bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Supplemental Material: Geochronology and correlation of the Todos Santos Group, western Veracruz and eastern Oaxaca States, Mexico: Implications for regional stratigraphic relations and the rift history of the Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Molina Garza Roberto S. , al. et
Published: July 2020

LA-ICPMS U-Pb results for samples studied
Analysis of patient safety messages delivered and received during clinical rounds
Authors: Levine Diane , Gadivemula Jaya , Kutaimy Raya , Kamatam Srinivasa , Sarvadevabatla Nagaratna , Lohia Prateek
Published: July 2020

Background

Multiple modalities are available to introduce patient safety training to healthcare professionals. In internal medicine, clinical rounds have always played an important role in education; however, the patient safety content taught at the point of care is not well studied. We studied, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the number and nature of patient safety messages delivered by attending physicians to determine what is taught at the point of care and how well this is recognised and recalled by attending physicians, residents and medical students.

Methods

This prospective mixed methods study was conducted on the medicine teaching service. Clinical rounds were audio-recorded. Immediately after rounds, attending physicians, residents and students completed a short survey card identifying the number and type of educational messages they immediately recalled teaching or hearing. Independent t-test was used to compare differences in the number of messages delivered by attendings and recalled by trainees. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare differences in messages delivered by attending physicians compared with trainees. Recordings were transcribed and analysed qualitatively for patient safety content.

Results

Trainees recalled more educational messages than attendings recalled teaching in all educational domains. Safety messages comprised 17.5% of educational messages. The average number of patient safety messages recalled per session was 1.08 per attending physicians, 1.84 per resident and 2.50 per student. Residents recalled 56.4% of safety messages delivered; students recalled 76.7% of safety messages.

Conclusion

Patient safety is a focus of teaching during clinical rounds and provides meaningful opportunities to train students and residents to practice safe patient care.
Advanced Clinical Trials of Dendritic Cell Vaccines in Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Guo Quan , Yang Qing , Li Jun , Liu Guipeng , Nikoulin Igor , Jia Steve
Published: July 2020

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most common and leading cause of death for gynecologic cancer in the western world. Current standard treatments with limited selection of chemotherapies cannot meet patients’ urgent needs. Immunotherapies have recently demonstrated clinical benefits in a variety of solid tumors and may offer a promising frontier for treating EOC. Dendritic cells (DCs) are key coordinators of the innate and adaptive immune system in induction of antitumor immunity. DC-based vaccinations showed clinical benefits and encouraging safety profiles in a few phase II clinical trials for patients with EOC and currently are in a phase III double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. In this review, we have searched Pubmed and Clinicaltrials. gov databases for past and current phase II or phase III clinical trials with focus on EOC and DC vaccines. Outcomes and implications of the completed and ongoing trials are discussed.
Impact of gender bias on women surgeons: a South African perspective
Authors: Wall Shelley Lynn , Troisi Katherine
Published: July 2020

A recent article in this journal by Katrina Hutchison exposes and addresses the cumulative effects of implicit bias on women in surgery. We doubt that there is a single woman in any surgical field who has not experienced both implicit and explicit bias. Many of the issues facing women in surgery seem to be mirrored in both the developed and developing countries. There is little literature describing the exact situation in Africa. South African government institutions have made a concerted effort to improve the representation of minorities in business, education and the health sector. In the hospital setting, hiring is done by means of a quota system based on demographics within that particular sector. This has also resulted in a number of unforeseen epistemic biases. This policy-driven ‘forced’ hiring of female candidates also led to feelings of doubt in the candidates themselves about their merits and competence and capabilities. This epistemic bias can then filter down, feeding the already prevalent imposter syndrome and confidence issues felt by many female surgical trainees. Not only do we need to aim to change the culture in surgical departments by changing the image of the ‘stereotypical surgeon’, we need to extend this message out into our training institutions, communities and peoples’ homes. We believe that this is the only way to change a culture steeped in implicit bias, to be more inclusive of women and other minority groups and shed the assumption that they are lesser.
Characterization of primary adult mouse cardiac fibroblast cultures
Authors: MacLean Jessica , Pasumarthi Kishore B.S.
Published: July 2020

The role of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) in disease states has been a focus of cardiovascular research over the past decade. Here, we briefly describe methods for isolation and characterization of CFs from adult mouse ventricles. Primary cultures were stained using antibodies for several marker proteins such as α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), vimentin, and discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) to confirm the identity of CFs or cardiac myofibroblasts (CMFs). Most cells in primary cultures consisted of CFs, with very low frequencies of endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes, and smooth muscle cells. We compared marker expression between cultures that were not passaged (P0) or passaged for few times (P1-3). When compared with P1-3 cultures, P0 cultures consistently displayed a lower percentage of cells positive for αSMA and DDR2, whereas vimentin expression was significantly higher in P0 cultures compared with P1-3 cultures. P0 cells were also smaller in area than P1-3 cells. Further, P1-3 mouse CFs were found to express both β1 and β2 adrenergic receptors (ARs) and β1ARs were more readily detected on the cell surface compared with β2ARs. In summary, mouse CF cultures underwent phenotype conversion into CMFs after passaging, consistent with what is seen with CF cultures from other species.
Hyperhomocysteinemia: an instigating factor for periodontal disease
Authors: Stanisic Dragana , George Akash K. , Smolenkova Irina , Singh Mahavir , Tyagi Suresh C.
Published: July 2020

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) affects bone remodeling, since a destructive process in cortical alveolar bone has been linked to it; however, the mechanism remains at large. HHcy increases proinflammatory cytokines viz. TNF-α, IL-1b, IL-6, and IL-8 that leads to a cascade that negatively impacts methionine metabolism and homocysteine cycling. Further, chronic inflammation decreases vitamins B12, B6, and folic acid that are required for methionine homocysteine homeostasis. This study aims to investigate a HHcy mouse model (cystathionine β-synthase deficient, CBS+/–) for studying the potential pathophysiological changes, if any, in the periodontium (gingiva, periodontal ligament, cement, and alveolar bone). We compared the periodontium side-by-side in the CBS+/– model with that of the wild-type (C57BL/6J) mice. Histology and histomorphometry of the mandibular bone along with gene expression analyses were carried out. Also, proangiogenic proteins and metalloproteinases were studied. To our knowledge, this research shows, for the first time, a direct connection between periodontal disease during CBS deficiency, thereby suggesting the existence of disease drivers during the hyperhomocysteinemic condition. Our findings offer opportunities to develop diagnostics/therapeutics for people who suffer from chronic metabolic disorders like HHcy.
On volume subregion complexity in non-conformal theories
Authors: Asadi M.
Published: July 2020

We study the volume prescription of the holographic subregion complexity in a holographic 5-dimensional model consisting of Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field with a non-trivial potential. The dual 4-dimensional gauge theory is not conformal and exhibits a RG flow between two different fixed points. In both zero and finite temperature we show that the holographic subregion complexity can be used as a measure of non-conformality of the model. This quantity exhibits also a monotonic behaviour in terms of the size of the entangling region, like the behaviour of the entanglement entropy in this setup. There is also a finite jump due to the disentangling transition between connected and disconnected minimal surfaces for holographic renormalized subregion complexity at zero temperature.
Morphisms between categorified spin networks
Authors: Hogancamp Matthew
Published: July 2020

We introduce a graphical calculus for computing morphism spaces between the categorified spin networks of Cooper and Krushkal. The calculus, phrased in terms of planar compositions of categorified Jones–Wenzl projectors and their duals, is then used to study the module structure of spin networks over the colored unknots.
Web Accessibility Assessment Through Multi-Agent Support for Visually Impaired Users
Authors: Mazalu Rafaela , Cechich Alejandra
Published: July 2020

In general, users who access Web sites do not necessarily have the same abilities in terms of cognitive, sensory and physical conditions. An accessible Web site is one whose content can be used by as many users as possible; and to improve accessibility, the use of evaluation tools has been incorporated among other resources. However, from the point of view of the end user, the evaluation obtained by most of these tools does not fit to the individual needs and abilities of the users. On the other hand, there is a greater understanding of the need to automate the support to reach higher levels of accessibility.

Promoting this type of support on both the developer and the end-user sides is a complex procedure that can be done by incorporating intelligent features, such as the collaborative participation of intelligent agents. In this paper, we introduce a multi-agent system based on visually impaired user’s profiles to improve Web Accessibility assessment. The proposal is validated through a proof of concept, by contrasting results against 10 wide-known assessment tools. Our results show that evaluations are more focused, and therefore, unnecessary assessments are avoided improving efficiency.
Robust Finite Difference Method for Singularly Perturbed Two-Parameter Parabolic Convection-Diffusion Problems
Authors: Bullo Tesfaye Aga , Duressa Gemechis File , Degla Guy Aymard
Published: July 2020

Robust finite difference method is introduced in order to solve singularly perturbed two parametric parabolic convection-diffusion problems. In order to discretize the solution domain, Micken’s type discretization on a uniform mesh is applied and then followed by the fitted operator approach. The convergence of the method is established and observed to be first-order convergent, but it is accelerated by Richardson extrapolation. To validate the applicability of the proposed method, some numerical examples are considered and observed that the numerical results confirm the agreement of the method with the theoretical results effectively. Furthermore, the method is convergent regardless of perturbation parameter and produces more accurate solution than the standard methods for solving singularly perturbed parabolic problems.
Total k-rainbow reinforcement number in graphs
Authors: Shahbazi L. , Abdollahzadeh Ahangar H. , Khoeilar R. , Sheikholeslami S. M.
Published: July 2020

Let [Formula: see text] be an integer, and let [Formula: see text] be a graph. A k-rainbow dominating function (or [Formula: see text]RDF) of [Formula: see text] is a function [Formula: see text] from the vertex set [Formula: see text] to the family of all subsets of [Formula: see text] such that for very [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text], the condition [Formula: see text] is fulfilled, where [Formula: see text] is the open neighborhood of [Formula: see text]. The weight of a [Formula: see text]RDF [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] is the value [Formula: see text]. A k-rainbow dominating function [Formula: see text] in a graph with no isolated vertex is called a total k-rainbow dominating function if the subgraph of [Formula: see text] induced by the set [Formula: see text] has no isolated vertices. The total k-rainbow domination number of [Formula: see text], denoted by [Formula: see text], is the minimum weight of the total [Formula: see text]-rainbow dominating function on [Formula: see text]. The total k-rainbow reinforcement number of [Formula: see text], denoted by [Formula: see text], is the minimum number of edges that must be added to [Formula: see text] in order to decrease the total k-rainbow domination number. In this paper, we investigate the properties of total [Formula: see text]-rainbow reinforcement number in graphs. In particular, we present some sharp bounds for [Formula: see text] and we determine the total [Formula: see text]-rainbow reinforcement number of some classes of graphs including paths, cycles and complete bipartite graphs.
Identifying Child Users via Touchscreen Interactions
Authors: Cheng Yushi , Ji Xiaoyu , Li Xiaopeng , Zhang Tianchen , Malebary Sharaf , Qu Xianshan , Xu Wenyuan
Published: July 2020

With the proliferation of smart devices, children can be easily exposed to violent or adult-only content on the Internet. Without any precaution, the premature and unsupervised use of smart devices can be harmful to both children and their parents. Thus, it is critical to employ parent patrol mechanisms such that children are restricted to child-friendly content only. A successful parent patrol strategy has to be user friendly and privacy aware. The apps that require explicit actions from parents are not effective because a parent may forget to enable them, and the ones that use built-in cameras or microphones to detect child users may impose privacy violations. In this article, we propose iCare, a system that can identify child users automatically and seamlessly when users operate smartphones. In particular, iCare investigates the intrinsic differences of screen-touch patterns between child and adult users from the aspect of physiological maturity. We discover that one’s touch behaviors are related to his or her age. Thus, iCare records the touch behaviors and extracts hand geometry, finger dexterity, and hand stability features that capture the age information. We conduct experiments on 100 people including 62 children (3 to 17 years old) and 38 adults (18 to 59 years old). Results show that iCare can achieve 96.6% accuracy for child identification using only a single swipe on the screen, and the accuracy becomes 98.3% with three consecutive swipes.
Using computational ethnography to enhance the curation of real-world data (RWD) for chronic pain and invisible disability use cases
Authors: Moore Rhonda J. , Smith Ross , Liu Qi
Published: July 2020

Chronic pain is a significant source of suffering, disability and societal cost in the US. However, while the ability to detect a person's risk for developing persistent pain is desirable for timely assessment, management, treatment, and reduced health care costs---no objective measure to detect clinical pain intensity exist. Recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods have deployed clinical decision- making and assessment tools to enhance pain risk detection across core social and clinical domains. Yet, risk assessment models are only as "good" as the data they are based on. Thus, ensuring fairness is also a critical component of equitable care in both the short and long term. This paper takes an intersectional and public health approach to AI fairness in the context of pain and invisible disability, suggesting that computational ethnography is a multimodal and participatory real-world data (RWD) methodology that can be used to enhance the curation of intersectional knowledge bases, thereby expanding existing boundaries of AI fairness in terms of inclusiveness and transparency for pain and invisible disability use cases.
G-SIRS Model with Logistic Growth and Nonlinear Incidence
Authors: He Ping , Zhang Defei
Published: July 2020

We present the stochastic SIRS model in the G-expectation space as follows: dXt=rX1−X/K−βXY/1+αY+δZdBt+σ¯1XdBt, dYt=βXY/1+αY−ρ+ϑ+γYdBt+σ¯2YdBt, dZt=γY−μ+δZdBt+σ¯3ZdBt, where σ¯1,σ¯2,σ¯3 are three intensities of the G-Brownian motion and disturb the three variables, and B1 follows G-Normal distribution, namely, B1∼N0,π¯2,π¯2. For any initial condition X0,Y0,Z0∈D∗, we prove the new model admits a unique solution Xt,Yt,Zt for t≥0 and the solution Xt,Yt,Zt satisfies vω:Xt,Yt,Zt∈R+3,t≥0=1.
Earthquake and Wave Analysis of Circular Cylinder considering Water‐Structure‐Soil Interaction
Authors: Wang Piguang , Chang Yifu , Zhao Mi , Han Junyan
Published: July 2020

Offshore structures in zones of active seismicity are under a potential threat caused by the combined action of earthquakes and waves. Taking a submerged circular cylinder as the prototype and considering water‐structure‐soil interaction, the present study is devoted to the investigation of the combined action of earthquakes and waves. Water‐cylinder interaction and soil‐structure interaction are simulated by added mass and rigid circular massless foundations, respectively. Based on the radiation and diffraction wave theory, the scaled boundary finite element method is utilized to determine the earthquake‐induced and wave‐induced pressure on a circular cylinder. Then, a closed‐form expression for the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the system is derived by using the transfer matrix method, where the transfer matrix is obtained based on Euler–Bernoulli’s beam differential equation. Furthermore, the dynamic response of the system under the combined action of earthquakes and waves is derived by using the mode superposition method. Finally, the effects of the hydrodynamic force, wave force, and soil‐structure interaction on the dynamic response of the submerged cylinder are investigated. The results indicate that the wave forces can substantially increase the dynamic responses of the cylinder and that the influence increases as the stiffness ratio increases and the width‐depth ratio decreases. It is necessary to consider the combined action of earthquakes and waves in the seismic design of offshore structures.
Monochorionic Triplet Gestation after Single Blastocyst Transfer Using Donor Oocytes: Case Report and Review
Authors: Ferri G. , Musto M. , Colombo G. , Savasi V. M.
Published: July 2020

We report a case of a 43-year-old patient with a monochorionic triamniotic triplet pregnancy after IVF with donor oocytes. After failed IVF attempts, the patient chose to undergo treatment with donor oocytes. Her 22-year-old oocyte donor underwent standard controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. The retrieved oocytes were fertilized in vitro, and one embryo was transferred at the blastocyst stage. At 6 weeks and 5 days of gestation, an ultrasound revealed monochorionic triamniotic (MCTA) triplets. The risk of monozygotic twinning in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) is reported to be higher than that in natural conception, although the causes of the phenomenon have not yet been clarified. Efforts still must be made in order to prevent monozygotic multiple pregnancies, associated with much greater chances of obstetric and perinatal morbidity and mortality.
Ellagic Acid-Derived Urolithins as Modulators of Oxidative Stress
Authors: Djedjibegovic Jasmina , Marjanovic Aleksandra , Panieri Emiliano , Saso Luciano
Published: July 2020

Oxidative stress is a state of excess of prooxidative species relative to the antioxidant defenses (enzymatic and nonenzymatic) in a living organism. The consequence of this imbalance is damage of the major cellular macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and DNA), which further leads to a gradual loss of tissue and organ function. It has been shown that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases (cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer) and in the process of aging. Thus, many strategies to combat oxidative stress have been proposed and tested. In this context, food rich in antioxidants has received great attention. Pomegranate, berries, and walnuts have been recognized as “superfood” particularly for their cardioprotective effects. The common characteristic of these foods is the high content of ellagitannins. Since tannins are not bioavailable, they have been neglected in nutrition science and even considered antinutrients for a long time. However, this view has changed dramatically once it was recognized that ellagic acid, released from ellagitannins in the gastrointestinal system, is further metabolized by colonic microbiota to bioavailable compounds—known as urolithins. Thus, urolithins (3,4-benzocoumarin derivatives) have emerged as novel natural bioactive compounds and are now the focus of extensive investigations. So far, urolithins were shown to be powerful modulators of oxidative stress and agents with potential anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and antiaging properties. Furthermore, a few synthetic derivatives of urolithins were recognized as lead compounds for new drug development. Available data on urolithin synthesis, physicochemical and pharmacokinetic characteristics, biological activity, and safety will be presented in this review.
Soluble IL-2 Receptor in Dermatomyositis: Its Associations with Skin Ulcers and Disease Activity
Authors: He Linrong , Shu Xiaoming , Liu Xia , Ge Yongpeng , Li Sizhao , Lu Xin , Wang Guochun
Published: July 2020

Objective. To investigate the role of soluble interleukin-2R (sIL-2R) in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM).Methods. Serum sIL-2R levels were measured in 74 dermatomyositis (DM), 16 immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), 24 rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 20 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 20 healthy controls (HCs) by chemiluminescent immunometric assay. Clinical features and laboratory data were collected from electronic medical record. Disease activity was evaluated by using physician global disease activity and myositis disease activity assessment visual analog scale (MYOACT) on admission. 20 DM patients were followed. Serum sIL-2R levels were analyzed and compared with clinical features, laboratory data, and measures of disease activity.Results. Serum sIL-2R levels were significantly higher in DM patients than in IMNM patients and HCs (648.8±433.1 U/ml vs.352.3±126.0 U/ml and648.8±433.1 U/ml vs.285.8±101.9 U/ml, respectively; allP<0.001), while there was no significant difference between IMNM and HCs. There were also no significant differences of sIL-2R levels in DM, SLE, and RA. Importantly, serum sIL-2R levels were significantly higher in treatment-naïve or active DM patients than those that are not (1100.9±550.4 U/ml vs.615.6±330.4 U/ml,P=0.006;808.8±421.6 U/ml vs.339.8±103.4 U/ml,P<0.001). DM patients with skin ulcers had significantly higher sIL-2R levels than those without (889.3±509.9 U/ml vs.640.0±368.7 U/ml,P=0.023). Cross-sectional analysis in DM showed that sIL-2R levels positively correlated with CK, ESR, CRP, ferritin, physician VAS, and MYOACT scores (rho=0.278,rho=0.474,rho=0.469,rho=0.454,r=0.646, andr=0.600, respectively; allP<0.05), negatively correlated with T cell counts and MMT8 scores (r=−0.380,P=0.002;rho=−0.394,P=0.001). Follow-up study showed that changes in sIL-2R levels after treatment correlated with changes in physician VAS and MYOACT scores (r=0.823andr=0.695, respectively; allP<0.01).Conclusion. Serum sIL-2R levels were elevated in DM but not in IMNM. Serum sIL-2R could act as a disease activity marker and be associated with ulcerative skin lesions in DM.
The Prevalence of Infectious Keratitis after Keratorefractive Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study
Authors: Afsharpaiman Shahla , Zare Musa , Yasemi Masoud , Jamialahmadi Tannaz , Sahebkar Amirhossein
Published: July 2020

Background. The keratorefractive surgeries (KRS) are one of the most common ocular surgeries. One of the dangerous complications of these surgeries is infectious keratitis (IK), which is the second cause of blindness after cataract surgery. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of IK after KRS in different parts of the world. Methods. In order to obtain relevant studies, all national and international databases including IranMedex, SID, Magiran, IranDoc, Medlib, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched using standard keywords. Results. IK prevalence after KRS was 0.000496% (0.000145% for the left eye and 0.000149% for the right eye). IK prevalence after KRS in the United States, Europe, and Asia was 0.000667%, 0.000473%, and 0.000045%, respectively, in all of which the common microorganisms were Staphylococci. Meta-regression showed no significant association between IK after KRS and either sample size or publication year of the studies. IK prevalence after KRS in the right eye was more than that in the left one. Also, the probability of IK incidence after LASIK surgery was more than PRK and LASEK. In the evaluation of continents, IK after KRS in the United States was more frequent compared with Europe and Asia. Conclusions. This study provided data as to the overall prevalence of IK following KRS and its variations according to the types of eye, surgery, pathogenic microorganism, and geographical location.
Association between Gout, Urate‐Lowering Therapy, and Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Nationwide Population‐Based Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Fang Yi-Jen , Chung Yun-Lung , Lin Cheng-Li , Lim Yun-Ping
Published: July 2020

Gout is the most prevalent inflammatory arthritis in adults. Although the link between gout and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been documented, our understanding of the association between urate‐lowering therapy (ULT) among gout patients and T2DM development remains poor. We included 69,326 patients with new‐onset gout in 2000‐2011. Each case was matched randomly with 1 patient without gout during the study period, and 69,326 patients were recognized as the comparison cohort. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze differences in the risk of T2DM development between patients with and without gout after considering related comorbidities. After adjusting for potential confounders, the case group had a higher risk of T2DM than the control cohort (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.30, 95%confidence interval (CI) = 1.24‐1.38; P < 0.001). Gout patients without appropriate ULT had significantly higher risk of T2DM development than the control cohort (aHR = 1.39; 95%CI = 1.30‐1.48; P < 0.001). Among gout patients, those receiving ULT excluding probenecid (aHR = 0.80; 95%CI = 0.64‐1.00), all had significantly lower risk of T2DM than gout patients without ULT (all aHR < 0.90; all P < 0.001). In this study, we found that gout increased the risk of T2DM; however, patients with any ULT exhibited a lower risk of T2DM than gout patients without any ULT (all aHR < 0.90, P < 0.001; excluding probenecid).
Impacts of Voice and Accountability upon Innovation in Pakistan: Evidence from ARDL and Maki Cointegration Approaches
Authors: Nadeem Muhammad Athar , Jiao Zhilun , Nawaz Kishwar , Younis Amna
Published: July 2020

Innovative capacity has a decisive and crucial role in determining who is prospering in the global arena. Innovation is crucial for value creation, high productivity, economic growth, employment, and sustainable development that benefit the consumers, firms, businesses, and economy as a whole. Several institutional, political, and social conditions lead to different responses of innovation. For instance, low voice and accountability may lead to low institutional setting, cronyism, and favoritism in allocation of resources, which can harm innovation. Similarly, the terrorist attack of 9/11 caused horrific scales of destructions, which caught the countries on various fronts such as economic, political, and technological. Further, sound infrastructure and savings rates are essential to enhance innovation. Applying the ARDL approach to cointegration, this study investigates the impact of voice and accountability, terrorism, infrastructure, and savings on innovation in Pakistan. The empirical evidence shows that low voice and accountability and terrorism have adverse impacts on innovation in the short- and long-run periods. Further, findings reveal that inadequate infrastructures and low savings adversely affect the innovation in both periods. Various robust checks such as Maki cointegration, Johansen cointegration test, fully modified ordinary least square, dynamic ordinary least square, and canonical cointegration regression corroborate the results. The findings of the study would be of substantial implications for government and policymakers.
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Complex Defensive Mechanisms in Salt-Tolerant and Salt-Sensitive Shrub Willow Genotypes under Salinity Stress
Authors: Sui Dezong , Wang Baosong
Published: July 2020

Salinity stress is one of the most devastating abiotic stresses limiting plant growth and productivity. As a moderately salt-tolerant crop, shrub willow (Salix spp.) is widely distributed over the world and can provide multiple bioenergy product and environmental benefits. To delve into the salt tolerance mechanism and screen out salt-tolerant genes, two shrub willow cultivars (a salt-sensitive genotype JW9-6 and a salt-tolerant genotype JW2372) at three time points (0, 2, and 12 h) after NaCl treatments were used for RNA sequencing. A comparative analysis between genotypes and time points showed 1,706 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 1,029 and 431 DEGs were only found in the JW9-6 and JW2372, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and MapMan annotations suggested that many DEGs were involved in various defense-related biological pathways, including cell wall integrity, hormone signaling, antioxidant system, heat shock proteins, and transcription factors. Compared to JW9-6, JW2372 contained more DEGs involved in the maintenance of the cell wall integrity, ABA, and ethylene signal transduction pathways. In addition, more DEGs encoding heat shock proteins were found in JW2372. Instead, transcription factors including ERF, MYB, NAC, and WRKY were found to be more differentially expressed in JW9-6 under salinity stress. Furthermore, expressions of nine randomly selected DEGs were verified by qRT-PCR analysis. This study contributes in new perspicacity into underlying the salt tolerance mechanism of a shrub willow at the transcriptome level and also provides numerous salt-tolerant genes for further genetic engineering and breeding purposes in the future.
Use Chou’s 5‐Step Rule to Predict DNA‐Binding Proteins with Evolutionary Information
Authors: Lu Weizhong , Song Zhengwei , Ding Yijie , Wu Hongjie , Cao Yan , Zhang Yu , Li Haiou
Published: July 2020

The knowledge of DNA‐binding proteins would help to understand the functions of proteins better in cellular biological processes. Research on the prediction of DNA‐binding proteins can promote the research of drug proteins and computer acidified drugs. In recent years, methods based on machine learning are usually used to predict proteins. Although great predicted performance can be achieved via current methods, researchers still need to invest more research in terms of the improvement of predicted performance. In this study, the prediction of DNA‐binding proteins is studied from the perspective of evolutionary information and the support vector machine method. One machine learning model for predicting DNA‐binding proteins based on evolutionary features by using Chou’s 5‐step rule is put forward. The results show that great predicted performance is obtained on benchmark dataset PDB1075 and independent dataset PDB186, achieving the accuracy of 86.05% and 75.30%, respectively. Thus, the method proposed is comparable to a certain degree, and it may work even better than other methods to some extent.
Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis Profile of Meniscal Tissue Macrophages in Human Osteoarthritis
Authors: Zhou Jingbin , Zhao Zhihong , He Chen , Gao Feng , Guo Yu , Qu Feng , Liu Yujie
Published: July 2020

Osteoarthritis (OA) has long been considered as a degenerative disease, but growing evidence suggests that inflammation plays a vital role in its pathogenesis. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, inflammation in OA is chronic and, in relatively low grade, mainly mediated by the innate immune system, especially macrophages. However, due to its low abundance, there is a lack of systematic studies on macrophages in the OA condition. Here, we have used single-cell RNA sequencing analysis to gain insight into the heterogeneity and functional specialization of human knee macrophages. We also compared the gene expression profiles of macrophages in healthy people and OA patients and found the characteristic changes of special macrophages in the OA knee. We believe that this in-depth understanding of the basis of OA inflammation will bring hope for the development of new therapies.
Phytochemicals and Quality of Green and Black Teas from Different Clones of Tea Plant
Authors: KC Yadav , Parajuli Ashok , Khatri Bishnu Bahadur , Shiwakoti Lila Devi
Published: July 2020

Tea is a popular drink with refreshing and functional properties. Bud, 1st leaf, and 2nd leaf of five varieties of tea clones (Gumti Takda-78, Ambari, Chiniya, and Tinali, which are popular in tea plantation area of Nepal) were collected and used for preparing green and orthodox black tea to study antioxidant activity, phytochemicals profile, chemical content, and sensory parameters. One or two leaves were hand-plucked from each bush to get a sample of about 100 leaves and processed for green and orthodox black tea for different clones of tea plants. Phytochemicals, antioxidant activity, and caffeine content were found higher in bud followed by 1st leaf and 2nd leaf for all clones of tea plants. Both types of tea (green and black) from Gumti were significantly (p<0.05) higher having tannin content, flavonoid content, total polyphenol content, caffeine content, and IC50 value of 49.15 and 36.23 (mg GAE/g dry extract), 358.9 and 350.4 (mg QE/g dry extract), 590.5 and 570 (mg GAE/g dry extract), 2.85 and 2.94%, and 45.15 & 51.88 μg/mL, respectively. Green and orthodox tea from Takda-78 was found higher in caffeine content and the least in Tinali for both types of tea. Moisture, water extract, total ash, acid-insoluble ash, and crude fiber content in tea (green and black) from Gumti were found to be 5.4% & 5.37%, 65.89% & 71.46%, 5.524% & 6.52%, 0.46% & 0.57%, and 7.96% & 10.27%, respectively. The ratio of theaflavin and thearubigin (TF : TR) was found 1 : 8.61, 1 : 9.36, 1 : 9.70, 1 : 12.87, and 1 : 6.36 in Takda-78, Ambari, Gumti, Chiniya, and Tinali respectively. The total quality score in green tea (85.13%) and black tea (85.78%) from Gumti was significantly higher than others. Phytochemicals and antioxidant properties of green tea were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of orthodox black tea for all clones of tea plant. This study suggests Gumti variety to be used in green and orthodox black tea processing for higher phytochemical, chemical, sensory quality, and antioxidant activity.
The Porosity Dynamic Model of the Compacted Broken Coal
Authors: Han Xuefeng , Chu Tingxiang , Yu Minggao , Chao Jiangkun , Ma Zhihui , Yang Xinlei
Published: July 2020

In order to study the dynamic change law of the porosity of the compacted broken coal under different axial stress loading, based on the environment of the broken and compacted coal in the gob, aiming at the influence of the porosity on the spontaneous combustion of the coal, combined with the fractal theory, the fractal model of the porosity of the broken coal is established. A self‐designed “testing device for permeability evolution and spontaneous combustion characteristics of crushed coal under pressure” is used to carry out axial loading test on selected coal samples in the gob. By comparing and analyzing the calculated results of void dynamic evolution model and experimental data, it is found that the relative error of void dynamic evolution model is between 2.8% and 6.2%, which meets the engineering needs. According to the stress‐strain curve, initial accumulation state parameters, fractal dimension of initial crushing, and particle size distribution, the change of porosity under different compacted conditions can be predicted by the model, which has certain significance for identifying the change of compacted broken coal porosity and analyzing the process of coal spontaneous combustion and oxidation.
Magnitude and Its Associated Factors of Urinary Tract Infection among Adult Patients Attending Tigray Region Hospitals, Northern Ethiopia, 2019
Authors: Hailay Abrha , Zereabruk Kidane , Mebrahtom Guesh , Aberhe Woldu , Bahrey Degena
Published: July 2020

Background. Urinary tract infection is a major public health problem in terms of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It ranks as the number one infection which leads to an antibiotic prescription after a physician’s visit. However, there are limited studies done on UTI in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was aimed to assess the magnitude of urinary tract infection and its associated factors among adult patients attending hospitals of the Tigray region, Ethiopia. Methods and Material. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2019. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 472 participants from five randomly selected hospitals in Tigray region. A pretested structured questionnaire through face-to-face interview and patient chart review checklist was used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21. A binary logistic regression model was used to test the association between dependent and independent variables. Result. The magnitude of urinary tract infection was 86 (18.2%) (95% CI: 14.6%–21.6%). After adjustment of the independent variables, the significant factors associated with urinary tract infection were being female (AOR = 3.50; 95% CI: 1.88–6.51), urine passing frequency < five times in a day (AOR = 2.32; 95% CI: 1.08–4.96), having diabetes mellitus (AOR = 4.03; 95% CI: 1.69–9.63), history of urinary tract infection (AOR = 4.40; 95% CI: 2.31–8.39), <7 glasses of water intake per day (AOR = 2.16; 95% CI: 1.02–4.58), and history of urinary obstructive diseases (AOR = 2.67; 95% CI: 1.03–6.90). Conclusion and Recommendation. The magnitude of urinary tract infection was considerably high. The factors associated with urinary tract infection were sex, less urine passing frequency, diabetes mellitus, low water intake, history of urinary tract infection, and urinary obstructive diseases. Therefore, patients having DM, previous history of UTI, and urinary obstructive diseases should be routinely screened for urinary tract infection and provided with education on voiding urine at least five times a day and on increasing daily water intake.
Schemes of eStories for Children with Social Communication Difficulties
Authors: Al Ghurair Noura , Alnaqi Ghada
Published: July 2020

The current paper presents the development and the evaluation of an Arabic application (app) for electronic stories (eStories) that can be used as an assistive tool in the rehabilitation of children with social communication difficulties. The development process involved engineers and researchers and speech and language pathologists (SLPs) from a rehabilitation hospital, who formulated the design methodology of the Arabic app. This process is critical when designing tools for children with communication difficulties since they have a wide range of differences in their abilities. The evaluation of the app from the standpoint of the SLPs at a local school suggests that the app is easy to use, and the involvement of these SLPs helped in developing a better solution. The results of the usability study on twenty-five students showed positive evaluation with an average score that signifies that the app has above-average usability. This paper highlights the importance of the evaluation process in catering the app for successful user experience.
Molecular Engineering of Ultrasmall Silica Nanoparticle–Drug Conjugates as Lung Cancer Therapeutics
Authors: Madajewski Brian , Chen Feng , Yoo Barney , Turker Melik Z. , Ma Kai , Zhang Li , Chen Pei-Ming , Juthani Rupa , Aragon-Sanabria Virginia , Gonen Mithat , Rudin Charles M. , Wiesner Ulrich , Bradbury Michelle S. , Brennan Cameron
Published: July 2020

Purpose:

Small-molecule inhibitors have had a major impact on cancer care. While treatments have demonstrated clinically promising results, they suffer from dose-limiting toxicities and the emergence of refractory disease. Considerable efforts made to address these issues have more recently focused on strategies implementing particle-based probes that improve drug delivery and accumulation at target sites, while reducing off-target effects.

Experimental Design:

Ultrasmall (<8 nm) core-shell silica nanoparticles, C′ dots, were molecularly engineered to function as multivalent drug delivery vehicles for significantly improving key in vivo biological and therapeutic properties of a prototype epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, gefitinib. Novel surface chemical components were used to conjugate gefitinib–dipeptide drug-linkers and deferoxamine (DFO) chelators for therapeutic delivery and PET imaging labels, respectively.

Results:

Gefitinib-bound C′ dots (DFO-Gef-C′ dots), synthesized using the gefitinib analogue, APdMG, at a range of drug-to-particle ratios (DPR; DPR = 11–56), demonstrated high stability for DPR values≤ 40, bulk renal clearance, and enhanced in vitro cytotoxicity relative to gefitinib (LD50 = 6.21 nmol/L vs. 3 μmol/L, respectively). In human non–small cell lung cancer mice, efficacious Gef-C′ dot doses were at least 200-fold lower than that needed for gefitinib (360 nmoles vs. 78 μmoles, respectively), noting fairly equivalent tumor growth inhibition and prolonged survival. Gef-C′ dot–treated tumors also exhibited low phosphorylated EFGR levels, with no appreciable wild-type EGFR target inhibition, unlike free drug.

Conclusions:

Results underscore the clinical potential of DFO-Gef-C′ dots to effectively manage disease and minimize off-target effects at a fraction of the native drug dose.
A Case of Pediatric Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Injury to the Eye
Authors: Tsutsui Aika , Sugihara Kazunobu , Tanito Masaki
Published: July 2020

A 5-year-old Japanese boy presented to the emergency room of our hospital because his right eye had been glued shut for 2 h following instillation of cyanoacrylate adhesive. The clinical examination showed redness of the right upper and lower lid skin; the right eyelid margins adhered to each other because of matting of the eyelashes, and crystallized glue was found within the matted eyelashes. The “hook” technique, which separates the eyelids using a blunt-tip device, was performed to separate the lids. The technique seems to be simple and safe for physicians such as ophthalmology residents to use to treat cyanoacrylate-induced adhesion of the eyelids of patients who often first present to their local emergency room as in our case.
Eltrombopag Use for Treatment of Thrombocytopenia in a Patient with Chronic Liver Disease and Portal Vein Thrombosis: Case Report
Authors: Mohamed Sabah E. , Yassin Mohamed A.
Published: July 2020

Off-label drug use refers to drug use beyond the specifications authorized for marketing [J Med Case Rep. 2014 Dec;8(1):303]. Eltrombopag is a thrombopoietin receptor agonist that has been used in treating thrombocytopenia due to chronic liver disease (CLD) as an off-label medication. Treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with CLD constitute a real dilemma as the options are limited and some of them are invasive. However, thrombopoietin receptor agonist has been increasingly used for this purpose. Here we report a 34-year-old woman who has been diagnosed with CLD due to autoimmune hepatitis 20 years ago. Her condition was complicated with portal vein thrombosis, chronic thrombocytopenia, and variceal hemorrhage, and she has been listed as a candidate for liver transplantation. Given her high risk of bleeding, we started her on low dose of eltrombopag (25 mg daily) in order to maintain a platelet level of ≥50 × 103/µL. However, 1 year after initiation of the therapy, she developed left lower limb deep vein thrombosis.
Metastatic Ovarian Cancer Presenting as Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A Case Report
Authors: Abu-Tineh Mohammad , Elmalik Hind , Yassin Mohamed A.
Published: July 2020

Metastatic ovarian cancer to the breast is a rare presentation, with limited cases reported worldwide. Common sites for distant metastasis in ovarian cancer are to the liver, lung, and pleura [Dauplat et al. Cancer. 1987 Oct 1;60(7):1561–6]. Usually, such cases predict poor prognosis with troublesome management. We present one challenging case of a 54-year-old female patient with recurrent clear cell ovarian cancer, presenting with right breast mass of primary versus secondary origin, progressing into inflammatory breast cancer picture. Our report aims to shed light on the value of early suspicion and low threshold of detecting secondary breast masses of ovarian cancer origin.
Introduction of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination in Speech and Language Therapy Education: Student Perspectives
Authors: Quigley Duana , Regan Julie
Published: July 2020

Background/Aims: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has an established history of assessing clinical competence for medical and allied healthcare professionals. No research has investigated the use of the OSCE within speech and language therapy undergraduate education. This study aimed to evaluate undergraduate speech and language therapy students’ perceptions of the OSCE and to determine if perceptions differed depending on stage of undergraduate education. Methods: An online survey was distributed to second- and final-year students in a 4-year undergraduate speech and language therapy university programme after completing an OSCE. Quantitative survey data were analysed descriptively and statistically using Fisher’s exact tests. Thematic analysis was used to analyse narrative survey comments. Results: The response rate was 80%. The students perceived the OSCE to be a fair (95%) and meaningful way (97%) of assessing clinical competencies, which provided them with greater confidence for practice (91%). The OSCE was deemed to be less stressful than a written exam (65%). No significant differences were observed between second- and fourth-year students’ perceptions. Five major themes included clarity of expectations, time allocated, consistency between examiners, influence on student learning, and personal impact. Discussion: The survey findings suggest that undergraduate speech and language therapy students across different stages of education and different clinical contexts perceive the OSCE as a fair and meaningful assessment approach. This study provides initial evidence that the OSCE is suitable for assessing clinical competencies specific to the profession of speech and language therapist.