bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring Psychosocial Determinants of Diversity Sensitive Task Perception and Behavioural Intentions in a Health Care Student Population: Recommendations for Diversity Education in Health Care
Authors: Raemdonck Laura Van , Schelfhout Stijn , Vantieghem Wendelien , George Riya , De Maesschalck Stéphanie , Derous Eva , Willems Sara
Published: October 2021

Background: Diversity sensitive task perception and diversity sensitive behavioural intentions are strong predictors of diversity sensitive care. Nevertheless, it has been less clear which psychosocial determinants are affecting these concepts in health care providers. This article also explores whether there are differences in relationships between these concepts, and how these concepts are interrelated. The study focussed on the following psychosocial determinants: (a) ethnocentric attitudes and (b) intercultural capabilities. The latter concept is drawn from the four-dimensional construct of intercultural intelligence. Methods: A survey was conducted in a health care student population (N = 364). In addition to classic survey questions, behavioural intentions were measured through the use of eight vignettes comprising situations characterised by diversity in health care. Results: Regression analyses show that ethnocentric attitudes were negatively associated with diversity sensitive task perception and behavioural intentions. Interestingly, we found no significant relationship between cognitive intercultural capabilities (IC) and diversity sensitivity. Motivational- and behavioural intercultural capabilities were significantly associated with diversity sensitive task perception and behavioural intentions. Motivational IC had a stronger relationship with task perception. Behavioural IC had a stronger relationship with behavioural intentions. Adding diversity sensitive task perception in a supplementary regression model as an independent variable on behavioural intentions caused a shift in associations. The significant association between motivational IC and behavioural intentions disappeared, and a significant association between diversity sensitive task perception and diversity sensitive behavioural intention appeared. Conclusion: Diversity education should increasingly focus on diminishing ethnocentric attitudes and encouraging behavioural IC and motivational IC in health care students. The paper also suggests two theoretical hypothesises. Firstly, metacognitive IC is a concept strongly related to two IC: motivational IC and behavioural IC. Secondly, the relationship between motivational IC and behavioural intentions is fully mediated by diversity sensitive task perception. Further research that substantiate these theoretical hypothesises is recommended.
An Analytical Tool for Constructing and Evaluating Testing Strategic for COVID-19
Authors: Kouri Richard , Warsing Donald , Singh Nikhil , Thomas Beena , Handfield Robert B
Published: October 2021

Background

This paper describes the utilization of a mathematical modeling tool for evaluating alternative testing cadences for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that are applicable to any well-contained congregate setting. These settings include long-term care facilities, and public-school systems.
Results

Variables analyzed include population sizes, contagion factor, and unique testing objectives that congregate settings might have (e.g., differing susceptibilities, or varying underlying health conditions). The tool helps evaluate cost vs benefit for a range of testing cadences (e.g., daily, every 2 days, every 3 days, every week, every 2 weeks every 3 weeks and every 4 weeks) based on use of a commercially available antigen testing kit that costs $5 per test.
Conclusions

Critical parameters derived as output of the model include total persons tested, average number in quarantine, average percent positives in quarantine, total testing cost, total infections allowed, cases averted, and cost per case averted. These parameters allow public health officials, site managers and/or on-site healthcare workers to optimize testing plans to align with available resources and support fact-based decision making. We also discuss how this tool can work with vaccine roll-out both in the United States and elsewhere.
Interaction Between Self-Perceived Disease Control and Self-Management Behaviors: The Role of Subjective Life Expectancy
Authors: Lu Jiao , Liu Linhui , Zheng Jiaming , Zhou Zhongliang
Published: October 2021

Backgrounds: One of the effective ways to control chronic diseases is long-term self-management, but it is difficult to adhere to. Therefore, the understanding of how people engage in the process of self-management behavior change is necessary. In this study, we aimed to examine the dynamic relationship between self-perceived disease control and self-management behaviors in Chinese older adults with hypertension, namely, medication use, self-monitoring, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol avoidance; and to explore the mediating role of subjective life expectancy (SLE) on this relationship. Methods: Data came from a nationally representative sample of 508 older hypertensive patients (aged 45+) from 2013, 2015, and 2018 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. A cross-lagged panel model combined with mediation analysis was used to determine the dynamic relationship between self-perceived disease control and self-management behaviors, and also clarify the mediating effect of SLE on this ascertained relationship.Results: Good self-perceived disease control predicted subsequently well medication use, self-monitoring and physical activity, and vice versa. The subjective life expectancy (SLE) partially mediated the prospective reciprocal relationships between self-perceived disease control and these self-management behaviors, accounting for 37.11%, 25.88%, 19.39% of the total effect of self-perceived disease control on medication use, self-monitoring and physical activity, respectively. These self-management behaviors further had significantly and positively feedback effect on self-perceived disease control. However, both direct and indirect effects (via SLE) of self-perceived disease control on tobacco and alcohol avoidance were not revealed.Conclusions: Positive feedback loops of present self-perceived disease control, future SLE and self-management behaviors (medication use, self-monitoring, and physical activity) help older hypertensive patients adhere to these behaviors, but useless for their addictive behaviors’ avoidance. Interventions aimed at enhancing effect perception of general self-management behaviors (e.g., medication use, self-monitoring and physical activity) on present disease control perspective and future lifespan perspective would be beneficial for consistent these self-management behaviors of older hypertensive patients. The utility of present disease control perception to these self-management behaviors was much higher than the utility of future expectations. While alternative stress relief strategies may be conducive to the long-term change of their addictive behaviors.
Encephalopathy as a prognostic factor in adults with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis following COVID-19
Authors: Gelibter Stefano , Bellavia Gabriele , Arbasino Carla , Arnò Natale , Glorioso Margaret , Mazza Sara , Murelli Rosanna , Sciarretta Massimo , Dallocchio Carlo
Published: October 2021

Numerous reports support the possible occurrence of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) following COVID-19. Herein, we report a case of ADEM in a 53 years-old man two weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection. We reviewed the reports of adult cases of ADEM and its variant acute necrotizing hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis (ANHLE) to check for possible prognostic factors and clinical/epidemiological peculiarities. We performed a descriptive analysis of clinical and cerebrospinal fluid data. Ordinal logistic regressions were performed to check the effect of clinical variables and treatments on ADEM/ANHLE outcomes. We also compared ADEM and ANHLE patients. We identified a total of 20 ADEM (9 females, median age 53.5 years) and 23 ANHLE (11 females, median age 55 years). Encephalopathy was present in 80% of ADEM and 91.3% of ANHLE patients. We found that the absence of encephalopathy predicts a better clinical outcome in ADEM (OR = 0.027, 95%CI 0.001–0.611, p = 0.023), also when correcting for the other variables (OR = 0.032, 95%CI 0.001–0.995, p = 0.05). Conversely, we identified no significant prognostic factor in ANHLE patients. ANHLE patients showed a trend towards a worse clinical outcome (lower proportion of good/complete recovery, 4.5% vs 16.7%) and higher mortality (36.4% vs 11.1%) as compared to ADEM. Compared to pre-pandemic ADEM, we observed a higher median age of people with post-COVID-19 ADEM and ANHLE, a shorter interval between infection and neurological symptoms, and a worse prognosis both in terms of high morbidity and mortality. Despite being affected by the retrospective nature of the study, these observations provide new insights into ADEM/ANHLE following SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Crucial Candidate Genes and Pathways in The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis During External Genitalia Development of Male Geese
Authors: Tang Bincheng , Hu Shenqiang , Ouyang Qingyuan , Wu Tianhao , Lu Yao , Hu Jiwei , Hu Bo , Li Liang , Wang Jiwen
Published: October 2021

Background

All birds reproduce via internal fertilization, but only ~ 3% of male birds possess the external genitalia that allows for intromission. Waterfowl (e.g., duck and goose) are representatives of them, and the external genitalia development of male geese is directly related to mating ability. Notably, some male geese show abnormal external genitalia development during ontogenesis. However, until now little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the external genitalia development in goose. In the present study, comparative transcriptomic analyses were performed on the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, testis, and external genitalia isolated from the 245-day-old male Tianfu meat geese showing normal (NEGG, n = 3) and abnormal (AEGG, n = 3) external genitals in order to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling the development of the external genitalia in aquatic bird species.
Results

There were 107, 284, 2192, and 1005 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified in the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, testis and external genitalia between NEGG and AEGG. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the DEGs identified in the hypothalamus were mainly enriched in the ECM-receptor interaction pathway. The ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathways were significantly enriched by the DEGs in the pituitary gland. In the testis, the DEGs were involved in the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, cell cycle, oocyte meiosis and purine metabolism. In the external genitalia, the DEGs were mainly involved in the metabolic, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and WNT signaling pathways. Additionally, through protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and co-expression network integrated analysis, fifteen genes involved in the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and WNT signaling pathways were identified, including KNG1, LPAR2, LPAR3, NPY, PLCB1, AVPR1B, GHSR, GRM3, HTR5A, FSHB, FSHR, WNT11, WNT5A, WIF1, and WNT7B, which are potentially crucial for the development of goose external genitalia.
Conclusions

To our knowledge, this study is the first comparing the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, testis, and external genitalia transcriptomes of male geese exhibiting normal and abnormal external genitals. Significantly, we identified the key DEGs involved in the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway which regulates the WNT signaling pathway through PLCB1 to control the development of male goose external genitalia.
Optical singular and dark solitons to the nonlinear Schrodinger equation in magneto-optic waveguides with anti-cubic nonlinearity.
Authors: Mathanaranjan Thilagarajah , Rezazadeh Hadi , Senol Mehmet , Akinyemi Lanre
Published: October 2021

The present paper aims to investigate the coupled nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) in magneto-optic waveguides having anti-cubic (AC) law nonlinearity. The solitons secured to magneto-optic waveguides with AC law nonlinearity are extremely useful to fiber-optic transmission technology. Three constructive techniques, namely, the (G'/G)-expansion method, the modified simple equation method (MSEM), and the extended tanh-function method are utilized to find the exact soliton solutions of this model. Consequently, dark, singular and combined dark-singular soliton solutions are obtained. The behaviours of soliton solutions are presented by 3D and 2D plots.
The Pharmacokinetics of Buserelin after Intramuscular Administration in Pigs and Cows
Authors: Gao Zhengrong , Liu Yu , Yang Yuxin , Cao Yuying , Qiu Jicheng , Zhang Lu , Guo Yanying , Wang Yue , Zhang Mingchuan , Kong Jingyuan , Cao Xingyuan
Published: October 2021

Background: Buserelin is a LHRH agonist used for the treatment of hormone-dependent diseases in males and females. However, the pharmacokinetics of buserelin in pigs and cows are not clearly understood. This study was designed to develop a sensitive method to determine the concentration of buserelin and to investigate the pharmacokinetic parameters after intramuscular (i.m.) administration in pigs and cows. Results: A sensitive and rapid stability method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed. The pharmacokinetic parameters of buserelin after i.m. administration were studies in five pigs and five cows at a single dose of 1 mg per pig and 3 mg per cow. The plasma kinetics were analyzed by WinNonlin 8.1.0 software using a non-compartmental model. The mean concentration area under the curve (AUC0-t) was 25.02 ± 6.93 h·ng/mL for pigs and 5.63 ±1.86 h·ng/mL for cows. The maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and time to reach the maximum concentration (tmax) were 10.99 ± 2.04 ng/mL and 0.57 ± 0.18 h for pigs and 2.68 ± 0.36 ng/mL and 1.05 ±0.27 h for cows, respectively. The apparent volume of distribution (Vz) in pigs and cows was 80.49 ± 43.88 L and 839.88 ± 174.77 L, respectively. The elimination half-time (t1/2λz), and clearance (CL) were 1.29 ± 0.40 h and 41.15 ± 11.18 L/h for pigs and 1.13 ± 0.3 h and 545.04 ± 166.40 L/h for cows, respectively. No adverse effects were observed in any of the animals. Conclusion: This study extends previous studies describing the pharmacokinetics of buserelin following i.m. administration in pigs and cows. Further studies investigating other factors were needed to establish therapeutic protocol in pigs and cows and to extrapolate these parameters to others economic animals.
Integrative Analysis of Transcriptomic and Physiological Reveals Drought Adaption Strategies in Different Maize Genotypes
Authors: Wang Yifan , Wu Xi , Li Hongjie , Hao Miaoyi , Zhang Renhe
Published: October 2021

Background: Drought is an environmental stress that adversely affects maize productivity. However, drought adaption strategies of different maize varieties are not fully clear at the transcriptomic level. In the paper, drought-sensitive SD902 and -resistant SD609 varieties were analyzed to explore transcriptional and physiological alterations to drought stress. Results: The higher SOD, CAT, GSH enzymatic antioxidants, stomatal conductance, transpiration, net photosynthesis rate suggested better performance of SD609 than SD902 variety under drought stress. In transcriptome profiling, a total of 8985 and 7305 difference expression genes (DEGs) were identified in SD902 and SD609 respectively. These genes were overall involved in antioxidation reduce, osmotic adjustment, protein modification (e.g. HSP and chaperone protein), photosynthesis, phytohormone (e.g. ABA, IAA, ethylene), transcription factors (TFs) (e.g. ERF, WRKY, NAC and bZIP) and MAPK (MAPK1/8, MKK4/9 and MKKK17) cascade. Among them, the upregulated genes significantly correlated with stress adjustment, HSPs and chaperone functions might better reduce drought-induced damage in both SD902 and especially SD609. The higher genes expression of IAA, ethylene and electron transfer in SD609 may be closely related to drought-tolerant performance than SD902 plants. Moreover, the misregulation of TFs, MAPK and ABA signaling would appear vital to explain the various sensitivity to drought in both varieties. Conclusion: The more drought-tolerant SD609 presented a beneficial and significantly higher genes expression of stress protection, IAA transduction, photosynthesis compared with drought-sensitive SD902 variety. Our findings provide vital insights into the molecular signatures underpinning drought resistance in maize.
Exosomes Derived from Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promote Osteogenesis Through the AKT Signaling Pathway in Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
Authors: Ren Shi-wei , Song Yang , Zhu Qing-run , He Min-gang , Qiu Jie , Wang Qiang , Wang Feng
Published: October 2021

BackgroundPostmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) is a relatively common disease characterized by low bone mass and microstructural changes of trabecular bone. The reduced bone strength is caused a variety of complications, including fragility fracture and sarcopenia.MethodsWe used CCK-8 and EdU assays to evaluate cell proliferation rates. The osteogenesis effect was detected using ALP staining, alizarin red staining, and q-PCR. In vivo, the effects of exosomes derived from HUC-MSCs were evaluated using HE staining, IHC staining and Masson staining. In addition, we explored the mechanism of exosomes and found that the AKT signaling pathway played an important role in osteogenesis and cell proliferation.ResultsThis paper mainly explored the function of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUC-MSCs) and provided a new strategy for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. ConclusionsIn conclusion, exogenous administration of exosomes can contribute to the treatment postmenopausal osteoporosis to a certain extent.
Interprofessional Conflict Among Healthcare Teams in Nigeria: Implications on Quality of Patient Care
Authors: Nwobodo Edwin O. , Nwadinigwe Cajetan U. , Anyaehie Ugochukwu Bond , Ugwu Princewill Ikechukwu , Nwobodo Nkoli F. , Iyidobi Emmanuel Chino , Ikwuka David Chibuike , Nwonye Chibueze Alexander , Ekechi Victoria Chioma , Ojiakor Amamihechineke Grace
Published: October 2021

Background: Patient care in Nigeria is essentially an interprofessional teamwork. The functionality of the team may have substantial implications on the quality of patient care as well as the professional satisfaction of individual professionals in the health team. This study was designed to identity if interprofessional conflicts existed in health teams in health institutions in southeast Nigeria, and to explore their nature, course, identify the extant resolution mechanisms and to start to identify and document feasible mechanisms to mitigate the conflicts. The aim is to enhance the functionality of health teams for an overall better patient care outcome.Method: An online questionnaire survey collected data from 58 health healthcare professionals in four healthcare settings in the southeast of Nigeria. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted resulting in seven central themes of conflict. The paper adopted narrative qualitative survey tools to survey a cohort of healthcare professionals who have practiced for varying periods. This study investigated the existence, or otherwise, and nature of the conflicts within health teams, probes the most at conflict as well as approaches being used in conflict resolution.Results: Many institutional conflicts exist among the healthcare teams. There are several conflict resolutions approaches that are being employed to resolve the conflicts. Most resolutions are simply the avoidance approach. Many of the conflicts potentially affect patient care outcomes but these are issues that could be resolved on a permanent to semi-permanent basis at local levels whilst others are broader institutional issues that will require external fixes. Discussion: There is a need to improve on the team process for healthcare professional early and systematically. Key or essential steps for doing this based on the importance of continued attentions to better patient care approaches are provided in this paper.
The PB1 Gene from H9N2 Avian Influenza Virus Showed High Compatibility and Increased Mutation Rate after Reassorting with a Human H1N1 Influenza Virus
Authors: Cui Hongrui , Che Guangsheng , de Jong Mart CM , Li Xuesong , Liu Qinfang , Yang Jianmei , Teng Qiaoyang , Li Zejun , Beerens Nancy
Published: October 2021

BackgroundReassortment between human and avian influenza viruses (AIV) may result in novel viruses with new characteristics that may threaten human health when causing the next flu pandemic. A particular risk may be posed by avian influenza viruses of subtype H9N2 that are currently massively circulating in domestic poultry in Asia and have been shown to infect humans. In this study, we investigate the characteristics and compatibility of a human H1N1 virus with avian H9N2 derived genes. MethodsThe polymerase activity of the viral ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex from different reassortments was tested in luciferase reporter assays. Reassortant viruses were generated by reverse genetics in which genes of the human WSN-H1N1 virus (A/WSN/1933) were replaced by genes of the avian A2093-H9N2 virus (A/chicken/Jiangsu/A2093/2011). We replaced both the Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA) genes in combination with one of the genes involved in the RNP complex (either PB2, PB1, PA or NP). The growth kinetics and virulence of reassortant viruses were tested on cell lines and mice. The reassortant viruses were then passaged for five generations in MDCK cells and mice lungs. The HA gene of progeny viruses from different passaging paths was analyzed using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). ResultsWe discovered that the avian PB1 gene increased the polymerase activity of the RNP complex. Reassortant viruses were able to replicate in MDCK and DF1 cells and mice. Analysis of the NGS data showed a higher substitution rate for the PB1-reassortant virus. In particular, for the PB1-reassortant virus, increased virulence for mice was measured by increased body weight loss after infection in mice. ConclusionsThe higher polymerase activity and increased mutation frequency measured for the PB1-reassortant virus suggests that the avian PB1 gene may drive the evolution and adaptation of novel reassortant viruses to the human host. This study provides novel insights in the characteristics of novel viruses that may arise by reassortment of human and avian influenza viruses. Surveillance for infections with H9N2 viruses and the emergence of novel reassortant viruses in humans is important for pandemic preparedness.
Surgical Resection is An Effective Therapy for Single Large Hepatocellular Carcinom
Authors: Hsiao Pojen , Yeh Jen-Hao , Hung Chao-Ming , Lin Hung-Yu , Tan TaoQian , Cheng Pin-Nan , Hsieh Kun-Chou , Hsieh Pei-Min , Chen Yaw-Sen , Lin Chih-Wen
Published: October 2021

Background
Identifying prognostic factors and therapeutic strategies for single large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is crucial. This retrospective study investigated prognostic factors in patients with single large HCC (≥5 cm) and Child–Pugh (CP) class A liver disease and recommended therapeutic strategies.
Methods
In total, 305 patients with single large HCC and CP class A liver disease but without distant metastasis or macrovascular invasion were included. Their clinicopathological data, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were recorded. OS and PFS rates were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis.
Results
In this study, 77.8% of the patients were men; the median age was 63 years. Approximately 34.1% of the patients had cirrhosis and 89.6% had CP class A5 disease. The most common initial treatment was resection (49.5%), followed by transarterial chemoembolization (TACE; 48.2%). OS and PFS rates 1, 5, and 10 years after initial treatment were 88.6%, 58.0%, and 46.8% and 73.6%, 48.2%, and 31.3%, respectively. OS and PRS rates were significantly higher in patients receiving surgical resection than in those receiving TACE. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year OS rates were 94.6%, 76.7%, and 66.7% after resection and 83.1%, 39.0%, and 26.6% after TACE. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year PRS rates were 82.5%, 55.7%, and 51.0% after resection and 64.3%, 40.5%, and 22.7% after TACE. In multivariate analysis, CP class A5/6 (A5 vs. A6; hazard ratio [HR]: 0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.15–0.38, P < 0.001) and initial treatment (resection vs. TACE; HR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.15–0.36, P < 0.001; resection vs. other treatments; HR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.17–0.65, P = 0.016) were significantly associated with OS. In addition, CP class A5/6 (A5 vs. A6; HR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.18–0.56, P < 0.001) and initial treatment (resection vs. TACE; HR: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.16–0.51, P < 0.001; resection vs. other treatments; HR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.26–0.81, P = 0.042) were significantly associated with PFS.
Conclusion
Surgical resection achieved significantly higher OS and PRS rates than TACE. Surgical resection is an effective and safe therapy for single large HCC.
Rapid System to Detect the Main Variants of SARS-CoV-2 in Biological Specimens
Authors: Favaro Marco , Zampini Paola , Pistoia Enrico S. , Gaziano Roberta , Grelli Sandro , Fontana Carla
Published: October 2021

Since its appearance in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has been reported to acquire substitutions more slowly than other RNA viruses, but its tendency to manifest recurrent deletions/mutations in the spike glycoprotein exceeds this slow replacement rate. To date, variants have been identified in many countries, some of which are transmitted efficiently and also present several lineages. The rapid identification of such variants is paramount to quickly implement containment measures. We developed a novel assay using traditional real-time PCR to detect the main reported variants of the spike gene of SARS CoV-2. Primers and probes were designed to detect the following deletions and mutations as well as to cover all lineages known to date (B.1.617, B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2, B.1.617.3 and B.1.618): delta 69:70 and delta 144:145 deletions, which denote the UK variant (VOC 202012/01, now called Alpha); delta 242:244 deletion, which identifies the South African variant (now named Beta); delta 3675:3677 deletion in the ORF1a gene, which denotes the Brazilian variant (now called Gamma); and P681R mutation as well as delta 145:146 and delta 157:158 deletions, which identify the Indian variant (also known as Delta). Our assay will help clinical microbiologists and clinicians to rapidly recognize the presence of variants in biological samples (particularly nasopharyngeal swabs), and it may also be useful for epidemiological purposes in the early selection for successive tracing of patients harbouring virus variants that may be more diffusive and/or not responsive to vaccines.
Cohort Characteristics and Factors Associated With Cannabis Use Among Adolescents in Canada Using Pattern Discovery and Disentanglement Method
Authors: Zhou Peiyuan , Wong Andrew K.C. , Yang Yang , Leatherdale Scott T. , Battista Kate , Butt Zahid A. , Michalopoulos George , Chen Helen
Published: October 2021

Background: COMPASS is a longitudinal, prospective cohort study collecting data annually from students attending high school in jurisdictions across Canada. We aimed to discover significant frequent/rare associations of behavioral factors among Canadian adolescents related to cannabis use.Methods: We use a subset of the COMPASS dataset which contains 18,761 records of students in grades 9 to 12 with 31 selected features (attributes) involving various characteristics, from living habits to academic performance. We then used the Pattern Discovery and Disentanglement (PDD) algorithm to detect strong and rare (yet statistically significant) associations from the dataset.Results: Cohort characteristics and factors associated with cannabis use and other associations detected by PDD show consistent results with common sense and literature surveys. In addition, PDD outperformed methods using other criteria (i.e. support and confidence) popular as reported in the literature. Association results showed that PDD could discover: i) a smaller set of succinct significant associations in clusters; ii) frequent and rare, yet significant, patterns supported by population health relevant study; iii) patterns from a dataset with extremely imbalanced groups (majority class (None-user): minority class (Regular) = 88.3%: 11.7%). Conclusions: Results on the COMPASS dataset have validated PDD’s efficacy in discovering succinct interpretable frequent associations with comprehensive coverage and rare yet significant associations from datasets with extremely imbalanced class distribution without relying on any balancing process. The frequent associations show consistent results with common sense and literature surveys, while the rare patterns show very special cases. The success of PDD on this project indicates that PDD has great potential for population health data analysis.
Health System Responsiveness and Its Associated Factors Among Outpatients in Primary Health Care Facilities, Asagirt District, NorthShewa Zone, Ethiopia, 2021: Cross Sectional Study Design
Authors: Negash Wubshet Debebe , Tsehay Chalie Tadie , Yazachew Lake , Asmamaw Desale Bihonegn , Desta Dawit Zenamarkos , Atnafu Asmamaw
Published: October 2021

Background: Health system responsiveness is defined as the outcome of designing health facility relationships in such a way that they are familiar and respond appropriately to patients’ universally legitimate expectations. Even though different strategies have been implemented to measure responsiveness, only scanty evidence exists in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia information about the level of health system responsiveness among outpatients is scant. Assessing responsiveness could help facilities in improving service delivery based on patient expectations. Objective: The study aimed to assess health system responsiveness and associated factors among outpatients in primary health care facilities, Asagirt District, North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia, 2021. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional quantitative study was implemented between 30th March and April 30/2021. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 423 participants, and interviewer-administered data were collected using a structured and pretested questionnaires. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to identify factors that have an association with health system responsiveness. Adjusted Odds Ratio with their corresponding 95% CI was used to declare factors associated with health system responsiveness. A p-value less than 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance in this study. Results: The overall health system responsiveness was 66.2% (95% CI: 61.4% - 70.7%). Confidentiality and dignity domains were the highest responsiveness score. Health system responsiveness was higher among satisfied outpatients (AOR: 9.9, 95% CI: 5.11-19.46), utilized private clinics (AOR: 8.8, 95% CI: 4.32-18.25), and no transport cost (AOR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.03-2.92) in the study setting. Conclusion: Overall health system responsiveness was higher as compared to other case-specific study in Ethiopia. The domains of Autonomy, Waiting time, Basic amenities, and Choice were identified as vital areas needing the effort to raise responsiveness of health care service in the District. HSR was higher in private than public healthcare facilities, among satisfied clients and those who didn’t pay for transport on their way to the health facility than their counterparts. Thus, enhancing patient satisfaction, using input from service users, Collaboration, and experience exchange between public and private facilities will be important interventions to improve HSR.
Standardised Data on Initiatives – STARDIT: Beta Version
Authors: Nunn Jack , Shafee Thomas , Chang Steven , Stephens Richard , Elliot Jim , Oliver Sandy , John Denny , Smith Maureen , Orr Neil , Preston Jennifer , Borthwick Josephine , Vlijmen Thijs van , Ansell James , Houyez Francois , de Sousa Maria Sharmila Alina , Plotz Roan D , Oliver Jessica L , Golumbic Yaela , Macniven Rona , Wines Samuel , Borda Ann , Hyldmo Håkon da Silva , Hsing Pen-Yuan , Denis Lena , Thompson Carolyn
Published: October 2021

BackgroundThere is currently no standardised way to share information across disciplines about initiatives, including fields such as health, environment, basic science, manufacturing, media and international development. All problems, including complex global problems such as air pollution and pandemics require reliable data sharing between disciplines in order to respond effectively. Current reporting methods also lack information about the ways in which different people are involved in initiatives, making it difficult to collate and appraise data about the most effective ways to involve different people. ObjectiveSTARDIT (Standardised Data on Initiatives) was created to help everyone in the world find and understand information about collective human actions, which are referred to as ‘initiatives’. STARDIT enables multiple categories of data to be reported in a standardised way across disciplines, facilitating appraisal of initiatives and aiding synthesis of evidence for the most effective ways for people to be involved in initiatives. MethodSTARDIT is the first open access web-based data-sharing system which standardises the way that information about initiatives is reported across diverse fields and disciplines, including information about which tasks were done by which stakeholders. STARDIT data is licensed as public domain (CC0) and integrated into Wikidata; it works across multiple languages and is both human and machine readable. Reports can be updated throughout the lifetime of an initiative, from planning to evaluation, allowing anyone to be involved in reporting impacts and outcomes. STARDIT development is guided by participatory action research paradigms, and has been co-created with people from multiple disciplines around the world in multiple ways, working with Indigenous people, cancer patients, health researchers, environmental researchers, economists, librarians and academic publishers. ResultsOver 100 people from multiple disciplines have been involved in co-designing STARDIT. STARDIT reports have been created for peer-reviewed research in multiple journals and other research projects. A working Beta version was publicly released in February 2021 (ScienceforAll.World/STARDIT).
The Meissner effect in high-temperature hydrogen-rich superconductors under high pressure
Authors: Minkov Vasily , Bud'ko Sergey , Balakirev Fedor , Prakapenka Vitali , Chariton Stella , Husband Rachel , Liermann Hanns-Peter , Eremets Mikhail
Published: October 2021

In the last few years, the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, of hydrogen-rich compounds has increased dramatically, and is now approaching room temperature. However, the pressures at which these materials are stable exceed one million atmospheres and limit the number of available experimental probes - superconductivity has been primarily identified based on electrical transport measurements. Here, we report definitive evidence of the Meissner effect – a key feature of superconductivity – in H3S and LaH10. Furthermore, we have determined characteristic superconducting parameters: a lower critical field Hc1 of ∼1.9 and ∼1.0 T, and a London penetration depth λL of ∼13 and ∼21 nm in Im-3m-H3S and Fm-3m-LaH10, respectively. These compounds have low values of the Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ ∼7–14 and belong to the group of “moderate” type II superconductors.
The rs1421085 variant within FTO promotes thermogenesis and is associated with human migration
Authors: Zhang Zhiyin , Chen Na , Liu Ruixin , Yin Nan , He Yang , Li Danjie , Tong Muye , Gao Aibo , Lu Peng , Li Huabing , Zhang Dan , Gu Weiqiong , Hong Jie , Wang Weiqing , Qi Lu , Ning Guang , Wang Jiqiu
Published: October 2021

One lead risk signal of obesity–rs1421085 T > C within the FTO gene–is reported to be functional in vitro but lack of organismal evidence. Here, we established global and the brown-adipocyte specific locus-knock-in mice to recapitulate this homologous variant in humans and discovered that mice carrying the C-alleles showed increased thermogenic capacity and a resistance to high-fat diet-induced adiposity with enhanced FTO transcription, while FTO knockdown or inhibition effectively eliminated the increased thermogenic ability of brown adipocytes. In humans, the C-allele was associated with lower birthweight, and its allele frequency increases following the environmental temperature decreases. Cumulatively, these findings identified rs1421085 T > C as a functional variant promoting whole-body thermogenesis and was associated with early human migration from hot to cold environments.
Effect Mechanism of Plain Woven Structure of Carbon Fiber on CFRP Cutting
Authors: Dong Guojun , Su Fei , Li Chunjie , Zhen Lei , Chen Bing
Published: October 2021

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) is increasingly employed as structural components for aircrafts in aerospace. The plain woven CFRP is more commonly used than the UD-CFRP. The machining-induced damages are easy to occur. The influence of the plain-woven structure on the cutting mechanism and the defects occurrence mechanism are seldom studied in detail. In this paper, the three-dimensional FEM model of plain woven CFRP is established. The occurrence and propagation of the delamination are investigated. The results indicate that the stress concentrations are easy to occur at the junction of warp and fill bundles near the cutting position. The plain-woven structure can block the transfer of stress and the crack propagation. When θ=90°, the damages of the fill fibers and the crack of the interface are easy to occur. When θ=45°, the step-like fracture is formed in both of the warp and the fill bundles, especially in the fill bundles. Under the same cutting conditions, the exit delamination of the plain-woven CFRP is obviously less than that of the UD-CFRP. The delamination greatly increases with the increase of the feed speed. The delamination decreases with the increase of the cutting speed. The delamination is closely related to the instantaneous cutting position of the cutter.
PredictPTB: An Interpretable Preterm Birth Prediction Model Using Attention-based Recurrent Neural Networks
Authors: AlSaad Rawan , Malluhi Qutaibah , Boughorbel Sabri
Published: October 2021

Background: Early identification of pregnant women at risk for preterm birth (PTB), a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity, has a significant potential to improve prenatal care. However, we lack effective predictive models which can accurately forecast PTB and complement these predictions with appropriate interpretations for clinicians. In this work, we introduce a clinical prediction model (PredictPTB) which combines variables (medical codes) readily accessible through electronic health record (EHR) to accurately predict the risk of preterm birth at 1, 3, 6, and 9 months prior to delivery. Methods: The architecture of PredictPTB employs recurrent neural networks (RNNs) to model the longitudinal patient's EHR visits and exploits a single code-level attention mechanism to improve the predictive performance, while providing temporal code-level and visit-level explanations for the prediction results. We compare the performance of different combinations of prediction time-points, data modalities, and data windows. We also present a case-study of our model's interpretability illustrating how clinicians can gain some transparency into the predictions. Results: Leveraging a large cohort of 222,436 deliveries, comprising a total of 27,100 unique clinical concepts, our model was able to predict preterm birth with an ROC-AUC of 0.82, 0.79, 0.78, and PR-AUC of 0.40, 0.31, 0.24, at 1, 3, and 6 months prior to delivery, respectively. Results also confirm that observational data modalities (such as diagnoses) are more predictive for preterm birth than interventional data modalities (e.g., medications and procedures). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that PredictPTB can be utilized to achieve accurate and scalable predictions for preterm birth, complemented by explanations that directly highlight evidence in the patient's EHR timeline.
Genome-Wide Run of Homozygosity Analysis Reveals Candidate Genomic Regions Associated with Environmental Adaptations of Tibetan Native Chickens
Authors: Yuan Jingwei , Li Shijun , Sheng Zheya , Zhang Meikun , Liu Xuming , Yuan Zhengdong , Yang Ning , Chen Jilan
Published: October 2021

Background
In Tibet, two most important breeds are Tibetan chicken and Lhasa white chicken, and the duo exhibit specific adaptations to high altitude and produce indispensable protein for humans living in the plateau. These breeds were partly included in conservation plans as their biodiversity is important as a genetic resource. However, population genetic analysis of the chickens is rarely investigated. Based on whole-genome sequencing data of 113 chickens from 4 Tibetan chicken population including Shigatse (SH), Nyemo (NM), Dagze (DZ) and Nyingchi (LZ), as well as Lhasa white (LW) chicken population, we performed genetic diversity and differentiation, run of homozygosity (ROH), genomic inbreeding and selection signature analyses.
Results
Our results showed high genetic diversity across the five chicken populations. The linkage disequilibrium decay was highest in LZ, and moderate level of genetic differentiation was found between LZ and other populations (Fst ranging from 0.05 to 0.10). Furthermore, the highest ROH-based inbreeding estimate (FROH) was 0.11 in LZ, whereas it ranges from 0.04 to 0.06 in the other four chicken populations. In total, 74, 111, 62, 42 and 54 ROHs containing SNPs with concurrency ranked top 1% were identified for SH, NM, DZ, LZ and LW, respectively. BDNF, CCDC34, LGR4, LIN7C, GLS, LOC101747789, MYO1B, STAT1 and STAT4 were shared genes harbored by these ROHs in the five populations, suggesting their important roles in adaptation of the chickens. Combined with selection signature analysis, we also identified a common candidate genomic region harboring AMY2A, NTNG1 and VAV3 genes. These genes have been reported to contribute to digestion, neurite growth and high-altitude adaptation, which could be involved in selection during evolution process.
Conclusions
High genetic diversity was observed in Tibetan native chickens. Nyingchi population, possessing highest FROH, is genetically distant from other chicken population. Candidate genes in ROH islands could aid the genetic characterization of the five Tibetan native chicken populations. Our findings contribute to the understanding of genetic diversity and offer valuable insights for the genetic mechanism of adaptation, as well as provide veritable tools that can help in the design and implementation of breeding and conservation strategies for Tibetan native chickens.
Effort-reward Imbalance at Work and Oral Diseases: a Cross-sectional Study in Japan
Authors: Sato Yukihiro , Yoshioka Eiji , Takekawa Masanori , Saijo Yasuaki
Published: October 2021

Psychological stress is a potential risk factor for oral diseases. However, evidence for association between work stress and oral diseases is lacking. We aimed to examine the associations of work stress, according to the effort-reward imbalance model, with dental caries, periodontal disease, and tooth loss. This cross-sectional study included 619 regular employees. Work stress was assessed using the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) ratio. Dental caries and tooth loss were assessed according to the number of decayed and filled teeth (DFT) and missing teeth (MT) among set of 28 teeth. Severe periodontitis was assessed using a questionnaire. The mean ERI ratio (with standard deviations) was 1.12 (0.47). In the pooled analysis, a one-unit increase in the ERI ratio was associated with -0.90 (95% CI = -1.67, -0.12) changes in the mean DFT and -0.20 (95% CI =-0.45, 0.06) changes in the mean MT from adjusted linear regression models. A one-unit increase in the ERI ratio was also associated with 1.66 (95% CI = 1.10, 2.52) of the risk for severe periodontitis based on Poisson regression models. ERI at work was associated with a low number of dental caries and tooth loss, and an increased risk of severe periodontitis.
Long non-coding RNA (FALEC), as a lncRNA, Promotes Malignant Behaviors of Gastric Cancer Cells by Regulating miR-203b/PIM3 Axis
Authors: Dong Wenjing , Gong Mancheng , Xiao Jianjun , Li Huifen , Tian Muyou , Wang Senming
Published: October 2021

BackgroundPieces of evidences have shown the important regulatory effects of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in gastric cancer (GC). While it is not entirely clear for the role and mechanism of focally amplified lncRNA on chromosome 1 (FALEC) during GC tumorigenesis. MethodsThe levels of FALEC, microRNA-203b (miR-203b), and PIM3 were confirmed by qRT-PCR. And cell autophagy, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were estimated using western blot for autophagy-related proteins, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), CCK-8, flow cytometer, and Transwell assays in NCI-N87 cells and Xenograft tumor. Besides, the interaction between miR-203b and FALEC or PIM3 was verified using a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, the involvement of miR-203b and PIM3 in the regulatory effects of FALEC on GC was determined by rescue experiments. ResultsThe results proved that FALEC and PIM3 were highly expressed, while miR-203b was lowly expressed in GC. FALEC knockdown repressed GC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, promoted apoptosis and autophagy in vitro. Meanwhile, FALEC knockdown prevented growth and induced GC autophagy in vivo. In mechanism, FALEC could upregulate PIM3 by sponging miR-203b in GC cells. Besides, FALEC induced the malignant behaviors of GC cells by regulating the miR-203b/PIM3 axis. Conclusions﻿Therefore, FALEC/miR-203b/PIM3 axis might act as the promising therapeutic target for the therapy of GC patients.
Spatial Distribution of Total 210Pb in the Marine Sediment of Peninsular Malaysia: Radioactivity Level Variations in The Sunda Shelf Seas
Authors: Zaini Nur Ashikin , Rahim Mohamad Arif Che Abd , Liu Shengfa , Shi Xuefa , Mohamed Che Abd Rahim
Published: October 2021

Radiochemical separation techniques were applied to measure 210Pb radioactivity in the samples to determine spatial distribution of total 210Pb radionuclide in surface sediments and water column for the main waters on the Sunda Shelf. The average 210Pb radioactivity level recorded from the Malacca Strait (MS) is significantly higher than the southern South China Sea (sSCS); this is attributed to the supply of input from the Andaman Sea in its northern areas, and massive terrestrial processes from bordering land masses. The results reveal that the decreasing trend of total 210Pb in Peninsular Malaysia’s marine sediment starts with the north maritime zone of Malacca Strait (64.28 ± 5.97 Bq/kg) > south maritime zone of Malacca Strait (50.88 ± 6.15 Bq/kg) > east maritime zone of sSCS (41.01 ± 3.07 Bq/kg) > south maritime zone of sSCS (40.78 ± 3.16 Bq/kg). The Kelantan and Pahang Deltas have been identified as two of the main anthropogenic sources of input for total 210Pb in the sSCS while atmospheric transboundary mobilization affecting total 210Pb in water column. In the Malacca Strait, however, the distribution of total 210Pb might be influenced mainly by in situ processes of the strait’s seafloor and sources origin of sediment.