bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anaerobic Spondylodiscitis: A Retrospective Analysis
Authors: Chen Chien-Ting , Wu Meng-Huang , Huang Tsung-Yu , Li Yen-Yao , Huang Tsung-Jen , Lee Chien-Yin , Lin Che-Han , Lee Ching-Yu
Published: April 2022

Background This retrospective study analyzed the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with anaerobic spondylodiscitis. MethodsFrom a total of 382 patients with infectious spondylodiscitis, nine patients (2.4%; two male and seven female with an average age of 67 years) with anaerobic spondylodiscitis between March 2003 and March 2017 were analyzed. ResultsMost of the patients (77.8%) initially presented with afebrile back pain. Hematogenous spread occurred in seven patients and postoperative infection in two patients. Bacteroid fragilis was the most common pathogen isolated from three patients. Atypical radiographic characteristics, including a vertebral fracture with the preservation of disk height or pathological spondylolisthesis, occurred in four patients with hematogenous anaerobic spondylodiscitis. The eradication rate of anaerobic infection was significantly higher in the patients with hematogenous infection than in those with postoperative infection (100% vs. 0%, p = 0.0476). Anaerobic spondylodiscitis accounted for 2.4% of cases of infectious spondylodiscitis and predominantly affected the female patients. ConclusionsDiagnostic delay may occur because of atypical spinal radiographs if the patient reports only back pain but no fever. Anaerobic infection following elective spinal instrumentation has a higher recurrence rate.
Insolvency resolution and doing business reforms in BRICS Nations: A comparative study
Authors: Chawla Neelam , Kumar Basanta , Patel Gokulananda
Published: April 2022

This paper analyzes the factors responsible for the efficacy of resolving insolvency issues, influencing the ease of doing business (EoDB) ranking in the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) nations' context, focusing on India. Besides, the study examines the legal framework and judicial decisions on insolvency resolution that boost stakeholders' confidence and improve the business environment. We applied descriptive statistics, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), and the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (F-AHP) to analyze and interpret the findings. The key results show that insolvency resolution has been one of the priorities of the governments of Brazil, Russia, and China for almost a decade. Resolving insolvency is the prime factor responsible for India's rank improvement, whereas it is not a priority for South Africa. The AHP calculations prove the Indian government's commitment to insolvency resolution, syncing with experts' opinions. Future EoDB studies concerning other nations may employ the AHP techniques, bringing new results.. The findings add value to the knowledge base on insolvency resolution, contributing to the EoDB ranking vis-a-vis the business environment and providing a broader implication for further research.
The root characteristics promoted higher water use efficiency and stronger drought tolerance in invasive Compositae plants
Authors: li wenrao , Wang Luwei , Qian Shufan , He Mengyue , Cai Xiaojie , Ding Jianqing
Published: April 2022

Purpose Root traits affect the response of invasive plants to drought. Understanding the differences in root traits between native and invasive plants could therefore help improve our understanding of invasive plant performance under changing water conditions. ﻿Methods Root morphological and physiological traits as well as water use parameters associated with water use efficiency were compared in soil-cultured native and invasive Compositae plants under well-watered and drought stress conditions. Seedlings of five invasive and five genetically-related native species were examined via paired-methods. Results Under drought stress, compared with the native plants, invasive plants had a more positive root and leaf water potential, longer fine root length (diameter ≤ 0.5 mm), larger specific root length and lower water consumption. Especially, invasive plants maintained a higher biomass, higher instantaneous and biomass water use efficiencies than the native plants, although drought inhibited all plants growth and invasive plants had similar root hydraulic conductivity with native plants. Changes in water use efficiency in the invasive plants were mainly regulated by the fine root length (diameter ≤ 1 mm), specific root length, and root water potential; however, in native plants, only the fine root length (diameter ≤ 1 mm) had an effect, regardless of the water conditions. Conclusion Together, a more positive root water potential, and longer and thinner fine roots (diameter ≤ 1 mm) are associated with improvements in water use efficiency and drought tolerance in invasive plants, suggesting that physiological and morphological root characteristics play an important role in the success of plant invasion.
A Deep Learning Approach for Predicting Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer: A Retrospective, Multicentre Study
Authors: Zhao Litao , Bao Jie , Qiao Xiaomeng , Jin Pengfei , Ji Yanting , Li Zhenkai , Zhang Ji , Su Yueting , Ji Libiao , Shen Junkang , Zhang Yueyue , Niu Lei , Xie Wanfang , Hu Chunhong , Shen Hailin , Wang Ximing , Liu Jiangang , Tian Jie
Published: April 2022

Purpose: To construct deep learning (DL) models based on multicentre biparametric MRI (bpMRI) for the diagnosis of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa), and compare the performance of these models with that of Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) assessment of expert-level radiologists based on multiparametric MRI (mpMRI).Methods: This study included 1861 consecutive men with mpMRI from seven hospitals, who underwent radical prostatectomy or biopsy. These patients were divided into training cohort (3 hospitals, 1216 patients) and external validation cohorts (4 hospitals, 645 patients). PI-RADS assessment was performed by expert-level radiologists. The DL models were constructed for the classifications between benign and malignant lesions (DL-BM), and between csPCa and non-csPCa (DL-CS). The integrated model combining a DL-CS model and PI-RADS (PIDL-CS) was constructed. The performance of the deep learning models and PIDL-CS were compared with those of PI-RADS.Results: In each external validation cohort, the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of DL-BM and DL-CS models were not significantly different from that of PI-RADS (Ps > 0.05), whereas the AUC of PIDL-CS was superior to that of PI-RADS (Ps < 0.05) except one external validation cohort (P > 0.05). The specificity of the PIDL-CS for the detection of csPCa was much more than that of PI-RADS (Ps < 0.05).Conclusion: Our proposed DL model can be a potential non-invasive auxiliary tool to predict csPCa. Further, PIDL-CS greatly increased the specificity in the detection of csPCa compared with PI-RADS assessment of expert-level radiologists, greatly reducing the unnecessary biopsies and helping radiologists achieve a precise diagnosis of csPCa.
Analysis of promoter methylation in IGFBP3 and TWIST1 gene for early detection of colorectal tumors in stool of patients
Authors: Navaz Abdolreza Mehdi , Shalmashi Hooman , Safaei Sahar , Zarredar Habib , Kermani Touraj Asvadi , Hashemzadeh Shahryar
Published: April 2022

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relative level of methylation of this gene in stool samples of colorectal cancer patients.Methods: In present study, stool samples were collected from 40 colorectal cancer patients and 40 healthy controls. After collecting the DNA of the samples, the extracts were treated by sulfite method and the methylation of the target site was evaluated by met-HRM method. Differences in methylation level of the two groups were evaluated by appropriate statistical tests. P value <0.05 was considered significant.Results: The relative methylation rate of the studied genes (IGFBP3 and TWIST1) in the stool samples was lower than that of the healthy groups and this difference was significant in the confidence interval (P< 0.0001 and P< 0.0025, respectively). Meanwhile, this genes has no significant association with clinical findings Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the IGFBP3 and TWIST1 methylation could be used as a diagnostic biomarker in colorectal cancer. However, it is better to do more studies on the level of protein.
A novel authentication scheme for group based communication for IoT oriented infrastructure in smart cities
Authors: Alam Irfan , Kumar Manoj
Published: April 2022

As a result of the rapid developments in digital technologies, smart cities have been adorned with several digital gadgets based on the Internet of Things (IoT). The essential part of smart cities operations is IoT communications. IoT devices generate, process, and exchange a large amount of security-critical and privacy-sensitive data regularly, resulting in attractive targets for threats and attacks. Group-oriented communication plays a critical role in the IoT world, such as data gathering and area monitoring. The lower time complexity of Group-based authentication (GBA) makes these protocols very popular for efficient and secured communication. This paper uses a polynomial-based group authentication scheme and membership verification to ensure efficient and threat-free communication among IoT devices. Furthermore, a Bi-variate polynomial is used instead of the single variable polynomial to add the novelty of the work. Along with novelty, the protected nature of the bi-variate polynomial makes the proposed scheme very secure and reliable. Security analysis of the proposed work shows its efficiency over existing schemes.
Fluid dynamics of the upper airway in pediatric patients with severe laryngomalacia
Authors: Ye Lin song , Ye Linsong , Wei Jiazhang , Liang Zhenhua , Li Yan , Wu Minghui , Zhao Chunli , Weng Jingjin , Liu Xiaoqing , Su Jiping , Qu Shenhong
Published: April 2022

Background: Laryngomalacia is the top cause of pediatric laryngeal wheeze. Objectives: We used computational fluid dynamics to study the inspiratory airflow dynamics in severe pediatric laryngomalacia. Method: Computed tomography was performed on the upper airways of two infants, one with severe laryngomalacia and one with normal airway, and 3D models were reconstructed. ANSYS CFD-POST software was used to simulate airflow in the models. To compare the volumetric flow rate, flow velocity, pressure, wall shear, vortex. Results: The volume flow rate in the laryngomalacia model was significantly reduced compared with the control. Under inspiratory pressures, the peak flow velocity, pressure, and shear force in the control model appeared at the soft palate stenosis, while that in the laryngomalacia model appeared at the supraglottis stenosis. In the both group, the maximum flow velocity and shear force increased with decreasing inspiratory pressure, while the minimum pressure decreased with decreasing inspiratory pressure. In the control model, the airflow vortex appeared anteriorly below the posterior section of the soft palate. In the laryngomalacia model, the vortex appeared anteriorly below the posterior section of the soft palate and anteriorly below the vocal folds. Conclusion: Our methodology provides a new mechanistic understanding of pediatric laryngomalacia.
Divergence and Convergence of the Gut Microbiomes of Wild Insect Pollinators
Authors: Li Jilian , Zhuang Daohua , Sauers Logan , Ren Haiqing , Guo Jun , Wang Liuhao , Zhuang Mingsheng , Guo Yulong , Zhang Zhengyi , Wu Jie , Yao Jun , Yang Huipeng , Huang Jiaxing , Wang Chengrui , Lin Qinghui , Sadd Ben M. , Zhang Zhigang
Published: April 2022

BackgroundPollination services provided by wild insect pollinators are critical to natural ecosystems and the economic value of crops around the world. Gut microbiota of these insects may determine health and the contributions of their hosts to these services. Thus, phylogenetically divergent insect pollinators represent a crucial system in which to investigate evidence for factors contributing to the assembly of host microbial communities, which is a general question in host-microbiota research. We investigated the microbiomes of multiple insect pollinator species from China, distributed across three insect orders. ResultsWe found lineage-specific divergences of dominant microbial genera and microbiota community compositions across the divergent insect pollinator genera. However, we found no broad phylogenetic signal underlying these divergences, even though one is present at finer phylogenetic scales. Although there is clearly no single insect pollinator associated gut microbiota, there is suggestive evidence that ecology, including diet, may be associated with community structure. Indeed, we uncover a similar microbe in the gut microbiomes of a pollinator fly and bees, but comparative genomics indicates potential functional differences that could relate to the evolution with host or other microbiota members. ConclusionsOverall, this study suggests selective processes involving ecology or physiology, or neutral processes determining microbe colonization may predominate in the turnover of lineages in insect pollinators broadly, while evolution with hosts and co-occurring microbes may occur under certain circumstances and on smaller phylogenetic scales.
The Role of Consanguineous Marriages in the Development of Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Aliyeva Zhala , Preis Eden , Jacob Theresa
Published: April 2022

Background: Consanguineous marriage is referred to as a marital union among close biological kin. In clinical genetics, it is called a relationship by marriage between first and second cousins. The rate of consanguineous marriage in different countries depends on different factors like education level, religion, local tradition, and socioeconomic status. Consanguineous marriages, particularly between first-degree cousins, have the effect of increasing various hereditary disorders, including intellectual disabilities and psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. Studies have shown that there is a high correlation between consanguineous marriage and congenital malformations. Up to 20 percent of all marriages in Azerbaijan are consanguineous. Methods: We present the data on patients with moderate to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities treated at a psychiatric clinic situated in a small town in Azerbaijan. Results: Findings showed that more than half the children presenting to the clinic with intellectual disabilities, were offspring of parents who were biologically related. Conclusions: Since parents in consanguineous marriage share a higher percentage of risk carrying genes, the percentage of offspring that inherit a genetic disorder is much higher in offspring of related parents than that of offspring of unrelated parents.
Motives for alcohol use, risky drinking patterns and harm reduction practices among people who experience homelessness and alcohol dependence in Montreal
Authors: Motta-Ochoa Rossio , Incio-Serra Natalia , Brulotte Alexandre , Flores-Aranda Jorge
Published: April 2022

Background
People experiencing homelessness are disproportionately affected by the harms related to alcohol use. Their alcohol dependence is associated with numerous physical and mental health problems, and strikingly high rates of alcohol related mortality. To develop interventions and treatments to address this problem, recent research has examined the patterns of alcohol use of people experiencing homeless. However, only a few studies have incorporated the perspective of these persons to identify such patterns and the ways in which they manage the harms associated to their alcohol use. To fill this gap, we conducted a qualitative study with a group of people (n = 34) experiencing homeless in Montreal (Canada). In doing so, we also explored how patterns of alcohol use are tied to their motives for drinking, as well as their harm reduction practices.
Methods
We used qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews and focus groups.
Results
The participants identified four motives for drinking, including coping with painful memories, coping with harsh living conditions, socializing and belonging, as well as enjoying and having fun. They also defined five risky patterns of alcohol use linked to these motives: 1) binge drinking; 2) mixing alcohol with drugs; 3) non-beverage alcohol drinking; 4) not ensuring alcohol to prevent withdrawn; and 5) drinking in public settings. Additionally, they enacted practices oriented to reduce the harms associated to their alcohol use, including planning how much to drink, ensuring alcohol availability, hiding to drink, hiding drinks, drinking alone, drinking/hanging out with others, drinking non-beverage alcohol, taking benzodiazepines, cocaine or other stimulant drugs.
Conclusion
By shedding light on the associations between motives for drinking, risky drinking and harm reduction practices we aim to showcase the rationale behind the participants alcohol use to inform policies and interventions tailored to their needs.
Vibration Suppression Method for Dual-flexible Manipulator Considering Bearing Friction Based on Adaptive PI Control Strategy with Nonlinear Disturbance Observer
Authors: Shang Dongyang , Li Xiaopeng , Yin Meng , Li Fanjie
Published: April 2022

A manipulator that contains both flexible joints and flexible loads is called a dual-flexible manipulator. The vibration of dual-flexible manipulators is affected by the bearing friction torque and the double flexibilities. This vibration phenomenon will reduce the motion accuracy in dual-flexible manipulators. In this study, an adaptive PI control strategy using a nonlinear disturbance observer (DOB) is proposed to reduce speed fluctuations of the servo system, thereby suppressing the vibration. Firstly, the mechanical model of the dual-flexible manipulator considering bearing frictions is established. Then, the adaptive law of the PI controller is proposed by the Lyapunov stability theorem. The optimal values of controller parameters are obtained by the adaptive law. Finally, the numerical simulation and control experiments of the dual-flexible manipulator prove that the control strategy can powerfully reduce the vibration. The experimental results show that the control strategy can reduce the acceleration in the vibration sensitive direction of the flexible manipulator by 41.78% compared with the PI control strategy.
Occurrence of EBSL and quinolone resistance genes among Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from poultry, domestic pigs and environment in the Msimbazi River Basin in Tanzania
Authors: Kimera Zuhura I. , Mgaya Fauster X. , Mshana Stephen E. , Karimuribo Esron D. , Matee Mecky I. N.
Published: April 2022

Background: The Enterobacteriaceae family particularly Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae that are resistant to both quinolones and beta lactams occur worldwide, causing wide spread infections that are difficult to treat. We investigated occurrence and distribution of genes encoding for extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) production and quinolone resistance among multi-drug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from poultry, domestic pigs and environment samples in the Msimbazi basin in Tanzania. Methods: A total of 110 non- duplicated isolates obtained from the poultry (n = 30), domestic pigs (n = 42) and environment (n = 39) were screened for ESBLs genes (CTX-M, TEM, and SHV) and plasmid mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes (qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, qnrC, qnrD, qepA, and aac(6)-Ib-cr) using polymerise chain reaction (PCR). Results: The most commonly detected ESBL genes were blaCTX-M (31.5%, n=41) and blaTEM (10%, n=13), while quinolone resistance genes were qnrS (27.7%, n=36), qnrB (6.9%, n=9) and aac (6)-lb-cr (5.4%, n=7). ESBL gene blaSHV and quinolone resistance genes qnrA, qnrC and qepA were not detected in any of the isolates. Resistance genes were highest in isolates from the environmental samples (86%, n=33), followed by poultry 72.5% (n=29), and domestic pigs 21.4%, (n=9). Overall, the most frequent resistance gene was qnrS, followed by blaCTX-M and blaTEM. About 17.7% (n=23) of the isolates depicted co-existence of ESBL and quinolone resistance genes. Conclusion: One Health interventional measures, involving different disciplines across human, animal and environmental sectors, are needed to control the spread of antimicrobial resistance in the Msimbazi River Basin in Tanzania.
Quantum-Like Criticality in Granular Fluids
Authors: Lu Feng , Zhang Chenxi , Fei Wei
Published: April 2022

Quantum criticality is one of the most intriguing features of quantum mechanics and is often associated with phenomena such as superfluidity, superconductivity, collective motion and density waves. This paper reports our direct observation of a quantum-like criticality in granular fluids through noise reduction and fluidity maintenance. We present a spectrogram of the nonlinear dispersion relation for granular fluids obtained via propagation of pressure waves. An order-disorder transition in granular fluids is detected by particle image velocimetry (PIV) and optical probes. The influence of this transition on the heat diffusivity in granular fluids is investigated, revealing two modes of heat diffusion above and below the critical granular temperature. Designing such granular fluids to realize quantum-like criticality behavior opens up new avenues to experimentally observe the macro-quantum state even at room temperature and can potentially be applied in industrial multiphase reactors, energy storage, and surface acoustic wave technology.
Supermarket and Web-based Intervention Targeting Nutrition (SuperWIN):
A Randomized, Parallel Assignment, Active Control, Efficacy Trial
Authors: Steen Dylan , Helsley Robert , Bhatt Deepak , King Eileen , Summer Suzanne , Fenchel Matthew , Saelens Brian , Eckman Mark , Couch Sarah
Published: April 2022

Dietary interventions may best be delivered at grocery stores, which offer convenience, accessibility, full food inventories, and increasingly, in-store registered dietitians, online shopping, and delivery services. In collaboration with a large supermarket chain, we conducted a multisite, randomized, controlled trial (N = 247) of two individualized, in-person, dietitian-led, purchasing data-guided, education interventions focused on increasing Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score (a measure of DASH dietary pattern adherence). At both 3 and 6 months, all study groups had greater DASH adherence. At 3 months, the interventions increased DASH score by 4.7 (95% CI, 0.9, 8.5; p = 0.02), compared with the enhanced control group. In addition, the intervention that included online enhancements (e.g. online shopping, nutrition applications) increased DASH score by 3.8 (95% CI, 0.8, 6.9; p = 0.01) compared to the one without them. This trial demonstrates the efficacy of store-based, dietary interventions as well as modern online shopping tools in increasing DASH adherence.
A Sustainable and Secure Load Management Model for Green Cloud Data Centres
Authors: Saxena Deepika , Singh Ashutosh Kumar , Lee Chung-Nan , Buyya Rajkumar
Published: April 2022

Massive upsurge in cloud resource demand and inefficient load management stave off the sustainability of Cloud Data Centres (CDCs) resulting into high energy consumption, resource contention, excessive carbon emission, and security threats. In this context, a novel Sustainable and Secure Load Management (SaS-LM) Model is proposed to enhance the security for users with sustainability for CDCs. The model estimates and reserves the required resources viz., compute, network, and storage and dynamically adjust the load subject to maximum security and sustainability. An evolutionary optimization algorithm named Dual Phase Black Hole Optimization (DPBHO) is proposed for optimizing a multi-layered feed forward neural network and allowing the model to estimate resource usage and detect probable congestion. Further, DPBHO is extended to a Multi-objective DPBHO algorithm for a secure and sustainable VM allocation and management to minimize the number of active server machines, carbon emission, and resource wastage for greener CDCs. SaS-LM is implemented and evaluated using a benchmark real world Google Cluster VM traces. The proposed modelis compared with state-of-the-arts which reveals its efficacy in termsof reduced carbon emission and energy consumption up to 46.9% and43.9%, respectively with improved resource utilization up to 16.5%.
Machine Deep Learning: Convolutional Neural Network-Application for Pectus Excavatum Diagnosis from Frontal-View Chest X-Rays
Authors: Fan Yu-Jiun , Tzeng I-Shiang , Hsu Yuan-Yu , Wei Bo-Chun , Cheng Yeung-Leung , Hung Shuo-Ting
Published: April 2022

Pectus excavatum (PE), a chest-wall deformity that can compromise cardiopulmonary function, cannot be detected by a radiologist through frontal chest radiography without a lateral view or chest computed tomography. This study aims to train a convolutional neural network (CNN), a deep learning architecture with powerful image processing ability, for PE screening from frontal chest radiography, which is the most frequently requested imaging test in current hospital practice. Posteroanterior-view chest images of PE and normal patients were collected from our hospital to build the database. Among them, 80% were used as the training set used to train the established CNN algorithm, Xception, whereas the remaining 20% was a test set for model performance evaluation. The performance of our diagnostic artificial intelligence model was 0.976 ± 0.014 under the receiver operating characteristic curve and a test accuracy of 0.973. Our study is the first to prove that a CNN can be trained as a diagnostic tool for PE using frontal chest X-rays, which is not possible by the human eye. It offers a convenient way to screen potential candidates for the surgical repair of PE, primarily using available image examinations.
Solvatochromism of a silver-epoxy nanocomposite dispersed in organic solvents
Authors: Sánchez-Tizapa Marciano , Barrera-Calva Enrique , Rentería-Tapia Víctor
Published: April 2022

Fresh and aged silver-epoxy nanocomposites were dispersed in aprotic solvents having different dielectric constants (ε) like Acetone (Ace), N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO). Different colors and hues of the dispersions depending on the dielectric constant of the solvents were observed, suggesting a solvatochromic behavior. Aggregated and isolated triangular silver nanoprisms with sharp corners were predominant for fresh and aged dispersions in Acetone (ε = 21.0), respectively. Whereas, aggregated and isolated truncated triangular silver nanoprisms were observed for the ones in DMF (ε = 36.7), respectively. Stacks of elongated silver nanoparticles (Nps) predominated for both fresh and aged dispersions prepared in DMSO (ε = 47.2). It was found that as the dielectric constant of the solvents increases the average size of the Nps diminishes and the silver nanoprisms were transformed into elongated shapes, for both fresh and aged samples. These morphologies have an important impact on the position and shape of the plasmonic resonance. The dipolar optical extinction maximum of the silver Nps of aged samples was linearly red-shifted with an increase in the dielectric constant of the solvents. On the other hand, it was observed higher stability for silver Nps dispersed in DMSO and DMF compared with Ace in both fresh and aged samples. The results show the influence of the solvent dielectric constant on the optical properties, size distribution, morphology, and stability of the silver Nps. A solvatochromic mechanism of the silver Nps based on the coalescence of small silver seed Nps (< 40 nm) is proposed.
Integrated bioinformatics analysis to determine the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infections to Heart Failure patients
Authors: Huang Jing , Jiang Xiu-Juan , Yu Wei , Xu Yan , Xiong Bo , Qian Jun , Lou Ya-Ke , Liu YI-Heng , Tan Xing-Ling
Published: April 2022

Background:COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease, has become a major threat to humanity, and its extrapulmonary effects were also evident. Heart failure (HF) may be the result of myocardial damage associated with COVID-19. Methods:To understand the relationship between SARS-COV-2 and HF, we used bioinformatics analysis to identify common pathways and molecular biomarkers for HF and COVID-19. In this study, two datasets (GSE152418, GSE57338) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of SARS-COV-2 infection in HF patients to find common pathways and drug candidates. Results:A total of 123 common DEGs were identified in the two datasets. Using a variety of bioinformatics tools, we first constructed protein-protein interactions (PPI) and then identified hub genes that could be served as potential biomarkers or novel therapeutic strategies. In addition, some common associations between HF and the progression of COVID-19 infection were found by using functional under ontological terms and pathway analysis. Through the datasets, we also identified transcription factor-gene interactions, protein-drug interactions, and co-regulatory network of DEGs-miRNAs with common DEGs. We built gene-disease association network to represent diseases associated with mutual DEGs.Conclusions:Our study has identified the candidate hub genes and drugs that might become a new therapeutic target for novel coronavirus vaccine development and treatment in COVID-19 and HF.
MAD-UNet: Multi-scale attention and deep supervision-based 3D UNet for automatic liver segmentation from CT
Authors: Wang Jinke , Zhang Xiangyang , Wang Haiying
Published: April 2022

Background
Automatic liver segmentation is a prerequisite for hepatoma treatment; however, the low accuracy and stability hinder its clinical application. To alleviate this limitation, we deeply mine the context information of different scales and combine it with deep supervision to improve the accuracy of liver segmentation in this paper.
Methods
We proposed a new network called MAD-UNet for automatic liver segmentation from CT. It is grounded in the 3D UNet and leverages multi-scale attention and deep supervision mechanisms. In the encoder, the downsampling pooling in 3D UNet is replaced by convolution to alleviate the loss of feature information. Meanwhile, the residual module is introduced to avoid gradient vanishment. Besides, we use the long-short skip connections (LSSC) to replace the ordinary skip connections to preserve more edge detail. In the decoder, the features of different scales are aggregated, and the attention module is employed to capture the spatial context information. Moreover, we utilized the deep supervision mechanism to improve the learning ability on deep and shallow information.
Results
We evaluated the proposed method on three public datasets, including, LiTS17, SLiver07, and 3DIRCADb, and obtained Dice scores of 0.9727, 0.9752, and 0.9691 for liver segmentation, respectively, which outperform the other state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods.
Conclusions
Both qualitative and quantitative experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can make full use of the feature information of different stages while enhancing spatial data's learning ability, thereby achieving high liver segmentation accuracy. Thus, it proved to be a promising tool for automatic liver segmentation in clinical assistance.
Diverting ileostomy is a risk factor for renal impairment during CAPOX therapy
Authors: Okamoto Kazuaki , Nozawa Hiroaki , Sasaki Kazuhito , Murono Koji , Emoto Shigenobu , Ishihara Soichiro
Published: April 2022

Purpose
Temporary ileostomy is sometimes created after colorectal surgery and may cause renal impairment. However, the impact of ileostomy on renal function during adjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of ileostomy on renal function during adjuvant chemotherapy.
Methods
We examined 184 patients who received adjuvant CAPOX therapy (capecitabine and oxaliplatin) for CRC with or without ileostomy between January 2011 and December 2020 at the University of Tokyo Hospital. Clinicopathological factors, including renal function, were retrospectively reviewed in association with temporary ileostomy. Factors associated with reductions in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) during CAPOX therapy were analyzed.
Results
Eighteen patients (10%) underwent temporary ileostomy. The maximum decrease in eGFR during CAPOX therapy was significantly higher in patients with than in those without ileostomy (-16.1 vs. -5.6 mL/min/1.73m2, p = 0.003). A multivariate analysis identified ileostomy as one of factors independently associated with reductions in eGFR during CAPOX therapy (p < 0.001). The cumulative number of readmission was also higher in patients with ileostomy (0.39 vs. 0.05 per person, p = 0.004).
Conclusion
Ileostomy significantly reduced eGFR during adjuvant CAPOX therapy. Therefore, renal function needs to be monitored during CAPOX therapy, particularly in patients with ileostomy.
Analytical Valuation of MHD Darcy Forchheimer Hybrid Nanofluid Flow with Slip Conditions over a Stretching Surface
Authors: Usman Muhammad , Bilal Muhammad
Published: April 2022

The flow characteristics of a water based hybrid nanofluid comprised of copper Cu and cobalt ferrite CoFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) with thermal and velocity slip conditions past over an exponentially stretchable sheet are reported in this proposed study. Physical perception of the Darcy effect, heat absorption, viscous dissipation, and thermal radiation on the flow field of hybrid nanofluid was examined by dispersing the NPs of copper and cobalt ferrite into the water as a base fluid. Because of their wide variety of applications, cobalt iron oxide and copper nanoparticles are drawing a lot of attention in scientific and technological research. For this purpose, the dynamics have been characterized as a system of PDEs. Which are reduced to the system of ODEs through similarity replacements. The analytical algorithmic "HAM' is used to further process the resultant set of dimensionless differential equations. It has been observed that the velocity and energy profiles improved by enhancing the injection factor, while the suction parameter and Darcy-Forchhemier effect have the opposite effect on both profiles.
Social determinants of health pave the path to maternal deaths in rural Sri Lanka: reflections from social autopsies
Authors: Irangani Lasandha , Prasanna Indika Ruwan , Gunarathne Sajaan Praveena , Shanthapriya Sandaru Hasaranga , Wickramasinghe Nuwan Darshana , Agampodi Suneth Buddhika , Agampodi Thilini Chanchala
Published: April 2022

Background: Ending preventable maternal deaths remains a challenge in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Society perceived causes and real-life observations can reveal the intangible causes of maternal deaths irrespective of formal maternal death investigations. This study reports complex patterns in which social determinants act towards paving the path to maternal deaths in a rural Sri Lankan setting. Methods: We conducted social autopsies for 15/18 maternal deaths (in two consecutive years during the past decade) in district A (pseudonymized). In-depth interviews of 43 respondents and observations were recorded in the same field sites. During thematic analysis, identified themes were further classified according to the World Health Organization framework for social determinants of health (SDH). The patterns between themes and clustering of social determinants based on the type of maternal deaths were analyzed using mixed methods. Results: Discernable social causes underpinned 12 out of 15 maternal deaths. Extreme poverty, low educational level, gender inequity, and elementary or below-level occupations of the husband were the characteristic structural determinants of most deceased families. Social isolation was the commonest leading cause manifesting as a reason for many other social factors and resulted in poor social support paving the path to most maternal deaths. A core set of poverty, social isolation, and poor social support acted together with alcohol usage, and violence led to suicides. These core determinants mediating through neglected self-health care led to delay in health-seeking. Deficits in quality of care and neglect were noted at health institutions and the field. Conclusion: Social autopsies of maternal deaths revealed complex social issues and social determinants of health leading to maternal deaths in Sri Lanka, denoting the need for a socially sensitive health system.
Myxoid degenerated giant rectal schwannoma masquerading as tailgut cyst: A rare case report
Authors: L Harilal S , Raja Kalayarasan , Srini B H , Pottakkat Biju , Gnanasekaran Senthil
Published: April 2022

BackgroundColorectal schwannomas are rare tumors often detected incidentally and frequently misdiagnosed on preoperative evaluation. They can grow to a large size and create a significant mass effect. A rare case of large rectal Schwannomas mimicking tailgut cyst and managed by a laparoscopic approach is described in the present report.Case A 48- year-old gentleman presented with urinary retention and constipation. Examination revealed an ill-defined hard mass in the left iliac fossa extending to the pelvis. Imaging revealed an 18x12x 9 cm cystic lesion suggestive of a tailgut cyst. The patient underwent Hand-assisted laparoscopic excision of the lesion. The tumor showed spindle cells with myxoid degeneration on microscopic examination and S-100 positivity in immunohistochemistry suggestive of Schwannoma. His postoperative course was uneventful, and there is no evidence of tumor recurrence at eight months of follow-up.ConclusionRectal Schwannoma with myxoid degeneration can mimic tailgut cyst and pose a diagnostic challenge Hand-assisted laparoscopic approach is feasible for excision of large rectal schwannomas.
Research on Multi-Context-Aware Recommendation Methods Based on Tensor Factorization
Authors: Cheng Shulin , Jiang Huimin , Wang Wanyan , Jiang Wei
Published: April 2022

Compared with the traditional recommender systems, context-aware recommender systems are more in line with actual application contexts. However, the existing researches are mostly focused on single context-aware recommendation, such as time-aware recommendation or location-aware recommendation, and lack of in-depth research on multi-context-aware recommendation. Therefore, we proposed a recommendation method of high-order tensor factorization based on multi-context-aware. Firstly, on the basis of analyzing the influence of context on users' interest preferences, the sensitivity of users to multiple contexts was detected by using statistical methods. For context-sensitive users, four-dimensional tensors and feature matrices used to solve data sparsity were constructed based on rating matrix and situational information. And then the stochastic gradient descent algorithm was used for iterative calculation to fill in missing data values and carry out parameter optimization. For context-insensitive users, we used matrix factorization to predict users' interest preferences. Finally, we tested and validated our method on a multi-context-aware movie dataset, and the experimental results show that the proposed method could effectively reduce the prediction error and improve the recommendation quality.
Less is more: Repellent-treated fabric strips as a substitute for full screening of open eave gaps for indoor and outdoor protection from malaria mosquito bites
Authors: Njoroge Margaret Mendi , Hiscox Alexandra , Saddler Adam , Takken Willem , Loon Joop J.A. , Fillinger Ulrike
Published: April 2022

Background: Providing protection from malaria vector bites, both indoors and outdoors, is crucial to curbing malaria parasite transmission. Screening of house entry points, especially with incorporated insecticides, confers significant protection but remains a costly and labour-intensive application. Use of spatial repellents has shown promise in creating areas of protection in peri-domestic areas. Methods: This study aimed at comparing the protection provided by transfluthrin-treated and untreated, complete screens over open eave gaps with incomplete transfluthrin-treated eave strips as a potential replacement for a full screen. Human landing catches were implemented independently inside and outside an experimental hut under controlled semi-field conditions, with insectary-reared Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes Results: The odds of a female mosquito finding a human volunteer indoors and attempting to bite was similar whether the eaves were completely open, or when there was an untreated fabric strip fixed around the eaves. However, when the eave gap was completely screened without insecticide, the odds of receiving a bite indoors was reduced by 70% (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.20-0.47). Adding transfluthrin to the full screen, further increased the protection indoors, with the odds of receiving a bite reduced by 92% (0.08, 95% CI 0.04-0.16) when compared to the untreated screen. Importantly, the same protection was conferred when only a narrow transfluthrin-treated fabric strip was loosely fixed around the eave gap (OR 0.07, 95% CI 0.04-0.13). The impact of the transfluthrin treatment on outdoor-biting was correlated with evening temperatures during the experiments. At lower evening temperatures, a transfluthrin-treated, complete screen provided moderate and variable protection from bites (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.37-1.03), whilst at higher evening temperatures the odds of receiving a bite outdoors was over 4 times lower in the presence of transfluthrin, either on a full screen (OR 0.22 95% 0.12-0.38) or on a fabric strip (OR 0.25, 95% 0.15-0.42) than when no treatment was present..Conclusion: The findings suggest that transfluthrin-treated fabric strips can provide a substitute for complete eave screens. They are a simple, easy to handle tool for protecting people from malaria mosquito bites indoors and potentially around the house in climatic areas where evening and night-time temperatures are relatively high.
The Concentration and Persistence of Medical Expenses among Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults: Findings from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey
Authors: Jiang Luyan , Qiu Qianqian , Zhu Lin , Wang Zhonghua
Published: April 2022

Background
Medical expenses, especially among middle-aged and elderly people, have increased in China over recent decades. While the concentration and persistence of medical expenses have attracted great attention, few studies have focused on Chinese residents or vulnerable groups. This study sought to identify characteristics associated with the concentration of medical expenses and estimate their persistence among Chinese middle-aged and elderly adults.
Methods
Data was obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative household survey of middle-aged and elderly adults that was conducted by the National School of Development at Peking University in 2013, 2015, and 2018. Concentration was measured using the cumulative percentages of ranked annual medical expenses and descriptive statistics were used to define the characteristics of individuals with high medical expenses. The persistence of medical expenses and associated factors were estimated using transfer rate calculations and Heckman selection modeling.
Results
Total medical expenses were concentrated among a few middle-aged and elderly adults and the concentration increased over time. Compared with middle-aged and elderly adults in the lower 90% medical expense group, those in the top 10% high medical expense group were more likely to be older, live in urban areas, be less wealthy, have chronic diseases, and attend higher-ranking medical institutions. High medical expenses demonstrated strong persistence. Lagged medical expenses had a persistent positive effect on the incidence and volume of current medical expenses and the effect of a one-period lag was strongest. Individuals with chronic diseases during the lagged period had a higher likelihood of experiencing persistent medical expenses. Factors such as age ≥75 years, income, health insurance, comorbidities, and receiving a higher number of medical services were significant positive contributors to higher medical expenses.
Conclusion
Policy efforts should focus on preventive management and optimizing the allocation of health resources to reduce high medical expenses and inequitable access to health services among middle-aged and elderly individuals in China. The government should establish a more efficient care system and adjust social health insurance policies to alleviate the long-term financial healthcare burden.
Silver Nanoparticles mediated-marine Fungal Amylase improving Dicentrarchus labrax larvae growth performance
Authors: Barakat Khouloud M. , Abouelwafa Ahmed , El-Sayed Heba S. , Beltagy Ehab A.
Published: April 2022

Background Biosynthesis of nanoparticles has fueled using materials to produce different metallic nanoforms for aquaculture applications. This study investigates the capability of marine Aspergillus flavus amylase (Amy) to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and studied its impact on Dicentrarchus labrax (sea bass) larvae growth performance. Characterization of Amy-AgNPs was carried out by FTIR, UV–Vis’s spectroscopy and SEM. The effect of Amy-AgNPs for antimicrobial and antioxidant were studied.Results The colloidal brown color of Amy-AgNPs with FTIR analysis indicated that amylases were responsible for the capping of the nanoparticles and made it more stable. Spherical Amy-AgNPs had size of 22.88 to 26.35 nm. Significantly, Amy-AgNPs inhibited the growth of fish tested microbes by maximum zone of inhibition 13-20 mm and maximum MICs ranged from 1.6 to 6.3 µg/ml. Also, it acted as scavenged DPPH by 31.46 to 94.0 %. Sea bass larval morphometric measurements including: mean total length (TL), width (W), total weight (TW), larvae survival percentage (%) and specific growth rate (SGR) were recorded, compared to the control group using different concentrations (1, 5, 10, 20%) of encapsulated Amy-AgNPs during larval feeding regime for a period of four weeks. The results revealed that 5% Amy-AgNPs was significantly the most effective concentration at P < 0.05 that achieved higher survival percentages; 51±2.8% and increasing the specific growth rate by 16.23±0.62%. Conclusion This work concluded the effectiveness of marine fungal amylase to synthesize AgNPs, and it is the first record using Amy-AgNPs to reduce the fish larval mortality by protecting and improving its performance.