bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decreased expression of SCARA5 predicts a poor prognosis in melanoma using bioinformatics analysis
Authors: Ni Qinggan , Li Xia , Huang Hua , Ge Zili
Published: March 2023

Background

It has been established that the scavenger receptor class A member 5 (SCARA5) functions as a tumor suppressor gene in various cancer types. To our knowledge, no comprehensive study has hitherto investigated the expression and function of SCARA5 in melanoma. This study aimed to determine the association between SCARA5 and melanoma.

Methods

Analysis of SCARA5 mRNA expression was performed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data sets. To evaluate the clinical significance of SCARA5, the clinical data of 93 patients with melanoma were collected. The role of SCARA5 expression in prognosis was also analyzed. In this study, survival was evaluated by Kaplan–Meier analysis and compared using the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to identify independent predictors. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, Gene Ontology, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were used to perform gene set functional annotations. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed to illustrate gene–gene interactions. The Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database was used to explore the association between SCARA5 and immune infiltration levels.

Results

The results showed that the SCARA5 mRNA expression in melanoma was significantly lower than in adjacent normal skin tissue (p < 0.001). Moreover, decreased expression of SCARA5 in melanoma correlated with the tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM) stage and recurrence (p < 0.05). The overall survival (OS) was significantly higher in melanoma with high SCARA5 expression compared with low SCARA5 expression (p < 0.001). During univariate analysis, SCARA5 expression, tumor (T) stage, node (N) stage, metastasis (M) stage, and recurrence correlated with OS (p < 0.05). Further multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that SCARA5 expression (p = 0.012) could be an independent prognostic factor for OS in cutaneous malignant melanoma. GSEA analysis showed that SCARA5 was significantly enriched in various pathways, such as response to developmental biology and response to antimicrobial peptides. Correlation analysis showed a positive correlation with CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells (p < 0.05), and a negative correlation with tumor purity (p < 0.05)

Conclusion

SCARA5 has significant potential as a prognostic biomarker and as a promising therapeutic target in melanoma. Furthermore, SCARA5 expression in melanoma is related to the level of immune infiltration.
Sex differences in methylation profiles are apparent in medulloblastoma, particularly among SHH tumors
Authors: Moss Rachel M. , Sorajja Natali , Mills Lauren J. , Moertel Christopher L. , Hoang Thanh T. , Spector Logan G. , Largaespada David A. , Williams Lindsay A.
Published: March 2023

Background

Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, displays marked sex differences in prevalence of the four main molecular subgroups: SHH, WNT, Group 3 and Group 4. Males are more frequently diagnosed with SHH, Group 3 and 4 tumors, which have worse prognoses than WNT tumors. Little is known about sex differences in methylation profiles within subgroups.

Methods

Using publicly available methylation data (Illumina HumanMethylation450K array), we compared beta values for males versus females. Differentially methylated positions (DMP) by sex within medulloblastoma subgroups were identified on the autosomes. DMPs were mapped to genes and Reactome pathway analysis was run by subgroup. Kaplan-Meier survival curves (Log-Rank p-values) were assessed for each sex within subgroup. MethylCIBERSORT was used to investigate the tumor microenvironment using deconvolution to estimate the abundances of immune cell types using DNA methylation data.

Results

There were statistically significant differences in sex by medulloblastoma subgroups (chi-squared p-value=0.00004): Group 3 (n=144; 65% male), Group 4 (n=326; 67% male), SHH (n=223; 57% male) and WNT (n=70; 41% male). Females had worse survival than males for SHH (p-value=0.02). DMPs by sex were identified within subgroups: SHH (n=131), Group 4 (n=29), Group 3 (n=19), and WNT (n=16) and validated in an independent dataset. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering showed that sex-DMPs in SHH did not correlate with other tumor attributes. Ten genes with sex DMPs (RFTN1, C1orf103, FKBP1B, COL25A1, NPDC1, B3GNT1, FOXN3, RNASEH2C, TLE1, and PHF17) were shared across subgroups. Significant pathways (p<0.05) associated with DMPs were identified for SHH (n=22) and Group 4 (n=4) and included signaling pathways for RET proto-oncogene, advanced glycosylation end product receptor, regulation of KIT, neurotrophic receptors, NOTCH, and TGF-β. In SHH, we identified DMPs in four genes (CDK6, COL25A1, MMP16, PRIM2) that encode proteins which are the target of therapies in clinical trials for other cancers. There were few sex differences in immune cell composition within tumor subgroups.

Conclusion

There are sexually dimorphic methylation profiles for SHH medulloblastoma where survival differences were observed. Sex-specific therapies in medulloblastoma may impact outcomes.
Survival and prognostic factors in patients with synchronous multiple primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma receiving definitive radiotherapy: A propensity score-matched analysis
Authors: Wang Wenyi , Liu Xiaoxu , Dang Jun , Li Guang
Published: March 2023

Purpose

To compare the lesion characteristics and radiotherapy efficacy of patients with single and multiple esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), to evaluate the effect of multiple lesions on ESCC, and establish a nomogram survival prediction model for patients with synchronous multiple primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SMPESCC) who received definitive radiotherapy.

Materials and methods:

The study enrolled 1,034 patients with ESCC who underwent definitive radiotherapy between 2010 and 2020. The efficacy of radiotherapy was compared between 101 patients with SMPESCC and 933 patients with single ESCC. Propensity score matching was used to control for potential confounders. For patients with SMPESCC, a nomogram prediction model was established based on the Cox regression model.

Results

The median OS was 30.00 (95% CI = 25.08-34.92) months for the single lesion group and 19.00 (95% CI = 15.51-22.48) months for the multiple cancer group respectively. Multivariate COX regression analysis showed that multiple cancer was an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients (HR=1.89, 95%CI=1.49-2.38, P<0.001). Cox multivariate analysis of SMPESCC patients showed that T stage (P =0.002), chemotherapy (P =0.006), and lesion spacing (P =0.004) were independent prognostic factors associated with OS. The nomogram was established by combining T stage, chemotherapy, and lesion spacing, and Harrell’s C index was 0.711 after internal cross-validation. The calibration curve and decision curve analysis confirmed that the nomogram survival prediction model had a good predictive value for individual survival.

Conclusions

The survival rate of single esophageal cancer is significantly better than that of multiple lesions. Patients with SMPESCC exhibit worse survival than patients with single ESCC. Multiple lesions have a significant impact on the survival of patients with ESCC. The nomogram model established for SMPESCC patients can well predict the individual survival of patients.
Real-world risk of brain metastases in stage III non-small cell lung cancer in the era of PET and MRI staging
Authors: Alhusaini Saud , Lanman Tyler A. , Ko Ryan B. , Therkelsen Kate E. , Eyben Rie Von , Diehn Maximilian , Soltys Scott G. , Pollom Erqi L. , Chin Alexander , Vitzthum Lucas , Wakelee Heather A. , Padda Sukhmani K. , Ramchandran Kavitha , Loo Billy W. , Neal Joel W. , Nagpal Seema
Published: March 2023

Objective

The 2-year incidence of brain metastases (BrMs) in stage III non-small lung cell cancer (NSCLC) has been estimated to be around 30%. However, recent clinical trials have demonstrated considerably lower BrMs rates in this patient population. In this study, we aimed to review the real-world incidence, surveillance, and treatment patterns of BrMs in stage III NSCLC.

Materials and methods

Using a retrospective single-center study design, we identified patients with stage III NSCLC who received radiation with curative intent over a 10-year period. Outcome variables included BrMs incidence, overall survival (OS), and survival from date of BrMs. Additionally, we assessed patterns of BrMs surveillance in stage III NSCLC and treatment.

Results

We identified a total of 279 stage III NSCLC patients, of which 160 with adequate records were included in the final analyses [adenocarcinoma (n = 96), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 53), other histology subtype (n = 11)]. The median OS for the entire cohort was 41 months (95% CI, 28-53), while the median time from BrMs to death was 19 months (95% CI, 9-21). Twenty-three patients (14.4%) received planned surveillance brain MRIs at 6, 12, and 24 months after completion of treatment. The remaining 137 patients (85.6%) received brain MRIs at systemic recurrence (restaging) or when neurologically symptomatic. A total of 37 patients (23%) developed BrMs, with a 2-year cumulative BrMs incidence of 17% (95% CI, 11-23). A higher incidence of BrMs was identified in patients with adenocarcinoma relative to those with squamous cell carcinoma (p < 0.01). Similarly, a higher 2-year BrMs incidence was observed in patients who received planned surveillance brain MRI relative to those who did not, although statistical significance was not reached. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treated 29 of BrMs patients (78.4%) and was preferred over WBRT, which treated only 3 patients (8.1%).

Conclusions

At our center, BrMs incidence in stage III NSCLC patients was lower than historically reported but notably higher than the incidence described in recent clinical trials. Routine BrMs surveillance potentially allows earlier detection of asymptomatic BrMs. However, asymptomatic BrMs were mostly detected on restaging MRI at the time of recurrence.
Digital Research Environment(DRE)-enabled Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate early stage drug development
Authors: Barrett Jeffrey S. , Oskoui Solmaz Eradat , Russell Scott , Borens Amanda
Published: March 2023

Early-stage drug discovery is highly dependent upon drug target evaluation, understanding of disease progression and identification of patient characteristics linked to disease progression overlaid upon chemical libraries of potential drug candidates. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a credible approach towards dealing with the diversity and volume of data in the modern drug development phase. There are a growing number of services and solutions available to pharmaceutical sponsors though most prefer to constrain their own data to closed solutions given the intellectual property considerations. Newer platforms offer an alternative, outsourced solution leveraging sponsors data with other, external open-source data to anchor predictions (often proprietary algorithms) which are refined given data indexed upon the sponsor’s own chemical libraries. Digital research environments (DREs) provide a mechanism to ingest, curate, integrate and otherwise manage the diverse data types relevant for drug discovery activities and also provide workspace services from which target sharing and collaboration can occur providing yet another alternative with sponsors being in control of the platform, data and predictive algorithms. Regulatory engagement will be essential in the operationalizing of the various solutions and alternatives; current treatment of drug discovery data may not be adequate with respect to both quality and useability in the future. More sophisticated AI/ML algorithms are likely based on current performance metrics and diverse data types (e.g., imaging and genomic data) will certainly be a more consistent part of the myriad of data types that fuel future AI-based algorithms. This favors a dynamic DRE-enabled environment to support drug discovery.
Nanoparticles overcome adaptive immune resistance and enhance immunotherapy via targeting tumor microenvironment in lung cancer
Authors: Zhang Xin , Wang Xuemei , Hou Lijian , Xu Zheng , Liu Yu’e , Wang Xueju
Published: March 2023

Lung cancer is one of the common malignant cancers worldwide. Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has improved survival of lung cancer patients. However, ICI therapy leads to adaptive immune resistance and displays resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in lung cancer, leading to less immune response of lung cancer patients. Tumor microenvironment (TME) is an integral tumor microenvironment, which is involved in immunotherapy resistance. Nanomedicine has been used to enhance the immunotherapy in lung cancer. In this review article, we described the association between TME and immunotherapy in lung cancer. We also highlighted the importance of TME in immunotherapy in lung cancer. Moreover, we discussed how nanoparticles are involved in regulation of TME to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy, including Nanomedicine SGT-53, AZD1080, Nanomodulator NRF2, Cisplatin nanoparticles, Au@PG, DPAICP@ME, SPIO NP@M-P, NBTXR3 nanoparticles, ARAC nanoparticles, Nano-DOX, MS NPs, Nab-paclitaxel, GNPs-hPD-L1 siRNA. Furthermore, we concluded that targeting TME by nanoparticles could be helpful to overcome resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in lung cancer.
Sex differences in heart rate and heart rate variability in rats: Implications for translational research
Authors: Carnevali Luca , Barbetti Margherita , Statello Rosario , Williams DeWayne P. , Thayer Julian F. , Sgoifo Andrea
Published: March 2023

The present study aimed to investigate sex differences in measures of cardiac chronotropy and heart rate variability (HRV) in 132 young adult wild-type Groningen rats (n = 45 females). Electrocardiographic signals were recorded for 48 h in freely moving rats to quantify heart rate (HR) and inter-beat interval (IBI) as measures of cardiac chronotropy, and time- and frequency-domain HRV parameters as physiological readouts of cardiac vagal modulation. Females showed greater vagally-mediated HRV despite having higher HR and shorter IBI than males during undisturbed conditions. Such differences were evident i) at any given level of HRV, and ii) both during the 12-h light/inactive and 12-h dark/active phase of the daily cycle. These findings replicate the paradoxical cardiac chronotropic control reported by human meta-analytic findings, since one would expect greater vagally-mediated HRV to be associated with lower HR and longer IBI. Lastly, the association between some HRV measures and HR was stronger in female than male rats. Overall, the current study in young adult rats provides data illustrating a sex-dependent association between vagally-mediated HRV and indexes of cardiac chronotropy. The current results i) are in line with human findings, ii) suggest to always consider biological sex in the analysis and interpretation of HRV data in rats, and iii) warrant the use of rats for investigating the neuro-hormonal basis and temporal evolution of the impact of sex on the association between vagally-mediated HRV and cardiac chronotropy, which could inform the human condition.
Phenotypic and histological analyses on the resistance of melon to Phelipanche aegyptiaca
Authors: Cao Xiaolei , Xiao Lifeng , Zhang Lu , Chen Meixiu , Bian Pengxuan , Ma Qianqian , Chen Siyu , He Quanlong , Ma Xinli , Yao Zhaoqun , Zhao Sifeng
Published: March 2023

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an economically important crop in Xinjiang, China, but its production is constrained by the parasitic plant Phelipanche aegyptiaca that attaches to the roots of many crops and causes severe stunting and loss of yield. Rhizotron, pot, and field experiments were employed to evaluate the resistance of 27 melon cultivars to P. aegyptiaca. Then, the resistant and susceptible cultivars were inoculated with P. aegyptiaca from six populations to assess their resistance stability and broad spectrum. Further microscopic and histological analyses were used to clarify the resistance phenotypes and histological structure. The results showed that Huangpi 9818 and KR1326 were more resistant to P. aegyptiaca compared to other cultivars in the rhizotron, pot, and field experiments. In addition, compared to the susceptible cultivar K1076, Huangpi 9818 and KR1326 showed broad-spectrum resistance to six P. aegyptiaca populations. These two resistant cultivars had lower P. aegyptiaca biomass and fewer and smaller P. aegyptiaca attachments on their roots compared to susceptible cultivar K1076. KR1326 (resistant) and K1076 (susceptible) were selected to further study resistance phenotypes and mechanisms. Germination-inducing activity of root exudates and microscopic analysis showed that the resistance in KR1326 was not related to low induction of P. aegyptiaca germination. The tubercles of parasite on KR1326 were observed slightly brown at 14 days after inoculation (DAI), the necrosis and arrest of parasite development occurred at 23 DAI. Histological analysis of necrosis tubercles showed that the endophyte of parasite had reached host central cylinder, connected with host xylem, and accumulation of secretions and callose were detected in neighbouring cells. We concluded that KR1326 is an important melon cultivar for P. aegyptiaca resistance that could be used to expand the genetic basis of cultivated muskmelon for resistance to the parasite.
Integrated emergy and economic evaluation of the dominant organic rice production systems in Jiangsu province, China
Authors: Gao Pinglei , Wang Haoyu , Sun Guojun , Xu Qiang , Dou Zhi , Dong Erjia , Wu Wenge , Dai Qigen
Published: March 2023

Changing from conventional to organic farming might have fewer negative environmental impacts because of the avoidance of synthetic fertilizer and chemical pesticides. In this study, the economic viability and environmental and sustainability performance of the four dominant organic (rice-green manure rotation (RG), rice-duck co-culture (RD), rice-crayfish co-culture (RCF) and rice monoculture (RM)) and one conventional (rice monoculture (CRM)) rice production modes were evaluated in Jiangsu Province, China. Compared with the CRM mode, organic rice production increased economic benefits density and improved the economic benefit of crop land and irrigation water use. With the lowest total emergy input and the highest rice yield, the CRM mode showed the highest ecological efficiency in converting resources to total available energy content and nutrition density unit among the five rice production modes. However, the RCM mode showed higher environmental pressure and lower sustainability than the four organic modes due to the larger proportion of nonrenewable emergy input. The RM mode was the most uneconomic organic rice production mode with the highest cost input and the lowest product output but had relatively higher sustainability due to the higher proportion of renewable resources to total emergy inputs. Compared with the RM mode, the value-to-cost ratio, economic benefit density and benefit-cost ratio were increased in the RG, RD and RCF modes. Although the RD and RCF modes had higher efficiency in converting resources to total nutrition density units and monetary value, they imposed higher environmental pressure with a lower renewable fraction and emergy sustainability index than those in the RM mode. The RG mode had higher emergy utilization efficiency and the highest renewable fraction and emergy sustainability index among the four organic rice production modes. Considering the ecological and economic effects, the RG mode was conducive to improving the economic viability and sustainability of organic rice production.
Evaluation of the enhancement of photosynthetic rate in a komatsuna (Brassica rapa L. var. perviridis) canopy with upward lighting using an optical simulation in a plant factory with artificial light
Authors: Saito Kota , Goto Eiji
Published: March 2023

In a plant factory with artificial light (PFAL), upward lighting is expected to prevent senescence and decrease in the photosynthetic capacity of the lower leaves in the canopy. Upward lighting may also increase the photosynthetic rate of a canopy by improving its photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) distribution. However, the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of leaves is lower when the abaxial surface is irradiated than that when the adaxial surface is irradiated. The aim of this study was to estimate the PPFD in a PFAL and the Pn of plants using three-dimensional plant models and optical simulation. First, we measured the Pn of komatsuna (Brassica rapa L. var. perviridis) leaves under different conditions of the proportion (pad) of PPFD on the adaxial surface to total PPFD on both surfaces and developed an equation for the light response curve of photosynthesis considering pad. When PPFD was low, except when it was 30 and 70 µmol m−2 s−1, Pn increased as pad increased, because the absorptance also increased with pad. Under high PPFD conditions, Pn was maximized at 67–83% of pad because the light would be distributed more efficiently for photosynthesis. Next, using optical simulation and the developed equation, we estimated the photosynthetic rate of a komatsuna canopy (CPn) under downward and upward lighting. The CPn increased by 1.08–1.13 times by combining downward and upward lighting due to the increase in the photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) of light incident on the canopy and the decrease in the spatial variation of PPFD on the leaves in the canopy. As the depreciation of lamps for upward lighting accounts for 7.5–9.0% of the production cost in a PFAL, even if the depreciation of lamps for upward lighting increased, enhancement of CPn by upward lighting would be cost-effective. We performed optical simulations under 220 conditions and evaluated them using CPn as an index. Moreover, we provided the proportion of PPF of upward lighting that improved CPn and discussed the reason for this improvement. The result shows that optical simulation is useful for evaluating the lighting design in a PFAL and analyzing the effects of the lighting design on the light environment and photosynthesis.
The identification and characterization of a plant height and grain length related gene hfr131 in rice
Authors: Lan Dengyong , Cao Liming , Liu Mingyu , Ma Fuying , Yan Peiwen , Zhang Xinwei , Hu Jian , Niu Fuan , He Shicong , Cui Jinhao , Yuan Xinyu , Yang Jinshui , Wang Ying , Luo Xiaojin
Published: March 2023

Plant height and grain size are important agronomic traits affecting rice yield. Various plant hormones participate in the regulation of plant height and grain size in rice. However, how these hormones cooperate to regulate plant height and grain size is poorly understood. In this study, we identified a brassinosteroid-related gene, hfr131, from an introgression line constructed using Oryza longistaminata, that caused brassinosteroid insensitivity and reduced plant height and grain length in rice. Further study showed that hfr131 is a new allele of OsBRI1 with a single-nucleotide polymorphism (G to A) in the coding region, leading to a T988I conversion at a conserved site of the kinase domain. By combining yeast one-hybrid assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative PCR and gene expression quantification, we demonstrated that OsARF17, an auxin response factor, could bind to the promoter region of HFR131 and positively regulated HFR131 expression, thereby regulating the plant height and grain length, and influencing brassinosteroid sensitivity. Haplotype analysis showed that the consociation of OsAFR17Hap1/HFR131Hap6 conferred an increase in grain length. Overall, this study identified hfr131 as a new allele of OsBRI1 that regulates plant height and grain length in rice, revealed that brassinosteroid and auxin might coordinate through OsARF17–HFR131 interaction, and provided a potential breeding target for improvement of rice yield.
Study on molecular mechanism of volatiles variation during Bupleurum scorzonerifolium root development based on metabolome and transcriptome analysis
Authors: Yu Dan , Wang Wenxue , Huo Jinhai , Zhuang Yan , Chen Yiyang , Du Xiaowei
Published: March 2023

Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. is a medicinal herb. Its root has a high content of volatile oil (BSVO), which shows a variety of biological activities. Currently, BSVO in the injectable form is used for treating fever in humans and livestock. The yield and quality of volatile oils depends on the developmental stages of plants. However, the changes in BSVO yield and quality during root development in Bupleurum scorzonerifolium and the underlying molecular regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. This knowledge gap is limiting the improvement in the quality of BSVO. In the present study, B. scorzonerifolium root was collected at germinative, vegetative, florescence, fruiting and defoliating stages. The yield of BSVO, metabolic profile of volatile components and transcriptome of root samples at various developmental stages were comprehensively determined and compared. BSVO continuously accumulated from the germinative to fruiting stages, and its level slightly decreased from the fruiting to defoliating stages. A total of 82 volatile components were detected from B. scorzonerifolium root, of which 22 volatiles were identified as differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) during the root development. Of these volatiles, fatty acids and their derivatives accounted for the largest proportion. The contents of most major volatiles were highest at the fruiting stage. A large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected during B. scorzonerifolium root development, of which 65 DEGs encoded various enzymes and transcription factors regulating the biosynthesis of fatty acids and their derivatives. In further analysis, 42 DEGs were identified to be significantly correlated with DAMs, and these DEGs may be the key genes for the biosynthesis of volatiles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to comprehensively report the changes in the composition and content of volatiles and underlying mechanism during B. scorzonerifolium root development. This study provided important reference for future studies to determine the harvest time of B. scorzonerifolium roots and improve the quality of BSVO.
Communication style drives emergent leadership attribution in virtual teams
Authors: Rennie Scott M. , Prieur Lana , Platt Michael
Published: March 2023

Leader selection plays a key role in how human social groups are formed and maintained. Leadership is either assigned through formal processes within an organization, or emerges informally through interactions with other group members–particularly in novel contexts. COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of virtual meetings and more flexible team structures. However our understanding of how assigned leadership influences subsequent leadership emergence in virtual settings is limited. Here we examine the relationship between assigned leadership within an existing organization and subsequent emergent leadership attributions as members engage in virtual interactions. To do so, we created and implemented a novel virtual group decision-making task designed to support quantification of a more comprehensive set of communication style elements, such as speech dynamics and facial expressions, as well as task behaviors. Sixteen members of a real world organization engaged four repeated rounds of a group decision making task with new team members each time. We found participants made novel attributions of emergent leadership rather than relying solely on existing assigned leadership. While assigned leadership did influence leadership attributions, communication style, including amount of speech but also variability in facial expressions, played a larger role. The behavior of these novel emergent leaders was also more consistent with expectations of leadership behavior: they spoke earlier, more often, and focused more on the correct decision than did assigned leaders. These findings suggest that, even within existing social networks, virtual contexts promote flexible group structures that depend more on communication style and task performance than assigned leadership.
Evidence of internal structure of the transactional eHealth literacy among Vietnamese youth: An instrument validation study
Authors: Nguyen Thao Phuong Thi , Do Anh Linh , Do Ha Ngoc , Vu Thuc Minh Thi , van Kessel Robin , Wong Brian Li Han , Boyer Laurent , Fond Guillaume , Auquier Pascal , Nguyen Tham Thi , Latkin Carl A. , Ho Cyrus S. H. , Ho Roger C. M.
Published: March 2023

Background

The progression into the Digital Age has brought an array of novel skill requirements. Unlike traditional literacy, there are currently few measures that can reliably measure eHealth literacy. The Transactional Model of eHealth Literacy and subsequent Transactional eHealth Literacy Instrument may provide a feasible option for measuring eHealth literacy.

Objective

This instrument has yet to be validated, which is the aim of this study. In particular, this article was conducted to validate the TeHLI to see which components of the tool (how many and which components included) would be the best fit statistically and whether the tool applies to groups of different characteristics.

Methods

We conducted an online cross-sectional study among 236 Vietnamese young people. A exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the best fit model of the Transactional eHealth Literacy Instrument. A confirmatory factor analysis tested measurement invariance at four levels: configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance. Only metric invariance was partially invariant, while the rest tested fully invariant. Even with partial metric invariance, there is reason to assume that functional, communicative, critical, and translational eHealth literacy (the four levels according to the transactional model) are consistently measured when deploying the Transactional eHealth Literacy Instrument across groups.

Results

The study findings substantiate that the most optimal composition of the TeHLI consists of four factors: functional, communicative, critical, and translational eHealth literacy, with RMSEA = 0.116; CFI = 0.907, and the highest internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.91, 0.92, 0.88, and 0.92 for each factor respectively). After using measurement invariance, that gender, education, marital status, age, location, and household economy do not influence the way participants to respond to the TeHLI to the point that would introduce measurement bias. In other word, using TeHLI across population groups should not produce error margins that substantially differ from each other.

Conclusions

This study suggests the instrument can be used for comparisons across groups and has the potential to generate high-quality data usable for informing change agents as to whether a particular population is proficient enough to adopt novel eHealth innovations.
Codesign and community outreach to create COVID-19 safe communities: A Karen community case study
Authors: Davis Hilary , Elmer Shandell , Graves Kaye , Learmonth Caitlin
Published: March 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, government directives for health and community services focused on building capacity for COVID-19 safe behaviors. During 2020–2021, there was mounting pressure to increase vaccination numbers to boost population-wide immunity, thereby enabling the lessening of pandemic response restrictions. The Australian population, in general, faced communication hurdles in understanding COVID-19, government directives and policies, and health initiatives. This was particularly challenging given the rapid changes in disease behaviors and community response requirements. This community case study documents local experience in delivering information about COVID-19 safety and vaccination to a former refugee community (the Karen community) in regional Victoria. Community outreach and codesign approaches established closer engagement between the Karen community and Bendigo Community Health Services (BCHS). This case study is explored through semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face and via videoconferencing with key Karen community leaders, Karen community members, vaccination clinic volunteers, and BCHS staff and bicultural workers. A hybrid approach that employed community outreach and codesign approaches in tandem built trust and closer ties between the Karen community and BCHS, leading to increased understanding and compliance with COVID-19 safe messages and vaccination uptake. Community-led innovations included codesign of COVID-19 fact sheets and videos in the Karen language, involvement of “local champions,” assisting Karen businesses with COVID-19 safe plans, and creation of a COVID-19 information hotline. The latter was facilitated by BCHS bicultural staff. These innovations supported the delivery of vaccination clinics at the local Karen Temple. Embedding multi-level, tailored, and responsive public health approaches is particularly important in complex settings where there are disproportionately high levels of community disadvantage, as occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spatial disparity and factors associated with dementia mortality: A cross-sectional study in Zhejiang Province, China
Authors: Heng Xiaotian , Liu Xiaoting , Li Na , Lin Jie , Zhou Xiaoyan
Published: March 2023

Objective

Evidence of spatial disparity in dementia mortality in China has been found to have higher dementia mortality in eastern and rural China. Regional factors of physical and social features may be influencing this spatial disparity. However, the extent of spatial difference in dementia mortality across small regional localities is unclear. This study aims to investigate the geographic variations in mortality and risk of all dementia subtypes and identify the effect of the associated environmental risk factors.

Methods

We used surveillance data on death reports from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in Zhejiang province from 2015 to 2019. We estimated the relative risk of dementia mortality using a Bayesian spatial model. We mapped predicted relative risk to visualize the risk of death from different types of dementia and to identify risk factors associated with dementia.

Results

Thirty thousand three hundred and ninety-eight deaths attributable to dementia as the underlying or related cause (multiple causes) were reported during 2015–2019. Counties and districts in the southeast and west of Zhejiang province had significantly higher standardized mortality ratios than others. Counties and districts with a smaller proportion of residents aged 60 years or older, poorer economic status, insufficient health resources, and worse pollution had a higher risk of deaths due to dementia.

Conclusion

Higher risks of dementia mortality were found in counties and districts with poorer economic status, insufficient health resources, and worse pollution in Zhejiang. Our study adds new evidence on the association between socioeconomic and environmental factors and the mortality risk due to dementia.
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification combined with lateral flow biosensor for rapid and sensitive detection of monkeypox virus
Authors: Huang Xiaolan , Xiao Fei , Jia Nan , Sun Chunrong , Fu Jin , Xu Zheng , Cui Xiaodai , Huang Hui , Qu Dong , Zhou Juan , Wang Yi
Published: March 2023

The ongoing outbreak of the monkeypox, caused by monkeypox virus (MPXV), has been a public health emergency of international concern, indicating an urgent need for rapid and sensitive MPXV detection. Here, we designed a diagnostic test based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and nanoparticle-based lateral flow biosensor(LFB)for diagnosis of MPXV infection, termed MPX-LAMP-LFB. A set of six LAMP primers was designed based the ATI gene of MPXV, and LAMP amplification of MPXV templates was performed at 63°C for only 40 min. The results were rapidly and visually decided using the LFB test within 2 min. The MPX-LAMP-LFB assay can specifically detect MPXV strains without cross-reaction with non-MPXV pathogens. The sensitivity of the MPX-LAMP-LFB assay is as low as 5 copies/μl of plasmid template and 12.5 copies/μl of pseudovirus in human blood samples. The whole process of the MPX-LAMP-LFB assay could be completed ~1 h, including rapid template preparation (15 min), LAMP reaction (40 min)and result reporting (<2 min). Collectively, MPX-LAMP-LFB assay developed here is a useful tool for rapid and reliable diagnosis of MPXV infection.
Economic evaluation of toripalimab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Wang Hao , Long Yunchun , Xu Yuan , Liao Li , Zhou Yujie
Published: March 2023

Background and objective

The CHOICE-01 trial showed that toripalimab plus chemotherapy achieved satisfactory outcomes compared with chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were negative for driver genes, but the economics of this regimen is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of toripalimab in combination with chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC with negative driver genes from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system.

Materials and methods

A three-state partitioned survival model was developed to simulate the costs and outcomes associated with adding toripalimab to first-line chemotherapy. The clinical data in the model came from the CHOICE-01 trial, only direct medical costs were included, and utility values were referred to the literature. Four models were applied to explore the differences in the results of fitting and extrapolating K-M curves from different models, and cost-effectiveness subgroup analysis was performed. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was used as the main outcome measure. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the impact of parameter uncertainty on the model.

Results

The baseline analysis showed that toripalimab coupled with chemotherapy cost $21,052 more than chemotherapy ($43,197 vs. $22,145) and also gained 0.71 QALYs more (1.75 QALYs vs. 1.03 QALYs), with an ICER of $29,478/QALYs. At the current willingness-to-pay threshold ($35,108/QALY), the extra cost was well worth it. The results of fitting and extrapolating the survival curves using other models were consistent with the results of the standard parametric model. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the addition of toripalimab to chemotherapy was economical. Sensitivity analysis showed that the utility values of PD and PFS stages had the greatest impact on the model.

Conclusion

From the viewpoint of the Chinese healthcare system, toripalimab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced NSCLC with negative driver genes was likely to be cost-effective compared with chemotherapy.
Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and access among people experiencing homelessness in Germany: A qualitative interview study
Authors: Grune Julianna , Savelsberg Darius , Kobus Marta , Lindner Andreas K. , Herrmann Wolfram J. , Schuster Angela
Published: March 2023

Introduction

People experiencing homelessness face lower life expectancy, higher prevalence of somatic and mental diseases and a more difficult access to healthcare compared to people in secure living. During the COVID-19 pandemic transmission rates were higher among people experiencing homelessness and preventive public health measures were not properly adapted to the specific needs of people experiencing homelessness. Thus, goal of our study was understanding the determinants of acceptability and access of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Materials and methods

We conducted a qualitative interview study with twenty guideline interviews with adult people currently experiencing homelessness in Berlin, Germany (August 2021 – April 2022). Participants were approached in a purposive sampling strategy. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis according to Mayring.

Results

Acceptance and attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine is influenced by confidence in the vaccine as well as in the political and healthcare system, the individual COVID-19 risk perception and sense of collective responsibility. Overall, the acceptance of the vaccine was high among our participants. Facilities offering low threshold COVID-19 vaccines for people experiencing homelessness were perceived as helpful. Language barriers and the need for identity documents were major barriers to access the COVID 19 vaccine.

Discussion

People experiencing homelessness are a marginalized and vulnerable group often underrepresented in the public and scientific discourse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, preventive public health measures, including the COVID-19 vaccine, failed to consider specific needs of people experiencing homelessness. Multidimensional strategy to enhance inclusive healthcare are needed to improve access and to reduce discrimination and stigmatization.
A comparison of various feature extraction and machine learning methods for antimicrobial resistance prediction in streptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Kaya Deniz Ece , Ülgen Ege , Kocagöz Ayşe Sesin , Sezerman Osman Uğur
Published: March 2023

Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the major concerns of clinicians and one of the global public health problems. This pathogen is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In the last few years, reduced genome sequencing costs have made it possible to explore more of the drug resistance of S. pneumoniae, and machine learning (ML) has become a popular tool for understanding, diagnosing, treating, and predicting these phenotypes. Nucleotide k-mers, amino acid k-mers, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and combinations of these features have rich genetic information in whole-genome sequencing. This study compares different ML models for predicting AMR phenotype for S. pneumoniae. We compared nucleotide k-mers, amino acid k-mers, SNPs, and their combinations to predict AMR in S. pneumoniae for three antibiotics: Penicillin, Erythromycin, and Tetracycline. 980 pneumococcal strains were downloaded from the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA). Furthermore, we used and compared several machine learning methods to train the models, including random forests, support vector machines, stochastic gradient boosting, and extreme gradient boosting. In this study, we found that key features of the AMR prediction model setup and the choice of machine learning method affected the results. The approach can be applied here to further studies to improve AMR prediction accuracy and efficiency.
Active feature elicitation: An unified framework
Authors: Das Srijita , Ramanan Nandini , Kunapuli Gautam , Radivojac Predrag , Natarajan Sriraam
Published: March 2023

We consider the problem of active feature elicitation in which, given some examples with all the features (say, the full Electronic Health Record), and many examples with some of the features (say, demographics), the goal is to identify the set of examples on which more information (say, lab tests) need to be collected. The observation is that some set of features may be more expensive, personal or cumbersome to collect. We propose a classifier-independent, similarity metric-independent, general active learning approach which identifies examples that are dissimilar to the ones with the full set of data and acquire the complete set of features for these examples. Motivated by four real clinical tasks, our extensive evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach. To demonstrate the generalization capabilities of the proposed approach, we consider different divergence metrics and classifiers and present consistent results across the domains.
Vaginal microbiota of adolescents and their mothers: A preliminary study of vertical transmission and persistence
Authors: Bassis Christine M. , Bullock Kaylie A. , Sack Daniel E. , Saund Katie , Pirani Ali , Snitkin Evan S. , Alaniz Veronica I. , Quint Elisabeth H. , Bell Jason D. , Young Vincent B.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Factors that influence vaginal microbiota composition, including its source, are not well understood.

Methods

To determine if vaginal microbiota transmission from mother to daughter at birth could possibly influence the human vaginal microbiota composition in adolescence, we conducted a preliminary study to investigate the relationship between the vaginal microbiota of 13 adolescents (ages 15-21) and their mothers and the daughter’s birth mode.

Results and discussion

Based on analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences, the vaginal microbiotas of mother/daughter pairs were more similar to each other if the daughter was born by vaginal delivery rather than by C-section. Specifically, within pair β-diversity, measured by the Yue and Clayton θ (θYC) distance metric, was significantly lower if the daughter was born by vaginal delivery. Additionally, genome sequences from an important member of the vaginal microbiota, Lactobacillus crispatus, isolated from one mother/daughter pair in which the daughter was born by vaginal delivery, were highly similar based on recombination-filtered single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Both community-level analysis and isolate genome sequence analysis are consistent with birth-mode dependent transmission and persistence of at least some members of the vaginal microbiota.
High-speed running quadruped robot with a multi-joint spine adopting a 1DoF closed-loop linkage
Authors: Matsumoto Ojiro , Tanaka Hiroaki , Kawasetsu Takumi , Hosoda Koh
Published: March 2023

Improving the mobility of robots is an important goal for many real-world applications and implementing an animal-like spine structure in a quadruped robot is a promising approach to achieving high-speed running. This paper proposes a feline-like multi-joint spine adopting a one-degree-of-freedom closed-loop linkage for a quadruped robot to realize high-speed running. We theoretically prove that the proposed spine structure can realize 1.5 times the horizontal range of foot motion compared to a spine structure with a single joint. Experimental results demonstrate that a robot with the proposed spine structure achieves 1.4 times the horizontal range of motion and 1.9 times the speed of a robot with a single-joint spine structure.
Case report: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage combined with lavage using urokinase: An economical and effective treatment for muscular hematomas in hemophiliacs
Authors: Liu Hao , Xu Cong , Wang Weizhen , Chen Bin , Sun Jing , Feng Xiaoqin , Zhang Yaru , Ma Fei , Du Lingli , Gao Yang , Li Yingjia
Published: March 2023

This was an initial effort to treat hemophiliac hematoma by ultrasound-guided intratumoral drainage and lavage with urokinase after adequate supplementation of coagulation factors. Two patients with severe hemophilia underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage in combination with lavage using urokinase. After 5-day and 3-day treatments, respectively, intramuscular hematomas in both patients disappeared, compression symptom was relieved, and no obvious adverse reactions or serious complications were observed during the treatment or follow-up. These findings suggest that ultrasound-guided drainage combined with lavage using urokinase is an immediate, safe, effective, and minimally invasive treatment for intramuscular hematomas in hemophiliacs, avoiding potential complications by surgical resection with relatively low treatment cost.