney. KIN seems to be rather multifactorial involving an environmental factor Ochratoxin A (OTA) but especially a genetic predisposition. In this article, we report 6 additional cases of KIN with histological evidence in 3 patients. Family clustering and differences in susceptibility to develop the nephropathy in spite of a high OTA contamination in all subjects show that there is a genetic susceptibility. So we completed our explorations by a genetic study. This study allowed us to identify novel mutations in the FAN1 gene in the affected members. To our best knowledge, this is the first Tunisian study involving familial cases of KIN with mutations on the FAN1 gene.
Comparative analysis of the codon usage patterns in two closely related Marsupenaeus species based on comparative transcriptomics
Authors: Wang Panpan , Mao Yong , Su Yongquan , Wang Jun
Published: October 2020

Background: Marsupenaeus japonicus, a major commercial shrimp species in the world, has two cryptic or sibling species, Marsupenaeus japonicus and Marsupenaeus pulchricaudatus. Due to the lack of genomic information, little is known about the correlations among codon usage bias, gene expression, and evolutionary trends in Marsupenaeus orthologs.Results: Using the CodonW 1.4.2 software, we performed the codon bias analysis of two Marsupenaeus species transcriptomes. The average contents of GC and ENc were 51.61% and 52.1 for VI (M. japonicus), 51.54% and 52.22 for VII (M. pulchricaudatus), respectively. Parity Rule 2 (PR2) plot analysis showed that purines (A and G) were used more frequently than pyrimidines (C and T) in two Marsupenaeus species. The average ENc value was 52.1 and 52.22 for M. japonicus and M. pulchricaudatus, respectively. Overall, orthologous genes that underwent positive selection (ω > 1) had a higher correlation coefficient than that experienced purifying selection (ω < 1). In M. japonicus, the relationships were highly significant positive about Axis 1 and A3, T3 and ENc (p < 0.01). However, all relationships in M. pulchricaudatus were the opposite. We determined 12 and 14 optimal codons for M. japonicus and M. pulchricaudatus, respectively. Two Marsupenaeus species had 31 different codon pairs. The results of multi-species clustering based on codon preference were consistent with traditional classification. Conclusions: We characterized the codon usage patterns of the two Marsupenaeus species and the evolutionary trends in Marsupenaeus orthologs, which provides new insights into the genetic divergence and the phylogenetic relationships of two Marsupenaeus species.
Impact of Social Restriction Imposed by 2019-ncov Pandemic on the Mobility of Older People: A Scope Review Protocol
Authors: Bandeira Sarah , Batista Patricia , Silva Cristina Cristóvão Ribeiro , Melo Ruth Caldeira , Perracini Monica Rodrigues
Published: October 2020

Background The 2019‑nCoV pandemic represents a high risk for older people that sustain higher mortality rates compared to young adults. Limited social contact and restriction of mobility in the community (stay-at-home precautions) are recognised as measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection among older people. The impact of these measures on health, physical function and emotional wellbeing are numerous, and might result in long-term adverse outcomes such as disability, falls and limited mobility. Thus, the objective of this scope review is to map the estimated impact of measures of social restrictions on the mobility of older people living in the community and to systematize the existing recommendations, anticipating possible intervention strategies gaps.Methods The search will be carried out using a standardized protocol in Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS), consulted by the Virtual Health Library (VHL), and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), via PubMed; Web of Science, via Main Collection (Thomson Reuters Scientific) and SCOPUS. Documents and reports with recommendations from governmental and nongovernmental organizations will be consulted. Complete studies available in the English, Spanish or Portuguese languages included in the different methodological approaches (original articles, literature reviews, editorials and guidelines) that necessarily address the recommendations of social restriction measures for preventing Covid-19 disease and their impacts on mobility of older people will be included. Two reviewers will select the studies based on their titles and abstracts. The manuscripts and documents selected for full reading will be analysed by reviewers concerning the eligibility criteria. When disagreements occurred in any phase of the selection process, a third reviewer will be included for a consensus analysis. Data will be extracted using a template form and the PRISMA-ScR checklist will be used to guarantee quality and transparency. Results will be presented as a narrative summary, including tables and figures.Discussion Globally, recommendations to stay-at-home and social distancing are substantially affecting health and wellbeing of older people. Preserving mobility is crucial to active and healthy ageing. The evidence summarized in the selected studies will be analysed in order to answer the research questions. The results of this review will help clinical practitioners, health care providers and policy makers to estimate the impact of measures to protect older people from 2019‑nCoV and to identify gaps and anticipate needs for targeted interventions to prevent mobility decline. Systematic review registrationsubmitted on 10-09-2020 in https://osf.io/registries
A Contribution to Pre-Polish Antiquity
Authors: Cynarski Wojciech J.
Published: October 2020

In many issues, a scientific discussion about the beginnings of Slavicism (Pol. Słowiańszczyzna) raises doubts and controversy. This essay is not a contribution about another excavation, but rather a statement at a higher level of generality - an attempt at a kind of synthesizing approach on the basis of logical deduction. The author stands on the side of supporters of the indigenous theory of the origin of the Slavs, which he argues by citing several logical justifications. The considerations concern a fairly wide range - from the Lusatian culture in the 8th century BC, when Scythian statehood dominated in its neighbourhood, to the 15th century and the great victory of the Kingdom of Poland in alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the state of the Teutonic Order. The mainstream consideration, however, concerns the war tradition of the early Slavs and the first Piasts. The emphasis is also on the specificity of the martial art of Lechites and Poles, compared to the traditions of neighbouring peoples.
Anti-cancer, Anti-invasiveness & Anti-metastasis of Green Engineered Bioorganic-Capped Silver Nanoparticles Fabricated from Juniperus chinensis Extract and Comparison to Cisplatin in Lung Cancer Cells (A549): In Vitro Assessment of Cellular and Molecular Pathways
Authors: Noorbazargan Hassan , Mashayekhi Ainaz , Khayam Nazanin , Naghizadeh Mohammad , Mirzaie Amir , dolatabadi Aghigh , moulavi Pooria , amintehrani Sobhan , kavousi Mahsa
Published: October 2020

The current study reveals anti-cancer properties of bio-functionalized silver nanoparticle (AgNPs) fabricated by Juniperus chinensis leaf extracts due to it’s easy, low cost, biological activity, eco-friendly and lower side effects. The characteristics of AgNPs were determined by scanning electron microscopy [1], transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Dynamic light scattering (DLS), Zeta potential and X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Further, this study highlights the cellular and molecular mechanisms of AgNPs involves in anti-proliferative and apoptotic effect on human lung cancer cells (A549) and compared to commercial drug cisplatin by various biological methods such as MTT, flow cytometery analysis, gene expression patterns, migration and invasion inhibition, ROS and caspase production and cell staining. The size of AgNPs fabricated in this study was 12.96 with spherical shape and negative zeta potential. Up-regulation of capase 3,9 and p53, Annexin V-FITC/PI, DAPI staining, ROS production indicated remarkable apoptotic effect of AgNPs than cisplatin. Also down-regulation of MMP2/MMP9 scratch and matrigel assays revealed anti-metastatic properties of AgNPs.cell cycle analysis and down regulation of cyclin D1 showed cancer cell cessation in the G0/G1 phase. Overall results in current experiment revealed AgNPs synthetized by biogreen method anti-metastasis and anti-proliferation effect on lung cancer cells comparison to cicplatin drug and also had lower side effect on normal cell line.
Development of Severity and Mortality Prediction Models for COVID-19 Patients at Emergency Department Including the Chest X-Ray
Authors: Batllés Pilar Calvillo , Cerdá-Alberich Leonor , Fonfría-Esparcia Carles , Carreres-Ortega Ainhoa , Muñoz-Núñez Carlos Francisco , Trilles-Olaso Laura , Baeza-Delgado Carlos , Sánchez-García Jose , Junquero Ignacio Gómez-Rico , Gil-Brusola Ana , Blanco-Salado Rodrigo , García-Ortega Alberto , Montero-Alonso Marta , Estellés-Lerga Pilar , Millán-Soria Javier , Aguado-Codina Cristina , Martí-Bonmatí Luis
Published: October 2020

Objectives: To develop prognosis prediction models for COVID-19 patients attending an emergency department (ED) based on initial chest X-ray (CXR), demographics, clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: All symptomatic confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital ED between February 24th and April 24th 2020 were recruited. CXR features, clinical and laboratory variables and CXR abnormality indices extracted by a convolutional neural network (CNN) diagnostic tool were considered potential predictors on this first visit. The most serious individual outcome defined the three severity level: 0) home discharge or hospitalization ≤ 3 days, 1) hospital stay >3 days and 2) intensive care requirement or death. Severity and in-hospital mortality multivariable prediction models were developed and internally validated. The Youden index was used for model selection.Results: A total of 440 patients were enrolled (median 64 years; 55.9% male); 13.6% patients were discharged, 64% hospitalized, 6.6% required intensive care and 15.7% died. The severity prediction model included oxygen saturation/inspired oxygen fraction (SatO2/FiO2), age, C-reactive protein (CRP), lymphocyte count, extent score of lung involvement on CXR (ExtScoreCXR), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D-dimer level and platelets count, with AUC-ROC=0.94 and AUC-PRC=0.88. The mortality prediction model included age, SatO2/FiO2, CRP, LDH, CXR extent score, lymphocyte count and D-dimer level, with AUC-ROC=0.97 and AUC-PRC=0.78. The addition of CXR CNN-based indices slightly improved the predictive metrics for mortality (AUC-ROC=0.97 and AUC-PRC=0.83).Conclusion: The developed and internally validated severity and mortality prediction models could be useful as triage tools for COVID-19 patients and they should be further validated at different ED.
A Novel Fully Human Recombinant Antibody Neutralizing the α-hemolysin of Staphylococcus Aureus
Authors: Peng Lei , Li Chun , Wu Tong , Zhang Haiyan , Chen Han , Yu Hong , Ye Yingchun , Wu Yuchuan , Yuan Qing , Nian Siji
Published: October 2020

BackgroundMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is resistant to almost all β-lactam antibiotics. Hence, new ways to control MRSA infection, such as antibacterial antibodies, need to be explored. α-Hemolysin is the most important virulence factor widely expressed in S. aureus. This study aimed to develop a new fully human antibody against α-hemolysin of S. aureus and explore its neutralizing effect. ResultsThe single-chain antibody fragments（scFvs）against S. aureus were screened from a fully human scFv library using phage display technology with purified α-hemolysin protein. The selected scFvs had good binding affinities to α-hemolysin and were highly specific to S. aureus. The IgG-like scFv-Fc inserted into the pcDNA3.1 or pMH3 vector was expressed in HEK293F suspension cells to extend the antibody's in vivo half-life and restore Fc function. The size of purified scFv-Fc was about 55 kDa. The functions of expressed scFv-Fcs against α-hemolysin were validated. The results of A549 cytotoxicity assays showed that scFv10-Fc and scFv555-Fc had better protective effects than other scFv-Fcs on A549 cells. The results of anti-rabbit erythrocyte lysis assay confirmed that scFv555-Fc had a significant neutralizing effect on toxins. The scFv555-Fc was used to construct the docking model of antigen–antibody complexes using Discovery Studio software. It predicted that the key binding sites of α-hemolysin were TYR28, LYS37, PHE39, ARG56, and LYS58, which might be the key toxic sites of α-hemolysin.ConclusionsA novel fully human scFv-Fc antibody neutralizing the α-hemolysin toxin of S. aureus was successfully developed. The findings might provide a new theoretical basis and treatment method for preventing MRSA infection.
The Effect of Calibration Factors and Recovery Coefficients on 177Lu SPECT Activity Quantification Accuracy: A Monte Carlo Study
Authors: Ramonaheng Keamogetswe , Staden Johan A van , du Raan Hanlie
Published: October 2020

Background: Different gamma camera calibration factor (CF) geometries have been proposed to convert SPECT data into units of activity concentration. However, no consensus has been reached on a standardized geometry. The CF is dependent on the selected geometry and affected by partial volume effects. This study investigated the effect of two CF geometries and their corresponding recovery coefficients (RCs) on the quantification accuracy of 177Lu SPECT images using Monte Carlo simulations.Methods: The CF geometries investigated were (i) a radioactive-sphere surrounded by non-radioactive water (sphere-CF) and (ii) a cylindrical phantom uniformly filled with radioactive water, (cylinder-CF). Recovery coefficients were obtained using the sphere-CF and cylinder-CF, yielding the sphere-RC and cylinder-RC values, respectively, for partial volume correction (PVC). The quantification accuracy was evaluated using four different sized spheres (15.6 ml – 65.4 ml) and a kidney model with known activity concentrations inside a cylindrical, torso and patient phantom. Images were reconstructed with the OS-EM algorithm incorporating attenuation, scatter and detector-response corrections. Segmentation was performed using the physical size and a small cylindrical volume inside the cylinder for the sphere-CF and cylinder-CF, respectively.Results: The sphere quantification error (without PVC) was better for the sphere-CF (≤ -5.54%) compared to the cylinder-CF (≤ -20.90%), attributed to the similar geometry of the quantified and CF spheres. Partial volume correction yielded comparable results for the sphere-CF (≤ 3.47%) and cylinder-CF (≤ 3.53%). The accuracy of the kidney quantification was poorer (≤ 22.34%) for the sphere-CF without PVC compared to the cylinder-CF (≤ 2.44%). With PVC, the kidney quantification results improved and compared well for the sphere-CF (≤ 3.50%) and the cylinder-CF (≤ 3.45%).Conclusion: The study demonstrated that upon careful selection of CF-RC combinations, comparable quantification errors (≤ 3.53%) were obtained between the sphere-CF and cylinder-CF, when all corrections were applied.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Cardio-Oncology: Results From the COVID-19 International Collaborative Network Survey.
Authors: Sadler Diego , DeCara Jeanne M. , Herrmann Joerg , Arnold Anita , Ghosh Arjun K. , Abdel-Qadir Husam , Yang Eric H. , SZmit Sebastian , Akhter Nausheen , Leja Monika , Silva Carolina Maria Pinto Domingues Carvalho , Raikhelkar Jayant , Brown Sherry-Ann , O'Quinn Rupal , Thuny Franck , Moudgil Rohit , Raez Luis M. , Okwuosa Tochukwu , Daniele Andres , Bauer Brenton , Kondapalli Lavanya , Ismail-Khan Roohi , Lax Jorge , Blaes Anne , Nahleh Zeina , Elson Leah , Baldassarre Lauren , Zaha Vlad , Rao Vijay , Lara Daniel Sierra , Skurka Kerry , Dent Susan
Published: October 2020

BackgroundRe-allocation of resources during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in delays in care delivery to patients with cardiovascular disease and cancer. The ability of health care providers to provide optimal care in this setting has not been formally evaluated.ObjectivesTo assess the impact of COVID-19 resource re-allocation on scheduling, testing, elective procedures, telemedicine access, use of new COVID-19 therapies, and providers’ opinions on healthcare policies among oncology and cardiology practitioners.MethodsAn electronic survey was conducted by a cardio-oncology collaborative network through regional and state chapters of the American College of Cardiology , American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the International Cardio-Oncology Society. Descriptive statistics were reported by frequency and proportion for analyses, and stratified categorically by geographic region and specialty.Results1,415 providers (43 countries) participated: 986 cardiologists, 306 oncologists, and 118 trainees/internal medicine. 63% (195/306) of oncologists vs 92% (896/976) of cardiologists reported cancellations of treatments/elective procedures (p=0.01). 46% (442/970) of cardiologists and 25% (76/303) of oncologists modified the scope of their practice (p=<0.001). Academic physicians (74.5%) felt better supplied with personal protective equipment (PPE) vs non-academic (74.5% vs 67.2%; p=0.018). Telemedicine was less common in Europe 81% (74/91), and Latin America 64% (101/158), than the United States, 88% (950/1,097) (p=<0.001). 95% of all groups supported more active leadership from medical professional societies.ConclusionsThese results support initiatives to promote expanded coverage for telemedicine, increased access to PPE, better testing availability and involvement of medical professional societies to help with preparedness for future health care crisis.Appendix: Link to the Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C8ZDYNW
Multiscale Evaluation of The Elastic Behavior for The Metal-Coated Lattice Structures
Authors: Soleimanian Sina , Wang Xiang , Chen Min , Yu Yanqing , Li Ji , Chen Geng
Published: October 2020

Well-developed Additive Manufacturing leads to a variety of material and structure design. With the combination of 3D printing and plating technique, metal-coated resin lattice is investigated to achieve a light weight design with minimal economic cost and admirable material properties. In this paper, numerical approaches integrated with classical homogenization theory is adopted to study the effective mechanical characterizations of the BCC (Body-Centered-Cubic) metal-coated lattices. The selection of RVE (Representative Volume Element) is discussed for obtaining objective effective properties. Moreover, the impact of unit cell rod diameter and coating film thickness are investigated. A sensitivity analysis of these two parameters is conducted based on the advanced hypercube sampling methods.
The results reveal that multiple-unit-cells lead to more stable homogenized properties than single unit cell. The Increase of volume fraction may improve the elastic modulus and specific modulus remarkably. However, the increase of thickness of coating film only leads to monotonously increased elastic modulus. For this reason, there exists an optimal coating film thickness for the specific modulus of the lattice structure.
Indigenous Knowledge of Local Communities in Utilization of Ethnoveterinary Medicinal Plants and Their Conservation Status in Dess’a Priority Forest, North Eastern Escarpment of Ethiopia
Authors: Abrha Haftom Kahsay , W.Gerima Yemane G.Egziabher , Gebreegziabher Sarah Tewolde-Berahan
Published: October 2020

BackgroundEthnoveterinary plant medicine plays indispensable role in many developing counties in treatment of livestock health problems. Dess’a priority forest is a bridge for small scale farming communities in Tigray and the Afar pastoralists, where both communities are rich in herds of domestic animals including camels. The study was aimed at investigating the utilization of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and their conservation status in Dess’a priority forest, northeastern escarpment of Ethiopia.MethodsA total of 22 key and 252 general informants were selected using purposive and random sampling technique respectively. Interview was conducted using pre-prepared semi-structured questionnaire following focus group discussion with elderly people. Guided field walk and direct observation were also used to collect the required data. Data were analyzed using Microsoft office word excel (2007), scoring and ranking. ResultsThis study discovered that fifty-six ethnoveterinary medicinal plants distributed among 31 families and 49 genera, used by traditional healers for treatment of 37 livestock health problems, were identified in the study area. Wound (24%), Cough (15%) and abdominal bloat (12%) were the most prevalent aliments. Fabaceae (16%), Solanaceae (11%) and Amaranthaceae (7%) were wealthiest families. Majority of which (43%) were shrubs and principal sources of the medicinal plants were wild habitat (44.6%). major plant parts used were leaves (43%). In most cases, freshly harvested plant remedies (49%), were prepared by pounding (21%) followed by Crushing (12%). Oral (34%) was the principal route of remedy administration. Nicotiana glauca Graham & Solanum marginatum L. were most preferred ethnoveterinary medicinal plants. Uprooting (37%) were the leading harvesting method and majority of the plants were rarely encountered (53%). Deforestation (32%), Drought (27%) and climate change (18%) were major threats.ConclusionThere is huge amount of indigenous knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants, but healers were secretive and did not share their knowledge freely, resulting in danger of information loss, and inappropriate utilization.
Modeling The Factors Associated with Mortality in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Jafarabadi Mohammad Asghari , Iraji Zaynab , Dolatkhah Roya , koshki Tohid jafari
Published: October 2020

Background: Breast cancer (BC) was the fifth leading cause of death worldwide in 2015 and the second leading cause of death in Iran in 2012. This study aimed to model the factors associated with mortality in patients with BC utilizing the machine learning approach.Methods: We used data of patients with primary BC during 2007-2016 in Tabriz, Iran. The data were analyzed using decision tree (DT), boosted tree (BT), random forest (RF), k-nearest neighbors (KNN) and generalized additive model (GAM) with inverse probability of censoring weighting (IPCW) technique to assess the risk factors of mortality. The models were compared by using diagnostic accuracy measures.Results: Accuracy of the models ranged from 76.0 to 93.0%, with sensitivity of 82.5-98.8% and specificity of 72.2-99.4%. The GAM fit the data best with accuracy of 93.0% (95% CI: [90.5, 95.0]), sensitivity of 98.8% (95% CI: [96.9, 99.7]) and specificity of 84.3% (95% CI: [78.8, 88.9]) where non-linear effect of age (p-value = 0.006), grade (p-value = 0.024) and time to event (p-value < 0.001) on mortality were significant. Conclusion: The GAM seems to be an optimal model for classifying the mortality in patients with BC. Considering the time to event, age and grade, as the prognostic factors obtained by GAM, more accurate prevention planning may be designed.
Comprehensive Expression and Prognosis Analyses of ITGB1 in AML
Authors: Zhou Xinyi , Jin Nan , Chen Baoan
Published: October 2020

BackgroundAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a dangerous type of leukemia. The emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) and recurrence limits the prognosis and survival of patients. In recent studies, we have known that the bone marrow microenvironment was closely related to the poor prognosis of AML. However, the underlying mechanisms are still far from fully understood. By utilizing the bioinformatics analysis, we screened out integrin β1 (ITGB1) as the hub gene, which is associated with the bone marrow microenvironment mediated changes of AML cells, with expression profile GSE73157 downloaded from National Center for Biotechnology Information-Gene Expression Omnibus (NCBI-GEO) database.MethodsR studio software was used to screen out candidate hub genes and further visualize the differential expression. R package “limma” was to find out differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway were conducted by R package “cluster Profiler”. Furthermore, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was also performed by online tool STRING and software Cytoscape. Last but not least, online tool PrognoScan and GEPIA was utilized for the evaluation of clinical significance of the selected hub gene. P and Cox p value <0.05 was considered to be statistical significance.ResultsITGB1 was filtrated as the only hub gene in this profile. We found that patients with high expression of ITGB1 had significantly longer overall survival (OS) than those with low expression (COX p value= 0.016730). Besides, the expression of the ITGB1 gene in AML patients is lower than that in normal people significantly (p value<0.01).ConclusionWe identified ITGB1 as a key gene in the bone marrow microenvironment mediated poor prognosis in AML. The down-regulated expression of ITGB1 was related to AML patients’ poor outcome. ITGB1 may be a potential marker for predicting and guiding AML treatment.
Therapeutic MK-4482/EIDD-2801 Blocks SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Ferrets
Authors: Plemper Richard , Cox Robert , Wolf Josef
Published: October 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic impact on human health. Widespread community transmission has triggered stringent distancing measures with severe socioeconomic consequences. Gaining control of the pandemic will depend on interruption of transmission chains until protective herd immunity arises. Ferrets and related members of the weasel genus transmit SARS-CoV-2 efficiently with minimal clinical signs, resembling spread in the young-adult population. We previously reported an orally efficacious nucleoside analog inhibitor of influenza viruses, EIDD-2801 (or MK-4482), that was repurposed against SARS-CoV-2 and is in phase II/III clinical trials. Employing the ferret model, we demonstrate in this study high SARS-CoV-2 burden in nasal tissues and secretions that coincides with efficient direct-contact transmission. Therapeutic treatment of infected animals with twice-daily MK-4482/EIDD-2801 significantly reduced upper respiratory tract SARS-CoV-2 load and completely suppressed spread to untreated contact animals. This study identifies oral MK-4482/EIDD-2801 as a promising antiviral countermeasure to break SARS-CoV-2 community transmission chains.
A Regionalization Model to Increase Equity of Access to Perinatal Care Services
Authors: Daniali Zahra Mohammadi , Sepehri Mohammad Mehdi , Sobhani Farzad Movahedi , Heidarzadeh Mohammad
Published: October 2020

BackgroundReducing neonatal mortality is one of the most important issue in developing countries. One powerful method to reduce the neonatal mortality rate is increase equity in access to health services by regionalization. This study employs national hospitalized birth data from march 2018 to march 2019 to determine the optimal number and location of Perinatal Care Services (PCS) and to manage the referral network of the region.MethodsThis research has examined effective criteria regarding PCS network design. These criteria include the equipment (number of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and ventilator), experts (number of neonatal expert and fellowship), gravity (actual journey of expectant mothers to hospitals), and the type of university manages hospital. Moreover, distances between demands and PCS were transformed into vehicular travel time according to the maximum speed limit in the country road network. There have been annual 315,992 hospitalized birth data. These data provided separately for each city and three types of service requirements according to the gestational age and birth weight, i.e., under 32 weeks or 1500 gram, between 32-34 weeks or 1500-2000 gram, and over 34 weeks or 2000 gram, which receive services of level I, II, and III, respectively. A model builder tool of ARC GIS software was applied to develop a three-level hierarchical location-allocation model to respond to the maximal demand in 30 (level I), 60 (level II), and 120 (level III) minuts of travel time. The developed model was then applied to serve neonates from uncovered cities. Moreover, the alternative PCS were determined for level III services to present more reliable solutions.ResultsObtained results revealed that the total 130, 121, and 86 PCS are needed to respond to demands of level I, II, III, respectively, in 373 different cities. The service level III has not covered 39 cities; hence another model assigned nearest PCS to these cities so that the travel distances from which to allocated centers were determined 173 min on average. ConclusionsRegionalization is an approach to increase spatial accessibility to health services. Finding the optimal location to implement PCS would gradually decrease neonatal mortality and morbidity. It can also reduce expenses of under-used local health centers and give better health care regarding the access to experts. In this way, regional services should be considered as a sustainable health care solution at the policy and decision-making levels of the region, national and universal healthcare network.
Impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality and its association with human mortality trends in megapolis Mexico City
Authors: Kutralam-Muniasamy Gurusamy , Pérez-Guevara Fermín , Roy Priyadarsi D. , Elizalde-Martínez I. , Shruti V.C.
Published: October 2020

Mexico City is the second most populated city in Latin America, and it went through two partial lockdowns between April 1 and May 31, 2020 for reducing the COVID-19 propagation. The present study assessed air quality and its association with human mortality rates during the lockdown by estimating changes observed in air pollutants (CO, NO2, O3, SO2, PM10 and PM2.5) between the lockdown (April 1 - May 31) and pre-lockdown (January 1 – March 31) periods, as well as by comparing the air quality data of lockdown period with the same interval of previous five-years (2015-2019). Concentrations of NO2 (-29%), SO2 (-55%) and PM10 (-11%) declined and the contents of CO (+1.1%), PM2.5 (+19%) and O3 (+63%) increased during the lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown period. This study also estimated that NO2, SO2, CO, PM10 and PM2.5 reduced by 19-36%, and O3 enhanced by 14% compared to the average of 2015-2019. Reduction in traffic as well as less emission from vehicle exhausts led to remarkable decline in NO2, SO2 and PM10. The significant positive associations of PM2.5, CO and O3 with the numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths, however, underscored the necessity to enforce air pollution regulations to protect human health in one of the important cities of the northern hemisphere.
Clinical characteristics, management and health-related quality of life in young adults with COVID-19 
Authors: Temperoni Chiara , Barchiesi Francesco
Published: October 2020

Background The outbreak of COVID-19 has rapidly spread to Italy, including Pesaro-Urbino province. Data on young adults with COVID-19 are lacking. We report the characteristics, management and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with COVID-19 aging ≤50 years.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed in all patients ≤50 years with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 admitted to Emergency department (ED) of San Salvatore Hospital in Pesaro from February 28th to April 8th, 2020. Data were collected from electronical medical records. HRQoL was investigated after one month from hospital discharge. Outcomes were evaluated between hospitalized and not hospitalized patients.Results: Among 673 patients admitted to the ED and diagnosed with COVID-19, 104 (15%) were ≤50 years old: 74% were discharged at home within 48 h, 26% were hospitalized. Fever occurred in 90% of the cases followed by cough (56%) and dyspnoea (34%). Chest X-ray and/or CT scan revealed ground glass opacity, bilateral patch shadow or focal lesions in 27%, 37% and 10% of the patients, respectively. The most frequent coexisting conditions were hypertension (11%), thyroid dysfunction (8%) and neurological and/or mental disorders [NMDs] (6%). Mean BMI was 27. Hypokalaemia and NMDs were significantly more common in patients who underwent mechanical ventilation. Regardless of hospitalization, there was a significant impairment in both the physical and mental functioning.Conclusions Overweight and hypertension are frequent conditions in young adults with COVID-19. Hypokalaemia and NMDs are commonly associated with progressive disease. There is a significant impact on HRQoL in the early stage of post-discharge.
Macintosh laryngoscope, i-view™, and C-MAC® video laryngoscopes for tracheal intubation with an aerosol box: A randomized, crossover, manikin study
Authors: Nakanishi Toshiyuki , Sento Yoshiki , Kamimura Yuji , Sobue Kazuya
Published: October 2020

Background: The aerosol box was designed to prevent cough droplets from spreading, but it can impede tracheal intubation. We tested the hypothesis that the C-MAC® video laryngoscope (C-MAC) with an external display is more useful than the i-view™ video laryngoscope (i-view) with an integrated display, or a Macintosh direct laryngoscope (Macintosh) for tracheal intubation with an aerosol box.Methods: This prospective, randomized, crossover simulation study was conducted at an operating room of the two hospitals (a university hospital and a tertiary teaching hospital). We recruited 37 medical personnel (36 anesthesiologists and 1 dental anesthesiologist) who were working in the fields of anesthesia and intensive care with > 2 years of dedicated anesthesia experience from five hospitals. We divided the participants into six groups to use the laryngoscope in a determined order. After the training using each laryngoscope without a box, the participants performed tracheal intubation thrice with each laryngoscope with at least two-hour intervals. The primary outcome was the intubation time. The secondary outcomes were the success rate, Cormack-Lehane grade, and subjective difficulty scale score (numeric rating scale 0–10, 0: no difficulty, 10: highest difficulty). We used the Friedman test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test with Bonferroni adjustment. Data are shown as median [interquartile range].Results: Thirty-seven personnel (11 women and 26 men) with 12 [5–19] (median [interquartile range]) years of anesthesia and intensive care experience were enrolled. There was no significant difference in the intubation time: 30 [26–32] s for Macintosh, 29 [26–32] s for i-view, and 29 [25–31] s for C-MAC (P=0.247). The success rate was 95%–100% without significant difference (P=0.135). The i-view and C-MAC video laryngoscopes exhibited superior Cormack-Lehane grades and lower subjective difficulty scale scores than the Macintosh laryngoscope; however, there were no differences between the i-view and C-MAC video laryngoscopes.Conclusions: Rapid and highly successful tracheal intubation was possible with Macintosh laryngoscope, i-view, and C-MAC video laryngoscopes on a manikin with an aerosol box. Improved Cormack-Lehane grade and ease of procedure may support the use of video laryngoscopes.Trial registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, identifier UMIN000040269.
The role of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic on anxiety and stress among the Palestinian general population: A cross sectional study
Authors: Zabadi Hamzeh Al , Haj-Yahya Maryam , Yaseen Noor , Alhroub Thair
Published: October 2020

BackgroundImplication of quarantine as a global response to COVID-19 may have created a dramatic psychological and emotional effect on people, which are yet to be studied and thoroughly understood. We aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of anxiety and stress severity among the Palestinian population.MethodsA cross-sectional web-based survey throughout the social media on internet was conducted. An anonymous online questionnaire and snowball recruiting technique were used to target the general public in Palestine during the lockdowns of COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected between 6- 16 April 2020 which corresponded to almost the middle interval of the strict massive lockdown measures in Palestine started 22 March to 5 May 2020. Multivariate logistic regression models were developed for the outcome variables (stress and anxiety severity).ResultsAbout 2819 individuals completed the questionnaire. The mean (range) age was 29.47 (18-71) years. Anxiety prevalence was 25.15%, with 20.08% as mild/moderate anxiety. The prevalence of stress was 38.77% with 22.21% had mild/moderate stress. The prevalence of both anxiety and stress was 20.3% among participants. Males were less likely to have mild\moderate degree or sever\extremely sever degree of stress compared to females. Shortage of food supply, those having high-risk group family member, those who considered conversation with other people as source of information and those reporting higher fear of being infected were more likely to have higher degree of stress and/or anxiety compared to normal. Those with a monthly income of less than 2000 New Israeli Shekels (<555 USD) were significantly more likely to have mild/moderate stress compared to normal and higher monthly incomes. Gaza residency also shows significant negative predictor of stress severity compared to West Bank and Jerusalem. ConclusionsThis study reported high rates of anxiety and stress among the Palestinian general population during COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. These findings highlight the importance of follow up of these findings for better management of the pandemic and a preferable handling of the socio-economical factors and their impacts on the psychological health of the population.