bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wrist-ankle acupuncture for the treatment of acute orthopedic pain after surgery: a meta-analysis
Authors: Chen Mengli , Xu Yiyin , Fu Xiuzhen , Xie Jiewei , Cao Xuewei , Xu Yisheng
Published: April 2022

Background：Wrist-ankle acupuncture (WAA) have been reported in treatment of acute pain in orthopedic surgery, however, the effects of WAA on acute pain were controversial in the current studies. Therefore, the purpose of this meta-analysis was to critically evaluate the effect of WAA on acute pain in orthopedic surgery.Methods: Several digital databases were searched from the inception of databases to July 2021, including CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, CBM, Pubmed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Medline and Web of Science Core Collection. The risk of bias was evaluated using the cocharne collaboration criteria. The primary outcome indicators included pain score, the dosage of pain killer, analgesia satisfaction, and adverse reaction incidence. All analyses were performed with Review Manager 5.4.1.Result: A total 10 studies with 725 patients with orthopedic surgery (intervention group: 361, control group: 364) were included in this meta-analysis. The results demonstrated that the pain score of intervention group were lower than the control group, and the difference was statistically significant [MD= -0.29，95%CI(-0.37,-0.21),P<0.0001]. Compared with the control group, the patient in intervention group used smaller amounts of pain killer [MD= -0.16，95%CI(-0.30,-0.02),P=0.02]. the satisfaction of patients on pain relief was also higher in intervention group, and the difference was statistically [OR= 0.25，95%CI(0.15,0.41) , P<0.0001].Results: WAA has a certain effect on acute pain in orthopedic surgery, and the effect of WAA combined with other therapies is better than that not using WAA therapy.
Smart Optical Sensor for Near-infrared Fluorescence Imaging of Estrogen/Progesterone Receptor in Breast Cancer
Authors: Zhang Gong , Wang Zhe , Xia Yuke , Yu Han , Zhou Yu , zhang yunlei , Cui Yiyao
Published: April 2022

Background: Molecular-genetic imaging greatly advances clinical diagnosis and prognosis monitoring. However, specific visualization of cytoplasmic molecules remains an important but elusive goal. Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) as the intracellular proteins and crucial markers of breast cancer determine the therapeutic regimes and prognosis of breast cancer patients. Methods: Here, we elegantly demonstrate that the ER/PR responsive elements can be genetically engineered to drive imaging reporters selectively and to enable the detection of ER/PR positive tumors using a far-red light photoactivatable near-infrared fluorescent protein. The specific molecular imaging probe were transfected into the cells and solid tumors using cationic polymers for lighting ER/PR breast cancers via a near-infrared fluorescence signal. Luciferase reporter system, ER/PR antagonist treatment, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry were performed to confirm the molecular mechanisms underlying the steroid receptor probe. Results: Notably, the double responsive elements of ER/PR exhibit the most response sensitivity to the steroid receptors in the breast cancers. By leveraging a cationic polymer vector, the construct consisting of optimal responsive elements and fluorescence protein can locally image the ER/PR positive breast cancers in murine models under a near-infrared laser, achieving non-invasive diagnosis of the steroid receptor positive cancers. No death or serious anaphylactic activity was observed in the animals during the study. Conclusion: As a result of its ER/PR specificity and potential for the clinical translation, the reporter system consisting of the steroid receptor response elements and near-infrared proteins might provide a novel practical system for identifying biomarkers, and advancing cancer diagnosis as well as therapy.
The Effects of Age, Physical Inactivity and Fatigue on Handgrip Strength Related Upper Extremity Functionality in Patients With Breast Cancer: a Mediation Analysis
Authors: Tuğral Alper , Bakar Yeşim , Akyol Murat
Published: April 2022

Purpose: This study was aimed to assess the effect of age, fatigue, self-reported function, and physical inactivity on handgrip strength related upper extremity function (HGSf) in breast cancer survivors (BCS). Secondarily, the potential mediator effects of fatigue and physical inactivity were also studied. This study was registered to Clinical Trials: NCT04245657.Methods: 111 female BCS (Mean age and BMI: 51.20±9.33 year and 27.86±3.70 kg/m2, respectively) were included in this study. Handgrip strength (HGS) was assessed with dynamometer while fatigue, self-reported upper extremity function and physical inactivity as sitting time were assessed with Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (DASH), and 7th question of International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form, respectively. Results: HGS was found significantly higher on the right side compared to the left side (22.63±3.50 kgF vs 21.30±3.65 kgF, t=5.083, p<0.001). The mean sitting time, DASH and FSS were found 5.7 hours, 22.67 and 39.55, respectively. The multivariate linear regression analysis showed a total of 28% of the cumulative variance in HGSf is explained by age, DASH and sitting time variables (F (3,107) =12.057, p<0.001, R2=0.280). Fatigue was not found as a mediator in the hypothesized structural equation model while sitting time had a significant mediator effect between the age and HGSf (β=-0.004 (95% CI-0.075/-0.004), p=0.019)Conclusions: Increased physical inactivity and age play a major role in strength-related upper extremity function in BCS. Patient-specific physiotherapy programs should also consider this especially in older and physically BC patients in rehabilitation and long-term care.
Spatiotemporal Distribution Characteristics and Variations of Fog in Shandong Province, China from 2008-2019
Authors: Shu Weixi , Xiao Hui , Fu Danhong , Chang Bingsong , Feng Qiang , Shen Shujing , Yang Huiling
Published: April 2022

Fog has a significant effect on people's daily productivity and livelihood. The spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and variations of fog days and their impact factors in Shandong Province, China were explored by using diverse meteorological data. The results showed that the spatial distribution of fog days in Shandong province was consistent with the topographic characteristics. A few fog days region appeared a northeast-southwest trending zone in the central region, where was higher altitude topography, and more fog days on both sides can be found at lower altitude areas. Due to the effect of the topography, the water vapor transport and convergence played important roles in the spatial distribution of fog days. The annual number of fog days of different levels (light fog, dense fog, and extreme fog) in Shandong Province from 2008 to 2019 showed an increasing trend. The increase in water vapor, aggravation in air pollution, and decrease in wind speed had important effects on the increase of fog frequency. The fog frequencies in different months and seasons varied obviously, which related to the variations in LTS (lower-tropospheric stability) and wind speed in the lower layer. Fog occurred frequently within 00:00–08:00 during 2016–2019 in Shandong Province, and the diurnal variation in temperature was responsible for the diurnal variation in fog frequency. This research can serve as helpful references for the location and operation time of the work of artificial dissipating fog, and for traffic and airport safety management and control in Shandong Province.
Wool Wax, a Natural Product that Promote Olive growth by Auxin Production Enhancement
Authors: Aissani Nadhem , Ghidaoui Makrem
Published: April 2022

Effluents from textile industry using wool pose serious environmental nuisances that are mainly due to their pollutant load and the release of unpleasant odors. In order to minimize these hazards and to take advantage of these wastes for the sake of our environment, the present work consists on valuing wool wax from washing effluent on olive (Olea europea), one of the main agricultural products in Tunisia, germination and growth. The results showed that this waste is characterized by its richness in dry matter and total lipid content when we used water and hexan for washing with 60.7 and 95.6 % respectively. GCMS analysis of wax showed its richenes on fatty acids. Six saturated fatty acids ranking from 15 to 27 carbon atoms were characterized. Furthermore, diluted wax in water improves germination and growth of this plant. The best result was noted at 1.25 mg/g. GCMS analysis showed that slight enhancement in auxin production was noted in plants treated with 1.25 mg/g of wax with 0.9±0.1 ng/mg comparing to control (0.7± 0.2 ng/mg). This leads us to valuate wool wax as environmental frendly natural product in agricultural and fertigation practice.
Placental mesenchymal stem cells improve ovarian function in a rat model of premature ovarian insufficiency by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activity
Authors: Ma Huiming , Hu Na , Xing Shasha , Liu Shudan , Guo Songlin , Zhang Feiyan , Ma Xiaona , Liang Xueyun , Chen Dongmei
Published: April 2022

Background
Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a common clinical problem but there are currently no effective therapies. Pyroptosis induced by the NLRP3 inflammasome is considered a possible mechanism of POI. Placental mesenchymal stem cells (PMSCs) have excellent immunomodulatory potential and offer a promising method for treating POI.
Methods
Female Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into four treatment groups: control (no POI), POI with no PMSCs, POI with PMSCs transplant, and POI with hormones (estrogen + progesterone) as positive control. POI was induced by exposure to 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) for 15 days. After four weeks, all animals were euthanized and examined for pathology. Hormone levels were measured and ovarian function was evaluated in relation to the estrous cycle. Levels of NLRP3 inflammasome pathway proteins were determined by immunohistochemistry and western blot.
Results
VCD significantly damaged the rat follicles at different estrous stages. Injection of human PMSCs improved ovarian function and reproductive ability of POI rats compared to the sham and hormone groups. Our data also showed that PMSCs could remarkably suppress cell pyroptosis via downregulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 compared to the other two groups. The human PMSCs increased the expression of IL-4 and IL-10 and decreased pro-inflammatory factors.
Conclusions
Our findings revealed a novel mechanism of follicular dysfunction and ovarian fibrosis via activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome followed by secretion of pro-inflammatory factors. Transplantation of PMSCs into POI rats suppressed pro-inflammatory factor production, NLRP3 inflammasome formation and pyroptosis, and improved ovarian function.
Sensorimotor synchronization to music reduces pain
Authors: Werner Lucy M. , Skouras Stavros , Bechtold Laura , Pallesen Ståle , Koelsch Stefan
Published: April 2022

Pain-reducing effects of music listening are well-established, but the effects are small and their clinical relevance questionable. Recent theoretical advances, however, have proposed that synchronizing to music, such as clapping, tapping or dancing, has evolutionarily important social effects that are associated with activation of the endogenous opioid system (which supports both analgesia and social bonding). Thus, active sensorimotor synchronization to music could have stronger analgesic effects than simply listening to music. In this study, we show that sensorimotor synchronization to music significantly amplifies the pain-reducing effects of music listening. Using pressure algometry to the fingernails, pain stimuli were delivered to n = 59 healthy adults either during music listening or silence, while either performing an active tapping task or a passive control task. Compared to silence without tapping, music with tapping (but not simply listening to music) reduced pain with a large, clinically significant, effect size (d = 0.93). Simply tapping without music did not elicit such an effect. Our analyses indicate that both attentional and emotional mechanisms drive the pain-reducing effects of sensorimotor synchronization to music, and that tapping to music in addition to merely listening to music may enhance pain-reducing effects in both clinical contexts and everyday life.
Cancer-malnutrition care beyond the hospital walls: a survey of nutrition governance, practice, knowledge and education needs in the primary care and community sector
Authors: Stewart Jane , Kiss Nicole , Simmance Natalie , Kelaart Amber , Loeliger Jenelle
Published: April 2022

Purpose: Cancer-related malnutrition remains a prevalent issue in cancer survivorship. This study aimed to understand cancer-related malnutrition practice, knowledge and education needs in the primary care and community sectors, as well as the transition of nutrition care from hospital cancer services following cancer treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with general practitioners (GPs), general practice nurses (GPNs) and dietitians in hospital cancer services, community services and primary care in Victoria, Australia.Results: The 184 respondents represented dietitians (n=152), GPs (n=22) and GPNs (n=10). GPs and GPNs, and dietitians working in primary care and community settings (78% and 63%, respectively) agree cancer malnutrition is going unrecognised in their service. Only 26% of community health services complete malnutrition risk screening and 35% of GPs and GPNs frequently weigh their patients with cancer. Most GPs and GPNs (88%) believe responsibility for malnutrition risk screening should be shared across disciplines and 94% would like access to a malnutrition screening tool. Only 32% of hospital oncology dietitians and 44% of GPs and GPNs frequently refer their patients to primary care or community dietitians.Conclusion: Implementation of routine malnutrition risk screening in primary care and community services and improved transition of nutrition care between hospital, primary care and community practitioners is required. Targeted cancer malnutrition education and resources across all health sectors is warranted.Implications for cancer survivors: Barriers to identification and management of cancer-related malnutrition in primary and community care should be addressed to improve transition of care.
Does China’s Equalization of Basic Public Health Services Policy Improve Delivery Care for Migrant Women?
Authors: ZOU Hong , XIAO Han , XU Hongwei
Published: April 2022

Background: As of 2020, 1 in 4 people in China is a domestic migrant. However, their lack of access to health care in destination cities has been largely neglected by the Chinese government until recently.Methods: Drawing on data from the 2010–2016 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this study evaluated the impact of a pilot program of the Equalization of Basic Public Health Services launched in 2014 and focused on place of childbirth, an important indicator of delivery care. A differences-in-difference design was employed for statistical inference.Results: The migrant pilot program increased the likelihood of a migrant childbirth at a migration destination by about 4 to 8 percentage points, depending on the model specification. Further analyses revealed that this positive effect was short-term and benefited relatively better-off migrant families.Conclusions: The migrant pilot program improved delivery care for migrant women. The Chinese government needs to expand this pilot program to more cities and improve its benefits to better serve the massive migrant population.
Metabolic profiling identifies the significance of caffeine metabolism in CKD
Authors: Peng Hongquan , Guo Xinghua , Liu Peijia , Tang Leile , Fang Jia , Aoieong Chiwa , Tou Tou , Tsai Tsungyang , Liu Xun
Published: April 2022

Background: To identify the most important metabolic pathways by screening metabolites that improve the progression of CKD stage through metabolic profiling and thus to identify relevant targets that may improve renal function.Methods: Clinical data were collected in 145 chronic kidney disease (CKD) participants, and their measurements of GFR (mGFR) were measured by the iohexol method. Untargeted metabolomics analysis was performed by UPLC-MS /MSUPLC–MSMS/MS assays. Procession, extraction and peak identification of the raw mass spectrometry data were carried out, and metabolites were identified. All participants were divided into four groups according to mGFR. Metabolomic data were analyzed by MetaboAnalyst 5.0, and one-way ANOVA, PCA, and PLS-DA were carried out to identify differential metabolites for further analysis. The open database sources of MBRole2.0, including KEGG and HMDB, were used to identify significant metabolic pathways in CKD.Results: Four metabolic pathways were classified as important in the progression of CKD, and the most significant pathway was caffeine metabolism. A total of 12 metabolites were enriched in caffeine metabolism, four of which decreased with the deterioration of CKD stage, and two of them increased with the deterioration of CKD stage. Of the four decreased metabolites, the most important was caffeine, which may improve renal function.Conclusions: Caffeine metabolism appears to be the most important pathway in the progression of CKD. Caffeine may help to improve the progression of CKD.
PAHs-induced metabolic changes related to inflammation in childhood asthma
Authors: Wu Hao , Bao Yuling , Yan Tongtong , Huang Hui , Jiang Ping , Zhang Zhan , Li Lei , Wu Qian
Published: April 2022

Background: Epidemiological studies have showed that PAHs may exert its adverse effects on childhood asthma. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be fully elucidated. This study aimed to investigate this process in view of metabolic pathway, especially one carbon metabolism and tryptophan metabolism. Methods: Fifty asthmatic children and fifty control subjects were recruited in this study. Serum IgE and IL-17A was detected by ELISA assay. Serum PAHs concentrations were measured by GC-MS. One carbon-related metabolites and tryptophan metabolites were determined by UPLC-Orbitrap-MS. Blood DNA methylation in long interspersed nucleotide element-1 (LINE-1) was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing PCR. ChIP assays were used to examine H3K4me3 enrichment on IL-17A gene. Multivariable linear regression was performed to evaluate the associates between PAHs and one carbon metabolite and tryptophan metabolites and childhood asthma. HE staining in lung tissue, IgE and IL-17A in BALF, metabolic profiles in urine, and AhR, iL-17a and Cyp1a1 gene expression were determined in PAHs-exposed mice.Results: The asthmatic group presented significantly higher total serum IgE and IL-17A concentrations. Serum Fla was associated with childhood asthma (OR=1.380, 95%CI: 1.063-1.792). The asthmatic group displayed an increasing conversion from SAM to SAH and an elevated capacity of methylation reactions. Fla had a great effect on one carbon metabolites, especially SAH, SAM and Ser, which exerted significant mediation effects between the Fla concentration and asthma. What’s more, Fla had a positive effect on LINE-1 DNA methylation (β=0.395, P=0.000) and H3K4 tri-methylation level in the IL-17A promoter region(β=0.293, P=0.002). We did find significant mediation effect between serum Fla and asthma by LINE-1 DNA methylation and H3K4me3 level in the IL-17A promoter region. The differential Trp metabolites, such as Trp, tryptamine, IA, IAA, Indole, IAld and IAAld indicated the asthmatic children had increased indole-AhR pathway. Mediation analysis failed to show a mediator effect of Trp metabolites in the association between PAHs and childhood asthma. Animal study confirmed that PAHs exposure increased methylation levels, and altered Trp metabolites -AhR-IL-17A axis, which may be influenced by gender.Conclusion: PAHs disturbed one carbon metabolism to influence the methyl group refill of DNA methylation and histone methylation, and disturbed tryptophan metabolism to regulate Th17 cell differentiation, which may elevate serum IL-17A concentration in asthmatic children.
Factors associated with contraceptive failure in Uganda: Analysis of the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey
Authors: Kisuza Ruth Ketty , Kicaber Saviour , Abila Derrick Bary , Bongomin Felix , Garimoi Christopher Orach
Published: April 2022

BackgroundSustained motivation is essential for effective use of contraceptive methods by women in low- and middle-income countries as many women are likely to abandon use of contraceptives especially when they continually experience episodes of failure. We aimed to determine contraceptive failure rates and associated factors among Ugandan women using data from the 2016 Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS).MethodsWe analyzed data collected by the UDHS conducted in Uganda 2016. All eligible women aged 15 to 49 years at the time of the survey were enrolled. Discontinuation of contraceptive use due to failure within a 5-year period preceding the survey was the dependent variable.ResultsA total of 18,505 women were included in this study, 70.8% (n=5153) lived in rural areas while 56.9% (n=5153) owned a mobile phone. The mean age of the women was 29.6years (SD 7.6). The overall prevalence of contraceptive failure was 5.6%, and was higher (7.8%) among women aged 25-29 years or had completed secondary education (7.1%). The odds of contraceptive failure was 38% lower in women who had an informed choice on contraceptives compared to those who didn’t [Adjusted Odd ratio, 0.62; 95% confidence interval, 0.50 – 0.77; p< 0.001].ConclusionThe burden of contraceptive failure among women of reproductive age in Uganda is substantial and significantly varied by socio-demographic characteristics.
ScInfoVAE:Interpretable dimensional reduction of single cell transcription data with variational autoencoders and extended mutual information regularization
Authors: Long Faning , Pan Weiquan , Pan Jian
Published: April 2022

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data can be a good indicator of cell-to-cell heterogeneity and can help to study cell growth by identifying cell types. With advances in sequencing technology, single-cell RNA data are rapidly accumulating, and the large and complex data require new algorithms to extract the valid information contained in the integrated data. Deep learning has proven to be effective and innovative in processing complex data. Therefore, incorporating deep learning algorithms to study single-cell RNA data is a leading edge and hot topic of current research. Deep clustering is a combination of deep learning and conventional clustering, which trains embedding and clustering together to obtain the optimal embedding subspace for clustering, which is more effective compared to conventional clustering methods. In this paper, we introduce ScInfoVAE, a dimensional reduction method based on the mutual information variational autoencoder (InfoVAE), which can more effectively identify various cell types in scRNA-seq data of complex tissues. A joint InfoVAE deep model and zero-inflated negative binomial distributed model design based on ScInfoVAE reconstructs the objective function to noise scRNA-seq data and learn an efficient low-dimensional representation of it. We use ScInfoVAE to analyze the clustering performance of 15 real scRNA-seq datasets and demonstrate that our method provides high clustering performance. In addition, we use simulated data to investigate the interpretability of feature extraction, and visualization results show that the low-dimensional representation learned by ScInfoVAE retains local and global neighborhood structure data well.
Analysis of the efficacy of different surgical approaches in the treatment of hematospermia by Transurethral seminal vesiculoscopy
Authors: Tang Song-Xi , Yao Rui-Jie , Zhou Hui-Liang , Chen Shu-Shen , Feng Zhi-Hao , Ding Yi-Lang , Chen Xi , Xiao Hong
Published: April 2022

Background: At present, the popularity of Transurethral seminal vesiculoscopy in the treatment of hematospermia is increasing. However, there is still a lack of discussion regarding different surgical approaches. Meanwhile, the underlying predictors of efficacy are also unclear.Objective: To explore the efficacy of different approaches of seminal vesiculoscopy surgery and the predictive factors of good treatment outcome.Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 68 patients who underwent seminal vesiculoscopy for hematospermia in our hospital from January 2015 to January 2021. According to different surgical approaches, they were divided into three groups：natural ejaculatory ducts (method A, 45 cases), assisted transurethral resection/incision of ejaculatory ducts (TURED/TUIED) (method B, 14 cases), fenestration in prostatic utricle (method C, 9 cases). We analyzed the recurrence rate of the three surgical approaches and the predictive factors of treatment efficacy. Results: The total recurrence rate after the seminal vesiculoscopy for hematospermia in this group was 32.35%. The postoperative recurrence rates of the three methods were 24.44% for method A, 50.00% for method B and 44.44% for method C, among which method A was the lowest, and there was no significant difference among the three methods (p>0.05). The data of five predictors of 45 cases in method A group were included in the single-factor Logistic analysis, the results suggest that whether complicated with seminal tract stones/cysts was an effective predictor (OR 0.250, p=0.022), which was still an effective predictor in the multi-factor Logistic analysis model (OR 0.244, p=0.010).Discussion: Seminal tract stones/cysts may increase the risk of hematospermia recurrence.Conclusion: The postoperative recurrence rate of hematospermia treated by Transurethral seminal vesiculoscopy technique is low, and the intraoperative natural orifices approach through the ejaculatory duct has the lowest recurrence rate. Complicated with seminal tract stones/cysts can be an effective predictor of good postoperative outcome.
A Statistical Evaluation Between Hybrid, Random, and K-fold Cross Validation to Medical Diagnosis Using Cancerous Breast Tissues
Authors: AVUÇLU Emre
Published: April 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Probability of induced extreme precipitation events in Central America due to tropical cyclone positions in the surrounding oceans
Authors: Hidalgo Hugo , Alfaro Eric J. , Valverde Kenneth T. , Bazo Juan
Published: April 2022

The preparedness of national and local authorities for extreme hydrometeorological events could alleviate the impacts in many socioeconomical sectors. A statistical tool for the prediction or assessment of extreme precipitation probabilities caused by the presence of Tropical Cyclones (TCs) in the surrounding oceans of Central America is presented. The model is based in fitting precipitation probability distributions associated with the location of the TCs. The probabilities of medium, high, and very high levels of extreme rain and associated with the observed precipitation of the 60, 75 and 90 percentiles, are displayed in a map which can be used (with other tools) to issue alerts by emergency and response authorities. Impacts related to TCs can be classified in direct or indirect. In the case when the TCs are located in the Caribbean/Atlantic basin, there is a critical configuration near the Gulf of Honduras that drives both high probabilities of direct (in the northern countries) and indirect (in the southern countries) extreme precipitation. In the Eastern Tropical Pacific TC locations, probabilities of indirect impacts are usually lower than for the Caribbean/Atlantic. This is related to the usual trajectories in this former basin, that move away from the continent. Both, in Caribbean/Atlantic and Eastern Tropical Pacific's TCs, the probabilities of indirect effects usually are higher in the Pacific slope of the isthmus than in the Caribbean. Here we present one tool that can be used with others analyses by emergency officials to determine the locations where alerts of extreme weather must be issued to prevent human life's lost.
DevOps CICD in Higher Education
Authors: Lokaadinugroho Indrabudhi , Burhanudin Burhanudin
Published: April 2022

Purpose – This study aims to answer two research questions which come from problems faced by a university and the solution proposed by the researchers is the implementation of CICD DevOps.Design/methodology/approach – This study used a true experimental design method with a pretest-posttest control group design approach that attempts a type of experimental design where the researcher randomly assigns test units and treatments (DevOps) to the experimental group (System Analyst, Programmer, Developer, System Administration and Database Administration), with the aim of systematically describing the facts and characteristics of the object under study precisely using primary and secondary data from a previous ticketing system and implemented DevOps.Findings – From the empirical data results, DevOps were found to be able to communicate and collaborate better as a team. DevOps also could increase the number of priority deployments that needed to be performed as continuous deployment; with good versioning code maintenance when the rollback is done by DevOps, there will be no downtime.Research limitations/implications – More effort is needed to identify all aspects that changed with the DevOps’ impact in an IT department of higher education.Originality/value – In higher education, DevOps could be well implemented to maximize agile software lifecycle development especially in server applications, system administration and database administration.
Determinants of chironomid species richness in mid-European temperate rivers – environmental factors, regional influences, diversity, and seasons
Authors: Głowacki Łukasz , Leszczyńska Joanna , Grzybkowska Maria , Pyrzanowski Kacper , Dukowska Małgorzata , Przybylski Mirosław
Published: April 2022

Determinants of riverine chironomid species richness were assessed in seven rivers in an area representative of the European temperate climatic zone. The impact of environmental factors, seasonality and regional species richness (RSR) on local species richness (LSR) as well as the exchange of species between seasons and the correlations between gamma diversity (i.e. RSR), alpha diversity (i.e. LSR), and beta diversity, i.e. the relationship between RSR and LSR, were studied.
A stepwise forward regression model with RSR, and a similar model with no RSR explained two thirds of LSR variability each, and seasonality (summer) was significant only in the former model. RSR accounted for 83% of explained LSR variability in the latter model. RSR differed both from river to river and from season to season, being lowest in autumn. Winter was most distant from all other seasons as regards species composition of assemblages (UPGMA clustering).
Almost all correlations between diversity measures, i.e. gamma (RSR), setwise and pairwise beta, and alpha (LSR), were significant only in autumn, indicating greater assemblage stability in autumn than in other seasons. As no significant environmental factor differed between seasons, the stability seems related to undisclosed biotic mechanisms.
Driving Training-Based Optimization: A New Human-Based Metaheuristic Algorithm for Solving Optimization Problems
Authors: Dehghani Mohammad , Trojovská Eva , Trojovský Pavel
Published: April 2022

In this paper, a new stochastic optimization algorithm, called Driving Training-Based Optimization (DTBO), is introduced, which mimics the human activity of driving training. The fundamental inspiration behind the DTBO design is the process of learning to drive at driving school and driving instructor training. DTBO is mathematically modeled in three phases: (i) training by the driving instructor, (ii) patterning of students from instructor skills, and (iii) practice. The performance of DTBO in optimization is evaluated on a set of twenty-three standard objective functions of unimodal, high-dimensional multimodal, and fixed-dimensional multimodal types. The optimization results show that DTBO has been able to provide appropriate solutions to optimization problems by maintaining a proper balance between exploration and exploitation. The performance quality of DTBO is compared with the results of ten well-known algorithms. The simulation results show that DTBO has better performance compared to ten competitor algorithms and is more efficient in optimization applications.
Diagnostic potential of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid exosomal microRNAs for pneumonia in the intensive care unit
Authors: Sun Yinfang , Xian Ying , Duan Zhiqin , Wan Zhiping , Li Jianwei , Liao Yao , Bi Xiaogang , Wang Lifu , Wu Zhongdao , Zhang Kouxing
Published: April 2022

Early and appropriate antibiotic treatment reduces morbidity and mortality of pneumonia. However, early prediction of pulmonary infection remains a challenge for clinicians. Current clinical needs require the development and use of rapid and effective diagnostic indicators to accelerate the identification of pneumonia and process of microbiological diagnosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in exosomes (EXOs) have become attractive candidates for novel biomarkers to evaluate the presence and progress of many diseases. We assessed their performance as biomarkers of pneumonia. Patients were divided into pneumonia group (with pneumonia) and control group (without pneumonia). We identified and compared two upregulated miRNAs in EXOs derived from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) between the pneumonia and control groups (miR-17-5p, p=0.009; miR-193a-5p, p=0.031). Interestingly, miR-17-5p and miR-193a-5p in BALF-cell-debris pellets, BALF-EXO-free supernatants, total plasma, and plasma-EXOs did not differ significantly between both groups. In vitro experiments revealed that miR-17-5p and miR-193a-5p were strikingly upregulated in EXOs derived from macrophages stimulated by LPS. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that exosomal miR-17-5p (area under the curve, AUC: 0.753) and exosomal miR-193a-5p (AUC: 0.629) have acceptable diagnostic value. This study is one of the few studies on BALF-EXO-miRNAs in patients with pneumonia, providing potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for pneumonia.
Assessment of flood susceptibility areas using Optimized BP neural network models over the Tumen River Basin, China
Authors: Quan He Chun , Jin Ri , Jin Aifen , Jin Guangri , Zhu Weihong , Lin Zhehao
Published: April 2022

Floods caused by rainstorms occur almost every year in Tumen River Basin. The floods caused severe damage to local residents, property and the ecological environment. For reducing the damage of floods, it is necessary to produce the flood susceptibility map. For mapping the flood prone areas, four algorithms such as genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), artificial fish swarm algorithm (AFSA) and artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC) were used to optimize back propagation (BP) neural network respectively. The accuracy of the model was evaluated by Receiver Operating characteristic (ROC), root mean square error(RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE). A total number of 222 flooded and un-flooded locations were identified. 155 locations of which were randomly selected to training the model, and the remaining 67 locations were used to validate the model. A total of thirteen flood conditioning factors，including altitude, slope, aspect, curvature, Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), Stream Power Index (SPI), Sediment Transport Index (STI), distance to river, landuse, rainfall, lithology, runoff coefficient and soil type were used in the proposed models. The area under the curve (AUC) obtained from ROC indicated that AFSA-BP showed a high accuracy (99.91%), and ABC-BP had the lowest prediction accuracy (97.28%). According to the generated flood susceptibility map, about 13% of Tumen River Basin is under very high flood susceptibility. The distance to river, rainfall, altitude and land use have the greatest impact on flood susceptibility. The results showed that the BP model optimized by the four algorithms is an effective and reliable tool for mapping the flood susceptibility. The flood susceptibility map can be used in flood prevention strategies.
Low Alveolar Macrophage Function, Low IL-6, and High CD4 Cell Count Interaction in BALF of Severe Pneumonia Patients with Extubation Success
Authors: Singh Gurmeet , Rumende Cleopas Martin , Sharma Surendra K , Rengganis Iris , Amin Zulkifli , Loho Tonny , Pranggono Emmy Hermiyanti , Harimurti Kuntjoro , Wibowo Heri , Fauzi Nova Bornida , Masse Sudirman Fakhruddin
Published: April 2022

Background: Understanding the bronchoalveolar-lavage fluid immunopathology biomarker interactions can help clinicians decipher the pathophysiology of severe pneumonia and get better management for early extubation.Objectives: The objectives were to assess bronchoalveolar lavage fluid biomarker interactions of severely affected lung and their association in determining the early extubation success.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we consecutively evaluated 137 severe pneumonia patients. Patients who fulfilled inclusion criteria will undergo early bronchoscopy. The BALF was collected from the right and left lungs. Two Respirologist and Critical Illness consultants, plus one internist, determined the location for severely affected lung. Biomarker interactions in severely affected lung were analyzed. The primary outcome was the 19-days extubation.Results: Forty patients underwent bronchoscopy for BALF collection. The right lung was the predominant severely affected lung (28 patients). Eight patients survived and were successfully extubated within 19 days. There were significantly higher absolute CD4+ BALF cell counts (95% Confidence Interval = 9,24 – 49,50, p = 0,003) in the left lung and higher absolute CD4+ BALF cell counts (95% Confidence Interval = 9,00 – 29,75, p = 0,010) in the patients with extubation success and survived. Among all the patients with extubation success within 19 days, eight patients (100%) displayed the tendency of high CD4 levels (cutoff points median 16 cells/μL), low expression of alveolar macrophage function (cutoff points by ROC 756.5 MFI CD169), and low expression of IL-6 (cutoff points by ROC 369 pg/mg protein).Conclusion: In severely affected lung of severe pneumonia patients with early extubation success and survived, we found biomarker interactions marked by low alveolar macrophage function, low IL-6 levels, and high CD4 levels. Trial Registration: The study was registered at UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) (registration number UMIN000046236), accessible at: https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000049197
Reduced DIO3OS expression in hepatocellular carcinoma predicts poor prognosis and is associated with tumor immunity
Authors: Wang Yunhan , Sun Ping , Hao Xinping , Cao Daihong , Liu Jiangyue , Zhang Daijian
Published: April 2022

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) has become one of the most shared cancers in the whole world because of its high morbidity, poor survival rate and low recovery rate. Especially in China, HCC has been regarded as one of the most malignant cancers. With the development of tumor exploration and treatment over the years, it has been found that lncRNA plays a direct or indirect regulatory role in the process of tumorigenesis and cancer development, which brought a new direction for early diagnosis and therapy. Previous studies had investigated that DIO3OS played a promoting role in the occurrence and development of thyroid carcinoma and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma. However, research focusing on the role of DIO3OS in HCC is still uncleared. Our work found that there was a significant negative correlation between low DIO3OS levels and HCC. In addition, there was also a correlation between immune cells and their surface markers and DIO3OS expression in HCC. Our findings demonstrated that DIO3OS may be a potential prognostic biomarker involved in the process of HCC by regulating immune cell infiltration.
The mechanism of CTRP6 in promoting cancer in digestive system tumors
Authors: Zhang Aimin , Kong Mowei , Zhang Xiuyun
Published: April 2022

Tumors of the digestive system have always received attention, and their occurrence and development are regulated by various mechanisms such as inflammation and immunity, glucose and lipid metabolism, and tumor angiogenesis. Complement Clq/TNF-related protein 6 (CTRP6) is a member of the CTRP family. It is widely expressed in various tissues and cells and plays a biological role in many aspects such as glucose and lipid metabolism and inflammation. Function. Recent studies have revealed the tumor-promoting effect of CTRP6 in gastric cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal tumors, but there is no systematic discussion on the tumor-promoting mechanism of CTRP6. This article will review the role of CTRP6 in tumors of the digestive system and its possible mechanisms.
Do Pregnant Women Perceive Being Counseled About Nutrition by Healthcare Providers?
Authors: Jackson Hayn , Stickler Erin , Tan Xiyan , Trilk Jennifer
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND: The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics identifies a balanced diet and appropriate weight gain as two important components of a healthy pregnancy. The aim of this study was to examine whether or not a population of pregnant women perceived being counseled by their provider about nutrition during their pregnancy. This study expands on the current literature by examining postpartum women’s perception of counseling throughout their pregnancy.METHODS: We conducted an anonymous, voluntary survey using online software for women who had recently given birth and were less than two-weeks postpartum. Each participant completed a 27-item survey using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) software via email. Discrete variables were analyzed using Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test. Analyses were carried out using R statistical software. Differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05.RESULTS: Of 201 postpartum women surveyed, 100 (49.8%) perceived receiving nutrition counseling during pregnancy and 101 (50.2%) did not recall receiving nutrition counseling. Of the 101 women who did not perceive receiving counseling, 56% of women reported that they would have liked to receive counseling during pregnancy. There was a statistically significant difference in women reporting receiving preconception nutrition counseling across age, race, education and income level. 41% of women reported feeling “very dissatisfied” about their provider’s advice and 36% reported feeling “satisfied.”CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the majority of women may not be satisfied with nutritional counseling during pregnancy; although this satisfaction may differ among demographics or socioeconomic status. Additional research is needed to determine perceptions of providers’ counseling and potential needs in providers’ knowledge, skills and attitudes toward nutrition counseling, particularly across different demographic groups and social determinants of health.
Identification of (Z)-9-heptacosene and (3Z,6Z,9Z)-tricosatriene as new sex pheromone components of Korean Conogethes punctiferalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) population and field attraction testing
Authors: Nam Il , Park Ji-Hong , Lee Jae-Woo , Lee Dong Ha , Jung Wanjo , Lee Wook , Park Il-Kwon
Published: April 2022

Recently, reduced attractiveness of Conogethes punctiferalis adult males to sex pheromone, (E)-10-hexadecenal and (Z)-10-hexadecenal, has been reported. To identify the other essential components of sex pheromone, male and female body extracts were analyzed. Two hydrocarbon components, (Z)-9-heptacosene (Z9-27:HC) and (3Z,6Z,9Z)-tricosatriene (Z3,Z6,Z9-23:HC), were identified from only female body extract. There was a significant difference in the electroantennogram (EAG) response of male antennae to Z3,Z6,Z9-23:HC and Z9-27:HC at all test concentrations compared to response to the hexane control. In field attraction testing, the addition of Z9-27:HC and Z3,Z6,Z9-23:HC to binary aldehyde pheromones significantly increased trap catches of C. punctiferalis male adults. Based on the female and male body extract analysis and field attraction test, Z-9-27:HC and Z3,Z6,Z9-23:HC were determined to be other essential sex pheromone components of the Korean C. punctiferalis population.
Temporal–spatial decomposition of city-scale changes in sectoral CO2 emissions in southeast China
Authors: HUANG Yimin , Wang Yuan , He Yanmin , Zhu Lin , Lai Wen-ting
Published: April 2022

Carbon emissions are typically analyzed on a national scale. However, to achieve regional carbon reduction targets, research should be carried out at sub-provincial and municipal scales, and the driving forces of sectoral CO2 emissions should be analyzed from a more disaggregated perspective. In this study, we apply temporal logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) decomposition for exploring the factors influencing changes in city-scale energy-related CO2 emissions across industry, transportation, and household sectors in Fujian Province during 2000–2017. Moreover, the spatial LMDI model is employed to investigate spatial discrepancies in the driving forces of CO2 emissions among nine prefecture-level cities in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2017. The results suggest that the magnitude of energy-related CO2 emission changes in the industry sector was much higher than that in the transportation and household sectors in Fujian Province. Moreover, the income effect was the dominant factor leading to increased CO2 emissions in the three sectors of each city. Conversely, the energy intensity effect was the primary factor responsible for the mitigation of CO2 emissions in each city during 2000–2017, except in the transportation sector. The urbanization effect was another crucial factor contributing to increased CO2 emissions in all sectors, whose contribution was greater in coastal cities than in non-coastal ones. Additionally, the energy intensity effect was the main factor responsible for the discrepancy in CO2 emissions among cities. The findings of this study can be used to propose targeted policy recommendations for low-carbon development in Fujian Province.
Magnesium perchlorate added crosslinked starch: a step towards possibility of commercial Polymer-In-Salt-Electrolytes (PISE)
Authors: YADAV DIPTI , Srivast Neelam
Published: April 2022

Single and fast ion transport in all-solid-state-flexible-electrolyte systems is desired for energy devices. The commercially used polymer electrolytes consist of liquid component to achieve the requiredelectrochemical properties and they also suffer from slow and poor cation transfer.Thepolymer-in-salt-electrolytes (PISEs) are supposed to lead to single and fast ion transport, unfortunately polymer hosts and salts,which can lead to successful synthesisof PISE with targeted minimum conductivity (10-4 S/cm) with suitable morphology is still to be identified.All efforts resulted either in poor electrochemical properties and/or poor morphology because of recrystallization of salt. Here novel PISEsare discussedwhich have high conductivity (0.1 S/cm) and small ion relaxation time (10 μ sec) with wide electrochemical-stability-window (> 2.5V). Since in PISEs the ion transport is decoupled from polymer segmental motion and it takes place through ion cluster, hence it is of immense importance to understand how the host matrix affects electrochemical properties of PISEs, hence three different starches (potato starch, corn starch and arrowroot starch) have been selected keeping all other constituent chemical and synthesis process same. Signature effects of host starches are observed and discussed.