bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Narsisme Ulama: Dilema dan Posibilitas Rekonstruksi Ushul Fiqh di Indonesia
Authors: Nasution Adelina
Published: March 2019

This paper  describe the construction of the uṣūl al-fiqh  initiated by Hasan al-Turabi that be dialogued with the religious conditions in Indonesia. Its aim is to find the possibility and inventory the constraints of the reconstruction of the uṣūl al-fiqh in Indonesia. This study uses the hermeneutical method of Paul Ricoeur in analyzing the theoretical ideas of Hasan al-Turabi. In this study found the biggest dilemma of reconstruction of uṣūl al-fiqh in Indonesia: the narcissism of scholars and egoism of intellectuals. Apart from that, there are conditional possibilities found, in order to reconstruct uṣūl al-fiqh  in Indonesia, i.e.: 1) willingness, facilities, protection and consis­tency of the government, and 2) the inclusiveness of traditional clerics in order to create a dialogue on the traditional jurisprudence understood by them with the modern scholars and experts of various sciences. The author concluded that only the integration of modern sciences with the traditional Islamic jurisprudence, that uṣūl al-fiqh re­con­struction could be implemented in Indonesia.
Hukum Islam dan Patronase dalam Penentuan 1 Ramadhan di Bungong Keumang
Authors: Rizky Cut Rahma , Nurhadi Agus
Published: March 2019

In 2017, people in Bungong Keumang village started fasting on Thursday, and they did not follow the government's decision to start fasting on Saturday. They prefer to follow the decisions of religious leaders who often overtake fasting, up to 2-3 days. This difference with the government has been going on for a long time, and almost every year has happened. This paper answers the question of why people in Bungong Keumang prefer to follow the decisions of religious leaders in starting Ramadhan fasting rather than following government decision? With in-depth interviews, answers were obtained that the choice of the community was more due to longstanding social patronage relations based on the exchange of values between religious leaders (patrons) and worshipers (clients) that are mutually beneficial to each other. The determination of 1 Ramadhan which is an area of Islamic law is an 'important arena' to strengthen patronage relations. However, at present the client's obedience to patrons is also shifting. The community is increasingly rational in making choices, access to information is also getting easier, and power relations are also decreasing, so the determination of 1 Ramadhan will become stronger into the area of astronomy and Islamic law.
Importance of correcting for fluorescence quenching in fluorescence-based prediction of trihalomethane formation potential
Authors: Saipetch K. , Yoshimura C.
Published: March 2019

Fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy is often used to determine the levels of trihalomethane (THM) precursors in natural organic matter. However, humic substances are known to quench the fluorescence of amino acids and proteins. To date, none of the EEM-based models for predicting THM formation potential (THMFP) have explicitly accounted for these quenching effects. Thus, we investigated the importance of correcting for fluorescence quenching during THMFP prediction. Fluorescence titration experiments revealed that the correction improved the accuracy of THM prediction. EEM-based models using the corrected fluorescence intensity displayed the highest accuracy (R2 > 0.99; mean absolute error 8.1 μg/L and 13.9 μg/L for chloroform and bromoform, respectively) among models using individual parameters of EEM intensity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UV254), specific UV254 (SUVA254) and differential ultraviolet absorbance at 272 nm (ΔUV272). Thus, EEM-based models require both the fluorescence intensity of a humic-like component and the corrected fluorescence intensity of a protein-like component for accurate THMFP prediction, for both chlorination and bromination processes. We also found it to be unnecessary to combine DOC with EEM intensity in terms of prediction accuracy, as long as the fluorescence quenching correction is applied.
Pressure distribution of bottom rollers below the aerator device
Authors: Wang Yu , Wu Jianhua , Ma Fei , Qian Shangtuo
Published: March 2019

With regard to high water head and large flow velocity in the spillway tunnels of hydraulic projects in China, the aerator device has been introduced and is widely used to prevent cavitation damage. The bottom rollers in the nappe cavity below the aerator device are a serious concern in designing suitable cavity regimes; however, observation of roller size may be inaccurate due to high flow turbulence and de-aeration in the jet impact region. In this study, a novel approach is proposed to predict roller sizes using pressure distribution of the bottom rollers. Pressure distribution characteristics are experimentally investigated under different geometrical parameters of aerator device and hydraulic conditions. The results specify the influence of the relative step height and working gate opening on pressure distribution. The simplified estimating formula of pressure distribution is derived within relative errors of 15%. The evaluation of the applicability of the proposed equation shows test data are in good agreement with the calculated value. Research results provide a reference for estimating bottom rollers of similar engineering.
Inhibitory Effects of Usnic and Carnosic Acid on Some Metabolic Enzymes: An In vitro Study
Authors: Ceylan Hamid , Demir Yeliz , Beydemir Şükrü
Published: March 2019

Background:

Natural products are produced via primary and secondary metabolism in
different organisms. The compounds obtained via secondary metabolism are not essential for the
survival of the organism, but they can have a different value for humans.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to examine inhibitory effects of Usnic Acid (UA), a
well-known lichen secondary metabolite, and Carnosic Acid (CA), the primary antioxidant
compound of Rosmarinus officinalis L., on purified Human Paraoxonase, (PON1), Glutathione
Reductase (GR) and Glutathione S-Transferase (GST). These enzymes have antioxidant properties
and a protective effect on the oxidation of free radicals. Hence, deficiencies of such enzymes inside
cells can result in a buildup of toxic substances and cause some metabolic disorders.

Methods:

UA and CA were tested in various concentrations against human GST, PON1, and GR
activity in vitro and they reduced human GST, PON1, and GR activity.

Results:

UA Ki constants were calculated as 0.012±0.0019, 0.107±0.06 and 0.21±0.1 mM for GST,
PON1, and GR enzymes. CA Ki constants were determined as 0.028±0.009, 0.094±0.03 and
0.79±0.33 mM, for GST, PON1, and GR enzymes. UA and CA showed competitive inhibition for
GR and GST enzymes, while they exhibited non-competitive inhibition for PON1.

Conclusion:

These findings indicate that UA and CA could be useful in drug development studies.
LncRNAs: Potential Novel Prognostic and Diagnostic Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Dastmalchi Narges , Safaralizadeh Reza , Nargesi Mirsaed Miri
Published: March 2019

Background:

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a type of regulatory RNAs, play a key
role in numerous cellular pathways. Ectopic expression of this group of non-coding RNAs has been
specified to be involved in numerous diseases. Moreover, the role of lncRNAs in the initiation and
development of cancers including colorectal cancer (CRC) has been acknowledged.

Objective:

In the present review, the role of lncRNAs as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in
CRC as well as the molecular mechanisms of their contribution to development of CRC has been
addressed.

Results:

The presented studies have indicated the ectopic expression of various lncRNAs in CRC.
Some lncRNAs which were considered as tumor suppressors were downregulated in the colorectal
cancerous tissues compared with healthy controls; however, some with oncogenic effects were
upregulated. LncRNAs contribute to tumor development via various molecular mechanisms such as
epigenetically controlling the expression of target genes, interacting with miRNAs as their sponge,
etc.

Conclusion:

LncRNAs that have been recognized as prognostic biomarkers may pave the way for
clinical management to offer adjuvant treatments for patients with CRC.
Scaffold Based Search on the Desferithiocin Archetype
Authors: Shyam Mousumi , Dev Abhimanyu , Sinha Barij Nayan , Jayaprakash Venkatesan
Published: March 2019

:

Iron overload disorder and diseases where iron mismanagement plays a crucial role require orally available iron chelators with favourable pharmacokinetic and toxicity profile. Desferrithiocin (DFT), a tridentate and orally available iron chelator has a favourable pharmacokinetic profile but its use has been clinically restricted due to its nephrotoxic potential. The chemical architecture of the DFT has been naturally well optimized for better iron chelation and iron clearance from human biological system. Equally they are also responsible for its toxicity. Hence, subsequent research has been devoted to develop a non-nephrotoxic analogue of DFT without losing its iron clearance ability.

:

The review has been designed to classify the compounds reported till date and to discuss the structure activity relationship with reference to modifications attempted at different positions over pyridine and thiazoline ring of DFT. Compounds are clustered under two major classes: (i) Pyridine analogues and (ii) phenyl analogue and further each class has been further subdivided based on the presence or absence and the number of hydroxy functional groups present over pyridine or phenyl ring of the DFT analogues. Finally a summary and few insights into the development of newer analogues are provided.
Tph2 Genetic Ablation Contributes to Senile Plaque Load and Astrogliosis in APP/PS1 Mice
Authors: Xu Chao-Jin , Wang Jun-Ling , Jing-Pan  , Min-Liao
Published: March 2019

Background:

Amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s
disease (AD) lesions. Deficiency of Serotonin signaling recently has been linked to the increased
Aβ level in transgenic mice and humans. In addition, tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (Tph2), a second
tryptophan hydroxylase isoform, controls brain serotonin synthesis. However, it remains to be determined
that whether Tph2 deficient APP/PS1mice affect the formation of Aβ plaques in vivo.

Methods:

Both quantitative and qualitative immunochemistry methods, as well as Congo red staining
were used to evaluate the Aβ load and astrogliosis in these animals.

Results:

we studied alterations of cortex and hippocampus in astrocytes and senile plaques by Tph2
conditional knockout (Tph2 CKO) AD mice from 6-10 months of age. Using Congo red staining and
immunostained with Aβ antibody, we showed that plaques load or plaques numbers significantly increased
in Tph2 CKO experimental groups at 8 to 10 months old, compared to wild type (WT) group,
respectively. Using GFAP+ astrocytes immunofluorescence method, we found that the density of GFAP+
astrocytes markedly enhanced in Tph2 CKO at 10 months. We showed Aβ plaques co-localized
autophagic markers LC3 and p62. Nevertheless, we did not observe any co-localization between GFAP+
astrocytes and autophagic markers, but detected the co-localization between βIII-tubulin+ neurons and
autophagic markers.

Conclusion:

Overall, our work provides the preliminary evidence in vivo that Tph2 plays a role in amyloid
plaques generation.
Imidazole and 1,2,4-Triazole-based Derivatives Gifted with Antitubercular Activity: Cytotoxicity and Computational Assessment
Authors: Zampieri Daniele , Cateni Francesca , Moneghini Mariarosa , Zacchigna Marina , Laurini Erik , Marson Domenico , De Logu Alessandro , Sanna Adriana , Mamolo Maria G.
Published: March 2019

Background:

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Mtb) is the causative pathogen of Tuberculosis (TB) and outbreaks are more common among immunosuppressed persons infected with HIV. The current treatment regimens are lengthy and toxic, yet the therapy has remained unchanged for many decades, so there is a need to find new structures with selective mechanism of action. Moreover, the increased incidence of severe disseminated infections produced by undiagnosed Multidrug-resistant (MDR), worsen clinical treatment and contribute the spread of the disease.

Objective:

The aim of our study was to evaluate the potential of imidazole and triazole moieties for antimycobacterial activity, by synthesizing some 1-(1-(aryl)-2-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)hydrazono)ethyl- 1H-imidazole and 1H-1,2,4-triazole derivatives 2a-l.

Methods:

The title compounds were obtained via classical organic synthesis. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the method of microdilution and the cytotoxicity assay was performed by MTT method.

Results:

The results indicated that the presence of both the imidazole ring and that of the 2,6- dichlorosubstituted phenyl moiety, is more relevant for inhibitory activity against Mtb than the triazole nucleus and the unsubstituted phenyl ring. Among the series, (E)-1-(2-(5-chlorothiophen-2-yl)-2-(2- (2,6-dichlorophenyl)hydrazono)ethyl)-1H-imidazole derivative 2f and (Z)-1-(2-([1,1’-biphenyl]-4-yl)- 2-(2-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)hydrazono)ethyl]-1H-imidazole derivatives 2e exhibited a promising antimycobacterial property and the latter also displayed a safe cytotoxic profile.

Conclusion:

The synthesized compounds were studied for their antitubercular activity. Among the series, the compounds 2e and 2f appeared to be the most promising agents and, according to the docking assessment, the compounds could be CYP51 inhibitors. These evidences could be useful for the future development of new antimycobacterial derivatives targeting CYP51 with more specificity for the mycobacterial cell enzyme.
Synthesis and In Vitro Enzymatic Studies of New 3-Aryldiazenyl Indoles as Promising Helicobacter pylori IMPDH Inhibitors
Authors: Jangra Sachin , Purushothaman Gayathri , Juvale Kapil , Ravi Srimadhavi , Menon Aishwarya , Thiruvenkatam Vijay , Kirubakaran Sivapriya
Published: March 2019

Background & Objective:

Helicobacter pylori infection is one of the primary causes of peptic ulcer followed by gastric cancer in the world population. Due to increased occurrences of multi-drug resistance to the currently available antibiotics, there is an urgent need for a new class of drugs against H. pylori. Inosine 5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), a metabolic enzyme plays a significant role in cell proliferation and cell growth. It catalyses guanine nucleotide synthesis. IMPDH enzyme has been exploited as a target for antiviral, anticancer and immunosuppressive drugs. Recently, bacterial IMPDH has been studied as a potential target for treating bacterial infections. Differences in the structural and kinetic parameters of the eukaryotic and prokaryotic IMPDH make it possible to target bacterial enzyme selectively.

Methods:

In the current work, we have synthesised and studied the effect of substituted 3-aryldiazenyl indoles on Helicobacter pylori IMPDH (HpIMPDH) activity. The synthesised molecules were examined for their inhibitory potential against recombinant HpIMPDH.

Results:

In this study, compounds 1 and 2 were found to be the most potent inhibitors amongst the database with IC50 of 0.8 ± 0.02µM and 1 ± 0.03 µM, respectively.

Conclusion:

When compared to the most potent known HpIMPDH inhibitor molecule C91, 1 was only four-fold less potent and can be a good lead for further development of selective and potent inhibitors of HpIMPDH.
Bicycloheptylamine-Doxorubicin Conjugate: Synthesis and Anticancer Activities in σ2 Receptor-Expressing Cell Lines
Authors: Alamri Mohammed A. , Ates-Alagoz Zeynep , Adejare Adeboye
Published: March 2019

Background:

Novel bicycloheptylamines were designed and synthesized. These compounds
were found to be selective for sigma-2 receptors. These receptors have been found to be up
to 10 fold over-expressed in certain cancer cell lines, leading to investigation of possible uses as a
biomarker in diagnosis and/or treatment especially in cancers with poor prognosis.

Objective:

The aim was to conjugate a novel sigma-2 receptor ligand to doxorubicin to examine
anticancer activities, with and without conjugation, and therefore possibilities in drug delivery.

Methods:

Conjugation was conducted using N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide
HCl as a coupling agent. Affinity towards the sigma-2 receptor was tested using ligand-receptor
binding studies. Anticancer activities against cancer cell lines were carried out using cell viability
assays. Caspase dependency was tested using Z-VAD-FMK, a pan-caspase inhibitor, to begin to
investigate mechanisms of action.

Results:

The target compound retained affinity towards the sigma-2 receptor and exhibited potent
anticancer activities on cancer cell lines expressing the sigma-2 receptor. The potencies exceeded
those of doxorubicin, the lead sigma-2 receptor ligand, as well as non-covalent combination of
both drugs. The activity was also found to be caspase-dependent.

Conclusion:

The conjugation of target bicycloheptylamines with cytotoxic moieties may yield potent
and selective molecules for detection and/or treatment of certain cancers.
QSPR Models to Predict Thermodynamic Properties of Cycloalkanes Using Molecular Descriptors and GA-MLR Method
Authors: Joudaki Daryoush , Shafiei Fatemeh
Published: March 2019

Aims and Objectives:

QSPR models establish relationships between different types of structural
information to their observed properties. In the present study the relationship between the molecular descriptors
and quantum properties of cycloalkanes is represented.

Materials and Methods:

Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Multiple Linear Regressions (MLR) were successfully
developed to predict quantum properties of cycloalkanes. A large number of molecular descriptors were
calculated with Dragon software and a subset of calculated descriptors was selected with a genetic algorithm
as a feature selection technique. The quantum properties consist of the heat capacity (Cv)/ Jmol-1K-1
entropy(S)/ Jmol-1K-1 and thermal energy(Eth)/ kJmol-1 were obtained from quantum-chemistry technique at
the Hartree-Fock (HF) level using the ab initio 6-31G* basis sets.

Results:

The Genetic Algorithm (GA) method was used to select important molecular descriptors and then
they were used as inputs for SPSS software package. The predictive powers of the MLR models were discussed
using Leave-One-Out (LOO) cross-validation, leave-group (5-fold)-out (LGO) and external prediction
series. The statistical parameters of the training and test sets for GA–MLR models were calculated.

Conclusion:

The resulting quantitative GA-MLR models of Cv, S, and Eth were obtained:[r2=0.950, Q2=0.989,
r2
ext=0.969, MAE(overall,5-flod)=0.6825 Jmol-1K-1], [r2=0.980, Q2=0.947, r2
ext=0.943, MAE(overall,5-flod)=0.5891Jmol-1K-1],
and [r2=0.980, Q2=0.809, r2
ext=0.985, MAE(overall,5-flod)=2.0284 kJmol-1]. The results showed that the predictive
ability of the models was satisfactory, and the constitutional, topological indices and ring descriptor
could be used to predict the mentioned properties of 103 cycloalkanes.
Azithromycin-induced Aphthous Stomatitis: A Case Series
Authors: Moghadam Ehsan T. , Tafazoli Ali
Published: March 2019

Background:

Azithromycin is one of the most popular antibiotics in current clinical
practice. This medication generally considered to be safe and well-tolerated in different demographic
populations. Like any other drug, azithromycin use is not without risk and adverse effects.
In recent years, cardiovascular accidents have been announced as its major and most important side
effect. But azithromycin use can be accompanied with less recognized complications which are
significantly discomforting. In this article, we presented a neglected adverse effect of azithromycin
in medical literature which is aphthous stomatitis.

Methods:

We detected three cases with this complication in our center during a one-year period. All
the accessible clinical data were recorded and PubMed database was explored to assess the relevant
literature.

Results:

The patients had aphthous stomatitis within 24 hours of the first dose which was healed in
about 2 to 3 weeks. Naranjo scoring system showed a probable stage for this adverse drug reaction.
There was no such a report in our database search process.

Conclusion::

It could be stated that aphthous stomatitis is an important adverse effect of azithromycin
that can affect the patient’s quality of life during therapy and in the majority of cases, it can be
neglected by healthcare practitioners.
Harnessing Stem Cells and Neurotrophic Factors with Novel Technologies in the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Conese Massimo , Cassano Roberta , Gavini Elisabetta , Trapani Giuseppe , Rassu Giovanna , Sanna Enrico , Di Gioia Sante , Trapani Adriana
Published: March 2019

:

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons, oxidative stress
and neuroinflammation. The classical therapeutic approach with L-DOPA is not able to control motor
symptoms in the long term, thus new disease-modifying or neuroprotective treatments are urgently
required in order to match such yet unmet clinical needs. Success in cell-based therapy has been accomplished
at a clinical level with human fetal mesencephalic tissue, but ethical issues and a shortage
of organs clearly underline the need for novel sources of dopaminergic neurons. Mesenchymal stem
cells (MSCs) can be obtained from different adult and fetal tissues that are normally discarded as
waste, including adipose tissue, placenta, umbilical cord, and dental tissues. Their neuroregenerative,
anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties are mainly mediated by the secretion of an array
of bioactive molecules and are heightened when MSCs form tri-dimensional structures called spheroids.
Not only can MSCs spontaneously produce neurotrophic factors (NFs) but they can be engineered
to synthetize and secrete them in vivo. The aim of this review is to provide a picture of results
gained with MSC secretome and spheroids in PD, as well as the possibility of harnessing MSC-based
therapy with the use of nano- and micro-structured materials for NF delivery.
Synergistic Effect of Novel EGFR Inhibitor AZD8931 and p38α siRNA in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cancer Cells
Authors: Zarredar Habib , Farajnia Safar , Ansarin Khalil , Baradaran Behzad , Aria Maryam , Asadi Milad
Published: March 2019

Background:

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death with less than 5-year survival rate for both men and women worldwide. EGFR and MAPK signaling pathways have a critical role in proliferation and progression of various cancers, including lung cancer. P38 map kinase plays different role in various tissue hence showing a tissue-dependent behavior. It acts as an oncogene in some tissues while plays as tumor suppressor in some other tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the combined effect of P38 αspecific siRNA and EGFR inhibitor on apoptosis and proliferation of A549 lung cancer cell line.

Objective:

This article is dedicated to the synergistic effect of novel EGFR inhibitor AZD8931 and P38 α siRNA in lung adenocarcinoma cancer cells proliferation and apoptosis.

Methods and Materials:

The A549 lung cancer cells were treated with P38 α- siRNA and EGFR inhibitor alone or in combination. The cytotoxic effects of P38 α- siRNA and EGFR inhibitor were determined using MTT assay. Relative P38 α and EGFR mRNA levels were measured by QRT-PCR. Induction of apoptosis were measured by FACS analysis.

Results:

The expression of mRNA related to P38 α, EGFR, and Her2 genes was reduced to 23.4%, 52.4%, and 75, respectively, after treatment of their inhibitors. Also, MTT assay showed that the cell viability after treatment with p38 α SiRNA, EGFR inhibitor and their combination was reduced to 51.02%, 48.9%, and 25.11%, respectively. FACS results indicated that p38 α siRNA, EGFR inhibitor and their combination, reduced the population of live cells to 49.5%, 32.2% and 14.3% in comparison to the population of untreated control cells (99.5%).

Conclusion:

The results of this study indicated that p38 α and EGFR might play an important role in the development and growth of lung cancer and might be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of lung cancer.
An HHV-8 Positive HIV Negative Multicentric Castleman’s Disease, who Responded well to Rituximab Alone
Authors: Kounatidis Dimitris , Rontogianni Dimitra , Sampaziotis Dimitrios , Vardaka Maria , Giatra Chara , Dolapsakis Christodoulos , Margellou Evangelia , Vallianou Natalia G.
Published: March 2019

Background:

Multicentric Castleman Disease (MCD) presents with enlarged lymph
nodes in multiple regions and systemic inflammatory symptoms, due to the dysregulation of cytokines,
most commonly interleukin-6 (IL-6). Human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) is strongly related to
MCD (HHV-8-associated MCD) and is being implicated in cytokine dysregulation in patients, the
majority of whom are HIV positive or immunosuppressed. Preferred treatment of HHV-8-
associated MCD depends on the presence or not of concurrent Kaposi sarcoma and on whether the
patient has life-threatening organ failure or poor performance status thought to be related to HHV-
8-associated MCD.

Case Presentation:

Herein, we describe a female patient with HHV-8 positive, HIV negative MCD,
who responded well to the administration of rituximab once weekly for four weeks alone for three
cycles.

Conclusion:

HHV-8 positive, HIV negative MCD treatment modalities are only anecdotal due to
the rarity of this form of MCD. Administration of rituximab alone seems to be beneficial among
patients with good performance status and the absence of life-threatening organ failure in cases of
HHV-8 positive, HIV negative MCD.
Clostridium Difficile Infection in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients
Authors: Albarrak Abdulmajeed A. , Romana Bhupinder S. , Uraz Suleyman , Yousef Mohamad H. , Juboori Alhareth A. , Tahan Veysel
Published: March 2019

Background:

The rising incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the general population has been recognized by health care organizations worldwide. The emergence of hypervirulent strains has made CDI more challenging to understand and treat. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are at higher risk of infection, including CDI.

Objective:

A diagnostic approach for recurrent CDI has yet to be validated, particularly for IBD patients. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for toxins A and B, as well as glutamate dehydrogenase EIA, are both rapid testing options for the identification of CDI. Without a high index of suspicion, it is challenging to initially differentiate CDI from an IBD flare based on clinical evaluation alone.

Methods:

Here, we provide an up-to-date review on CDI in IBD patients. When caring for an IBD patient with suspected CDI, it is appropriate to empirically treat the presumed infection while awaiting further test results.

Results:

Treatment with vancomycin or fidaxomicin, but not oral metronidazole, has been advocated by an expert review from the clinical practice update committee of the American Gastroenterology Association. Recurrent CDI is more common in IBD patients compared to non-IBD patients (32% versus 24%), thus more aggressive treatment is recommended for IBD patients along with early consideration of fecal microbiota transplant.

Conclusion:

Although the use of infliximab during CDI has been debated, clinical experience exists supporting its use in an IBD flare, even with active CDI when needed.
Epigenetic Modifications Associated with the Pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Hossan Tareq , Kundu Shoumik , Alam Sayeda Sadia , Nagarajan Sankari
Published: March 2019

Background and Objective:

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a multifactorial metabolic disorder. Pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance are the most common and crucial events of T2DM. Increasing evidence suggests the association of epigenetic modifications with the pathogenesis of T2DM through the changes in important biological processes including pancreatic β- cell differentiation, development and maintenance of normal β-cell function. Insulin sensitivity by the peripheral glucose uptake tissues is also changed by the altered epigenetic mechanisms. In this review, we discussed the major epigenetic alterations and their effects on β-cell function, insulin secretion and insulin resistance in context of T2DM.

Methods:

We investigated the presently available epigenetic modifications including DNA methylation, posttranslational histone modifications, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling and non-coding RNAs related to the pathogenesis of T2DM. Published literatures on this topic were searched both on Google Scholar and Pubmed with related keywords and investigated for relevant information.

Results:

The epigenetic modifications introduce changes in gene expression which are essential for appropriate β-cell development and functions, insulin secretion and sensitivity resulting in the pathogenesis of T2DM. Interestingly, T2DM could also be a prominent reason for the mentioned epigenetic alterations.

Conclusion:

This review article emphasized on the epigenetic modifications associated with T2DM and discussed the consequences in deterioration of the disease condition.
Effect of pruning levels and growth regulator application on guava (Psidium guajava l.) cv. Lucknow – 49 for high yield and quality
Authors: T.N. Balamohan , B. Kala
Published: March 2019

A field experiment to standardize the levels of pruning and growth regulator application in guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. Lucknow-49 was undertaken at Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam during 2016-2017. The experiment consists of seven different levels of pruning and growth regulator application and the treatments were imposed on two years old trees. The result of the experiment revealed that, the treatment T5 (Light pruning + Paclobutrazol application) recorded the highest mean fruit weight, fruit length, fruit circumference, fruit pulp weight. Major objective of canopy management in guava cv. Lucknow -49 under high density planting system is to maximize the yield and maintaining the optimum canopy without overlapping. In a nutshell, taking into consideration of the performance of various pruning and chemical treatments, particularly yield and yield components, the treatment followed by T3 (Moderate pruning + Paclobutrazol application) in guava cv. Lucknow – 49 under high density planting system.
Patients’ Use of the Internet to Find Reliable Medical Information About Minor Ailments: Vignette-Based Experimental Study
Authors: Kwakernaak Joyce , Eekhof Just A H , De Waal Margot W M , Barenbrug Elisabeth A M , Chavannes Niels H
Published: March 2019

Background

Little is known about the exact process of how patients search for medical information on the internet and what they retrieve. There is especially a paucity of literature on browsing for information on minor ailments, a term used for harmless diseases that are very common in the general population and thus have a significant impact on health care.

Objective

This vignette-based experimental study aimed to explore what kind of Web-based search strategies are applied and how search strategies, demographic characteristics, and the quality of the visited websites relate to finding the right diagnosis. Additional goals were to describe how searching on the Web influences one’s perception of the severity of the potential diagnosis and whether or not the participants would discuss the information they found on the internet with their doctors.

Methods

Out of 1372 survey participants, 355 were randomly sampled, and 155 of them were recruited and assigned to one of four clinical scenarios. Each search term they used was classified as one of three search strategies: (1) hypothesis testing, (2) narrowing within the general hypothesis area, and (3) symptom exploration. The quality of the websites used was determined by using the DISCERN instrument. To compare the diagnostic accuracy of the participants before and after the internet search, a McNemar test was used. Chi-square tests were used to describe which factors are related to the chosen search strategy. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was constructed to predict which factors are related to finding a sound diagnosis after searching the internet for health information.

Results

Most participants (65.8%, 102/155) used the symptom exploration strategy. However, this depends on the assigned scenario (P<.001) and the self-estimated severity score of the symptoms before the internet search (P=.001). A significant relation was found between choosing an accurate diagnosis and age (odds ratio [OR] 0.94, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.98) and the clinical scenario, as well as the use of high-quality websites (OR 7.49, 95% CI 1.85 to 30.26). Browsing the internet did not lead to a statistically significant change in participants’ beliefs about the severity of the condition (McNemar test, P=.85). Most participants (65%) shared their retrieved information with their physician and most of them (75%) received a positive response.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that most patients use a symptom-based approach; however, if patients expect the potential diagnosis to be severe, they tend to use a hypothesis verification strategy more often and are therefore prone to certain forms of bias. In addition, self-diagnosing accuracy is related to younger age, the symptom scenario, and the use of high-quality websites. We should find ways to guide patients toward search strategies and websites that may more likely lead to accurate decision making.
Girl2Girl: How do develop a salient pregnancy prevention program for sexual minority adolescent girls (Preprint)
Authors: Ybarra Michele , Price-Feeney Myeshia , Prescott Tonya , Goodenow Carol , Saewyc Elizabeth , Rosario Margaret
Published: March 2019

BACKGROUND

Research suggests that lesbian and bisexual girls are between two and four times more likely to report having been pregnant than girls who identify as exclusively heterosexual. Despite this compelling evidence that sexual minority adolescent girls are at risk for teen pregnancy, programs tailored to the unique needs of LGB adolescents are nonexistent.

OBJECTIVE

Research suggests that lesbian and bisexual girls are between two and four times more likely to report having been pregnant than girls who identify as exclusively heterosexual. Despite this compelling evidence that sexual minority adolescent girls are at risk for teen pregnancy, programs tailored to the unique needs of LGB adolescents are nonexistent.

METHODS

Over a 12-month period between 2015 and 2016, three different formative activities were implemented to develop and refine the prevention program. Participants were 14-18 year-old cisgender females recruited nationally on Facebook and Instagram. First, focus groups (FGs) were conducted to gain teens’ ‘voice’ about how they talked about sexual situations (n=160). Next, content advisory teams (CATs) were convened to iteratively review a draft of the intervention messages and provide feedback on their tone, saliency, and understandability (n=82). Finally, once the content and assessments were finalized, a beta test was conducted to confirm the program functionality, the feasibility of the assessments, and the enrollment protocol (n=27).

RESULTS

Girls in the FGs were overwhelmingly positive about the idea of receiving text messages about sexual health, although privacy was a noteworthy concern. As such, important safe guards were built into the enrollment process (e.g., the provision of how-to guides to safe-guard one’s phone). Teens in the CATs found the content to be approachable, salient, and educational although many wanted the messages to be more gender inclusive. Messages were thusly updated to not assume people with penises were boys. Once the messages and study protocol were finalized, a beta test was conducted. None of the participants withdrew during the six-week intervention and between 71-86% provided weekly feedback, suggesting both the protocol and content were feasible to test at the national level in a subsequent RCT.

CONCLUSIONS

This careful step-by-step iterative approach resulted in a high level of feasibility and acceptability, with all randomized beta test participants successfully completing the program. Developed and refined with the input of diverse sexual minority adolescent girls from across the United States, Girl2Girl program is a promising approach to addressing sexual health and pregnancy prevention in this underserved but vulnerable population.

CLINICALTRIAL

NCT03029962
An Immersive Virtual Reality Platform for Assessing Spatial Navigation Memory in Predementia Screening: Feasibility and Usability Study (Preprint)
Authors: Ijaz Kiran , Ahmadpour Naseem , Naismith Sharon L , Calvo Rafael A
Published: March 2019

BACKGROUND

Traditional methods for assessing memory are expensive and have high administrative costs. Memory assessment is important for establishing cognitive impairment in cases such as detecting dementia in older adults. Virtual reality (VR) technology can assist in establishing better quality outcome in such crucial screening by supporting the well-being of individuals and offering them an engaging, cognitively challenging task that is not stressful. However, unmet user needs can compromise the validity of the outcome. Therefore, screening technology for older adults must address their specific design and usability requirements.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to design and evaluate the feasibility of an immersive VR platform to assess spatial navigation memory in older adults and establish its compatibility by comparing the outcome to a standard screening platform on a personal computer (PC).

METHODS

VR-CogAssess is a platform integrating an Oculus Rift head-mounted display and immersive photorealistic imagery. In a pilot study with healthy older adults (N=42; mean age 73.22 years, SD 9.26), a landmark recall test was conducted, and assessment on the VR-CogAssess was compared against a standard PC (SPC) setup.

RESULTS

Results showed that participants in VR were significantly more engaged (P=.003), achieved higher landmark recall scores (P=.004), made less navigational mistakes (P=.04), and reported a higher level of presence (P=.002) than those in SPC setup. In addition, participants in VR indicated no significantly higher stress than SPC setup (P=.87).

CONCLUSIONS

The study findings suggest immersive VR is feasible and compatible with SPC counterpart for spatial navigation memory assessment. The study provides a set of design guidelines for creating similar platforms in the future.
Exploring User Needs and Preferences for Mobile Apps for Sleep Disturbance: Mixed Methods Study (Preprint)
Authors: Aji Melissa , Gordon Christopher , Peters Dorian , Bartlett Delwyn , Calvo Rafael A , Naqshbandi Khushnood , Glozier Nick
Published: March 2019

BACKGROUND

Mobile health (mHealth) apps demonstrate promise for improving sleep at scale. End-user engagement is a prerequisite for sustained use and effectiveness.

OBJECTIVE

We assessed the needs and preferences of those with poor sleep and insomnia to inform the development of an engaging sleep app.

METHODS

We triangulated results from qualitative (focus groups and app reviews) and quantitative (online survey) approaches. A total of 2 focus groups were conducted (N=9). An online survey tested themes identified from the focus groups against a larger population (N=167). In addition, we analyzed 434 user reviews of 6 mobile apps available on app stores.

RESULTS

Common focus group themes included the need to account for diverse sleep phenotypes with an adaptive and tailored program, key app features (alarms and sleep diaries), the complex yet condescending nature of existing resources, providing rationale for information requested, and cost as a motivator. Most survey participants (156/167, 93%) would try an evidence-based sleep app. The most important app features reported were sleep diaries (148/167, 88%), sharing sleep data with a doctor (116/167, 70%), and lifestyle tracking (107/167, 64%). App reviews highlighted the alarm as the most salient app feature (43/122, 35%) and data synchronization with a wearable device (WD) as the most commonly mentioned functionality (40/135, 30%).

CONCLUSIONS

This co-design process involving end users through 3 methods consistently highlighted sleep tracking (through a diary and WD), alarms, and personalization as vital for engagement, although their implementation was commonly criticized in review. Engagement is negatively affected by poorly designed features, bugs, and didactic information which must be addressed. Other needs depend upon the type of user, for example, those with severe insomnia.
Development of A Fingerprint Biometric Authentication System For Secure Electronic Voting Machines
Authors: Umar B U , Olaniyi O M , Ajao L A , Maliki D , Okeke I C
Published: March 2019

Democratic government in the world today rely on electronic voting as the foremost means of providing credible, transparent and fair elections for the electorate. There is a need for developed electronic voting systems to be security enhanced to ensure the authenticity of the developed system. Traditional paper balloting systems suffer from vote tampering, multiple voting and illegal voting by unregistered voters. They are also, susceptible to under aged voting due to the difficulty in authenticating the identity of prospective voters. Manual collation and publication of vote results also leads to slow response times and inaccuracies in published results. This research paper proposes a system to combat the current challenges through the development of a fingerprint biometric authentication system for secure electronic voting machines. It uses a fingerprint biometric sensor, integrated via Python to verify users of the system. The inclusion of biometrics improves the security features of the system. The secure voting system is built using PHP and easy to use Graphical User Interface was designed using HTML and CSS. Users are required to interact with the machine via a 7” touchscreen interface. From the results, it shows that the developed machine has a minimum response time of 0.6 seconds for specific operation, an FAR of 2%, FRR of 10% and overall system accuracy of 94%. The developed machine is able to combat the challenges of authentication of users, thereby guaranteeing the transparency, credibility, integrity and vote authenticity of the elections.
Influence of organizational citizenship behavior on prosocial rule breaking: Moral licensing perspective
Authors: Liu Tingting , Liu Chang’e , Zhou Erhua
Published: March 2019

Researchers have introduced the prosocial rule breaking (PSRB) concept to explain situations where employees encounter an ethical dilemma between promoting the welfare of the organization and following organizational regulations. PSRB can be regarded as ethical decision making in an
organization, but few researchers have used ethical decision theories to study it. Adopting the moral licensing perspective, we argued that organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), the typical form of moral conduct within organizations, would predict PSRB, and that this relationship would
be mediated by moral selfimage and moderated by intrinsic motivation for OCB. Results of our 2-wave survey of 433 Chinese employees showed that employees’ OCB had a positive effect on PSRB through the mediator of moral self-image. Additionally, when intrinsic motivation toward OCB was
high, the relationship between OCB and moral self-image was amplified and gave more confidence to employees to practice PSRB. Our findings contribute to the understanding of PSRB and moral licensing theory.
Work Statistics, Loschmidt Echo and Information Scrambling in Chaotic Quantum Systems
Authors: Chenu Aurélia , Molina-Vilaplana Javier , del Campo Adolfo
Published: March 2019

Characterizing the work statistics of driven complex quantum systems is generally challenging because of the exponential growth with the system size of the number of transitions involved between different energy levels. We consider the quantum work distribution associated with the driving of chaotic quantum systems described by random matrix Hamiltonians and characterize exactly the work statistics associated with a sudden quench for arbitrary temperature and system size. Knowledge of the work statistics yields the Loschmidt echo dynamics of an entangled state between two copies of the system of interest, the thermofield double state. This echo dynamics is dictated by the spectral form factor. We discuss its relation to frame potentials and its use to assess information scrambling.
Modelo de asignación dinámica de lugares de almacenamiento en centros Cross Docking
Authors: Orejuela Juan Pablo , Rodríguez Sandra L. , Díaz Viviana M.
Published: March 2019

Este trabajo describe una metodología para la asignación de lugares de almacenamiento temporal en centros tipo Cross Docking, para lo cual se desarrolla un modelo cuyo principal aporte es la asignación dinámica de productos entrantes a estos lugares de almacenamiento. El modelo minimiza los costos asociados al inventario final de los productos y los costos asociados a las distancias recorridas por unidad de carga. Se logra, además, una reducción del tiempo de permanencia y una aceleración del flujo de los productos desde la recepción hasta el despacho. Como principal conclusión, se identifica la importancia de las asignaciones puerta a puerta, en la reducción de los costos.
Control Self-Assessment and Costs of Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404
Authors: Abbott Lawrence J. , Parker Susan , Peters Gary F. , Presley Theresa J.
Published: March 2019

Control self-assessment (CSA) represents the practice of making operational-level managers responsible for internal control monitoring. We investigate the association between the use of CSA and certain costs incurred in maintaining internal control systems and complying with regulatory requirements. We find a negative association between CSA and external audit fees paid for the audit of internal control over financial reporting. Moreover, we find an incremental fee reduction resulting from the interaction between CSA and Section 404 assistance provided to the external auditor by the internal auditor. Additionally, we find a negative association between the use of CSA and some costs of the internal audit's own evaluation of operational and financial controls for managerial purposes. In sum, our study suggests that CSA can lessen at least some internal control costs while reducing control risk as proxied by external costs of internal control compliance. We discuss implications for broader management control systems.
How Sensitivity of Energy Intake to Fuel Price Change: Evidence from Central Java
Authors: Widarjono Agus
Published: March 2019

Because of high world oil prices during 2008-2013, the government must adjust domestic fuel price several times. One of the fuel price adjustments occurred in 2013. The increase in fuel prices caused high inflation. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of rising fuel prices on calorie consumption as a main source of energy intake  in Central Java Province. The results of this study indicate that calorie income elasticity increased both in urban and rural areas after the increase in fuel price. However, urban households are more responsive than rural households. An increase in calorie income elasticity means that households must allocate more expenditure on food consumption in order to fulfill minimum energy intake. These findings imply that cash transfer policies such as direct cash transfer for poor households known as BLT as well as rice policy for poor households as called Raskin are very effective to maintain minimum calorie intake during price crisis.