bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Neural Network Model to Screen Feature Genes for Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Huang Jing , Zhou Yuting , Zhang Haoran , Wu Yiming
Published: January 2023

All the time, pancreatic cancer is a problem worldwide because of its high degree of malignancy and increased mortality. Neural network model analysis is an efficient and accurate machine learning method that can quickly and accurately predict disease feature genes. The aim of our research was to build a neural network model that would help screen out feature genes for pancreatic cancer diagnosis and prediction of prognosis. Our study confirmed that the neural network model is a reliable way to predict feature genes of pancreatic cancer, and immune cells infiltrating play an essential role in the development of pancreatic cancer, especially neutrophils. ANO1, AHNAK2, and ADAM9 were eventually identified as feature genes of pancreatic cancer, helping to diagnose and predict prognosis. Neural network model analysis provides us with a new idea for finding new intervention targets for pancreatic cancer.
Dose Emission and Aerodynamics Characterization of Tiotropium Particles Are Influenced by the Inhalation Rate and Number of Inhalations Per Inhaler Dose
Authors: alfadhel salman , Assi Khaled , Clark Brian , Chrystync Henry
Published: January 2023

Background: Emitted dose from an inhaler requires a formulation that can be successfully deposited to the lung to produce the desired clinical effect need to be in a sufficient particle-size or droplets to give rise to a therapeutic effect. The efficiency of the device depends on the drug formulation, the device design and the patient's inhalation profile.
Objectives: this article characterise the dose emitted from a tiotropium Handihaler (Spiriva, Boehringer Ingelheim) at different flow rates and effect of aerodynamic characterisations.
Methods: total dose emission (TDE) from each 18μg dose was determined using flow rates of 10-50 L min-1 and an inhaled volume of 2L. fine particle dose (FPD) and the mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) were determined over flow rates of 10-50 L minutes -1 using a mixing chamber attached to the modified Andersen Cascade Impactor (ACI) operated at 60L/minutes. (TDE) together with FPD were expressed as nominal dose percent, and MMAD in μ. The percentage of the dose remaining in the device at different flow rates was also determined.
Results: The results showing that the percentage nominal dos at inhalation flow rate of 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 and 50 L/min at the first inhalation represent 4.4, 11.9, 24.8, 29.9, 35.2 and 43.8 % respectively . furthermore the percentage of drug generated at second inhalation at the same inhalation flow rate equivalent to 6.0, 12.2, 24.8, 28.5, 35.6 and 44.9 % respectively. In addition the results demonstrate the percentage of the drug left in device at inhalation flow rate of 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 and 50 L/min after sequential inhalation represent 88.6, 75.3, 53.4, 42.4, 30.5 and 11.7 %. Consequently, the percentage nominal dos for the tiotropium bromide emitted for single dose Handihaler device at inhalation flow rate of 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 and 50 L/min defined as 13.7, 20.8, 27.4, 38.4, 47.7 and 59.4 % respectively. The value of Mass Median Aerodynamic Diameter (MMAD) range between 5.1 up to 2.6 µm at differ flow rate ranged between 10 up to 60 L/min with no significant changes.
Conclusions: It is concluded that Handihaler device works optimally at a two inhaled doses at higher flow rates, but may functions adequately at a lower flow rate.
Photoinduced Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Acyl Cross-Coupling: Facile Access to All Carbon Quaternary Aliphatic Ketones
Authors: Xi Xiaoxiang , Chen Yukun , Yuan Weiming
Published: January 2023

Sterically hindered α-tertiary dialkyl ketones are difficult to synthesize via traditional organometallic approaches. Recently developed reductive acyl-coupling strategy provides an access to α-tertiary dialkyl ketones with using either tertiary acyl electrophiles or tertiary alkyl radical precursors. However, due to the large steric hindrance effect, tertiary acyl donors or alkyl donors are largely restricted to highly strained ring system, thus limited the broad substrate scope of more general tertiary alkyl carboxylic acid derivatives. Herein, we develop a photoinduced nickel-catalyzed reductive acyl-coupling reaction with two different carboxylic acid esters to synthesize steric bulky dialkyl ketones in the absence of exogenous photocatalyst or stoichiometric metal reductant. Various unstrained tertiary acyl electrophiles can couple with 1o, 2o, 3oalkyl radical to afford all carbon quaternary aliphatic ketones including α-tertiary amino ketones with satisfactory yields under mild conditions, which have been previously difficult to access or not yet to be explored in literature.
Synergistic inter-clonal cooperation involving crosstalk, co-option and co-dependency can enhance the invasiveness of genetically distant cancer clones
Authors: Carneiro Caroline , Hapeman Jorian , Nedelcu Aurora
Published: January 2023

Background
Despite intensive research, cancer remains a major health problem. The difficulties in treating cancer are due to the complex nature of this disease, including high levels of heterogeneity within tumours. Intra-tumour heterogeneity creates the conditions for inter-clonal competition and selection, which should result in selective sweeps and a reduction in levels of heterogeneity. However, in addition to competing, cancer clones could also cooperate with each other, and the positive effects of these interactions on the fitness of clones can actually contribute to maintaining the heterogeneity of tumours. Consequently, understanding the evolutionary mechanisms and pathways involved in such behaviours is of great significance for cancer treatment. This is particularly relevant for metastasis, which is the most lethal phase during cancer progression. To explore if and how genetically distant clones can cooperate during invasion, this study used three genetically distant cancer cell lines with different metastatic potentials.
Results
We found that (i) the conditioned media from the invasive lines increased the migration and invasion potential of the poorly metastatic line, and (ii) this inter-clonal interaction involved the TGF-β1 signalling pathway. Furthermore, when a highly and poorly metastatic lines were co-cultured, the invasive potential of both lines was enhanced, and this outcome was dependent on the co-option of the less aggressive clone into expressing a malignant phenotype. Based on our findings, we propose a two-tier model whereby highly metastatic clones can co-opt (through autocrine-paracrine crosstalk) weakly metastatic clones into expressing an invasive phenotype, which in turn augments the invasion ability of the former (i.e., a “help me help you” strategy).
Conclusions
We suggest that such synergistic cooperative interactions can easily emerge via crosstalk involving metastatic clones able to constitutively secrete molecules that induce and maintain their own malignant state (producer-responder clones) and clones that have the ability to respond to those signals (responder clones) and express a synergistic metastatic behaviour, regardless of the degree of overall genetic/genealogical relatedness. Taking into account the lack of therapies that directly affect the metastatic process, interfering with such cooperative behaviours that tumour cells engage in during the early steps in the metastatic cascade could provide additional strategies to increase patient survival.
Pharmacological inhibition of demethylzeylasteral on JAK-STAT signaling ameliorates vitiligo
Authors: Chang Yuqian , Kang Pan , Cui Tingting , Zhang Weigang , Du Pengran , Yi Xiuli , Guo Sen , Gao Tianwen , Li Chunying , Li Shuli
Published: January 2023

Background:Activation of CD8+T cells and skin trafficking through JAK-STAT signaling play a central role in the development of vitiligo. Thus, it is effective at treating vitiligo with innovative drugs targeting the key pathogenesis. Natural products isolated from medicinal herbs are useful sources of new drugs. Demethylzeylasteral (T-96), one of the extracts of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, possesses the pharmacological properties of immunosuppression and anti-inflammation.Methods:The efficacy of T-96 was tested in our mouse model for vitiligo, and the numbers of CD8+T cells infiltration and melanocytes remaining were quantified in the epidermis using whole-mount tail staining. Immune regulation of T-96 in CD8+T cells was evaluated using flow cytometry. Pull-down assay, mass spectrum analysis, and molecular docking strategy were used to identify the target proteins of T-96 in CD8+T cells and keratinocytes.Results:Here, we found that T-96 reduced the number of infiltrating CD8+T cells in the epidermis using whole-mount tail staining and alleviated the extent of depigmentation with the comparable ability of Tofacitinib (Tofa) in our mouse model of vitiligo. Additionally,in vitroexperiments, we revealed that T-96 decreased the proliferation, and expression of CD69, IFN-γ, granzyme B, (GzmB), and perforin (PRF) of CD8+T cells isolated from patients with vitiligo. Results of pull-down assays combined with mass spectrum analysis and molecular docking showed that T-96 interacted with JAK3 in the protein lysis of CD8+T cells. Further, T-96 reduced the phosphorylation expression of JAK3 and STAT5 in the presence of IL-2 by using flow cytometry. Also, T-96 interacted with JAK2 in IFN-γ stressed keratinocytes, inhibited the activation of JAK2, decreased the total and phosphorylated protein levels of STAT1, and reduced the production and secretion of CXCL9 and CXCL10. Finally, T-96 reduced the expression of CXCR3, and the culture supernatants pretreated with T-96 under IFN-γ stressed keratinocytes markedly blocked the migration of CXCR3+CD8+T cells, which have similar effects to Tofa in vitro.Conclusion:Our findings demonstrated that T-96 might have positive therapeutic responses to vitiligo via the pharmacological inhibition of the effector functions and skin trafficking of CD8+T cells in part by JAK-STAT signaling.
The perfect birth: A content analysis of midwives’ posts about birth on Instagram
Authors: Marsh Anna , Hundley Vanora A. , Luce Ann , Richens Yana
Published: January 2023

Background
There is limited research into how midwives use social media within their professional role. Small pilot studies have explored the introduction of social media into maternity practice and teaching but there is little evidence around how midwives use social media professionally. This is important as 89% of pregnant women turn to social media for advice during pregnancy, and how midwives use social media could be influencing women, their perception of birth and their decision making.
Methods
Aim: To analyse how midwives portray birth on the social media platform Instagram.
This is an observational mixed methods study using content analysis. Five ‘popular’ midwives from each country (UK, New Zealand, USA and Australia) were identified and their posts about birth collated from a one-year period (2020-21). Images/videos were then coded. Descriptive statistics enabled comparison of the posts by country. Categorisation was used to analyse and understand the content.
Results
The study identified 917 posts from the 20 midwives’ accounts, containing 1216 images/videos, with most coming from USA (n=466), and UK (n=239), Australia (n=205) and New Zealand (n=7) respectively. Images/videos were categorised into ‘Birth Positivity’, ‘Humour’, ‘Education’, ‘Birth Story’ and ‘Advertisement’. Midwives’ portrayals of birth represented a greater proportion of vaginal births, waterbirths and homebirths than known national birth statistics.
The most popular midwives identified mainly had private businesses (n=17). Both the midwives and women portrayed in images were primarily white, demonstrating a disproportionate representation.
Conclusion
There is a small midwifery presence on Instagram that is not representative of the broader profession, or the current picture of midwifery care. This paper is the first study to explore how midwives are using the popular social media platform Instagram to portray birth. It provides insight into how midwives post an un-medicalised, low risk representation of birth. Further research is recommended to explore midwives’ motivation behind their posts, and how pregnant and postnatal women engage with social media.
A new genus, Complexispora, with two new species, C. multistratosa and C. mediterranea, and Epigeocarpum japonicum sp. nov.
Authors: Blaszkowski Janusz , Yamato Masahide , Niezgoda Piotr , Zubek Szymon , Milczarski Paweł , Malinowski Ryszard , Malicka Malicka , Goto Bruno , Uszok Sylwia , Casieri Leonardo , Magurno Franco , Meller Edward
Published: January 2023

Morphological analyses of three glomoid spore-producing fungi suggested that two of them are undescribed species of Glomeraceae or glomoid spore-producing members of Entrophospora in Entrophosporaceae (phylum Glomeromycota), and the third differed slightly from Dominikia glomerocarpica and Epigeocarpum crypticum, recently described in Glomeraceae. The first two fungi originated from the Mediterranean Sea sand dunes of the Peloponnese, Greece, and the third was originally found in a tree plantation in Yokohama City, Japan. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences of the 45S nuc rDNA region and the RPB1 gene showed that the three fungi are undescribed species in Glomeraceae. The first two species represented a new genus, here described as Complexispora with C. multistratosa sp. nov. and C. mediterranea sp. nov. The third species enlarged the monospecific genus Epigeocarpum, as E. japonicum.
Neural Control of Instantaneous Kinematics of Eye-Head Gaze Shifts in Monkey Superior Colliculus
Authors: Opstal A. John Van
Published: January 2023

The midbrain superior colliculus (SC) is a crucial sensorimotor stage for programming and execution of saccadic eye-head gaze shifts. Although it is well established that cells in the SC encode a neural command that specifies the coordinates of the upcoming gaze-shift vector, there is controversy about the role of the firing rate dynamics of SC neurons in generating saccades. In our earlier work, we proposed a simple quantitative model that explains how the recruited SC population specifies the detailed kinematics (trajectories and velocity profiles) of head-restrained saccadic eye movements. We here show that the same principles may apply to a wide range of saccadic eye-head gaze shifts with strongly varying kinematics. This is quite surprising, given the substantial nonlinearities and redundancy in programming and execute goal-directed eye-head gaze shifts to peripheral targets. We hypothesize that our findings provide additional evidence for an important role of the SC in the optimal control of saccades.
Effectiveness of family-centred sexual health education and HPV self-sampling in promoting cervical cancer screening among hard-to-reach Indian women in rural and tribal areas: A community-based pilot study
Authors: Vahabi Mandana , Mishra Gauravi , Wong Josephine Pui-Hing , Pimple Sharmila , Prakash Vijayshree , Khan Momina , Anand Kavita , Narushima Miya , Lofters Aisha K.
Published: January 2023

Background:
While cervical cancer deaths have declined steeply in high-income countries due to the widespread use of the Papanicolaou test (Pap test), the same trend has not emerged in low or middle-income countries (LMICs). Access to screening in LMICs like India is limited due to barriers such as limited healthcare infrastructures, lack of sexual health education, and stigma demarcating sexually transmitted infections (STIs). HPV self-sampling (HPV-SS), a woman–centered and at-home method for screening, can be utilized as a unique screening tool to overcome some of these barriers. Our study examined the effectiveness of HPV-SS, supported by family-centred arts-based sexual health literacy on the uptake of cervical cancer screening among hard-to-reach women in rural and remote areas in India.
Methods:
Our community-based mixed methods pilot study recruited 240 participants (120 women and 120 male partners or family members) through female Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) across 3 Indian villages of Shirgoan, Khodala, and Jamsar in Palghar district. Inclusion criteria included women ages 30–69 who were under or never screened (UNS) and their male partners/family members aged 18 or over. Knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer and screening and their perceived stigma surrounding STI were assessed using validated scales prior to and after attending a 2-hour arts-based sexual health education (SHE). In addition, participants’ uptake of cervical cancer screening was assessed after attendance in SHE.
Findings:
Results revealed significant improvement in knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer and screening, and a reduction in the STI stigma after participation in SHE sessions (overall mean difference in Knowledge: z = 6.1 ± 2.4, P < 0.001; attitudes about Pap-test and VIA: z = 2.2 ± 8.4, P < 0.001 and z = 2.9 ± 8.2, P < 0.001; STI stigma: z = 2.8 ± 12.4, P < 0.001). 118 out of 120 female participants chose to be screened and 115 opted for HPV-SS.
Conclusions:
The implementation of HPV-SS coupled with family-centered arts-based and culturally appropriate SHE is highly promising in promoting cervical cancer screening among hard-to-reach women. Evidence from our study can be used to advance public health policies and inform the scale-up of similar initiatives in other villages and states across rural India and other LMICs.
Initial Treatment Response and Short-term Mortality of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Cirrhotic Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Lee Chang Hun , Kang Hye Jin , Yu Song Yi , Seo Seung Young , Kim Seong Hun , Kim Sang Wook , Lee Seung Ok , Lee Soo Teik , Kim In Hee
Published: January 2023

This study aimed to investigate the initial treatment response and short-term mortality of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with those without HCC. A total of 245 patients with liver cirrhosis diagnosed with SBP between January 2004 and December 2020 were included. Of these, 107 (43.7%) were diagnosed with HCC. Overall, the rates of initial treatment failure, 7-day and 30-day mortality were 91 (37.1%), 42 (17.1%), and 89 (36.3%), respectively. While the baseline CTP score, MELD score, culture-positive rate, and rates of antibiotic resistance did not differ between both groups, patients with HCC had a higher rate of initial treatment failure than those without HCC patients (52.3% vs. 25.4%, P<0.001). Similarly, 30-day mortality was also significantly higher in patients with HCC (53.3% vs. 23.2%, P<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, HCC, renal impairment, CTP grade C, and antibiotic resistance were independent factors for initial treatment failure. Furthermore, HCC, hepatic encephalopathy, MELD score, and initial treatment failure were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality, with statistically significant poor survival outcomes in patients with HCC and initial treatment failure (P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). In conclusion, HCC is an independent risk factor for initial treatment failure and high short-term mortality in patients with cirrhosis with SBP. It has been suggested that more attentive therapeutic strategies are required to improve the prognosis of patients with HCC and SBP.
Grow Newtonian rigid inertia into parameter repetitiveness memory equivalent bio-inertia by degenerating eigenstates on a surface tension region to define quantum growth gravity for turnover selection
Authors: Lai Yi Yu
Published: January 2023

Note: Please see pdf for full abstract with equations.
Inversion energy is parameter-against-gravity-internal-fluctuation, the non-simultaneousness in gravitationally correlated internal fluctuations is quantizing time. Modified Newtonian Laws are, first: 𝑑/𝑑𝑥 cosx =−𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑥, 𝑑/𝑑𝑥 sinx = 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑥; second: 𝐹⃗=𝑚∙𝑎⃗+|𝑚𝑔⃗∫𝑡𝑔𝜃⋅𝑑𝜃 ⟩↿⇂ third: Wavelength =2/𝑛 L, frequency = n𝑓0. Bio-systems are topological spaces that can process input objects into inversion energy for entropy-control by repetitiveness memory, the capability of equivalent procured inversion energy with memorized trigonometric repetitiveness by quantizing time is bio-inertia. Schrödinger equation has only quantized energy but hasn’t quantized time thus inducing quantum collapse, we then write down equation 𝑯̂𝜓=𝑬𝜓 + Σn|cos(1/𝑛 𝑥)⟩ to grow eigenstates on certain surface tension regions to define quantum growth gravity for lifespan. Originating from elastic quantum scale differences between Planck regions and surface tension regions, bio quantum duality grows in vivo cross folded-surface tension region flow. Life relies on trigonometric negentropy procured from elastic entropy generation ground condensates and physically inherit by bio quantum growth turnover selection. Long COVID niche grows from the turnover tension is also unveiled.
Biocontrol performance and mass production potential of the larval endoparasitoid Campoletis chlorideae against Spodoptera frugiperda
Authors: Zhang Rui , Zhao Qi , Mohamed Amr , Lei Xianfu , Leppla Norman , Liu Canghua , Zhang Wei , Zang Lian-sheng
Published: January 2023

Spodoptera frugiperda is an invasive pest that causes severe economic losses in outbreak regions. The use of natural enemies of S. frugiperda, particularly native parasitoids, has been suggested as a promising control strategy due to high rates of pesticide resistance. Campoletis chlorideae is a solitary larval endoparasitoid with a broad host range that includes S. frugiperda; however, its parasitism rate, developmental stages, and population dynamics during S. frugiperda infection remain unclear. Here, we performed a systematical analysis to evaluate the biological control performance of C. chlorideae on the fall armyworm through age-stage, two-sex life tables. Due to their reproductive ability and short-life cycle, fall armyworms have the potential to be developed as a mass production host of C. chlorideae, we investigated the mass production potential by group-rearing fall armyworms using a low cannibalism rate artificial diet. Our results revealed an adequate biological control performance of C. chlorideae on S. frugiperda with a lifetime fecundity of 301.5 eggs/female, net reproduction rate (R0, adult females reproduced by a female) of 62.5, longevity of 28 days, and intrinsic rate of increase (r) of 1.2148. However, mass production factors require further optimization to improve efficiency and reduce the cost, as there was a lower net reproduction rate (6.02) due to the parasitization-induced cannibalism. This study provides instruction and guidance for the application and release of C. chlorideae for control of the fall armyworm.
DDX58 and CXCL10 have potential as key biomarkers for lymph node tuberculosis
Authors: Wang Liang , Maimaiti Naifeisha · , Zhang Li , Sun Hu , Fan Jiahui , shi Ning , Shang Xiaoqian , Zhang Xiufeng , Wang Jing , Ma Xiumin
Published: January 2023

Aim
To explore the pathogenic mechanism of lymph node tuberculosis and to mine potential key genes.
Methods
Gene expression profiles of pulmonary tuberculosis (GSE83456), lymph node tuberculosis (GSE63548) and healthy controls were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Screening common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in pulmonary tuberculosis and lymph node tuberculosis, enrichment analysis of DEGs and their functionally related modules were performed. Cytoscape was used to screen hub genes, and verify their expression levels, further predict transcription factors to mine the final key genes, and then verify the diagnostic efficacy of key genes for lymph node tuberculosis by ROC curves.
Results
60 differential genes involved in pulmonary tuberculosis and lymph node tuberculosis were screened for subsequent analysis. Functional enrichment analysis highlights that type I interferon-mediated signaling and viral infection play important roles in pathogenicity. Subsequently, 14 hub genes were screened and their expression was significantly upregulated in tuberculosis patient. 4 transcription factors involved in regulating hub genes were further mined. DDX58 and CXCL10, which are regulated by transcription factors IRF1, are considered key genes, and the ROC results suggested good diagnostic efficacy, AUC are 0.992 and 0.974 respectively.
Conclusions
Our study revealed a common pathogenesis of pulmonary tuberculosis and lymph node tuberculosis. DDX58 and CXCL10 play an important role that cannot be ignored, and provide new ideas for further investigation of biomarkers in lymph node tuberculosis disease.
Effectiveness Analysis of Abrasive Flow Machining on Elbow Inner-surface Finish
Authors: Li Junye , Tian Gongqiang , Yin Yanlu , Shi Guangfeng , Zhang Jingran , Zhang Xin-Ming
Published: January 2023

Higher standards have been set for elbow-type parts' inner-surface finish in industrial production. The influence mechanism of inlet velocity, bend ratio, and bending angle on the surface quality of elbows is analyzed to study the surface quality control technology of abrasive flow machining (AFM) elbows, and the surface quality control method of elbows in AFM is established. The results of the numerical simulation demonstrate that a suitable increase in inlet velocity can enhance the machining effect of the abrasive flow; a smaller curvature radius has a higher machining intensity and a larger curvature radius has a better overall machining uniformity; the numerical simulation also confirms that the analysis of the flow state in the 90° elbow applies to elbows with different bending angles, demonstrating the analysis's applicability. The test results of the curvature radius are consistent with the results of the numerical simulation, and for a larger curvature radius, the inlet velocity or inlet pressure can be increased appropriately to achieve better surface quality control. The test results of the inlet pressure show that increasing the inlet pressure can improve the machining effect of the abrasive flow, indicating that the inlet pressure and inlet velocity are proportional to each other. Therefore, the experimental findings confirm the accuracy of the numerical calculations and offer technical support for the elbow AFM quality control system that has been developed.
SpaTiaL: Monitoring and Planning of Robotic Tasks Using Spatio-Temporal Logic Specifications
Authors: Pek Christian , Schuppe Georg Friedrich , Esposito Francesco , Tumova Jana , Kragic Danica
Published: January 2023

Many tasks require robots to manipulate objects while satisfying a complex interplay of spatial and temporal constraints. For instance, a table setting robot first needs to place a mug and then fill it with coffee, while satisfying spatial relations such as forks need to placed left of plates. Existing solutions are often not robot-agnostic, not expressive enough to monitor and plan complex tasks, and require users to manually define object relations. We propose the spatio-temporal framework SpaTiaL that unifies the specification, monitoring, and planning of object-centric robotic tasks. SpaTiaL captures diverse spatial relations between objects and temporal task patterns. Our experiments with recorded data, simulations, and robots demonstrate how SpaTiaL provides real-time monitoring and facilitates online planning. SpaTiaL is open source and easily expandable to new object relations and robotic applications.
Cultural Competence of Nursing Educators at Medical Universities of 2 nd Regional Planning in Iran
Authors: Majnoon Sahand , Yates Vivian M. , Asgarpour Hossein , Aghazadeh Ahmad , Lotfi Mozhgan
Published: January 2023

Background: One of the facets of nursing care, as a holistic profession, is cultural care. Considering the role of culture in individuals’ health behaviors, nurses are recommended to be mindful of cultural care. Since nursing educators should be culturally competent to teach cultural care to students, this study aimed to determine the cultural competence of nursing educators of medical sciences universities in the 2nd regional planning in Iran.
Methods: The current research was a descriptive and survey study framed within Campinha-Bacote’s cultural competency model. All nursing educators of universities of medical sciences in the 2nd regional planning of Iran (Tabriz, Urmia, Ardabil, Khoy, Maragheh, Sarab, and Khalkhal) were considered as research units, and the cultural diversity questionnaire for nursing faculties (CDQNE-R) was sent to them. Out of 129 questionnaires sent, 84 were turned back. The data were analyzed by the SPSS 26 software.
Results: The results of this study showed that the research participants agreed with the subscales of cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, and cultural desire according to Sealey and Yates’ interpretation scale. Also, the research units cast doubts on the cultural encounter subscale. The mean scores of the participants' responses to the questions of every subscale equaled 4.11, 3.52, 3.71, 3.38, and 3.93 for the subscales of cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, cultural encounter, and cultural desire, respectively. Likewise, the mean scores of participants' responses to the subscales of transcultural educational behaviors and general cultural competence equaled 3.90 and 3.73.
Conclusions: The nursing faculties participating in the present study agreed with the 4 sub-models of Campinha-Bacote cultural care and the presence of cultural competence criteria. Also, the research units had doubts about the cultural encounter subscale. This result means that the research participants were undecided about their level of participation in face-to-face interactions with people from different cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. According to the results of the study, it is important to hold transcultural nursing training workshops and courses to maintain and improve the level of cultural competence of nursing faculties at universities of medical sciences in the 2nd regional planning in Iran.
Modulation instability, rogue waves of the seventh-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation on a periodic background
Authors: Jiang Dongzhu , Zha Qi-Lao
Published: January 2023

In this paper, after investigating the modulation instability (MI) of the seventh-order nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation, the rogue wave solutions on the background of the Jacobi elliptic functions dn and cn for a seventh-order NLS equation is constructed. On the background of the Jacobi elliptic function, through the approaches of the nonlinearization of spectral problem and Darboux transformation, two kinds of rogue periodic waves are obtained. Finally, the nonlinear dynamics of two kinds of rogue periodic waves are analysed.
Sea floor characterization by multiples’ amplitude in monochannel surveys
Authors: Vesnaver Aldo , Baradello Luca
Published: January 2023

Lithological characterization of the seafloor is key information for offshore engineering, especially when it comes to pier and platform design. Drilling and coring can be used for local sampling, but continuous profiles or even areal coverage are far preferable. High-resolution seismic profiles are successfully used when ports are not too busy, but otherwise single-channel systems must be used. We show in this paper that even these simpler systems can be used to estimate parameters such as the acoustic impedance of shallow sediments directly beneath the seafloor. We exploit the amplitude decay of the multiple reflections between the seafloor and the surface, which does not depend on the source energy. If the offset between source and receiver is not too small, we can estimate the shallow P velocity and, via the acoustic impedance, also the rock density.
ANN Based Estimation of Pore Pressure of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs - A case study
Authors: Kianoush Pooria , Mohammadi Ghodratollah , Hosseini Seyed Aliakbar , Khah Nasser Keshavarz Faraj , Afzal Peyman
Published: January 2023

In seismic methods, pore pressure is estimated by converting seismic velocity into pore pressure and calibrating it with pressure results during the well-testing program. This study has been carried out using post-stack seismic data and sonic and density log data of 6 wells in one of the fields in SW Iran. While an optimum number of attributes is selected, the General regression (GRNN) provides higher accuracy than Back Propagation (BPNN) at the initial prediction stages. Suitable attributes for estimating compressional velocity (Vp) and density from seismic data are extracted by the Emerge module of HRS.8 software. Acoustic impedance (AI) is the most applicable seismic attribute used as root and reverses AI for estimating P-wave and density. Using a set of attributes can train the system to estimate the property. The correlation coefficient of actual and predicted P-wave using an AI seismic attribute has been calculated as 0.74 and the multi-attribute technique as 0.79. Also, density and three attributes reach from 0.57 to 0.60, which shows a better relationship between seismic attributes and density. After determining optimum layers with the principal components analysis (PCA), formation pressure was modeled with the feed forward-backpropagation (FFBP-ANN) method. Correlation between 0.2 and 0.3 is suitable for generating a neural network layer, and values below 0.2 have a low correlation. Five information layers, including gamma, Vp, AI, density, and overburden pressure, have the most linear convergence with the initial pressure model and are used to modify the ANN model of effective pressure with Petrel 2016 software.
Association of high proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 antibody level with poor prognosis in patients with diabetes: A prospective cross-sectional study
Authors: Yamagata Hiroki , Hayashi Aiko , Yoshida Yoich , Koshizaka Masaya , Onishi Shunichiro , Yohida Tomohiko , Hiwasa Takaki , Takemoto Minoru
Published: January 2023

Background
In addition to pathogenic autoantibodies, polyclonal autoantibodies with unknown physiological roles and pathogenicity are produced in the body. Moreover, serum antibodies against the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) protein, which is integral to cholesterol metabolism, have also been observed. Therefore, we aimed to examine the clinical significance of PCSK9 antibody (PCSK9-Ab) levels.
Methods
We measured blood PCSK9-Ab and PCSK9 protein levels in 109 healthy donors (HDs) and 274 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) (type 2 DM: 89.8%) using an amplified luminescence proximity homogeneous assay-linked immunosorbent assay. Subsequently, patients with DM were followed up (mean: 4.93 years, standard deviation: 2.77 years, maximum: 9.58 years, minimum: 0.07 years) to examine associations between antibody titers and mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke onset, and cancer.
Results
Although PCSK 9-Ab levels were significantly higher in the DM group than in the HDs group, PCSK9 protein levels were not significantly different. PCSK9-Ab and PCSK9 protein levels showed no correlation in either group. Mortality was significantly associated with higher PCSK9-Ab levels, but unrelated to PCSK9 protein levels. After investigating for potential confounding factors, PCSK9-Ab levels were significantly associated with prognosis in patients with DM.
Conclusions
PCSK9-Ab may be a novel prognostic marker in patients with diabetes, and further studies are warranted to verify its usefulness.
Validation of the Simplified Chinese Palliative Care Nursing Self-competence Scale: Two cross-sectional studies
Authors: Feng Mei , Wang Fang , Liu Qian , Yang Bingxiang , Hao Jie , Yu Sihong , Hu Fen , Luo Dan , Chen Jie
Published: January 2023

BACKGROUND
Due to the increasing burden of life-limiting illnesses, palliative care has been demanded. Nurses’ palliative care competence is a vital factor in improving its accessibility. A reliable instrument is needed. Our aim was to translate and culturally adapt the Palliative Care Nursing Self-Competence scale (PCNSC) into Simplified Chinese (PCNSC-SC).
METHODS
Two cross-sectional studies were conducted after the content validity had been confirmed during the translation and adaption. The convergent validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and homogeneity were evaluated both in the first and second studies. The test-retest reliability was assessed only in the first study. Clinical nurses who had a registered nurse qualification certificate and at least 12 months of work experience from a tertiary hospital in Hubei, China participated in the two studies.
RESULTS
The PCNSC-SC contains eight dimensions and 34 items. Goodness-of-fit indices in confirmatory factor analysis met the criteria. The Cronbach’s alpha of the PCNSC-SC was 0.984 and 0.990 in the two studies, respectively. The test-retest reliability of the PCNSC-SC after two weeks was 0.717.
CONCLUSION
The Simplified Chinese version of the PCNSC (PCNSC-SC) can be used to evaluate perceived self-competence in palliative care of Chinese nurses with good reliability and validity.
The influence of pit and fissure sealing on the oral state and behavior of 12-year-old children.
Authors: Ge Xin , Zhou Huan , Siow Lixuen , Li Xuejing , Xie Yanyi , Hu Yijie , Wan Yao , Fu Danli , Zhu Haihua
Published: January 2023

Background
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the age of 12 years as the target age for global caries detection. Insufficient mineralization, pits, and grooves on the tooth surface can lead to accumulation of food residues, increasing the risk of caries in children's newly erupted teeth, within 2–4 years. Therefore, it is important to emphasize the health of teeth in adolescents and to take measures to prevent carie. Approximately 90% of caries in children’s permanent teeth occur in the pits and fissures of posterior teeth. Pit and fissure closure procedures, carried out under the National Oral Disease Intervention Plan for Children, can effectively prevent molar cavity caries. However, Studies conducted in the past 20 years on pit and fissure sealing (PFS) have not evaluated its oral epidemiology. There are few studies on the prevention of caries of the only child, left -behind children and PFS, and the two forms of pit and fissure closure (schools and medical institutions). This study investigated the relationship between pit-and-fissure sealing and oral epidemiological factors in 12-year-old children.
Methods
A total of 1,205 students, aged 12 years, living in Zhejiang Province, China, were randomly selected using stratified sampling. Dental conditions were recorded and basic information about the children, including relevant family information, oral health knowledge, and behavior, was collected through questionnaires.
Results
The results showed that parents' status (e.g., living in urban areas, having mothers with a higher education level), oral health behavior, and knowledge level (floss use, oral health awareness that pit and fissure sealing can protect teeth, and visits to medical institutions to receive dental examinations) are factors promoting the use of pit-and-fissure sealing. The only child and left-behind children have no significant relationship with PFS, and there is no difference between the two forms of pit and fissure closure (schools and medical institutions) in caries prevention.
Conclusions
Our research supports the continued implementation of policies to improve the oral health of children. Financial support for school oral healthcare should be supported and a nationwide school oral health service network should be established.
Therapeutic efficacy of proton pump inhibitor (Omeprazole) on cryptosporidiosis parvum in immunosuppressed experimental mice
Authors: Beshay Engy , Nassef Nashaat E. , Shafey Omaima K. El , Saleh Mona M. , Kora Mona A. , Shalaan Fatma H.
Published: January 2023

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the most frequent food and water-borne diseases. The disease might be life-threatening in immunosuppressed patients. Unfortunately, the only approved drug, nitazoxanide, is with variable efficacies, particularly in malnourished children and immunocompromised patients. Therefore, there is a need to discover an alternative treatment that could be achieved by targeting the metabolic pathways. One of the important enzymes in the glycolysis pathway ofC. parvumis triosephosphate isomerase, which could be hindered by the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) omeprazole. In this study, omeprazole was repurposed againstC. parvuminfection in experimentally immunosuppressed mice. This study was conducted on five mice groups (n = 10). Group I (Normal Control), group II (Infected Control): Mice were infected orally with 1×105C. parvumoocysts on the 15th day of DEX induced immunosuppression. Group III (NTZ-treated): infected and treated by NTZ. Group IV (Omeprazole-treated), and lastly, Group V (NTZ + Omeprazole-treated). The result obtained with omeprazole alone was better than nitazoxanide regarding oocyst shedding reduction percentages (84.9% & 56.1%, respectively). Also, it was better regarding restoration of histopathological and ultrastructural architectures, improvement of liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase) and renal functions (urea and creatinine), and the reduction ofC. parvumtriosephosphate isomerase (TIM) gene expression by RT-PCR. However, the best results were obtained with the combined treatment. Hence, omeprazole could be considered a novel drug option to treat this life-threatening parasitic infection either alone or combined with NTZ, especially in immunosuppressed patients.
A novel peptide that disrupts the Lck-IP3R protein-protein interaction induces widespread cell death in leukemia and lymphoma
Authors: Harr Michael , Lavik Andrew , McColl Karen , Zhong Fei , Haberer Ben , Aldabbagh Khadijah , Yee Vivien , Distelhorst Clark W.
Published: January 2023

There is increasing evidence that the T-cell protein, Lck, is involved in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) as well as other leukemias and lymphomas. We previously discovered that Lck binds to domain 5 of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) to regulate Ca2+ homeostasis. Using bioinformatics, we targeted a region within domain 5 of IP3R-1 predicted to facilitate protein-protein interactions (PPIs). We generated a synthetic 21 amino acid peptide, KKRMDLVLELKNNASKLLLAI, which constitutes a domain 5 sub-domain (D5SD) of IP3R-1 that specifically binds Lck via its SH2 domain. With the addition of an HIV-TAT sequence to enable cell permeability of D5SD peptide, we observed wide-spread, Ca2+-dependent, cell killing of hematological cancer cells when the Lck-IP3R PPI was disrupted by TAT-D5SD. All cell lines and primary cells were sensitive to D5SD peptide, but malignant T-cells were less sensitive compared with B-cell or myeloid malignancies. Mining of RNA-seq data showed that LCK was expressed in primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) as well as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In fact, LCK shows a similar pattern of expression as many well-characterized AML oncogenes and is part of a protein interactome that includes FLT3-ITD, Notch-1, and Kit. Consistent with these findings, our data suggest that the Lck-IP3R PPI may protect malignant hematopoietic cells from death. Importantly, TAT-D5SD showed no cytotoxicity in three different non-hematopoietic cell lines; thus its ability to induce cell death appears specific to hematopoietic cells. Together, these data show that a peptide designed to disrupt the Lck-IP3R PPI has a wide range of pre-clinical activity in leukemia and lymphoma.
A new pyridine-dicarbohydrazide-based turn-off fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor for selective recognition of Cu2+
Authors: Zamani Ali , Sarrafi Yaghoub , Tajbakhsh Mahmood
Published: January 2023

A novel indole-containing 2,6-pyridinedicarbohydrazide P3 was easily synthesized and well-characterized employing NMR, ESI+-MS, FT-IR, and elemental analyses. The synthesized compound was examined as an efficient turn-off fluorescent and colorimetric cation receptor. The P3 receptor exhibits a remarkable rapid color change from colorless to brown in the presence of the Cu2+ cation. P3 displayed selective fluorescence quenching and a UV-vis redshift only in the presence of Cu2+ ion. Job’s plot, NMR titration, and ESI+-MS data were used to determine the complex's 1:2 stoichiometry between P3 and Cu2+. Fluorescence titration was used to calculate the association constant (Ka) as (2.9–3.5) ×1011 M− 2 and LOD as \(\tilde\) 4.2 ×10−9 M. P3-based test strips were developed, which might be used as a simple and effective Cu2+ test kit. This design, which incorporates a functional group on the upper rim of the 2,6-pyridinedicarbohydrazide platform, is expected to provide another avenue for the development of chemosensors.
Bifunctional Metal-Loaded Micro-Mesoporous Zeolites for Waste Plastics Conversion to High Quality Liquid Product
Authors: Munir Dureem , Usman Muhammad R
Published: January 2023

A series of micro-mesoporous zeolitic catalysts synthesized using recrystallization of two different zeolites (HZSM-5 and beta) were impregnated with Pt and other notable metals. The resulting bifunctional catalysts were characterized and tested for the hydrocracking of a model municipal waste plastic mixture. Actual waste plastic mixture of the same composition was also employed for the comparison. The hydrocracking experiments were carried out in a Parr stirred batch reactor at 325, 350, and 375°C. The other reaction conditions were fixed at the initial cold H2 pressure of 20 bar, reaction time of 60 min, and plastic to catalyst ratio of 20:1 by wt. The inclusion of the Pt metal has shown to increase the hydrocracking activity of the micro-mesoporous supports. The Pt/micro-mesoporous ZSM-5 catalysts have shown the better activity while Pt/micro-mesoporous beta catalysts have shown better selectivity towards liquid. The presence of Pt metal has also produced a better quality liquid product with fewer unsaturated hydrocarbons and results in lower coke formation as determined by the TGA analysis of the spent catalysts.
Application of Roadmaps to Identify Gaps in the Implementation of Sales and Operations Planning in Large Industries
Authors: Chidem Denis , Vidor Gabriel , Medeiros Janine Fleith , Chiwiacowsky Leonardo Dagnino
Published: January 2023

This research aims to detail the maturity levels in the use of Sales Operations Planning and to propose the development of roadmaps to identify problems in the implementation of the model in companies. The Research Problem is related to how to apply roadmaps to identify gaps in the implementation of sales and operations planning in large size industries and the general objective is to apply roadmaps to identify gaps in the implementation of sales and operations planning in large size industries. In the bibliographical research several studies about SOP were found, which are presented in the theoretical framework of this work, as well as studies about roadmaps. The research method used is Design Science Research (DSR), which details the research structure and, after identifying the problem, proposes the use of a tool (instantiation artifact) to support the identified solutions. Data Collection is based on the instrument developed by Grimson and Pyke (2007), which measures the maturity level in the use of SOP in organizations and allows a deep detailing of the operations inherent to the processes. For the topic of roadmaps, the research of Phaal, Farrukh and Probert (2004) is used, which establishes important criteria that complement the objectives of this research. The expected results will be presented in the final analysis, which aims to describe the operations of each industry, classify them according to the SOP utilization levels, and identify the main gaps for the model's full utilization. After this analysis, roadmaps will be generated, highlighting the opportunities observed in the processes. Finally, proposals directed to the main desired managerial results, academic aspects, research limitations and future studies will be presented.