bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving the Learning of Self-driving Vehicles Based on Real Driving Behavior using Deep Neural Network Techniques
Authors: Zaghari Nayereh , Fathy Mahmood , Jameii Seyed Mahdi , Sabokrou Mohammad , Shahverdy Mohammad
Published: January 2020

Considering the significant advancements in autonomous vehicle technology, research in this field is of interest to researchers. To drive vehicles autonomously, controlling steer angle, gas hatch, and brakes need to be learned. The behavioral cloning method is used to imitate humans’ driving behavior. We created a dataset of driving in different routes and conditions and using the designed model, the output used for controlling the vehicle is obtained. In this paper, the Learning of Self-driving Vehicles Based on Real Driving Behavior Using Deep Neural Network Techniques (LSV-DNN) is proposed. We designed a convolutional network which uses the real driving data obtained through the vehicle’s camera and computer. The response of the driver is during driving is recorded in different situations and by converting the real driver’s driving video to images and transferring the data to an excel file, obstacle detection is carried out with the best accuracy and speed using the Yolo algorithm version 3. This way, the network learns the response of the driver to obstacles in different locations and the network is trained with the Yolo algorithm version 3 and the output of obstacle detection. Then, it outputs the steer angle and amount of brake, gas, and vehicle acceleration. The LSV-DNN is evaluated here via extensive simulations carried out in Python and TensorFlow environment. We evaluated the network error using the loss function. By comparing other methods which were conducted on the simulator’s data, we obtained good performance results for the designed network on the data from KITTI benchmark, the data collected using a private vehicle, and the data we collected.
Virus-Like Particles: Applications in Reverse Vaccinology
Authors: De Ganzó Agustin , Pastorini Mercedes , Borio Cristina , Lozano Mario , Goñi Sandra
Published: January 2020

Vaccination has been one of the most successful and the most significant scientific advances in human health and life expectancy all around the globe. The World Health Organization considers that immunization should be recognized as the main component of human health right, due to the fact that vaccination prevents 2.5 million deaths annually (World Health Organization, 2011). The most successful vaccines have been developed using conventional methods that follow the paradigm established by Pasteur: "to isolate, inactivate and inject" the pathogen microorganism and mimic a natural infection. Recently, metagenomics have played an important role in the discovery of new immunogens for vaccine design and the selection of antigens based on genomic information. The main approach that has used this strategy has been called "reverse vaccinology". This promising and arising field allows the screening of the entire potential antigenic repertoire of an organism using predictive bioinformatic tools. Once the antigenic protein or proteins have been selected, they are expressed and purified using molecular cloning and in vitro expression techniques. Following the in vitro production step, they are probed in animal models to evaluate the in vivo protective strength of the immune response. The main aim of this in vivo approach is to evaluate the ability of the immune response to eliminate or neutralize the pathogen at the time of infection. Those antigens capable of generate a specific immune response with neutralizing activity for natural infections are the best candidate vaccines. In this review we summarize the evolution of vaccinology since its inception, with special emphasis on the development of VLPs as vaccine platforms and their future in preventive medicine and we introduce a new recombinant platform for antigen presentation based on Junin virus VLPs (JUNV-VLPs).
Securing Internet of Things against Physical Layer Attacks Using Hybrid Security Algorithm (HSA)
Authors: Zarei Meysam
Published: January 2020

Through the Internet of Things (IoT) the internet scope is established by the aid of physical objects integration to classify themselves to mutual things. A physical object can be created by this inventive perception to signify itself in the digital world. Regarding the physical objects that are related to the internet, it is worth to mention that considering numerous theories and upcoming predictions, they mostly require protected structures, moreover, they are at risk of several attacks. IoTs are endangered by particular routing disobedience called physical layer attack owing to their distributed features. The physical layer attack as a security warning makes possible for the invader to abuse the resources and bandwidth of the network through overloading the network via unimportant packets. This protocol is called LSFA-IoT consisting of two key sections of the physical layer detection system and misbehavior detection system. The first section is utilized in stabilizing the status of the network. The second section is in charge of discovering the misbehavior sources within the IoT network through , the Average Packet Transmission RREQ. By detecting a malicious node, the status of the node is checked by LSFA-IoT prior to sending a data packet and in case detecting the node as malicious, no packet is sent to that node and that node is added to the detention list. Here, the technique is assessed through wide simulations performed within the NS-3 environment. Based on the results of the simulation, it is indicated that the IoT network behaviour metrics are enhanced based on the detection rate, false-negative rate, false-positive rate, and packet delivery rate.
Succinic Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase Deficiency: An Update
Authors: Didiášová Miroslava , Banning Antje , Brennenstuhl Heiko , Jung-Klawitter Sabine , Cinquemani Claudio , Opladen Thomas , Tikkanen Ritva
Published: January 2020

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency (SSADH-D) is a genetic disorder that results from the aberrant metabolism of the neurotransmitter γ-amino butyric acid (GABA). The disease is caused by the impaired activity of the mitochondrial enzyme succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase. SSADH-D manifests as varying degree of mental retardation, autism, ataxia and epileptic seizures, but the clinical picture is highly heterogeneous. So far, there is no approved therapy for this disease. In this review, we briefly summarize the molecular genetics of SSADH-D, the past and ongoing clinical trials and the emerging features of the molecular pathogenesis, including redox imbalance and mitochondrial dysfunction. The main aim of this review is to discuss the potential use of further therapy approaches that have so far not been tested in SSADH-D, such as pharmacological chaperones, read-through drugs and gene therapy. Special attention will also be paid to elucidating the role of patient advocacy organizations in facilitating research and in the communication between the researchers and the patients.
Crop Productivity and Implications for Food Security and Rural Livelihood Development in Africa
Authors: Akudugu Mamudu A. , Millar Katherine K. , Mubarik Salifu
Published: January 2020

Over the past few decades, there have been major advances in crop productivity across the world, which has been made possible through a combination of productivity enhancing technological innovations. Beyond this achievement however, most parts of Africa are still battling with low crop productivity resulting in food shortages and food insecurity. The yields of many staple crops are still far below their agronomic potentials with output increases being attributed largely to area expansion. This paper examines the implications of the current trends of crop/plant productivity for food security and rural livelihood development in Africa using Ghana as a case study. The paper argues that crop production in Africa is becoming a less viable and unattractive livelihood activity with farmers diversifying out of agriculture into non-agricultural activities such as illegal small-scale mining, which have negative consequences on the ability of African countries to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Fish Transcriptomics: Applied to Our Understanding of Aquaculture
Authors: Heras Joseph
Published: January 2020

New challenges arise in the face of global climate change which impact every ecosystem on earth, including aquatic systems. This is evident in observations made in regard to the world’s oceans, which show trends of incremental changes in ocean surface temperatures, sea levels, and ocean acidity. These environmental shifts impact human resources such as fisheries and aquaculture. In addition, according to the World Bank, the increase in human population will also require more food and nutrient production, which include industries such as aquaculture. With this increasing demand in aquaculture and fisheries, we must develop efficient and productive methods to operate these industries. We can use genetic methods, specifically transcriptomic information to better understand the biology of our source of nutrition. With the advent of RNASeq techniques, we can provide a better understanding about growth and development, immune function and stress, and adaptations. The use of population genetics or (genomics) to detect Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) between populations or closely related species can provide greater insight from stock structure to fishery-induced evolution. In addition, candidate loci can be investigated further to better understanding evolutionary processes, which provide clues on physiological adaptations and gene expression patterns that can help elucidate how these organisms respond to their current environment. In addition, the use of transcriptomic analyses such as differential gene expression can be used to determine resilience in various environmental conditions such as pollution, hypoxic/anoxic conditions, fluctuations in salinity, and temperature extremes. There has been an increase in transcriptomic studies for many aquaculture species, which has aimed at improving our understanding of growth, development, and metabolism, providing vital information for fisheries and aquaculture industries to make adjustments to environmental conditions such as oxygen availability, nutrition, and salinity. All of these aspects provide insightful information for advancing our knowledge of aquaculture, fisheries and conservation management.
Prevalence, Diversity of Listeria spp. Isolates from Food and Food Contact Surfaces and Occurrence of Virulence Genes
Authors: Rossi Franca , Amadoro Carmela , Conficoni Daniele , Giaccone Valerio , Colavita Giampaolo
Published: January 2020

This study aimed to evaluate the hazards posed by foodborne bacteria of the Listeria genus by analyzing prevalence, diversity and virulence of Listeria spp. in food and food manufacturing plants. Seventy five isolates obtained from the routine analysis of 653 samples by three diagnostic laboratories in Northern Italy were genotipically differentiated by Repetitive Extragenic Palindrome (rep) PCR with the GTG5 primer, identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene and examined by specific PCR tests for the presence of L. monocytogenes virulence determinants occasionally found to occur in other species of the genus. The identity of the amplification products was confirmed by sequencing. Fifty seven isolates were identified as L. innocua, 12 as L. monocytogenes, 5 as L. welshimeri and one as L. seeligeri. All L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to the serotype 1/2a and were predicted to be virulent for the presence of the inlJ internalin gene. Potentially virulent strains of L. innocua, L. seeligeri and L. welshimeri, carrying the L. monocytogenes inlA gene and/or hly gene, were identified, and most isolates were found to possess the toxin-antitoxin system mazEF for efficient adaptation to heat shock. Results indicated the need to reinforce food contamination prevention measures against all Listeria species by efficiently defining their environmental distribution.
Recursive Dictionary Learning Approach Exploiting Between-Channel Correlations for EEG Signal Reconstruction
Authors: Vazifehkhahi Masoud , Yousefi Rezaii Tohid
Published: January 2020

In tele-monitoring, wireless body area networks (WBANs), sleep analysis and other applications involving electroencephalogram (EEG) signal, due to the high number of EEG recording channels, long recording time and several repetition of recordings to reach the highest signal-to-noise ratio, the amount of acquired data by the sensors is too large, demanding use of some compression procedure. Compressed sensing can be considered as one of the most effective compression methods in terms of compression ratio, which needs the underlying signal be sparse or have sparse representation in an appropriate domain. EEG signal is not sparse in time domain, therefore, in this paper correlation based weighted recursive least squares dictionary learning algorithm (CBW-RLS) is proposed that uses between-channel correlations to sparsify EEG signals. Due to the low-rank structure of EEG signals, exploiting between-channel correlations increase the sparsity level of the model while reducing the computational cost of dictionary learning procedure. This is done by merely updating the dictionary atoms which are involved in the sparse model of the previous data, reducing the total number of data used at each iteration and speeding up the dictionary learning algorithm. The simulation results show that the proposed method has better performance in terms of both quality of the EEG reconstruction and the computational cost compared to the other methods.
Konversi Agama di Kalangan Etnis Tionghoa: Motivasi, Adaptasi dan Konsekuensi
Authors: Hidayat Rakhmat , Putri Sherina Dessita
Published: January 2020

This paper aims to describe ​​the process of religious conversion conducted by five ethnic Chinese muallafs at Yayasan Haji Karim Oei Jakarta. This study also describes the state of anomie experienced by muallafs in the post-religious conversion time and the adaptation to face the anomic circumstances. Qualitative approach with case study method is the research approach used in this research. Observations and interviews were used as data collection. This study uses the concept of systemic stage model by Rambo Lewis to examine the process of religious conversion and the concept of anomie by Emile Durkheim to examine the social state of post-religious conversion.  In fact, that the religious conversion is caused by internal factor which is inner crisis and also caused by external factors such as living in a social sphere dominated by the majority of Muslims, the factor of marriage, and religious lectures performed by the religious leaders.
Internalisasi Nilai Peduli Lingkungan di Persekolahan: Studi Kasus Ecopesantren SPMAA Lamongan Jawa Timur
Authors: Nur Aulia Rihlah , Sauri Sofyan , M. Jasin Faisal , Narulita Narulita , Wajdi Firdaus
Published: January 2020

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana internalisasi nilai ecopesantren dalam membentuk karakter  peduli lingkungan. Teori yang digunakan adalah teori internalisasi nilai. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian  kualitatif  dengan pengumpulan data melalui observasi lapangan, dokumentasi, studi literatur dan wawancara dengan Pimpinan Pondok Pesantren, guru, serta para santri. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan: pertama,upaya internalisasi nilai ecopesantren dalam membentuk karakter peduli lingkungan, melalui; (1), Kebijakan pondok Pesantren. (2), kurikulum di sekolah. (3), kegiatan ekstrakulikuler.. Kedua, Proses internalisasi nilai ecopesantren dalam membentuk karakter peduli lingkungan di pondok pesantren SPMAA Lamongan Jawa Timur., melalui 3 tahapan, yaitu: pertama, tahap transformasi nilai. Kedua, tahap transaksi milai ketiga, tahap transinternalisasi
Effect of Dexmedetomidine on Duration of Mechanical Ventilation in Septic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Chen Peifen , Jiang Jihong , Zhang Yunhe , Li Guobao , Qiu Zhihui , Levy Mitchell M. , Hu Baoji
Published: January 2020

Background: Because of its analgesic and light sedative properties, the highly selective alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been suggested for the treatment of septic patients, but its effect on the duration of mechanical ventilation remains unclear. The present study was conducted to review the extant literature in DEX and determine its influence on ventilation time in adult septic patients. Methods: Databases of PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE were applied till 20th January 2019 without language restriction. The searching strategy as following: sepsis OR septic AND mechanical ventilation AND dexmedetomidine. Two authors screened titles, abstracts, and even articles to meet the including criterion independently. In addition, references of related articles or reviews were also referred. Data was recorded in a table and analyzed using the software of Review Manager 5.0. Results: Four studies with a total of 349 patients were included. Three trials with 267 patients revealed the effect of DEX on duration of mechanical ventilation, two trials with 264 patients on ventilator-free days and four trials with 334 patients on 28-day mortality. The analyzed results indicated that DEX was not associated with significantly different durations of mechanical ventilation (MD 0.65, 95% CI, -0.13 to 1.42, P = 0.10). However, there were significant differences in ventilator-free days (MD 3.57, 95% CI, 0.26 to 6.89, P = 0.03) and 28-day mortality (RR 0.61, 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.94, P = 0.02) in the septic patients. Conclusion: Administration of DEX for sedation in septic patients was not associated with the duration of mechanical ventilation, but it increased the ventilator-free days and reduced 28-day mortality.
Comparative functional genomics analysis of cytochrome P450 gene superfamily in wheat and maize
Authors: Li YiXuan , Wei Kaifa
Published: January 2020

Background:The cytochrome P450s (CYP450s) as the largest enzyme family of plant metabolism participate in various physiological processes, whereas no study has demonstrated interest in comprehensive comparison of the genes in wheat and maize. Genome-wide survey, characterization and comparison of wheat and maize CYP450 gene superfamily are useful for genetic manipulation of the Gramineae crops.Results:In total, 1285 and 263 full-lengthCYP450s were identified in wheat and maize, respectively. According to standard nomenclature, wheatCYP450s (TaCYP450s) were categorized into 45 families, while maizeCYP450s (ZmCYP450s) into 43 families. A comprehensive analysis of wheat and maize CYP450s, involved in functional domains, conserved motifs, phylogeny, gene structures, chromosome locations and duplicated events was performed. The result showed that each family/subfamily in both species exhibited characteristic features, suggesting their phylogenetic relationship and the potential divergence in their functions. Functional divergence analysis at the amino acid level of representative clans CYP51, CYP74 and CYP97 in wheat, maize and rice identified some critical amino acid sites that are responsible for functional divergence of a gene family. Expression profiles ofTa-,ZmCYP450s were investigated using RNA-seq data, which contribute to infer the potential functions of the genes during development and stress responses. We found in both speciesCYP450s had preferential expression in specific tissues, and many tissue-specific genes were identified. Under water-deficit condition, 82 and 39 significantly differentially expressedCYP450s were respectively detected in wheat and maize. These genes may have some role in protecting plants against drought damage. Thereinto, fourteenCYP450swere selected to validate their expression level through qRT-PCR. To further elucidating molecular mechanisms of CYP450 action, gene co-expression network was constructed. In total, 477TaCYP450s were distributed in 22 co-expression modules, and some co-expressed genes that likely take part in the same biochemical pathway were identified. For instance, the expression ofTaCYP74A98_4Dwas highly correlated withTaLOX9,TaLOX36,TaLOX39,TaLOX44andTaOPR8, and all of them may be involved in jasmonate (JA) biosynthesis.TaCYP73A201_3Ashowed coexpression withTaPAL1.25,TaCCoAOMT1.2,TaCOMT.1,TaCCR1.6andTaLAC5, which probably act in the wheat stem and/or root lignin synthesis pathway.Conclusion:Our study first established systematic information about evolutionary relationship, expression pattern and function characterization ofCYP450s in wheat and maize.
Predictive models and under-five mortality determinants in Ethiopia: evidence from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey
Authors: Bitew Fikrewold , Nyarko Samuel H. , Potter Lloyd , Sparks Corey S.
Published: January 2020

Background: There is a dearth of literature on predictive models estimating under-five mortality risk in Ethiopia. In this study, we develop a spatial map and predictive models to predict the sociodemographic determinants of under-five mortality in Ethiopia. Methods: The study data were drawn from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. We used three predictive models to predict under-five mortality within this sample. The three techniques are random forests, logistic regression, and k-nearest neighbors For each model, measures of model accuracy and Receiver Operating Characteristic curves are used to evaluate the predictive power of each model. Results: There are considerable regional variations in under-five mortality rates in Ethiopia. The under-five mortality prediction ability was found to be moderate to low for the models considered, with the random forest model showing the best performance. Maternal age at birth, sex of a child, previous birth interval, water source, health facility delivery services, antenatal and post-natal care checkups, breastfeeding behavior and household size have been found to be significantly associated with under-five mortality in Ethiopia. Conclusions: The random forest machine learning algorithm produces a higher predictive power for under-five mortality risk factors for the study sample. There is a need to improve the quality and access to health care services to enhance childhood survival chances in the country.
Relationship between Night shift work, Eating Habits and BMI among Nurses in Lebanon
Authors: Samhat Zeinab , Attieh Randa , Sacre Yonna
Published: January 2020

Background The objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationships between night shift work, eating habits and body mass index (BMI) among Lebanese nurses. Methods A total of 307 nurses were randomly selected from five hospitals located in Beirut. Data about demographic and professional characteristics, anthropometric measures, dietary habits and intakes were collected through a validated questionnaire. To study the relationship between night shift work, eating habits and BMI, chi-square test, t-test and logistic regressions were used. Results The majority of nurses (78. 2%) had irregular meals timing with a significant decrease in the number of complete meals consumed during the day and an increase in the number of snacks consumed during night (p<0. 05). The most consumed snacks during night shifts were sweets and potato chips. The findings highlighted that BMI and waist circumference significantly increased with the number of years of work (r=0.175; p<0.05) and the cumulative number of night shifts hours over the entire work history (r=0.135/p< 0. 05). Conclusion: Night shift work is positively associated with abnormal eating patterns and BMI among Lebanese nurses. However the increase in BMI is not related to eating habits.
Tumour Content Ratio Matters for Detecting Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation by Cobas Test in Small Biopsies; a Retrospective Study
Authors: Kogo Mariko , Fujimoto Daichi , Hosoya Kazutaka , Nagata Kazuma , Nakagawa Atsushi , Tachikawa Ryo , Yamashita Daisuke , Kitamura Yuka , Imai Yukihiro , Tomii Keisuke
Published: January 2020

Background
Recent studies indicate the benefit of treatment with osimertinib over that with conventional epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) for untreated EGFR -mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Cobas ver2 is the only companion diagnostic method for detecting EGFR mutations with osimertinib treatment. We clinically experience false negative cases with this test, but its actual sensitivity is unknown. Moreover, no study has suggested the importance of tumour dissection, and most facilities do not routinely perform them on small biopsies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of cobas in clinical practice and clarify the role of dissection as a component of the cobas testing.
Methods
We examined 132 patients with EGFR -mutated NSCLC diagnosed by bronchoscopy and confirmed with PCR clamp. Patients were tested with cobas and the EGFR -positive rate was calculated. Samples with undetected EGFR mutations were retested after tumour dissection and the rate of samples whose EGFR mutation was corrected to positive was assessed. To evaluate tumour cellularity, the tumour content ratio was assessed by calculating tumour cell count over the total cell count on the slide.
Results
The positive rate of EGFR mutation identification was 76% with cobas, although EGFR mutation-negative patients retained responses to TKI therapy equivalent to positive patients did; however, the tumour content ratio of negative samples was significantly lower than that of positive samples. Twenty-nine negative samples underwent dissection and 24% were corrected to positive. Moreover, 53% of the samples with a tumour content ratio below 10% was negative for cobas, but 33% of these turned positive after dissection.
Conclusions
Cobas had a high false negative rate in clinical practice, and tumour content ratio might be associated with this rate. Dissection could improve the sensitivity of cobas, especially in samples with low tumour cellularity.
Hox gene expression during development of the phoronid Phoronopsis harmeri
Authors: Gąsiorowski Ludwik , Hejnol Andreas
Published: January 2020

Background: Phoronida is a small group of marine worm-like suspension feeders, which together with brachiopods and bryozoans form the clade Lophophorata. Although their development is well studied on the morphological level, data regarding gene expression during this process are scarce and restricted to the analysis of relatively few transcription factors. Here we present a description of the expression patterns of Hox genes during the embryonic and larval development of the phoronid Phoronopsis harmeri. Results: We identified sequences of eight Hox genes in the transcriptome of Ph. harmeri and determined their expression pattern during embryonic and larval development using whole mount in situ hybridization. We found that none of the Hox genes is expressed during embryonic development. Instead their expression is initiated in the later developmental stages, when the larval body is already formed. In the investigated initial larval stages the Hox genes are expressed in the non-collinear manner in the posterior body of the larvae: in the telotroch and the structures that represent rudiments of the adult worm. Additionally, we found that certain head-specific transcription factors are expressed in the oral hood, apical organ, preoral coelom, anterior digestive system and developing larval tentacles, anterior to the Hox-expressing territories. Conclusions: The lack of Hox gene expression during early development of Ph. harmeri indicates that the larval body develops without positional information from the Hox patterning system. Such phenomenon might be a consequence of the evolutionary intercalation of the larval form into an ancestral life cycle of phoronids. The observed Hox gene expression can also be a consequence of the actinotrocha representing a “head larva”, which is composed of the most anterior body region that is devoid of Hox gene expression. Such interpretation is further supported by the expression of head-specific transcription factors. This implies that the Hox patterning system is used for the positional information of the trunk rudiments and is, therefore, delayed to the later larval stages. We propose that a new body form was intercalated to the phoronid life cycle by precocious development of the anterior structures or by delayed development of the trunk rudiment in the ancestral phoronid larva.
Prevalence, molecular characterization and antimicrobial profiles of Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli O157 isolated from ruminants slaughtered in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Authors: Al-Ajmi Dawood , Rahman Shafeeq , Banu Sharmila
Published: January 2020

Background: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are associated with major food illness around the world. E.coli O157, has been widely reported as the most common STEC serogroup, and has emerged as an important enteric pathogen. Further, cattle have been identified as a major E. coli O157:H7 reservoir for human infection; however, the ecology of this organism in camels, sheep and goats is less understood. The current study aims to evaluate the prevalence of E. coli serotype O157 in feces of cattle, camels, sheep and goats slaughtered in United Arab Emirates (UAE) for meat consumption. This study was carried out on fecal samples of healthy cattle (n = 137), camels (n = 140), sheep (n = 141) and goats (n = 150) during the period of September 2017 to August 2018. We have used the traditional sensitive immunomagnetic separation technique (IMS) coupled with a culture plating method for detection of E. coli O157. Non-sorbitol fermenting colonies were assessed via the latex agglutination test and the positive cultures were subjected to PCR for detection of attaching and effacing genes (eaeA), hemolysin A (hlyA) and Shiga toxin-producing genes (stx1 and stx2) and genes specific for E. coli O157:H7 (rfb O157, uid A and flic H7). All E. coli O157 isolates were analyzed for their susceptibility pattern toward 20 select antibiotics.Results: E. coli O157 was present in the fecal samples of goats, camels and cattle at 2%, 3.3%, and 1.6%, respectively. In sheep we failed to detect any E. coli O157 strains. The most prevalent E.coli O157 gene identified across all species’ isolates was stx2, while stx1 was not detected in any of the samples. ­After testing samples from camels, goats and cattle, Cefotaxime (100%), Chloramphenicol (100%), Ciprofloxacin (100%), Norfloxacin (100%) and Polymixin B (100%) showed susceptibility showed susceptibility to all E.coli O157 isolates.Conclusion: This is the first study, to our knowledge, to report on the prevalence of E. coli O157 in the slaughter animals in UAE and clearly demonstrates the presence of these pathogens in slaughtered animals, which could possibly contaminate the meat products intended for human consumption.
Identification and Drug Sensitivity of Aerobic Bacterial Isolates from Diabetic Foot Ulcers of Sudanese Patients: a Cross sectional study
Authors: nour saada Mohamed , Mukhtar Maowia , Elmakk Mohamed , Elshibli Elshibli Mohamed , Elfakey Walyeldin Elnour , Shamad Mahdi , Ibrahim Nuha , Fadul Mohamed yahia , Mohamed Safia
Published: January 2020

Background Diabetic foot ulcer infection cause great morbidity and mortality among diabetic patients and is a major cause of lower extremity amputation worldwide. This study aimed to determine the profile of aerobic bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns in diabetic foot infections (DFI) among different Wagner's grades. Methods This study was conducted during December 2017 - March 2018 in a Diabetic Center, Sudan. A total of 152 diabetic patients with different grades of foot ulcers were randomly enrolled in the study. The patients were grouped using Wagner's classification. Tissue biopsies and deep swabs were collected from the ulcers for aerobic cultures. The cultured isolates were identified using phenotypic and biochemical properties and their sensitivity to commonly used antibiotics, Colistin, Aikacin, Ciprofloxacin, Augmentin, Ceftazideme, Gentamicin, Clindamycin, Ceftriaxone Meropenum. Cotrimoxazole, Erythomycin, Oxacillin and Vancomycin. Fusidic acid, Imepenem, and Piperacillin was tested using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method. Results The mean age of the patients was 54.31 (SD ± 12.1) years, male to female ratio of 8: 1. The mean duration of diabetes was 14 (SD ± 8) years. The ulcers varied in duration from 1 day to 10 years. of 152 samples 181 aerobic bacteria were isolated. Cultures yielded 1-3 isolate per culture. The maximum number was isolated from grade 3 group followed by long standing ulcer LSU group 50.8% and 28% respectively. Polymicrobial infection was higher in LSU (30.4%). The isolates were mostly Gram-negative bacteria. The most frequent were proteus spp. (35.3%), S. aureus MRSA 14.4% and Coliform 12.2% respectively. The most common isolates in grade 3 were P. Mirablis, Staphylococcus and Coliform and in long standing ulcers were P. Mirablis, S. aureus MRSA and Coagulase negative staphylococcus respectively. Conclusion Gram-negative bacteria were more prevalent and the most frequent pathogens were Proteus spp. The most common polymicrobial infections were due to P. mirablis with; P. aerginosa, S. MRSA and Coliform respectively . Gram negative rods were sensitive to Amikacin, (80.6) %) while the highest sensitivity of Gram positive was to Imepnem (85%). Most of the isolates were sensitive to Meropenem. No significant relation between Wagner grades and neuropathy was detected.
Development, reliability and validity of the Safe Use of Mobility Aids Checklist (SUMAC) for 4-wheeled walker use in people living with dementia
Authors: Hunter Susan , Divine Alison , Omana Humberto , Madou Edward , Holmes Jeffrey
Published: January 2020

Background

Balance and gait problems are common and progressive in dementia. Mobility aid use in people with dementia increases the likelihood of falls three-fold. An assessment tool to quantify mobility aid safety in people with dementia does not currently exist. The objectives of this study were: 1) to develop a tool for the evaluation of physical function and safety with use of a 4-wheeled walker in people with dementia, and 2) to evaluate its construct and criterion validity, inter-rater and test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change.

Methods

Healthcare professionals (HCP) experienced in care and rehabilitation of people with dementia participated in focus groups for item generation of the new tool, entitled The Safe Use of Mobility Aid Checklist (SUMAC). The SUMAC evaluates physical function (PF) and safe use of the equipment (EQ) on nine tasks of daily life. Ten individuals with dementia using a 4-wheeled walker were recorded performing the tasks within the SUMAC. Reliability was evaluated by having five HCP score participant videos on two occasions. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Construct validity was evaluated using scores determined by a consensus panel compared to the individual HCP scores using Spearman’s rank-order correlations. Criterion validity was assessed between SUMAC-PF and the Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) using Spearman’s rank-order correlations.

Results

Three focus groups (n=17) were completed and these generated a tool comprised of nine tasks and the components within each task that the clinicians would observe for physical function and safe use. Inter-rater reliability was statistically significant for the SUMC-PF (ICC=0.72, 95%CI (0.33-0.92), p<0.001) and SUMAC-EQ (ICC=0.40, 95%CI (0.03-0.78), p=0.020). Test-retest reliability was also statistically significant for the SUMAC-PF (ICC=0.69, 95%CI (0.45-0.83), p<0.001) and SUMAC-EQ (ICC=0.73, 95%CI (0.53,0.85), p<0.001). The POMA correlated strongly with the SUMAC-PF (r=0.84), but not EQ (r=0.39).

Conclusions

Each of the scores of the SUMAC, physical function and safe use of the equipment, demonstrated content validity, strong inter-rater and test-retest reliability and strong criterion and concurrent validity for the assessment of mobility aid safety in people with dementia.
Factors Associated with Current and Severe Pain among People Living with HIV: Results from a Statewide Sample
Authors: Joseph Verlin , Jones Abenaa , Canidate Shantrel , Mannes Zachary , Lu Huiyin , Ennis Nicole , Ibanez Gladys , Somboonwit Charurut , Cook Robert
Published: January 2020

Background People living with HIV (PLWH) are more likely to suffer from pain compared to the general public. Pain often clusters with mental health symptoms and substance use. This study sought to evaluate mental health and substance use factors associated with and pain and severe pain intensities among PLWH. Methods Data were derived from HIV+ adults (N=733) recruited from community health centers across Florida who completed questionnaires regarding demographics, chronic pain, HIV clinical outcomes, mental health symptoms, and substance use information. Pain was assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) short form. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was utilized to assess the relationship between selected covariates and pain. Results Approximately half (45.0%) of participants reported having current pain. After controlling for covariates, PLWH reporting current symptoms of anxiety or PTSD were 2.49 (CI=1.48, 4.18) and 1.69 (CI= 1.11, 2.57) times as likely to report pain compared to PLWH without those factors respectively. PLWH reporting current symptoms of anxiety and male participants were 2.03 (CI= 1.03, 4.01) and 2.02 (CI= 1.26, 3.24) times as likely to report severe pain compared to PLWH without those factors respectively. Conclusion The relationship between pain and mental health is complex, thus future research is needed to determine if pain treatments may reduce mental health symptoms or if treatments can be targeted to address both issues simultaneously
Protein A/G-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of anti-Pythium insidiosum antibodies in human and animal subjects
Authors: Jaturapaktrarak Chalisa , Payattikul Penpan , Lohnoo Tassanee , Kumsang Yothin , Laikul Aree , Pathomsakulwong Watcharapol , Yurayart Chompoonek , Tonpitak Walaiporn , Krajaejun Theerapong
Published: January 2020

Objectives: Pythiosis is a deadly infectious disease caused by Pythium insidiosum. Reports of both human and animal pythiosis are on the rise worldwide. Prognosis of the pythiosis patients relies on early diagnosis and prompt treatment. There are needs for an immunodiagnostic test that can detect the disease in both humans and animals. This study aims at reporting an optimized protocol for the development of a protein A/G-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of anti-P. insidiosum antibody in multiple host species. Results: A total of 25 pythiosis and 50 control sera, obtained from humans, horses, dogs, cats, and cows, were recruited for the assay development. With a proper ELISA cutoff point, all pythiosis sera can ultimately be distinguished from the control sera. The successfully-developed protein A/G-based ELISA can detect the anti-P. insidiosum antibodies in serum samples of both humans and animals. It is a versatile and feasible-to-develop immunodiagnostic assay for pythiosis.
Etiologies and Outcomes of Rheumatology Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure Requiring Intensive Care: A Single-Center Cohort Study of 259 Patients
Authors: Shi Yan , Zhao Jiu-liang , Qin Han-yu , Hu Xiao-yun , Jiang Wei , Wang Chun-yao , Weng Li , Wang Qian , Zeng Xiao-feng , Peng Jin-min , Du Bin
Published: January 2020

Background: The etiologies of acute respiratory failure (ARF) in critically ill rheumatology patients remain unknown. We aimed to describe the clinical features, etiologies and outcomes of adult patients with systemic rheumatic diseases (SRDs) who were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all SRD patients with ARF who were admitted to a medical ICU between 2014 and 2018. We collected data on demographics, clinical characteristics, reasons for ICU admission and outcomes. Etiologies of ARF were classified as infection, SRD exacerbation, and undetermined. Independent predictors of ICU mortality were identified with multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 259 patients admitted to ICU due to ARF were included in final analysis. Systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis/polymyositis (DM/PM), vasculitis and rheumatoid arthritis were the most common SRDs (78% of patients). Etiologies of ARF included infection (n = 209, 80.7%), SRD exacerbation (n = 71, 27.4%), and undetermined (n = 21, 8.1%). The most common pathogen was Pneumocystis jirovecii (39.8%), followed by Aspergillus spp. (33.2%), and cytomegalovirus (23.2%). One hundred and fifty-five patients (59.8%) died during ICU. Higher acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score (odds ratio [OR] 1.118, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.054 to 1.186, p < 0.001) and PaO2/FiO2 < 100 mmHg (OR 3.918, 95% CI 2.199 to 6.892, p < 0.001), DM/PM (OR 4.898, 95% CI 1.949 to 12.309, p = 0.001), vasculitis (OR 3.007, 95% CI 1.237 to 7.309, p = 0.015) and Pneumocystis pneumonia (OR 2.345, 95% CI 1.168 to 4.705, p = 0.016) were independent predictors of ICU mortality. Conclusions: Opportunistic infections and SRD exacerbation were the most common etiologies of ARF in patients with SRDs requiring ICU admission, with high ICU mortality. Development of a standard protocol for differential diagnosis in this group of immunocompromised patients might help initiate definitive therapy and improve clinical outcome. Keywords: Infection, Systemic rheumatic disease, Acute respiratory failure, Etiology
Anti-inflammatory Mechanism of Rhein in Treating Asthma Based on Network Pharmacology
Authors: Feng Junfang , Chen Ou , Wang Yibiao
Published: January 2020

BackgroundNetwork pharmacology was used to study Rhein -target-pathway and to clarify its anti-inflammatory mechanism in the treatment of asthma.and provide a new idea for the treatment of asthmaMethodsThis method, which allows using network pharmacology to figure out the operational mechanism of Rhein-Target-Pathway, defines the effect of anti-inflammatory in treating asthma. The platform of Traditional Chinese Medicine Molecular Mechanism Bioinformatics, a web server for network, is used to get the corresponding target of Rhein and permit molecular docking. Cytoscape3.7.1, a kind of network software, is used to construct Rhein-predicted target network and analyse network topology. Search anti-inflammatory targets in the database of TTD and then construct the PPI network as well as create protein interaction networks that are combined with the Rhein-predicted target network. The anti-inflammatory targets of Rhein should be presented. The asthma genes of human being can be attained from the database of NCBI Gene Database and construct correspondence vivo response network model. Find Anti-inflammatory targets of Rhein against asthma, screen anti-inflammatory targets of Rhein related with Pathogenesis of asthma. Enrichr database is used to analyse signal pathway from anti-inflammatory targets of Rhein KEGG.ResultsAccording to the study, Rhein corresponds to 17 target proteins, four anti-inflammatory targets of Rhein related to asthma(MAPK14, EGFR, ERBB2, TNFRSF1A) are probably the most important targets where asthma is treated by Rhein.ConclusionsThese four anti-inflammatory targets of Rhein related to asthma are probably the key targets in the treatment of asthma by using Rhein. For the purpose of preventing the occurrence as well as development of asthma and delaying the progress of the disease, one or some of the four anti-inflammatory targets of Rhein related to asthma can be controlled.
Efficacy of Azithromycin 1% and 1.5% ophthalmic solutions compared to tobramycin 0.3% eye drops: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Motbaynor Birhanu , Kassie Teshager Worku
Published: January 2020

Background: Azithromycin 1% and 1.5% ophthalmic preparations are used widely in clinical practice for the treatment of signs and symptoms of eye diseases. Despite individual studies, there have been no summarized evidence about the efficacy of azithromycin over tobramycin eye drops. Therefore, the aim of this study was to abridge this gap by rendering conclusive evidence by comparing the efficacy of azithromycin 1% and 1.5% over tobramycin 0.3% ophthalmic solutions for the treatment of eye diseases in short duration in terms of bacterial resolution, cure rate and resolving clinical sign and symptoms of eye diseases. Methods: Systematic searches were performed in both electronic (Medline (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), Emcare (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) and other sources (Worldcat, Mednar, Google and Google scholar). Multicenter randomized controlled trial studies conducted in the English language were identified and screened. Joanna Briggs Institute quality assessment checklist for randomized controlled trials was used to critically appraise the methodological quality of studies. Analysis of individual studies was conducted using the OpenMeta-analyst and Review manager Version 5.3 software. The study was reported, according to the PRISMA reporting checklist. Results: Eleven studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. In clinical cure rate, Azithromycin 1% and 1.5% eye drops were more effective than tobramycin 0.3% eye drops in short duration dosing (≤ 5 days) with a twice-a-day regimen (RR=1.138; 95% CI:1.008, 1.284) whereas on increased duration (>5days) azithromycin is almost similarly as effective as tobramycin with (RR=1.007; 95% CI: 0.964, 1.052). There was no significant difference in efficacy of bacterial resolution of azithromycin (1%, 1.5%) eye drops compared to tobramycin (0.3%) eye drops (RR=0.992; 95% CI: 0.967, 1.0183). Conclusion: Azithromycin 1% and 1.5% eye drops are more effective in clinical cure rate than tobramycin 0.3% eye drops for short duration treatment. So that it is recommended to use azithromycin instead of tobramycin eye drops to get good result in short duration dosage. Systematic Review Registration ID : CRD42019139911, registered on October 16,2019; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/#recordDetails Keywords: Azithromycin, Tobramycin, Efficacy, Eye drops, Eye diseases
Dynamic monitoring of a migrating and penetrating intracardiac foreign body by echocardiography perioperatively
Authors: Huang HJ , Zhang S , Wang P , Ji XF , Wang ZN , zhao jiaqi
Published: January 2020

Backgroud: Cardiac penetrating injuries caused by migrating foreign bodies are rare. The perioperative locating of these foreign bodies is challenging since their location may change with the continuous beat of the heart. Case presentation: We reported an interesting case of cardiac penetrating injury caused by a self-inflicted needle that migrated from the neck to the heart. The needle was dynamically monitored by both transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) perioperatively, which showed a significant location change of the needle in the ventricular wall. In a few hours, the needle had moved into the right ventricle with a distance of 2.0cm. An emergency surgery was immediately carried out and the needle was successfully removed without open heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). If there had been any delay, it would be possible that the needle might enter the right ventricle and was not visible on the surface of the visceral pericardium. The dynamic monitoring of the needle’s location using echocardiography helped clinical decisions and benefited the patient. Conclusions: Foreign bodies with sharp nature have a tendency to migrate though tissues and lead to serious complications. A real-time, continuous and accurate monitoring of cardiac foreign bodies is urgently needed. Echocardiography with a combination of both TTE and TEE help determination of optimal surgical method without radiation hazards, which is worth popularizing in clinical practice.