bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Ear, Nose and Throat Manifestations in COVID-19 Patients
Authors: El-Anwar Mohammad Waheed , Eesa Mohamed , Mansour Waleed , Zake Lamia G. , Hendawy Ehsan
Published: July 2021

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has dramatically spread all over the world, crossing the borders of all countries. It is presented mainly by lower respiratory tract symptoms such as fever, cough, dyspnea, and chest tightness. However, COVID-19 causes different upper respiratory tract-related symptoms including nasal congestion, sore throat, and olfactory dysfunction.

Objective To discuss different ear, nose and throat (ENT) manifestations in COVID-19-positive patients and their relation to other manifestations and to the severity of COVID-19.

Methods We detected ENT manifestations in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed positive COVID-19 patients at Zagazig Isolation Hospitals (Zagazig University hospitals, Zagazig Chest hospital, Al-Ahrar hospital, and Zagazig Fever hospital) with proportional allocation in the period from April 15 to June 15, 2020. All patients were subjected to full history taking and COVID-19 was categorized into 4 classes of severity after all patients underwent computed tomography (CT) of the chest. Afterwards, the collected data was analyzed and compared.

Results Among the included 120 COVID-19 patients, the most frequent reported ENT manifestations were; sore throat (30%), nasal congestion (28.3%), nasal obstruction (26.7%), sneezing (26.6%), headache (25%), smell and taste dysfunction (25%), rhinorrhea (20%), upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) (15%), and tonsil enlargement (10%). The most common non-ENT manifestations were fever (88.3%), cough (63.3%), and dyspnea (45%).

Conclusion Fever and cough are the dominant symptoms of COVID-19, but ENT manifestations for COVID-19 are common and should be a part of the suspected clinical criteria for COVID-19, particularly if the nasal examination was nonsignificant. The most common symptoms are sore throat, followed by nasal congestion and obstruction, headache, and lastly, olfactory dysfunction.
Estimating electron temperature and density using improved collisional-radiative model in high-density RF argon plasma
Authors: Horita H. , Kuwahara D. , Akatsuka H. , Shinohara S.
Published: July 2021

It is crucial to measure the electron density (ne) and temperature (Te) for applications such as developing small helicon sources in plasma thrusters. Hence, this study developed a method based on an optical emission spectroscopic (OES) measurement without disturbance or contamination for helicon plasma produced using argon gas. The argon collisional-radiative (CR) model was used to describe the excitation number density in plasma as a function of ne and Te. Each number density ratio was surveyed as a function of ne and Te. From these results, contours of two number densities, i.e., two excitation energy levels, were drawn on an ne–Te plane. By applying various contour pairs, ne and Te were determined from the intersection point of two contours whose values were taken from the experimental intensities. Finally, we compared the new OES measurements with the CR model for various intensity ratios and found a way to select a valid intensity ratio that is in good agreement with the ne and Te derived by the probe method.
Influence of magnetic shielding on electron dynamics characteristics of Penning ion source
Authors: Xie Mengjun , Liu Dagang , Liu Laqun , Wang Huihui
Published: July 2021

The dynamic behaviors of electrons in a miniature Penning ion source model are analyzed by the particle in cell/Monte Carlo collision particle simulation method combined with the scalar magnetic potential finite-difference method. Mainly, the influence of magnetic shielding on the trajectory and spatial distribution of electrons in the discharge process is taken into consideration. The influence of magnetic shielding on the plasma impedance during the excitation discharge of the Penning source is further discussed. The calculated target current is in good agreement with the experimental value. The simulation results show that the addition of magnetic shielding can reduce the fluctuation of electron density, increase the uniformity of electron spatial distribution, and double the plasma impedance stabilization zone, which are beneficial to the stability of the discharge process in the source. However, the magnetic shielding can cause a decrease in the electron density, which limits the plasma ionization degree. The study on magnetic shielding helps to understand the electron dynamics characteristics of the Penning ion source and provides a reference for improving the source performance in the future.
Bereavement Among Adult Siblings: An Examination of Health Services Utilization and Mental Health Outcomes
Authors: Gazibara Tatjana , Ornstein Katherine A , Gillezeau Christina , Aldridge Melissa , Groenvold Mogens , Nordentoft Merete , Thygesen Lau Caspar
Published: July 2021

We aimed to examine the association of young and middle-aged sibling bereavement with use of health services and risk of developing mental health disorders over 24 months before and after sibling’s death. All persons aged 18–56 years who died of illness/natural causes between 2009 and 2016 were identified in the Danish Register of Causes of Death. The study sample included 31,842 bereaved siblings and 31,842 age- and sex-matched controls. Overall, the largest effect was observed for increased use of psychological services: For women, the peak was observed 4–6 months after the death (odds ratio (OR) = 3.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.85, 3.85) and for men in the first 3 months after the death (OR = 2.63, 95% CI: 2.06, 3.36). The peak of being diagnosed in a hospital setting with any mental disorder for women was observed in the period 13–15 months after sibling death (OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.11, 2.07) and for men in the first 3 months after the death (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.32, 2.32). Young and middle-aged adults who experienced the death of a sibling are more likely to use health services and are at risk of poorer mental health outcomes. During the bereavement process, young and middle-aged siblings are especially in need of mental health support, such as professional psychological counseling.
Heterogeneous nutrient supply promotes maize growth and phosphorus acquisition: additive and compensatory effects of lateral roots and root hairs
Authors: Wang Liyang , Li Xuelian , Mang Melissa , Ludewig Uwe , Shen Jianbo
Published: July 2021

Background and Aims

Root proliferation is a response to a heterogeneous nutrient distribution. However, the growth of root hairs in response to heterogeneous nutrients and the relationship between root hairs and lateral roots remain unclear. This study aims to understand the effects of heterogeneous nutrients on root hair growth and the trade-off between root hairs and lateral roots in phosphorus (P) acquisition.

Methods

Near-isogenic maize lines, the B73 wild type (WT) and the rth3 root hairless mutant, were grown in rhizoboxes with uniform or localized supply of 40 (low) or 140 (high) mg P kg−1 soil.

Results

Both WT and rth3 had nearly two-fold greater shoot biomass and P content under local than uniform treatment at low P. Significant root proliferation was observed in both WT and rth3 in the nutrient patch, with the WT accompanied by an obvious increase (from 0.7 to 1.2 mm) in root hair length. The root response ratio of rth3 was greater than that of WT at low P, but could not completely compensate for the loss of root hairs. This suggests that plants enhanced P acquisition through complementarity between lateral roots and root hairs, and thus regulated nutrient foraging and shoot growth. The disappearance of WT and rth3 root response differences at high P indicated that the P application reduced the dependence of the plants on specific root traits to obtain nutrients.

Conclusions

In addition to root proliferation, the root response to a nutrient-rich patch was also accompanied by root hair elongation. The genotypes without root hairs increased their investment in lateral roots in a nutrient-rich patch to compensate for the absence of root hairs, suggesting that plants enhanced nutrient acquisition by regulating the trade-off of complementary root traits.
Nanopore base calling on the edge
Authors: Perešíni Peter , Boža Vladimír , Brejová Broňa , Vinař Tomáš
Published: July 2021

Motivation

MinION is a portable nanopore sequencing device that can be easily operated in the field with features including monitoring of run progress and selective sequencing. To fully exploit these features, real-time base calling is required. Up to date, this has only been achieved at the cost of high computing requirements that pose limitations in terms of hardware availability in common laptops and energy consumption.

Results

We developed a new base caller DeepNano-coral for nanopore sequencing, which is optimized to run on the Coral Edge Tensor Processing Unit, a small USB-attached hardware accelerator. To achieve this goal, we have designed new versions of two key components used in convolutional neural networks for speech recognition and base calling. In our components, we propose a new way of factorization of a full convolution into smaller operations, which decreases memory access operations, memory access being a bottleneck on this device. DeepNano-coral achieves real-time base calling during sequencing with the accuracy slightly better than the fast mode of the Guppy base caller and is extremely energy efficient, using only 10 W of power.

Availability and implementation

https://github.com/fmfi-compbio/coral-basecaller

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Patterns and drivers determining phyllostomid bat diversity in land-bridge islands off the south-east coast of Brazil
Authors: Carvalho William Douglas , Lourenço Elizabete Captivo , Costa Luciana Moraes , Bergallo Helena Godoy , Esbérard Carlos Eduardo Lustosa
Published: July 2021

Few studies that apply the theory of island biogeography have considered the functional and phylogenetic dimensions of diversity. However, the joint use of the three diversity dimensions, i.e. taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic, can help us to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying ecological and evolutionary processes. Here, we compare phyllostomid bat assemblages between five land-bridge islands off the south-east coast of Brazil and compare these islands with three sites on the mainland. For this, we have estimated the three dimensions of α- and β-diversity, nestedness and community indexes based on mean trait values for the islands and the mainland. The mainland showed higher species richness and taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity. In addition, only species richness and phylogenetic diversity were positively related to island area. Taxonomically and functionally, the poorest assemblages (minor islands) were subgroups of the richer assemblages (mainland and larger islands). Taken together, our results show that bat assemblages of smaller islands tend to be more sensitive to changes in species richness than those of larger islands, with the larger islands working as a ‘source’ of species for small islands. These results demonstrate the high conservation value of the larger islands, which has direct consequences for local population dynamics of phyllostomid bats.
Pollination and fitness of a hawkmoth-pollinated plant are related to light pollution and tree cover
Authors: Bariles Julieta Belén , Cocucci Andrea A , Soteras Florencia
Published: July 2021

Urbanization results in biodiversity-damaging land use change since it is normally associated with reduced vegetation cover and installation of artificial lights. Light pollution raises illumination levels of night skies and affects the behaviour of hawkmoths and their interactions with plants. In addition to feeding on flowers, adult hawkmoths require adequate daytime resting sites and specific host plants on which their caterpillars can feed. In this study, we assessed the relationships of light pollution and tree cover with pollen load and plant fitness of Erythrostemon gilliesii, a legume native to Argentina which exclusively depends on pollination by long-proboscid hawkmoths. We determined stigmatic pollen load, and seed and fruit set at six sites in Central Argentina. Plants growing in sites with highest light pollution and lowest tree cover received the least pollen loads on their stigmas. Where tree cover was lowest, germinated pollen load and plant fitness were lowest, even where light pollution was low. We found that light pollution together with tree cover may affect pollination, thus indirectly influencing the fitness of nocturnally pollinated plants. However, the indirect influence of light pollution on plant fitness may be dependent on the conservation status of neighbouring natural habitats, since in low light-polluted sites, tree cover seems to be the major factor influencing plant fitness.
Ex situ machine preservation of donor livers for transplantation: HOPE for all?
Authors: van Leeuwen O B , Porte R J
Published: July 2021

Hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion (HOPE) reduces ischaemia–reperfusion injury of donor livers and thereby improves outcomes after transplantation. End-ischaemic normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) enables assessment of hepatobiliary viability and selection of livers that would otherwise have been declined for transplantation. We advocate the combined use of (dual) HOPE and NMP for livers that are considered high risk, but may still be transplanted safely after ex situ resuscitation and assessment of hepatobiliary viability. Combined dual HOPE–NMP has the potential to substantially decrease the high rates of deceased donor liver discard.
Role of clinical and CT findings in the identification of adult small-bowel intussusception requiring surgical intervention
Authors: Dollinger M , Bäumler W , Brunner S M , Stroszczynski C , Georgieva M , Müller K , Schicho A , Müller-Wille R
Published: July 2021

Background

In adults, intussusception has been considered traditionally to have an underlying aetiology. The aim of this study was to determine CT and clinical features of small-bowel intussusceptions that required surgical intervention.

Methods

Adult patients were identified in whom small-bowel intussusceptions were noted on CT images. The appearance, number, type (enteroenteric versus enterocolic), length and maximum short-axis diameter of intussusceptions, and presence of bowel obstruction (short-axis diameter of proximal small bowel greater than 3 cm) were analysed. The outcome was defined as surgical (complicated) or self-limiting (uncomplicated). Associations between complicated and uncomplicated intussusceptions and patient characteristics were investigated.

Results

Among 75 patients (56 male) with a mean age of 45 years, 103 intussusceptions were identified, of which 98 (95 per cent) were enteroenteric and 5 (5 per cent) enterocolic. Only 12 of 103 intussusceptions (12 per cent) in 12 of 75 (16 per cent) patients required surgical therapy and were considered to be complicated, with half of these having a neoplastic lead point. Length (P < 0.001), diameter (P < 0.001) and type (P = 0.002) of intussusception as well as presence of vessels (P = 0.023) within an intussusception on a CT scan, clinical symptoms (P = 0.007) and signs of bowel obstruction (P < 0.001) were associated with a surgical outcome.

Conclusion

Clinical symptoms, signs of bowel obstruction, type and length of intussusception, and a visible tumour within an intussusception on CT scan were critical signs of complicated intussusception, requiring surgical intervention.
Modelling Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in a dish reveals common cell type-specific alterations
Authors: Müller Juliane S , Horvath Rita
Published: July 2021

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived motor neurons of CMT type 2 patients reveal progressive mitochondrial dysfunction’, by Van Lent et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/awab226).
CD4+ T-Cell Count at Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation in the “Treat-All” Era in Rural South Africa: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis
Authors: Yapa H Manisha , Kim Hae-Young , Petoumenos Kathy , Post Frank A , Jiamsakul Awachana , De Neve Jan-Walter , Tanser Frank , Iwuji Collins , Baisley Kathy , Shahmanesh Maryam , Pillay Deenan , Siedner Mark J , Bärnighausen Till , Bor Jacob
Published: July 2021

Background

South Africa implemented universal test and treat (UTT) in September 2016 in an effort to encourage earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Methods

We therefore conducted an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis to assess the impact of UTT on mean CD4 count at ART initiation among adults aged ≥16 years attending 17 public sector primary care clinics in rural South Africa, between July 2014 and March 2019.

Results

Among 20 599 individuals (69% women), CD4 counts were available for 74%. Mean CD4 at ART initiation increased from 317.1 cells/μL (95% confidence interval [CI], 308.6 to 325.6) 1 to 8 months prior to UTT to 421.0 cells/μL (95% CI, 413.0 to 429.0) 1 to 12 months after UTT, including an immediate increase of 124.2 cells/μL (95% CI, 102.2 to 146.1). However, mean CD4 count subsequently fell to 389.5 cells/μL (95% CI, 381.8 to 397.1) 13 to 30 months after UTT but remained above pre-UTT levels. Men initiated ART at lower CD4 counts than women (–118.2 cells/μL, 95% CI, –125.5 to –111.0) throughout the study.

Conclusions

Although UTT led to an immediate increase in CD4 count at ART initiation in this rural community, the long-term effects were modest. More efforts are needed to increase initiation of ART early in those living with human immunodeficiency virus, particularly men.
LINPS: a database for cancer-cell-specific perturbations of biological networks
Authors: Ahmed Mahmoud , Kim Deok Ryong
Published: July 2021

Screening for potential cancer therapies using existing large datasets of drug perturbations requires expertise and resources not available to all. This is often a barrier for lab scientists to tap into these valuable resources. To address these issues, one can take advantage of prior knowledge especially those coded in standard formats such as causal biological networks (CBN). Large datasets can be converted into appropriate structures, analyzed once and the results made freely available in easy-to-use formats. We used the Library of Integrated Cellular Signatures to model the cell-specific effect of hundreds of drug treatments on gene expression. These signatures were then used to predict the effect of the treatments on several CBN using the network perturbation amplitudes analysis. We packaged the pre-computed scores in a database with an interactive web interface. The intuitive user-friendly interface can be used to query the database for drug perturbations and quantify their effect on multiple key biological functions in cancer cell lines. In addition to describing the process of building the database and the interface, we provide a realistic use case to explain how to use and interpret the results. To sum, we pre-computed cancer-cell-specific perturbation amplitudes of several biological networks and made the output available in a database with an interactive web interface.

Database URL https://mahshaaban.shinyapps.io/LINPSAPP/
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Clinical, Endoscopic, Histological and Safety Placebo Rates in Induction and Maintenance Trials of Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Sedano Rocio , Hogan Malcolm , Nguyen Tran M , Chang Joshua , Zou G Y , Macdonald John K , Vande Casteele Niels , Hanzel Jurij , Crowley Eileen , Battat Robert , Dulai Parambir S , Singh Siddharth , D’Haens Geert , Sandborn William , Feagan Brian G , Ma Christopher , Jairath Vipul
Published: July 2021

Background and Aims

Quantifying placebo rates and the factors influencing them are essential to inform trial design. We provide a contemporary summary of clinical, endoscopic, histological and safety placebo rates in induction and maintenance clinical trials of ulcerative colitis, and identify factors influencing them.

Methods

MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane library were searched from April 2014 to April 2020, updating a prior meta-analysis that searched from inception to April 2014. We included placebo-controlled trials of aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, immunosuppressives, small-molecules and biologics in adults with ulcerative colitis. Placebo rates were pooled using random-effects and mixed-effects meta-regression models to assess the associated study-level.

Results

In 119 trials [92 induction, 27 maintenance] clinical, endoscopic and histological remission placebo rates for induction trials were 11% (95% confidence interval [CI] 9–13%), 19% [95% CI 15–23%] and 15% [95% CI 11–19%], respectively; for maintenance trials, clinical and endoscopic placebo remission rates were 18% [95% CI 12–25%] and 20% [95% CI 15–25%], respectively. Higher endoscopic subscore and a higher rate of exposure to prior biologic therapy at enrolment were associated with lower clinical and endoscopic placebo remission rates. Absence of central reading was associated with an increase in placebo endoscopic response and remission rates. More follow-up visits and increasing trial duration were associated with higher clinical placebo rates.

Conclusions

Placebo rates in ulcerative colitis trials vary according to the endpoint assessed, whether it is for assessment of response or remission, and whether the trial is designed for induction or maintenance. These contemporary rates across different endpoints and drug classes will help to inform trial design.
Cross-Class Embeddedness through Family Ties and Support for Income Redistribution
Authors: Paskov Marii , Weisstanner David
Published: July 2021

There is long-standing evidence within the literature of class cleavages in social policy preferences. We re-evaluate class cleavages in support for redistribution by specifically focusing on the role played by cross-class embeddedness: the idea that individuals can be embedded in multiple social classes through family ties. Stronger affinity to the working class is hypothesized to be associated with stronger support for redistribution. We construct a harmonized measure of cross-class embeddedness combining information on social class positions for individuals, their parents, and their partner. The results demonstrate that cross-class embeddedness is highly common in the European context and linear probability models show that it is robustly associated with support for redistribution. Individuals who have more ties with the working classes are more supportive of redistribution and the effect is somewhat stronger for women than for men. Cross-class embeddedness through close family ties accounts for substantial heterogeneity within the upper classes. We conclude that family needs to be recognized as the unit of stratification that influences material interests and as a context of socialization that likely shapes solidarity. Cross-class embeddedness through family ties is thus important to consider in any analysis of social policy preferences.
Diet variety mediates the effect of appetite on dietary nutritional insufficiency in patients with heart failure
Authors: Andreae C , Lennie TA , Chung ML
Published: July 2021

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): National Institutes of Health R01 NR 009280 & P20 NR 010679

Background

Poor appetite is commonly reported in patients with heart failure, which may lead to a diet with limited food variety. Limited food variety, in turn, can result in dietary nutritional insufficiencies.

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to determine whether the relationship between appetite and dietary nutritional insufficiencies was mediated through diet variety.

Methods

In this secondary analysis, patients with heart failure rated appetite on a 10-point visual analog scale from 1 to 10. Nutritional insufficiency and diet variety were assessed by a four-day food diary analyzed by Nutrition Data Systems. Nutrition insufficiency was defined as the total number of 18 minerals and vitamins that were insufficient in the diet. Diet variety was calculated as the number of 23 food types consumed over the 4 days. A mediation analysis was conducted controlling for age, gender, New York Heart Association (NYHA), and body mass index using the PROCESS v3.5 macro program with 5,000 bootstrap samples in SPSS.

Results

A total of 238 patients (mean age 61, SD = 12; male n = 164, 69%; NYHA III/IV, n = 107, 45%) were included. The mean body mass index was 30 kg/m2 (SD = 7). The mean appetite score was 7.5 (SD = 2.3). The mean number of micronutrient insufficiencies was 4.7 (SD = 3.5), and the mean diet variety score was 12.4 (SD = 2.6). Appetite was not directly associated with nutrition insufficiency (effect = -.1802; 95% CI = -.3715, .0111) controlling co-variates. However, there was a significant indirect effect of appetite on nutrition insufficiency through diet variety controlling for covariates (effect = -.0828: 95% CI = -.1585, -.0150).

Conclusions

Diet variety mediated the association between appetite and dietary micronutrient insufficiency in patients with heart failure. The findings suggest that dietary intervention aimed at increasing patients’ appetite may increase diet variety and enhance the nutritional quality of diets of patients with heart failure.
Treatment target achievement after myocardial infarction: cardiovascular risk factors, medication use and lifestyle in Norwegian women and men
Authors: Hopstock L , Morseth B , Cook S , Eggen AE , Grimgsgaard S , Lundblad MW , Lochen ML , Mathiesen EB , Nilsen A , Njolstad I
Published: July 2021

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Background

Although the use of guidelines in clinical practice is emphasised, large multi-center studies of patients with cardiovascular disease have shown secondary prevention to be suboptimal, which increase the risk of recurrent events.

Purpose

To examine ESC guideline treatment target achievement after myocardial infarction for cardiovascular risk factors, medication use and a broad range of lifestyle factors in women and men from a Norwegian general population.

Methods

In a population-based study conducted 2015-2016 (65% attendance), 637 participants 40-95 years (23% women, 70% ≥65 years) had validated myocardial infarction. Cross-sectionally, we investigated target achievement for blood pressure (<140/90 mmHg, <130/80 mmHg if diabetes), LDL cholesterol (<1.8 mmol/L), HbA1c (<7.0% if diabetes), weight (body mass index (BMI) <25 kg/m2, waist circumference (women <80 cm, men <94 cm)), smoking (non-smoking), physical activity (self-reported >sedentary, accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous ≥150 min/week), diet (intake of fruits ≥200 g/day, vegetables ≥200 g/day, fish ≥200 g/week, saturated fat <10E%, fiber ≥30g/day,  and alcohol (women ≤10 g/day, men ≤20 g/day)), and medication use (antihypertensives, lipid-lowering drugs, antithrombotics, antidiabetics) using regression models.

Results

Proportion of target achievement was for blood pressure 55.8%, LDL cholesterol 9.3%, HbA1c 42.7%, BMI 19.5%, waist circumference 15.6%, non-smoking 86.2%, self-reported physical activity 79.5%, objectively measured physical activity 9.1%, intake of fruits 66.7%, vegetables 38.4%, fish 96.8%, saturated fat 25.4%, fiber 29.5%, and alcohol 78.5%, use of antidiabetics 84.3%, lipid-lowering drugs 86.8%, antihypertensives 78.5% and antithrombotics 77.9%. In total, 0.8% achieved all cardiovascular risk factor targets (blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, BMI and waist circumference combined). Compared to men, a lower proportion of women achieved the target for waist circumference (6.9% vs 18.1%, p = 0.002). Compared to participants 65 years or older, a higher proportion of those 40-64 years achieved the target for blood pressure (71.2% vs 49.0%, p < 0.001), and a lower proportion achieved the target for BMI (15.3 vs 21.4, p = 0.007).

Conclusion

Secondary prevention after myocardial infarction was suboptimal in both women and men. A negligible proportion achieved the treatment target for all risk factors. Improvement in follow-up care after myocardial infarction is needed.
Impact of a program based in eating habits and physiotherapy on anthropometric parameters in patients with coronary artery disease: randomized controlled trial
Authors: Munoz-Gomez E , Sempere-Rubio N , Blesa J , Iglesias P , Mico L , Sanchez-Torrijos J , Girbes V , Soriano JM , Espi-Lopez GV , Marques-Sule E
Published: July 2021

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Introduction. On the one hand, physical training such as High intensity interval training (HIIT) and on the other, eating habits, it is often prescribed to patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Nevertheless, the combination of HIIT and eating habits in CAD with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) there is no consensus on using a combined protocol of both.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an HIIT program with eating habits, with a program based in HIIT, on anthropometric parameters in CAD patients with PCI.

Methods. A randomized controlled trial was carried out in a hospital.  44 patients with CAD and PCI were recruited. All participants signed an informed consent. Patients were randomly allocated to a HIIT group (HIIT, n = 22, 81.8% men, 62.05 ± 4.9 years) or to a Dietary education and HIIT (DEHIIT) group (n = 22, 81.8% men, 60.2 ± 5.6 years). HIIT consisted of a 3-month physiotherapy program, twice a week for one hour, at 85-95% peak heart rate. DEHIIT consisted of a multidisciplinary program, including the same HIIT program explained, plus eating habits. Body composition (weight, BMI, % body fat, % visceral fat, muscle mass) and waist circumference, hip circumference and Waste-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) were evaluated at baseline and at week 12.

Results. At the end of the program, DEHIIT significantly decreased all anthropometrics parameters except muscle mass. The following parameters decreased: weight (p ≤ 0.001), BMI (p ≤ 0.001), body fat (p ≤ 0.001), visceral fat (p ≤ 0.001), waist circumference (p ≤ 0.001), hip circumference (p = 0.043) and WHR (p ≤ 0.001). Instead, the muscle mass increased  significantly (p ≤ 0.001). When comparing between groups, DEHIIT did not show significant differences weight (p = 0.575), BMI (p = 0.404), % body fat (p = 0.217), muscle mass (p = 0.508), waist circumference (p = 0.165), hip circumference (p = 0.307), WHR (p = 0.379), except for presenting less visceral fat (p = 0.040) than HIIT.

Conclusions

HIIT programme with eating habits reducing visceral fat in CAD patients with PCI compared to a HIIT-only program.
Research on energy control of low voltage PV storage microgrid
Authors: Liu Qing , Shan Yichao
Published: July 2021

Renewable energy sources cannot guarantee long-term and stable output supply when they are given energy consumption at the load end. At the same time, traditional solar and utility power supply systems cannot guarantee the priority of using solar energy to generate electricity, which has certain limitations. In this regard, an energy control strategy for achieving smooth and no backflow switching and prioritizing the use of clean energy solar energy under a joint power supply system of a solar power grid and a municipal power grid is proposed, which is used for a conventional combined power supply system of a contactor switching circuit. A topology of low voltage power grid is proposed, which effectively reduces the impact on the solar power grid and the municipal power grid during the system switching process combined control mode for controlling the current phase and repetitive control at the output end of the solar power grid in the combined power supply mode, and adding a feedforward control method for the grid voltage is adopted to ensure that the solar grid and the municipal power prioritize the use of clean energy solar energy and, at the same time, ensure the maximum utilization of solar energy. This paper chose the combined power supply system with the solar power grid and the municipal power grid as the object of this research. The topology structure and controlling strategy of the power supply system were comprehensively and deeply researched, and on this basis, the combined power supply system prototype was designed on the foundation of DSP28335 and CPLD. Moreover, hardware parameters are designed in the system, and an energy management optimization algorithm based on the system is developed on the corresponding experimental platform. The experimental results show that the proposed energy control strategy can effectively reduce the impact on the solar power grid and the municipal power grid during the system switching process, ensure that the solar power grid and the municipal power grid have no backflow combined power supply and give priority to the use of clean energy solar energy.
Investigation of the effective application of marine design concept in green ecological residential indoor environment design
Authors: Yuan Gao , Sharma Shubham , Arjmand Jamal Tabe , Issakhov Alibek
Published: July 2021

As people’s living standards are high, the interior design requirements for green ecological residences are increasing. Based on this, the effective application of marine design concept in the design of green ecological residential indoor environment is studied. Firstly, the basic application elements of the marine design concept are analysed, so that under the guidance of the concept of marine design, the optimal design model of the green ecological residential indoor environment is constructed. Through relevant algorithms, the influencing factors of the concept of marine design in the effective application of green ecological residential indoor environment design are tested. The experimental results show that the marine design concept is affected by economic and environmental factors. At the same time , this concept can also be effectively applied to the optimal design of indoor environment of green ecological residence. Ocean design concept is effectively applied in the interior environment design of green ecological residence, which improves people’s living standard.
An Explicit Geometric Langlands Correspondence for the Projective Line Minus Four Points
Authors: uit de Bos Niels
Published: July 2021

This article deals with the tamely ramified geometric Langlands correspondence for ${\operatorname{GL}}_2$ on $ {\textbf{P}}_{ {\textbf{F}}_q}^1$, where $q$ is a prime power, with tame ramification at four distinct points $D = \{\infty , 0,1, t\} \subset {\textbf{P}}^1( {\textbf{F}}_q)$. We describe in an explicit way (1) the action of the Hecke operators on a basis of the space of cusp forms (Theorem 7.3) and (2) the correspondence that assigns to a pure irreducible rank 2 local system $E$ on $ {\textbf{P}}^1 \setminus D$ with unipotent monodromy its Hecke eigensheaf ${\operatorname{Aut}}_E$ on the moduli space ${\operatorname{Bun}}_{2,D}$ of rank 2 parabolic vector bundles (Theorem 1.2). We define a canonical embedding $ {\textbf{P}}^1 \setminus D \hookrightarrow{\operatorname{Bun}}_{2,D}^{1}$ and show with a new proof that ${\operatorname{Aut}}_E|_{{\operatorname{Bun}}_{2,D}^{1}}$ is the intermediate extension of $E$.
Preliminary study of patient safety and quality use cases for ICD-11 MMS
Authors: Fenton Susan H , Giannangelo Kathy L , Stanfill Mary H
Published: July 2021

Objective

This study investigated how well-suited the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision, for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics, (ICD-11 MMS) is for 2 morbidity use cases, patient safety and quality, examining the level of detail captured, and evaluating the necessity for the development of a US clinical modification (CM).

Materials and Methods

Utilizing the 5 NCVHS-specified perspectives plus the consumer perspective, a framework was created of International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) use cases. Analysis yielded candidate source criteria for use in case evaluation. Patient safety and quality were chosen because they are relevant across all perspectives.

Granularity differences and content coverage of ICD-11 MMS entities were assessed pre- and post-coordination to determine suitability for the 2 use cases. Pressure ulcers, a common condition across 3 patient safety applications, became the focus for comparing ICD-10-CM codes to ICD-11 MMS codes. For 3 electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs), the evaluation centered on specified value sets for ischemic stroke, hypertension, and diabetes.

Results

For pressure ulcers, the ICD-11 MMS was found to exceed ICD-10-CM capabilities via post-coordinated extension codes. For the 3 eCQM value sets explored, the ICD-11 MMS fully represented the disease concepts when post-coordinated code clusters were used.

Conclusions

The examples from the patient safety and quality use cases evaluated in this study are appropriate for ICD-11 MMS. It captures greater detail than ICD-10-CM, and ICD-11 MMS specificity would benefit both use cases. The authors believe this preliminary study indicates the US should invest resources to explore adopting the WHO ICD-11 MMS and tooling and guidelines to implement post-coordination.
Intestinal perforation on an incarcerated incisional hernia secondary to an ingested foreign body. Report of a rare case
Authors: Vaz-Pereira Ricardo , Ferreira Cátia , Monteiro Ana , Guidi Gonçalo , Martins Daniela , Pinto-de-Sousa João
Published: July 2021

Ingestion of foreign bodies (FBs) is common and rarely has consequences for the patient, but sometimes it can originate gastrointestinal perforation and lead to devastating consequences if unrecognized. Therefore, whenever present, bowel perforation demands immediate surgical treatment.

An 89-year-old woman with an incarcerated incisional hernia, whose imaging study was consistent with intestinal occlusion and perforation within the hernia sac was treated at our hospital. A segmental enterectomy and direct correction of the hernial defect were performed. A perforation in the mesenteric border due to a FB, which seemed to be a toothpick, was identified in the surgical specimen. Nine months after surgery, the patient was without complaints, with adequate healing, and without evidence of hernial recurrence.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of intestinal perforation on an incarcerated incisional hernia, due to an ingested FB, reported in the literature.
Dynamical ejecta synchrotron emission as a possible contributor to the changing behaviour of GRB170817A afterglow
Authors: Nedora Vsevolod , Radice David , Bernuzzi Sebastiano , Perego Albino , Daszuta Boris , Endrizzi Andrea , Prakash Aviral , Schianchi Federico
Published: July 2021

Over the past 3 yr, the fading non-thermal emission from the GW170817 remained generally consistent with the afterglow powered by synchrotron radiation produced by the interaction of the structured jet with the ambient medium. Recent observations by Hajela et al. indicate the change in temporal and spectral behaviour in the X-ray band. We show that the new observations are compatible with the emergence of a new component due to non-thermal emission from the fast tail of the dynamical ejecta of ab-initio binary neutron star merger simulations. This provides a new avenue to constrain binary parameters. Specifically, we find that equal mass models with soft equations of state (EOSs) and high-mass ratio models with stiff EOSs are disfavoured as they typically predict afterglows that peak too early to explain the recent observations. Moderate stiffness and mass ratio models, instead, tend to be in good overall agreement with the data.
TOI-1259Ab – a gas giant planet with 2.7 per cent deep transits and a bound white dwarf companion
Authors: Martin David V , El-Badry Kareem , Hodžić Vedad Kunovac , Triaud Amaury H M J , Angus Ruth , Birky Jessica , Foreman-Mackey Daniel , Hedges Christina , Montet Benjamin T , Murphy Simon J , Santerne Alexandre , Stassun Keivan G , Stephan Alexander P , Wang Ji , Benni Paul , Krushinsky Vadim , Chazov Nikita , Mishevskiy Nikolay , Ziegler Carl , Soubkiou Abderahmane , Benkhaldoun Zouhair , Boisse Isabelle , Battley Matthew , Miller Nicola J , Caldwell Douglas A , Collins Karen , Henze Christopher E , Guerrero Natalia M , Jenkins Jon M , Latham David W , Levine Adam , McDermott Scott , Mullally Susan E , Ricker George , Seager Sara , Shporer Avi , Vanderburg Andrew , Vanderspek Roland , Winn Joshua N
Published: July 2021

We present TOI-1259Ab, a 1.0RJup gas giant planet transiting a 0.71R⊙ K-dwarf on a 3.48 d orbit. The system also contains a bound white dwarf companion TOI-1259B with a projected distance of ∼1600 au from the planet host. Transits are observed in nine TESS sectors and are 2.7 per cent deep – among the deepest known – making TOI-1259Ab a promising target for atmospheric characterization. Our follow-up radial velocity measurements indicate a variability of semiamplitude $K=71\, \rm m\, s^{-1}$, implying a planet mass of 0.44MJup. By fitting the spectral energy distribution of the white dwarf, we derive a total age of $4.08^{+1.21}_{-0.53}$ Gyr for the system. The K dwarf’s light curve reveals rotational variability with a period of 28 d, which implies a gyrochronology age broadly consistent with the white dwarf’s total age.
The magnetic system SMSS J1606−1000 as a period bouncer
Authors: Kawka Adela , Vennes Stéphane , Ferrario Lilia , Bessell M S , Keller S C , Paunzen E , Buckley D A H , Groenewald D , Janík J , Zejda M
Published: July 2021

We report the discovery of a rare close binary system, SMSS J160639.78−100010.7, comprising a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 30 MG and a brown dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 92 min which is consistent with the photometric period. Minimum and maximum light occur at the orbital quadratures Φ = 0.25 and 0.75, respectively, and cannot be caused by reflection on the brown dwarf, but, instead, by a spot on the synchronously rotating magnetic white dwarf. The brown dwarf does not fill its Roche lobe and the system may be in a low-accretion state or, more likely, in a detached state following episodes of mass transfer. SMSS J160639.78−100010.7 is the nearest known magnetic white dwarf plus brown dwarf system.
Two distinct pathways of RNA polymerase backtracking determine the requirement for the Trigger Loop during RNA hydrolysis
Authors: Mosaei Hamed , Zenkin Nikolay
Published: July 2021

Transcribing RNA polymerase (RNAP) can fall into backtracking, phenomenon when the 3′ end of the transcript disengages from the template DNA. Backtracking is caused by sequences of the nucleic acids or by misincorporation of erroneous nucleotides. To resume productive elongation backtracked complexes have to be resolved through hydrolysis of RNA. There is currently no consensus on the mechanism of catalysis of this reaction by Escherichia coli RNAP. Here we used Salinamide A, that we found inhibits RNAP catalytic domain Trigger Loop (TL), to show that the TL is required for RNA cleavage during proofreading of misincorporation events but plays little role during cleavage in sequence-dependent backtracked complexes. Results reveal that backtracking caused by misincorporation is distinct from sequence-dependent backtracking, resulting in different conformations of the 3′ end of RNA within the active center. We show that the TL is required to transfer the 3′ end of misincorporated transcript from cleavage-inefficient ‘misincorporation site’ into the cleavage-efficient ‘backtracked site’, where hydrolysis takes place via transcript-assisted catalysis and is largely independent of the TL. These findings resolve the controversy surrounding mechanism of RNA hydrolysis by E. coli RNA polymerase and indicate that the TL role in RNA cleavage has diverged among bacteria.
Epitome: predicting epigenetic events in novel cell types with multi-cell deep ensemble learning
Authors: Morrow Alyssa Kramer , Hughes John Weston , Singh Jahnavi , Joseph Anthony Douglas , Yosef Nir
Published: July 2021

The accumulation of large epigenomics data consortiums provides us with the opportunity to extrapolate existing knowledge to new cell types and conditions. We propose Epitome, a deep neural network that learns similarities of chromatin accessibility between well characterized reference cell types and a query cellular context, and copies over signal of transcription factor binding and modification of histones from reference cell types when chromatin profiles are similar to the query. Epitome achieves state-of-the-art accuracy when predicting transcription factor binding sites on novel cellular contexts and can further improve predictions as more epigenetic signals are collected from both reference cell types and the query cellular context of interest.
Machine Learning Using Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Radiomic Feature Analysis to Predict Ki-67 in World Health Organization Grade I Meningiomas
Authors: Khanna Omaditya , Fathi Kazerooni Anahita , Farrell Christopher J , Baldassari Michael P , Alexander Tyler D , Karsy Michael , Greenberger Benjamin A , Garcia Jose A , Sako Chiharu , Evans James J , Judy Kevin D , Andrews David W , Flanders Adam E , Sharan Ashwini D , Dicker Adam P , Shi Wenyin , Davatzikos Christos
Published: July 2021

BACKGROUND

Although World Health Organization (WHO) grade I meningiomas are considered “benign” tumors, an elevated Ki-67 is one crucial factor that has been shown to influence tumor behavior and clinical outcomes. The ability to preoperatively discern Ki-67 would confer the ability to guide surgical strategy.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, we develop a machine learning (ML) algorithm using radiomic feature analysis to predict Ki-67 in WHO grade I meningiomas.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed for a cohort of 306 patients who underwent surgical resection of WHO grade I meningiomas. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging was used to perform radiomic feature extraction followed by ML modeling using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator wrapped with support vector machine through nested cross-validation on a discovery cohort (n = 230), to stratify tumors based on Ki-67 <5% and ≥5%. The final model was independently tested on a replication cohort (n = 76).

RESULTS

An area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of 0.84 (95% CI: 0.78-0.90) with a sensitivity of 84.1% and specificity of 73.3% was achieved in the discovery cohort. When this model was applied to the replication cohort, a similar high performance was achieved, with an AUC of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.73-0.94), sensitivity and specificity of 82.6% and 85.5%, respectively. The model demonstrated similar efficacy when applied to skull base and nonskull base tumors.

CONCLUSION

Our proposed radiomic feature analysis can be used to stratify WHO grade I meningiomas based on Ki-67 with excellent accuracy and can be applied to skull base and nonskull base tumors with similar performance achieved.