bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimization of Product Design Mode of Art Industry Based on Multiterminal Selection Algorithm of Internet of Things
Authors: Xu Ming , Ma Xiaoyu , Liu Xuemei
Published: March 2022

This article has first presented an overview and a brief design to the system, and then analyzed the system design goal and design principle. The role of the resource representation model in the Internet of Things is more important than the significance of the database schema for the web information system. In the current “vertical” application model, the device resources of the perception layer and the application entities of the business layer are in a tightly coupled relationship. In the process of system operation, it changes flexibly as the situation changes. This article will combine the characteristics of resources in the Internet of Things, from the perspectives of resources and services, and refer to the basic structure of the traditional Internet resource reference model OWL-S to appropriately expand and tailor it, and describe the relationship between Internet of Things device resources and application services. Therefore, the resource representation model oriented to the Internet of Things service in this article is proposed and simulated and verified. To a certain extent, this model can provide support for the unified description of IoT resources and services, so as to better adapt to the development needs of diversified IoT services. Based on the application and service in the Internet of Things environment restricted by time and space correlation and limited resources, the article discusses and proposes a multiterminal selection algorithm for Internet of Things business, and converts it into a mathematical combination optimization problem. Based on the ant colony optimization algorithm, a solution is given, which can realize the optimization of equipment combination scheme under resource-constrained conditions to maximize the total benefit value of the service, and can effectively improve the utilization rate of terminal resources. In the research on the analysis of the development strategy of China’s industrial design industry in the era of intelligent interconnection, the analysis of the development strategy of the industrial design industry in the era of intelligent interconnection through analysis tools of industrial strategy reveals the new trend of industrial design in the era of intelligent interconnection. The analysis and formulation of industrial strategy are complicated, and it is a systematic project involving all aspects. The rational use of corresponding strategic analysis tools can further enhance the scientificity and rationality of industrial design strategy.
An Empirical Analysis of the Influence of Volleyball Elective Course on Students’ Physical Health Based on Digital Image
Authors: Wang Shiwei
Published: March 2022

In recent years, due to the continuous improvement of the national economic level and the increasing academic burden of students’ main courses, students’ physical health problems (e.g., obesity, vision, and lumbar spine) have become more and more serious, which urgently needs the attention of relevant departments of national education and parents. This paper will use digital image technology to create a physical parameter measurement system and use literature, comparative analysis, and other research methods to analyze the impact of volleyball elective courses on students’ physical health. Firstly, this paper explains the theory of image processing technology and analyzes the parameters of human body scientifically; secondly, it detects the physical parameters of human body in digital images and also designs an image recognition system; finally, through experimental analysis, the accuracy of identifying key points of images is relatively high. After the system is adopted, the error of the measurement index is small. After the training of human body indexes, the effect of volleyball can be effectively improved.
Educação como processo de formação humana: uma revisão em filosofia da educação ante a premência da utilidade
Authors:   Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Zatti Vicente , Pagotto-Euzebio Marcos Sidnei ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Educação
Published: March 2022

O presente livro discute o utilitarismo que avança sobre a educação contemporânea, a partir de uma revisão teórica da tradição filosófico-pedagógica que entende a educação como processo de formação que se apoia em saberes que valem por si, não reduzindo-os à saberes de imediata utilidade econômica. Nessa revisão, elegemos seis tópicos de análise, os quais correspondem aos capítulos: 1. Paideia grega; 2. Humanitas latina; 3. Bildung moderna; 4. Formação omnilateral em Karl Marx; 5. Habermas e a reconstrução comunicativa do ideal de formação humana; 6. Skholé e formação humana. A professora Nadja Hermann faz a Apresentação da obra, um dos resultados do projeto de pesquisa de pós-doutorado “Educação como processo de formação humana e a premência da utilidade”, desenvolvido por Vicente Zatti no Departamento de Filosofia da Educação e Ciências da Educação da Faculdade de Educação da USP, sob supervisão de Marcos Sidnei Pagotto-Euzebio.
Maya Angelou: biografia e crônica social em Eu sei por que o pássaro canta na gaiola
Authors: Fanini Angela Maria Rubel , Amaral Jucélia , Sandrini Paulo Henrique da Cruz
Published: March 2022

Neste estudo pretendemos analisar a autobiografia Eu sei por que o pássaro canta na gaiola, da escritora afro-estadunidense Maya Angelou, sob a perspectiva da filosofia da linguagem de Mikhail Bakhtin e seu Círculo, utilizando-nos, sobretudo, de conceitos-chave como exotopia e dialogismo. Além disso, tencionamos destacar o caráter social do gênero discursivo em questão, que, neste caso, permite à autora narrar sobre o vivido de modo subjetivo ao mesmo tempo que conta a história do sujeito afro-estadunidense e suas lutas e resistências, entrelaçando o discurso pessoal da biografia ao social. Enfatizar as vozes femininas no romance e seu protagonismo também é ponto relevante de nosso estudo, visto que a escritora conta a sua história com o objetivo claro de demonstrar que, embora haja especificidade subjetiva, há também uma espécie de destino comum das mulheres afro-estadunidenses. Por meio de uma prosa positiva e otimista, pode-se observar que as vicissitudes da vida não enfraquecem a resistência negra nos EUA.
A representação do feminino em duas traduções para o português brasileiro de A vegetariana, de Han Kang
Authors: Guimarães Carolina de Mello
Published: March 2022

A escrita implica em uma materialização da subjetividade, tanto por parte da escritora/autora quanto por parte da tradutora/autora. Nesse sentido, as questões de gênero, tão importantes para como o indivíduo se vê na sociedade, se mostram um interessante ponto de discussão nos estudos da tradução. A fim de entender como o feminino é representado de maneiras distintas por tradutoras ou tradutores distintos, analisamos o caso das duas traduções para o português brasileiro do romance sul-coreano A Vegetariana, de Han Kang. Para tal, usamos como aporte teórico pensadoras da tradução feminista que apontam a centralidade da tradução na representação dos gêneros em textos literários. Com base nisso, comparamos a primeira tradução da obra no Brasil, feita por Yun Jung Im, e a retradução, feita por Jae Hyung Woo. Através da análise dos textos, percebemos que as escolhas de cada tradutor resultam em interpretações diferentes no que diz respeito às questões femininas abordadas. Como o romance tem como um de seus temas centrais a mulher e as violências que sofre na sociedade, cada uma das traduções impacta significativamente a leitura e análise literária.
Educação literária e ensino remoto: um relato de pesquisa para uma comunidade de leitores em formação
Authors: Santos Daniel dos , Santos Drisana de Moraes Oliveira
Published: March 2022

Este artigo tem como objetivo descrever e analisar duas práticas pedagógicas elaboradas para turmas de Ensino Médio da Escola Técnica de Vargem Grande do Sul no que tange à educação literária na modalidade de ensino remoto. Considerando aportes teóricos abordados por Rildo Cosson, Cecilia Bajour e Silvia Castrillón acerca do direito à leitura/literatura e da experiência da escuta literária, procuramos sistematizar reflexões e teorias que subjazem a prática docente, em um relato essencialmente narrativo. Por fim, oferecemos alguns indícios de que tais práticas, e, consequentemente, o cotidiano das interações nas aulas de Língua Portuguesa e Literaturas, possam ter desnaturalizado percepções dos estudantes em relação à adaptação da gestão escolar local, assim como do sistema de ensino estadual, para o modelo de aulas remotas proposto no de ano de 2020.
Anatomical investigation of wood from two old bridges as part of the historical record of the flora of the Atlantic Forest
Authors: Nascimento Silva Sabrina , Santos Kelly Cristina Moreira , Costa Warlen Silva , Castilhori Marcelo Fraga , Callado Cátia Henriques
Published: March 2022

The anatomical study of wood used in Brazilian heritage, in association with other areas of knowledge, has provided important information about the cultural and social aspects of past generations and the composition and use of the flora of different regions. Our goal was to identify the wood used in the construction of two old bridges for the transport of people and cargo between Vila Dois Rios and Praia da Parnaioca, Ilha Grande, Angra dos Reis, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Anatomical features of the sampled woods were used for taxonomic identification by multiple-entry key for wood identification, followed by comparisons with anatomical descriptions of wood samples from xylarium, the literature, and databases. The search for information considered the common and/or scientific names of taxa attributed to the woods from the bridges, and whose natural occurrence is registered for Ilha Grande and/or the state of Rio de Janeiro. The results showed that the bridges were built with the wood of Zollernia ilicifolia (Brongn.) Vogel and Handroanthus sp. Mattos. Knowing that the site had labor, infrastructure, and raw materials during the period when the bridges were built, the results reveal aspects of the composition of the current and past flora of Ilha Grande.
New records of two appendage bearing ceolomycetes on grasses in Thailand
Authors: GOONASEKARA ISHANI D. , JAYAWARDENA RUVISHIKA S. , SAICHANA NATSARAN
Published: March 2022

Grasses are agriculturally, economically and ecologically dominant among plants. Their fungal diversity is fascinating but has been relatively poorly studied or restricted to a few important hosts or pathogens. Therefore, numerous grass-inhabiting fungal species are awaiting discovery or re-study based on morphology and molecular phylogeny. In an ongoing study of grass-inhabiting fungi in Thailand, two interesting saprobic members of Sodariomycetes were collected. Based on morphology, coupled with combined gene analyses of LSU and ITS sequence data, they were identified as Dinemasporium pseudostrigosum and Robillarda africana belonging to Chaetosphaeriaceae and Sporocadaceae, respectively. This is the first report of the two species for Thailand as well as the first record of R. africana occurring on grasses. The newly collected species are compared to other related species and comprehensive descriptions and photo-micrographs are provided.
Comparative study and genetic diversity of Salicornia persica (Chenopodiaceae) using SCOT molecular markers
Authors: LIU ZIYU , ESFANDANI-BOZCHALOYI SOMAYEH
Published: March 2022

Salicornia is a cosmopolitan genus having a high complicate taxonomy even described as a nightmare. Morphologically members of Salicornia are halophyte, annual, articulated, and succulent herbs with cortical palisade, opposite decussate scale-leaves, thyrsoid cymes, flowers packed in cauline depressions and the diaspore composed of l-seeded utricle. Salicornia is a priceless edible vegetable, considered as a favourable resource for cultivation in arid and semiarid coastal zones. Concerning the molecular data, although various studies were published, the situation is still quite obscure, at least for some taxa. Also, no DNA markers were used to analyses the genomic variability of the populations, up to date. In the present study, the genetic diversity of 102 individuals of S. persica (15 populations) were studied using 10 Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) markers. High polymorphic bands (94.18%), polymorphic information content (0.27), and allele number (1.38) showed SCoT as a reliable marker system for genetic analysis of this species. We used SCoT molecular marker for our genetic investigation with the following aims: 1) investigate genetic diversity both among and with date S. persica, 2) identify genetic groups within the 15 populations studied, and 3) produce data on the genetic structure of S. persica populations. The results obtained revealed a high within-population genetic variability.
Albumin-Based Nanoparticles Loaded with miR-503 Antagonist Facilitate Neovascularization in the Ischemic Area of Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Wu Qian , Chen Lu , Chen Qingmei , Huang Guangyin , Xiao Xue
Published: March 2022

Albumin is successfully applied as a nanocarrier in the clinical nanomedicine and the abnormal miR-503 expression is related to the development of myocardial infarction (MI). This study aimed to explore the efficacy of albumin nanoparticles (NPs)-based delivery of miR-503 antagonist
for MI therapy. After establishment of an animal model of MI, mice were administered albumin NPs loaded with miR-503 agonist or antagonist, normal saline (model group), CCNE1 agonist, or CCNE1 inhibitor (n = 10) with 10 mice sham-operated. Murine peripheral blood was collected to measure
endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in peripheral blood along with analysis of miR-503, CCNE1 and SDF-1α expression by RT-qPCR, formation of new blood vessels and EPCs viability. Albumin NPs loaded with miR-503 antagonist increased EPCs number and new blood vessels formation,
accompanied with down-regulation of miR-503 and up-regulation of SDF-1α and CCNE1. The NPs carrying miR-503 agonist exerted an opposite activity with less EPCs and new blood vessels than sham-operated group without significant difference between agonist group and model group.
Besides, miR-503 antagonist promoted EPCs viability. Furthermore, inhibition of CCNE1 suppressed blood vessel formation and miR-503 targeted CCNE1. In conclusion, albumin-based NPs loaded with miR-503 antagonist decrease miR-503 expression and increase CCNE1 and SDF-1α expression
to promotes EPCs viability and enhance the formation of new blood vessels, thereby improving MI.
Laser Triangulation-Based Measurement Device and Experimental Study of Industrial Timing Belt Profile Parameters
Authors: Tang Wu-Sheng , Bai Yi-Shi , Zhang Jin-Hua , Wei Zhi-Yuan , Shi Yao-Chen
Published: March 2022

To address the problem of rapid and accurate measurement of tooth profile parameters in the production of industrial synchronous belts, a two-wheel synchronous belt tooth profile measurement device was built based on the laser triangulation method, and a tooth profile measurement data
segmentation algorithm based on the slope feature discrimination was designed. Using the built measurement device and data segmentation algorithm, the tooth profile measurement test and tooth profile defect identification test were conducted for RU type synchronous belt with 90 teeth. The
results show that the proposed device and algorithm can restore the shape of the measured synchronous belt, and the maximum deviation of the tooth profile parameter is 0.009 mm, and the missing tooth phenomenon can be identified.
Research and Application of Portal Crane’s Luffing Mechanism Design Based on Modern Design Method
Authors: Li Nan , Xiao Xinyi , Zhu Feng , Xu Chengjun , Xu Chang , Zou Sheng , Liu Min
Published: March 2022

At present, there are some new research ideas in the design of luffing mechanism of portal crane, such as genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization algorithm. The development of design software adopts Visual C++ or Visual Basic, MATLAB and other tools. These methods are advanced
but inefficient because extra time and cost are required. This paper proposes a modern design method to complete the optimization of the four-bar luffing mechanism in the portal crane, which can simplify the calculation and improve the efficiency. The motion track description and mechanical
properties of the four-bar luffing mechanism are obtained by the geometric analysis and the load analysis. The luffing curves, which can be re-drawn by modifying the initial parameters, are given to verify the optimized results. Results demonstrate that the modern design method can accomplish
the optimal design effectively without extra time and cost, and this finding will be provided as the design guidance for the luffing mechanism.
Effect of Niobium on Ti–Sn Alloy for Implant Applications
Authors: Azmat Ambreen , Tufail Muhammad , Chandio Alidad
Published: March 2022

Titanium (Ti) based alloys (e.g., Ti6Al4V) are extensively utilized in the field orthopedic and dental implant applications due to their enhanced bio-mechanical properties. Nevertheless, their resistance to corrosion requirements needs to be enhanced. Furthermore, existence of vanadium
(V) and almunium (Al) elements causes cancer and alzymer respectively. Therefore, in this research Ti-Sn-Nb alloy was produced through the powder metallurgy (PM) route. Tin (Sn) and niobium (Nb) is chosen as an alloying element which replaces toxic Al and V elements. The effect Nb on the Ti–Sn–Nb
alloy was studied. Three set of variations of Nb namely 5%, 7.5% & 10% were used for the improvement of properties of parent alloy. The particle dimensions of the parent alloy were analyzed through a laser particle analyzer (LPA). Morphology was studied through Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM) and phases were determined through X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Vicker (450SVA) tester was utilized to examine the effect on rigidity after the addition of Nb. The hardness of the alloy was decreasing and corrosion rate was increasing with an increase in Nb content. Furthermore, niobium
addition enhances the ability of appetite formation when immersed in the Stimulated body fluid (SBF).
The 2020 International Verification Methods Workshop Online: Major Outcomes and Way Forward
Authors: Casati Barbara , Dorninger Manfred , Coelho Caio A. S. , Ebert Elizabeth E. , Marsigli Chiara , Mittermaier Marion P. , Gilleland Eric
Published: March 2022

The International Verification Methods Workshop was held online in November 2020 and included sessions on physical error characterization using process diagnostics and error tracking techniques; exploitation of data assimilation techniques in verification practices, e.g., to address representativeness issues and observation uncertainty; spatial verification methods and the Model Evaluation Tools, as unified reference verification software; and meta-verification and best practices for scores computation. The workshop reached out to diverse research communities working in the areas of high-impact weather, subseasonal to seasonal prediction, polar prediction, and sea ice and ocean prediction. This article summarizes the major outcomes of the workshop and outlines future strategic directions for verification research.
Robust fault diagnosis of rolling bearings via entropy-weighted nuisance attribute projection and neural network under various operating conditions
Authors: Yang Di , Lv Yong , Yuan Rui , Li Hewenxuan , Zhu Weihang
Published: March 2022

Rolling bearings are crucial components in the fields of mechanical, civil, and aerospace engineering. They sometimes work under various operating conditions, which makes it harder to distinguish faults from normal signals. Nuisance attribute projection (NAP) is a technique that has been widely used in audio and image recognition to eliminate interference information in the extracted feature space. In constructing the weighted matrix of NAP, the setting of the weighted value represents the degree of interference between the feature vectors. The interference is either taken into consideration in whole, or not considered at all, which will inevitably lead to information loss. In our work, an entropy-weighted NAP (EWNAP) is proposed to deal with such “bipolar problem” in constructing the weighted matrix. The eigenvalues of covariance matrix of collected signals contain dynamical information, and the fuzzy entropy is adopted to evaluate the dispersion degree of these eigenvalues. After normalization, these entropy values are used to express the weight relationship in the weighted matrix of EWNAP. The features processed by EWNAP can be used as samples and combined with neural network to achieve fault diagnosis of rolling bearings. Furthermore, a fault diagnosis approach with insufficient data is demonstrated to validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. In the case studies, Case Western Reserve University bearing database and data collected from the bearing fault simulation bench are used. These case studies show that the proposed EWNAP alleviates the interference caused by various operating conditions, and the comparative analysis confirms that the proposed method works better than the conventional methods.
Hierarchical secret sharing scheme for WSN based on linear homogeneous recurrence relations
Authors: Lin Yan , Zhu Hongliang , Xu Guoai , Xu Guosheng
Published: March 2022

Wireless sensor network is a key technology in the sensing layer of the Internet of Things. Data security in wireless sensor network is directly related to the authenticity and validity of data transmitted in the Internet of Things. Due to the large number and different types of nodes in wireless sensor networks, layered secret key sharing technology is increasingly used in wireless sensor networks. In a hierarchical secret sharing scheme, participants are divided into sections with different permissions for each team, but the same permissions for participants in the same team. In this article, we follow the approach of the hierarchical secret sharing scheme derived from the linear homogeneous recurrence relations. We design a hierarchical multi-secret sharing scheme for wireless sensor networks on the basis of the elliptic curve public key cryptosystem combined with the linear homogeneous recurrence relations. In the proposed scheme, we do not make sure that the participants are half-truthful. In addition, the participants’ shadows can be reused. Our scheme is computational security. Only one share from each member is required in our hierarchical multi-secret sharing scheme. It is more suitable for wireless sensor networks compared to the up-to-date schemes.
Parallel sequence tagging for concept recognition
Authors: Furrer Lenz , Cornelius Joseph , Rinaldi Fabio
Published: March 2022

Background

Named Entity Recognition (NER) and Normalisation (NEN) are core components of any text-mining system for biomedical texts. In a traditional concept-recognition pipeline, these tasks are combined in a serial way, which is inherently prone to error propagation from NER to NEN. We propose a parallel architecture, where both NER and NEN are modeled as a sequence-labeling task, operating directly on the source text. We examine different harmonisation strategies for merging the predictions of the two classifiers into a single output sequence.

Results

We test our approach on the recent Version 4 of the CRAFT corpus. In all 20 annotation sets of the concept-annotation task, our system outperforms the pipeline system reported as a baseline in the CRAFT shared task, a competition of the BioNLP Open Shared Tasks 2019. We further refine the systems from the shared task by optimising the harmonisation strategy separately for each annotation set.

Conclusions

Our analysis shows that the strengths of the two classifiers can be combined in a fruitful way. However, prediction harmonisation requires individual calibration on a development set for each annotation set. This allows achieving a good trade-off between established knowledge (training set) and novel information (unseen concepts).
A comparison of transcriptome analysis methods with reference genome
Authors: Liu Xu , Zhao Jialu , Xue Liting , Zhao Tian , Ding Wei , Han Yuying , Ye Haihong
Published: March 2022

Background

The application of RNA-seq technology has become more extensive and the number of analysis procedures available has increased over the past years. Selecting an appropriate workflow has become an important issue for researchers in the field.

Methods

In our study, six popular analytical procedures/pipeline were compared using four RNA-seq datasets from mouse, human, rat, and macaque, respectively. The gene expression value, fold change of gene expression, and statistical significance were evaluated to compare the similarities and differences among the six procedures. qRT-PCR was performed to validate the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from all six procedures.

Results

Cufflinks-Cuffdiff demands the highest computing resources and Kallisto-Sleuth demands the least. Gene expression values, fold change, p and q values of differential expression (DE) analysis are highly correlated among procedures using HTseq for quantification. For genes with medium expression abundance, the expression values determined using the different procedures were similar. Major differences in expression values come from genes with particularly high or low expression levels. HISAT2-StringTie-Ballgown is more sensitive to genes with low expression levels, while Kallisto-Sleuth may only be useful to evaluate genes with medium to high abundance. When the same thresholds for fold change and p value are chosen in DE analysis, StringTie-Ballgown produce the least number of DEGs, while HTseq-DESeq2, -edgeR or -limma generally produces more DEGs. The performance of Cufflinks-Cuffdiff and Kallisto-Sleuth varies in different datasets. For DEGs with medium expression levels, the biological verification rates were similar among all procedures.

Conclusion

Results are highly correlated among RNA-seq analysis procedures using HTseq for quantification. Difference in gene expression values mainly come from genes with particularly high or low expression levels. Moreover, biological validation rates of DEGs from all six procedures were similar for genes with medium expression levels. Investigators can choose analytical procedures according to their available computer resources, or whether genes of high or low expression levels are of interest. If computer resources are abundant, one can utilize multiple procedures to obtain the intersection of results to get the most reliable DEGs, or to obtain a combination of results to get a more comprehensive DE profile for transcriptomes.
Baseline neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio can be associated with hematoma expansion in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage: a retrospective observational study
Authors: Alimohammadi Ehsan , Bagheri Seyed Reza , Mardanpour Parand , Moradi Farid , Arjmandnia Fatemeh , Esmaeili Narges
Published: March 2022

Background

Hematoma expansion can be related to increased mortality and poor clinical outcomes in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). So, early identification and prevention of hematoma expansion can be considered as an important therapeutic aim. This study aimed to evaluate the hypothesis that the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with hematoma expansion in ICH patients.

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated the clinical data of a total of 221 patients with ICH who were treated in our department between April 2018 and April 2021. The demographic, clinical, radiological, and laboratory test data including the NLR upon admission were investigated. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the independent associations between different variables and hematoma expansion.

Results

A total of 221 patients with ICH were included. There were 122 (55.2%) males and 99 (44.8%) females. The mean age (years) at admission was 66.43 ± 8.28.

The hematoma expansion occurred in 57 (25.8%) cases. The results of the multivariate analysis showed that hematoma volume at baseline (OR, 3.12; 95% CI 1.78–5.02; P < 0.001), admission systolic blood pressure (OR, 2.87; 95% CI 1.79–4.34; P = 0.013), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (OR, 1.94; 95% CI 1.45–2.93; P = 0.020), and NLR (OR, 1.74; 95% CI 1.16–2.60; P = 0.032) were correlated with hematoma expansion in these patients.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that NLR can be a predictor of hematoma expansion in patients with ICH. This cost-effective and easily available biomarker could be used to early prediction of hematoma expansion in these patients.
Efficacy and safety of a bridging strategy that uses intravenous platelet glycoprotein receptor inhibitors for patients undergoing surgery after coronary stent implantation: a meta-analysis
Authors: Wu Fan , Ma Kanghua , Xiang Rui , Han Baoru , Chang Jing , Zuo Zhong , Luo Yue , Mao Min
Published: March 2022

Background

Current guidelines indicate we can consider a bridging strategy that uses intravenous, reversible glycoprotein inhibitors for patients that required surgery following recent stent implantation. However, no strong clinical evidence exists that demonstrates the efficacy and safety of this treatment. Therefore, in this study, the efficacy and safety of a bridging strategy that uses intravenous platelet glycoprotein receptor inhibitors will be evaluated.

Methods

A meta-analysis was performed on preoperative bridging studies in patients undergoing coronary stent surgery. The primary outcome was the success rate of no major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The secondary outcomes were the success rate of no reoperations to stop bleeding.

Results

A total of 10 studies that included 382 patients were used in this meta-analysis. For the primary endpoint, the success rate was 97.7% (95% CI 94.4–98.0%) for glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, 98.8% (95% CI 96.0–100%) for tirofiban (6 studies) and 95.8% (95% CI 90.4–99.4%) for eptifibatide (4 studies). For secondary endpoints, the success rate was 98.0% (95% CI 94.8–99.9%) for glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, 99.7% (95% CI 97.1–100%) for tirofiban (5 studies), and 95.3% (95% CI 88.5–99.4%) for eptifibatide (4 studies).

Conclusion

The results of this study showed that the use of intravenous platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors as a bridging strategy might be safe and effective for patients undergoing coronary stent implantation that require surgery soon after.
Strong evidence for age as the single most dominant predictor of medically supervised driving test—mini mental status test outcomes provide only weak but significant moderate additional predictive value
Authors: Isler Yannik , Schwab Simon , Wick Regula , Lakämper Stefan
Published: March 2022

Background

With age, medical conditions impairing safe driving accumulate. Consequently, the risk of accidents increases. To mitigate this risk, Swiss law requires biannual assessments of the fitness to drive of elderly drivers. Drivers may prove their cognitive and physical capacity for safe driving in a medically supervised driving test (MSDT) when borderline cases, as indicated by low performance in a set of four cognitive tests, including e.g. the mini mental status test (MMST). Any prognostic, rather than indicative, relations for MSDT outcomes have neither been confirmed nor falsified so far. In order to avoid use of unsubstantiated rules of thumb, we here evaluate the predictive value for MSDT outcomes of the outcomes of the standard set of four cognitive tests, used in Swiss traffic medicine examinations.

Methods

We present descriptive information on age, gender and cognitive pretesting results of all MSDTs recorded in our case database from 2017 to 2019. Based on these retrospective cohort data, we used logistic regression to predict the binary outcome MSDT. An exploratory analysis used all available data (model 1). Based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), we then established a model including variables age and MMST (model 2). To evaluate the predictive value of the four cognitive assessments, model 3 included cognitive test outcomes only. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) allowed evaluating discriminative performance of the three different models using independent validation data.

Results

Using N = 188 complete data sets of a total of 225 included cases, AIC identified age (p < 0.0008) and MMST (p = 0.024) as dominating predictors for MSDT outcomes with a median AUC of 0.71 (95%-CI 0.57–0.85) across different training and validation splits, while using the four cognitive test results exclusively yielded a median AUC of 0.55 (95%-CI 0.40–0.71).

Conclusions

Our analysis provided strong evidence for age as the single most dominant predictor of MSDT outcomes. Adding MMST provides only weak additional predictive value for MSDT outcomes. Combining the results of four cognitive test used as standard screen in Swiss traffic medicine alone, proved to be of poor predictive value. This highlights the importance of MSDTs for balancing between the mitigation of risks by and the right to drive for the elderly.
Evaluation of saliva self-collection devices for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics
Authors: Allicock Orchid M. , Petrone Mary E. , Yolda-Carr Devyn , Breban Mallery , Walsh Hannah , Watkins Anne E. , Rothman Jessica E. , Farhadian Shelli F. , Grubaugh Nathan D. , Wyllie Anne L.
Published: March 2022

Background

There is an urgent need to expand testing for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens as the global community struggles to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Current diagnostic methods can be affected by supply chain bottlenecks and require the assistance of medical professionals, impeding the implementation of large-scale testing. Self-collection of saliva may solve these problems, as it can be completed without specialized training and uses generic materials.

Methods

We observed 30 individuals who self-collected saliva using four different collection devices and analyzed their feedback. Two of these devices, a funnel and bulb pipette, were used to evaluate at-home saliva collection by 60 individuals. SARS-CoV-2-spiked saliva samples were subjected to temperature cycles designed to simulate the conditions the samples might be exposed to during the summer and winter seasons and sensitivity of detection was evaluated.

Results

All devices enabled the safe, unsupervised self-collection of saliva. The quantity and quality of the samples received were acceptable for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing, as determined by human RNase P detection. There was no significant difference in SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid gene (N1) detection between the freshly spiked samples and those incubated with the summer and winter profiles.

Conclusion

We demonstrate inexpensive, generic, buffer free collection devices suitable for unsupervised and home saliva self-collection.
Cord blood metabolomics reveals gestational metabolic disorder associated with anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies positivity
Authors: Han Lingna , Yang Xin , Wang Wen , Yang Xueliang , Dong Lina , Lin Shumei , Li Jianguo , Liu Xiaojing
Published: March 2022

Background

Thyroid disease is one of the common endocrine disorders affecting the pregnant women, in which thyroid autoimmunity can alter the progress and the outcome of pregnancy. Women with euthyroid status but anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibodies positivity before pregnancy are prone to subclinical gestational hypothyroidism. However, the connections between anti-TPO antibodies positivity and gestational hypothyroidism remain largely unknown. The aim of the present study is to investigate the differences of fetal metabolic profile at birth according to maternal anti-TPO status.

Methods

We performed 1H-NMR metabolomics on cord blood of a nested case control cohort of 22 pregnant women with matched thyroid hormone levels and demographic data, including 11 women with euthyroid status but anti-thyroid antibodies positivity (into the anti-TPO antibodies positivity group) and 11 matched women as controls with euthyroid status and negative anti-thyroid antibodies (into the control group).

Results

Distinct metabolic profiles were observed between the anti-TPO antibody positivity group and the nested control group, from which a total of 10 metabolites with between-group altered abundances were structurally identified. Five out of the 10 metabolites were up-regulated in the anti-TPO antibodies positivity group, including D-Glucose, L-Glutamine, 3-Hydroxybutyric acid, Myo-Inositol, Creatinine. The other 5 metabolites were down-regulated in the anti-TPO antibodies positivity group, including L-Leucine, L-Lysine, L-Glutamic acid, L-Tyrosine, and L-Phenylalanine. All the 10 metabolites have been previously reported to be correlated with hypothyroidism. Metabolite set enrichment analysis and pathway analysis suggested that amino acid metabolism pathways (especially the phenylalanine metabolism) were associated with anti-TPO antibodies positivity.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggested that fetal metabolic disorder is correlated with anti-TPO antibodies positivity, representing by abundance alteration of hypothyroidism associated metabolites and the related disturbance of amino acid metabolism pathways.
Non-prescription treatments for childhood infections: an Austrian, monocentric, cross-sectional questionnaire study
Authors: Gerlitz Matthias , Voitl Peter , Voitl Julian J. M. , Diesner-Treiber Susanne C.
Published: March 2022

Background

Infectious diseases like the common cold, otitis media, or gastroenteritis frequently occur in childhood. In addition to prescription drugs, parents often use supplementary over-the-counter (OTC) products recommended by pharmacists and other non-medical professionals to relieve their children’s symptoms. However, the efficacy of such alternative treatments lacks conclusive evidence.

The objective of this study was to investigate the use of OTC products and related active ingredients in children, and the motivations behind this choice.

Methods

The present study included 215 children aged between 1 and 14 years with an acute respiratory tract infection, e.g., common cold, bronchitis, otitis media, tonsillitis, or gastroenteritis. During their visit to the pediatric practice, parents filled in a self-administered questionnaire about their child’s diagnosis, additional treatment options, and motivations to integrate supplementary medicinal products after their first visit for acute infection or follow-up examination. Children with chronic illnesses and patients visiting for a routine maternal and child health program check-up were excluded.

Results

The study included 111 (51.6%) males and 104 (48.4%) females. Median age was 3.00 (IQR 2.0 – 5.0) years. The most common reason for a visit was a respiratory tract infection (78.6%). Out of 215 parents, 182 (84.7%) resorted to non-prescription remedies to alleviate their child’s symptoms. Teas (45.1%), and home remedies (43.3%) were the most popular. At total 133 (74.3%) followed recommendations from friends and family regarding additional medications usage. Parents with previous experience with complementary medicine tended to prefer this approach to treat their children (p.adjust = 0.08).

Conclusion

The use of non-prescription medicine is increasing as well as the range of related information sources. Evidence-based recommendations in this field might improve pediatric care.
Association between obesity-related dyspnea in daily living, lung function and body composition analyzed by DXA: a prospective study of 130 patients
Authors: Hagenburg Jean , Bertin Eric , Salmon Jean-Hugues , Thierry Aurore , Perotin Jeanne-Marie , Dormoy Valérian , Dury Sandra , Gaubil Isabelle , Bolko Lois , Lebargy François , Deslee Gaëtan , Launois Claire
Published: March 2022

Background

Obesity is a risk factor for dyspnea. However, investigations of daily living obesity-related dyspnea are limited and its mechanisms remain unclear. We conducted a cross-sectional study to analyze the relationships between dyspnea in daily living, lung function, and body composition in patients with obesity.

Methods

One-hundred and thirty patients (103 women/27 men), candidate for bariatric surgery, with a mean ± SD Body Mass Index (BMI) of 44.8 ± 6.8 kg/m2 were included. Dyspnea was assessed by the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale. Comorbidities, laboratory parameters, pulmonary function tests, arterial blood gases, six-minute walk test (6MWT), handgrip strength, and DXA body composition were analyzed.

Results

Thirty-one percent of patients exhibited disabling dyspnea in daily living (mMRC ≥ 2). Compared with patients without disabling dyspnea (mMRC < 2), significant dyspnea (mMRC ≥ 2) was associated with a lower 6MWT distance (395 ± 103 m vs 457 ± 73 m, p < 0.001), lower lung volumes including Expiratory Reserve Volume (42 ± 28% vs 54 ± 27%, p = 0.024), Vital Capacity (95 ± 14 vs 106 ± 15%, p < 0.001) and Forced expiratory volume in one second (95 ± 13 vs 105 ± 15%, p = 0.002), a higher BMI (48.2 ± 7.7 vs 43.2 ± 5.7 kg/m2, p = 0.001) and a higher percentage of fat mass in the trunk (46 ± 5 vs 44 ± 5 p = 0.012) and android region (52 ± 4 vs 51 ± 4%, p = 0.024). There was no difference regarding comorbidities (except hypertension), laboratory parameters, and sarcopenia markers between patients with (mMRC ≥ 2) and without (mMRC < 2) disabling dyspnea.

Conclusion

Dyspnea in patients with obesity is associated with a reduction in lung volumes and a higher percentage of fat mass in central body regions. How dyspnea and body composition may change with interventions like physical activity or bariatric surgery remains to be investigated.
The race for the classification of proximal periprosthetic femoral fractures : Vancouver vs Unified Classification System (UCS) - a systematic review
Authors: Schopper Clemens , Luger Matthias , Hipmair Günter , Schauer Bernhard , Gotterbarm Tobias , Klasan Antonio
Published: March 2022

Background

Periprosthetic femoral fractures (PFFs) represent a major cause for surgical revision after hip arthroplasty with detrimental consequences for patients. The Vancouver classification has been traditionally used since its introduction in 1995. The Unified Classification System (UCS) was described in 2014, to widen the spectrum by aiming for a more comprehensive approach. The UCS also aimed to replace the Vancouver classification by expanding the idea of the Vancouver classification to the whole musculoskeletal apparatus. After introduction of the UCS, the question was raised, whether the UCS found its place in the field of analysing PFFs. Therefore, this systematic review was performed to investigate, the use of the UCS compared to the established Vancouver classification.

Methods

Medline was searched for reports published between 1 January 2016 and 31 November 2020, without language restriction. Included were original articles, irrespective of the level of evidence and case reports reporting on a PFF and using either the Vancouver or the UCS to classify the fractures. Excluded were reviews and systematic reviews.

Results

One hundred forty-six studies were included in the analysis. UCS has not been used in a single registry study, giving a pooled cohort size of 3299 patients, compared to 59,178 patients in studies using the Vancouver classification. Since 2016, one study using UCS was published in a top journal, compared to 37 studies using the Vancouver classification (p=0.29). During the study period, the number of yearly publications remained stagnant (p=0.899).

Conclusions

Despite valuable improvement and expansion of the latter UCS, to date, the Vancouver system clearly leads the field of classifying PFFs in the sense of the common use.
Laparoscopic redo anastomosis for management of intraperitoneal anastomotic leakage after colonic surgery
Authors: Chen Yi-Chang , Ke Tao-Wei , Tsai Yuan-Yao , Fingerhut Abe , Chen William Tzu-Liang
Published: March 2022

Background

There is still no consensus on the management of intraperitoneal anastomotic leakage after colonic surgery. Among of various treatment strategies, laparoscopic redo anastomosis for intraperitoneal leakage has rarely been reported in the literature and is condemned by some. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic redo anastomosis for intraperitoneal anastomotic leakage.

Methods

Retrospective chart review of laparoscopic redo anastomosis for intraperitoneal anastomotic leakage after colonic surgery from January 2013 to May 2020. An accompanying video demonstrates the technique.

Results

Fifteen consecutive patients underwent laparoscopic redo anastomosis for management of leakage after colonic surgery; two patients required conversion to open repair. A protective stoma was created in three patients during the second operation. There was no re-leakage nor mortality in this series.

Conclusions

Laparoscopic redo anastomosis was feasible and safe for the management of intraperitoneal anastomotic leakage after colonic surgery. Considering the advantages of re-do laparoscopy, this procedure should be part of every surgeon’s armamentarium to deal with anastomotic leakage and represents a logical alternative to the “Diversion and Drainage” technique.
Apical periodontitis after intense bruxism
Authors: Gund Madline P. , Wrbas Karl-Thomas , Hannig Matthias , Rupf Stefan
Published: March 2022

Background

Bruxism is known to cause masticatory muscle pain, temporomandibular joint pain, headaches, mechanical tooth wear, prosthodontic complications and cracked teeth. Less known to the practitioner, and described only experimentally in literature, is that bruxism can also damage the pulp. To our knowledge, this is the first known clinical case of a patient developing apical periodontitis due to bruxism.

Case presentation

This article presents the case and successful treatment of a 28-year-old healthy male patient with apical periodontitis on teeth 36 and 46 requiring root canal treatment after an intense phase of bruxism. Due to an unclear diagnosis, treatment had been delayed.

Conclusions

Incomprehensible tooth pain can be the result of bruxism. Practitioners need to be informed that intense bruxism can possibly lead to apical periodontitis. It is important, therefore, that a thorough anamnesis is collected and taken into account during diagnostics.