bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of a Standardized Instrument for Post Hoc Analysis of Trauma-Team-Activation-Criteria in 75,613 Injured Patients An Analysis of the TraumaRegister DGU®
Authors: Bieler Dan , Trentzsch Heiko , Franke Axel , Baacke Markus , Lefering Rolf , Paffrath Thomas , Becker Lars , Düsing Helena , Heindl Björn , Jensen Kai Oliver , Özkurtul Orkun , Schweigkofler Uwe , Sprengel Kai , Wohlrath Bernd , Waydhas Christian
Published: September 2020

IntroductionIn order to improve the quality of criteria for trauma-team-activation it is necessary to identify patients who benefited from the treatment by a trauma team. Therefore, we evaluated a post hoc criteria catalogue for trauma-team-activation which was developed in a consensus process by an expert group and published recently. The objective was to examine whether the catalogue can identify patients that died after admission to hospital and therefore can benefit of a specialized trauma team mostly.Materials and MethodThe catalogue was applied to the data of 75,613 patients from the TraumaRegister DGU® between the 01/2007 and 12/2016 with a maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS) severity ≥ 2. The endpoint was hospital mortality, which was defined as death before discharge from acute care.ResultsThe TraumaRegister DGU® dataset contains 18 of the 20 proposed criteria within the catalogue which identified 99.6% of the patients who were admitted to the trauma room following an accident and who died during their hospital stay. Moreover, our analysis showed that at least one criterion was fulfilled in 59,785 cases (79.1%). The average ISS in this group was 21.2 points (SD 9.9). None of the examined criteria applied to 15,828 cases (average ISS 8.6; SD 5). The number of consensus-based criteria correlated with the severity of injury and mortality. Of all deceased patients (8,451), only 31 (0.37%) could not be identified on the basis of the 18 examined criteria. Where only one criterion was fulfilled, mortality was 1.7%; with 2 or more criteria, mortality was at least 4.6%.DiscussionThe consensus-based criteria identified nearly all patients who died as a result of their injuries. If only one criterion was fulfilled, mortality was relatively low. However, it increased to almost 5% if two criteria were fulfilled. Further studies are necessary to analyse and examine the relative weighting of the various criteria.
The State of Harm Reduction in Prisons in 30 European Countries with a Focus on People Who Inject Drugs and Infectious Diseases
Authors: Stöver Heino , Tarján Anna , Horvath Gergely , Montanari Linda , Hedrich Dagmar
Published: September 2020

Background: People who inject drugs are often imprisoned which is associated with increased levels of health risks including overdose and infectious diseases affecting the prison population and the community where they return to. Information about responses to this in prisons is limited and heterogeneous in Europe. The paper aims to give a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the availability, coverage and policy framework of prison-based harm reduction interventions. Methods: Systematic review of international agencies’ data sources and data collection were conducted in 2018 followed by a questionnaire survey in 30 European countries through the Reitox National Focal Points of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.Results: Opioid substitution treatment (OST) is available in 29 countries, but coverage remains below 30% of people in need (low) in half of the countries. Needle and syringe programmes, bleach and lubricant distribution, counselling on safer injecting and tattooing/piercing are scarcely available (in 3/8/9/9/10 countries respectively), and often with low coverage. Testing of drug related infectious diseases (DRID) are provided however typically only upon entry, with a last year population coverage remaining low in about half of the countries. While DRID treatment is available, its coverage is mostly reported high for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis, but lower for Hepatitis B and C (HCV). Health education on DRID, HIV health promotion programmes, and condom distribution are usually provided but at low levels in nearly half of the countries. Post-release linkages to addiction, HIV and HCV care is available in 22/25/17 countries, but implementation is often partial. Other upon-release interventions as OST initiation, take-home naloxone, health education, DRID testing are rarely provided. Harm reduction in prison is addressed in national strategic documents in 21 countries while interventions upon release in only 12. Conclusions: Availability and coverage of harm reduction interventions in prisons is limited and delayed compared to community implementation in European countries. There is a critical gap between international recommendations, on-paper availability and the actual implementation of these interventions. Most people will return to the community, therefore interventions in prison and throughcare should be scaled up for individual and public health benefits.
Distinct Genomic Features Across Cytolytic Subgroups in Skin Melanoma
Authors: Roufas Constantinos , Georgakopoulos-Soares Ilias , Zaravinos Apostolos
Published: September 2020

Background: Skin melanoma is a highly immunogenic cancer with extensive genetic and transcriptional diversity. Despite the enthusiastic clinical results seen in advanced-stage metastatic melanoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibition, a subgroup of them later relapse and develop acquired resistance. The intratumoral immune cytolytic activity (CYT) reflects the ability of cytotoxic T cells and NK cells to eliminate cancer cells, and is associated with improved patient survival. Here, we questioned whether CYT associates with different genomic profiles in skin melanoma. Methods: We explored the TCGA-SKCM dataset and stratified patients to distinct subgroups of cytolytic activity. The tumor immune contexture, somatic mutations and recurrent copy number aberrations were calculated using quanTIseq, MutSigCV and GISTIC2. Chromothriptic events were explored using CTLPScanner and cancer neoepitopes were predicted with antigen.garnish. Each tumor's immunophenoscore was calculated using Immunophenogram. Results: Metastatic skin melanomas had significantly higher CYT compared to primary tumors. We also assessed enrichment for immune-related gene sets within CYT-high tumors; whereas, CYT-low tumors were enriched for non-immune related genes sets. In addition, distinct mutational and neoantigenic loads, primarily composed of C>T transitions, along with specific types of copy number aberrations, characterized each cytolytic subgroup. We found a broader pattern of chromothripsis across CYT-low tumors, where non-telomeric chromosomal regions harboring chromothripsis, contained a higher number of cancer genes. CYT-high patients had markedly higher immunophenoscore and should consequently, display an expected clinical benefit compared to CYT-low patients who either received or not, checkpoint inhibition. Conclusions: Overall, our data highlight the existence of distinct genomic features across cytolytic subgroups in skin melanoma.
SMPLIP-Score: Predicting the Ligand Binding Affinity from Simple and Interpretable On-The-Fly Interaction Fingerprint Pattern Descriptors
Authors: Kumar Surendra , Kim Mi-hyun
Published: September 2020

In drug discovery, rapid and accurate prediction of protein-ligand binding affinities is a pivotal task for lead optimization with acceptable on-target potency as well as pharmacological efficacy. Furthermore, researchers hope high correlation between a docking score and a pose with key interactive residues, though scoring functions as a free energy surrogate of a protein-ligand complex have failed to provide the collinearity. Recently, various machine learning or deep learning methods have been proposed to overcome the drawback of scoring functions. Despite their high accuracy, their featurization process is complex and requires high cost for its interpretation (less compatible for human recognition). Here, we propose SMPLIP-Score (Substructural Molecular and Protein-Ligand Interaction Pattern Score), a simple interpretable predictor of the absolute binding affinity. Our simple featurization embedded the interaction fingerprint pattern on the ligand-binding site environment and molecular fragments of ligands into an input vectorized matrix for learning layers (random forest or deep neural network). Despite lower complexity than state-of-the-art models, SMPLIP-Score achieved comparable performance, a Pearson’s correlation coefficient up to 0.80 and a RMSE up to 1.18 in pK units on several benchmark datasets (PDBbind v.2015, Astex Diverse Set, CSAR NRC HiQ, FEP, PDBbind NMR, and CASF-2016). For this model, generality, predictive power, ranking power, and robustness also were examined with direct interpretation of feature matrices for specific targets.
Development and Validation of a predictive model based on Radiomics to predict the short-term outcomes of patients with COVID-19
Authors: Xu Juanjuan , Zhou Mei , Lv Zhilei , Wang Zhihui , Liao Tingting , Ma Yanliing , Hu Guorong , Wang Sufei , Gu Jin , Yin Zhengrong , Jin Yang
Published: September 2020

Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is sweeping the globe and the situation is precarious. Aim of our study is to develop and validate a radiomics-based model to predict the short-term prognosis of COVID-19 patients and to improve hospital survival. Methods: In our multi-center study, a first batch of 148 patients in the training set was used to build prognosis prediction model, and a second batch of 264 patients was assigned as validation set to verify the predictive performance. Patients were divided into two groups (good/poor prognosis) according to the outcome evaluation both on the 14th day after admission. Data were collected at admission involving demographic and epidemiological features, symptoms, laboratory results and CT images. The latter contained direct CT findings and radiomic features. Radiomic scores (Rad-scores) were calculated for each patient by a linear combination of the extracted features with their respective coefficients. Univariable and multivariable Logistic regression analysis were conducted in sequence to select variables for building a nomogram prediction model, which was applied for prognostic evaluation. Results: We reported that the nomogram scoring system, including age, central/peripheral lesion location in CT findings, C-reactive protein (CRP) and Rad-score, could effectively predict the short-term outcomes of COVID-19 patients with a sensitivity of 81.25% and specificity of 87.27%. The predictive performance of this model was also validated in the independent validation dataset yielding a sensitivity of 88.76%, specificity of 72.97% (AUC: 0.882). Conclusions: This radiomics-based model could predict the short-term prognosis of COVID-19 patients and to improve hospital survival.
Serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with obese but not lean NAFLD: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Wang Qinqiu , Shi Xiao-ying , Wang Jinghua , Zhang Juanwen , Xu Cheng-Fu
Published: September 2020

Background: Low serum vitamin D concentrations have been reported to be associated with an increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, whether slim or obese people show a similar association between vitamin D and NAFLD remains speculative. This study aimed to explore the relationship between serum vitamin D concentrations and NAFLD in lean and obese Chinese adults.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2538 participants (1360 men and 1178 women) who underwent their health checkups at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in 2019. NAFLD was diagnosed by liver ultrasound excluding other causes. The association of serum vitamin D concentrations with NAFLD was analyzed in lean and obese participants.Results: The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 33.61% (13.10% in lean and 53.32% in obese) in this study population. The serum vitamin D levels of obese NAFLD patients were lower than that of the obese NAFLD-free controls. However, the serum vitamin D levels of lean NAFLD patients were comparable to that of the lean NAFLD-free controls. Serum vitamin D levels were negatively correlated with the prevalence of NAFLD in obese but not lean participants. Serum vitamin D levels were independently associated with the risk of NAFLD in obese participants, with an adjusted odd ratio (95% CI) of 0.986 (0.979–0.992). However, the serum vitamin D levels were not related to the risk of NAFLD in lean participants.Conclusions: Low serum vitamin D levels are associated with NAFLD in obese but not lean participants.
Survival after Combined Hepatic Metastasectomy and Chemotherapy in Patients with Concurrent Hepatic and Extrahepatic Colorectal Metastases: a SEER Database Analysis
Authors: Uthman Inas , Fouad Ahmed M , Khaled Islam , Faisal Mohammed
Published: September 2020

PurposeColorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death among all cancers worldwide. Hepatic metastases exist in approximately 50% of colorectal cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of combined hepatic metastasectomy and chemotherapy on overall survival in patients with concurrent hepatic and extrahepatic disease.MethodsA total of 2533 patients from the US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database with concurrent colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) and extrahepatic disease (EHD) between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2014, were retrieved. Survival analysis with Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses was performed to assess the effect of combined hepatic metastasectomy and chemotherapy on 5-year survival.ResultsTwo hundred and fourteen (8.4%) patients underwent combined hepatic metastasectomy and chemotherapy. The median survival time among patients who underwent combined hepatic metastasectomy and chemotherapy was significantly higher than that of patients who underwent chemotherapy alone (24 vs. 21 months; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, older age at diagnosis (≥ 60 years), American Indian/Alaska Native race, primary sites at the rectosigoid colon, sigmoid colon, and descending colon, grade III, and the presence of bone metastases were all significantly associated with higher 5-year mortality. Patients who underwent combined hepatic metastasectomy and chemotherapy were significantly associated with 22.2% less 5-year mortality than patients who received chemotherapy alone.ConclusionCombined hepatic metastasectomy with chemotherapy in CRLM patients with EHD yields better survival than chemotherapy alone.
Performance Evaluation of the Novel Portable PIMA Point-Of-Care CD4 Analyzer in Comparison with Conventional Flow Cytometer Instruments in Cameroon
Authors: Sagnia Bertrand , Kamgaing Rachel , Kouanfack Charles , Kamdem Georgette , Sosso Samuel , Temgoua Edith , Tsomo Zéphyrin , Zoa Lucille Mabouli , Tangimpundu Charlotte , Nchinda Godwin , Ndjolo Alexis
Published: September 2020

Background: Absolute CD4 + T-lymphocyte counts are used in the initiation and monitoring of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients: with the increase number of HIV infected patient and the reduce number of heath care system in rural zones, HIV monitoring in resource-constrained settings demands affordable and reliable CD4 + T lymphocytes enumeration methods. We evaluated a simple PIMA POC which is a dedicated system for enumeration that uses immunomagnetic and immunofluorescent technologies. The instrument was designed to be a low-cost, yet reliable and robust one. In this study, we assessed the correlation between most representative flow cytometry instruments present in Cameroon instead of CyFlow from PARTEC, FACSCount, and FACSCalibur both from Becton DickinsonMethods: CD4 surface markers on lymphocytes was measured on samples collected in EDTA tubes from 268 patients aged from 1 to 65 years old in three different health care structures. HIV infected patients are coming from CIRCB, Day Hospital of Hopital Central de Yaounde (HCY) and Hopital General de Yaounde (HGY). After inform consent, samples were collected and 101 samples were tested with the FACSCalibur, 60 samples were tested with the CyFlow and 107 samples were tested with the FACSCount flow cytometers. All these samples were tested by different technician with PIMA POC present in all these health care structures and the correlation and agreement were analyzed using linear regression and Bland–Altman analysis.Results: The PIMA POC system has excellent precision, accuracy and linearity for CD4 + T lymphocytes enumeration. Good correlations were obtained between the PIMA POC system and other single platform methods. Bland–Altman plots showed interchangeability between the three machines. Absolute CD4 + T-lymphocyte values obtained from the PIMA system correlated well with Cyflow, FACSCount, and FACSCalibur method (r2 varies from 0.88 to 0.968, P < 0.0001). The comparison between values obtained from PIMA with CYFLOW, FACSCount, and FACSCalibur give P = 0.17, P = 0.5 and P = 0.6 respectively meaning that there is not significant differences between values obtained with PIMA and other flow machines.Conclusion: This POC PIMA system is a simple and reliable system for enumeration of absolute CD4 + T-lymphocytes. Having one PIMA system easy to use, should reduce the cost and thus increase access to CD4 testing for HIV infected patients in resource-constrained countries. POC CD4 may also alleviate testing burdens at traditional central CD4 laboratories, hence improving test access in both rural and urban environments. This will reduce also the loss of follow up
Complementary analyses of transcriptome and proteome revealed the formation mechanism of ethyl acetate, ethanol and organic acids in Kluyveromyces marxianus L1-1 in Chinese fermented acid rice soup
Authors: Liu Na , Miao Song , Qin Likang
Published: September 2020

Background: Recently, more chemical and biotechnological applications have been found in Kluyveromyces marxianus than Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the food field because they show advantageous metabolism features in the production of flavor components of interest. However, most of study demonstrated Kluyveromyces marxianus involved in ethanol synthesis in the dairy products in food fields. Our study aims to clarify the formation mechanism of ethyl acetate and organic acids in acid rice soup inoculated with Kluyveromyces marxianus.Results: The higher concentration of ethyl acetate than ethanol and organic acids in fermented acid rice soup inoculated with Kluyveromyces marxianus. Up-regulated genes/proteins, including ADH1, ADH2, ADH6, ATF1, ACCT, and TES1, and down-regulated ALD family involved in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and pyruvate metabolism played the crucial roles in the formation of ethyl acetate and other esters. In addition, up-regulated genes/proteins involved in starch and sucrose metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, TCA cycle, and pyruvate metabolism played the important roles in the formation of organic acids, ethanol and esters.Conclusion: Our results reveals the formation mechanism of ethyl acetate and organic acids in acid rice soup inoculated with K. marxianus L1-1. This study provides the basis for improving aroma and taste of fermented foods and reveals the formation mechanisms of flavors in no-dairy products.
Up-Regulated Expression of Pro-Apoptotic Long Noncoding RNA lincRNA-p21 in Lupus Nephritis Patients and an Experimental Mouse Model
Authors: Chen Yi-Cheng , Kuo Pin-Yu , Wu Chao-Liang , Chou Yu-Chi , Chong Hao-Earn , Yang Mei-Lin , Shiau Ai-Li , Wang Chrong-Reen
Published: September 2020

Background: Accelerated cell apoptosis is a crucial pathogenic mechanism in lupus nephritis (LN) with dysregulated expression levels of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). The expression of pro-apoptotic lincRNA-p21 and its competing endogenous RNA target miR-181a were studied in LN patients, human kidney cell and T-lymphocyte lines with CRISPR interference-conducted repression and lentiviral vector-mediated overexpression of lincRNA-p21, and a mouse LN model. Methods: Clinical samples were collected from LN patients with higher disease activity and control subjects including lupus patients without renal involvement and age/sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). The expression of lincRNA-p21, H19 (anti-apoptotic lncRNA) and miR-181a were examined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) and urine cells, and analyzed for clinical correlation. Cell lines were treated with doxorubicin (Dox) to induce apoptosis and evaluate for the expression of lincRNA-p21, caspase 3 and p21. LincRNA-p21-silened HEK 293T and Jurkat transfectants were examined for apoptosis and miR-181a expression. LincRNA-p21-overexpressed HK-2 cells were examined for apoptosis and p53-related down-stream molecules levels. Female Balb/C mice were injected with pristane to induce LN, and examined for the expression of anti-DNA, proteinuria, lincRNA-p21, caspase 3 and p21 as well as in situ apoptosis. Results: Up-regulated expression of lincRNA-p21 rather than H19 were identified in PBMNCs from LN patients, positively correlated with disease activity and proteinuria amount. Higher lincRNA-p21 levels were identified in LN CD4+T cells than other subpopulations. LN urine cells had greater lincRNA-p21 levels than HCs. There were lower miR-181a levels in PBMNCs from LN patients, negatively correlated with disease activity. Dox-induced apoptotic cell lines had up-regulated levels of lincRNA-p21, caspase 3 and p21, whereas down-regulated miR-181a expression with decreased TCRζchain and IL-2 levels was identified in Jurkat cells. LincRNA-p21-silenced transfectants displayed reduced apoptosis with up-regulated miR-181a expression. LincRNA-p21-overexpressed HK-2 cells revealed enhanced apoptosis with up-regulated expression of downstream PUMA and Bax molecules. LN mice had in situ apoptosis and progressively increased anti-dsDNA, proteinuria and renal lincRNA-p21 levels with up-regulated expression of caspase 3 and p21.Conclusions: By using clinical samples, human cell lines and a mouse model, we demonstrate up-regulated expression of lincRNA-p21 in LN, implicating a potential activity biomarker and therapeutic target.
Mechanism of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis based on network pharmacology
Authors: Shi Xiaoqing , Zhang Haosheng , Hu Yue , Li Xiaochen , Yin Songjiang , Xing Runlin , Zhang Nongshan , Mao Jun , Wang Peimin
Published: September 2020

Objective: The molecular mechanism of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (SMRR) in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) was analyzed based on network pharmacology.Methods: Active components and potential targets of SMRR were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). KOA targets were obtained from the OMIM, DisGeNET, DrugBank, PharmGKB and GeneCards Databases. The potential targets of SMRR in the treatment of KOA were identified by Venn diagram. A protein-protein interaction network was generated with the STRING database. Visualization of the interactions in a potential pharmacodynamic component-target network was accomplished with Cytoscape software. The DAVID database and R software were used for Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway annotation analyses of common targets. Molecular docking of the potential leading components, as determined by efficacy with the core target molecules, was performed with Discovery Studio.Results: Fifty-seven potential pharmacodynamic components and 58 potential targets of SMRR in the treatment of KOA were found. Bioinformatics analyses showed that the IL-17, HIF-1 and TNF signaling pathways, as well as the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in cases of diabetic complications, are related to the molecular mechanism of SMRR in the treatment of KOA. Molecular docking results showed that luteolin, Tanshinone IIA, Cryptotanshinone and other components of SMRR had strong affinity for MYC, STAT3, CASP3, JUN, CCND1, PTGS2, EGFR, MAPK1, AKT1, VEGFA and other targets.Conclusion: SMRR indirectly regulates IL-17, HIF-1, TNF and other signal transduction pathways by regulating the expression of proteins including PTGS2, MAPK1, EGFR and CASP3, thus playing a role in promoting chondrocyte proliferation, improving microcirculation, eliminating free radicals, and inhibiting inflammatory factors.
Child maltreatment, cognitive functions and the mediating role of mental health problems among maltreated children and adolescents in Uganda
Authors: Ainamani Herbert E , Rukundo Godfrey Z , Nduhukire Timothy , Ndyareba Eunice , Hecker Tobias
Published: September 2020

Background: Child maltreatment poses high risks to the mental health and cognitive functioning of children not only in childhood but also in later life. However, it remains unclear whether child maltreatment is directly associated with impaired cognitive functioning or whether this link is mediated by mental health problems. Our study aimed at examining this research question among children and adolescents in Uganda. Methods: A sample of 232 school-going children and adolescents with a mean age of 14.03 (SD = 3.25) was assessed on multiple forms of maltreatment using the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology Exposure – Pediatric Version (pediMACE). Executive functions were assessed by the Tower of London task and working memory by the Corsi Block Tapping task, while mental health problems were assessed using the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for PTSD and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC).Results: In total, 232(100%) of the participant reported to have experienced at least one type of maltreatment in their lifetime ranging from having been intentionally pushed by an authority figure (89.7%, n = 208) to entering an object in the participant’s body (2.6%, n =6). We found a negative association between child maltreatment and executive functions (β = -0.487, p < .001) and working memory (β = -0.242, p = .001). Mental health problems did not mediate this relationship.Conclusions: Child maltreatment seems to be related to lower working memory and executive functioning of affected children and adolescents even after controlling for potential cofounders. Our study indicates that child maltreatment affects children’s cognitive functionality beyond health and well-being.
Antioxidant Potential of Pediococcus Pentosaceus Strains From the Sow Milk Bacterial Collection in Weaned Piglets
Authors: Wang Leli , Liu Qihang , Zhou Diao , Chen Yuwei , Zheng Xinlei , Qi Yining , Dong Yachao , Chen Taohong , Xiao Yue , Zeng Yan , Yao Tingyu , Yang Yimin , Huang Qiuyun , Huang Jialu , Zhai Zongzhao , Long Cimin , Yang Huansheng , Li Jianzhong , Wang Lei , Zhang Gaihua , Liao Peng , Liu Yongxin , Huang Peng , Wang Qiye , Yin Jia , Yin Yulong
Published: September 2020

Background: In modern animal husbandry, the relationship between sow and piglets is closely linked as breeders pay more attention to improving sow nutrition during pregnancy and lactation to favor the growing of neonates. Sow milk is the main food for piglets during their first three weeks of life, which is not only a rich repository of essential nutrients and a broad range of bioactive compounds, but also an indispensable source of commensal bacteria. Maternal milk microorganisms are important sources of commensal bacteria for neonatal gut. Bacteria from hosts’ maternal milk may serve as an additive to confer a health benefit on the composition of the indigenous microbiota of piglets.Methods: We first obtained isolates from the sow milk microbiota by the culturomics methods of continuous culture and interval sampling. Then, identified and grouped them based on a nonredundant set of 16S rDNA gene sequences. After assessing their antimicrobial activity against enteropathogens in vitro, we selected several strains to further conduct assay in Drosophila to evaluate their resistance against oxidative injury. We finally screened out Pediococcus pentosaceus (P. pentosaceus) SMM914 as candidate strain to verify its antioxidant effect in weaned piglets and study its probiotic function by 16S rDNA sequencing, metabolomics, western blotting and enzyme activity analysis.Results: The 1240 isolates were screened out from the sow milk microbiota and grouped into 271 bacterial taxa. We evaluated 80 Pediococcus isolates about their inhibition ability against enteropathogens in vitro and then chose top 10 isolates to further test them in Drosophila. In 80 Pediococcus isolates, P. pentosaceus SMM914 showed best performance by inhibition ability against enteropathogens in vitro andparaquat challenge in Drosophila model. Pretreatment of piglets with SMM914 induces the Nrf2/Keap1 antioxidant signaling pathway and altered the pathways of amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism in plasma. In colon, Lactobacillus was significantly increased in the high dose of SMM914 group compared with the control group.Conclusion: Our study provided useful resources for deeply understanding the relationships between the maternal microbiota and the offspring and supported the theory of Sow and Piglet Integration.
Augmented Efficacy of Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation on the Virtual Reality-based Cycling Training for Upper Limb Function in Patients With Stroke
Authors: Chen Yu-Hsin , Chen Chia-Ling , Huang Ying-Zu , Chen Hsieh-Ching , Chen Chung-Yao , Wu Ching-Yi , Lin Keh-Chung
Published: September 2020

Background: Virtual reality and arm cycling have been reported as effective treatment to improve upper limb motor recovery in patients with stroke. Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) can increase ipsilesional cortical excitability, and has been increasingly used in patients with stroke. However, few studies examined the augmented effect of iTBS on neurorehabilitation program. In this study, we investigated the augmented effect of iTBS on virtual reality-based cycling training (VCT) for upper limb motor function in patients with stroke.Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 23 patients with stroke were recruited. Each patient received either 15 sessions of iTBS or sham stimulation in addition to VCT on the same day. Outcome measures, including Modified Ashworth Scale Upper Extremity (MAS-UE), Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) for body function, Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT), Box and Block Test (BBT) and Motor Activity Log (MAL) for activity and Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) for participation were assessed before and after the intervention. Paired t test was performed to evaluate the effectiveness after the intervention and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to compare the therapeutic effects between two groups.Results: At post-treatment, both groups showed significant improvement in FMA-UE and ARAT, while only the iTBS group demonstrated significant improvement in MAS-UE, BBT, NHPT, MAL and SIS. ANCOVA revealed that the iTBS group presented greater improvement than the sham group significantly in MAS-UE, NHPT and SIS, and with borderline significance in ARAT, BBT and MAL. There was no significant difference in FMA-UE between groups.Conclusions: Intermittent TBS showed augmented efficacy on VCT for reducing spasticity, improving gross motor function and manual dexterity, and increasing participation in daily life in stroke patients. This study provided an integrated innovative intervention, which may be a promising therapy to improve upper limb motor function recovery, especially manual dexterity, in stroke rehabilitation. However, this study has a small sample size, and thus a further larger-scale study is warranted to confirm the treatment efficacy.Trial registration: This trial was registered under ClinicalTrials.gov ID No. NCT03350087, retrospectively registered, on November 22, 2017.
Proposal of selective wedge instillation of pulmonary surfactant for COVID-19 pneumonia based on computational fluid dynamics simulation
Authors: Kitaoka Hiroko , Kobayashi Hisato , Takimoto Takayuki , Kijima Takashi
Published: September 2020

Background: The most important target cell of SARS-CoV-2 is Type II pneumocyte which produces and secretes pulmonary surfactant (PS) that prevents alveolar collapse. PS instillation therapy is dramatically effective for infant respiratory distress syndrome but has been clinically ineffective for ARDS. Nowadays, ARDS is regarded as non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema with vascular hyper-permeability regardless of direct relation to PS dysfunction. However, there is a possibility that the ineffectiveness of PS instillation for ARDS is due to insufficient delivery. Then, we performed PS instillation simulation with realistic human airway models by the use of computational fluid dynamics, and investigated how instilled PS would move in the liquid layer covering the airway wall and reach to alveolar regions.Methods: Two types of 3D human airway model were prepared: One was from the trachea to lobular bronchi and the other was from a sub-segmental bronchus to respiratory bronchioles. Thickness of the liquid layer covering the airway was assigned as 14 % of the inner radius of the airway segment. Initially existing liquid layer was assumed to be replaced by instilled PS. Flow rate of instilled PS was assigned a constant value, which was determined by the total amount and instillation time in clinical use. The PS concentration of the liquid layer during instillation was computed by solving advective-diffusion equation.Results: The driving pressure from the trachea to respiratory bronchioles was calculated at 317 cmH2O, which is about 20 times of a standard value in conventional PS instillation method where the driving pressure is given by difference between inspiratory and end-expiratory pressures of a ventilator. It means that almost all PS would not reach alveolar regions but move to and fro within the airway according to the change of ventilator pressure. On the other hand, the driving pressure from sub-segmental bronchus was calculated at 273 cm H2O, that is clinically possible by wedge instillation under bronchoscopic observation. Conclusions: The simulation study has revealed that selective wedge instillation under bronchoscopic observation should be tried for COVID-19 pneumonia even before ARDS. It will be also useful for preventing secondary lung fibrosis.
Mining Google and Apple mobility data:Temporal Anatomy for COVID-19 Social Distancing
Authors: Cot Corentin , Cacciapaglia Giacomo , Sannino Francesco
Published: September 2020

We employ the Google and Apple mobility data to identify, quantify and clas- sify different degrees of social distancing and characterise their imprint on the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and in the United States. We identify the period of enacted social distancing via Google and Apple data, in- dependently from the political decisions. Interestingly we observe a general decrease in the infection rate occurring two to five weeks after the onset of mobility reduction for the European countries and the American states.
Implementation of clinical practice changes in the PICU: a qualitative study using and refining the iPARIHS framework
Authors: Steffen Katherine M. , Holdsworth Laura M , Ford Mackenzie , Lee Grace M. , Asch Steven M. , Proctor Enola K.
Published: September 2020

Background: Like in many settings, implementation of evidence-based practices often fall short in Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU). Very few prior studies have applied implementation science frameworks to understand how best to improve practices in this unique environment. We used the relatively new integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (iPARIHS) framework to assess practice improvement in the PICU, and to explore the utility of the framework itself for that purpose.Methods: We used the iPARIHS framework to guide development of a semi-structured interview tool to examine barriers, facilitators, and the process of change in the PICU. A framework approach to qualitative analysis, developed around iPARIHS constructs and subconstructs, helped identify patterns and themes in provider interviews. We assessed the utility of iPARIHS to inform PICU practice change. Results: Fifty multi-professional providers working in 8 U.S. PICUs completed interviews. iPARIHS constructs shaped development of a process model for change that consisted of phases that include planning, a decision to adopt change, implementation and facilitation, and sustainability; the PICU environment shaped each phase. Large, complex multi-professional teams, and high-stakes work at near-capacity impaired receptivity to change. While unit leaders made decisions to pursue change, providers’ willingness to accept change was based on the evidence for the change, and provider’s experiences, beliefs, and capacity to integrate change into a demanding workflow. Limited analytic structures and resources frustrated attempts to monitor changes’ impacts. Variable provider engagement, time allocated to work on changes, and limited collaboration impacted facilitation. iPARIHS constructs were useful in exploring implementation, however we identified inter-relation of subconstructs, unique concepts not captured by the framework, and a need for subconstructs to further describe facilitation. Conclusions: The PICU environment significantly shaped implementation. The described process model for implementation may be useful to guide efforts to integrate changes and select implementation strategies. iPARIHS was adequate to identify barriers and facilitators of change, however further elaboration of subconstructs for facilitation would be helpful to operationalize the framework. Trial registration: not applicable, as no health care intervention was performed.
Factors associated with the mental health of adolescent university students during COVID-19 quarantine in Japan
Authors: Hirano Yuko , Aramaki Koichi , Ota Sayuka
Published: September 2020

Background: University students in Japan have been quarantined during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting social avoidance may increase students’ anxiety about the pandemic and adversely affect their mental health. To obtain basic data for a university health policy, we investigated factors associated with the mental health status of 570 students of a national university in Japan during quarantine. Methods: Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing respondent characteristics (gender, age, department, domicile status), subjective sense of anxiety about COVID-19, and number of social supports. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12 was used as a marker for mental health status, and sense of coherence (SOC) was used as a marker for stress resistance. Chi-square tests, t-tests, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis were conducted to identify factors associated with GHQ score. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to identify the interaction between anxiety score and SOC scores. Results: Females showed significantly more adverse mental health than males. Regardless of gender, the strongest factor associated with GHQ score was anxiety about COVID-19, which impaired mental health status, followed by SOC score, which improved mental health status. The ANOVA results showed a significant interaction effect on GHQ scores between anxiety and SOC score in males. High SOC scores mitigated the negative effect of anxiety on mental health more than did low SOC scores, especially in males with low to medium levels of anxiety.Conclusions: The results indicate that fear of COVID-19 impaired mental health status, but SOC worked as a buffer to mitigate the negative effect of anxiety on mental health, especially among male students. Given the health risks associated with gender, universities should provide psychological care to encourage students to maintain a confident daily routine and to foster higher SOC, especially for male students.
DIAGNÓSTICO DA QUALIDADE FISIOLÓGICA DE SEMENTES DE FEIJÃO USADAS POR AGRICULTORES FAMILIARES DA ZONA DA MATA
Authors: FONTES ARAUJO ROBERTO FONTES , Silva Fabrício Welington Souza , Araujo Eduardo Fontes , Assis Miquéias de Oliveira , Libaneo Marcelo
Published: September 2020

Objetivou-se caracterizar e avaliar fisiologicamente as sementes de feijão usadas pelos agricultores familiares da Zona da Mata. Foram aplicados questionários com 74 agricultores e obtidas amostras de sementes para avaliações da germinação e vigor, e comparação com a qualidade fisiológica daquelas produzidas pela EPAMIG. Apenas dois agricultores adquirem sementes comerciais (2,8%). Destes, 43% semeiam feijão vermelho, 28% preferem o feijão tipo carioca, outros 17% priorizam o feijão de coloração preta, enquanto 12% têm preferência por outros tipos. Todos realizam a colheita manualmente; já a debulha realizada manualmente por 20% dos agricultores, 54% fazem por bateção com varas e 26% usam trilhadeira. A secagem é realizada ao sol em terreiro por 80% dos agricultores, ao sol sobre lona preta por 16% e em secador por 4%. O beneficiamento do lote é realizado por catação manual por 20%, por peneiramento e sopragem 62% e 18% com máquina beneficiadora de cereais. O tratamento das sementes é feito por expurgo com gastoxim (18% dos agricultores), com barro de terra de formigueiro (28%), cinza de madeira (5%), casca de laranja moída (3%), folha de eucalipto moída (3%), esterco bovino curtido (6%). O acondicionamento das sementes, em 90% dos casos é feito em embalagens permeáveis, como lata e sacarias, 10% em impermeável, como garrafas pet. O armazenamento é feito em paióis (59%), depósitos de alvenaria (18%), porões (8) e cômodos das casas (15%). Os agricultores não realizam práticas exclusivas para campo de sementes; apenas dois agricultores, esporadicamente, eliminam plantas com sintomas visíveis de doença. Surpreendentemente, 79% dos agricultores produziram sementes com germinação superior a 80%, mínimo exigido por lei para comercialização; também, 70% dos agricultores produziram sementes com germinação que não diferiu das produzidas pela EPAMIG; entretanto, apenas 19% dos agricultores produziram sementes com vigor que não diferiu do vigor das sementes produzidas pela EPAMIG.
DESEMPENHO ZOOTÉCNICO, RENDIMENTO DE CARCAÇA E PARÂMETROS SANGUÍNEOS DE FRANGOS DE CORTE CRIADOS SOBRE CAMA TRATADA COM REDUTOR DE AMÔNIA
Authors: Castro Mailson das Dores
Published: September 2020

Objetivou-se avaliar a utilização de redutor de amônia na cama sobre o desempenho zootécnico, características de carcaça, parâmetros sanguíneos e volatilização da amônia do material da cama de frangos de corte. Os frangos da linhagem Cobb® 500 foram distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com quatro tratamentos (0, 250; 500 e 750 mL Nzone Max®/m3 de cama) e cinco repetições de 40 aves por unidade experimental. A aplicação do produto foi feita aos 14, 21, 28, 35 e 42 dias após a chegada das aves. Foram avaliados desempenho zootécnico, rendimento de carcaça e de cortes nobres, eritrograma e leucograma e volatilização da amônia na cama (18, 25, 32, 39, 46º dia experimental). Os resultados foram submetidos à análise de variância pelo software estatístico R. A aplicação do redutor de amônia na cama não alterou (p>0,05) o desempenho zootécnico, porém, numericamente, observou-se melhor índice de eficiência produtiva e conversão alimentar quando a cama foi tratada com 500 mL/m3. A utilização do redutor de amônia promoveu alteração (p<0,05) apenas no rendimento de carcaça (RC). Frangos submetidos aos tratamentos 250 e 500 mL/m³ apresentaram valores distintos, sendo maior RC para aqueles submetidos ao tratamento de 250 mL/m3. A volatilização de amônia foi semelhante do 18º ao 39º dia experimental, exceto para o tratamento 750 mL/m³. Aos 25 dias de experimento, a aplicação de 250 e 500 mL de Nzone Max®/m3 de cama reduziu (p<0,05) a volatilização da amônia quando comparado com 750 mL/m3. Os resultados dos parâmetros de leucograma e eritrograma ficaram ajustados com os valores de referência para aves e não foram afetados (p>0,05) pelos tratamentos. A utilização do redutor de amônia não impactou o desempenho zootécnico, as características de carcaça, os parâmetros sanguíneos, nem tampouco a volatilização da amônia do material da cama de frangos de corte.
Articulação e consolidação de ações de arte e cultura no contexto universitário: a experiência do Projeto de Extensão Letras, Artes & Mentes
Authors: ARAÚJO Isa Mara Rocha , DEUS Lidiane Alves de , ABRANCHES Monise Viana , OLIVEIRA Tiago Mendes de
Published: September 2020

O Projeto de Extensão Letras, Artes & Mentes foi criado tendo em vista a realidade em que esta inserida a Universidade Federal de Viçosa Campus Rio Paranaíba, localizada em uma região onde o contato com diferentes manifestações artísticas e culturais é pouco expressivo. O objetivo do projeto foi contribuir para a humanização, a sensibilização e a formação do pensamento crítico e reflexivo por meio de signos que se articulam em diferentes linguagens, bem como estimulam o desenvolvimento e o compartilhamento de habilidades e competências. Para diagnóstico e direcionamento das atividades, aplicou-se um questionário e traçou-se um cronograma, a partir dos quais implementou-se espaços de leitura e fruição, instalou-se um palco, disponibilizou-se livros e revistas, realizou-se eventos e criou-se mídias sociais. O projeto promoveu articulação e consolidação de atividades de arte e cultura no contexto universitário, realizando uma efetiva construção comunitária de vivência e troca de saberes na dimensão cultural da Instituição.
Development of an automated water management system in orchards in southern Thailand
Authors: Musik Panjit
Published: September 2020

Traditional agriculture-based orchards often encounter quality problems that do not meet the market demand. Technology development is required for increasing the quality of the production and reducing the production costs. The objective of this research is to develop an automated water management system to improve production in orchards and implementing them in the field. The proposed water management system contains the equipment for water supply systems, automatic measurement, and control systems. The system was developed first inside a demonstration fruit garden. Afterward, a set of water management systems was installed in the mangosteen and durian gardens of farmers, and the system was controlled via mobile phones. The results are promising and showed that the proposed system might be useful for reducing production costs by reducing labor, water, and electricity costs. Moreover, the farmers were able to produce a higher amount of quality products in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.
Effective transformation-based variable selection under two-fold subarea models in small area estimation
Authors: Cai Song , Rao J. N. K. , Dumitrescu Laura , Chatrchi Golshid
Published: September 2020

We present a simple yet effective variable selection method for the two-fold nested subarea model, which generalizes the widely-used Fay-Herriot area model. The twofold subarea model consists of a sampling model and a linking model, which has a nested-error model structure but with unobserved responses. To select variables under the two-fold subarea model, we first transform the linking model into a model with the structure of a regular regression model and unobserved responses. We then estimate an information criterion based on the transformed linking model and use the estimated information criterion for variable selection. The proposed method is motivated by the variable selection method of Lahiri and Suntornchost (2015) for the Fay-Herriot model and the variable selection method of Li and Lahiri (2019) for the unit-level nested-error regression model. Simulation results show that the proposed variable selection method performs significantly better than some naive competitors, especially when the variance of the area-level random effect in the linking model is large.