bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Construction of a model for adolescent physical and mental health promotion based on the multiple mediating effects of general self-efficacy and sleep duration
Authors: DONG Ru-bao , DOU Kai-yun , LUO Jie
Published: March 2023

We created a model of adolescent physical and mental health promotion to explore the integration pathway of physical activity, mental health, and sleep time promotion among adolescents. The research hypotheses were tested using questionnaires, descriptive statistics, and validated factor analysis. The mean age of the respondents was 14.94 ± 1.76 years, the physical activity level was 2.49 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.46, 2.53), the general self-efficacy score was 2.60 (95% CI: 2.57, 2.64), the sleep duration was 436.52 min/day (95% CI: 432.89, 440.15), and the total mean mental health score was 1.72 ( 95% CI: 432.89, 440.15) (model fitness index: χ2/df = 1.295, comparative fit index = 0.999, Tucker–Lewis index = 0.997, root mean square error of approximation = 0.014, standardized root mean square residual = 0.007). The sleep duration accounted for 46.85% of the mediating effect. The adolescents included in the study had moderately low physical activity levels, severe sleep duration deficits, and high rates of overall mental health abnormalities. Therefore, the constructed model of adolescent physical and mental health promotion was confirmed to be dependable; general self-efficacy and sleep duration are the adolescent physical activities that play multiple mediating effects in mental health promotion.
A Neural Network based Mathematical Model Predicting Students’ Performance in Engineering Education
Authors: Bano Farheen , Serbaya Suhail H. , Rizwan Ali , Shabaz Mohammad , Hasan Faraz , Khalifa Hany S.
Published: March 2023

This research seeks to propose an innovative mathematical approach for measuring student performance in engineering education. This paper also includes a detailed analysis and the numerical solutions to this mathematical model. The designed mathematical model is constructed upon four categories, average candidates, weak candidates, below average candidates and good candidates. For the numerical results of the designed nonlinear mathematical model, the analysis through the Adams numerical scheme is applied for solving the differential system based on the migration rate and average student rate moves to weak and above average. Moreover, artificial neural network is also applied to get the stochastic results ANNs-LMB, also known as Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm. The ANNs-LMB procedures have been implemented with three samples of data scales using the authentication, testing and training, which are chosen as 75%, 15% and 10%, respectively. According to the findings, when the rate of students leaving engineering studies increased, good students performed better, and when the rate of students below average moved, it was due to an increase in the rate of migration above average, the performance of the good students was only impacted in this way. This research material can be used in different designs and models to improve the students’ performance.
Quantification accuracy of pseudo-nitzschia spp. eDNA a harmful red tide organism: comparison of filter pore size
Authors: Yun Kun-woo , Son Hwa-seong , Seong Min-jun , Kim Mu-chan
Published: March 2023

Background
Acomparative analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) quantification methods requires the specific detection of a single species and the eDNA yield from the filter must be high. Studies have collected eDNA using a relatively small (>1.0 mm) filter, which compromiseseDNA accuracy due to clogging of the filter in a large space, such as the ocean or water with high turbidity. Therefore, here we established an eDNA sampling method using a large-pore filter to minimize clogging.
Methods and Results
SYBR Green qPCRhas been used to analyze Pseudo-nitzschiaspp. However, we observed that there may be an overestimation due to a false-positive signal. Thus, a new specific TaqMan primer–probe set was developed and usedin this study. The morphological detection method under conventional microscopy and the two eDNA qPCR methods (TaqMan, SYBR Green) were then compared to determine the correlation between cell abundance and Ctvalues. We observed that the eDNA yield was higher as the pore size increased, and the correlation between the abundance of morphologically identified Pseudo-nitzschia spp. Compared with the SYBR GreenqPCR data, the TaqMan qPCR Ct values were more specifically correlated with the Pseudo-nitzschia spp. cell abundance determined by the conventional method.
Conclusion
These results suggest that treatment with large amounts of seawater using large hole filters can yield high DNA yields, and existing morphological identification and eDNA method relative comparisons have access to quantitative evaluation.
Enhancement of Corneal Images using High Resolution Techniques
Authors: El-Hameed Y. M. Abd , Al-Hanafy Waleed , ashiba huda I. , Saleeb adel , El-Fishawy adel .S , El-Banby Ghada , Soltan Eman , El-Samie Fathi E. Abd
Published: March 2023

This paper presents an enhancement method to deal with the medical images which have low resolution as corneal images that have hexagonal nature and contain edges which must be preserved. So its resolution should be increased to help ophthalmologists to accurately diagnose and monitor diseases. Image interpolation is employed for resolution enhancement. In this paper, we consider interpolation techniques such as: polynomial interpolation, adaptive polynomial interpolation, inverse interpolation, and super-resolution (SR) reconstruction in order to enhance corneal image interpolation-based and learning-based techniques. The polynomial interpolation includes: bilinear, bicubic, cubic spline and cubic O-MOMS as well as their adaptive techniques. While the inverse interpolation techniques comprises linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE), maximum entropy, and a regularized image interpolation. Although polynomial based techniques are the most popular due to their simplicity, they don’t take into account the local activity levels of the image to be interpolated and cause a blurring effect in data.
Interpolation is applied to each pixel to adapt for changing local activity levels, this adaptation reduces the blur effect and provides a better visual quality. Polynomial interpolation and its adaptive techniques are called signal synthesis techniques because they are based on the use of known neighborhoods to synthesize unknown pixel values. However, they did not meet the prerequisites of modern sampling theory in the interpolation process, so a pre-filtering step is required in the reconstruction process; a correction filter is needed before the interpolation process to compensate for the non-ideality of the image acquisition model. This correction filter is obtained as the inverse of the cross-correlation sequence between the acquisition model filter and the reconstruction filter, hence the inverse interpolation technique is applied which is superior where low image degradation model is taken into consideration. Finally the SR technique is proposed and compared to other previous techniques. Simulations are conducted to investigate the performance of the considered proposed techniques. It is shown that the adaptive polynomial image interpolation methods and inverse interpolation techniques give satisfactory results in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), while the proposed SR technique is the most superior.
The relationship of radiographic severity with BMI, pain, and physical function in elderly women with knee osteoarthritis: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Song Jiulong , Ye Ziqi , Wang Xinwei , Jing Peng , Wang Chao , Yang Dan , Yu Nuanxin , Gao Hongliang , Gao Zhiqiang
Published: March 2023

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between radiographic severity and BMI, pain, and physical function in elderly women with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Methods: A total of 80 elderly women with knee OA were enrolled in this study. Their age, course of disease and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. Radiographic severity was assessed with the Kellgren-Lawrence (K/L) scale, and pain, stiffness, and physical function were assessed with Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scales, objective assessment of patients' functional performance using the Time Up and Go (TUG) test. Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between radiographic K/L scores and BMI, pain, and physical function. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the important factors contributing to knee OA severity.
Result：The mean age of the patients was 64.7 ± 6.77 years, and the mean course of disease was 5.02±2.12 years. There was no significant correlation between radiographic severity K/L and normal BMI (p=0.087), but there was a moderate correlation between radiographic severity K/L and high BMI (p=0.02, r=0.457). It was positively correlated with WOMAC pain, stiffness and physical function (p=0.001, r=0.447; p=0.004, r=0.316; p=0.025, r=0.250). In addition, K/L grading was positively correlated with TUG (p= 0.001, r=0.395). On the other hand, BMI, pain, and stiffness may be the important influencing factors of the severity of knee OA, while age, course of disease, and physical function have little influence on the severity of knee OA.
Conclusion: The radiographic severity of knee OA was correlated with high BMI, pain, and physical function, and high BMI, knee pain and stiffness were important factors for the severity of knee OA.
LncRNA GHET1 from bone mesenchymal stem cell–derived exosomes improves doxorubicin-induced pyroptosis of cardiomyocytes by mediating NLRP3
Authors: Huang Xingxiao , Zhou Jiedong , Weng Jingfan , Lin Hui , Sun Shimin , Chi Jufang , Guo Hangyuan , Meng Liping
Published: March 2023

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an important chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of hematologic tumors and breast carcinoma. However, its clinical application is limited owing to severe cardiotoxicity. Pyroptosis is a form of programmed cell death linked to DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Bone mesenchymal stem cell–derived exosomes (BMSC-Exos) and endothelial progenitor cells-derived exosomes(EPC-Exos) have a protective role in the myocardium. Here we found that BMSC-Exos could improve DOX-induced cardiotoxicity by inhibiting pyroptosis, but EPC-Exos couldn’t. Compared with EPCs-Exo, BMSC-Exo-overexpressing lncRNA GHET1 more effectively suppressed pyroptosis, protecting against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Further studies showed that lncRNA GHET1 effectively decreased the expression of Nod-like receptorprotein 3 (NLRP3), which plays a vital role in pyroptosis by binding to IGF2 mRNA-binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1), a non-catalytic posttranscriptional enhancer of NLRP3 mRNA. In summary, lncRNA GHET1 released by BMSC-Exo ameliorated DOX-induced pyroptosis by targeting IGF2BP1 to reduce posttranscriptional stabilization of NLRP3.
Whale optimization algorithm based on domain search to solve 0-1 knapsack problem
Authors: guiying ning
Published: March 2023

For the traditional whale optimization algorithm to solve the 0-1 knapsack combinatorial optimization problem, there are shortcomings of insufficient solution energy and easy to fall into local optima. A whale optimization algorithm based on domain search is proposed. This method focuses on the development of global search capabilities in the early stage of the evolution of the whale optimization algorithm, introduces the Lévy flight strategy, and uses a two-stage domain search method to enhance the diversity of the population and avoid the algorithm from falling into local optima; In the later stage, it focuses on the development of local search capabilities, and uses a greedy search method to perform fine search on some high-quality solutions to improve the accuracy of the solutions. Finally, the algorithm is used to conduct two sets of tests on the classic data set: the first group is a small and medium-scale data set, and the second group is a large-scale one. The test results show that the first group can find the optimal solution 100%, the second group has a strong advantage. The results show that the proposed algorithm has good robustness and optimization ability. It’s an effective method to solve the 0-1 knapsack problem.
The accuracy assessment of dental traditional and digital impression methods.
Authors: Cheng Yun-Yen , Tseng Chung-Chih
Published: March 2023

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and availability of different scanning technologies, convention impression method, oral scan, and CBCT method.

Materials and Methods

An artificial model was used as the basic model. The basic model was scanned to obtain the standard model. The basic model was subjected to CBCT scanning, intraoral scanning, and traditional impression five times, respectively. Finally, the obtained scanned STL file information was compared with the standard model and analyzed for accuracy differences.

Results

The overall error of the CBCT method was 0.67 ± 0.13mm, the general error of the traditional impression method was 0.62 ± 0.15mm, and the overall error of the digital oral scan was 0.86 ± 0.32 mm, the precision of the conventional impression method is higher than others.

Conclusions

The accuracy of dental impression information through digital and traditional scanning techniques.

Clinical Relevance

Traditional impression methods have higher accuracy than digital oral scanning and CBCT methods, but all three can be used for denture restoration.
The mediating effect of loneliness and health promotion behaviors in older patients with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Zhou Feiyang , Xie Linlin , Deng Lu , Long Keyu , Guo Chunbo , Yang Tingting , Lv Qian
Published: March 2023

Background Previous studies have explored the psychological factors that are proven to influence the behavior of patients with DM. However, the mediating effect of diabetes distress on loneliness to health promotion behavior has not been cleared. Methods We employed path models to analyze data on diabetes distress, loneliness, and health promotion behaviors. We used convenience sampling to sample 140 elderly diabetic patients from three tertiary A hospitals in Hunan Province. We collected demographic and disease characteristics, diabetes distress, loneliness, and health promotion behavior from January 2022 to October 2022. Moderated mediation analysis was performed by SPSS 26.0's PROCESS macro. Result According to bootstrapping results, the total effect of loneliness on health promotion behavior was significantly negative. Loneliness significantly and negatively correlated with diabetes stress, while diabetes distress significantly and negatively correlated with health promotion behaviors. Both the indirect effect and the direct effect of loneliness on health promotion behavior were significant Conclusion The association of diabetes distress plays a mediates role between loneliness and health promotion behavior. It is suggested that healthcare providers assessing and addressing diabetes distress need to increase attention to psychological distress, including loneliness, and then intervene to improve health promoting behaviors and disease management gains for older patients with type 2 diabetes.
Health seeking behaviour for acute respiratory illness among adults in rural Malawi: implication to emerging respiratory infections surveillance
Authors: Wu Tsung-Shu Joseph , Kumwanje Mary Sibande , Nyasulu Yohane , Kaasbøll Jens Johan , Bjune Gunnar Aksel
Published: March 2023

Background: Emerging respiratory infections threaten the global population, especially as we are experiencing the COVID-19 Pandemic. Such novel respiratory infections usually target the young adult population. In Malawi, the national surveillance system is in place, but no evidence to know if we can capture their incidents at the community level. Little is known about adults' acute respiratory illness (ARI) health-seeking behaviour in Malawi and Africa, as it is usually the presented symptom when these novel respiratory pathogens attack young adults. Our study was to fill the knowledge gap to understand the adult's health-seeking behaviour and pathway to guide future surveillance system enhancement.
Methods: This was a qualitative study in which we applied a focus ethnographical methodology with a grounded approach to collect data from formal health service providers from the facility and community level, general adults from the community and traditional healers to triangulate the study aims. The study was conducted in a rural area of northern Malawi during 2016-2018. We used Colvin's model as the initial framework for data analysis to understand the adult ARI health-seeking behaviour process and the roles of different social actors along the path.
Results: After the analysis, we considered that self-cognition and constant evaluation of the severity is a constant process determining an adult's decision to access formal services. Homemade remedies, especially herbal medicines, were widely used by adults as the immediate response to the illness. Among the other two processes, surrounding social actors played a role when negotiating support for accessing formal biomedical service, while the "middle layer" was the main process patient used prior to accessing services at facilities. The ARI incidents and mortality surveillance gaps exist at community and facility levels.
Conclusions: Health surveillance assistants could fulfil their community surveillance function by expanding their care and treatment capacity. Furthermore, future surveillance system enhancement shall consider engaging drug vendors and traditional healers inclusively to become an essential event-based surveillance data source from the community. The ongoing development of the digital health systems in the country shall also provide its readiness for emerging respiratory infection surveillance.
Structural constraints in current stomatal conductance models preclude accurate estimation of evapotranspiration and its partitions
Authors: Raghav Pushpendra , Kumar Mukesh , Liu Yanlan
Published: March 2023

Evaporation (E) and Transpiration (T) play a critical role in water and energy budgets at regional to global scales. T is regulated via stomatal conductance (gsc), which depends on a multitude of plant physiological processes and hydrometeorological forcings. In recent years, significant advances have been made toward estimating gsc using a variety of models, ranging from relatively simple empirical models to more complex and data-intensive plant hydraulics-based models. However, a detailed assessment of the ability of these models for predicting evapotranspiration components (E and T) remains lacking. Using machine learning and eddy covariance flux tower data of 642 years, distributed across 84-sites and ten land covers globally, here we show that structural constraints in both empirical and plant hydraulics-based models of gsc limit their effectiveness for predicting evapotranspiration (ET) and its components, i.e., E and T. Notably, even when the current generation gsc models are calibrated locally, their limiting structures don’t allow them to use the information contained in the data optimally. Performance of empirical models, which are still widely used for ET estimation, is observed to be especially underwhelming for partitioning T from ET. While the plant hydraulics-based model structure is relatively effective because of its ability to capture the inextricably-linked stomatal response to soil moisture (SM) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD), we show that there still is a significant room for improvement in the structure of these models. These results underscore the need to prioritize improvements in models of gsc to constraint estimates of E and T, and thus to reduce uncertainties in assessments of plants’ role in regulating the earth’s climate.
Laser Powered Actuator and its Closed Loop Rotation Speed and Torque Control
Authors: Liu Hongzuo , Hu Yihua , Xu Hui , Wireko-Brobby Alexander , Salamah Yasser Bin
Published: March 2023

The wire connection under harsh environmental conditions (high temperature or high radiation) results in many limitations. Laser power transmission (LPT) is regarded as a convenient conduit for power delivery wirelessly. LPT has many benefits, which include zero electromagnetic interference, immunization from temperature and radiation, and long transmission distance. Based on the LPT structure, an LPT powered actuator system is proposed. The steady-state characteristic of the system is analyzed, and the result shows the steady-state characteristic mainly depends on the load torque. A robust speed control method is proposed by feedback of the DC motor speed to determine the laser on/off state to adjust the speed. The result indicates that in the analyzed-controllable range, the speed is stably controlled.
Quantification of visual attention using eye-tracking technology for soundscape assessment through physiological response
Authors: Jo Hyun In , Jeon Jin Yong
Published: March 2023

As soundscapes have become increasingly important for human health recovery and comfort, studies have been performed on methodologies for evaluating soundscapes using physiological responses. This study proposes a method to evaluate visual attention using eye-tracking technology for objectively assessing soundscape perception. The visual elements of a spatial environment were divided into static and dynamic factors. The dynamic factors were perceived in real time using an object-detection algorithm. Virtual-reality evaluation environments of nine sites were realized. The identification of sound sources, visual elements, perceived affective quality, overall quality, and psychological restoration responses were examined using questionnaires for 60 subjects, and eye movement was measured. The visual identification responses for vehicles, sky, and vegetation deviated slightly from the questionnaire responses. However, the soundscape quality prediction model results indicated that the proposed methodology can complement the conventional questionnaire-based prediction models and is capable of deeper eventfulness relationship interpretation. Moreover, the proposed visual attention quantification technique complemented the restoration responses of the questionnaire-based methods by 1%–2%. These findings can guide future studies on soundscape evaluation via physiological measurements.
Willingness to practice medicine and related influential factors among Medical Undergraduates during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Yu Shuang , Zou Fengjuan , Wang Qian , Zhou Kai , Jian Ronghua , Jin Yingying , Hu Yijun , Zhu Sui
Published: March 2023

Background Medical undergraduates are the future workforce, and their job preferences can directly impact the quality of healthcare services in China, especially during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We aim to understand the status of the willingness to practice medicine among medical undergraduates and to analyze the related influential factors. Methods During the COVID-19 epidemic, we conducted a cross-sectional survey from 15 February 2022 to 31 May 2022 through an online platform to collect information about characteristics, psychology, and motivations for the career choice. The general self-efficacy scale (GSES) was used to assess medical students’ self-efficacy perceptions. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse influencing factors of willingness to practice medicine. Results A total of 2348 valid questionnaires were included, and 1573 (66.99%) were willing to practice medicine for medical undergraduates after graduation. The mean GESE scores in the willingness group (2.87 ± 0.54) were significantly higher than those in the unwillingness group (2.73 ± 0.49). The multiple logistic regression showed that several factors were positively associated with willingness to practice medicine as a career, including students’ GSES score (OR = 1.72), personal ideals (OR = 2.04), family support (OR = 1.48), high income (OR = 1.81), and social respect (OR = 2.14). Compared with those very afraid of COVID-19, students who were not afraid at all had a higher preference for choosing the medical profession as a career. In addition, students thinking of high tension in the doctor-patient relationship, heavy workload, and long training were less likely to choose medical work after graduation. Conclusions There was a relatively high level of willingness to practice medicine among medical undergraduates after graduation. Psychological factors, personal preferences, career needs or preferences, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with this willingness.
Angelica dahurica promoted angiogenesis and accelerated diabetic wound healing by regulating pericyte-endotheliocyte exosomes crosstalk through Wnt4/β-catenin signal pathway
Authors: Liu Junfen , Tang Wangna , Gao Cailing , Liu Wenjie , Wang Linlin , Pan Congqing
Published: March 2023

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a multifactorial complication of diabetes mellitus associated with impaired angiogenesis. Potentially effective treatments for such wounds are currently unknown. Cross-talk between pericyte and endothelial cell exosomes has been reported as a therapeutic strategy for treating DFUs. By regulating pericyte-endotheliocyte exosomes crosstalk, Angelica dahurica (AD) promoted angiogenesis and accelerated diabetic wound healing in this study. AD stimulated the migration and angiogenic tubule formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) by stimulating exosomes derived from human cerebrovascular pericytes (HBVPs), which was accompanied by increased protein expressions of Wnt4, β-catenin, and cyclinD1. In addition, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor XAV939 reversed the activation of the Wnt4/β-catenin signalling pathway in HUVECs by AD. In the STZ-induced cutaneous wound rat model, AD enhanced angiogenesis and collagen deposition in vivo, resulting in a faster wound healing rate and a smaller wound area. AD concurrently promoted capillary formation by activating the Wnt4/β-catenin signalling pathway. AD promoted angiogenesis of HUVECs in vitro by regulating HBVPs-derived exosomes via the Wnt4/β-catenin signal pathway, thereby enhancing vascularization in regenerated tissue and promoting wound healing in vivo. The research indicated that AD could be used as a treatment for enhancing angiogenesis in diabetic wound healing.
A Case of Unilateral Closed-lip Schizencephaly Combined with Hypomyelination In Neonate
Authors: Zhou Yuanlin , Liu Li , Shen Xiaojia , Lin Guixu , Wen Xiaobin , Zhou Yilin , Wang Sixuan
Published: March 2023

Background:Schizencephaly and hypomyelination are two different abnormity.Rarely study reports schizencephaly combined with hypomyelination.
Case presentation: This study described a case of unilateral closed-lip schizencephaly combine with hypomyelination. This case with refractory epilepsy onset at earlier age and had poor prognosis. The novo GPSM2 c.1789T>C mutation was found in this case. GPSM2 c.1789T>C mutation may be an underlying mechanism for schizencephaly combined hypomyelination.
Conclusions: In this study, we present a case of schizencephaly combined with hypomyelination presented severe clinical manifestations at neonate. The novo GPSM2 c.1789T>C mutation may be an underlying mechanism for schizencephaly combined with hypomyelination.
The Association Between Sarcopenia Severity and Fall Risk among a Multi-Ethnic Cohort of Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Results from the West China Health And Aging Trend Study
Authors: Wen Quan , Chen Xiaoyan , Luo Shuyue , Hou Lisha , Yue Jirong , Liu Xiaolei , Xia Xin , Liu Fang , Dong Birong , Ge Ning
Published: March 2023

Background: The association between sarcopenia severity and fall risk remains underresearched at present. Accordingly, this study was developed to evaluate the relationship between sarcopenic status and prior fall incidence in a multi-ethnic group of middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults in western China.
Methods: In total, this cross-sectional analysis incorporated data from 4,500 individuals (2873 female, 1627 male; mean age 62.4 ± 8.3 years). Grip strength, gait speed, and skeletal muscle mass index values were analyzed for all participants, and the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 consensus criteria were leveraged to assess sarcopenia status in these individuals. Prior fall history was defined by any incidents in which an individual unintentionally came to rest on the floor within the past year. The association between sarcopenia status and fall history was examined through a binary logistic regression approach, with P < 0.05 as the threshold for significance.
Results: Of the individuals included in this study cohort 3,367 (74.8%) were free of sarcopenia, 107 (2.4%) exhibited pre-sarcopenia, 408 (9.1%) exhibited non-severe sarcopenia, and the remaining 618 (13.7%) exhibited severe sarcopenia. Previous fall incidence was reported for 8.9% of study cohort members, and this history of prior falls was significantly higher among older adults relative to younger individuals. A significant link between sarcopenia and fall risk was observed when using a model that was fully adjusted for age, ethnicity, marital status, osteoarthrosis, gastrointestinal disease, diabetes, history of stroke, hypertension, depression score, and SPMSQ score (OR=1.41, 95%CI: (1.07-1.85), P=0.014), whereas this same relationship was not observed for individuals with mild sarcopenia or pre-sarcopenia.
Conclusions: Severe sarcopenia, as defined per the AWGS2019 criteria, was associated with a significantly higher risk of falls in this multi-ethnic cohort of middle-aged and older adults from western China, whereas this increased fall risk was not evident for individuals with mild sarcopenia or pre-sarcopenia.
Using Electroencephalographic Signal Processing and Machine Learning Binary Classification to diagnose Schizophrenia
Authors: Desai Krish
Published: March 2023

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an electrical activity measurement technique used to identify brain activity in Schizophrenic patients. Novel machine learning methods have emerged with useful applications for Schizophrenia classification. This research aims to compare the performance of several models post signal processing, such as Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Extra Trees (ET), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), in the classification of healthy and Schizophrenic patients. The dataset used in this study contains 14 healthy and 14 Schizophrenic patients (n=28), with 17 channels and 2 reference electrodes designated to each patient, from the Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering and the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw, Poland. Signal processing feature extraction was performed using time-series or frequency-series Electroencephalographic data. The results suggest that Random Forest achieved the best performance metrics, achieving an accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, and AUC of 92.4%, 95.5%, 95.5%, 0.939, and 0.932, respectively. These results propose that machine learning algorithms can be used to classify hospitalized patients who may have Schizophrenia, a useful supplement to additional clinical diagnosis performed by physicians.
Effect of community attitudes on suicide mortality in South Korea: a nationwide ecological study
Authors: Hong Minseok , Kim Hyesoo , Park C. Hyung Keun , Lee Hyunju , Rhee Sang Jin , Min Sooyeon , Kim Min Ji , Yang Jeong Hun , Song Yoojin , Son Kyunghoon , Ahn Yong Min
Published: March 2023

Purpose:
Attitudes toward suicide are essential in suicide prevention, as suicide is socio-culturally nuanced. Although the relationship between individual attitudes and suicidal behavior has been extensively studied, the role of community attitudes—aggregated by region—on suicide mortality remains ambiguous. This study explored the association between community attitudes and real-world suicide mortality.
Methods:
Data on attitudes toward suicide from the 2018 Korea National Suicide Survey (N=1500) and individual mortality data from the MicroData Integrated System were obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a factor structure with three factors: "Permissiveness," "Unjustified behavior," and "Readiness to help/Preventability." Thirty regional units in South Korea aggregated the data for ecological analysis. We used negative binomial models to examine the association at the regional level, and stratified analysis by gender and age group was conducted.
Results:
"Permissiveness" was associated with reduced suicide rates in a univariate model (P<0.001). Adjusting for gender, age, and additional sociodemographics did not alter the association. Additionally, this relationship was observed in males and individuals under 60 years of age after stratification. However, "Unjustified Behavior" and "Readiness to help/Preventability " exhibited no significant association with suicide in any model or stratum.
Conclusion:
The observed inverse association between permissive community attitudes and suicide contradicts the findings of previous research that links permissive individual attitudes to increased suicidal behavior. Instead, our findings indicate that attitudes may behave differently at the individual and group levels, and this could potentially guide future research and novel approaches to suicide prevention.
Establishment of TaqMan probe dual real-time PCR Assay for the Identification of NADC34-like PRRSV based on GP5 gene
Authors: Li Qunhui , Chang Hao , Qiu Yingwu , Wu Yu , Cao Xuezhen , Lin Limiao , Li Wei , Shen Hanqin , Zhou Qingfeng , Gong Lang , Wang Lianxiang
Published: March 2023

Porcine reproductive and respiratory disorder syndrome virus (PRRSV) is an RNA virus that can clinically cause reproductive disorders in sows and respiratory diseases in growing pigs. Recently, NADC34-like PRRSV has been reported to become prevalent gradually and an outbreak in pig farms in China. Additionally, there is no precise detection method for clinical testing. Therefore, in this study, a TaqMan probe dual real-time quantitative fluorescence detection method based on M and GP5 genes was developed to distinguish NADC34-like PRRSV by specific amplification of the GP5 gene. The method is strongly specific, only NADC34-like PRRSV was accurately detected. Besides, the maximum limit of detection of pMD-M and pMD-GP5 sensitivity was 2.67 × 102 copies/µL and 1.35 × 101 copies/µL, respectively. The method was reproducible and the coefficient of variation (CV) values of both recombinant plasmids were <2%. In the progress detection of 251 clinical samples, it was found that 27 NADC34-like PRRSV may be accurately detected by the method. Overall, this study was the first to establish an accurate and sensitive probe dual real-time PCR for NADC34-like PRRSV based on GP5 gene, which provides effective support and methods for clinical testing in pig farms.
Rumination and Insomnia in Chinese Adolescents with Mood Disorders: The Mediating Role of Anxiety
Authors: Liu Dianying , Lei Gang , Qiu Lijuan , Deng Hongdong , Liu Shaohua , Dang Yonghui , Zhang Xiang-Yang
Published: March 2023

Objective
Insomnia is the most common complaint in adolescents with mood disorders (MD). However, the psychopathological mechanisms associated with insomnia remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore anxiety’s mediating role in the effect of rumination on insomnia in MD adolescents.
Methods
A total of 569 MD patients were recruited. Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) to self-assess their mood and insomnia symptoms. In addition, the 21-item Chinese version of the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) was used to assess rumination specifically.
Results
The prevalence of insomnia in MD patients was 60.63%, with a higher prevalence in females (63.32%) vs. male patients(54.39%). MD patients with insomnia symptoms also scored higher on depression and anxiety symptom scales, as well as rumination, when compared to MD patients without insomnia. Depression-related rumination and anxiety were correlated with insomnia in MD patients. The AUCROC showed that the combination of depression-related rumination and anxiety could effectively distinguish patients with and without insomnia in MD adolescents. Furthermore, in adolescents with MD, depression-related rumination positively predicted anxiety and insomnia, and anxiety positively predicted insomnia. Finally, anxiety partially mediated the association between depression-related rumination and insomnia.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that depression-related rumination and anxiety are key riskfactors for insomnia in adolescents with MD. Furthermore, anxiety can exacerbate the effects of depression-related rumination on insomnia, suggesting that clinical interventions to reduce depression-related rumination and anxiety may be a viable consideration for insomnia in adolescents with MD.
Exploring the Effectiveness of Binary-Valued and Real-Valued Representations for Cross-Modal Retrieval
Authors: Bhatt Nikita , Bhatt Nirav , Prajapati Purvi
Published: March 2023

Cross-modal retrieval(CMR) refers to the task of retrieving semantically related items across different modalities. For example, given an image query, the task is to retrieve relevant text descriptions or audio clips. One of the major challenges in CMR is the modality gap, which refers to the differences between the features and representations used to encode information in different modalities. To address the modality gap, researchers have developed various techniques such as joint embedding, where the features from different modalities are mapped to a common embedding space where they can be compared directly. Binary-valued and real-valued representations are two different ways to represent data. A binary-valued representation is a type of discrete representation where data is represented using either 0 or 1. Real-valued representation, on the other hand, represents each item as a vector of real numbers. Both types of representations have their advantages and disadvantages, and researchers continue to explore new techniques for generating representations that can improve the performance of CMR systems. First time, the work presented here generates both the representations and comparison is made by performing experiments on standard benchmark datasets using mean average precision (MAP). The result suggest that real-valued representation outperforms binary-valued representation in terms of MAP, especially when the data is complex and high-dimensional. On the other hand, binary codes are more memory-efficient than real-valued embedding, and they can be computed much faster. Moreover, binary codes can be easily stored and transmitted, making them more suitable for large-scale retrieval tasks.
Case report: Response with chemotherapy and Olaparib in a patient with advanced cervical adenocarcinoma
Authors: Zhuang Jing , Qin Baoning , Yu Yang , Kou Zixing , Sun Chunjie , Meng Fanfan , Zhang Yaxuan , Li Ling
Published: March 2023

Background:
Cervical adenocarcinomas are a heterogeneous group of tumors, accounting for approximately 20% of all cervical cancers. Many clinical data suggest that the activity of PARPi inhibitors may not be limited to BRCA mutated tumours and may involve the homologous recombination pathway.
At present, there are few data available on the activity of PARPi in endometrial and cervical cancers. And poly-(ADP)-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) are changing clinical practice in the BRCA mutant patients with cervical cancer.
Case Description:
Here, we report the case of a 66-year-old female patient admitted to the hospital due to abnormal vaginal bleeding. She was diagnosed with advanced cervical adenocarcinomas, and received chemotherapy followed by Paclitaxe and Cisplatin in the first-line. However, after one cycle of treatment, the patient's disease progressed. To identify more opportunities for treatment, the biopsy tissue was genetic tested and found BRCA1 exon 23 mutation and PD-L1 positive score, which motivated chemotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, and the tumor size decreased. However, because of the side effects of from long-term chemotherapy, the patient chosen Olaparib treatment in the later stage. The patient benefited long-term disease control for about 24 months.
Conclusions:
This case might support the strategy that PARPi could be an alternative treatment for cervical adenocarcinoma patients with BRCA1 mutation in the future.
The ratio of intratumoral CD15+ neutrophils to CD8+ lymphocytes predicts recurrence in gastric cancer patients after resection
Authors: Watanabe Junichiro , Kimura Takashi , Saze Zenichiro , Nishimagi Atsushi , Shigeyuki Tsukida , Suzushino Seiko , Muto Makoto , Sato Naoya , Kofunato Yasuhide , Ishigame Teruhide , Okada Ryo , Kenjo Akira , Shimura Tatsuo , Kono Koji , Marubashi Shigeru
Published: March 2023

An elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the peripheral blood is an independent prognostic indicator of various cancers. However, whether a similar immune cell balance in tumor tissues influences the prognosis of cancer patients is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic relevance of the intratumoral immune cell balance in gastric cancer patients. The study included 82 consecutive patients who underwent curative resection for gastric cancer. Intratumoral Cluster of Differentiation (CD) 15- and CD8-positive cells were evaluated using immunohistochemical staining, and clinicopathological factors and prognoses were analyzed. The effects of these scores on overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Patients with high intratumoral CD15/CD8 ratios had significantly lower OS and RFS compared to those with low CD15/CD8 ratios (P ). In addition, a high CD15/CD8 ratio was associated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.019). Patients with a high NLR had a significantly lower RFS than those with a low NLR (P = 0.0050). Multivariate analysis revealed that the intratumoral CD15/CD8 ratio was an independent prognostic indicator of RFS (Hazard ratio = 4.7, 95% confidence interval = 1.4–16.2). Therefore, an increased intratumoral CD15/CD8 ratio is an independent predictor of survival following gastric cancer resection and is associated with lymph node metastasis and microscopic lymph vessel invasion. Establishing the postoperative follow-up schedule and adjuvant therapy may be clinically advantageous.
Mendelian Randomization Study Suggests Circulating Copper Level as a Risk Factor for Liver Cirrhosis
Authors: Tang Xiaolong , Miao Yandong , Ha Wuhua , Li Zheng , Yang Lixia , Mi Denghai
Published: March 2023

Cirrhosis is a serious liver disease with an unclear etiology and pathogenesis. Previous studies suggest a correlation between circulating copper and cirrhosis. However, whether circulating copper is a risk factor for cirrhosis is currently controversial because the liver is a major organ of copper metabolism and cirrhosis affects copper circulation. To address this, we used a mendelian randomization to explore the effect of circulating copper concentration on the risk of cirrhosis. We selected instrumental variables (IVs) of circulating copper from genome-wide association studies and analyzed two datasets from FinnGen, one for cirrhosis in general and the other for cirrhosis caused by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The inverse-variance weighted method was primarily used for mendelian randomization analysis. We created two SNP IVs that were associated with circulating copper, and their genetic associations with cirrhosis were extracted from the two datasets. The cirrhosis-related dataset included 811 cirrhosis patients and 273,592 controls, while the dataset for cirrhosis caused by NAFLD included 437 cirrhosis patients and 216,861 controls. Mendelian randomization analysis predicted a significant association between higher levels of circulating copper and increased risk of cirrhosis of liver (OR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.30 to 2.54, P < 0.001). Additionally, higher levels of circulating copper were also associated with increased risk of cirrhosis of liver caused by NAFLD (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.60, P = 0.021). The study suggests that higher levels of circulating copper may be a pathogenic risk factor for cirrhosis, providing important insights for the prevention and treatment of cirrhosis.
The Cycles Driving Io’s Tectonics
Authors: Keszthelyi Laszlo P. , Jaeger Windy L. , Radebaugh Jani
Published: March 2023

Io is famous for its active volcanoes, but its vigorous tectonics, which are unlike Earth’s plate tectonics, are no less remarkable. The nature of Io’s thick, cold, brittle lithosphere has been revealed through decades of investigations. The dynamics of this system is most easily explained by considering three cycles: magmatic, tectonic, and sulfurous. The magmatic cycle transports heat by a “heat pipe” process that may have operated during the earliest histories of many of the rocky bodies in the Solar System. The subsidence of the erupted lavas drives mountain uplift in the tectonic cycle. Sulfurous fluids could have a significant impact on the movement of both heat and rock.
Renda e acesso a bens de consumo nos domicílios rurais: uma análise a partir das atividades pluriativas e não agropecuárias
Authors: Mesquita Daiane Felix Santiago , Nascimento Carlos Alves do , Lima Patrícia Veronica Pinheiro Sales
Published: March 2023

O acesso a bens de consumo duráveis ainda é limitado no meio rural, especialmente no Nordeste. Diante dessa realidade, o presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar se a maior renda auferida pelas atividades pluriativas e não agropecuárias concretiza-se no maior acesso a bens duráveis. Os dados foram coletados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD/IBGE). As famílias estudadas foram as agropecuárias, pluriativas e não agropecuárias, das Regiões Nordeste e Sul, no período de 2002 a 2015. A metodologia empregada foi a análise tabular, taxas de crescimento da série de tempo e teste de Kruskal-Wallis. Os resultados mostraram que, no geral, as famílias não agropecuárias garantiram os maiores acessos aos bens de consumo, contudo as famílias rurais (independentemente da aditividade praticada) dão prioridade a itens mais essenciais, como geladeira, fogão e televisão. A comparação entre o Nordeste e o Sul mostrou que as condições socioeconômicas da região influenciam, sobremaneira, em tais acesos com melhores resultados para a Região Sul. Acredita-se que para superar essa situação de precariedade com que o rural ainda se depara, é necessária a ação energética do Estado na forma de políticas públicas de incentivo às atividades não agropecuárias.