bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization and efficiency of chitosan zinc-oxide nano-adsorbent coated sand filter bed for milk processing industry wastewater treatment
Authors: Dinesha Bettathavarekere Lingamurthy , Hiregoudar Sharanagouda , Nidoni Udaykumar , Ramappa Kotrappa Thowdur , Dandekar Anilkumar Tukaram , Sankalpa Kallhalli Boregowda
Published: September 2022

Sustainable wastewater management in an industry is required to avoid widespread water scarcity problems. In this study, chitosan zinc oxide nano-adsorbent was synthesised and obtained a particle size of 88.35 ± 2.89 d. nm. Superadsorbent was developed by coating Chitosan-zinc oxide nanoadsorbent (CZnO) with sand, and characterised by considering its adsorption properties as well as its surface morphology, crystallinity, and functional groups. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to optimise the process parameters such as CZnO coating dosage, contact time, pH, and initial concentration of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Adsorbent efficiency was studied in treating simulated and real milk processing industry wastewater. The percent reduction efficiency of organic pollutants was found to increase with the increase in contact time and coating dosage of CZnO. Adsorption was rapid and occurred within 140 min with different coating dosages. The percent reduction of BOD and COD increased with an increase in pH. The optimum solution pH for adsorption of both the pollutants from synthetic solution was 6.0. The equilibrium concentration of synthetic solution reached 200 mg/L and 250 mg/L for both pollutants. Four regeneration cycles were applied without compromising the adsorption efficiency of the superadsorbent. The performance of the superadsorbent was compared with previous studies, and it was found to have excellent adsorption efficiency. Hence, chitosan zinc-oxide nano-adsorbent coated sand could be used as a promising superadsorbent for the removal of organic load from milk processing industry wastewater.
Targeting regulation of VEGF by BPTF in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and its potential clinical significance
Authors: Dai Meng , Hua Chunyu , Wang Mingqin , Gao Li , Jiang Ling , Liu Yuan
Published: September 2022

Purpose
VEGF facilitates the formation of tumor angiogenesis, and bevacizumab targeting VEGF is used in anti-tumor therapy. It’s meaningful to clarify the upstream regulatory mechanism of VEGF. BPTF is important in chromosomal remodeling, and promotes the progression of tumors. However, its promotion of tumor angiogenesis by targeting VEGF has not been reported. This study aims to elucidate the regulation of VEGF by BPTF and its clinical significance in NSCLC.
Methods
1. Reduced the expression of BPTF by transfecting BPTF siRNA and shRNA plasmid in vivo and vitro. Examined the expressions of BPTF, VEGF and CD144 by immunofluorescence and Western Blot. 2. The expressions of BPTF, VEGF, CD144 and CD31 were detected in lung adenocarcinoma samples by immunofluorescence, Western Blot and immunohistochemical. 3. 26 lung adenocarcinoma patients treated by bevacizumab were divided into 2 groups according to the bevacizumab efficacy. BPTF and VEGF expressions were analyzed.
Results
1. BPTF knockdown can inhibit the expression of VEGF and CD144 in vivo and vitro. 2. Compared with para-cancer tissues, BPTF, VEGF, CD144 and CD31 were highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma. 3. In 75 lung adenocarcinoma specimens, BPTF and VEGF overexpression was correlated with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage. The five-year survival rate in group of BPTF and VEGF low expression was higher, and BPTF was positively correlated with VEGF. 4. Among 26 patients treated with bevacizumab, the patients with BPTF overexpresstion are more in the sensitive group.
Conclusions
BPTF positively regulates VEGF expression and BPTF predicts a better efficacy of bevacizumab in NSCLC.
MicroRNA-650 regulates the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease through targeting Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5
Authors: Lin Li , Liu Xiaodong , Cheng Xuejun , Li Yujing , Gearing Marla , Levey Allan , Huang Xiaoli , Li Ying , Jin Peng , Li Xuekun
Published: September 2022

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis features progressive neurodegeneration, amyloid-β plaque formation and neurofibrillary tangles. Ample evidence has indicated the involvement of epigenetic pathways in AD pathogenesis. Here, we show that the expression of microRNA 650 (miR-650) is altered in brains from AD patients. Furthermore, we found that the processing of primary miR-650 to mature miR-650 is misregulated. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that miR-650 targets the expression of three AD-associated components: Apolipoprotein E (APOE), Presenilin 1 (PSEN1), and Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 (CDK5), and we have experimentally confirmed that miR-650 is able to significantly reduce the expression of APOE, PSEN1, and CDK5 in vitro. Importantly, the overexpression of miR-650 was further shown to significantly alter the CDK5 level and ameliorate AD pathologies in APP-PSEN1 transgenic mice. Overall, our results indicate that miR-650 influences AD pathogenesis through regulation of CDK5.
“If I want to be able to keep going, I must be active.” Supporting Remote Physical Activity Programming for Older Adults during COVID-19 and Beyond: a mixed-methods study
Authors: Mehrabi Samira , Drisdelle Sara , Dutt Hanna R , Middleton Laura E
Published: September 2022

Background:Pandemic-related public health restrictions limited older adults’ physical activity programs and opportunities. Supports for older adults' physical activity shifted to remote options, including virtual programming; however, information regarding the adoption and effectiveness of these supports is limited.​ Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate i) changes in physical activity of older adults during the pandemic, and ii) the uptake, perceived effectiveness, facilitators of and barriers to remote supports for physical activity among older adults during the pandemic.Methods:Community-dwelling older adults (60+) were recruited to a cross-sectional online survey and an optional semi-structured follow-up interview. Survey questions addressed demographics, physical activity behaviors, and perceived effectiveness of, and facilitators and barriers for remote supports for physical activity. Interview questions were guided by the Behaviour Change Wheel and data was analyzed via inductive and deductive thematic analysis.Results:57 older adults (68.3±7.1 years, 43 Female)​ completed the survey and 15 of these (67.4±5.8 years, 12 Female) completed interviews. Most participants were Caucasian, highly educated, and lived in Canada. There was no change in older adults' total physical activity from before to during the pandemic (p=0.74); however, at-home exercise participation increased as did technology usage and adoption of new technology. Participants perceived real-time virtual exercise, recorded exercise videos, and phone/webchat check-ins to be the most effective remote supports. The greatest barriers to physical activity were lack of contact with exercise professionals, limited access to exercise equipment or space, and decreased mental wellness. Thematic analysis identified four main themes: i) Knowledge, access to equipment, and space enhance or constrain physical activity opportunities, ii) Individual and environmental factors motivate physical activity uptake, iii) Social connection and real-time support encourage physical activity engagement, and iv) Current and future considerations to support technology usage for exercise.Conclusion:Use of remote supports for physical activity increased during the pandemic, with video-based programming being most favored. Live virtual programming may be best suited to encouraging physical activity among older adults as it may provide greater motivation for exercise, increase social and mental wellness, and alleviate safety concerns.
RapiD_AI: A framework for Rapidly Deployable AI for novel disease & pandemic preparedness
Authors: Youssef Alexey , Zhu Tingting , Thakur Anshul , Watkinson Peter , Horby Peter , Eyre David , Clifton David
Published: September 2022

COVID-19 is unlikely to be the last pandemic that we face. According to an analysis of a global dataset of historical pandemics from 1600 to the present, the risk of a COVID-like pandemic has been estimated as 2.63% annually or a 38% lifetime probability. This rate may double over the coming decades. While we may be unable to prevent future pandemics, we can reduce their impact by investing in preparedness. In this study, we propose RapiD AI : a framework to guide the use of pretrained neural network models as a pandemic preparedness tool to enable healthcare system resilience and effective use of ML during future pandemics. The RapiD AI framework allows us to build highperforming ML models using data collected in the first weeks of the pandemic and provides an approach to adapt the models to the local populations and healthcare needs. The motivation is to enable healthcare systems to overcome data limitations that prevent the development of effective ML in the context of novel diseases. We digitally recreated the first 20 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and experimentally demonstrated the RapiD AI framework using domain adaptation and inductive transfer. We (i) pretrain two neural network models (Deep Neural Network and TabNet) on a large Electronic Health Records dataset representative of a general in-patient population in Oxford, UK, (ii) fine-tune using data from the first weeks of the pandemic, and (iii) simulate local deployment by testing the performance of the models on a held-out test dataset of COVID-19 patients. Our approach has demonstrated an average relative/absolute gain of 4.92/4.21% AUC compared to an XGBoost benchmark model trained on COVID-19 data only. Moreover, we show our ability to identify the most useful historical pretraining samples through clustering and to expand the task of deployed models through inductive transfer to meet the emerging needs of a healthcare system without access to large historical pretraining datasets.
Graphic Protocol for Assessing Safe Nursing Care in Hemodialysis: a Validation Study
Authors: Paiva Renilly de Melo , Chiavone Flavia Barreto Tavares , Bezerril Manaces dos Santos , Dantas Marianny Nayara Paiva , de Azevedo Isabelle Campos , Oliveira Adriana Catarina de Souza , Júnior Marcos Antonio Ferreira , Santos Viviane Euzébia Pereira
Published: September 2022

Background
The use of protocols allows systematizing, organizing and assessing services based on scientific evidence, thus helping the health work process. To validate the content and appearance of a graphic protocol for assessing safe nursing care for patients under hemodialysis.
Method
This is a methodological study with a quantitative approach developed between 2019 and 2020, organized into three procedures: theoretical, from a scoping review, regarding safe hemodialysis care; empirical studies in which the graphic protocol and checklist construction process took place. Finally, for validation using the Delphi technique, nine judges participated in two rounds to reach agreement among them. Data were tabulated and analyzed using simple descriptive statistics, Content Validity Coefficient (CVC) and level of agreement.
Results
Based on this scoping review content, a checklist and a graphic protocol were created, grouped into structure, process and result items. Regarding the content validity verification in Delphi I, the clarity, accuracy and modality criteria obtained CVC = 0.77 in the checklist. After adjustments and Delphi II, all indices were above 0.80. In the appearance validation process, in Delphi I, it was possible to achieve a total CVC greater than 0.80, in Delphi II, they were greater than 0.88, and the checklist presented a CVC of 0.91.
Conclusion
A graphic protocol and a checklist for assessing safe care for patients under hemodialysis, valid in their content and appearance, are presented.
Changes in biological soil health properties in response to increased crop diversity in a dryland wheat-based cropping system
Authors: Eberly Jed O. , Hammontree Jenni W. , Fordyce Simon I , Jones Clain A. , Carr Patrick M.
Published: September 2022

Diversifying wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-based cropping systems can be an effective management tool to break weed and disease cycles. While extensive research has focused on the agronomic benefits of increased crop diversity in semi-arid environments, less is known about the impacts of increased crop diversity on microbial community structure and processes such as nitrogen (N) cycling. This work compared a continuous wheat crop sequence to a diverse sequence that included pea (Pisum sativum L.), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius, L.), and spring wheat. Soil inorganic N (NO3-N and NH4-N), soil respiration, microbial biomass, enzyme activity, and microbial community alpha diversity, a measure of the number of taxa within a treatment, were determined. Soil respiration was higher (p < 0.005) in the diverse sequence while activity of N-acyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, an enzymatic indicator of C and N mineralization, was lower (p < 0.05) with a mean rate of 26.3 mg ρ-nitrophenol kg− 1 soil h− 1 and 16.3 mg ρ-nitrophenol kg− 1 soil h− 1 for the continuous wheat and diverse sequences, respectively. Soil respiration was weakly correlated to soil water content (R2 = 0.21) and temperature (R2 = 0.29) in the diverse rotation, while only weakly correlated to soil water content (R2 = 0.05) in the continuous wheat system (p < 0.001). The mean net N mineralized under a wheat crop during the growing season was 33.2 ± 2.5 kg ha− 1 and was not different between treatments (p > 0.05). Microbial community analysis showed no difference in bacterial alpha diversity, while fungal community diversity was 52% lower in the diverse rotation. The results of this work suggest that specific crops in a rotation may impact microbial processes related to N mineralization and that the soil fungal community may be more sensitive to changes in crop sequence than the soil bacterial community.
Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor in Adults with Solid Tumors - Need for Implementing Guidelines
Authors: Mekdad Sanaa Saeed , AlSayed Leenah
Published: September 2022

Background: Chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia (CIFN) is a major dose-limiting toxicity of chemotherapy. It is associated with an overall hospitalization rate of 35% and an average mortality of 9.5% (2.6% -21.4%).
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (GCSFs) are often prescribed as primary or secondary prophylaxis and to manage chemotherapy induced febrile neutropenia (CIFN). The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines exists to optimize the use of GCSFs.
The main aim was to quantify the inappropriate use of the GCSFs in Primary, secondary prophylaxis and in acute (CIFN) management using the ASCO guidelines as a reference.
Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study included 204 adult randomly chosen patients with solid tumors on chemotherapy.
Results: A total of 204 patients were included . Overall, GCSFs were prescribed appropriately in 104 (51%) patients and in 100 (49 %) was considered inappropriate.
The median duration of GCFs was 5 days in most of the patients.
Conclusions: The inappropriate use of GCSFs is common in terms of indications and duration in adult patients with solid tumor receiving chemotherapy. Adherence to guideline will optimize use.
An audit of aggressive percutaneous catheter drainage protocol for acute necrotic accumulation in severe acute pancreatitis
Authors: DANG Junqiang , WANG Qingqiang , YANG Yanling , ZHU Tingshun , SHANG Lin , YUAN Zhilin , SUN Jianbing , DONG Jianxin , ZHU Lei , XIANG Hongjun
Published: September 2022

Aim: To compare the efficacy of proactive percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) in the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) with acute necrotic accumulation (ANC).
Methods: The clinical data of 23 SAP patients with ANC receiving proactive PCD treatment in the single health institution from October 2020 to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, compared with 47 patients who receiving standard PCD therapy from September 2018 to September 2020. The indications of PCD were summarized, and the therapeutic effect and drainage situation were compared between the two cohorts.
Results: Betweent the two cohorts, there were no significant differences in demographic data, etiology and severity of pancreatitis, PCD indications and PCD related complications. Patients in the standard PCD cohort had longer hospital stays, more patients requiring ICU care and longer ICU care (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the number of persistent organ failure reversals between the two cohorts (78.57% vs 56.00%, P = 0.19), mortality and operative rates. More patients in the proactive PCD cohort had upgraded drains (P = 0.03), had more drains placed (P = 0.048), and had larger drain sizes (P < 0.01). The proactive PCD cohort had higher reduction in APACHEII score (P<0.01), more patency of the drainage tube (P <0.01), and earlier removal of the drainage tube (P = 0.012).
Conlusions: Proactive PCD is an effective way of draining for SAP with ANC.
New Informed Non-Blind Medical Image Watermarking Based on Local Binary Pattern
Authors: Laouamer Lamri
Published: September 2022

Medical image watermarking represents a promising alternative tool regarding security, digital rights, authenticity and integrity issues. In this paper, an informed medical image watermarking scheme is proposed based on local binary pattern LBP. A watermark is built based on the significant information extracted from the host image by LBP and will be addressed to be embedded through a linear interpolation. Scenarios of geometric and non-geometric attacks have been realized on the watermarked images to evaluate the robustness of the embedded watermark in the extraction process. Furthermore, it is verified through achieved experiments that the proposed scheme is imperceptible and more robust from the achieved results which are very encouraging.
Factors Influencing Technology Adoption of a Peripheral Tracing Device in Complete Denture Impressions
Authors: Gali Sivaranjani , Melepurra Keerthy , Sriniva Srivatsa
Published: September 2022

Objectives: Rapid advancements in dental technologies have played a significant role in creating an efficient dental practice. The study aimed to explore the factors influencing the technology adoption of a device for complete denture impressions among dental health professionals.
Materials and methods: Based on the variables expressed during the focus group discussion and literature review, a survey was conducted using a constructed questionnaire among 200 general dental practitioners, prosthodontists and academicians in prominent dental schools in Bengaluru, India. The questionnaire consisted predominantly of structured, closed-end questions based on the UTAUT2 Model using five-point Likert scale. Discriminant analysis was conducted to understand the characteristics of variables for discrimination of adopters and non-adopters of the device.
Results: Participants showed a keen interest in adopting technology due to its convenience. 80.5 % of dentists were tempted to purchase if trial of the product was made available. Discriminant Analysis predicted the group membership with a good level of classification accuracy of adopters of 84 %. The variables that discriminated adopters and non-adopters were “easy to become skillful”, “plan to use the device more frequently”, “peer influence” “willingness to purchase the device”, “find it enjoyable” and “it is entertaining”.
Conclusions: Effort Expectancy, Behavior, Social Influence and Hedonic Motivation played a role in influencing technology adoption among dental professionals. A dental professional is more likely to adopt the technology, if it can help improve his or her skills.
Artificial intelligence model in Body Scan images for monitoring tuberculosis in a prison complex
Authors: Deon Reges Antonio , Korb Arnildo , Santos Paula
Published: September 2022

Early diagnosis and monitoring of tuberculosis (TB) is of great value for disease control. In addition to clinical interpretation and laboratory tests, and also imaging tests such as x-ray. However, for this study we used the MARIE platform, as a support in prison complexes for monitoring and tracking TB, since the platform integrates more than 300 algorithms to identify different patterns in the images based on its dataset that contains around 1 million images. and thus providing better validation values for different image patterns. In this proof of concept we used Body Scan images to identify only suspected cases of TB. Of the three groups of images evaluated, we obtained high performance results when we simultaneously submitted images of the front and back of the lung. Sensitivity varies between 60%-100%. Marie represents an easy-to-use, end-to-end solution for identifying suspected TB in prison facilities.
Risk factor analysis and risk prediction model of arrhythmia after Da Vinci robotic cardiac surgery
Authors: Wu Wenjun , Ding Renzhong , Chen Jianming , Yuan Ye , Song Yi , Yan Manrong , Hu Yijie
Published: September 2022

Background
To analyze the safety and efficacy of Da Vinci robotic cardiac surgery, to investigate the risk factors of postoperative arrhythmia and to establish a risk prediction model.
Methods
The data of 147 patients who underwent cardiac surgery under Da Vinci robotic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) from July 2016 to June 2022 in Daping Hospital of Army Medical University were retrospectively analyzed, and their demographic data and related clinical data were statistically analyzed. The mean age was (43.03 ± 13.11) years, 55 (37.41%) were male and 92 (62.59%) were female. According to whether arrhythmia occurred after operation, the patients were divided into two groups: 23 patients with arrhythmia and 123 patients without arrhythmia. Univariate analysis was performed for perioperative risk factors in the two groups, and then multivariate logistic analysis was performed for selected variables with more significance to establish a regression model and evaluate the prediction model using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve).
Results
Arrhythmia occurred in 23 of 147 patients (15.75%) after Da Vinci robotic cardiac surgery, and 1 patient (0.68%) died in the hospital.Univariate analysis of arrhythmia after Da Vinci robotic cardiac surgery suggested that age, body weight, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, left atrial anteroposterior diameter (LAD), left ventricular anteroposterior diameter (LVDs), right ventricular anteroposterior diameter (RVDs), total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), uric acid (UA), red blood cell width (RDW), operation time, CPB time, aortic cross-clamp time, and operation type were statistically analyzed and associated with postoperative arrhythmia (P < 0.05).Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis suggested that DBIL (OR = 1.334,95%CI1.003–1.774,P = 0.048) and aortic cross-clamp time (OR = 1.018,95%CI1.005–1.031,P = 0.008) were independent risk factors for arrhythmia after Da Vinci robotic cardiac surgery.In arrhythmia group, postoperative tracheal intubation time (P < 0.001), intensive care unit stay (P < 0.001) and postoperative hospital stay (P < 0.001) were significantly prolonged, and postoperative high-dose blood transfusion events were significantly increased (P = 0.002).The area under the curve (AUC) of ROC was 0.849 (95%CI0.769–0.930, P < 0.001), the cutoff point was 0.574, the model sensitivity was 82.6%, and the specificity was 74.8%.
Conclusion
Preoperative DBIL level and aortic cross-clamp time were independent risk factors of arrhythmia after Da Vinci robotic cardiac surgery; postoperative tracheal intubation time, intensive care unit stay and postoperative hospital stay were significantly prolonged in patients with postoperative arrhythmia, and postoperative high-dose blood transfusion events were significantly increased; risk prediction model had certain predictive value for postoperative arrhythmia.
The Swiss chiropractic practice-based research network: a population-based cross-sectional study of chiropractic clinicians and primary care clinics to inform future musculoskeletal health care research
Authors: Lalji Rahim , Hofstetter Léonie , Kongsted Alice , von Wyl Viktor , Puhan Milo A , Hincapié Cesar A
Published: September 2022

The Swiss chiropractic practice-based research network (PBRN) is a nationwide project developed in collaboration with patients, clinicians, and academic stakeholders to advance epidemiological research relating to chiropractic care and musculoskeletal pain. The aim of this study was to describe the clinician population recruited and representativeness of this PBRN to inform future collaboration.
A population-based cross-sectional study of clinician members of the Swiss Chiropractic Association who consented and completed a PBRN entry questionnaire was performed. Clinician characteristics were described and factors related to motivation to participate in a subsequent patient cohort pilot study (operationalised as VAS score ≥ 70) were assessed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Among 326 eligible chiropractors, 152 enrolled in the PBRN (47% participation; mean age 47 years; 53% men). The PBRN was representative of the larger Swiss chiropractic clinician population with regards to age, language, and geographic distribution of chiropractors and clinics. Of those enrolled, 39% endorsed being motivated to participate in a nested patient cohort pilot study. Motivation was associated with age 40 years or older versus 39 years or younger (odds ratio [OR] 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0 to 5.5), and with a moderate clinic size of 2 or 3 chiropractors (OR 2.5, 95%CI 1.1 to 5.9) or large clinic size of 4 or more chiropractors (OR 2.8, 95%CI 1.0 to 7.0) versus solo practice.
The Swiss chiropractic PBRN has enrolled almost half of all Swiss chiropractors in over 100 clinical practices and has potential to facilitate collaborative practice-based research to improve chiropractic health care quality.
Trial registration
Swiss chiropractic PBRN (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05046249);
Swiss chiropractic cohort (Swiss ChiCo) pilot study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05116020).
Bonferroni mean operators of trapezoidal multi fuzzy numbers and their application to decision making problems
Authors: Deli Irfan , Kesen Davut
Published: September 2022

Trapezoidal fuzzy multi numbers(TFM-numbers) are commonly used while taking decision among many potential values for the choices over alternatives in the decision-making process. In this context, we propose two methods to investigate solution of the multiple attribute decision making problems given with trapezoidal fuzzy multi numbers(TFM-numbers). For this reason, two aggregation techniques called TFMBonferroni arithmetic mean operator and TFM-Bonferroni geometric mean operator have been developed to aggregate the trapezoidal fuzzy multi information. Then, we analyze their properties and discuss their special cases. Also, we introduce two approaches for multiple attribute decision making in the context of the trapezoidal fuzzy multi environments. Also, we apply the introduced approaches based on the TFM Bonferroni aggregation operators under trapezoidal multi fuzzy environments to solve the multi-attribute decision making and we give two useful example to show practicality of our the approaches. In the end, we present an analysis table to compare the proposed approaches with existing methods.
Patient-reported distress at a cancer center during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Shah Manan P. , Rosenthal Sarah W. , Roy Mohana , Khaki Ali Raza , Hernandez-Boussard Tina , Ramchandran Kavitha
Published: September 2022

Background: Assessments of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are conducted by health systems to improve patient-centered care. Studies have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic poses unique stressors for patients with cancer. This study investigates change in self-eported global health scores in patients with cancer before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods and Materials: In this single-institution retrospective cohort study, patients who completed the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) at a comprehensive cancer center before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were identified. Surveys were analyzed to assess change in the global mental health (GMH) and global physical health (GPH) scores at different time periods (pre-COVID: 3/1/5/2019-3/15/2020, surge1: 6/17/2020-9/7/2020, valley1: 9/8/2020-11/16/2020, surge2: 11/17/2020-3/2/2021, and valley2: 3/3/2021-6/15/2021).
Results: A total of 25,192 surveys among 7,209 patients were included in the study. Mean GMH score for patients before the COVID-19 pandemic (50.57) was similar to those during various periods during the pandemic: surge1 (48.82), valley1 (48.93), surge2 (48.68), valley2 (49.19). Mean GPH score was significantly higher pre-COVID (42.46) than during surge1 (36.88), valley1 (36.90), surge2 (37.33) and valley2 (37.14). During the pandemic, mean GMH (49.00) and GPH (37.37) scores obtained through in-person were similar to mean GMH (48.53) and GPH (36.94) scores obtained through telehealth.
Conclusion: At this comprehensive cancer center, patients with cancer reported stable mental health and deteriorating physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic as indicated by the PROMIS survey. Modality of the survey (in-person versus telehealth) did not affect scores.
Cold-induced (>0 oC) Salt-Free Aqueous Two-Phase System (ATPS): For Heavy Metal Ions Removal
Authors: Lin Jinliang , Sun Xiaoxiang , Tao Xiong , Wang Xingjun , Dai Ying , Li Youfeng
Published: September 2022

An aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) induced by low temperature has been achieved and is capable to the application of heavy metal ions removal. Such system consists the water solution of acetonitrile and triethanolamine (H2O + MeCN + TEOA) that are low-cost materials, which suggested its compatibility for biological issues and satisfactory to large scare industrial applications. The critical temperature has been determined upon the variation of composition proportion. It should be note here that this ATPS could be formed above 0 oC, which is higher than that reported in previous works on MeCN-H2O systems (-16 oC). It proved that the introduction of TEOA can greatly elevated the critical temperature for phase separation. Moreover, such ATPS has been certified restorative when it presented at 7.3 oC, and the process is proved reversible. Interestingly, such ATPS can easily obtain via vacuum process attributed to temperature descend. In this study, the estimation on the removal efficiency of various heavy metal ions has been conducted, which proves them are the excellent candidates addressing the environmental issues.
Anxiety and depression emotion is involved in the pathogenesis of postural tachycardia syndrome
Authors: Shao Wei , Li Hongxia , Gao Lu , Han Zhenhui , Yuan Yue
Published: September 2022

Objective To explore the significance of anxiety and depression in children with postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Study design The study enrolled seventy-one children diagnosed as POTS in Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University and Kaifeng Children’s Hospital, aged 13 ± 2 years; The Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Hamilton Depression (HAMD) scale, and the Hamilton Anxiety (HAMA) scale were carried out in POTS children. The POTS children were divided into two groups: anxiety/ depression group and non-anxiety/ depression group according to the above scales scores. Heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP) were monitored by a Dash 2000 Multi-Lead Physiological Monitor. Results Twenty POTS children consisted of anxiety/ depression group. Twelve were girls and eight were boys, with mean age of 14 ± 2 years. The non-anxiety/ depression group included fifty-one POTS children, aged 12 ± 2 years. Twenty-six were girls and twenty-five were boys. There were no statically differences in weight, gender, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and HR in supine. The age and height of anxiety/ depression group were higher than that in non- anxiety/ depression group. The maximum HR (HRmax) in ten minutes of upright position or tilt, the change of HR from supine to upright position (ΔHR), symptom scores in anxiety/ depression group were significantly higher than that in non-anxiety/ depression group. Four scale scores were correlated with symptom scores and ΔHR. Multivariate general linear model analysis revealed that HAMD scores and SAS scores were closely associated with the OI symptom scores. Conclusions Anxiety and depression emotion might be involved in the pathogenesis of POTS.
A study of Thai word separation methods based on machine learning
Authors: Xiong Yanjiao , Zhao Zhipeng , Duan Zhigang
Published: September 2022

Thai is an analytic, isolated language where monosyllabic words occupy most of the basic vocabulary, and differences in vocabulary and grammar are distinguished by differences in tone. Traditional dictionary-based matching methods have difficulty constructing a complete dictionary. We use four machine learning algorithms, namely, a plain Bayesian classifier, a decision tree classifier, a support vector machine classifier, and a conditional random field, to slice Thai language texts for multiclass problems. In addition, we use the above four machine learning algorithms for a two-class problem slicing of Thai texts. In this study, we found that first, the accuracy, recall and F1 values of Thai text slicing using the conditional random field algorithm in the multiclass classification problem are much higher than those of the plain Bayesian classifier, decision tree classifier and support vector machine classifier. Second, the accuracy, recall, and F1 values of the plain Bayesian algorithm, J48 decision tree algorithm, and support vector machine algorithm are higher than those of the multiclass problem classification in both classes. The accuracy of the conditional random field was improved, but its recall and F1 values decreased significantly. In summary, it can be seen that the conditional random field has better results in Thai word separation.
A Comparative Study of Arima and Sarima Models to Forecast Lockdowns Due to Covid-19
Authors: Chhabra Hardik
Published: September 2022

The aim of this paper is to create a machine learning model that can forecast and alert users about the COVID−19 illness lockdown period. World Health Organization (WHO) data on novel coronavirus were the subject of exploratory data analysis, which used a variety of techniques to identify the proper parameters for the data so that the Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Seasonal Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models could be trained on it. Using data from January 2020 to May 2022 during the previous two years, the machine learning model is trained. In APPENDIX G the findings for the ARIMA(5,1,5)(0,0,0)(0) and SARIMA(5,1,5)(0,0,0)(9) models are compared. The dependant variable for the Automatic ARIMA and SARIMA functions might be either new cases or death cases. The current model having these parameters can be used to work on the data of diseases that have a tendency to spread widely and quickly. This study can be extremely helpful in predicting lockdown times so that different government entities can make preparations in accordance.
Reactiveness and inclusiveness – models of regional labour markets regarding the situation of young people
Authors: Bal-Domańska Beata
Published: September 2022

Having observed the growing number of transnational shocks affecting the national and regional economies, it is worth assessing the condition of regional labour markets, primarily in the context of the situation of young people, who for many years have been one of the most vulnerable groups of employees in the labour market. Recently, we have observed an improvement in the regional labour markets situation, which compared to the situation in the period of 2009-2015 is more favourable despite the Covid19 pandemic. Unfortunately, not all age groups can enjoy the prosperity. Youth unemployment rate (March 2021 27EU: 15,9%) still significantly exceeds that recorded for adults (6.5%). The article defines models of regional labour markets with regard to the situation of youth in terms of their reactivity of youth labour markets to economic shocks, and the inclusiveness of young people compared to adults. The problem of no inclusiveness of the labour markets regarding young workers affects both markets presenting high unemployment rates and highly responsive to economic shocks, and also markets featuring low youth unemployment rates and stable economic conditions.
Delineation of groundwater potential zones of the transboundary aquifers within the semiarid Bulal catchment, Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Gebeyehu Assaminew , Ayenew Tenalem , Asrat Asfawossen
Published: September 2022

Groundwater is the only reliable drought-resilient water source in the semiarid Bulal transboundary catchment located close to the Kenyan border. The central and southern parts of the catchment are dominantly overlain by Bulal basalts, while the Borena basement complex outcrops in the eastern part. This work aims to identify and delineate the groundwater potential zones of the semiarid Bulal catchment within the boundary of Ethiopia using integrated GIS and RS techniques in combination with the analytical hierarchal process (AHP). Ten input parameters were selected based on their relative significance to groundwater occurrence and movement. The normalized weights were assigned to the input themes and their individual features as per Saaty’s AHP approach. A composite groundwater potential zone index (GWPZI) map was finally generated by integrating all the input layers employing the GIS-overlay analysis technique. The map was validated using the yield of wells from the catchment. The GWPZI map depicts four groundwater potential zones in the catchment: high (representing 27% of the total area), moderate (20%), low (28%) and very low (25%). The geological feature has the greatest influence on the distribution of groundwater potential in the catchment. Areas with high potential are mainly overlain by Bulal basaltic flow and alluvial sediments, while areas covered with regolith developed over the metamorphic basement are attributed to the low and very low groundwater potential zones. The GWPZI map will serve as a quick guide for effectively planning, managing, and developing the groundwater resources of the catchment.
The effect of the silver nanoparticles and platelet-rich fibrin in the healing of the severed superficial digital flexor tendon in donkeys (Equus asinus)
Authors: AbdelHakiem Mohammed A.H. , Hussein Ayman , Seleim Samia Moustafa , Abdelbaset Abdelbaset Eweda , Abd-Elkareem Mahmoud
Published: September 2022

This study investigated the effect of the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in the healing of the severed superficial digital flexor tendon in donkeys (SDFT). Twenty-seven adult donkeys were used in the study. The animals were divided into three equal groups. The 1st group (control group) in which the severed SDFT was sutured without the addition of any adjuvant. In the 2nd group, there was a suture of severed SDFT with the addition of 1ml of 1mM silver nanoparticles (AgNPs group). The 3rd group was subjected to the cutting of SDFT and then the addition of PRF after its suture. Each group of animals was divided into three equal subgroups that were examined after one, two, and three months, respectively. Each group of animals was clinically evaluated by assessing lameness. Gross and microscopic examinations of the healed tendons were performed after 1, 2, and 3 months of surgery. The results revealed that the lameness degree decreased in the PRF and AgNPs groups, in comparison to the control group, especially in the third month after surgery. As well as the lameness decreased significantly after the 3rd month relative to the 1st-month lameness in the AgNPs group. Interestingly, it was found that the PRF and AgNPs enhanced cell alignment and collagen deposition at the site of tendon injury, particularly among third-month subgroups. Therefore, it could be concluded that the PRF and AgNPs are effective materials for enhancing SDFT healing in donkeys.
Design of plasmonic coupler with germanium spacer layer for quantum well infrared photodetectors
Authors: Das Sona , Sengupta Saumya , Jayaswal Gaurav , Sharma Rahul Kumar , Hooda Manish Kumar
Published: September 2022

A design of plasmonic coupler, composed of metal hole arrays and germanium spacer layer, integrated with quantum well infrared photodetector structure is presented. Insertion of germanium spacer layer in this hybrid structure enhances absorption and z-component of electric field in the quantum well absorption region under both substrate-side and air-side illumination configurations. By changing thickness of the germanium spacer layer, the plasmonic resonance wavelengths can be adjusted with peak quantum well response. This plasmonic coupler is believed to be promising to improve performance of quantum well infrared photodetectors.
Modeling of infectious prediction in Human Brucellosis via metrology-driven machine learning based on routine laboratory results: a study from North China
Authors: Wang Wei , Zheng Huarong , Zhang Wei , Li Tongzeng , Yin Tao , Liang Yufang , Cui Weiqun , Wang Qingtao , Zhou Rui
Published: September 2022

Background:Human brucellosis shows high morbidity, severe economic losses and public health problems globally. Because of traditional cultural method shortcomings, a novel tool for assisting clinical decision to identify high-risk infectious patients is urgently required.
Methods: The data of total 2283 clinically confirmed brucellosis patients (including acute phase 816/chronic phase 989) and 13093 patients with characterized healthy outcomes was collected. Models with 3 different case groups, different sizes of variables, 7 different machine learning algorithms were tested and compared for model optimization. Metrological means combined with Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) was used for model explanation.
Results: The gradient boosting machine with acute phrase patients as case group achieved the highest accuracy (AUC=0.997, 95%CI 0.994-0.999), specificity/sensitivity of 89.6%/99.8% and positive predictive value/negative predictive value of 99.4%/96.7%. Finally, 16 variables based on Pearson's correlation coefficient scores and recursive feature reduction using random forest algorithm was selected for this model. The measurement uncertainty (MU) of percent basophil, direct count eosinophil, percent eosinophil in complete blood count accounted for a large proportion in all variables. Thus, the influence of each input feature for the accuracy and the generalization of our model was quantitative and visualized by MU together with SHAP.
Conclusions The proposed metrology-driven artificial intelligence-basedmodel, exclusive using regular laboratory results offers a promising tool to preliminarily identify high-risk brucellosis infection patients and risk stratify patients in different population, thereby promoting the health of the patients while protecting the health of the public and overcoming financial or supply constraints, especially in rural areas.
A novel procedure for measuring bacterial ATP in septic blood enables rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing
Authors: Sugie Kazushige , Niimi Hideki , Ueno Tomohiro , Noda Hideyuki , Uchiho Yuichi , Kawabe Shunsuke , Ishimaru Masako , Tada Hiroko , Uematsu Chihiro , Hamazato Fumiaki , Kitajima Isao
Published: September 2022

We developed a novel pretreatment procedure that destroys the plasma membrane of platelets but not the bacterial cell wall, allowing viable bacterial ATP in septic blood samples to be measured with minimal human-derived ATP background. After the pretreatment procedure with this approach, the plasma membranes of platelets are completely destroyed, and human-derived ATP background is dramatically decreased. To test the recovery rates of viable bacteria after pretreatment, we evaluated 19 bacterial genera. As a result, the mean recovery rates of viable bacteria were 93.6% using ATP bioluminescence and 71.9% using the colony-counting method. Finally, using the pretreatment procedure and ATP bioluminescence, rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing of pathogenic bacteria in septic blood samples was performed, and LVFX resistance was determined within 6.5 h of whole blood collection. This novel pretreatment procedure will open up new possibilities concerning the utility of ATP bioluminescence in medicine.
Identification of differentially methylated regions in rare diseases from a single patient perspective
Authors: Grolaux Robin , Hardy Alexis , Olsen Catharina , Dooren Sonia Van , Smits Guillaume , Defrance Matthieu
Published: September 2022

Background:
DNA methylation (5-mC) is being widely recognized as an alternative in the detection of sequence variants in the diagnosis of some rare neurodevelopmental and imprinting disorders. Identification of alterations in DNA methylation plays an important role in the diagnosis and understanding of the etiology of those disorders. Canonical pipelines for the detection of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) usually rely on inter-group (e.g. case versus control) comparisons. However, in the context of rare diseases and ii-locus imprinting disturbances, these tools might perform suboptimal due to small cohort sizes and inter-patient heterogeneity. Therefore, there is a need to provide a simple but statistically robust pipeline for scientists and clinicians to perform differential methylation analyses at the single patient level as well as to evaluate how parameter fine-tuning may affect differentially methylated region detection.
Result:
In this paper, we describe an improved statistical method to detect differentially methylated regions in correlated datasets based on the Z-score and empirical Brown aggregation methods from a single-patient perspective. To accurately assess the predictive power of our method, we generated semi-simulated data using a public control population of 521 samples and assessed how the size of the control population, the effect size and region size affect DMRs detection. In addition, we have validated the detection of methylation events in patients suffering from rare multi-locus imprinting disturbance and discuss how this method could complement existing tools in the context of clinical diagnosis.
Conclusion:
We present a robust statistical method to perform differential methylation analysis at the single patient level and evaluated its optimal parameters to increase DMRs identification performance and show its diagnostic utility when applied to rare disorders.