bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intermittent hypoxia in a mouse model of apnea of prematurity leads to a retardation of cerebellar development and long-term functional deficits
Authors: Leroux S. , Rodriguez-Duboc A. , Arabo A. , Basille-Dugay M. , Vaudry D. , Burel D.
Published: September 2022

Background

Apnea of prematurity (AOP) is caused by respiratory control immaturity and affects nearly 50% of premature newborns. This pathology induces perinatal intermittent hypoxia (IH), which leads to neurodevelopmental disorders. The impact on the brain has been well investigated. However, despite its functional importance and immaturity at birth, the involvement of the cerebellum remains poorly understood. Therefore, this study aims to identify the effects of IH on cerebellar development using a mouse model of AOP consisting of repeated 2-min cycles of hypoxia and reoxygenation over 6 h and for 10 days starting on postnatal day 2 (P2).

Results

At P12, IH-mice cerebella present higher oxidative stress associated with delayed maturation of the cerebellar cortex and decreased dendritic arborization of Purkinje cells. Moreover, mice present with growth retardation and motor disorders. In response to hypoxia, the developing cerebellum triggers compensatory mechanisms resulting in the unaltered organization of the cortical layers from P21 onwards. Nevertheless, some abnormalities remain in adult Purkinje cells, such as the dendritic densification, the increase in afferent innervation, and axon hypomyelination. Moreover, this compensation seems insufficient to allow locomotor recovery because adult mice still show motor impairment and significant disorders in spatial learning.

Conclusions

All these findings indicate that the cerebellum is a target of intermittent hypoxia through alterations of developmental mechanisms leading to long-term functional deficits. Thus, the cerebellum could contribute, like others brain structures, to explaining the pathophysiology of AOP.
Precision and convergence speed of the ensemble Kalman filter-based parameter estimation: setting parameter uncertainty for reliable and efficient estimation
Authors: Sueki Kenta , Nishizawa Seiya , Yamaura Tsuyoshi , Tomita Hirofumi
Published: September 2022

Determining physical process parameters in atmospheric models is critical to obtaining accurate weather and climate simulations; estimating optimal parameters is essential for reducing model error. Recently, automatic parameter estimation using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) has been tested instead of conventional manual parameter tuning. To maintain uncertainty for the parameters to be estimated and avoid filter divergence in EnKF-based methods, some inflation techniques should be applied to parameter ensemble spread (ES). When ES is kept constant through the estimation using an inflation technique, the precision and convergence speed of the estimation vary depending on the ES assigned to estimated parameters. However, there is debate over how to determine an appropriate constant ES for estimated parameters in terms of precision and convergence speed. This study examined the dependence of precision and convergence speed of an estimated parameter on the ES to establish a reliable and efficient method for EnKF-based parameter estimation. This was carried out by conducting idealized experiments targeting a parameter in a cloud microphysics scheme. In the experiments, there was a threshold value for ES where any smaller values did not result in any further improvements to the estimation precision, which enabled the determination of the optimal ES in terms of precision. On the other hand, the convergence speed accelerates monotonically as ES increases. To generalize the precision and convergence speed, we approximated the time series of parameter estimation with a first-order autoregression (AR(1)) model. We demonstrated that the precision and convergence speed may be quantified by two parameters from the AR(1) model: the autoregressive parameter and the amplitude of random perturbation. As the ES increases, the autoregressive parameter decreases, while the random perturbation amplitude increases. The estimation precision was determined based on the balance between the two values. The AR(1) approximation provides quantitative guidelines to determine the optimal ES for the precision and convergence speed of the EnKF-based parameter estimation.
Biomechanical analysis of lifting on stable versus unstable surfaces—a laboratory-based proof-of-concept study
Authors: Grooten Wilhelmus Johannes Andreas , Billsten Edwin , von Stedingk Sebastian , Reimeringer Mikael
Published: September 2022

Background

Many workers performing manual handling tasks suffer from musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Previous research has identified several loading aspects associated with manual handling, but it is still unknown if lifting on an unstable surface is associated with increased biomechanical loading of different body parts.

Aim

This proof-of-concept study aims to study what kinematic and kinetic movement parameters, such as movement time, joint angles, torque, and muscle activity are feasible and of importance when studying the effect of lifting on surfaces with varying degrees of stability in an experimental set-up.

Methods

Measurements were taken during three different surface conditions: stable, slightly unstable, and unstable. The participants were instructed to lift a box from the floor and place it on a table in front of them. The weight of the box varied from 0.5 to 15.5 kg. By using a motion capture system (VICON) with 28 reflective markers placed on the participants and one on the box, one Kistler force plate for measuring force levels and center of pressure movements (CoP), and four electromyographic transmitters (EMG), we analyzed the downward and upward phases of the lifting movement, using the Friedman’s test for repeated measures.

Results

Statistically significant results with less joint movements in the lower and upper back were seen with increased instability during both the downward and upward phases. The decrease in trunk movements with increased instability resulted in a somewhat more flexed knee position during the movement, a lower torque in the lower back, and a decrease in CoP movements, but no differences in movement time or muscle activity in back and knee muscles.

Conclusion

Lifting while standing on unstable surfaces resulted in an alteration of both kinematics and kinetics parameters; however, further studies regarding whether this is an additional risk factor for developing lower back pain are needed. Muscle activity levels were not altered due to instability and due to the complexity of the measurement, and we suggest not including EMG measures in future experiments of this type.
Prospective evaluation of sport activity and the development of femoroacetabular impingement in the adolescent hip (PREVIEW): results of the pilot study
Authors: Ayeni Olufemi R. ,   PREVIEW Pilot Investigators, Jean Pierre-Olivier , Simunovic Nicole , Duong Andrew , Foster Gary , Musahl Volker , Sim Yan , Thabane Lehana , MacLeay Callum , Skelly Matthew , Shanmugaraj Ajay , Ghanem Dana , Heels-Ansdell Diane , Buckingham Lisa , Mascarenhas Vasco V. , Ponniah Andrea , Belzile Etienne L. , Agricola Rintje , Baek Seung-Hoon , Lee Hoseok , Chang Ae-Sun
Published: September 2022

Background

The purpose of this pilot study was to validate the feasibility of a definitive study aimed at determining if high-intensity physical activity during adolescence impacts the development of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).

Methods

This prospective cohort pilot study had a sample size target of 50 volunteers between 12 and 14 years old at sites in Canada, South Korea, and the Netherlands. Participants were evaluated clinically and radiographically at baseline and at 2 years. The participants’ sport and physical activity were evaluated using the Habitual Activity Estimation Scale (HAES) and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) criteria for sport specialization. The primary outcome was feasibility and secondary outcomes included the incidence of radiographic FAI and hip range of motion, function (Hip Outcome Score, HOS), and quality of life (Pediatric Quality of Life questionnaire, PedsQL) at 24 months. Study groups were defined at the completion of follow-up, given the changes in participant activity levels over time.

Results

Of the 54 participants enrolled, there were 36 (33% female) included in the final analysis. At baseline, those classified as highly active and played at least one organized sport had a higher incidence of asymptomatic radiographic FAI markers (from 6/32, 18.8% at baseline to 19/32, 59.4% at 24 months) compared to those classified as low activity (1/4, 25% maintained at baseline and 24 months). The incidence of radiographic FAI markers was higher among sport specialists (12/19, 63.2%) compared to non-sport specialists (8/17, 47.1%) at 24 months. The HOS and PedsQL scores were slightly higher (better) among those that were highly active and played a sport compared to those who did not at 2 years (mean difference (95% confidence interval): HOS-ADL subscale 4.56 (− 7.57, 16.70); HOS-Sport subscale 5.97 (− 6.91, 18.84); PedsQL Physical Function 7.42 (− 0.79, 15.64); PedsQL Psychosocial Health Summary 6.51 (− 5.75, 18.77)).

Conclusion

Our pilot study demonstrated some feasibility for a larger scale, definitive cohort study. The preliminary descriptive data suggest that adolescents engaged in higher levels of activity in sports may have a higher risk of developing asymptomatic hip deformities related to FAI but also better quality of life over the 2-year study period.
Pharmacoinformatic study of inhibitory potentials of selected flavonoids against papain-like protease and 3-chymotrypsin-like protease of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Tijjani Habibu , Adegunloye Adegbenro P. , Uba Auwalu , Adebayo Joseph O. , Gyebi Gideon A. , Ibrahim Ibrahim M.
Published: September 2022

Background

Inhibition of papain-like protease (PLpro) and 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is projected to terminate its replication. Hence, these proteases represent viable therapeutic targets.

Methods

Sixty-one flavonoids with reported activities against other RNA viruses were selected and docked in PLpro and 3CLpro. Flavonoids with better binding energies compared to reference inhibitors (lopinavir and ritonavir) in their interaction with PLpro and 3CLpro were selected for drug-likeness and ADMET analysis. The best representative flavonoid for each protease from the ADMET filtering analysis was subjected to molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) and clustering analysis of the trajectory files.

Results

Licorice, ugonin M, procyanidin, silymarin, and gallocatechin gallate had better binding energies (-11.8, -10.1, -9.8, -9.7 and -9.6 kcal/mol respectively) with PLpro compared to lopinavir and ritonavir (-9.1 and -8.5 kcal/mol respectively). Also, isonymphaeol B, baicalin, abyssinone II, tomentin A, and apigetrin had better binding energies (-8.7, -8.3, -8.2, -8.1, and -8.1 kcal/mol respectively) with 3CLpro compared to lopinavir and ritonavir (-7.3 and -7.1 kcal/mol respectively). These flavonoids interacted with the proteases via hydrogen and non-hydrogen bonding. Of these flavonoids, silymarin and isonymphaeol B demonstrated most favourable combination of attributes in terms of binding energies, compliance with Lipinski rule for drug-likeness and favourable pharmacokinetics in silico. These two flavonoids exhibited appreciable degree of structural stability, maintaining strong interaction with residues in the different representative clusters selected during the MDS run.

Conclusion

Silymarin and isonymphaeol B are proposed for further studies as compounds with potential activities against SARS-CoV-2.
Biomineralization of bone tissue: calcium phosphate-based inorganics in collagen fibrillar organic matrices
Authors: Hong Min-Ho , Lee Jung Heon , Jung Hyun Suk , Shin Heungsoo , Shin Hyunjung
Published: September 2022

Background

Bone regeneration research is currently ongoing in the scientific community. Materials approved for clinical use, and applied to patients, have been developed and produced. However, rather than directly affecting bone regeneration, these materials support bone induction, which regenerates bone. Therefore, the research community is still researching bone tissue regeneration. In the papers published so far, it is hard to find an improvement in the theory of bone regeneration. This review discusses the relationship between the existing theories on hard tissue growth and regeneration and the biomaterials developed so far for this purpose and future research directions.

Mainbody

Highly complex nucleation and crystallization in hard tissue involves the coordinated action of ions and/or molecules that can produce different organic and inorganic composite biomaterials. In addition, the healing of bone defects is also affected by the dynamic conditions of ions and nutrients in the bone regeneration process. Inorganics in the human body, especially calcium- and/or phosphorus-based materials, play an important role in hard tissues. Inorganic crystal growth is important for treating or remodeling the bone matrix. Biomaterials used in bone tissue regeneration require expertise in various fields of the scientific community. Chemical knowledge is indispensable for interpreting the relationship between biological factors and their formation. In addition, sources of energy for the nucleation and crystallization processes of such chemical bonds and minerals that make up the bone tissue must be considered. However, the exact mechanism for this process has not yet been elucidated. Therefore, a convergence of broader scientific fields such as chemistry, materials, and biology is urgently needed to induce a distinct bone tissue regeneration mechanism.

Conclusion

This review provides an overview of calcium- and/or phosphorus-based inorganic properties and processes combined with organics that can be regarded as matrices of these minerals, namely collagen molecules and collagen fibrils. Furthermore, we discuss how this strategy can be applied to future bone tissue regenerative medicine in combination with other academic perspectives.
The role of cellular traction forces in deciphering nuclear mechanics
Authors: Joshi Rakesh , Han Seong-Beom , Cho Won-Ki , Kim Dong-Hwee
Published: September 2022

Cellular forces exerted on the extracellular matrix (ECM) during adhesion and migration under physiological and pathological conditions regulate not only the overall cell morphology but also nuclear deformation. Nuclear deformation can alter gene expression, integrity of the nuclear envelope, nucleus-cytoskeletal connection, chromatin architecture, and, in some cases, DNA damage responses. Although nuclear deformation is caused by the transfer of forces from the ECM to the nucleus, the role of intracellular organelles in force transfer remains unclear and a challenging area of study. To elucidate nuclear mechanics, various factors such as appropriate biomaterial properties, processing route, cellular force measurement technique, and micromanipulation of nuclear forces must be understood. In the initial phase of this review, we focused on various engineered biomaterials (natural and synthetic extracellular matrices) and their manufacturing routes along with the properties required to mimic the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, we discussed the principle of tools used to measure the cellular traction force generated during cell adhesion and migration, followed by recently developed techniques to gauge nuclear mechanics. In the last phase of this review, we outlined the principle of traction force microscopy (TFM), challenges in the remodeling of traction forces, microbead displacement tracking algorithm, data transformation from bead movement, and extension of 2-dimensional TFM to multiscale TFM.
Comprehensive summary of solid oxide fuel cell control: a state-of-the-art review
Authors: Yang Bo , Li Yulin , Li Jiale , Shu Hongchun , Zhao Xinyu , Ren Yaxing , Li Qiang
Published: September 2022

Hydrogen energy is a promising renewable resource for the sustainable development of society. As a key member of the fuel cell (FC) family, the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has attracted a lot of attention because of characteristics such as having various sources as fuel and high energy conversion efficiency, and being pollution-free. SOFC is a highly coupled, nonlinear, and multivariable complex system, and thus it is very important to design an appropriate control strategy for an SOFC system to ensure its safe, reliable, and efficient operation. This paper undertakes a comprehensive review and detailed summary of the state-of-the-art control approaches of SOFC. These approaches are divided into eight categories of control: proportional integral differential (PID), adaptive (APC), robust, model predictive (MPC), fuzzy logic (FLC), fault-tolerant (FTC), intelligent and observer-based. The SOFC control approaches are carefully evaluated in terms of objective, design, application/scenario, robustness, complexity, and accuracy. Finally, five perspectives are proposed for future research directions.
Iron deposition in multiple sclerosis: overall load or distribution alteration?
Authors: Hamdy Eman , Galeel Aya Abdel , Ramadan Ismail , Gaber Dina , Mustafa Haytham , Mekky Jaidaa
Published: September 2022

Background

Though abnormal iron deposition has been reported in specific brain regions in multiple sclerosis (MS), no data exist about whether the overall quantity of iron in the brain is altered or not. We aimed to determine whether the noted aberrant iron deposition in MS brains was a problem of overall load or regional distribution in a cohort of MS patients.

Methods

An experienced neuroradiologist, a radiology software engineer, and four neurologists analysed data from quantitative susceptibility maps reconstructed from 3-T magnetic resonance brain images of 30 MS patients and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Global brain iron load was calculated, and the regional iron concentrations were assessed in 1,000 regions of interest placed in MS lesions in different locations, normal appearing white matter, thalami, and basal ganglia.

Results

Global brain iron load was comparable between patients and controls after adjustment for volume (p= 0.660), whereas the regional iron concentrations were significantly different in patients than in control (p≤ 0.031). There was no significant correlation between global iron load and clinical parameters, whereas regional iron concentrations correlated with patients’ age, disease duration, and disability grade (p≤ 0.039).

Conclusions

The aberrant iron deposition noted in MS seems to be a problem of regional distribution rather than an altered global brain iron load.
Prediction of lipomatous soft tissue malignancy on MRI: comparison between machine learning applied to radiomics and deep learning
Authors: Fradet Guillaume , Ayde Reina , Bottois Hugo , El Harchaoui Mohamed , Khaled Wassef , Drapé Jean-Luc , Pilleul Frank , Bouhamama Amine , Beuf Olivier , Leporq Benjamin
Published: September 2022

Objectives

Malignancy of lipomatous soft-tissue tumours diagnosis is suspected on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and requires a biopsy. The aim of this study is to compare the performances of MRI radiomic machine learning (ML) analysis with deep learning (DL) to predict malignancy in patients with lipomas oratypical lipomatous tumours.

Methods

Cohort include 145 patients affected by lipomatous soft tissue tumours with histology and fat-suppressed gadolinium contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI pulse sequence. Images were collected between 2010 and 2019 over 78 centres with non-uniform protocols (three different magnetic field strengths (1.0, 1.5 and 3.0 T) on 16 MR systems commercialised by four vendors (General Electric, Siemens, Philips, Toshiba)).

Two approaches have been compared: (i) ML from radiomic features with and without batch correction; and (ii) DL from images. Performances were assessed using 10 cross-validation folds from a test set and next in external validation data.

Results

The best DL model was obtained using ResNet50 (resulting into an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.87 ± 0.11 (95% CI 0.65−1). For ML/radiomics, performances reached AUCs equal to 0.83 ± 0.12 (95% CI 0.59−1) and 0.99 ± 0.02 (95% CI 0.95−1) on test cohort using gradient boosting without and with batch effect correction, respectively. On the external cohort, the AUC of the gradient boosting model was equal to 0.80 and for an optimised decision threshold sensitivity and specificity were equal to 100% and 32% respectively.

Conclusions

In this context of limited observations, batch-effect corrected ML/radiomics approaches outperformed DL-based models.
A stochastic deep reinforcement learning agent for grid-friendly electric vehicle charging management
Authors: Heendeniya Charitha Buddhika , Nespoli Lorenzo
Published: September 2022

Electrification of the transportation sector provides several advantages in favor of climate protection and a shared economy. At the same time, the rapid growth of electric vehicles also demands innovative solutions to mitigate risks to the low-voltage network due to unpredictable charging patterns of electric vehicles. This article conceptualizes a stochastic reinforcement learning agent that learns the optimal policy for regulating the charging power. The optimization objective intends to reduce charging time, thus charging faster while minimizing the expected voltage violations in the distribution network. The problem is formulated as a two-stage optimization routine where the stochastic policy gradient agent predicts the boundary condition of the inner non-linear optimization problem. The results confirm the performance of the proposed architecture to control the charging power as intended. The article also provides extensive theoretical background and directions for future research in this discipline.
A framework for researching energy optimization of factory operations
Authors: Grosch Benedikt , Ranzau Heiko , Dietrich Bastian , Kohne Thomas , Fuhrländer-Völker Daniel , Sossenheimer Johannes , Lindner Martin , Weigold Matthias
Published: September 2022

Energy optimization of factory operations has gained increasing importance over recent years since it is understood as one way to counteract climate change. At the same time, the number of research teams working on energy-optimized factory operations has also increased. While many tools are useful in this area, our team has recognized the importance of a comprehensive framework to combine functionality for optimization, simulation, and communication with devices in the factory. Therefore, we developed a framework that provides a standardized interface to research energy-optimized factory operations with a rolling horizon approach. The optimization part of the framework is based on the OpenAI gym environment. The framework also provides connectors for multiple communication protocols including Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture and Modbus via Transmission Control Protocol. These facilities can be utilized to implement rolling horizon optimizations for factory systems easily and directly control devices in the factory with the optimization results. In this article, we present the framework and show some examples to prove the effectiveness of our approach.
Net load forecasting using different aggregation levels
Authors: Beichter Maximilian , Phipps Kaleb , Frysztacki Martha Maria , Mikut Ralf , Hagenmeyer Veit , Ludwig Nicole
Published: September 2022

In the electricity grid, constantly balancing the supply and demand is critical for the network’s stability and any expected deviations require balancing efforts. This balancing becomes more challenging in future energy systems characterised by a high proportion of renewable generation due to the increased volatility of these renewables. In order to know when any balancing efforts are required, it is essential to predict the so-called net load, the difference between forecast energy demand and renewable supply. Although various forecasting approaches exist for both the individual components of the net load and the net load itself, it is unclear if it is more beneficial to aggregate several specialised forecasts to obtain the net load or to aggregate the input data to forecast the net load with one approach directly. Therefore, the present paper compares three net load forecasting approaches that exploit different levels of aggregation. We compare an aggregated strategy that directly forecasts the net load, a partially aggregated strategy that forecasts demand and supply separately, and a disaggregated strategy that forecasts demand and supply from each generator separately. We evaluate the forecast performance of all strategies with a simple and a complex forecasting model, both for deterministic and probabilistic forecasts, using one year of data from a simulated realistic future energy system characterised by a high share of renewable energy sources. We find that the partially aggregated strategy performs best, suggesting that a balance between specifically tailored forecasting models and aggregation is advantageous.
Boost short-term load forecasts with synthetic data from transferred latent space information
Authors: Heidrich Benedikt , Mannsperger Lisa , Turowski Marian , Phipps Kaleb , Schäfer Benjamin , Mikut Ralf , Hagenmeyer Veit
Published: September 2022

Sustainable energy systems are characterised by an increased integration of renewable energy sources, which magnifies the fluctuations in energy supply. Methods to to cope with these magnified fluctuations, such as load shifting, typically require accurate short-term load forecasts. Although numerous machine learning models have been developed to improve short-term load forecasting (STLF), these models often require large amounts of training data. Unfortunately, such data is usually not available, for example, due to new users or privacy concerns. Therefore, obtaining accurate short-term load forecasts with little data is a major challenge. The present paper thus proposes the latent space-based forecast enhancer (LSFE), a method which combines transfer learning and data augmentation to enhance STLF when training data is limited. The LSFE first trains a generative model on source data similar to the target data before using the latent space data representation of the target data to generate seed noise. Finally, we use this seed noise to generate synthetic data, which we combine with real data to enhance STLF. We evaluate the LSFE on real-world electricity data by examining the influence of its components, analysing its influence on obtained forecasts, and comparing its performance to benchmark models. We show that the Latent Space-based Forecast Enhancer is generally capable of improving the forecast accuracy and thus helps to successfully meet the challenge of limited available training data.
miR-454-3p and miR-194-5p targeting cardiac sarcolemma ion exchange transcripts are potential noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers for childhood dilated cardiomyopathy in Egyptian patients
Authors: Fayez Alaaeldin G. , Esmaiel Nora N. , Salem Sohair M. , Ashaat Engy A. , El-Saiedi Sonia A. , El Ruby Mona O.
Published: September 2022

Background

Childhood dilated cardiomyopathy (CDCM) is the most common cardiomyopathy in children and it is risk factor to heart failure and sudden death. Most of the different etiologic factors which have been postulated to DCM are idiopathic, and its pathogenesis remains uncertain. So it was worth investigating the potential DCM pathogenicity models to establish early noninvasive diagnosis parameters especially in CDCM patients. Beside that miRNAs in the circulatory blood are genetically considered the best option for noninvasive diagnosis; also, implementation of miRNAs as early diagnostic markers for children with DCM is urgent because those children have high risk to sudden heart death. We aimed to identify discriminator diagnostic circulatory miRNA expression levels in CDCM patients.

Results

The expression levels of miR-454-3p and miR-194-5p were found significant upregulated (p value = 0.001 and 0.018; CI 95%, respectively), while miR-875-3p was found significant downregulated (p value = 0.040; CI 95%). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed significant AUC = 1.000 and 0.798 for miR-454-3p and miR-194-5p, respectively, and the optimal discriminated diagnostic cut-points were computed by index of union (IU) method. Enrichment analysis for the potential targeted mature mRNAs by miR-454-3p and miR-194-5p pointed that Ca, Na and K ions homeostasis in cardiac sarcolemma consider potential CDCM pathogenicity model.

Conclusions

miR-454-3p and miR-194-5p are highly influencing noninvasive biomarkers for CDCM, and further circulatory miRNAs-implicated studies are highly recommended.
The association between nomophobia and loneliness among the general population in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Authors: Hussien Rasha Mohammed
Published: September 2022

Background

Nomophobia progresses through phases (initiation, affirmation, need, and dependency), similarly to addiction, and manifests in a variety of ways, including socially, physiologically, and physically. The objective of the study is to examine the association between nomophobia and feelings of loneliness among a sample of the general population from the KSA. Data were gathered between 5 March and 5 April 2022 using a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design. Five hundred twenty-six participants make up the sample for this study. The information is gathered using a sociodemographic data sheet, Internet usage profiles, a nomophobia questionnaire, and the Loneliness Scale.

Results

The majority of people in the study sample use the Internet for between 4 and 9 h, most immediately in the morning, on waking, for gaming, and for social communication. For nomophobia levels among the study population, the highest percentage is for a moderate level of nomophobia, with the highest means being for factor 1 (unable to communicate), followed by factor 4 (giving up convenience). They also have a moderate level of loneliness.

Conclusions

The multivariate analysis shows that the total loneliness score is strongly and positively correlated with the total nomophobia score and its four factors and the duration of daily mobile Internet use. There are also negative correlations with age and education level. Additionally, the overall nomophobia score has an inverse relationship with income level and age, but a high relationship with the frequency of daily mobile Internet use. The study suggests that there is a need for psychoeducation for a variety of sociodemographic groups to raise awareness about the psychological repercussions of nomophobia, practices that will help to reduce the time spent online for arbitrary reasons, to discover new and entertaining ways of communicating with each other.
Efficacy and safety of direct-acting antivirals for HCV in patients with extrahepatic malignancies: real-life experience
Authors: Atef Mira , Eletreby Rasha , Abdallah Mohamed , Salama Rasha , Elakel Wafaa , Hassany Mohamed , Abdel-Razek Wael , El Shazly Yehia , Doss Wahid , Esmat Gamal
Published: September 2022

Background

Outcome of HCV treatment with direct antiviral agents in malignant patients is questionable. The aim is to assess the safety and efficacy of DAAs in treatment of chronic HCV patients who received chemotherapy for malignancies.

Materials

Retrospective cohort study of 83 patients with HCV post chemotherapy receiving DAAs treatment compared to a matched group of 88 chronic HCV patients without cancer. Demographic, laboratory and abdominal ultrasound data, and SVR were taken for all patients.

Results

Patients’ data revealed mean age (52 years) and BMI (29). A total of 52% of HCV patients were females, and 83.6% were treatment naïve. Patients with cancer had higher FIB4 values and more cirrhosis (20.5% vs. 13.6%) with no statistical significance. Total bilirubin and HbA1C levels were significantly higher in HCV patients without cancer. All patients in either groups received SOF-based DAAs except 2 cases received PAR/OMP/RBV. SVR rate was very high and comparable between the two groups (100% and 97.7% in post chemotherapy and control groups) with no statistical difference. Mortality was represented in 23% in patients post chemotherapy with FIB4 score considered the only predictor for mortality.

Conclusion

DAAs have excellent efficacy in patients post chemotherapy. Further studies should be conducted for their concomitant use with chemotherapy.
Does organizational culture influence employee productivity at the local level? A test of Denison's culture model in Ghana’s local government sector
Authors: Abane Juliana Abagsonema , Adamtey Ronald , Ayim Virceta Owusu
Published: September 2022

There is mixed evidence that low levels of productivity at the local government level are not common with organizations with strong cultures as these are less prone to any externalities. The paper investigated the link between organizational culture and employee productivity from the perspectives of employees of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) in Ghana. The study used the quantitative approach with descriptive and cross-sectional designs. The simple random and stratified sampling techniques were used to select 132 respondents from the STMA using a self-administered survey questionnaire between August 2020 and December 2020. Denison’s 1984 model of organizational culture was adopted to measure organizational culture while employee productivity was measured by target achievement, available resources and hours of work in a week. With the support of the “SPSS version 22,” the study used descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis and ANOVA tests with hypotheses using standard regression methods. The findings indicate a strong and positive culture of mission, involvement, adaptability and consistency in the STMA. Further, two hypotheses of the study were supported while one hypothesis failed to reject the null hypothesis. However, the relationship between the culture of adaptability and employee productivity was negative but statistically significant; hence, the research hypothesis on this variable was modified to reject the null. Denison’s culture model, which was used to measure organizational culture, was less effective in explaining the variance in the dependent variable as a combined variable.
Development and evaluation of ultradeformable vesicles loaded transdermal film of boswellic acid
Authors: Varia Umang , Joshi Disha , Jadeja Mukesh , Katariya Hitesh , Detholia Krunal , Soni Vishwa
Published: September 2022

Background

Boswellic acid (BA), a phytoconstituent obtained from Boswellia serrata, suffers from several limitations after oral administration such as poor systemic absorption, high first-pass metabolism and high frequency of dose requirement, which creates a need to develop an alternative route for drug administration via novel drug delivery formulation. The present research work aims at developing ultradeformable vesicular carriers (transferosomes) for transdermal delivery of boswellic acid to effectively deliver the drug into deeper layers of the skin reaching the target site and thus improving its systemic bioavailability. Ultradeformable vesicles were prepared by thin-film hydration technique, and the formulation was optimized using 32 full factorial design where the amount of lecithin (mg) and concentration of surfactant (%) were considered as independent variables. The formulated boswellic acid-loaded vesicles were incorporated into transdermal film via solvent evaporation technique using the blend of polymers such as starch and HPMC K4M.

Results

The BA-loaded transferosomes were optimized based on vesicle size (nm) and drug entrapment efficiency (%EE), and the results were found to be 205.4 ± 1.215 nm and 86.39 ± 0.019%, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of optimized batch showed spherical shape of vesicles with identified lamellarity, surface charge of vesicles with high negative value − 15.2 mV that suggests electrostatic repulsion between vesicles, while the formulation showed good deformability index of 11.31 ± 0.032% due to use of Tween 80 as surfactant. In vitro permeation study demonstrated sustained release pattern of 96.53 ± 0.023% up to 24 h. Also, the in vitro drug diffusion study was carried out for transfersomal transdermal film which exhibited enhanced permeation and sustained retention of drug up to 94.71 ± 0.019% for 24 h.

Conclusion

Accordingly, the research work suggested that the transferosomes provided an efficient nanosized carriers for enhanced permeation of boswellic acid into deeper layers of skin and could successfully exhibit its therapeutic effect.
Diagnostic efficacy of ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration cytology on thyroid swellings
Authors: Gupta Mudit , Acharya Kunjan , Jha Anamika , Triphati Prashant , Gyawali Bigyan Raj , Bhat Neeti , Pandey Apoorva Kr.
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Patients presenting with a thyroid nodule, if malignant, may call for removal. A good screening tool with high diagnostic value for preoperative evaluation is preferred. Through real-time visualization of the needle to aspirate from the suspicious site, ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology could be an excellent screening tool.

Materials and method

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Ganesh Man Singh Memorial Academy of Ear Nose Throat–Head and Neck Studies, Kathmandu, Nepal, from September 2018 to November 2019. We included 59 subjects of 15–72 years meeting the inclusion criteria. All study participants underwent preoperative ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration cytological evaluation of thyroid nodule, which was correlated with their histopathological findings to determine diagnostic values.

Result

The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology of thyroid nodule was 96.96%, 61.53%, and 81.35%, respectively. On stratification according to size, high sensitivity of 100% was observed in evaluating lesions of size < 2 cm and > 4 cm. There was a good inter-rater agreement between findings of ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology and histopathology with a kappa coefficient of 0.607.

Conclusion

Ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration cytology is a reliable procedure to evaluate thyroid lesions with high diagnostic value. It is an excellent tool for evaluating small, non-palpable nodules.
A new shape invariance form of the trigonometric Scarf potential: Two-parameter cross-additivity shape invariance
Authors: Xiong Lulin , Luo Guang
Published: September 2022

Supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSYQM) provides an important method for solving the Schrödinger equation rapidly and conveniently. Based on SUSYQM, for the trigonometric Scarf potential, we find that the shape invariance with two parameters shows a new characteristic, i.e., two parameters' cross-additivity

. That is different from the parameters' change

. The changing of the parameters with cross-additivity brings new characteristic to the wave function and energy spectrum. Based on this cross-additivity characteristic, we discuss in detail the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian with this potential. And then we get the two-parameter cross-additivity shape invariance again with potential algebra methods and study the energy spectrum. It is shown that the two-parameter cross-additivity shape invariance of the partner potential is completely self-consistent with its potential algebraic form. Our research indicates that the Schrödinger equation with a superpotential with two parameters shows new characteristics.
Effect of frequency stabilization on beam shift of total reflection prism laser gyro
Authors: Ma Jiajun , Huang Yueruihan , Liang Yongchao , Jiang Junbiao
Published: September 2022

For the phenomenon of degradation of the performance of total reflection prism laser gyro before and after reset jump, this paper investigates the effect of frequency stabilization on the beam shift of total reflection prism laser gyro using a matrix optics method, and proposes a method to calculate the beam shift with frequency stabilization. The numerical simulation and experimental results show that, unlike the beam shift characteristics caused by the prism temperature, the frequency stabilization additionally causes an approximately equal beam shift at each prism interface, and the shift is proportional to the frequency stabilization control amount. It is pointed out that the large abrupt change of beam propagation path before and after reset jump is the main reason for the degradation of total reflection prism laser gyro performance, and the frequency stabilization control method of reset jump once for each optical wavelength adjustment can effectively reduce the beam shift caused by frequency stabilization.
Limited English Proficiency and Perioperative Patient-Centered Outcomes: A Systematic Review
Authors: Luan-Erfe Betty M. , Erfe J. Mark , DeCaria Bruno , Okocha Obianuju
Published: September 2022

This systematic review assesses whether limited-English proficiency (LEP) increases risk of having poor perioperative care and outcomes. This review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 99 articles were identified in Embase and PubMed and screened by 2 independent reviewers. Ten studies, which included 3 prospective cohort studies, 6 retrospective cohort studies, and 1 cross-sectional study, met inclusion and exclusion criteria. All studies were of high-quality rating according to the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Subsequently, the Levels of Evidence Rating Scale for Prognostic/Risk Studies and Grade Practice Recommendations from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons were used to assess the quality of evidence of each study and the strength of the body of evidence, respectively. There is strong evidence that professional medical interpreter (PMI) use or having a language-concordant provider for LEP patients improves understanding of the procedural consent. The evidence also highly suggests that LEP patients are at risk of poorer postoperative pain control and poorer understanding of discharge instructions compared with English-speaking patients. Further studies are needed to discern whether consistent PMI use can minimize the disparities in pain control and discharge planning between LEP and English-proficient (EP) patients. There is some evidence that LEP status is not associated with differences in having adequate access to and receiving surgical preoperative evaluation. However, the evidence is weak given the small number of studies available. There are currently no studies on whether LEP status impacts access to preoperative evaluation by an anesthesiology-led team to optimize the patient for surgery. There is some evidence to suggest that LEP patients, especially when PMI services are not used consistently, are at risk for increased length of stay, more complications, and worse clinical outcomes. The available outcomes research is limited by the relative infrequency of complications. Additionally, only 4 studies validated whether LEP patients utilized a PMI. Future studies should use larger sample sizes and ascertain whether LEP patients utilized a PMI, and the effect of PMI use on outcomes.
Translating Blackness
Authors: García Peña Lorgia
Published: September 2022

In Translating Blackness Lorgia García Peña considers Black Latinidad in a global perspective in order to chart colonialism as an ongoing sociopolitical force. Drawing from archives and cultural productions from the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe, García Peña argues that Black Latinidad is a social, cultural, and political formation—rather than solely a site of identity—through which we can understand both oppression and resistance. She takes up the intellectual and political genealogy of Black Latinidad in the works of Frederick Douglass, Gregorio Luperón, and Arthur Schomburg. She also considers the lives of Black Latina women living in the diaspora, such as Black Dominicana guerrillas who migrated throughout the diaspora after the 1965 civil war and Black immigrant and second-generation women like Mercedes Frías and Milagros Guzmán organizing in Italy with other oppressed communities. In demonstrating that analyses of Black Latinidad must include Latinx people and cultures throughout the diaspora, García Peña shows how the vaivén—or, coming and going—at the heart of migrant life reveals that the nation is not a sufficient rubric from which to understand human lived experiences.
A Time of One's Own
Authors: Grant Catherine
Published: September 2022

In A Time of One’s Own Catherine Grant examines how contemporary feminist artists are turning to broad histories of feminism ranging from political organizing and artworks from the 1970s to queer art and activism in the 1990s. Exploring artworks from 2002 to 2017 by artists including Sharon Hayes, Mary Kelly, Allyson Mitchell, Deirdre Logue, Lubaina Himid, Pauline Boudry, and Renate Lorenz, Grant maps a revival of feminism that takes up the creative and political implications of forging feminist communities across time and space. Grant characterizes these artists’ engagement with feminism as a fannish, autodidactic, and collective form of learning from history. This fandom of feminism allows artists to build relationships with previous feminist ideas, artworks, and communities that reject a generational model and embrace aspects of feminism that might be seen as embarrassing, queer, or anachronistic. Accounting for the growing interest in feminist art, politics, and ideas across generations, Grant demonstrates that for many contemporary feminist artists, the present moment can only be understood through an embodied engagement with history in which feminist pasts are reinhabited and reimagined.