bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spatial–temporal calculation simulation of ecological footprint of resource and environmental pollution in green communication
Authors: Chen Roulin , Zhang Duanmin , Li Bo
Published: December 2020

As a quantitative evaluation method, the ecological footprint analysis (EFA) method is a frontier topic in the field of sustainable development. Human production activities will inevitably produce certain consumption, including the occupation of natural resources, resource consumption and waste production, which will have a certain impact on the ecological environment.
This paper proposes to use the ecological footprint to inversely analyze the ecological environment and resource consumption, quantitatively convert the material consumption produced by human activities into the area of biological production land and compare it with the supply area of the study area. The EFA is used to reflect the changes in the indicators of regional sustainable development, and the regional sustainable development indicator system and analysis framework based on the ecosystem are constructed.
The experimental result shows that the proposed model can effectively divide the resource space and at the same time can measure the degree of resource transfer, which has important guidance for revealing the internal relationship between regional ecological footprint characteristics and regional development and evolution significance.
A model-driven approach to ensure trust in the IoT
Authors: Ferraris Davide , Fernandez-Gago Carmen , Lopez Javier
Published: December 2020

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a paradigm that permits smart entities to be interconnected anywhere and anyhow. IoT opens new opportunities but also rises new issues. In this dynamic environment, trust is useful to mitigate these issues. In fact, it is important that the smart entities could know and trust the other smart entities in order to collaborate with them. So far, there is a lack of research when considering trust through the whole System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) of a smart IoT entity. In this paper, we suggest a new approach that considers trust not only at the end of the SDLC but also at the start of it. More precisely, we explore the modeling phase proposing a model-driven approach extending UML and SysML considering trust and its related domains, such as security and privacy. We propose stereotypes for each diagram in order to give developers a way to represent trust elements in an effective way. Moreover, we propose two new diagrams that are very important for the IoT: a traceability diagram and a context diagram. This model-driven approach will help developers to model the smart IoT entities according to the requirements elicited in the previous phases of the SDLC. These models will be a fundamental input for the following and final phases of the SDLC.
Correlates of antenatal care utilization among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from multinomial analysis of demographic and health surveys (2010–2018) from 31 countries
Authors: Adedokun Sulaimon T. , Yaya Sanni
Published: December 2020

Background

Despite a global reduction of about 38% in maternal mortality rate between 2000 and 2017, sub-Saharan Africa is still experiencing high mortality among women. Access to high quality care before, during and after childbirth has been described as one of the effective means of reducing such mortality. In the sub-region, only 52% of women receive at least four antenatal visits. This study examined the factors influencing antenatal care utilization in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

Data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 31 countries involving 235,207 women age 15–49 years who had given birth to children within 5 years of the surveys were used in the study. Multinomial logistic regression model was applied in the analysis.

Results

About 13% of women in sub-Saharan Africa did not utilize antenatal care while 35 and 53% respectively partially and adequately utilized the service. Adequate utilization of antenatal care was highest among women age 25–34 years (53.9%), with secondary or higher education (71.3%) and from the richest households (54.4%). The odds of adequate antenatal care utilization increased for women who are educated up to secondary or higher education level, from richest households, working, living in urban areas, exposed to media and did not experience problem getting to health facility or obtaining permission to visit health facility.

Conclusions

This study has revealed information not only on women who did not utilize antenatal care but also on women who partially and adequately utilized the service. The study concluded that the correlates of antenatal care utilization in sub-Saharan Africa include socioeconomic and demographic factors, getting permission to visit health facility, unwillingness to visit health facility alone and problem encountered in reaching the health facility.
Role of drug-induced sleep endoscopy in evaluation of positional vs non-positional OSA
Authors: Lan Ming-Chin , Liu Stanley Yung-Chuan , Lan Ming-Ying , Huang Yun-Chen , Huang Tung-Tsun , Hsu Yen-Bin
Published: December 2020

Background

The study aimed to evaluate the anatomical differences between positional and non-positional OSA, and to identify the potential predictors for distinguishing between these two types of OSA.

Methods

A cross-sectional study of 230 consecutive patients with OSA undergoing DISE (Drug-induced Sleep Endoscopy) was carried out at a tertiary academic medical center. The factors correlating with positional and non-positional OSA were analyzed, including clinical characteristics, polysomnography data, and DISE findings.

Results

Univariate analysis revealed that non-positional dependency was correlated with a higher BMI ( p < 0.001), neck circumference ( p < 0.001), modified Mallampati score ( p = 0.003), AHI ( p < 0.001), degree of velum concentric collapse ( p = 0.004), degree of oropharyngeal lateral wall collapse ( p < 0.001), and degree of tongue base anteroposterior collapse ( p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed that oropharyngeal lateral wall collapse (OR = 1.90, p = 0.027) was the only anatomical factor significantly predicted non-positional dependency in OSA patients. AHI (OR = 1.04, p < 0.001), although significant, made only a marginal contribution to the prediction of non-positional dependency.

Conclusions

Oropharyngeal lateral wall collapse was identified as the only anatomical predictor for non-positional dependency in OSA patients. Therefore, further treatment modalities should address the distinct anatomical trait between positional and non-positional OSA.

Graphical Abstract
A comprehensive performance analysis of Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark for large scale data sets using HiBench
Authors: Ahmed N. , Barczak Andre L. C. , Susnjak Teo , Rashid Mohammed A.
Published: December 2020

Big Data analytics for storing, processing, and analyzing large-scale datasets has become an essential tool for the industry. The advent of distributed computing frameworks such as Hadoop and Spark offers efficient solutions to analyze vast amounts of data. Due to the application programming interface (API) availability and its performance, Spark becomes very popular, even more popular than the MapReduce framework. Both these frameworks have more than 150 parameters, and the combination of these parameters has a massive impact on cluster performance. The default system parameters help the system administrator deploy their system applications without much effort, and they can measure their specific cluster performance with factory-set parameters. However, an open question remains: can new parameter selection improve cluster performance for large datasets? In this regard, this study investigates the most impacting parameters, under resource utilization, input splits, and shuffle, to compare the performance between Hadoop and Spark, using an implemented cluster in our laboratory. We used a trial-and-error approach for tuning these parameters based on a large number of experiments. In order to evaluate the frameworks of comparative analysis, we select two workloads: WordCount and TeraSort. The performance metrics are carried out based on three criteria: execution time, throughput, and speedup. Our experimental results revealed that both system performances heavily depends on input data size and correct parameter selection. The analysis of the results shows that Spark has better performance as compared to Hadoop when data sets are small, achieving up to two times speedup in WordCount workloads and up to 14 times in TeraSort workloads when default parameter values are reconfigured.
Correction to: Evaluation of physicochemical, microbiological, and energetic characteristics of four agricultural wastes for use in the production of green energy in Moroccan farms
Authors: El Asri Ouahid , Afilal Mohamed Elamin , Laiche Hayate , Elfarh Larbi
Published: December 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
Perception and awareness of unintentional childhood injuries among primary caregivers of children in Vellore, South India: a community-based cross-sectional study using photo-elicitation method
Authors: Inbaraj Leeberk Raja , Sindhu Kulandaipalayam Natarajan , Ralte Lalmalsawmi , Ahmed Basir , Chandramouli Chandni , Kharsyntiew Elza Rebecca , Jane Evelina , Paripooranam Joshaphine Victoria , Muduli Nikhil , Akhilesh Padebettu Devendra , Joseph Prakash , Nappoly Renata , Reddy Tamma Anusha , Minz Shantidani
Published: December 2020

Objective

We studied the primary caregivers’ perception, and further, their awareness of unintentional childhood injuries in south India.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural block of Kaniyambadi, Vellore, among 300 primary caregivers of children aged between 0 and 14 years. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the primary caregivers using a photo-elicitation method, with a visual depiction of ten injury risky scenarios for a child. Scoring was done to assess the perception of environmental hazards in these scenarios, and further, knowledge on the prevention of these injuries. An independent ‘t’ test was done to elicit differences in mean scores and a multivariate regression analysis was applied to ascertain factors independently associated with the scores.

Results

Primary caregivers had adequate perception regarding risks posed to children in scenarios such as climbing trees (96.2%), playing near construction sites (96%), firecrackers (96.4%) and crossing unmanned roads with no traffic signals (94%). Knowledge of prevention was poor however, in the following scenarios: a woman riding a bicycle without safety features, with child pillion sitting behind bare foot and legs hanging by one side (72.6%); a child playing near a construction site (85.9%); and a child playing with plastic bags (88.3%). Overall, educational status of the primary caregiver and socioeconomic status were associated with poorer perception of risks and knowledge about unintentional childhood injuries and their prevention.

Conclusions

Pragmatic community-based childhood interventions incorporated into existing programs, with a special focus on road traffic injuries, burns and suffocation need to be implemented in high-risk settings of rural populations in South India.
Impact of air–sea coupling on the probability of occurrence of heat waves in Japan
Authors: Hasegawa Akira , Imada Yukiko , Shiogama Hideo , Mori Masato , Tatebe Hiroaki , Watanabe Masahiro
Published: December 2020

In extreme event attribution, which aims to answer whether and to what extent a particular extreme weather event can be attributed to global warming, the probability of an event is generally estimated through large ensemble simulations, using an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). In islands, such as Japan, it has been considered that surface air temperature (SAT) can be significantly affected by the surrounding sea surface temperature (SST), which mostly is affected by atmospheric circulation at mid- and high-latitudes. Therefore, the absence of SST responses to atmospheric variability in AGCMs impacts the estimation of the occurrence of extreme events, such as heat waves in Japan. In this study, we examined the impact of air–sea coupling on the probability of occurrence of severe heat waves that occurred in Japan in the summer of 2010 by analyzing the probability differences obtained from AGCM and coupled general circulation model (CGCM) large-ensemble experiments. The observed ocean temperature, salinity, and sea ice were assimilated in the 100-member CGCM experiments, as they were assigned as boundary conditions in the 100-member AGCM experiments. The SAT around Japan in the northern summer is largely related to the Bonin high, whose interannual variability is largely affected by the Silk Road and Pacific-Japan (PJ) pattern teleconnections in the real world. The SAT anomaly over Japan was related to the pressure variability due to the Silk Road and PJ patterns in the CGCM experiment. By contrast, the SAT over Japan simulated by AGCM was less sensitive to such pressure variability, and the SAT ensemble spread became narrower in AGCM. The results suggest that the probability of occurrence of the 2010 heat wave in Japan would tend to be underestimated by the AGCM ensemble compared to the CGCM ensemble, provided that the ensemble averages of the SAT anomalies were equal between CGCM and AGCM experiments. This study raised the issue of the absence of SST response to atmospheric variability in AGCMs, which can critically impact the estimation of extreme event probability, particularly in mid-latitude islands, such as Japan.
Geospatial approach for assessment of vulnerability to flood in local self governments
Authors: Deepak S. , Rajan Gopika , Jairaj P. G.
Published: December 2020

Recent years have shown a significant increase in the occurrence of floods globally, with an impact on habitation and different sectors of the economy. This, in turn, necessitates the use of different flood mitigation strategies, wherein flood vulnerability assessment plays a significant role. The proposed work presents a methodology that combines vulnerability under physical-environmental and socio-economic domains to assess the overall flood vulnerability at the local self-government level. The methodology was illustrated to the case of Aluva municipality, located on the banks of River Periyar, in Kerala state, India. The spatial variation of hazard inducing factors and population statistics were analysed using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. The machine learning algorithm, Random Forest, which uses hazard inducing factors as input was implemented for the evaluation of physical-environmental vulnerability. The social vulnerability of the region was analysed using the GIS Multi-criteria decision analysis approach (MCDA), with criteria weights to incorporate the interests of different stakeholders. The critical combinations of the two domains of vulnerability in the assessment of the vulnerability to flood, to have efficient flood management in local self-government was demonstrated in this study and can be made use of for any flood event.
Treatment of tumor thrombus in the superior mesenteric vein due to advanced colon cancer with complete surgical resection and chemotherapy: a case report
Authors: Yanagida Yoshitsugu , Amano Takahiro , Akai Ryuji , Toyoshima Akira , Kobayashi Jotaro , Hashimoto Takuya , Sunami Eiji , Kumasaka Toshio , Sasaki Shin
Published: December 2020

Background

Tumor thrombus in the superior mesenteric vein secondary to colon cancer is rare. We report a case of tumor thrombus in the superior mesenteric vein and liver metastasis due to advanced colon cancer that was treated with chemotherapy and complete surgical resection.

Case presentation

A 72-year-old man after transverse colectomy with lymph node dissection for advanced colon cancer was diagnosed with tumor thrombus in the superior mesenteric vein and liver metastasis. He underwent adjuvant chemotherapy and had complete surgical tumor resection involving tumor thrombectomy and hepatectomy. There has been no recurrence at 36 months after surgery.

Conclusion

Herein, we report a rare case of tumor thrombus in the superior mesenteric vein related to advanced colon cancer. The combination of chemotherapy and complete surgical tumor resection may provide long-term survival.
Evolution of service metrics and utilisation of objective discharge criteria in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction rehabilitation: a retrospective cohort study with historical control in a public hospital physiotherapy department
Authors: Tuckerman Kirby , Potts Wendy , Ebrahimi Milad , Scholes Corey , Nelson Mark
Published: December 2020

Background

ACL reconstruction (ACLR) is a common procedure requiring rehabilitation in public hospital physiotherapy departments. The rate of re-rupture and reduced rates of return to sport following ACLR are concerning. Current guidelines recommend a progressive approach to rehabilitation based on objective criteria. The aim of this study was to determine whether a new public hospital model of care incorporating a phase-based program increased physiotherapist utilisation of objective outcome measures, improved service metrics including attendance and rehabilitation completion rates, and increased patient-reported activity and knee function.

Methods

Records from patients attending outpatient physiotherapy after ACL reconstruction (N = 132) were included in a retrospective chart review to assess utilisation of objective measures such as quadricep and hamstring strength assessment, patient attendance and rehabilitation completion. Phone followup (minimum 1 year) was conducted to retrieve patient-reported measures of knee function (IKDC) and activity (Tegner Activity Scale). Patients were categorised by rehabilitation model of care (contemporary - time based [N = 93] vs new - phase based [N = 39]) and logistic regression used to assess the influence of patient factors and model of care on outcomes.

Results

Compliance was equivalent between models of care and completion rates (formal discharge by therapist) were low (30–38%). The probability of a patient receiving objective strength assessment was associated with model of care, sex, BMI and number of sessions attended. The probability of a patient being recorded as discharged from the program was significantly associated with model of care, and duration and number of sessions.

Conclusion

Introduction of an updated model of care including a phase-based rehabilitation program increased physiotherapist utilisation of objective outcome measures in line with current ACLR rehabilitation recommendations, increased total rehabilitation duration and increased total number of sessions attended. Despite this, rehabilitation completion rates remained low, and self-reported activity and knee function remained equivalent.

Level of evidence

III, retrospective cohort study.
A case report: rapid progression of coronary atherosclerosis in a patient taking Targretin (Bexarotene)
Authors: DeAngelo Sean , Mann Kailyn I. , Abdulbasit Muhammad , Ahnert Amy , Sundlöf Deborah W.
Published: December 2020

Anti-neoplastic drugs have made major advancements in oncology, however they are not without cardiovascular consequences. We present a patient with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma receiving Targretin therapy who presented with accelerated atherosclerosis. His triglyceride level (TG) was greater than 1000 mg/dL, which rapidly improved with discontinuation of Targretin.
An evaluation of the current status of kidney transplant in terms of the type of receipt among Iranian patients
Authors: Malekshahi Arghavan , MortezaNejad Hamidreza Fallah , Taromsari Morteza Rahbar , Gheshlagh Reza Ghanei , Delpasand Kourosh
Published: December 2020

Introduction

With the increasing prevalence and incidence of chronic renal failure leading to advanced kidney disease (ESRD), the use of renal transplant therapy is increasing globally. The aim of this study was to determine the status of kidney transplant in patients during a period of 4–5 years.

Materials and methods

In this retrospective, analytical study, patients undergoing renal transplant at one of the hospitals in northern Iran were studied. The data was collected using a checklist assessing the required information, including the age, sex, place of residence, source of the kidney for transplant (living related, living non-related, deceased), kidney receiving method (donated, purchased), and wait time for a kidney transplant.

Results

A total of 228 patients were included in the study, of which 73.7% were male and 26.3% were female. The average wait time for kidney transplant was 386.22 days. The mean age of patients was 32.7 ± 10.7 years. In addition, living non-related (66.2%) and deceased (14%) were the most and least frequent sources of kidney transplant, respectively. Moreover, 51.8% of all transplanted kidneys were purchased.

Conclusion

Over the past 5 years, there has been a decrease in wait time for kidney transplant in Rasht, Iran. Factors, such as being female, lower age, and living in urban areas, are related to a shorter wait time for kidney transplant. The most common types of kidney transplant are from non-related donors and purchased.
The development of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis associated with both antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis and anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis in the course of nontuberculous mycobacterium infection: a case report
Authors: Kato Mikiya , Wakiya Risa , Kameda Tomohiro , Inoue Kousuke , Sofue Tadashi , Ushio Yusuke , Sugihara Koichi , Nakashima Shusaku , Shimada Hiromi , Mansour Mai Mahmoud Fahmy , Kadowaki Norimitsu , Dobashi Hiroaki
Published: December 2020

Background

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) and Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibodies often induce rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN). Some reports have demonstrated RPGN with the sequential appearance of ANCA then anti-GBM antibodies, suggesting that ANCA may induce the development of anti-GBM antibodies. Whereas, many reports have shown that the development of ANCA is associated with various infectious diseases, such as non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection.

Case presentation

A 65-year-old woman with pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection was monitored without treatment. One year later, serum myeloperoxidase (MPO)- ANCA were elevated (14.1 U/mL (normal value < 3.0 U/ml)). A high fever and RPGN appeared 1 year later, and serum MPO-ANCAs were 94.1 U/mL. Anti-GBM antibodies were also detected. A renal biopsy revealed crescentic glomerulonephritis with linear deposits of IgG and C3c along the GBM and interstitial inflammation with endarteritis of arterioles. The diagnosis was RPGN associated with anti-GBM nephritis and ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Conclusion

This report shows that preceding NTM infection may have induced ANCA and anti-GBM antibodies and caused the development of RPGN.
Wall pressure beneath a transitional hypersonic boundary layer over an inclined straight circular cone
Authors: Dong Siwei , Chen Jianqiang , Yuan Xianxu , Chen Xi , Xu Guoliang
Published: December 2020

Properties of wall pressure beneath a transitional hypersonic boundary layer over a 7∘ half-angle blunt cone at angle of attack 6∘ are studied by Direct Numerical Simulation. The wall pressure has two distinct frequency peaks. The low-frequency peak with f≈10−50 kHz is very likely the unsteady crossflow mode based on its convection direction, i.e. along the axial direction and towards the windward symmetry ray. High-frequency peaks are roughly proportional to the local boundary layer thickness. Along the trajectories of stationary crossflow vortices, the location of intense high-frequency wall pressure moves from the bottom of trough where the boundary layer is thin to the bottom of shoulder where the boundary layer is thick. By comparing the pressure field with that inside a high-speed transitional swept-wing boundary layer dominated by the z-type secondary crossflow mode, we found that the high-frequency signal originates from the Mack mode and evolves into the secondary crossflow instability.
Using target enrichment sequencing to study the higher-level phylogeny of the largest lichen-forming fungi family: Parmeliaceae (Ascomycota)
Authors: Grewe Felix , Ametrano Claudio , Widhelm Todd J. , Leavitt Steven , Distefano Isabel , Polyiam Wetchasart , Pizarro David , Wedin Mats , Crespo Ana , Divakar Pradeep K. , Lumbsch H. Thorsten
Published: December 2020

Parmeliaceae is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi with a worldwide distribution. We used a target enrichment data set and a qualitative selection method for 250 out of 350 genes to infer the phylogeny of the major clades in this family including 81 taxa, with both subfamilies and all seven major clades previously recognized in the subfamily Parmelioideae. The reduced genome-scale data set was analyzed using concatenated-based Bayesian inference and two different Maximum Likelihood analyses, and a coalescent-based species tree method. The resulting topology was strongly supported with the majority of nodes being fully supported in all three concatenated-based analyses. The two subfamilies and each of the seven major clades in Parmelioideae were strongly supported as monophyletic. In addition, most backbone relationships in the topology were recovered with high nodal support. The genus Parmotrema was found to be polyphyletic and consequently, it is suggested to accept the genus Crespoa to accommodate the species previously placed in Parmotrema subgen. Crespoa. This study demonstrates the power of reduced genome-scale data sets to resolve phylogenetic relationships with high support. Due to lower costs, target enrichment methods provide a promising avenue for phylogenetic studies including larger taxonomic/specimen sampling than whole genome data would allow.
Health care workers’ experiences with implementation of “screen and treat” for cervical cancer prevention in Malawi: A qualitative study
Authors: Moucheraud Corrina , Kawale Paul , Kafwafwa Savel , Bastani Roshan , Hoffman Risa M.
Published: December 2020

Background

Cervical cancer remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity in low- and middle-income countries, despite the availability of effective prevention approaches. “Screen and treat” (a single-visit strategy to identify and remove abnormal cervical cells) is the recommended secondary prevention approach in low-resource settings, but there has been relatively scarce robust implementation science evidence on barriers and facilitators to providing “screen and treat” from the provider perspective, or about thermocoagulation as a lesion removal technique.

Methods

Informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), we conducted interviews with ten experienced “screen and treat” providers in Malawi. We asked questions based on the CFIR Guide, used the CFIR Guide codebook for a descriptive analysis in NVivo, and added recommended modifications for studies in low-income settings.

Results

Seven CFIR constructs were identified as positively influencing implementation, and six as negatively influencing implementation. The two strong positive influences were the relative advantage of thermocoagulation versus cryotherapy (Innovation Characteristics) and respondents’ knowledge and beliefs about providing “screen and treat” (Individual Characteristics). The two strong negative influences were the availability of ongoing refresher trainings to stay up-to-date on skills (Inner Setting, Implementation Climate) and insufficient resources (staffing, infrastructure, supplies) to provide “screen and treat” to all women who need it (Inner Setting, Readiness for Implementation). Weak positive factors included perceived scalability and access to knowledge/information, as well as compatibility, leadership engagement, and team characteristics, but these latter three were mixed in valence. Weak negative influences were structural characteristics and donor priorities; and mixed but weakly negative influences were relative priority and engaging clients. Cross-cutting themes included the importance of broad buy-in (including different cadres of health workers and leadership at the facility and in the government) and the opportunities and challenges of offering integrated care (screening plus other services).

Conclusions

Although “screen and treat” is viewed as effective and important, many implementation barriers remain. Our findings suggest that implementation strategies will need to be multi-level, include a diverse set of stakeholders, and explicitly address both screening and treatment.
Chemical and pharmacological evaluation of the non-flowering aerial parts of Acacia modesta Wall. cultivated in Egypt
Authors: Salah Eman Mohamed , Ibrahim Reham R. , Gonaid Mariam H. , Soliman Hesham S. M.
Published: December 2020

Background

Acacia modesta Wall. (A. modesta), often recognized as Phulai, is belonging to family Fabaceae and sub-family Mimosaceae. A. modesta has many beneficial uses. Leaves, wood, flowers, and gum of A. modesta have been used frequently for multiple therapeutic purposes.

Results

The chemical investigation of butanol fraction of A. modesta non-flowering aerial parts yielded Vitexin-2′′-β-D-glucopyranoside and Apigenin-6,8-di-C-β-D-glucopyranoside in a flavone mixture as well as (β-D-glucopyranosyl (1-3)-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-3-β-hydroxy-11-oxo-olean-12-en-28-oic acid) an oleanane-type triterpenoidal saponin. Metabolite profiling via ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS) of the ethyl acetate fraction resulted in recognizing of eighteen compounds tentatively compared with previously published data. Quantitative measurement of the overall value of flavonoids of A. modesta was found to be 2.824 μg/100 μg ± 0.01 calculated as quercetin. The acute toxicity study of the ethanol extract proved that the plant under investigation is safe and nontoxic to the male albino mice used. The anti-hyperglycemic activity of the ethanol extract performed on type 2 diabetic rats proved that the most potent dosage was 200 mg/kg b. wt. after 4 and 4 weeks of treatment respectively compared to metformin. Furthermore, evaluation of the hepato-protective activity of the ethanol extract of the plant under investigation showed that the most potent extract was with a dose level of 200 mg/kg b. wt. after 3 and 10 days of continuous treatment compared to silymarin.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that A. modesta Wall. cultivated in Egypt could be used as a promising anti-diabetic agent and a hepato-protective agent against hepatocellular damage induced by hepatotoxins.
Nephroprotective activity of Annona Squamosa leaves against paracetamol-induced nephrotoxicity in rats: in vitro and in vivo experiments
Authors: Neelima S. , Dwarakanadha Reddy P. , Kothapalli Bannoth Chandra Sekhar
Published: December 2020

Background

Paracetamol (PCM), being extensively adapted analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug all over the world, beyond therapeutic dosages, the oxidative stress-involved nephrotoxicity has been evidenced. However, herbal plants are the windfall for the humankind providing solution for most of the wellness breakdowns. Annona squamosa (AS) is one of such plants with enormous therapeutic and nutraceutical potencies. The main aspiration of the current investigation is to evaluate the nephroprotective ability of ethanolic extract of Annona squamosa (EEAS) leaves against paracetamol-induced nephrotoxicity using in vitro human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells and in vivo experiments in Wistar rats through biochemical parameters, oxidative parameters, and histopathological findings.

Results

When HEK-293 cells were incubated with PCM, an increased cell death associated with alterations in the morphology of normal cells was observed. At variable concentrations, HEK-293 cells co-treated with PCM and EEAS extracts gave a significant improvement in cell growth on comparing with PCM treatment showing cytoprotective feature of EEAS with an IC50 28.75 μg/mL. In vivo nephroprotective property was assessed from the amount of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) along with creatinine and uric acid which were reduced (P < 0.001) within serum and compact levels of glutathione, catalase, and superoxide dismutase which were termed as GSH, CAT, and SOD, respectively, were increased (P < 0.001) in kidney tissue homogenate in the treated groups than the PCM alone group. Results were additionally supported by histopathological observations.

Conclusion

The results exhibited that EEAS has impending benefits against PCM-induced nephrotoxicity through in vitro and in vivo experiments.
Comparative study between intrapolyp steroid injection and oral steroid for treatment of sinonasal polyposis in Egyptian patients
Authors: Zamzam Sameh M. , Elshazly Mohamed , Salah Mohamed , Enayat Abdallah
Published: December 2020

Background

Management of patients with sinonasal polyps ranges from systemic steroid to functional endoscopic sinus surgery; however, many patients refuse surgery or are contraindicated to receive systemic steroid. Intrapolyp steroid injection has been recently used to apply a higher concentration of steroids into the nasal polyps and on the other hand protecting the patient from the side effects of systemic steroid. In this study, we have tested intrapolyp steroid injection on 22 patients (injection group) and the results were statistically compared with the results of 16 patients treated by oral steroid (oral group) subjectively by total nasal symptoms score and objectively by total nasal polyp score and on CT films by using Lund Mackay scoring system, patients of both groups have been followed up for 3 months.

Results

After treatment, there was a statistically significant decrease in the score in both groups, with no significant difference in between them. No serious complications as visual disturbance apart from mild self-limited bleeding detected in only 2 injections (3%) of all 66 injections.

Conclusion

Intrapolyp steroid injection is an effective, easy, and safe procedure with short-lasting effect for at least 3 months. It was proven to show comparable results to oral steroids as both modalities showed a statistically significant improvement subjectively and objectively. However, cases with extensive bulky polyposis were resistant to complete eradication by injection and they may need surgical intervention.
Autonomous end-to-end wireless monitoring system for railroad bridges
Authors: Hoang Tu , Fu Yuguang , Mechitov Kirill , Sánchez Fernando Gómez , Kim Jong R. , Zhang Dichuan , Spencer Billie F.
Published: December 2020

One of the most critical components of the US transportation system is railroads, accommodating transportation for 48% of the nation’s total modal tonnage. Despite such vital importance, more than half of the railroad bridges, an essential component of railroad infrastructure in maintaining the flow of the network, were built before 1920; as a result, bridges comprise one of the most fragile components of the railroad system. Current structural inspection practice does not ensure sufficient information for both short- and long-term condition assessment while keeping the operation cost low enough for mandatory annual inspection. In this paper, we document the development process of an autonomous, affordable system for monitoring railroad bridges using the wireless smart sensor (WSS) so that a complete end-to-end monitoring solution can provide relevant information directly from the bridges to the end-users. The system’s main contribution is to capture the train-crossing event efficiently and eliminate the need for a human-in-the-loop for remote data retrieval and post-processing. In the proposed system, an adaptive strategy combining an event-based and schedule-based framework is implemented. The wireless system addresses the challenges of remote data retrieval by integrating 4G-LTE functionality into the sensor network and completes the data pipeline with a cloud-based data management and visualization solution. This system is realized on hardware, software, and framework levels. To demonstrate the efficacy of this system, a full-scale monitoring campaign is reported. By overcoming the challenges of monitoring railroad bridges wirelessly and autonomously, this system is expected to be an essential tool for bridge engineers and decision-makers.
Combination of the common reflection surface-based prestack data regularization and reverse time migration: Application to real land data
Authors: Garabito German , Stoffa Paul L. , Bezerra Yuri S. F. , Caldeira João L.
Published: December 2020

The application of reverse time migration (RTM) to land seismic data is still a great challenge due to its low quality, low signal-to-noise ratio, irregular spatial sampling, acquisition gaps, and missing traces. Therefore, prior to the application of this kind of depth migration, the input prestack data must be judiciously preconditioned; that is, it must be interpolated, regularized, and enhanced. There are several Fourier-based methods for seismic data preconditioning, but for 2D real land data, as we will show, the regularization of prestack data based on the common reflection surface (CRS) method provides high-quality enhanced preconditioned data, which is suitable for prestack depth migration and velocity model building. We have determined the successful application of RTM to onshore seismic data, revealing the great potential of combining RTM and CRS-based prestack data regularization. We apply this processing combination to real land data with low quality and irregular spatial sampling, from geologically complex areas with the presence of diabase sills and steeply dipping reflectors. Normally, it is very difficult to extract the wavelet of the seismic source from this type of low-quality onshore data because the reflection events are hidden or mixed with noise, and, because of this, RTM migration is often applied using artificial sources (e.g., a Ricker wavelet), which can introduce ringy side lobes in the reflectors. Therefore, we develop a practical algorithm for wavelet determination from the power spectrum of the CRS regularized prestack data, and we apply it successfully in the RTM migration. We develop applications of our prestack data preconditioning based on CRS followed by RTM for two 2D onshore seismic lines from the Tacutu and Parnaiba basins, Brazil. Comparisons with standard Kirchhoff depth migration reveal that the combination of CRS followed by wavelet extraction and then RTM improves the quality and resolution of the final migrated images.
Testing of a permanent orbital surface source and distributed acoustic sensing for monitoring of unconventional reservoirs: Preliminary results from the Eagle Ford Shale
Authors: Cheng Feng , Correa Julia , Dou Shan , Freifeld Barry , Wood Todd , Nihei Kurt , Guerra Dante , Birkholzer Jens , Chi Benxin , Ajo-Franklin Jonathan
Published: December 2020

The effective monitoring of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional oil and gas production requires tools to quantify elastic property variations even in the absence of microseismic activity. To track the subtle time-lapse variations in reservoir properties during such activities, monitoring techniques with high repeatability and high resolution, spatially and temporally, are required. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is a rapidly maturing fiber-optic technology for low-cost, permanent, high density, in-well monitoring. Surface orbital vibrators (SOVs) are inexpensive fixed rotary seismic sources that offer the opportunity to frequently interrogate the subsurface with energies comparable to vibroseis sources. We have evaluated a field vertical seismic profile test, conducted in the Eagle Ford play, pairing an SOV source recorded by DAS behind casing in a deviated well to better evaluate the potential of the technology set for unconventional reservoir monitoring. We determine the data processing workflow for reservoir monitoring using the SOV-DAS system. We analyze the data characteristics of the SOV-DAS system, including the signal-to-noise ratio characteristics and source repeatability. High-quality P- and S-wave reflections, as well as mode conversions, are visible in the vertical section. In addition, clear P-P reflections are also observable along the horizontal well sections. Time shifts with a mean value of 10 μs between different data sets demonstrate the high repeatability for the semipermanent SOV source, which is crucial for time-lapse analysis. We also apply reflection imaging on P and S to reveal reflection depths. In a first-of-its-kind deployment, we implemented a rotating SOV with a slewing bearing and discuss the possibility to optimize S-wave construction along the horizontal well with specific SOV orientation directions. Our preliminary results indicate that the combination of repeatable surface sources such as SOVs with DAS has significant potential for providing a low-cost approach for high-resolution seismic monitoring of unconventional reservoirs.
The Attitudes We Can Have
Authors: Drucker Daniel
Published: December 2020

This article investigates when one can (rationally) have attitudes, and when one cannot. It argues that a comprehensive theory must explain three phenomena. First, being related by descriptions or names to a proposition one has strong reason to believe is true does not guarantee that one can rationally believe that proposition. Second, such descriptions, and so on, do enable individuals to rationally have various non-doxastic attitudes, such as hope and admiration. And third, even for non-doxastic attitudes like that, not just any description will allow it. The article argues that one should think of attitude formation like one does (practical) choices among options. The article motivates this view linguistically, extending “relevant alternatives” theories of the attitudes to both belief and to the other, non-doxastic attitudes. Given a natural principle governing choice, and some important differences between doxastic and non-doxastic “choices,” one can explain these puzzling phenomena.
Fast effect size shrinkage software for beta-binomial models of allelic imbalance
Authors: Zitovsky Joshua P. , Love Michael I.
Published: December 2020

Allelic imbalance occurs when the two alleles of a gene are differentially expressed within a diploid organism and can indicate important differences in cis-regulation and epigenetic state across the two chromosomes. Because of this, the ability to accurately quantify the proportion at which each allele of a gene is expressed is of great interest to researchers. This becomes challenging in the presence of small read counts and/or sample sizes, which can cause estimators for allelic expression proportions to have high variance. Investigators have traditionally dealt with this problem by filtering out genes with small counts and samples. However, this may inadvertently remove important genes that have truly large allelic imbalances. Another option is to use pseudocounts or Bayesian estimators to reduce the variance. To this end, we evaluated the accuracy of four different estimators, the latter two of which are Bayesian shrinkage estimators: maximum likelihood, adding a pseudocount to each allele, approximate posterior estimation of GLM coefficients (apeglm) and adaptive shrinkage (ash). We also wrote C++ code to quickly calculate ML and apeglm estimates and integrated it into theapeglmpackage. The four methods were evaluated on two simulations and one real data set. Apeglm consistently performed better than ML according to a variety of criteria, and generally outperformed use of pseudocounts as well. Ash also performed better than ML in one of the simulations, but in the other performance was more mixed. Finally, when compared to five other packages that also fit beta-binomial models, theapeglmpackage was substantially faster and more numerically reliable, making our package useful for quick and reliable analyses of allelic imbalance.Apeglmis available as an R/Bioconductor package at http://bioconductor.org/packages/apeglm.
What are the long-term symptoms and complications of COVID-19: a protocol for a living systematic review
Authors: Michelen Melina , Sigfrid Louise , Manoharan Lakshmi , Elkheir Natalie , Hastie Claire , O'Hara Margaret , Suett Jake C. , Cheng Vincent , Burls Amanda , Foote Carol , Stavropoulou Charitini
Published: December 2020

Although the majority of patients with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms and will recover fully, there is now increasing evidence that a significant proportion will experience persistent symptoms for weeks or months after the acute phase of the illness. These symptoms include, among others, fatigue, problems in breathing, lack of smell and taste, headaches, and also depression and anxiety. It has also become clear that the virus has lasting effects not only on the respiratory system but also on other parts of the body, including the heart, liver, and the nervous system.

In this paper we present a protocol for a living systematic review that aims to synthesize the evidence on the prevalence and duration of symptoms and clinical features of post-acute COVID-19 and its long-term complications.

The living systematic review will be updated regularly, initially monthly with update cycles under continuous review as the pace of new evidence generated develops through the pandemic. We will include studies that follow up with COVID-19 patients who have experienced persistent mild, moderate or severe symptoms, with no restrictions regarding country, setting, or language.

We will use descriptive statistics to analyse the data and our findings will be presented as infographics to facilitate transcription to lay audiences. Ultimately, we aim to support the work of policy makers, practitioners, and patients when planning rehabilitation for those recovering from COVID-19.

The protocol has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020211131, 25/09/2020).