bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing the outcomes of posterior thoracic para-aortic lymph node lymphadenectomy after induction chemotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Shigeno Takashi , Otomo Mayuko , Kajiyama Daisuke , Sato Kazuma , Fujiwara Naoto , Kinugasa Yusuke , Daiko Hiroyuki , Fujita Takeo
Published: September 2023

Background: Posterior thoracic para-aortic lymph node (TPAN) metastasis is a distant metastasis of esophageal cancer. Several case reports have shown that radical esophagectomy and lymphadenectomy for posterior TPAN improve the prognosis of patients with cStage IVB esophageal cancer and solitary posterior TPAN metastasis; however, the true value of this procedure is unclear. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of lymphadenectomy for posterior TPAN after induction chemotherapy in esophageal cancer.
Methods: This study enrolled 15 patients who underwent radical esophagectomy for cStage IVB esophageal cancer with solitary posterior TPAN metastasis after induction chemotherapy between January 2013 and October 2022 at our hospital. The short-term (e.g., blood loss, operative time, pR0 rate, postoperative complications, and postoperative hospital stay) and long-term (e.g., overall survival and recurrence-free survival) of radical esophagectomy and lymphadenectomy for posterior TPAN were retrospectively evaluated.
Results:All patients who underwent radical esophagectomy and lymphadenectomy for posterior TPAN achieved a pR0 in this study. The median operative time and intraoperative blood loss were 385 minutes and 164 ml, respectively. Four patients (26.7%) had postoperative complications of Clavien-Dindo grade II or more. The median postoperative hospital stay was 15 days. The 5-year overall survival and recurrence-free survival rates were 55.6% (95% confidence interval: 23.1–79.0) and 55.0% (95% confidence interval: 25.3–77.2), respectively.
Conclusions: We showed that lymphadenectomy for posterior TPAN improved the prognosis of some patients with advanced esophageal cancer and could serve as a viable treatment option for patients who respond well to induction chemotherapy.
Prognostic Value of IGFBP6 in Breast Cancer: Focus on Glucometabolic
Authors: Lu Hang , Yu Xin , Xu Zhiliang , Deng Jingwen , Zhang Jingwen , Zhang Yimin , Sun Shengrong
Published: September 2023

IGFBP6, as a member of the IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) family, is a specific inhibitor of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) and can inhibit the growth of malignant tumors overexpressing IGF-II. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a basic disorder of glucose metabolism which is regulated by IGF-related pathways. IGFBP6 expression is downregulated in serum and tumor tissue of colorectal cancer patients with T2D. We analyzed the TCGA database by bioinformatics to explore the possible mechanism of IGFBP6 in breast cancer (BC) metabolism and prognosis, and collected clinical samples of BC patients with T2D and without T2D to compare and verify the prognostic effect of IGFBP6. The results showed that IGFBP6 was up-regulated in estrogen receptor (ER) positive BC. The results of validation cohort confirmed that IGFBP6 could be used as an independent prognosis predictor of BC. The expression of IGFBP6 was decreased in BC tissue, and the BC tissue with T2D had lower IGFBP6 expression level compared with the non-T2D BC tissue. IGFBP6 is mainly involved in the PI3K − Akt and TGF-β signal pathways and tumor microenvironment regulation. In terms of metabolism, the expression of IGFBP6 was negatively correlated with most glucose metabolism-related genes. IGFBP6 was mainly correlated with the mutation of TP53, PIK3CA, CDH1, MAP3K1. In addition, up-regulation of IGFBP6 in BC increased the drug sensitivity of docetaxel, paclitaxel and gemcitabine. Overall, high expression of IGFBP6 was associated with good prognosis of BC, especially in non-T2D BC patients. It was not only involved in tumor microenvironment maintenance of BC, but also inhibited the energy metabolism of cancer cells through glucose metabolism-related pathways. These findings may provide a new perspective on IGFBP6 as a potential prognosis marker for BC.
Rapid Deployment Biological Aortic Valve Replacement in Redo Operations: A Retrospective Real-Word Experience Report of Clinical and Echocardiographic Outcomes
Authors: Cummings Ian , Salmasi M Yousuf , Bulut Halil Ibrahim , Zientara Alicja , Alsheikh Mahmoud , Asimakopoulos George
Published: September 2023

Objective
This retrospective study aimed to compare the outcomes of rapid deployment aortic valve replacement (rdAVR) and conventional bioprosthetic sutured AVR (cAVR) in high-risk patients undergoing redo surgery.
Methods
A total of 79 patients who underwent redo AVR between 2014 and 2021 were included in the study. Of these, 27 patients underwent rdAVR and 52 underwent cAVR. Patient characteristics and clinical outcomes were analysed using multivariate regression and Cox-survival analysis.
Results
The groups were similar in terms of age, gender, left ventricular function, and number of previous sternotomies. In cases of isolated AVR, rdAVR had significantly lower cross clamp times than cAVR (71 vs. 86 minutes, p = 0.03). Postoperatively, 4 cAVR patients required pacemaker compared to zero patients in the rdAVR group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of postoperative complications, intrahospital stay (median 9 days, IQR 7–20), or in-hospital mortality (1 rdAVR; 2 cAVR). The long-term survival rate was similar between the rdAVR (90%) and cAVR (92%) groups (log rank p = 0.8). The transvalvular gradients at follow-up were not affected by the type of valve used, regardless of the valve size (coef 2.68, 95%CI -3.14-8.50, p = 0.36).
Conclusion
The study suggests that rdAVR is a feasible and safe alternative to cAVR in high-risk patients undergoing redo surgery. The use of rdAVR offers comparable outcomes to cAVR, with reduced cross clamp times and a lower incidence of postoperative pacemaker requirement in isolated AVR cases. The
Spatial and temporal evolution of urban land use change in Nanchang by CA-Markov model
Authors: Fu Shuai , Xu Bingxian , Zhong Rui , Wang Hongbo
Published: September 2023

With the Rapid urban expansion and development, the contradiction between human and land has gradually emerged, and how to scientifically and rationally use land is an inescapable problem. Nanchang was selected to study in the study, land use change images of Landsat from 2005 to 2020 was analyzed, and predicted land use situation of Nanchang in 2035 by CA-Markov model, to analyze and evaluate the scientific and effective use of land resources in Nanchang. The results show that from 2005 to 2020, woodland continued to decrease, with a total decrease of 300.27 km2 in 15 years; unused land was developed into construction land and agricultural land, the proportion of unused land became less and less; the proportion of grassland and construction land increased, and the expansion rate of construction land increased. Agricultural land, woodland, grassland and water area are greatly affected by elevation slope; The construction land is greatly affected by the convenience of transportation, and the old construction land as the initial boundary of expansion has driven the transformation of surrounding land use. In 2035, agricultural land will remain largely stable; wood land will slightly decrease; both grassland and water area show a decreasing trend; the construction land increase by 306.31km2. Understanding the characteristics and laws of land use change in Nanchang is conducive to urban sustainable development planning. Simultaneous development and protection are conducive to the sustainable use of land resources and sustainable regional development.
A Modified IPT-PLL Technology for Single-phase Grid-connected Inverters in Complex Power Grid Conditions
Authors: Zhang Tao , Dong Dezhi
Published: September 2023

Aiming at the common problems of frequency variations and harmonics in complex power grids, an improved inverse Park transform phase locked loop (IPT-PLL) technology for single-phase converters suitable for micro grid systems is proposed. Firstly, in the phase detection of PLL, the α component of Park transformation is selected as the reference voltage, and its orthogonal component is constructed using a 1/4 fundamental period delay method. Secondly, Lagrange interpolation polynomials are introduced to approximate fractional delay to solve the problem of delay calculation errors caused by frequency changes. Thirdly, in order to compensate for the poor ability of traditional proportional integral (PI) regulators, multi resonant controllers are superimposed to suppress low order harmonic disturbances. Finally, the design method and system performance of the PI regulator and each resonant controller are analyzed theoretically. The experimental results show that the proposed improved IPT-PLL method has strong adaptability to complex power grids. It can significantly improve the tracking performance of power grid frequency, suppress the interference of low order harmonics and DC bias. And it has good dynamic and static performance.
Valorization of black carrot industrial residues for the anthocyanin pigment production
Authors: Hernández-Acosta Evelyn , Muro Claudia , Lezama-Guadarrama Andrea , Gutierez-Cortez Elsa , López-Solorzano Elizabeth
Published: September 2023

Black carrot industrial residues were valorized for their use as raw material for production of anthocyanin pigments, which were obtained as concentrated extracts and microcapsules. The anthocyanins were extracted by citric, tartaric, and lactic acids to maintain the anthocyanins. In turn, concentrated extracts were obtained by 80% of water reduction, whereas microcapsules were prepared through gum arabic and drying methods. The products were analyzed by the effect of pH and temperature on anthocyanins content and coloration. In addition, the shelf-life of pigment products was determined for 360 days of storage at 4°C and 20°C, measuring anthocyanins concentration, color, and phenols retention. Black carrot residues resulted in an excellent material for pigments products preparation. Concentrated extracts achieved up to 7000 mg/L of anthocyanins, high antioxidant activity and dark red color. In order, these products maintained high color stability at pH 2–7 ranges and temperature exposition ranges of 20–90°C. Furthermore, the concentrated extract storage showed 80% of anthocyanins preservation at 4°C and 90% of color retention for 360 days. Anthocyanin microcapsules exhibited 280 mg/L of anthocyanins with pink red coloration, maintaining 50% of anthocyanins for 180 days at temperature storage of 20°C.
Impact of different agitation methods on smear layer cleaning of mesial canals with accentuated curvature
Authors: DDs Abel Teves , Alcalde Murilo Priori , Klymus Michel Spinosa , Bonjardim Leonardo Rigoldi , Vivan Rodrigo Ricci , Duarte Marco Antonio Hungaro
Published: September 2023

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of different methods of irrigant agitation on smear layer removal in the apical third of curved mesial canals of 3D-printed mandibular molars.Material and Methods Sixty 3D-printed mandibular second molars with a 70° curvature and a Vertucci type II configuration in the mesial root were used. A round cavity was cut 2 mm from the apex using a trephine of 2 mm of diameter, 60 bovine dentin disks were made and a smear layer was formed. The dentin disks had the adaptation checked in the apical third of the teeth with wax. The dentin disks were evaluated in environmental Scanning Electron Microscope before and after the following irrigant agitation methods: G1(PIK Ultrasonic Tip), G2 (Passive Ultrasonic Irrigation with Irrisonic– PUI), G3 (Easy Clean), G4 (HBW Ultrasonic Tip), G5 (Ultramint X Ultrasonic tip), and G6 (conventional irrigation-CI) (n = 10). All groups were irrigated with NaOCl 2.5% and EDTA 17%. The data was statistically compared (P < 0.05).Results All dentin disks were 100% covered by smear layer before treatment, and all groups significantly reduced the percentage of smear layer after treatment. After the irrigation protocols, the Ultra-X group showed the lowest coverage percentage, statistically differing from the conventional, PIK, and HBW groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference among Ultramint X, PUI-Irrisonic, and Easy Clean (P > 0.05).Conclusion None of the agitation methods was able to completely remove the smear layer. The Ultramint X provided a completely clean specimens.Clinical relevance: Removing the smear layer favors better intradentinal antimicrobial action by the intracanal medication and greater penetrability of the filling material into de dentin. This study analyzed different methods and agitation apparatus in the removal of the smear layer in mesial canals of severely curved lower molars. All the agitation techniques employed were unable to fully eliminate the smear layer from all samples. Ultra X showed a higher smear layer removal compared to other experimental groups.
The effect of sediment mud content on primary production in seagrass and unvegetated intertidal flats
Authors: Flowers Georgina J L , Needham Hazel R , Bulmer Richard H , Lohrer Andrew M , Pilditch Conrad A
Published: September 2023

As a consequence of anthropogenic activities and climate change, accelerated terrestrial sediment runoff is causing the gradual mudification of soft sediment estuarine habitats worldwide. Increased sediment mud content (< 63 µm) has been recognised to alter seagrass morphology and cause declines in primary production in unvegetated habitats. However, the effect of increased mud content on primary production in seagrass meadows remains largely unknown. To address this, primary production in intertidal seagrass meadows (Zostera muelleri) and adjacent unvegetated habitats was measured in situ using benthic incubation chambers across an existing sedimentary gradient (nine sites spanning 5–33% mud content). An additional two unvegetated mudflat sites (39–49% mud content) were also sampled to expand the gradient. Seagrass net (NPP) and gross primary production (GPP) was greater than in the adjacent unvegetated habitat and did not vary with mud content, even after standardising GPP by photosynthesising biomass (i.e., photosynthetic efficiency). In contrast, in the adjacent unvegetated habitat, photosynthetic efficiency declined with increasing mud content. Inclusion of the additional mudflat sites negatively impacted NPP, GPP and photosynthetic efficiency in the unvegetated habitat. Thus, while primary production in seagrass meadows may have some resilience to future increases in mud content (up to 33%), further degradation and loss of seagrass habitat will result in the expansion of unvegetated habitats and ultimately lead to production losses; seen most acutely in areas with high mud content (≥ 39%).
High disparity in repellent gland anatomy across major lineages of stick and leaf insects (Insecta: Phasmatodea)
Authors: Niekampf Marco , Meyer Paul , Quade Felix S. C. , Schmidt Alexander R. , Salditt Tim , Bradler Sven
Published: September 2023

Background
Phasmatodea are well known for their ability to disguise themselves by mimicking twigs, leaves, or bark, and are therefore commonly referred to as stick and leaf insects. In addition to this and other defensive strategies, many phasmatodean species use prothoracic repellent glands to release defensive chemicals when disturbed by predators or parasites. These glands are considered as an autapomorphic trait of the Phasmatodea. However, detailed knowledge of the gland anatomy and chemical compounds is scarce and only a few species were studied until now. We investigated the repellent glands for a global sampling of stick and leaf insects that represents all major phasmatodean lineages via µCT scans and picture the anatomical traits in a phylogenetic context.
Results
All twelve investigated species possess prothoracic repellent glands that we classify as four distinct gland types. 1: lobe-like glands, 2: sac-like glands without ejaculatory duct, 3: sac-like glands with ejaculatory duct and 4: tube-like glands. Lobe-like glands are exclusively present in Timema, sac-like glands without ejaculatory duct are only found in Orthomeria, whereas the other two types are distributed across all other taxa (= Neophasmatodea). The relative size differences of these glands vary significantly between species, with some glands not exceeding in length the anterior quarter of the prothorax, and other glands extending to the end of the metathorax.
Conclusions
We could not detect any strong correlation between aposematic or cryptic coloration of the examined phasmatodeans and gland type or size. We hypothesize that a comparatively small gland was present in the last common ancestor of Phasmatodea and Euphasmatodea, and the gland volume increased independently in subordinate lineages of Occidophasmata and Oriophasmata. Alternatively, the stem species of Neophasmatodea already developed large glands that were reduced in size several times independently. In any case, our results indicate a convergent evolution of the gland types, which was probably closely linked to properties of the chemical components and different predator selection pressures. Our study is the first showing the great anatomical variability of repellent glands in stick and leaf insects.
The Impact of Enteral Nimodipine on Endothelial Cell Apoptosis in an Animal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Model
Authors: Byoun Hyoung Soo , Cho Young Dae , Park Kwang Hyon , Won Young Il , Lim jeongwook
Published: September 2023

Objective: Enteral nimodipine is the most evidence-based and widely used drug for the treatment of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) and is known to have various neuroprotective functions. However, the neuroprotective mechanism of nimodipine still remains unclear and the effects of nimodipine remain ambiguous. Herein, we studied the effect of enteral nimodipine on endothelial apoptosis after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).
Method: SAH was experimentally introduced in white rabbits (n=42) that were grouped: enteral nimodipine (group N, n=14); a control that received normal saline (group S, n=13); and a control without hemorrhage (group C, n=15). On the third day after SAH induction, the brain stem, including the vertebrobasilar vascular system, was extracted. The effects of enteral nimodipine were analyzed by group using histopathologic analysis, including immunohistochemical staining of apoptosis-related proteins (Bcl2 [anti-apoptotic] and Bax [pro-apoptotic]).
Result: Cytoplasmic vacuolation of smooth muscle cells was observed in groups S and N, and was more prominent in group S. Endothelial desquamation was observed only in group S. For the basilar artery, expression of Bcl2 and Bax in group N was lower than in group S, but significant differences were not observed (p = 0.310 and p = 0.710, respectively). In penetrated arterioles, the expression of Bax in group N was significantly lower than that of group S (p < 0.001). The thickness of the tunica media in the basilar artery was thinner in group N than in group S (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: This study suggests that enteral nimodipine may have a neuroprotective function by inhibiting endothelial apoptosis in small arterioles and preventing smooth muscle cell proliferation in large arteries.
Declining urban density attenuates rising population-weighted exposure to surface heat extremes
Authors: Huang Kangning , Guan ChenHe , Stone Brian , Liang Jiayong
Published: September 2023

The trend of declining urban population density, characterized as a higher rate of urban land expansion than that of population growth, has been observed in global cities in the past two decades. Despite its prevalence, the implications of this trend on urban population exposure to surface urban heat island extremes have not been adequately addressed. Existing studies often overlook the intra-city spatial variations in both population and surface temperature. To fill this gap, we analyze the temporal trends of average population exposure to surface temperature extremes in the 1,000 largest global cities, using high-resolution population and surface temperature data from 2003 to 2020. Our results show that the rise in population-weighted exposure to urban surface heat extremes is slower than the rise in area-average temperature by about 0.5 ± 0.04 K / decade, if the population density declined by 10,000 persons / km2 / decade (R2 = 0.71; P < 0.01). Conversely, urban densification makes it more difficulty, albeit not impossible, to mitigate the rising heat exposure. Our findings highlight the pressing need to effectively manage rising population-weighted heat exposure, particularly as an increasing number of cities pursue the sustainability and economic benefits of urban densification.
Effect of a Moral Empowerment Program on Nurses' Moral Courage
Authors: Morteza Khaghanizadeh , Akbar Aghayani Chavoshi , Hamid Khajevandi , Abbas Ebadi
Published: September 2023

Background: Moral courage requires professional knowledge, skills and awareness of values and principles of nursing ethics. One of the important factors affecting nurses' moral courage is nurses' moral empowerment. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a professional ethics empowerment program on nurses' courageous behavior.
Methods: This study is a quasi-experiment with two groups (before and after) conducted in 2021. First, moral courage of 187 nurses was determined by nurses' moral courage questionnaire by Sadooghiasl et al. 52 nurses whose moral courage score was lower than the average score of the questionnaire were randomly assigned to two control and intervention groups (n=26). In the intervention group, the professional ethics empowerment program was implemented during four two-hour sessions, and the control group received no training. The objectives of the study were explained to the participants and they entered the study if they wished and the written informed consent was obtained.
Results: In the pre-test, no statistically significant difference was observed in the moral courage of nurses and its dimensions between the two intervention and control groups. Nevertheless, in the post-test, a significant difference was in the average scores of moral courage between the two groups, and the implementation of the moral empowerment program in the intervention group led to a significant increase in the moral courage of nurses.
Conclusion: Empowering nurses by educational programs using learner-based approaches and group discussion of nurses' moral issues in the clinical setting is effective on improving their moral courage. In order to improve the moral courage of nurses, it is necessary to use diverse and innovative educational methods based on the experiences of nurses in their in-service training programs.
Enhanced Interaction of Ciprofloxacin with Humic Substances and Silica Magnetite Nanoparticles in Multicomponent System: Spectrophotometric and Electrokinetic Studies
Authors: Dzeranov Artur , Bondarenko Lyubov , Dzhardimalieva Gulzhian , Kelbysheva Elena , Zmeev Daniil , Patsaeva Svetlana , Tropskaya Nataliya , Jorobekova Sharipa , Kydralieva Kamila
Published: September 2023

In this study, we evaluated the effect of dissolved organic matter on the sorption of ciprofloxacin by magnetite silica-based nanoparticles (NPs). For this purpose, magnetite nanoparticles modified with organosilanes (tetraethox-ysilane and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, MTA) were used as a model of colloidal particles and a sorbent. Analysis of the absorption spectra found that there was no interaction between antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) and humic substances (HS, sodium salt of humic acids) in aquatic system at pH varied from 6 to 8. But, the behavior of CIP and HS changes dramatically upon addition of silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles. The introduction of the MTA NPs into a bicomponent system of CIP incubated with HS lead to more than twice increased CIP sorption. Results of electrokinetic measurements in terms of zeta-potentials propose the interaction mechanism into CIP-HS-NPs system. In the three-component system, the surface of MTA is completely overcharged from negative to positive, and importantly this effect is pH-dependent. The MTA zeta-potential changes from − 15 (pH 6) and − 30 mV (pH 8) to + 10 (pH 6) and + 2 (pH 8), respectively. The study provides novel scientific information as nanoparticles are increasingly produced and studied for various environmental applications, including sorption of new emerging eco-toxicants (pharmaceuticals) but the assessment of dissolved organic matter contained even in trace concentrations should not be ignored.
Effects of a dietary intervention with lacto-ovo- vegetarian and Mediterranean diets on apolipoproteins and inflammatory cytokines: results from the CARDIVEG study
Authors: PAGLIAI Giuditta , ASENSI Marta TRISTAN , DINU Monica , CESARI Francesca , BERTELLI Alessia , GORI Anna Maria , GIUSTI Betti , MARCUCCI Rossella , SOFI Francesco , COLOMBINI Barbara
Published: September 2023

Background: Apolipoproteins have been recently proposed as novel marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, evidence regarding effects of diet on apolipoproteins is limited.
Aim: To compare the effects of Mediterranean diet (MD) and lacto-ovo vegetarian diet (VD) on apolipoproteins and traditional CVD risk factors in subjects with low-to-moderate CVD risk.
Methods: Fifty-two subjects (39F; 49.1±12.4 years), followed MD and VD for 3 months each. Medical and dietary information was collected at the baseline. Anthropometric parameters and blood samples were obtained at the beginning and the end of interventions.
Results: MD and VD resulted in significant improvement in anthropometric and lipid profiles. Both diets led to a reduction in most of the inflammatory parameters. As for apolipoproteins, a significant change was observed for ApoC-I after VD (+24.4%; p=0.020). MD led to a negative correlation between ApoC-III and carbohydrates (R=-0.29; p=0.039) whereas VD between ApoD and saturated fats (R=- 0.38; p=0.006). A positive correlation emerged after VD between HDL and ApoD (R=0.33; p=0.017) and after MD between plasma triglycerides and ApoC-I (R=0.32; p=0.020) and ApoD (R=0.30; p=0.031). IL-17 resulted to be positively correlated with ApoB after MD (R=0.31; p=0.028) and with ApoC-III after VD (R=0.32; p=0.019). Subgroup analysis revealed positive effects on apolipoproteins from both diets, especially in women, individuals with >50 years or with <3 CVD risk factors.
Conclusions: Both diets seem to improve CVD risk, however, MD showed a greater positive effect on apolipoproteins in some subgroups, thus suggesting how diet may influence new potential markers of CVD risk.
Trial registration: registered at clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT02641834) on December 2015.
Synthesis and Chemoselective Alkylation of Uracil Derivatives
Authors: ghotekar bhausaheb kedarnath , Ghagare Maruti G. , Ghotekar Bapurao K. , Magar Nutan B. , Jadhav Vikas D.
Published: September 2023

A series of novel 1,3-dialkylpyrimidine derivatives was synthesized. Selective N1 alkylation of N3 substituted pyrimidine derivatives with different alkyl halides using K2CO3 as base in DMF at room temperature provides such compounds in good yields. This method has advantages over methods currently described in the literature for the construction of such compounds.
Effective detection of DoS attack in wireless sensor network using ASFO algorithm and Improved Deep Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: k Ganesh kumar , S Ramalingam
Published: September 2023

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are rapidly growing in popularity, and their flexibility and ease of implementation cause an increasing number of security issues, making it critical to research network intrusion defense for wireless sensor networks. Denial of service (DoS) is a cyber-attack that shuts down the targeted network. A DoS attack on a WSN device will be fatal. It is prone to malicious attacks and difficult to prevent because every single node is independent of the others, yet there's no central or monitoring node, which is tough to avoid. Numerous lightweight authentication systems have been utilized in real-time to ensure encrypted communication. However, with the lack of synchronization between nodes during data routing, WSNs are highly prone to Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. This article combines the Adaptive Sunflower Optimization (ASFO) method with an improved Deep Convolutional Neural Network (IDCNN) to enhance the degree of security against DoS attacks on WSNs term ASFO-IDCNN. This paper initially utilizes the ASFO method to improve the initial values of IDCNN to prevent getting into the local optimum. Then, the ASFO-IDCNN technique is used to detect intrusions in WSNs. The results of numerous simulated situations are shown, and the associated data is compared. DoS protection research is precious in analyzing the anti-attack efficiency of WSN nodes. The influence of DoS attacks on the functioning of WSNs is considered in this research.
Residual life prediction of lithium batteries based on jump-connected multi-scale CNN
Authors: Wu Shimiao , Wang Wenbo , Zhu Ting , YU Min
Published: September 2023

To make better use of the feature information obtained from all convolution layers in a Convolutional neural network (CNN), a residual life prediction model of lithium batteries based on multi-scale CNN with jump connection was proposed. The model takes the health factor of the battery as input, uses the multi-scale CNN model based on jump connection, simultaneously extracts the local feature information and global feature information of different scales of the health factor of the lithium-ion battery, and fuses all the local feature information and global feature information through the information fusion module, and finally outputs the predicted value of the remaining life. The experimental results show that the proposed method can predict the remaining battery life more accurately than the traditional method.
Temporal-specific sex and injury-dependent changes on neurogranin-associated synaptic signaling after controlled cortical impact in rats
Authors: Svirsky Sarah , Henchir Jeremy , Li Youming , Carlson Shaun W. , Dixon C. Edward
Published: September 2023

Extensive effort has been made to study the role of synaptic deficits in cognitive impairment after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Neurogranin (Ng) is a calcium-sensitive calmodulin (CaM)-binding protein essential for Ca2+/CaM-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) autophosphorylation which subsequently modulates synaptic plasticity. Given the loss of Ng expression after injury, additional research is warranted to discern changes in hippocampal post-synaptic signaling after TBI. Under isoflurane anesthesia, adult, male and female Sprague Dawley rats received a sham/control or controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury. Ipsilateral hippocampal synaptosomes were isolated at 24 hours, 1, 2 and 4 weeks post-injury and western blot was used to evaluate protein expression of Ng-associated signaling proteins. Two-way ANOVA was used to evaluate main effects of injury and sex at each time-point. There were significant injury and sex-dependent alterations in the hippocampal synaptic expression of Ng and associated synaptic proteins such as phosphorylated Ng, CaMKII, and CaM up to 4 weeks post-CCI, demonstrating TBI alters hippocampal post-synaptic signaling. This study furthers our understanding of mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction within the synapse sub-acutely after TBI.
Molecular diagnosis of multiple bacterial zoonoses in febrile outpatients in north-eastern Kenya
Authors: Wainaina Martin , Lindahl Johanna F. , Mayer-Scholl Anne , Ufermann Christoph-Martin , Entfellner Jean-Baka Domelevo , Roesler Uwe , Roesel Kristina , Grace Delia , Bett Bernard , Dahouk Sascha Al
Published: September 2023

Bacterial zoonoses are important causes of non-malarial fevers in Kenya, yet their epidemiology remains unclear. We investigated brucellosis, Q-fever and leptospirosis in 216 malaria-negative febrile patients recruited in two health centres in Garissa County in north-eastern Kenya.
We determined exposure to the three zoonoses using serological and molecular testing and identified risk factors for exposure. We also used metagenomic sequencing on nine selected patients to assess the presence of other possible bacterial causes of non-malarial fevers.
High PCR positivity was found for Brucellaand Leptospira spp., and high endpoint titres were observed against leptospiral serovar Grippotyphosa from the serological testing. Patients aged 5-17 years old had 4.02 (95% CI: 1.18-13.70, p-value = 0.03) and 2.42 (95% CI: 1.09- 5.34, p-value = 0.03) times higher odds of infection with Brucellaspp. and C. burnetii than those of ages 35-80. The source of water was also a significant predictor for exposure to C. burnetii. Other bacterial infections including those caused by Streptococcusspp. were determined using metagenomic sequencing.
The substantial evidence for non-malarial fevers in healthcare centres in Garissa County calls for their inclusion in routine diagnosis to lower the human disease burden and ensure better health outcomes, especially in younger populations.
Diagnostic biomarkers and potential treatment targets for Ankylosing Spondylitis
Authors: Chen Yuling , li Yan , Xu Yuan , Lv Qing , Ye Yuanchun , Gu Jieruo
Published: September 2023

Background
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the axial joints. Immune cells play a key role in the pathogenesis of AS. This study integrated bioinformatics methods with experimental validation to explore the role of natural killer (NK) cells in AS.
Methods
Two microarray datasets, GSE25101 and GSE73754, were selected, and the scRNA-seq data were obtained from GSE194315 and Liu’s research. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and functional enrichment analysis were performed respectively. weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to identify key modules of co-expressed genes and genes involved in NK cell function. The diagnostic value of the identified key genes were evaluated using ROC curves, logistic regression analysis, and a nomogram. real-time PCR (RT-PCR) was used to quantified the expression of genes. Statistical analysis was conducted using the R software package, and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Pathways enrichment analysis revealed the involvement of NK cell-mediated immune pathways and regulation of the innate immune response, indicating the crucial role of innate immunity, especially NK cells, in AS pathogenesis. The construction of a co-expression network revealed that the MElightyellow module was most relevant to the NK cell-mediated immune pathway. IL2RB, CD247, PLEKHF1, EOMES, S1PR5, FGFBP2 from the MElightyellow module were identified as key genes involved in NK cell-mediated immune response and served as potential diagnostic biomarkers for AS, with moderate to high diagnostic values based on AUC values. Further analysis using scRNA-seq profiling revealed the higher expression level of IL2RB, CD247, PLEKHF1, S1PR5, FGFBP2 in NK cells compared to that in other cell types. CD247, PLEKHF1, EOMES, S1PR5, and FGFBP2 were reduced expressed in AS patients as compare to control group verified by scRNA-seq data, CD247, EOMES, FGFBP2, IL2RB and S1PR5 were reduced expressed verified by RT-PCR, and PLEKHF1, S1PR5, and FGFBP2 was upregulated after TNF-α blocker therapy.
Conclusion
The study revealed the potential role of NK cells in the pathogenesis of AS and identified diagnostic biomarkers and potential treatment targets for AS.
An inflammatory–nutritional score for predicting survival benefit after curative resection for Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Nie Guilin , Peng Dingzhong , Wen Ningyuan , Wang Yaoqun , Lu Jiong , Li Bei
Published: September 2023

Background
Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) is the most common malignancy of the biliary tree. Resection is the only potentially curative treatment for pCCA. Systemic inflammation and nutrition status are sources of important prognostic factors for patients with pCCA. In this study, a risk score, named “neutrophil-albumin-bilirubin (NAB)”, was developed and validated based on inflammation and nutrition status biomarkers for patients with pCCA.
Methods
A total of 161 patients who underwent surgical resection between December 2008 to April 2016 were included in this retrospective cohort study (118 in the training set and 43 in the validation set). NAB were developed from preoperative blood biomarkers via Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and Cox regression in training and validation cohorts. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves and Kaplan–Meier analysis were used to verify the prognostic prediction value of the NAB score for resectable pCCA. Nomograms were also established to validate the clinical use of this model for overall survival and recurrence-free survival evaluation.
Results
Based on albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) grade and neutrophil biomarkers, NAB classified patients into high-risk and low-risk groups when patients with high-risk scores had shorter OS (p < 0.05) and RFS (p < 0.05) than patients with low-risk scores. The relationship between NAB and lymph node metastasis was also claimed(p = 0.004). Furthermore, the high NAB score was a significant independent prognostic factor of OS and RFS in both the training (p = 0.001) and validation (p = 0.037) cohorts, respectively. A NAB-nomogram combined with other independent prognostic factors, like ASA grade, lymph node metastases, perineural invasion and so on, was constructed for individualized prognostic prediction.
Conclusion
NAB could serve as a robust prognostic biomarker and be helpful for surgical decision-making in patients with pCCA.
Diagnosis of Neurological Disorders Rehabilitation Using Effective Feature Elimination and LSTM-RNN Classifier
Authors: Batool Mouazma , Jalal Ahmad , Alazeb Abdulwahab , Mudawi Naif Al , Alshehri Mohammed , Almakdi Sultan , Almujally Nouf Abdullah , Alotaibi Saud S. , Algarni Asaad
Published: September 2023

Neurological disorders affect bodily functions and there is a growing need for advanced solutions to offer therapeutic advice to patients. A framework using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques has been proposed to address this. The proposed system employs a combination of RGB, inertial, and depth sensors data. The inertial signals have been filtered using a notch filter to obtain the optimal wearable sensor data by examining the upper and lower cutoff frequencies. Multiple features have been calculated, including mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC), statistical features and Gaussian mixture model (GMM) features. On the other hand, silhouettes have been extracted from RGB and depth images, and four crucial parameters have been employed to gauge the level of accuracy with which patients with neurological disorders performed their activities, including the angle formation between the hands and lower/upper half of the body and center of the body, and the angle between the hands of the silhouette. The resulting features have been fused and classified using principle component analysis and a reweighted genetic algorithm. Evaluation using cross-validation on mRI (multi-modal 3d human pose estimation dataset using mmwave, RGB-D, and inertial sensors) and MHEALTH (mobile health) datasets showed a recognition accuracy rate of 97.29\% and a 97.94\%. The study highlights the need for more datasets to address challenges in rehabilitation using human activity recognition with multi-modal sensors.
Bilateral papillary thyroid cancer: Pitfalls of ACR TI-RADS and evaluation of modified parameters
Authors: Li Tingting , Zhang Yongyue , Li Zhiqiang , Mei Fang , Zhai Junsha , Zhang Min , Wang Shumin
Published: September 2023

Purpose To explore modified parameters for The ACR Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) of contralateral nodules based on preoperative ultrasound features of suspected-lobe papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), to assist managing bilateral PTC. Methods 389 consecutive PTC patients (272 in training set and 117 in validation set) who underwent total thyroidectomy in our center were retrospectively analyzed from March 2020 to March 2022. According to postoperative pathological data, the patients were divided into unilateral and bilateral PTC group. The clinicopathological features and sonographic characteristics of suspected nodules were compared between the two groups and further ultrasonic characteristics of underestimated nodules were analyzed. Results Patients with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, multifocality in suspected-lobe, isthmus nodule with TI-RADS classification > 3 tended to have bilateral PTC (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P = 0.03, respectively). After modifying ACR TI-RADS classification of contralateral nodules using the above three parameters, AUC for diagnosing contralateral lesions increased from 0.79 (95%CI: 0.74–0.84) to 0.83 (0.78–0.87) in training set. Missed-diagnosis rate of contralateral PTCs were both decreased in training set [21.1% (28/133) to 4.5% (6/133)] and validation set [11.4% (8/70) to 2.9% (2/70)]. In addition, the presence of cystic components and halo sign in contralateral nodules tend to be underestimated by ultrasound preoperatively, with underestimation rates of 100% (6/6) and 73.3% (11/15), respectively. Conclusion The modified ACR TI-RADS classification based on suspected-lobe may be an effective method for preoperative malignant risk stratification of contralateral nodules in patients with bilateral PTCs, which can avoid inadequate surgical extent.
Pharmaceutical care for visually impaired patients: A qualitative study of community pharmacists' needs and professional experience
Authors: Merenda Théodora , Denis Jennifer , Patris Stéphanie
Published: September 2023

Background
Visual impairment is a disability that can have a significant impact on the ability to take medication safely. As a result, pharmacists must adjust their support towards targeted and adapted support for this type of patient. There is little scientific literature about awareness and support for visually impaired people regarding the safe use of medications. Furthermore, this aspect is poorly considered in the basic and continuous training of community pharmacists.
Aim
he aims of the present study were (1) to illustrate the usual clinical practice of community pharmacists to support the optimisation of medication use in visually impaired patients, and (2) to identify their needs and expectations to improve pharmaceutical care for visually impaired patients.
Method
Semi-structured interviews with 18 community pharmacists were conducted. Participants were recruited on a voluntary basis and through a snowball method. Data processing was based on the thematic analysis method of Braun & Clarke (2006). The NVivo software allowed us to organise data to the point of theoretical saturation.
Results
The data processing allowed us to highlight a lack of knowledge and skills of pharmacists in dealing with visually impaired patients. This review proposes a theorisation with a model including four themes to promote the dispensing of adapted pharmaceutical care to patients with visual impairment.
Conclusion
The qualitative data collected in this study provide interesting leads for the development of recommendations and training for pharmacists.
Utilizing chest CT to assess the impact of omalizumab treatment on airway remodeling in refractory asthma
Authors: Shi Honglei , Chen Zehu , Lei Qianqian , Sun Fengfei , Ma Donghai , Niu Tianbai , Huang Yiying , Wu Jian , Wang Zhenguo , Wang Kongqiu , Chen Meizhu , Liu Jing
Published: September 2023

Background
To evaluate the benefits of omalizumab treatment in patients through real-world clinical follow-up data and assess the impact of omalizumab treatment on airway remodeling using chest CT.
Methods
This is a single-center prospective cohort study conducted in the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of our hospital from May 2021 to December 2022, focusing on refractory asthma patients who received omalizumab treatment during this period. A comparison was made between the pre-treatment and post-treatment laboratory indicators, pulmonary function parameters, airway parameters, and mucous plug scores obtained from chest CT.
Results
This study included a total of 61 patients with refractory asthma treated with omalizumab. The study found that: ①regardless of whether the treatment lasted for a full four months or not, it significantly improved patient asthma control scores and reduced hospitalization costs and length of stay (p < 0.05). ②After four months of treatment, patients showed a decrease in FENO levels and central airway resistance (Rc) (p < 0.05) as measured by airway resistance examination. Pulmonary ventilation function examination revealed significant improvements (p < 0.05) in MEF75, MEF50, MEF75/25, PEF, and FEV1/FVC. ③After four months of omalizumab treatment, the ratio of wall thickness and outer radius (T/D) and wall area percentage (WA%) of the bronchial wall decreased significantly (p < 0.05). ④After medication, the expression of airway mucous plugs decreased. The mucous plug score was negatively correlated with several indicators of large and small airway function.
Conclusions
Omalizumab treatment can remodel the airways in refractory asthma patients, reducing airway wall thickness, decreasing the percentage of airway wall area, and reducing the expression of airway mucous plugs, thereby improving airflow limitation. Utilizing chest CT provides a novel and intuitive assessment of the efficacy of omalizumab treatment, offering a new perspective for the analysis of omalizumab treatment efficacy.
Trial registration:
This study was registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, the number is ChiCTR2100046343.
An effective model for ontology relations on stock prices: Case of Persian stock market
Authors: Samani Mohammad Hossein , Albadvi Amir
Published: September 2023

The unpredictability of the stock market makes it a serious area of study and analysis. With the help of the accumulated information available in the current digital age and the power of high-performance computing machines, there is a great focus on using these capabilities to design algorithms that can learn stock market trends and successfully predict stock prices. The main goal is to create an intelligent system that provides these features for predicting short-term stock price trends to facilitate the investment decision process. In order to increase the accuracy and productivity of these systems and facilitate the routine of using common-sense knowledge in machine learning systems, developing or enriching knowledge bases and ontology for market modeling will be one of the effective measures in this field. In this research, an attempt has been made to strengthen and enrich the basic ontology created by the authors by using other global ontologies related to the subject of the stock market, and parts of the target space that were not addressed have been added to the ontology. By combining reference ontologies, a level of standardization is also created for the ontology and stability in the representation of concepts and relationships is ensured. In the next step, it has been tried to test the impact of the concepts and relations of the ontology in predicting stock price movements. For this purpose, news in the field of economy is considered as input and a model is created that first filters the textual inputs related to the desired stock symbol and then observes their effect on the price changes of the related stock. The study conducted in this report, after improving the performance and comprehensiveness of the ontology, a model was presented to measure and prove the effect of the relationships in this ontology on price changes. And in practice, according to human limitations and the tools used, this effect was observed and confirmed with the proper certainty by checking the economic news.