bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sleep characteristics modify the associations of physical activity during pregnancy and gestational weight gain
Authors: Hawkins Marquis Samuel , Conlon Rachel P. Kolko , Donofry Shannon , Buysse Daniel J. , Venditti Elizabeth M. , Cheng Yu , Levine Michele D.
Published: April 2022

Objective: Excessive gestational weight gain (eGWG) is associated with adverse long-term maternal outcomes. Most lifestyle interventions that incorporate physical activity have been ineffective at reducing eGWG. The purpose of this study is to determine if sleep modified the relationships between physical activity change from the 2nd to 3rd trimester and the odds of excessive gestational weight gain (eGWG). Methods: This was a secondary data analysis of a prospective cohort study of pregnant birthing people with overweight or obesity (n = 105). We estimated physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy and sleep characteristics (i.e., sleep quality, daytime dysfunction, sleep efficiency, sleep duration) in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy with validated measures. We used regression models with sleep and PAEE change (increase/stable vs. decrease) interaction terms to examine the impact of sleep on PAEE change and eGWG. Results: Mean GWG was 37.02±16.76 lbs. and 80% of participants experienced eGWG. 18% of participants increased their PAEE from the 2nd to the 3rd trimester. Increasing (vs. decreasing) PAEE was associated with lower log-odds of eGWG only among participants that slept at least 8 hours/night (p=0.06), had at least 85% sleep efficiency (p=0.03), or reported less daytime dysfunction (p=0.08). Sleep quality did not moderate the association between PAEE change and eGWG. Conclusions: Weight management interventions in pregnancy should consider screening for and addressing poor sleep in the second trimester.
Time is precious for a scientist: Harmonization and standardization of manuscript submission to journals
Authors: YILMAZ Huriye ERBAK , YILMAZ Murat
Published: April 2022

Background
Preparation and submission of a manuscript per the specific instructions of every publisher is time consuming for not only authors but also for reviewers and authors as well. This condition constitutes an obstacle for scientific development as well. In this aim, description of uniform criteria representing contents of paper submission as well as practical principles for manuscript preparation and submission will be useful both to save time and to reinforce spread of scientific information.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was performed by collection of relevant data from journal sites, publishers’ instructions for authors, online submission resources and experiences of journal editors, authors, and reviewers.
Results
The instructions for authors for submission of a manuscript differ remarkably per various journals. These variations include formats of cover letter, title page, abstract, references, as well as manuscript font type and size. The word limit for the abstract and manuscript as well as figure and page arrangements is highly variable between journals. There are no uniform and standards for the conflicts of interest and author contribution forms per the publishers.
Conclusion
It is necessary to establish standard guidelines for facilitation and harmonization of manuscript preparation and submission to journals. The lack of a standard template for submission of manuscripts to journals leads to waste of time and decreased motivation for authors. We suggest that reaching such a consensus on a standard module for preparation and submission of manuscripts for all journals will be useful for both saving time and maintenance of sustainability in publishing.
Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity Changes Across an Agricultural Intensity Gradient
Authors: Mason Alexander Robert George , Cavagnaro Timothy , Guerin Greg , Lowe Andrew
Published: April 2022

Ecological impacts associated with agricultural land use change are evident via the direct replacement of natural communities with managed production systems. These impacts are extensively studied, but the implications for soil biology and belowground diversity remain poorly understood. Due to their contribution to soil systems and ability to survive under harsh and changing conditions, soil bacteria are a good candidate to highlight belowground ecological community dynamics. Here, we use soil physicochemical assessment and 16S rDNA sequencing to investigate soil bacterial community assemblage across an agricultural intensity gradient in a semi-arid mixed-use agricultural landscape. We collected and assessed soil samples from distinct land use systems including remnant vegetation, old pasture, recently established vineyards and old vineyards and recently revegetated areas. We found that land use systems differed in soil physicochemical characteristics (specifically nitrogen and phosphorus) likely influenced by agricultural inputs and plant functional diversity. Land use and management practises were also linked to a shift in the soil microbiome, such that distinct bacterial communities were associated with specific land use systems. Counter to expectations, highest bacterial diversity was observed in the most intensively modified agricultural systems (vineyards). These systems were also broadly linked with a beneficial bacterial community shift (in the context of soil and plant health). The community composition of recently revegeted areas was also more similar to remnant habitat suggesting that bacterial community composition can respond quickly to above ground changes. Collectively, results suggest that while vineyard agriculture may reduce aboveground plant diversity, it can increase belowground bacterial diversity. We propose that this is in-part due to disturbance associated with the vineyard agricultural systems. These findings highlight the need to further explore practices influencing soil biological components in agricultural systems, and the potential to develop microbiome-based strategies to enhance soil health and agricultural productivity.
Research on Key Algorithms of the Lung CAD System Based on Deep Feature Fusion and MKL-SVM-IPSO Recognition
Authors: Li Yang , Zheng Hewei , Huang Xiaoyu , Chang Jiayue , Hou Debiao , Lu Huimin
Published: April 2022

Lung CAD system can provide auxiliary third-party opinions for doctors, improve the accuracy of lung nodule recognition. The selection and fusion of nodule features and the advancement of recognition algorithms are crucial improving lung CAD systems. Based on the HDL model, this paper mainly focuses on the three key algorithms of feature extraction, feature fusion and nodule recognition of lung CAD system. First, CBAM is embedded in VGG16 and VGG19 to construct feature extraction models AE-VGG16 and AE-VGG19. So that the network can focus more on the key points in nodule description. Characteristic information. Then, feature dimensionality reduction based on PCA and feature fusion based on CCA are sequentially performed on the extracted depth features to obtain low-dimensional fusion features. Finally, the fusion features are input into the proposed MKL-SVM-IPSO model based on the improved Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm to speed up the training speed, get the global optimal parameter group. The public dataset LUNA16 was selected for the experiment. The results show that the accuracy of lung nodule recognition of the proposed lung CAD system can reach 99.56%, and the sensitivity and F1-score can reach 99.3% and 0.9965, respectively, which can reduce the possibility of false detection and missed detection of nodules.
Clinical features of Herpes Simplex Virus Reactivation after Microvascular Decompression for Trigeminal Neuralgia: Experience of 200 patients and a literature review
Authors: Kikuchi Asami , Ishizaki Sumiko , Yokosako Suguru , Kubota Yuichi , Kasuya Hidetoshi
Published: April 2022

Background and Objective: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) reactivation occasionally develops in the early postoperative period after microvascular decompression (MVD) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Therefore, the present study investigated the clinical features of this phenomenon. Methods: The study cohort comprised 200 patients with 125 (63%) women aged between 17 and 90 years (median age, 66 years) who underwent MVD for TN between January 2010 and December 2020. Characteristics were compared between patients with and without HSV reactivation and clinical features were analyzed. Results: Twenty patients had HSV reactivation: herpes labialis in 18; herpes zoster (final diagnosis) in 2. A multivariate analysis revealed independent correlations between postoperative HV reactivation and a previous history of herpes labialis (OR:6.32, p=0.0003) and re-operation for recurrent or persistent pain (OR:5.06, p=0.0211). No significant differences were observed in pain relief, postoperative facial numbness, or BNI Pain Intensity/Facial Numbness Scores in the last follow-up between patients with and without HSV reactivation. HSV reactivation manifested at a median of the 4th postoperative day (1-10 days) and its location was not related to the preoperative distribution of facial pain. All patients were treated with local acyclovir and were completely cured within 1-2 weeks. Conclusions: HSV reactivation occurred in 10% of patients after MVD including 1% of herpes zoster. A previous history of herpes labialis and re-operation were identified as risk factors for reactivation. Symptoms were completely cured by antiviral drugs within 1-2 weeks. It is important to note that cases of herpes zoster may be confused with cases of herpes simplex virus after MVD.
LncRNA FAM83H-AS1 promotes malignant progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by stabilizing FAM83H mRNA to protect β-catenin from degradation
Authors: Qin renyi , Zhou Min , Pan Shutao , Qin Tingting , Zhao Chunle , Yin Taoyuan , Gao Yang , Liu Yuhui , Zhang Zhenxiong , Shi Yongkang , Bai Yu , Gong Jun , Guo Xingjun , Wang Min
Published: April 2022

Background: Pancreatic cancer was prone to metastasis, which leaded to the poor survival and low quality of life. Here, we found that FAM83H-AS1 was highly correlated with metastasis of pancreatic cancer and further explored the functions and mechanisms involving in the malignant progression of pancreatic cancer. Method: We profiled and analyzed the aberrant expression of lncRNA (long non-coding RNA) in TCGA database and screened FAM83H-AS1 most effective in promoting the migration of pancreatic cancer cells. Firstly, the expression level of FAM83H-AS1 in serum, tissues and cells were detected by RT-qPCR, and the distribution of it in pancreatic cancer cells was tested by FISH and nuclear/cytosol fractionation RT-qPCR. Next, a series of functional assays were conducted to elucidate the relationship between FAM83H-AS1 and pancreatic cancer in vivo and vitro. The regulation relationship between FAM83H-AS1 and FAM83H was verified by protein and RNA degradation assays respectively. A series of Co-immunoprecipitation assays was utilized to explore the potential mechanism of FAM83H and β-catenin. Rescue assays were used to illustrate the regulation axis of FAM83H-AS1/FAM83H/ Wnt/β-catenin in pancreatic cancer.Results: FAM83H-AS1 was highly expressed in cancer tissues and serum of PDAC patients, and was correlated with poorer survival. FAM83H-AS1, as an oncogene, promoted the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of PDAC cells by functional assays and bioinformatics analysis. FAM83H, the homologous gene of FAM83H-AS1, also manifested the same biological behaviour as FAM83H-AS1 in PDAC. Also, FAM83H-AS1 protected FAM83H mRNA from degradation and FAM83H directly bound β-catenin. Mechanically, FAM83H-AS1 facilitated the expression of FAM83H by stabilizing its mRNA and promoted FAM83H to decrease the ubiquitylation of β-catenin, which activated the effect genes of Wnt/β-catenin signalling.Conclusions: This study revealed the function of FAM83H-AS1 involving in the progression of PDAC, and might provide a new prognostic indicator and therapy target for PDAC.
Prognostic value and antitumor immune response elicited by FAT3 and LRP1B co-mutation in endometrial cancer
Authors: Jiang Zhansheng , Zhu Mingyu , Zhang Lu , Cui Haiyan , Wang Hao , Zhai Baochao , Jiang Richeng , Yang Yanfang
Published: April 2022

FAT3 and LRP1B, two tumor suppressor genes with high mutation frequency in multiple cancer types, have been linked to prognosis and prediction of immunotherapy response in a few previous studies, but their clinical significance in endometrial cancer (EC) has been relatively poorly studied. In this study, based on a cohort of 502 EC samples, we performed a comprehensive analysis of its multidimensional data types including genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical information. We observed that the incidences of FAT3 and LRP1B mutations in EC patients were 19.52% and 19.32%, respectively, and there was a tendency for co-occurrence between mutations of these two genes, with a co-mutation frequency of 11.16%. FAT3 and LRP1B co-mutation was not only associated with age, weight, tumor type, and new neoplasm event, but also defined a dataset with prominently increased mutational burden, decreased tumor aneuploidy, and specially enriched in microsatellite instability high (MSI-H). Furthermore, the co-mutation subgroup manifested increased expression of cytotoxic T-cell markers, effector cytokines, and immune checkpoints, especially exclusive upregulation of PD-L1 levels and higher PD-L1+/CD8A+ proportion. Further analysis focused on lymphocyte infiltration and pathway enrichment explored the immune cell composition of the microenvironment and underlying molecular mechanisms affecting tumor development. More strikingly, EC patients with FAT3 and LRP1B co-mutation possessed significantly prolonged progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). In conclusion, this research provides evidence that FAT3 and LRP1B co-mutation may serve as a potential prognostic and predictive biomarker of antitumor immunity activation in endometrial cancer.
Stunting does not randomly occur in Indonesia: A spatial analysis
Authors: Sipahutar Tiopan , Eryando Tris , Budhiharsana Meiwita Paulina , Siregar Kemal N. , Aidi Muhammad Nur , Utari Diah Mulyawati , Rahmaniati Martya , Hendarwan Harimat , Minarto Minarto
Published: April 2022

Background
Indonesia is a vast country that is still struggling to reduce its prevalence of stunting. Thus, identifying priority areas is urgent. In determining areas to prioritize, one needs to consider geographical issues, particularly the correlation among areas. This study aimed to discover whether stunting prevalence in Indonesia occurs randomly or in clusters and, if it occurs in clusters, which areas are the hotspots.
Method
This ecological study used aggregate data from the Basic Health Research Report of Indonesia 2018 and the Poverty Data and Information Report from the Central Bureau of Statistics 2018. We analysed 514 districts/cities across 34 provinces on seven major Indonesian islands. We used the Euclidean distance method to determine stunting hotspots. A Moran’s I test was used to identify autocorrelation, while a Moran scatter plot was used to identify stunting hotspots, particularly those in the high–high quadrant.
Result
Autocorrelation was found among districts/cities in Sumatera, Java, Sulawesi, and Bali Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) and Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB), resulting in 135 districts/cities identified as stunting hotspots on four major islands.
Conclusion
Autocorrelation proves that stunting in Indonesia does not occur randomly.
Not just species recording: what is the role for volunteers in supporting assessment of habitat?
Authors: Barnes A. E. , Pocock M. J. O. , Jones G. , Newton N. , Robinson R. A.
Published: April 2022

Reversing the global biodiversity crisis requires not only conservation and management of species, but the habitats in which they live. However, while there is a long history of biodiversity recording, especially in Europe, information on habitats is less frequently recorded meaning knowledge of their extent and quality is generally poor. In part, this is because recording of the sometimes complex features that differentiate habitats has traditionally been done by trained professionals at a limited number of sites. However, both Earth Observation methods and citizen scientists provide opportunities to expand the range and scale of habitat recording. We provide a framework for determining how citizen scientists, particularly those that are already collecting biodiversity data, can contribute to monitoring of habitats and discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with this. We illustrate the application of our framework with reference to existing habitat recording by biodiversity recorders in the UK, both to assess the extent/quality of existing habitat, but also as a tool for validating Earth Observation data.
Deep Neural Features for Document Image Analysis
Authors: Mondal Ajoy , Jawahar C. V.
Published: April 2022

Recent studies show that the deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN)s have performed impressively well on various document image analysis tasks. Possibly, there is a limited systematic study to know why deep cnns perform so well for document image analysis tasks. In this paper, we explore a multi-layered Deconvolutional Network (deconvnet) to visualize and analyze learned features by cnns for various document image analysis tasks. The deconvnet projects the learned feature activation of a layer back into the input pixel space for visualizing features. We create one new dataset: Indic-Script, and use two existing datasets: DOCFigure and RVL-CDIP for visualizing learned features by the cnns for Indic script classification, document figure classification , and document image classification tasks, respectively. Experimental results conclude that (i) the initial layers of the network learn more generic features like vertical, horizontal, circular, diagonal edges, etc, (ii) higher layers learn class-specific features — Layer4-Layer6 learn features corresponding to a character of a word, Layer7-Layer9 learn features related to words, and Layer10-Layer12 learn features connected to text presents in the document. We hope that this paper helps the readers to interpret the network’s insight, motivating them to design new networks for various document analysis tasks.
Quinacrine inhibits cMET-mediated metastasis and angiogenesis in breast cancer stem cells
Authors: Das Biswajit , Sethy Chinmayee , Chatterjee Subhajit , Dash Somya Ranjan , Sinha Saptarshi , Paul Subarno , Goutam Kunal , Kundu Chanakya Nath
Published: April 2022

A trans-membrane receptor, mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (cMET), is responsible for cancer metastasis and angiogenesis. A very little is known about the role of cMET in cancer stem cells (CSCs). Quinacrine (QC), a bioactive agent, has shown anti-CSCs activity. Here, the role of QC in deregulation of cMET-mediated metastasis and angiogenesis has been systematically evaluated in vitro in highly-metastatic-breast-CSCs (mBCSCs), ex vivo in patient-derived-breast-cancer-stem-cells (PDBCSCs) and in vivo in xenograft mice model systems. Cell proliferation, migration, invasion and representative metastasis markers were upregulated in cMET-overexpressed cells and QC exposure inhibited these processes in both mBCSCs and PDBCSCs. Interestingly, metastasis was inhibited after silencing of cMET and very less significant alteration of the process was noted in QC-treated cMET-silenced cells. Increased in vascularization, and cell-cell tube formation, and enhanced MMP2 and MMP9 enzymatic activities were noted after cMET-overexpression but these processes got reversed after cMET knockdown. In addition, QC inhibited angiogenesis after cMET-overexpression, but failed to change in cMET-silenced cells. Reduction of tumor volume and decreased expression of metastatic and angiogenic markers were also noted in xenograft mice after QC treatment. Furthermore, QC inhibited cMET activity by de-phosphorylation of its tyrosine residues (Y1234 and Y1356) and downregulation of its downstream cascade.
Cost-Effectiveness of a Shorter Four-Month Tuberculosis Treatment Regimen in India
Authors: Muniyandi Malaisamy , Karikalan Nagarajan , Velayutham Banurekha , Rajsekar Kavitha , Padmapriyadarsini Chandrasekaran
Published: April 2022

Globally efforts are underway to shorten the existing 6-month tuberculosis (TB) treatment regimen for drug-sensitive patients, which would be equally effective and safe. At present, there is a lack of evidence on the cost implications of a shorter 4-month TB regimen in India. This economic modeling study was conducted in the Indian context with a high TB burden. We used a hybrid economic model comprising of a decision tree and Markov analytics. The study estimated the incremental costs, life-years (LYs), and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) gained by the introduction of a Moxifloxacin-based shorter 4-month treatment regimen for pulmonary TB patients. The outcomes are expressed in incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) per QALYs gained. The cost per case to be treated under the 4-month regimen was $145.94 whereas for the 6-month regimen it was $150.39. A shorter 4-month TB regimen was cost-saving with $4.62 per LY and $5.29 per QALY. One-way sensitive analysis revealed that the cost of the drugs for the 4-month regimen, hospitalization cost for adverse drug reaction, and human resources incurred for the 6-month regimen had a higher influence on the ICER. The short-course first-line 4-month TB treatment regimen was found to be cost-saving to both patients and National TB Elimination Programme in India.
Relationship between neuromuscular profile and total volume of resisted sprint training in male professional soccer players
Authors: Grazioli Rafael , Loturco Irineu , Veeck Filipe , Radaelli Regis , Teodoro Juliana L. , Garcia-tabar Ibai , Inácio Martinho , Pinto Ronei S. , Cadore Eduardo L.
Published: April 2022

Purpose: This 11-week study aimed to correlate the neuromuscular profile and the total volume of resisted sprint training (RST) under different velocity loss (VL) magnitudes in male professional soccer players. Methods: Seventeen soccer players (age 25.8±4.3 years; height 180.0±8.6 cm; weight 77.7±9.7 kg) were randomly allocated into two training groups, who trained at distinct percentages of VL: 10% of VL (G10, n=8) or 20% of VL (G20, n=9). The velocity-based sled training consisted of 20m resisted sprints executed with a progressive loading increase (45% to 65% of body-mass). Sprint times (10m and 20m), vertical jump height (countermovement jump [CMJ] and squat jump [SJ]), knee flexion and extension peak torque, as well as isometric rate of torque development, and lower-limb lean mass were correlated with the total volume of RST performed by G10 and G20 groups. Results: The G10 performed 31% less repetitions and total RST distance than G20 (p<0.05). Significant negative Pearson’s correlations (large-to-very large) were observed between total volume performed by G10 and CMJ height (r=-0.85, p=0.016) as well as SJ height (r=-0.90, p= 0.005), and knee extension concentric peak torque (r=-0.70, p=0.05). No further correlation was found (p>0.05). Conclusions: When lower magnitudes of VL were used during training sessions (10%), the stronger and more powerful players performed lower volume of RST. Interestingly, this relationship is not confirmed when higher magnitudes of VL (20%) are prescribed (greater fatigue incidence).
Neighborhood-based Inference and Restricted Boltzmann Machine for microbe and drug associations prediction
Authors: Cheng Xiao-Long , Qu Jia , Ni Tong-Guang , Song Shuang-Bao , Bian Ze-Kang
Published: April 2022

Efficient identification of microbe-drug associations is critical for drug development and solving problem of antimicrobial resistance. Traditional wet-lab method requires a lot of money and labor in identifying potential microbe-drug associations. With development of machine learning and large amounts of biological data, computational methods become feasible. In this paper, we proposed a computational model of Neighborhood-based Inference (NI) and Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM) to predict potential Microbe-Drug Association (NIRBMMDA) by using multisource data. First, NI was used to predict potential microbe-drug associations by using different thresholds to find similar neighbors for drug or microbe. Then, RBM was also employed to predict potential microbe-drug associations based on contrastive divergence algorithm and sigmoid function. Because generalization ability of individual method is poor, we used an ensemble learning to integrate the two predicted microbe-drug associations. Especially, NI can fully utilize similar (neighbor) information of drug or microbe and RBM can learn potential probability distribution hid in known microbe-drug associations. Finally, ensemble learning was used to integrate individual predictor for obtaining a stronger predictor. To evaluate the performance of NIRBMMDA, global leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV), local LOOCV and five-fold cross validations were implemented to evaluate the performance of NIRBMMDA based on three datasets of DrugVirus, MDAD and aBiofilm. In global LOOCV, NIRBMMDA gained the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) of 0.8666, 0.9413 and 0.9557 for datasets of DrugVirus, MDAD and aBiofilm, respectively. In local LOOCV, AUCs of 0.8512, 0.9204 and 0.9414 were obtained for NIRBMMDA based on datasets of DrugVirus, MDAD and aBiofilm, respectively. For five-fold cross validation, NIRBMMDA acquired AUC and standard deviation of 0.8569 0.0027, 0.9248 0.0014 and 0.9369 0.0020 on the basis of datasets of DrugVirus, MDAD and aBiofilm, respectively. Moreover, case study for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) showed that 13 out of the top 20 predicted drugs were verified by searching literature. The other two case studies indicated that 17 and 15 out of the top 20 predicted microbes for the drug of ciprofloxacin and minocycline were confirmed by published literature, respectively. The results demonstrated NIRBMMDA is an effective model in predicting microbe-drug associations.
Nausea at the start of specialized palliative care and change in nausea after the first weeks of palliative care were associated with cancer site, gender and type of palliative care service - a nationwide study
Authors: Hansen Maiken Bang , Adsersen Mathilde , Rojas-Concha Leslye , Petersen Morten Aagaard , Ross Lone , Grønvold Mogens
Published: April 2022

Purpose
Nausea is a common and distressful symptom among patients in palliative care, but little is known about possible socio-demographic and clinical patient characteristics associated with nausea at the start of palliative care and change after initiation of palliative care. The aim of this study was to investigate whether patient characteristics were associated with nausea at the start of palliative care and with change in nausea during the first weeks of palliative care, respectively.
Methods
Data was obtained from the nationwide Danish Palliative Care Database. The study included adult cancer patients who were admitted to palliative care and died between June 2016 and December 2020 and reported nausea level at the start of palliative care and possibly 1–4 weeks later. The associations between patient characteristics and nausea at the start of palliative care and change in nausea during palliative care, respectively, were studied using multiple regression analyses.
Results
Nausea level was reported at the start of palliative care by 23,751 patients of whom 8,037 also reported 1–4 weeks later. Higher nausea levels were found for women, patients with stomach or ovarian cancer, and inpatients at the start of palliative care. In multivariate analyses, cancer site was the variable most strongly associated with nausea change; the smallest nausea reductions were seen for myelomatosis and no reduction was seen for stomach cancer.
Conclusion
This study identified subgroups with the highest initial nausea level and those with the least nausea reduction after 1–4 weeks of palliative care. These latter findings should be considered in the initial treatment plan.
Insights into multiple enzymes produced by an indigenously isolated novel Aeromonas veronii strain revealing diverse applications
Authors: Yadav Dinesh , Tanveer Aiman , Gupta Supriya , Dwivedi Shruti , Yadav Kanchan , Morya Vivek
Published: April 2022

In the quest for a novel microbe capable of producing multiple enzymes significant in industrial applications, bacterial isolates from soil samples collected from the wood-decaying area were screened. With this aim, the isolates were screened for the capability of producing various enzymes of industrial importance. Among the 100 screened isolates of bacteria, one strain identified as Aeromonas veronii by 16s RNA sequencing was found to be promising. It was revealed that the bacteria had the ability to produce cellulase, pectinase, protease, and amylases enzymes. The strain was set up for enzyme production and enzyme activity of cellulase, amylase, pectinase and protease were 0.071, 0.201, 0.202, 0.152 U/ml respectively. All four enzymes exhibited maximum activity at 40ºC with a distinct optimal pH. Since all the enzymes isolated from this strain are industrially significant, the application of the cell-free extract containing all these enzymes was evaluated at a laboratory scale that can be applied in industrial applications. The enzyme cocktail was found to be efficient in retting Crotalaria juncea stem fibers. The enzyme in combination with the detergent was effective in removing the blood egg yolk stain and show better extraction of fruit juices and oil. We have also reported that the enzyme extract could be used for sustainable waste management.
Smart Blood Bank Management Based on Gps
Authors: Swetha K. , Tumuluru Praveen , Roshini A.
Published: April 2022

Blood transfusions save lives and enhance health, yet millions of patients who require transfusions are unable to obtain safe blood in a timely manner. Many individuals die as a result of the lack of safe blood, even in some urban health-care institutions. Every year, more than 81 million units of blood are collected around the world. Only 45% of them are donated in poor and transitional nations, which account for more than 80% of the global population. The main goal is to use the concept of Location-based Services to create a Geolocation based blood donor application system that allows users to find donors based on their location and improve search efficiency by using GPS and nearest neighbour algorithms, as well as to display a list of donors in the specified location.
Impact of antibiotic use before definitive concurrent chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Mei Ting , Yang Xuexi , Yu Min , Tian Xiaoman , Deng Qianyue , Chen Xianyan , Gong Youling
Published: April 2022

Purpose: The study evaluated whether antibiotic treatment before chemoradiotherapy influenced outcomes in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC).Methods: The records of LA-NSCLC patients treated with chemoradiotherapy between 2010 and 2017 at xxx were retrospectively examined together with their antibiotic use (antibiotic type, duration of treatment, and time between discontinuation and chemoradiotherapy). The influence of antibiotics on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was evaluated with Kaplan-Meier curves and univariate and multivariate Cox regression.Results: Of 522 patients, 176 had received intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics in the month before chemoradiotherapy. Antibiotic use was linked to both reduced PFS (7.9 vs. 13.4 mo, p<0.001) and OS (20.4 vs. 25.3 mo, p=0.049). Multivariate regression demonstrated that antibiotic treatment was an unfavorable independent prognostic factor for LA-NSCLC patients that received chemoradiotherapy (HR, 1.234; 95% CI, 1.019-1.494; p=0.031). Prognosis was also influenced by the antibiotic type, length of treatment, and interval between discontinuation and start of chemoradiotherapy initiation. β-lactamase inhibitors were found to be the most harmful (median OS for β-lactamase inhibitors /Fluoroquinolones / Cephalosporins:16.5/19.9/25.9 mo, p=0.045). Cutoff values for interval and duration calculated by the X-tile procedure showed that intervals of 7-16 days or durations ≤6 days did not significantly affect OS relative to untreated patients (intervals: p=0.9, duration: p=0.93). Conclusions: Antibiotic treatment for longer than six days, especially with β-lactamase inhibitors, was associated with poor prognosis. Furthermore, delaying chemoradiotherapy for 7-16 days after antibiotic discontinuation may reduce these negative effects.
Does BMI modify the association between vitamin D and pulmonary function in child mild-asthma phenotype?
Authors: Papamichael Maria Michelle , Itsiopoulos Catherine , Katsardis Charis , Tsoukalas Dimitris , Erbas Bircan
Published: April 2022

Purpose: To investigate whether BMI modifies pulmonary function across vitamin D tertiles in pediatric asthma patients of the mild-asthma phenotype. Methods: This cross-sectional study compared lung function variability as assessed by spirometry among 35 normo-weight and 26 overweight/obese Greek schoolchildren with mild-asthma attending an urban children’s asthma clinic. Nitric oxide associated with airway inflammation was measured from exhaled breath (FeNO). Serum 25(OH)D levels ≥ 30 ng/mL were defined as ‘sufficient’, 20-30 ng/mL ‘insufficient’ and < 20 ng/mL ‘deficient’. Linear regression was used to investigate associations among vitamin D, pulmonary function tests, and BMI category. Results: Almost all children were D-insufficient (< 30 ng/mL) which did not differ by BMI status. Stratification by BMI category showed positive associations between D (continuous), % FVC (β = 0.49, 95%CI: 0.05, 0.94; Padj = 0.031) and % FEV1 (β = 0.48, 95%CI: -0.01, 0.95; Padj = 0.047) in the normo-weight only, adjusted for age, sex, regular exercise and medication. Furthermore, FEV1 was 10% higher in the normo-weight D-sufficient group compared to those D-deficient (β = 10.43, 95%CI: 0.54, 20.32; Padj = 0.040). No associations were observed for the overweight/obese group or FeNO. Conclusion: BMI modified associations of vitamin D on airway mechanics in children of the mild-asthma phenotype. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations ≥ 30 ng/mL were associated with higher ventilation in central airways of normo-weight asthmatic children.
The resonance assignments of ORC2-WH domain of human ORC protein
Authors: Song Lanlan , Tu Xiaoming , Zhang Jiahai
Published: April 2022

ORC2 is a small subunit of the origin recognition complex (ORC), which is important for gene replication. ORC2-WH domain recognizes dsDNA sequences with its flexible β-sheet hairpins as anchors. Here, we report the near-complete NMR backbone and side chain resonance assignments of the WH domain and study the backbone relaxation of WH domain. These studies will contribute further understanding of the relationship between its structure and function of ORC protein.
Taurine promotes differentiation and maturation of neural stem/progenitor cells from the subventricular zone via activation of GABAA receptors
Authors: Gutiérrez-Castañeda Nadia Estefanía , González-Corona Jessica , Griego Ernesto , Galván Emilio J. , Paz Lenin D. Ochoa-de la
Published: April 2022

Neurogenesis, the formation of new neurons in the brain, occurs throughout the lifespan in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus and subventricular zone (SVZ) lining the lateral ventricles of the mammal brain. In this process, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and its ionotropic receptor, the GABAA receptor (GABAAR), play a critical role in the proliferation, differentiation, and migration process of neural stem/progenitor cells (NPC). Taurine, a non-essential amino acid widely distributed throughout the central nervous system, increases the proliferation of SVZ progenitor cells by a mechanism that may involve GABAAR activation. Therefore, we characterized the effects of taurine on the differentiation process of NPC expressing GABAAR. Preincubation of NPC-SVZ with taurine increased the expression of SOX-2 and microtubule-stabilizing proteins assessed with the doublecortin assay. Taurine, like GABA, stimulated a neuronal-like morphology of NPC-SVZ and increased the number and length of primary, secondary, and tertiary neurites compared with control NPC of the SVZ. Furthermore, neurite outgrowth was prevented when simultaneously incubating cells with taurine or GABA and the GABAAR blocker, picrotoxin. Patch-clamp recordings revealed a series of modifications in the NPCs’ passive and active electrophysiological properties exposed to taurine, including regenerative spikes with kinetic properties similar to the action potentials of functional neurons.
ECMO cannulation in a non-intubated child
Authors: Weber Greta , Schock Stephanie , Fox Kenneth A. , Seckeler Michael D. , Mendelson Jenny , Kowalek Katie
Published: April 2022

We describe the first reported case of a child being cannulated for VA ECMO without intubation and only moderate sedation. The patient had acute fulminant cardiac failure of unknown etiology and was deemed too ill to undergo deeper sedation for intubation.
Alternating inspiration and expiration breath-hold techniques spare the chest wall during stereotactic body radiotherapy for peripheral lung malignancies
Authors: Li Wenxiang , Zhu Xinli , Bu Luyi , Zhao Feng , Xu Jiayi , Yao Guorong , Lu Zhongjie , Yan Senxiang
Published: April 2022

BackgroundStereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for peripheral lung cancer and metastasis increases the chest wall toxicity due to its proximity to the high dose region of the PTV. Herein, we propose a solution of alternating breath-hold on half of the treatment course to spare the chest wall without compromising the PTV coverage.MethodsTwenty patients with lung lesions adjacent to the chest wall were enrolled in this study and received respiratory coaching one week in advance. Simulation CT scanning was carried out under both end-expiration breath-hold (EEBH) and deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH), and coplanar volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans were created on both of the two series of breath-hold CT images. Dosimetric parameters of the chest wall (V30, V40, Dmax, D0.1cc, D1cc, and D5cc) and bilateral lungs (V5, V10, V20, and MLD) were compared among plans under EEBH alone, DIBH alone, and EEBH plus DIBH. Meanwhile, the correlation between tumor location and the outcome of chest wall sparing was quantitatively evaluated. Paired t test was applied and differences with P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.ResultsCompared to EEBH and DIBH plans, alternating breath-hold techniques result in reduction rates of 47.7% and 54.5% (V30), 56.7% and 65.4% (V40), 2.0% and 3.9% (Dmax), 6.2% and 7.6% (D0.1cc), 16.0% and 15.2% (D1cc), 14.6% and 19.1% (D5cc), respectively. Slight increase in lung V5 (< 6%), and no significant differences can be observed in lung V10, V20, and MLD. Tumor displacement with combined breath-hold appears to be greater in the lower lobes (SI/d: 1.17) than in the upper and middle lobe (SI/d: 0.18), allowing for better chest wall sparing nearly 100% in high dose volumes and 40% in high point doses.ConclusionsAlternating deep inspiration and end-expiration breath-hold techniques can significantly spare the immediately adjacent chest wall without compromising PTV coverage in SBRT of peripheral lung malignancies. Furthermore, patients with tumors in the lower lobes can obtain the most beneficial dose reduction than in the upper and middle lobes.
Determination of ketorolac tromethamine in human plasma by RP-HPLC and its application in pharmacokinetics
Authors: Zhang Chunlei , Meng xing , Liu Juan , Yu Qiang , Cheng Guoliang , Zhang Jiaqiang
Published: April 2022

Objective: To investigate the pharmacokinetic parameters of ketorolac tromethamine in patients after thyroid surgery. Methods: 200 human plasma samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extractionμ50. Agilent tc-c18 reversed-phase column (150mm)×4.6mm，5μm) As a chromatographic column, the mobile phase was 30mmol / L ammonium acetate acetonitrile methanol (20:15:65 V / V / V), the flow rate was 0.8ml/min, the detection column temperature was 35 ℃, the detection wavelength was 285nm, and ethyl acetate and dichloromethane (80:20 V / V) were used as extractants to detect the concentration and pharmacokinetics of aminobutanol in plasma samples by RP-HPLC. Results: ketorolac tromethamine was in the range of 10.0 ~ 240μWithin the concentration range of g/L, the peak area ratio has a good linear relationship with the concentration, and the minimum detection limit is 0.20μG / L, the relative average recovery of ketorolac tromethamine concentration at low, medium and high concentrations is greater than 97%, the extraction recovery is greater than 80%, and the intraday and inter-day variation are less than 10%. The linear equation is y = 8.63x + 1.27, r = 0.99899 (n = 30).There was no significant difference in the drug time curve between intravenous drip and intravenous pump Administration (P = 0.851), and there was a significant difference between intravenous drip and intramuscular injection. At the same time, there was no significant difference in pharmacokinetic parameters between intravenous drip and intramuscular injection in half-life, peak time, and apparent distribution volume. The peak concentration of intravenous drip was higher than that of intramuscular injection,24-hour AUC intravenous infusion was higher than intramuscular injection. Conclusion: based on the RP-HPLC method for the determination of ketorolac tromethamine concentration in human plasma, it has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity, good compliance, and strong specificity. It is accurate and reliable for clinical results. Based on the above detection methods, it is found that there is no difference in the drug-time curves of intravenous drip and intravenous pump, which are different from that of intramuscular injection, At the same time, the pharmacokinetic parameters of intravenous drip seem to be better than intramuscular injection. Trial registration: ChiCTR, ChiCTR2000030674. Registered 9 March 2020, http://www.chictr.org.cn/
The clock gene Period1 inhibits the mineralization of cementoblast through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway
Authors: Zhu Guixin , Zhang Chao , Liu Gufeng , Lu Qian , Xia Dahong , Cao Zhengguo , Chen Zhijun , Xia Haibin
Published: April 2022

The biological clock regulated by circadian clock genes manipulates various tooth tissues including enamel, dentin, and periodontal ligament. However, whether these genes regulate cementum regeneration remains unclear. This study aims to explore whether Per1, a core gene of circadian clock genes, affects the mineralization of cementum. Immunohistochemical staining and hematoxylin-eosin staining were performed on 6-weeks-old C57BL/6 mice and showed that there were PER1-positive cells in the cementum. In addition, the expression of Per1 decreased during the mineralization of the murine cementoblast cell line OCCM-30. These findings suggest that Per1 may regulate cementum mineralization. To verify the effect of Per1 on cementum mineralization, Per1 was knocked down by lentiviral transduction in OCCM-30. The results showed that knocking down Per1 promoted the mineralization of OCCM-30, whilst it up-regulated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Taken together, Per1 can inhibit cementum mineralization via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, providing a molecular foundation for the treatment of cementum loss caused by periodontal diseases.
Structural reliability of existing RC beams strengthened with UHPFRC tensile layers
Authors: Simwanda Lenganji , De Koker Nico , Viljoen Celeste , Bababfemi Adewumi John
Published: April 2022

A methodology for reliability analysis of reinforced (RC) beams strengthened with ultra high-performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) tensile layers is presented. The proposed methodology includes stochastic stress-block analysis of a section, assuming a perfect bond between the RC beam and the UHPFRC layer. Annual reliability analysis of the RC beam before and after the strengthening operation is conducted. Deterioration induced by chloride corrosion is incorporated into the analysis via a chloride induced corrosion model based on Fick’s law of diffusion and described stochastically to account for the epistemic uncertainty in the time to corrosion initiation and rate of corrosion. A plot for determining the required thickness of the UHPFRC tensile layer to upgrade to the required reliability level is also given, considering the time from construction when the strengthening operation is conducted. The proposed approach is easy to apply for routine practice.
Comparison of visual outcomes, keratometric parameters and biomechanical profiles between deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty with big-bubble technique vs. Melles technique for keratoconus: A retrospective study
Authors: Jamali Hossein , Saluoti Ramin , Maalhagh Mehrnoosh , Hosseini Shahla , Shirvani Mohammad
Published: April 2022

Background: Advances in surgical techniques introduced deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) as an option for patients with advanced keratoconus treatment. This method saves globe integrity and preserves the endothelial cells. In this study, two DALK techniques are compared in different aspects.Methods: In This retrospective comparative clinical study, thirty-seven eyes treated by big bubble DALK technique and 35 eyes with Melles technique. The outcome measures consist of uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best corrected spectacle visual acuity (BSCVA), manifest refraction, keratometric features, contrast sensitivity, corneal aberrations, corneal biomechanical properties, endothelial cells profile.Results: Mean UCVA in the big bubble group was 0.61±25 LogMAR and in the Melles group was 0.89±0.41 LogMAR (p-value 0.043). Mean BSCVA in big bubble group (0.18±0.12 Log MAR) was significantly better than Melles group (0.35±0.16 Log MAR). Mean of sphere and cylinder refraction showed no significant difference between two groups. Comparison of endothelial cell profile, corneal aberrations, corneal biomechanical properties and keratometry had no remarkable differences. Contrast sensitivity reported as Modulation transfer function (MTF) showed higher values in big bubble group and differences with Melles group were remarkable. Results of point spread function (PSF) in big bubble group had superiority to Melles group with considerable statistical P value of 0.023.Conclusions: Big bubble technique creates smooth interface with minimal stromal residue that leads in better visual quality and contrast sensitivity compared with Melles technique.
Predicting sentiment analysis for Web users with a deep learning approach
Authors: Abdelwahed Nawres , Letaifa Asma Ben , Asmi Sadok El , Ksouri Azer
Published: April 2022

In the last decade Sentiment analysis has been an interesting research topic in natural languageprocessing (NLP) and data mining fields. We have noticed that deep neural network (DNN)models are always applied in sentiment analysis researches to obtain good results. There aremany neural architectures which are applied for sentiment analysis. Among these architectures,Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models are the most used ones. In this contribution, we collectedour dataset from our developed web application. The obtained dataset contains differenttypes of features; Quality of Service (QoS) metrics, Web Quality of Experience (QoE) metrics,user engagement metrics, comments to videos that are included in the application, and the MeanOpinion Score (MOS) expressed by users. After that, we trained our dataset on our proposedmodel LSTM-CNN-RNN to predict the MOS. As a conclusion, we obtained a good accuracyand a low loss rate.